Wild & Free: The Upgrade

May 30th, 2021/Riverside & Lookout

Story: Do you want an upgrade? Do you need an upgrade?

Trip to a conference where my rental got upgraded for FREE. I went from a Leaf to a Mustang! It was a gift! The part I haven’t told you yet, is that the Spirit told me I was getting an upgrade. We were talking, and He whispered… I got you. Wait and see.

How many of you are in a season of wait and see. You see, even though I couldn’t see what the man behind the counter was typing, I could hear what the Spirit was speaking. Now why would the Spirit care about a rental car? Because the Spirit cares about all the details of your life.

Intro Series: Wild & Free

Notice we didn’t title the series Weird & Freaky. The subject of the Holy Spirit in many churches today has become taboo. You find extremes, some are too intellectual to step into the miraculous and some are too crazy to get grounded in Scripture.

John 4:24 says “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” Some people would rather live in misery than mystery. There’s something scary about the unknown and supernatural, but there’s also something dangerous about the comfortable. I want to step into the wild!

The Holy Spirit is not the weird uncle Gary that everyone is nervous will show up to the Christmas party. People often associate the supernatural with being weird, but if you’ve ever experienced a supernatural move of God in your life, it’s not that it is weird, but it is wild!

Now who doesn’t love wild uncle Rod? Everyone seems to have an uncle Rod. I do as well and he’s the best! He’s the life of the party, brings so much joy and fun to the room, and nobody is embarrassed by uncle Rod.

And finally, freedom. In 2nd Corinthians 3:17 it says “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” In that passage the freedom comes when someone turns to the Lord and the veil is taken away. Here’s how we apply it: as we follow the Spirit into the wild, unknown, and supernatural, there is freedom on the other side. We want to walk in the Spirit, be guided and led by the Spirit, so that we can experience Freedom in our lives!

Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:16 & 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 CSB

16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

Pray:

Title: The Upgrade

Big Idea:

Our desire over the next 5 weeks is to teach you some core doctrines of the Holy Spirit and help you see that He wants to do something miraculous in your life.

Main Points: The Holy Spirit is a...

1. Person
   1. 16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
   2. “In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22
   3. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” Genesis 1:2

   4. In this verse “you” is the whole church together: God’s Spirit lives in His people. He is not a force, energy, vibe, feeling, or thing, but He is God

      1. It is hard to develop a personal relationship with someone you don’t see as a person!
      2. This gets understandably confused and misunderstood because of how we talk about the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity
      3. God the Father - Provider
      4. God the Son - Savior
      5. God the Holy Spirit - Helper

      6. One God - Three Persons. Co-equal, but distinct.

         6. Eras of the trinity - not good theology

      7. Thinking of the persons as 1, 2, and 3

      8. Thinking about the 3rd option

         7. The Holy Spirit is omniscient (infinite understanding), omnipresent (everywhere at the same time), omnipotent (unlimited power), and eternal (not bound by time and matter)

      9. “Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:10-11

         8. The Hebrew word for the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is RUACH. The word is literally translated as breath but also used in instances as wind. It is what gives life. The Greek word for Spirit in the New Testament has a similar translation; that word is Pneuma.
         9. 19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

      10. Personal

          1. He possesses emotions, intellect, and will.
          2. He spoke to Philip and gave counsel to the church at Jerusalem. He was sinned against and lied to.
          3. He creates and makes creative
          4. He comforts and carries us in our weakness
          5. He guides and leads
          6. He regenerates and brings about rebirth
          7. He sanctifies through conviction of our sins
          8. He is in tune with every detail of our lives! He sealed our salvation, he fills us to serve and carry out the mission of God, and He empowers us to live a Spirit filled life!
          9. Illust: Open the Door

      11. You may not be coming to the door. You may be a door blocker. Or you may be the house monitor.

      12. Let the Holy Spirit in and let Him do the work that only HE can do! Let HIM into your HOUSE! LET IT BECOME HIS HOUSE!
      13. It is as if the Spirit says, “If I can raise a dead body to life, what makes you think I don’t know what’s best for your body?! If I can create something out of nothing, what makes you think I can’t work in your life?”

      14. Present

          1. 19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.
          2. Paul’s point here is that your body belongs to God, so honor Him with it. Here’s how I’d apply that: the Holy Spirit is on you, in you, and WITH YOU.
          3. Are you listening?
          4. Story: Call to Riverside - Talk with Nicholas
          5. Specific & General Will of God

      15. You see, there is a specific will of God for your life and there is a general will of God in your life.

      16. If you want to know the general will of God, read your Bible and obey!
      17. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16 *GOD BREATHED
      18. The bible can tell you how to be married, how marriage is defined, but it doesn’t tell you who to marry.
      19. If you need specific answers to the specific will of God, then you need to listen to the Holy Spirit and put counsel around you to affirm and confirm what you are hearing.
      20. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” - John 14:16
      21. You can be both faithful to the Word and experience the power of the Holy Spirit.

Closing: There is an upgrade we need to receive in our lives. Every believer already has the gift of the Holy Spirit. So we ask Him to fill us, and we walk in step with Him.

Walking Points:

1. Talk to Him
2. Yield to Him
3. And watch Him work!