Alright. Hey, everybody. Welcome to Valley Creek. We are so glad that you're here with us today. And last week we started a new series called Holy Spirit: We Invite You In. And we said we're taking a couple weeks to just talk about who is the Holy Spirit. What is He like? What is His character? What is His nature? What does it look like to engage with Him, to have a relationship with Him? What does He do? And I told you last week that really we're starting the series with a little bit of fear and trembling.

With a sense of awe and wonder, a humility and hunger. Because how do you adequately put the Holy Spirit into words? And yet there's this sense of anticipation and excitement that He comes where He's wanted. There's a soberness, there's a gravity to this conversation that we're having together. Because you see, the Holy Spirit is the most important person in the room and yet He is often the most ignored person in the room. Everywhere you go in your life, He is the most important person in the room and yet in your work, in school, at home and often times even in the church, He is the most ignored person in the room. And what would it look like if He became the most important and the most honored person in the room? And that's what we're kind of trying to do in this series, is activate our own awareness of the Holy Spirit being with us everywhere we go.

And so we just said every day, we're asking every one of us to every day sometime throughout the day, say Holy Spirit, I invite you in. Every day for this whole series of when we get together with other Valley Creekers, is it just simply, Holy Spirit, we invite you in. And so we've been inviting Him in, we're watching as the Holy Spirit is coming and He's beginning to move. You could even feel it and sense it in worship today. Holy Spirit, we invite you in. You see, inviting the Holy Spirit in and wanting more of Him is the natural and normal response to hearing the gospel in our lives. In fact, the first time the gospel is preached, it says, "When the people heard this, the gospel, the death burial and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

The normal response to hearing the gospel preached in our life is to be cut to the heart, to repent, change our mind and change our direction, to be baptized or identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and then want more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. So the question is, when was the last time you were cut to the heart? When was the last time you were cut to the heart over your sin, and your pride, and your idolatry, and your rebellion and walking in the flesh? And when was the last time you repented, change your mind and change your direction? You see, most of us repent enough to experience salvation, but not enough to experience the spirit-filled life. When was the last time you identified with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus or reminded yourself you were included in Christ?

And when was the last time you were like, Holy Spirit, I invite you in, I need more of you. And this is what I'm praying for our church in the series. That we would genuinely be cut to the heart. Because when you're actually cut to the heart, that's when you know you're actually alive. Why? Because we were created to walk with the Spirit. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit. This is the normal Christian life, to walk with the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, to go where He wants to go and say what He wants to say and do what He wants to do. He follows, we lead. And this -- or He leads, we follow. Making sure you were listening. We're not inviting you in, we're inviting the Holy Spirit in, you know what I'm saying. I have no idea what I was supposed to say because I caught myself.

I was like, I just did that backwards, didn't I? Yes, I did. And so the whole point is we want to walk with the Spirit because this is the normal Christian life. This isn't for super mature people. This isn't for elite people. This isn't for just charismatic people. This is for all people who follow Jesus. And without the Holy Spirit, life is dry, it's dull, it's defeated and it becomes religious. The problem is we don't really know who the Holy Spirit is. We've got some maybe past context, past experience, past religious baggage, whatever, so we just kind of keep Him in an arms distance and we're the ones that miss out. There's this fascinating story in Acts 19. Paul shows up at Ephesus and he runs into some disciples and look what it says, "There he found some disciples of Jesus and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.'"

Disciples, believers, followers of Jesus and they're doing their whole Christian walk without the Holy Spirit. And I think this define so many of us today. We're believers, were disciples, we're trying to follow Jesus, we don't even know who the Holy Spirit is. So who is the Holy Spirit? And how can you even begin to understand Him? In fact, the Bible itself says, "Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord?" He is so big, so grand, so mysterious, so amazing that your mind and my mind cannot fully comprehend Him and yet the Bible clearly tells us a whole bunch of things of who the Holy Spirit is. And so what I want to do for the next few moments that's very different than what we normally do is I want to give you ten truths about who the Holy Spirit is and what He does.

Ten things that the Bible clearly tells us. We can't fathom the Spirit, but the Bible clearly tells us, this is who the Holy Spirit is and this is what He does. Ten things -- and lots of Scriptures. I'm going to let the Scriptures in a sense stand for themselves. So here's what I want to invite you to do. Grab a journal, grab a piece of paper, grab a pen and write these down as a way of humility and hunger of just saying, Holy Spirit, I want to know who you are, so I can have the confidence to invite you in. Because you don't want to invite somebody in that you don't know. But once you get to know him you can't help but invite him in. So can you shut it all down? Can you stay engaged? This is different than normal. This is basically Holy Spirit 101. Okay? Okay come on, are you with me?

