Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] You're listening to a live recording from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon. Thanks for joining us.
[00:00:06] Hi, everyone.
[00:00:08] How's it going today?
[00:00:10] I'm freezing. I am not rejoicing at snow. Am I the minority?
[00:00:15] Thank you. I run cold. Okay. Anyways, my name is Lindsay Parnell. I'm the associate pastor here. And it's so good to be together today as we continue our series called Good Questions. And I'm loving this because it's normalizing. Asking question.
[00:00:32] It's normalizing and encouraging curiosity as a part of our growing in faith. And so we're going to continue that today.
[00:00:40] If you've been here for any length of time, you have prayed our benediction at the end of a Sunday service. Many of you may know it by heart. It's out of Ephesians, chapter three. And it begins like this.
[00:00:53] I pray that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. You know, we just sang together one of my favorite worship songs. Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. When we sing these worship songs about the Spirit, when we pray our benediction to be strengthened with power through his spirit, do we know what we're praying? Do we know what we're asking? Do we know who we're inviting?
[00:01:28] Who are we welcoming?
[00:01:30] You know, I'm from Albuquerque, New Mexico, originally, and my family still has a house down there that's rented out from time to time. And we don't know who comes to stay. When they rent it out, they, you know, can rent it online, anonymously, whatever. And then they come and, you know, there's some mysterious messes. You guys, kind of gross.
[00:01:50] Some interesting items are left. We don't know what to do with them. Some interesting items are taken.
[00:01:57] Why would you take that? I don't know, but you did. Okay. And it happens because we don't know, right? We don't know who's coming to this house. If we did, you know, it would be a different story. But the same applies here. Who are we inviting? Who are we welcoming? What is the Holy Spirit?
[00:02:15] Let's pray together.
[00:02:17] Holy Spirit, you are welcome here.
[00:02:19] We invite you. We invite your work. We invite your voice, your leading, your guiding.
[00:02:25] You're shaping and you're transforming. Have your way in this place. Holy Spirit, may we hear from you today.
[00:02:31] May we be compelled, Lord, to take action, to lean on you, increase our awareness of you. We pray in Jesus name.
[00:02:41] Amen.
[00:02:42] In John, chapter 14, Jesus says these words, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to be with you forever. This is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you and he will be in you. I have said these things to you while I'm still with you. But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of. Of all that I have said to you. Now, the context of Jesus saying these things is the last Supper.
[00:03:25] This is the last meal that Jesus will have with his friends before he goes to the cross. And the disciples are left to grieve in bewilderment, wondering what is next, grieving the death of their friend and the man who they thought was the Messiah. And Jesus is aware of this. You know, when he can share anything during this meal.
[00:03:46] But this passage out of John 14 is what he chooses.
[00:03:51] I think of the weightier conversations that take place in our lifetime. I think of deathbed confessions, madly in love with you. Confessions, baby announcements, wedding vows. These are the moments where we know what we say matters.
[00:04:06] We choose our words on purpose. You know, when I was writing my wedding vows to Eric, I went for a drive.
[00:04:14] I parked at the base of Pilot Butte and I had my pen and my paper. So old school, I know.
[00:04:20] And I wrote out my vows and I took time and I thought about it and I thought about our future and what I wanted our life to be together. And the words I said and I chose mattered so much. And the same is happening here with Jesus. He's saying these things to his disciples on purpose and for a reason. And the information he chooses to share is, you'll not be left alone.
[00:04:45] I'm sending someone for you. He promises us the Holy Spirit.
[00:04:52] Now, the Holy Spirit can be the most difficult member of the Trinity to understand.
[00:04:57] We serve a triune God. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And for God, we have a framework. We. We can read about God and scripture, how he works and moves Jesus. We have a framework. We have the Gospels, Praise the Lord. We can read all about the life of Jesus. But with Holy Spirit, it's a little more mysterious.
[00:05:18] Scripture uses words like breath and wind and power, a dove. It's a little bit harder to get a concrete framework for the Holy Spirit. And when I say, you know, we're talking about the Holy Spirit today, many of you might go to your personal experience. Perhaps you're from a very charismatic movement, and you immediately go to some Wild and crazy church services.
[00:05:44] Or perhaps you're more from a mainline tradition. Your experience with the Holy Spirit is something completely different.
[00:05:50] And can I tell you today that I have experienced the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit in some of the most charismatic church services you can imagine.
[00:06:00] And I have experienced the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in a tiny Catholic retreat center with fluorescent lighting and bright red carpet and not an instrument to be found.
[00:06:11] The Holy Spirit is not confined to our comfort.
[00:06:15] He's not confined to our temperament. He's not confined to one denomination or one expression of faith. The Holy Spirit can move however the Holy Spirit chooses. And why is that?
