Spirit Filled Jesus: Week 2
Are you ready to mature and see God change your family? In this Sunday’s sermon, “Maturity for Your Family”, you will learn how you can mature like Jesus did and have a family that fulfills their destiny.
Under the Control of the Holy Spirit
“I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.” Then John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and have borne witness that He is the Son of God.”John 1:31-34 MEV.
We know very little about Jesus’ life during His teens and twenties, but all that changes at His baptism. The baptism of Jesus Christ is so significant that it appears in all four of the New Testament Gospels.
This event was not Jesus receiving the Holy Spirit for the first time. In the previous chapters Luke clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit was intimately involved in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from the womb. Mary, His mother, conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, at every moment of His journey into human history through the womb of Mary, the Spirit was present in power with Jesus.
Jesus’ baptism was not where He received the Spirit, but rather it was a public event where the Father “revealed” to the crowd what Jesus already knew—that He lived in loving and constant relationship with God the Father and God the Spirit (John 1:31).
Since there is no authority higher than God the Father, His public validation was the highest validation possible to launch Jesus’ public ministry following His baptism. The presence of the Spirit like a dove reminds us of the days of Noah. In that day salvation from God’s wrath came through deliverance via a wooden boat carrying God’s people, and in Jesus’ day salvation from God’s wrath would come via a wooden cross carried by God Himself.
One of the primary purposes of Jesus’ baptism was to publicly announce that Jesus’ entire ministry— including preaching, healing, and delivering—would be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In John 1:32–33 John the Baptizer says, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him…he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” The language of the Spirit “coming to rest” and “remain” on Jesus reveals an ongoing, abiding, and relational presence where everything in Jesus’ life will be under the control and by the power of the Spirit.
Are you emotionally healthy?
Sometimes, it can seem as though our emotions make our decisions for us. When it comes to relationships with our spouse, friend, coworker, parent, child, or enemy, it is important to ask the question: Am I emotionally healthy?
In today’s Ask Pastor Mark Video, I discuss the importance of being emotionally healthy and how we can learn from the Spirit-Filled life of Jesus.
And if you have a question you’d like answered, email it to [email protected] today!
Are You Living Your Eternal Life Today?
“LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how transient I am. Indeed, You have made my days as a handbreadth, and my age is as nothing before You; indeed every man at his best is as a breath.” Selah. Surely every man walks in a mere shadow; surely he goes as a breath; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them. Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
– Psalm 39:4-7 MEV
Here’s a question for you: when does eternal life begin?
Is eternal life a duration of life that only begins once you die? If so, then Christianity is about dying and not much about living. Christianity is, therefore, something for old people to think about at the finish line and nothing for young people to fret about at the starting line. This may explain why churches are filled with grandparents but not their grandchildren.
On the other hand, is eternal life a quality of life that starts at the moment of your salvation, infects and effects all of your life, and culminates at your death? If so, then Christianity is about living a new life from the moment you meet Jesus and receive His Spirit that continues forever and ever. If eternal life is the Spirit-filled life of Jesus empowering your entire life, then any day lived any other way is a wasted day.
I believe in heaven. I look forward to heaven. I hope that in my resurrection body my hair will not be as thin as it is right now, venturing home to be with the Lord before the rest of me. I hope that my current two-inch vertical leap will be replaced by the ability to dunk a basketball and that when I sing it will not sound as if I was captured by al Qaeda as is currently the case. In heaven, I also look forward to skateboarding on the streets of gold and discovering what a perfect cheeseburger actually tastes like.
Even if there were no heaven, I would want to be a Christian solely for the benefits in this life. If I died and became nothing more than mulch, or if everyone went to hell including me, I would still want to know Jesus and be filled with the Spirit in this life because it is the only way to truly live.
The Spirit-filled life with Jesus is so wonderful that even one day of it makes life worth living. In the next chapter we will learn what this looks like for you and your family.
Spirit Filled Jesus: Week 1
Are you wearing down and needing to plug in to God’s power? In this Sunday’s sermon, “Spirit-Filled Jesus”, you will learn the secret to Jesus’ life and how you can live by His power!
What Are You Thinking About?
And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if through the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
– Romans 8:10-14 MEV.
What keeps you awake at night, causes you stress during the day, and floods your mind before your feet hit the floor in the morning?
Most of the time you are thinking about you, right? Then you go to church for an hour a few times a month and get frustrated with God because it doesn’t seem as if He’s doing enough to help you. Meanwhile, the worship leader sings about His goodness, the preacher reminds you of His promises, and you go home wondering what you are missing.
You think too much about yourself. You don’t think about Jesus enough. The best thing for you to do is first think about Jesus and pick up a book that helps you learn about Spirit-help. Self-help is no help. Spirit-help is serious help. The Holy Spirit helped Jesus and wants to help you.
Have you ever examined your life in light of these questions: How did Jesus Christ live His life and leave His legacy? If Jesus were living my life, what would He be doing and how would He be doing it? That’s the key that unlocks the rest of your life.