Come on, all campuses, are you with me? Here we go, ten truths the Bible tells us about the Holy Spirit. First thing is this, the Holy Spirit is a person. Let's just start right here. The Holy Spirit is not a thing, He is not in it, He is not a force, He is not a mystique, He is not a power, He is not an angel, He is not a substance and He is not a human. And yet He is a person. He has a mind, He has a will, He has an emotions. He can talk, He can speak, He relates. You can grieve Him. You can reject Him. You can blaspheme Him. He's a person. He wants to relate with you. In fact, the Bible tells us, Then God said, "Let us make man in our image and in our likeness." Be real clear about this, you were made in the image and likeness of the Holy Spirit, He is not made in your image and your likeness. And the reason you are a person with a personality is because you were made in His image and His likeness.

And if you were made in His image and His likeness and of a person and you're a person and have a personality, then the Holy Spirit is a person and He has a personality. And because He's a person, He wants to have a relationship with you and He has the greatest personality ever. Listen, this is so important for you to understand. The Holy Spirit is not weird. People are weird. Just straight up, let's just say it and be done with it. The Holy Spirit is not weird, people are weird. A lot of the times we keep the Holy Spirit at a distance is because we see some weird person doing some weird things saying it was the Holy Spirit that made them do it. No, that's just you being weird, okay? In fact, the Holy Spirit is the ultimate definition of normal. If His name is the Spirit of Life, then He actually is the definition of normal.

You want to know what's weird? What's weird is sin. It's weird to have idols. It's weird to be prideful and religious, and walk in the flesh. Those are weird things. You want to know what's normal? Walking in righteousness, peace and joy. A problem that we have in our lives is we look at the brokenness of this world and we define the brokenness as normal and then we look at everything else as weird. That would be like looking at a broken car and defining that as normal and looking at a new car on a new car lot and saying, man, that car works, it's weird. You'd be like, no, your car is weird. This is normal. The Holy Spirit is the definition of normal. He's the Spirit of Life and everything else is weird. He's a person with the ultimate personality that wants to have a relationship with you. You with me on that?

Yes.

Second thing is this, the Holy Spirit is God. Again, He is not a thing, He is not an it, He is not a force, He is not an angel, He is not an inferior spiritual being that God sent to this earth so He didn't have to deal with us, He is God. Our God exists in the Trinity, right? It's a mystery, we can't get our mind fully around it, but three in one, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit is just as much God as Jesus is and He's just as much God as the Father is. And you find it all over the Bible, the three of them together. As soon as Jesus, God, was baptized, heaven was opened and He saw the Spirit of God, God, descending like a dove and lighting on him, and a voice from heaven, the Father, God, said, "This is my son whom I love. With him, I am well pleased." All three God, all three equal. "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." All three of them equal, God.

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit? You have not lied to men, but to God." There it is, right there, the Holy Spirit is God. He is not a thing, He is not an it, He is not a force, He is God. And if He is God, then he is worthy of your attention, and your worship, and your honor, and your focus and your devotion. If He is God, then it should change the way you live because you're in the presence of God. I mean, do you remember being a kid and when you'd be around your parents, or a teacher, or a coach, or maybe a boss, you would act, and speak and live differently just being in their presence? There's a whole lot of things you wouldn't do and wouldn't say and wouldn't act like because you around them?

That's called calling you up to a higher way of living. And if the Holy Spirit is not a thing or a force, but He's God and he's with me, then it should call me up to a higher way of living just because He's with me, and He is God. You with me on that? Third thing is this, the Holy Spirit is all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere. All-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere. Why? Because He's God. The big theological words are omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. You're like, what did he just say? Don't worry about it, it just simply means this, He can do anything at any time. He is the God of miracles, the God of breakthrough, the God of signs and wonders. He can do anything at any time. He knows everything about everything. He is wisdom itself. And He is everywhere all the time. All-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere.