[00:06:27] Because the Holy Spirit is the personal presence of God.
[00:06:32] Our question today is, what is the Holy Spirit? But the question should actually be, who is the Holy Spirit? And the Holy Spirit is God. He has always been and he will always be.
[00:06:46] For many of us, when we think of the Spirit, our minds go to Acts, chapter two, the day of Pentecost. The holy spirits are waiting in the upper room and. Or did I say the holy Spirits?
[00:06:57] Wow. I say that word a lot during this sermon, so forgive me. The disciples are waiting in the upper room for the Holy Spirit to be poured out. And that's where our minds go. And that's a beautiful, important day.
[00:07:10] It impacts us today.
[00:07:13] But the work of the Holy Spirit started long before that day, before the dawn of creation. On page one, Genesis, chapter one, verse two, the Old Testament uses the Hebrew word ruach for the Holy Spirit. And in Genesis 1, the ruach of God hovered over the waters. And that word is used 399more times. In the Old Testament, the Spirit was added active and at work.
[00:07:42] All throughout Scripture we see the same Spirit that hovered over the waters before the dawn of creation is the same Spirit that met Jesus in the waters of baptism.
[00:07:57] And in Matthew, chapter three, we read of the baptism of Jesus. And as he comes up out of the water, we read that the heavens opened, that the Holy Spirit descended as a dove, and the audible voice of the Father proclaimed proclaims the belovedness of Jesus. What a beautiful trinitarian moment that we see here. But it's from this moment, on, after, after we see the Holy Spirit fall, that the ministry of Jesus begins. And Luke tells us that Jesus is now full of the Holy Spirit. He's led by the Spirit. He returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Jesus stands in the synagogue proclaiming, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me.
[00:08:44] Now in Jesus we have the perfect example of a life lived filled with, anointed by and led by the Spirit.
[00:08:53] You know, there are so many times maybe you're like me, where I think, man, I wish I just could have been there.
[00:08:59] I really wish I could have walked with Jesus. I really wish I could have seen him raise Lazarus from the dead and stand in the synagogue proclaiming, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. I wish I could have given Jesus a hug. How incredible would that have been, man? I think the disciples, they just had it so much easier. They didn't have to, you know, live my faith. Not by sight, they got to actually see it.
[00:09:26] But the truth is it's actually better that Jesus went. Jesus himself says it in John chapter 16. He says it's better that he goes, why? Because he's sending us the Holy Spirit.
[00:09:40] Christians today actually have it better, according to Jesus.
[00:09:45] Not just because of the Holy Spirit, I think also because of indoor plumbing and women's rights. So praise the Lord.
[00:09:53] Yes, praise God.
[00:09:56] But more importantly, the Holy Spirit. We have it so much better.
[00:10:02] The same Spirit, the personal presence of God is available to us.
[00:10:08] This is an invitation into something good and life giving right here and right now.
[00:10:17] N.T. wright said, the victory of the cross clears the darkness out of the way. So that in John 20:22, so that as in John 20:22, the Spirit can come and indwell Jesus followers, energizing them for their life of mission and holiness. This life is the active manifestation in our present human existence of the power, the energy of God, the Creator. God now comes afresh into the world as the re Creator. Giving life where there was none.
[00:10:55] Giving life where there is none, is none.
[00:10:58] That is the work of the Holy Spirit here among us today.
[00:11:02] Giving life, newness, redeeming.
[00:11:07] This is not a someday thing. This is not a when we achieve a milestone of our faith, whatever the heck that means. It's also not when we finally get our act together. No. The Holy Spirit, the power, the renewing, the life giving presence of the Holy Spirit is available to us.
[00:11:27] And the Holy Spirit doesn't only bring us life, but the Holy Spirit forms us into the image of Christ.
[00:11:35] Second Peter 1:3 says his divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness. And that word power that Peter uses in that scripture is the same word power that Jesus uses In Acts chapter 1:8, when he says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. See? Same same. It is the power and the work of the Holy Spirit that transforms us. That is what the Holy Spirit does.
[00:12:04] It's not by our own strength, our own might, but the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is mysterious, like we've said. It's hard to have a framework, you know, and it's hard sometimes to recognize his work.
[00:12:18] You know, how can we tell? Is God doing this? Is this God? I'm not really sure. I don't know. And Paul actually gives.
[00:12:24] Gives us a very tangible picture of what a spirit filled life looks like. In Galatians, Chapter 5, we read about the fruit of the spirit.
[00:12:36] Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
[00:12:50] This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you're wondering if something is God or not, look for the fruit. Look at the fruit. Is this making me more loving? Is this making me more kind? What is coming out of that situation? Is it vitriol? Is it hate? Am I spewing stuff? Am I perpetuating problems? Or am I cultivating this beautiful, wonderful, highly sought after?
