Grace Community Church: Painted Post, Corning

Jesus took our sin upon himself, and he gave us his precious Holy Spirit to empower us say no to sin and to live unto God. Jesus lived a scandal-filled life so that we might live a Spirit-filled life.

Jesus came not only to save our souls, he came to save our stories. Let’s believe Jesus, ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit, and live our stories to the glory of God!

Those who believe in the promise of God to do what we couldn’t do, who trust in Jesus to save us from our sin and for eternity, those are children of promise.

As we eagerly desire the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, let’s remember that His passion is to lift up and glorify Christ in our midst – so that believers draw nearer to Christ and unbelievers might come to know Jesus and be saved.

The Holy Spirit gives believers gifts, but if we don’t know what those gifts are or what to do with them, they might sit unused in our lives. As we consider the gifts of the Spirit, my hope is that this message inspires us to use our gifts for the glory of God.

Through Christ we have been made children of God and citizens of the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit is working in us every day to empower us to be who we are and live life, not out of the flesh but out of the new nature the Spirit has given us.

We want to pursue the gifts and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit. It’s the Spirit that gives us the gifts, it’s the Spirit that bears the fruit in us. But the Bible – and Paul – makes it clear that we are to pursue eagerly the gifts and allow the Holy Spirit to work on our character, cultivating love, patience, gentleness, joy, and other fruits of the Spirit.

Do you wonder, why am I here? What difference will my life make? God says, I want your life to make a difference, not just for time, but for eternity. I can do that through you! Keep in step with My Spirit by sowing to the Spirit.

We need to promote the truth by the power of the Spirit not by the power of the flesh. The flesh can say truth too, and in that moment the truth becomes a devourer of people, not a builder up of people.

With eyes of faith we begin to see God working in the ordinary moments of our lives. There’s no formula, life is messy. But we are coming at it from a different direction: the direction of faith. The direction of the Spirit.

Maybe you find yourself in what looks to be a hopeless place. You don’t see a way out. You don’t see a glimmer of hope. You think that loved one is too far gone to ever come to Christ. Your doctor called with news that has gripped your heart with fear. You have too much debt, you don’t have a job, your marriage is falling apart, you’re alienated from your kids. Whatever it is, it may look hopeless to you but it’s not hopeless to God.

God is very real and very much working in the world today. And no matter how put together people may look on the surface, we live in a broken world and there’s a lot of brokenness behind the curtains.

The book of Acts is all about the church filled with the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. Paul writes chapters about cultivating and pursuing the gifts of the Spirit. He writes to be filled with the Spirit, and he urges us to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit.

God searches and knows us through and through. Inviting God to search us and know us doesn’t actually change anything about God’s searching or knowing, but it does change our heart position. Instead of trying to hide from God, instead of trying to cloak our sins, we ask God to shine His light on us, so that we live life His way rather than our way.

When Jesus receives us into glory, made possible through his death and resurrection, all the wrongs, all the pain, all the suffering, even all the stains and regrets of our own sin will not only be forgiven, they will be reversed.

Whether we know it or not, whether we believe it or not, what our hearts crave most is God and His great goodness.

How do we battle fear? Not by focusing on fear, but by focusing on our awesome God. The goal isn’t fearlessness, the goal is confidence in God. God-confidence. Then we can say, of whom, and of what, shall I be afraid?

God is still great and powerful! He is still doing great things! We can believe that with confidence and pray that with confidence.