Let me give you a verse for each of those. "The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you." I would just submit to you that if the Spirit can raise Jesus from the dead, He can probably do anything else. All-powerful. If you are the one that raised Jesus from the dead, then I'm pretty sure you could move a mountain, you could part a sea, you could bring a breakthrough and he could do a miracle in your life. Because He can do anything at any time. He is all-powerful. And not only is the all-powerful, He is all-knowing. "The spirit searches all things even the deep things of God." If He knows the deep things or the mind of God because He is God, then He knows everything about everything. In fact, the Bible calls Him the Spirit of Wisdom. If you're the Spirit of Wisdom, literally your name is wise. It's because you know everything about everything.

And not only that but he's everywhere. "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there." You can't outsend, you can't outrun, you can't outhide the Spirit of the Living God. Because wherever you go, there He is. So when was the last time you just thought to yourself, the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present Spirit is with me? When you need a miracle or a breakthrough, when you need wisdom, when you feel alone, God the Holy Spirit is right there to do whatever you need. Fourth thing is this, the Holy Spirit is just like Jesus. This is so cool. A lot of us, we think the Father is the angry one, Jesus is the nice one and the Holy Spirit is the weird one.

You you're laughing because you're like, yeah, it's kind of what I think. Yeah. No, the Holy Spirit is just like Jesus. Look what Jesus himself says, "And I will ask the Father and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth." The words another counselor right here literally mean another of the same kind. What Jesus is saying is I'm giving you another one who is just like me. He's like exactly the same. He will do what I do. He will talk like I talk. He acts like I act. He is just like me. He's not another of a different kind where all of a sudden, you're going to have to figure out who is the Spirit and what is He like. No, no, no, he's just like me. In fact, the greatest way to discover who the Holy Spirit is is to just read the gospels.

If you really want to know what's the Holy Spirit like, don't chase the verses all over the Bible that talk about the Holy Spirit, read the gospels and look at Jesus. Look at how Jesus talks, look at how Jesus acts, look at how Jesus treats people, look at how Jesus engages with sinners, look at how Jesus has compassion and patience and kindness and love. That is exactly who the Holy Spirit is and exactly how He will relate with you. In fact, this is why Jesus says to the disciples at the end of his life, he says, "If you've seen me you've seen the Father." He says, I've come to show you who the Father is like. Why? Because we're one and the same. Well, if the Holy Spirit is one and the same with them, then Jesus literally is also saying, and if you've seen me you've seen the Holy Spirit. You have already seen everything you need to know about Him because me and Him, we're another -- we're just like the same nature, same character, same heartbeat, same posture, same everything. And not only that and not only is the Holy Spirit like Jesus, Jesus is his favorite topic.

"The spirit of truth who goes out from the Father will testify about me." The reason you don't know a lot of the Holy Spirit is because the Spirit never draws attention to himself, He is always drawing attention to Jesus. It's the Holy Spirit that's saying, look at Jesus. It's the Holy Spirit that's saying, look at what he did, remember what he has done, don't forget who he is. It's the Holy Spirit that's drawing, pointing, serving, honoring, blessing, glorifying Jesus. In fact, if you're going to live a Jesus-focused life, it's only possible through the Spirit because it's the Spirit who is constantly testifying, glorifying and drawing your attention to Jesus himself. That's how amazing He is. He has that same servant-hearted nature just like Jesus does. He's just like Jesus. Fifth thing is the Holy Spirit dwells in every believer. The moment you put your faith and your trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes in and dwells inside of you, takes up residence in you.

When was the last time you thought the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present Spirit lives in here, with a personality, who is God Himself and He's just like Jesus? "You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession." You put your faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit moves into your life, He is now the marker, the distinguishing factor of your life that sets you apart from anyone and everyone in this world. You are not set apart by your looks, your skills, your talents, your athleticism, your finances, your awards, but by the Spirit of the Living God.

And be real clear, He doesn't dwell in every person that's on this earth. He only dwells in those who have been included in Christ who by faith believe that Jesus is who he says he is and did what he said he did. That's when He moves in and raises us to new life in Christ. In fact, this is why it says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?" He lives in you. And here's what I want you to know. The Holy Spirit in you is better than Jesus in front of you. You're like, no, He's not. Because here's what we think, we think sure, I could believe like the disciples did if I walked around with the physical flesh and blood Jesus right there in front of me. Okay, think about this with me for a second. Let's say the physicals, flesh and blood Jesus was still on this earth, do you know where he would be? In Israel, people.