[00:13:13] If you look at people today, not just Christians, they want more love, they need more peace. They're hurting. They're dying for this stuff. And this is what is available by the work of the Holy Spirit. Is it making me more patient, more kind? The Holy Spirit forms the life of Jesus in us. The Holy Spirit leads us into. I'm reminded of scripture that Pastor Evan used last week. 2 Corinthians 6. Paul says, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide open space, spacious life. That is where the Holy Spirit is leading us. A wide open and spacious life. You guys, this is not something that we just believe about God.
[00:13:57] This is not just words on a page.
[00:13:59] This is an invitation into a life with God.
[00:14:05] We say yes to this, we're changed. The Holy Spirit transforms us. We say yes to this, Our lives look different in the very best way. I think of my friend Leslie. She. I think she's here. Hey, girl.
[00:14:20] She went on the trip to Scotland with a few others from our church. In August, they did the St. Cuthbert's pilgrimage. And I asked her if I could share the story.
[00:14:30] But basically, you know, each day they're walking a certain number of miles to get to the end. And there were three days where something very specific sat with Leslie. And these are things that she's kind of dealt with her entire life. So on the first day it was fear.
[00:14:47] On the second day it was loneliness.
[00:14:50] And on the third day it was sadness.
[00:14:53] And then the fourth day, what came to her mind was the Hebrew words, ruach hakodesh which means Holy spirit wind.
[00:15:03] That fourth day they walked 18 miles and she said the wind blew the whole time and she felt the peace of the Holy Spirit. Praise God, she said. Those three things have trailed me really closely for most of my life.
[00:15:20] While they are still present, they aren't right behind me, tapping me on the shoulder, constantly reminding me of their presence or dictating decisions I make.
[00:15:30] This is the work of the Holy Spirit, friends. It leads us into better, good, wide open places in our lives. And you don't have to go to Scotland to encounter the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord. You can right here, right now, today. But the work of the Holy Spirit doesn't stop there.
[00:15:47] It was never intended for just me, myself and I as an individual. We don't circle the wagons and talk about how good God has been to me. Look at all the things God is doing for me. No, it is always. The work of the Holy Spirit is always and forever for others.
[00:16:04] Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, the church is the church only when it exists for others.
[00:16:10] And so what God is doing in me and through me is yes, of course it's awesome. When we worship God, we sing these songs praising and thanking God for everything he's doing in our hearts and lives. But it's also so that we can be the city on a hill.
[00:16:27] We could be a light in a dark place. And this is not so. People will get their act together and behave better and believe rightly. It's because there's an abundant life that the Holy Spirit has for not just us, but for the world.
[00:16:42] John 3:16 says, God so loved this world, he loves it so much that the Holy Spirit is working and active all the time, constantly at work, redeeming, restoring, renewing. And as the church, as a person who has experienced the life changing power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, my role now is to say, open my eyes, God, to where you are already at work.
[00:17:12] What are you doing and how can I join you? What are you doing in my workplace? What are you doing in my family? What are you doing in my neighbor's life? How can I join in into this wide open, adventurous life proclaiming the goodness that you have for us? It's not a restraining, confining life, friends. It is wide open, abundant and filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Why would we keep that to ourselves?
[00:17:42] Why would we ever keep that to ourselves?
[00:17:45] There is a hurting world.
[00:17:49] They need it, they want it, and we have it.
[00:17:55] A city on a hill that cannot be hidden.
[00:17:59] You know when we look at Pentecost, we say, that's when the Spirit was given to the church.
[00:18:04] But I think that's when the church was given to the Spirit.
[00:18:09] And now we get to say, where are you going? What are you doing? How can I follow you? How can I join in? Let's go.
[00:18:15] Let's go. This is all goodness and abundance.
[00:18:20] How can we join in?
[00:18:22] One way that comes to my mind is our prayer cards. This has become a very meaningful practice for me and maybe many of you.
[00:18:33] Every Monday morning, me and some of the staff, we come in and we pray over these needs, these very real, very heavy needs of our community. Although it makes me cry every time, there's. There's everything up there from like, please, God, be with me on my family vacation and please, you know, comfort our hearts, our dog died, to I've been diagnosed with cancer for a third time, or I've miscarried, or it is. It is the whole array of the human experience up there. And our staff comes in and we pray and we say, God, what are you doing? Where are you? At work? How can we join in? Let us join you in your work by praying. And would you continue to work and move, restore, redeem. Can we see the fruit of your Holy Spirit in each and every one of these requests? In the lives of the people who are vulnerable to write it down. Holy Spirit, would you work and move?
[00:19:25] And that is how we can say, God, open my eyes. Let me join in. We join in through prayer, supplication, bringing the needs of our community before God.