So if you wanted to talk to Jesus today, you would have had boarded a flight yesterday and flown to Tel Aviv, which is literally an entire day of travel to get there. And when you got there, the airport would be so crowded you wouldn't even be able to get a cab to figure out where Jesus is because there will be about a billion other people on the earth trying to get an audience with Jesus to just ask him like, should I marry this person? Right? So the Holy Spirit in you is better than Jesus in front of you because wherever you are there He is. And you have access to all of the wisdom and all of the life and all of the holiness and all of the power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit wherever you go. Every believer can access the fullness of God wherever they are in this world. Whether you are in the darkest slum or in the most anointed worship service, you have access to God through the Holy Spirit who is in you.

And not only that, but you are literally living out the prayers of the Old Testament's heroes of faith. We read the Old Testament and we think, "Oh, again, if I could be like Moses and talk to God like that, I'd believe everything." Do you know what Moses prays? Moses replies, "I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His spirit on them." In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was only upon one or a few people at a time. But in Acts 2, after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon all flesh available to all people, not to just be upon you like Moses, to dwell within you, which is better. So if you can catch that revelation, he's not just upon you, He dwells within you. You have something Moses and David and Abraham never did, the Spirit of God inside of you who has raised you from the grave. You with me on that?

Sixth thing. You're doing great. If you're new, you're like, is it always like this? No. The Holy Spirit is our helper. The Holy Spirit is here to help you in anything that you need in your life. Catch this verse. This is Jesus speaking, talking about the Holy Spirit, "But the Comforter -- Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby -- the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My name, in My place to represent Me and act on My behalf." That's a lot. The Holy Spirit is a comforter. What do you think of when you think of the word comforter? When I think of it, I think of that blanket that goes on your bed that you're not allowed to touch. Doesn't matter how long Colleen and I are married, we always argue about the comforter, she always tells me that it's just for looks.

Okay. Can I just tell you, the Holy Spirit is not just for looks? He wants to wrap you up in Him and all of the sin and the brokenness of your life. He wants to get right in there with you and comfort you. Some of us are like, I got the Holy Spirit, He's just for looks. I never bother Him, I never touch Him, I never talk to Him. Come on, get your junk in there with Him, wrap it up. That's why He's there to help you. He's a counselor. Think of a counselor. Counselors are people that are wise. They ask good questions. They help us process and get to the bottom of things. He's a helper, He's an intercessor, He's praying for you on your behalf. He's an advocate. He's literally defending you. He's going to battle for you. He is literally pleading your case. Like He is right there with you in your brokenness. He strengthens you, He stands by you, He will never leave. He's your helper.

In fact, I love this next verse that says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness." We do not know what we ought to pray for; but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." This is saying, when you are literally at the end of the end, the Holy Spirit is still there helping you. When you don't know what to do and you don't know how to move forward and you feel like you can't go and you feel like you're ready to give up, the Holy Spirit is helping you in your weakness. He's literally praying for you, drawing your attention back to Jesus and who He is and what He has done. Come on, where do you need help? When was the last time you asked the Holy Spirit for help? You may have asked a friend for help, a parent for help, a relative for help, coach or teacher. When was the last time you said, Holy Spirit, in my grief, in this situation, in this circumstance, in this pain, would you please come and be a helper in my life?

He will. He's there to help us. And not only does He help us, He's our teacher and our guide. The Holy Spirit wants to teach you. He wants to guide you. Look what Jesus says again, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I've said to you." This verse, memorize it, it's mind blowing. Will teach you all things. In other words, the Holy Spirit will teach you everything you need to know and everything you want to know. Think of the good teachers in your life. Good teachers are amazing. They help us discover the how, the why and the way of anything in life. They show you the how, they show you the why it matters and they show you the way to do it.

It's a teacher that teaches you how to tie your shoes. It's a teacher that teaches you how to write your name. A teacher can teach you how to throw a ball, play a piano, make a sales deal, handle that conflicting situation, whatever it is, teachers show you the how, the why and the way. Well, the Holy Spirit has come to show you the how, the why and the way of the kingdom. He wants to show you how to practice the way of Jesus. And like a good teacher, He is so patient. When you mess up and don't get it and can't figure it out, He doesn't say, moving on. Let's try again. Let's try again. He will teach you how to forgive that person. He'll teach you how to have mental health and freedom. He'll teach you how to work through that situation or that problem or that scenario.

He will teach you any and everything you want to know about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Ask Him. When was the last time you asked the Holy Spirit to teach you something you yourself were unable to do or to know? And not only does He teach you, He guides you, Jesus says. But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth." It's amazing. The Spirit is literally there to guide you, to show you where to go, when to go, when to move forward, when to move back, went to go left, when to go right. He guides you through the valley of the shadow of death. He guides you into green pastures and still waters. It's the Holy Spirit that's guiding you, should you marry this person, should you take this job, should you move, should you join this team, should you do this activity, how you should respond, where you should go, what you should do. The spirit is literally there in every moment guiding you through this life. The problem is we forget that.

And the problem for us is we think every closed door, we like get angry at God for. And every open door, we forget to thank God for. In fact, in Acts16, there's a fascinating story. It says, "Paul wanted to go preach the gospel in Asia." You can read this on your own later. "But the Holy Spirit prevented him. Then he wanted to go to Bithynia to preach the gospel, but the Holy Spirit prevented him." Hang on a second, are we supposed to go preach the gospel of all nations? Yes. So why would the Holy Spirit stop him from two countries? I don't know. But I know the very next thing it says is, "Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia saying, 'Come preach the gospel to us,' and concluded that it was the Holy Spirit saying, 'go there.'" That's guiding. Sometimes He closes doors of good things so you can go to the best thing. Come on, can I just tell you right now, you are not stuck.

You haven't missed all your opportunities. This is not as good as it gets. You haven't reached your peak. Why? Because if the Holy Spirit is still your guide today, then the best of your life is in front of you and He is leading you into the fullness of the kingdom. So the I'm stuck, I missed my opportunities, it's all over, I'll never get it back, is a lie from the pit of hell if the Spirit of Truth is the one who's leading you. Truth. He's leading you away from sin, missing the mark, things of this world, to truth, the fullness of the life of the kingdom. He's a teacher and He's a guide. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit speaks. He speaks. He's God's voice in your life. Are you ready for this verse? So profound. "While they were worshipping and fast -- while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said." He speaks.

Can't argue with me on that one. The Holy Spirit said. He talks. He's God's voice in your life. He's the whisper of God. He's the still, small voice. He's the sense in your soul. He's the oppression. He is the dream. He is the vision. He is the voice of counsel through other people in your life. He is the voice that brings you peace. This is why we end almost every service by saying, what is the Holy Spirit saying to you? Because who cares what any person was saying? What matters was what was the Holy Spirit saying to you today. And here's what I love, while we're doing all of this, the Holy Spirit speaking this to this person and this to this person and this is for that person and this to you, which is exactly what you need to hear because the all-powerful, all-knowing God who has the ultimate personality, who wants to help you and strengthen you and teach you and guide you and knows everything that's happening in your life is speaking to you right now about what you need.

Come on, all Scripture is God-breathed. God-breathed, that's the Spirit of God. It's the Spirit of God that literally breathed the Scriptures into being. Jesus says, "The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life." And sometimes again, we sit and we think, if I could just talk to Moses, it would be so much better. Moses didn't even really write it. He's the ghost writer. He's like -- the Holy Spirit is the actual inspiration, the actual writer of the Scriptures so the same Spirit that wrote them is the same Spirit that is interpreting them to you today. When you read the Bible and a verse jumps off the page, smashes you in the face, that's the Holy Spirit. You're like, quick, turn the page, I didn't like that one, the Holy Spirit is like, no, that was the one. Let's talk about that one. That's the Holy Spirit. The same God that wrote them is the same God that is showing and unpacking and revealing them to you today.

He is speaking to you in Jesus' name. Are you with me on that? Because he's relational. We'll skip that one. Nine, the Holy Spirit is a unifier. He's a unifier. "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit." Alright. The unity of the Spirit. Flesh divides, Spirit unites. Exclamation point! It's the Spirit of God in me and the Spirit of God in you that are always drawing together. One body, the body of Jesus that was already torn apart on the cross. We're the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the one that's drawing us, uniting us. It's the Holy Spirit that teaches us how to forgive and reconcile and believe the best and honor and use words that build up instead of tear down.

It is the flesh that divides and gossips and slanders and is offended and refuses to forgive. One of the main values of our church is we pursue unity with everything we have. The reason for that is because we want to live a spirit-filled life. And you can't live a spirit-filled life without unity. It's a flesh-filled life that divides. So every time you get offended, every time you gossip, every time you slander, every time you refuse to forgive, just understand you're grieving the Holy Spirit Whom is God who dwells in you, who longs to unify us. You got to catch the gravity of that.