[00:19:38] You know, words can only do so much to describe the mystery of the Holy Spirit. Try as we might, theologians write books, early church mothers and fathers had whole councils. They would meet for days and days trying to get the language correct. Who is this God that we're serving? Who is the Holy Spirit? How do we talk about these things? Where do we land? Doctrinally, it's hard to do. You know, the early Celtics, the imagery they had for the Holy Spirit was a wild goose.
[00:20:11] Isn't that funny? Just think of, like, a loud, disruptive presence. That was. The imagery they brought to the Holy Spirit was a wild goose. It's hard to articulate.
[00:20:22] We try our best, but theology and teaching can only get us so far.
[00:20:28] At some point, we have to say Amen.
[00:20:33] At some point, faith and trust have to come into play.
[00:20:39] I think of trust falls. Did anyone ever do those? I did.
[00:20:42] Just me. Cool.
[00:20:45] My daughter, she's nine and in the fourth grade, and she came home with a Permission slip that I would sign to be okay with her going to boot camp. Does that alarm anyone else? I was like, I'm sorry, she's nine. What? What are we doing?
[00:20:59] They need to rebrand. It was just like team building exercises. It was fine and she had a bl.
[00:21:04] But she comes home and she's like, mom, I did the trust fall? And I was like, you did? That's awesome. Tell me about it. She's like, yeah, I did it twice. I was like, that's great. They caught you, right? And she's like, yeah. Well, on the second time she falls, she's like, they caught me, but then they dropped me. And I was like, what? That's terrible. Are you okay? And will you have trust issues for the rest of your life? I really pray not.
[00:21:30] Obviously that's not this. The Holy Spirit is not going to drop us once we say yes to trusting, but we gotta say yes to trusting, to taking that step of faith.
[00:21:42] NT Wright wrote, but of course, the first day of Pentecost and the experience of God's spirit from that day to this can no more be reduced to theological formulae and interesting Old Testament echoes. Then you can reduce a hurricane to a list of diagrams on a meteorologist's chart. It's important that someone somewhere is tracking the hurricane and telling us what it's doing. But when it comes to Pentecost, it's far more important that you're out there in the wind, letting it sweep through your life, your heart, your imagination, your powers of speech, and let it transform you from a listless or lifeless believer into someone whose heart is on fire with the love of God.
[00:22:34] It is one thing to explain the wind, to talk about the wind, but it is something completely different to step outside and let it move you.
[00:22:44] And that's what I would like to invite us into today.
[00:22:47] I want to give us the chance to respond. So if you would. Would you close your eyes and bow your heads and if today you're saying, yes, I'm ready to trust, I'm ready to take a step of faith. I want the Holy Spirit. I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
[00:23:05] Would you just open your palms and rest them on your lap as just kind of a posture of receiving.
[00:23:13] Holy Spirit.
[00:23:16] Thank you.
[00:23:18] Thank you for your work, for your leading, your guiding, your counsel, your comfort.
[00:23:25] I ask, Holy Spirit, would you fill every. In this person, every person in this room who wants it?
[00:23:31] Would you pour yourself out, Holy Spirit, fill us once again.
[00:23:38] Fill us for the first time receive the Holy Spirit, God we ask, would you open our eyes to your work in our world?
[00:23:54] Would you show us where you're already moving because of your great love for us and would you help us, God, to partner with you in that?
[00:24:04] Show us, God, how we can join in what an exciting adventure we're saying yes to today.
[00:24:12] Thank you for your work. We welcome you. We invite you to continue to do it.
[00:24:20] Church I want to take a minute and I want to pray for our prayer cards. I want to join with what the Holy Spirit is doing. So would you agree with me in prayer?
[00:24:28] God, we lift up every single need, every single request on that wall, from the heaviest of situations to everyday needs. God, would you move? Holy Spirit, would you intervene? Would the fruit of your Holy Spirit be so abundant in the lives and in the situations of every single request on that wall? Have your way. Holy Spirit, we pray.
[00:24:55] Move in the hearts. We pray for reconciliation between families. We pray for healing, for every cancer diagnosis that is on that wall.
[00:25:05] We pray for comfort for hearts. We pray for your leading and your guiding. May we see where you're going, God? Would you guide everyone who's questioning where they should go, the direction they should go? Would you speak, Holy Spirit, Would you open our ears to hear and our eyes to see? And we ask, Lord, that you would continue to move and work in the very real needs of our community. God, we thank you. We partner with you.
[00:25:33] Thank you, God.
[00:25:35] Thank you, God.
[00:25:37] Lord, we give every need to you, whether it's written down or not. Holy Spirit, we surrender.
[00:25:44] We invite you to continue your work.
[00:25:47] In Jesus name I pray.
[00:25:50] Amen.
[00:25:52] Amen.