Every time. Every time you go on Facebook and want to create division over a restaurant you didn't like because they didn't bring your appetizer the way you wanted it to be, just understand that is not the Spirit, that's flesh. Every time you believe the worst about someone you've never even met that isn't even a follower of Jesus, that's not the Spirit, that's the flesh. The Spirit is a unifier that is drawing us together. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity. It is like oil running down the head." Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit who anoints us and unifies us, brings us together and empowers us for the life that God has for us. Flesh divides, Spirit unites! Exclamation point. So the next time someone in your orbit is dividing, being offended, unreconciling, slandering, gossiping, just call -- that's the flesh, bro.

That's the flesh, bro. If you don't like what I'm saying right now, that's the flesh, bro. Because unity is not possible without the Spirit. Unity of the Spirit, not unity of your preference. No one cares about your preference anyways, man. Just you care about it, no one else does. Unity of your opinions, no one cares. Like at some point in time, this is the humility I'm talking about in the series. You got to like get over yourself. It's pride that makes you think your opinion or your preference matters more than the unity of the Spirit. I'm just saying, this is the whole reason Jesus says, pick up your cross, follow me, die to yourself. No one cares about your opinion. Like if you wanted -- remember last week, I said what is -- how do you know if you're filled with the Holy Spirit? Dead serious.

If you want to know if you're filled with the Holy Spirit, this becomes a priority in your life at every turn. In fact, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, the next verse says, "All the believers were one." They're filled with the Holy Spirit, very next verse, they're one. Why? Because the Spirit is a unifying. He brings us together. Flesh divides, bro. That can be the quote of the day. Flesh divides, bro. Spirit unifies. And number ten, the Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry. At some point in time, you wake up and you realize you can only do so much in your own strength. At some point in time in your life, you wake up and you realize you can only get so far through striving, performing, struggling in your own strength with your own effort. And then you wake up and you realize, now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. And you realize God has given me His Spirit and empowered me to do the works He's prepared in advance for me to do, to destroy the works of the devil, to be fruitful and multiply, to make disciples of all nations, not for my good and my glory but for everyone else's good and for His glory.

This is why Jesus says, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses." The Spirit empowers you to be witnesses of Jesus, his kingdom, to tell the story of who God is and what He has done. The same way that the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus is how empowers you, to live a life of power and authority, bigger than yourself. But you'll never get to this belief if you don't start with point number one. That He's a person and he's God and He's all-knowing and all-powerful and everywhere and it goes through, which brings me to the summary of this whole thing. And it's this, the Holy Spirit just wants to have a relationship with you. If you read cover to cover in the Bible everything about the Holy Spirit, this will be the conclusion you will draw.

That the Holy -- Holy, set apart, other, different – Spirit, God himself, wants to have a relationship with you. He has the greatest personality in the universe. He is God himself. He can do anything at any time. He knows everything about everything and He is with you wherever you go. He's just like Jesus. He dwells inside of you. He wants to help you in any struggle or trial you have. He wants to teach you and guide you through this life. He is speaking to you everywhere you go. He wants to unify you with the body of Christ, the people of God, the kingdom itself. He wants to empower you to live a life bigger than yourself.

You have to know who he is before you have any desire to say, Holy Spirit, I invite you in. Because if you don't know who He is, you're just doing a vain repetition or a religious prayer. But when you catch who he is, it changes everything. This is the -- go all the way back with me to the story where we started and we close with this, Acts 19. Believers, they didn't even know who the Holy Spirit is. Paul tells them who the Holy Spirit is. On hearing this -- hearing what? Hearing who the Holy Spirit is, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus and when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. My prayer for you today is that on hearing this, hearing the ten truths of who the Spirit of the Living God is, would cause you to say, Holy Spirit, I invite you in because you are cut to the heart and have a humility and a hunger for more of Him.

So will you close your eyes with me? I know that was a lot today. But even by writing it down you just honored the Holy Spirit to say, I want to honor you for who you are and I want to know more about you. So can I just ask you, what is the Holy Spirit saying to you today? What is the Comforter saying? What is the Counselor asking? What is the Helper doing? The beautiful part about all this when we gather together, this is not just religion and human activity. We are gathering and the spirit is at work. As we lift up the name of Jesus, He changes us, heals us, empowers us from the inside out.

Holy Spirit, thank you for who you are, for what you do. Would you cut us to the heart that we would have a humility and a hunger for more of you in our life. May you be the most important and the most honored person in my heart? In Jesus' name we pray, amen.