I want Christ to live His life through you! I invite you to have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit just as Jesus did.
Think deeply about the Spirit-filled life of Jesus so that you can then live by His power. The order is crucial and biblical— first, think about Jesus and then, think about you. This insight from Luke has changed my life, family, and ministry, and I know it will do the same for you if you submit to the Spirit as we walk through the Scriptures in these next few days.
John #34 – Push Through the Pain: John 16:1-33
Have you faced seemingly insurmountable odds and were doomed to defeat? Jesus understands. Hours before His death on the cross, it seemed like the world was winning and God was losing. Jesus reminds us that in the end, Team Jesus wins! Until the final victory for Team Jesus, we are reminded that all the pain in life is like a momma who brings new life into the world through the courage to push through the pain.
The Answer to Loneliness is a Personal Relationship with the Holy Spirit
John 14:18-23 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
Many people know the pain of being abandoned. A parent died or left when they were little. A spouse walked out of the marriage and never looked back. A friendship that felt deep suddenly disappeared. The loneliness of being abandoned is one of the most painful experiences anyone can endure.
Does God abandon us?
Jesus knew that the answer to that question was one that our hurt hearts needed to hear. God is in heaven; we are on earth. Jesus came down to be with us and build a relationship with us. People of the world hate and disobey Jesus. People of the Kingdom love and obey Jesus. Knowing He would soon die, rise, and return to Heaven, Jesus anticipated that those of us who love Him and are left in this world might feel abandoned as “orphans”.
Jesus promised that God’s presence would continue with God’s people. This is why God the Holy Spirit descended upon His people after Jesus ascended to heaven.
God is relational. The Father, Son, and Spirit have lived together in perfect love for all eternity without beginning or end. And, by having a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit you can enjoy the presence of God in your life and live like an adored child rather than an abandoned orphan. When Jesus returned to heaven, He went to prepare a place for you and sent the Spirit to help you and lead you Home.
What things in your life (e.g. folly, rebellion, laziness) are possibly hindering your personal relationship with the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is Helpful
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. – John 14:13-17
Have you ever been with someone as they were dying? When someone is near death, the final things they say to those they love are the things that matter most to them. In such moments, there is no time for idle chatting. Each word is measured, because it matters.
On the brink of his death on the cross, Jesus gives a glimpse into the Trinity. Jesus says that as the “Son” He will be returning to the “Father” after His resurrection. Furthermore, they will send the “Spirit” to live in God’s people as their “Helper”. Jesus’ point is that we can live by the same power that He did and get the same help that He had.
The Holy Spirit is the most underutilized power source in the world. This explains why we are weak, weary, and wounded. This explains why we are broken, burdened, and battered. How can you live by the Spirit’s power as your Helper?
Believe in Jesus and trust in that relationship as the anchor for your entire life.
Align with God’s will and seek the will of God no matter what it is.
Ask God to help you love Him by obeying Him since love is what you do.
Jesus promises that if these three things are present in our life, the Holy Spirit will come as our Helper as He was Jesus’ Helper. While on the earth in His humanity, Jesus needed help, so don’t feel bad when you need help. When you need help don’t settle for self-help, but strive for the Spirit’s help.
Jesus does not want you to merely admire His life, He also invites you to experience it through the powerful presence of the person of the Spirit. It’s great to ask, “What would Jesus do?” But, it’s of no help unless we also ask, “How would Jesus do it?” The answer is by the power of the Helper! The ministry of the Spirit is to make you like Jesus!
Where in your life today do you need the Helper to help you? Spend some time today inviting the Holy Spirit to help you in very specific ways as your Helper.
Is Your Heart Troubled Today?
Christians love clichés.
When God closes a window, He opens a door.
God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.
Your setback is God’s way of setting you up for your comeback!
The intent may be good, but many Christian clichés are simply trite sayings for troubled souls.
Why?
Some Christians seem to think that if you are troubled, struggling, and having a rough patch that there is something wrong with you. To be sure, once we get to heaven every day will be a good day. In the meantime, Jesus was clear in John 16:33 that, “In this world you will have trouble.”
It is not a sin to be troubled; although Jesus never sinned, He was troubled. We read in John 13:21, “Jesus was troubled in his spirit”. Just a few verses later, He then invites us saying in John 14:1, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”
Only days before the cross, Jesus was emotionally wrestling with what He faced. He stopped and took the time to emotionally empathize with and minister to His followers who too had troubled hearts.
There are three important life lessons here. One, it’s good and godly to be honest about our own struggles as Jesus was. Two, when we are struggling we can become selfish and so consumed with our troubles that we overlook the troubles of others. Three, when we are struggling, we are often in the best position to be a servant and minister to others who are also suffering and troubled. This is precisely what Jesus did. He was honest about His own troubled heart and ministered to the troubled hearts of others.
How is your heart today? Who is in front of you today who has a troubled heart and needs to be ministered to?
Should my ex-girlfriend and I go to the same church?
Breakups are always awkward and can be painful… now imagine you and your ex-girlfriend is going to the same small town church as you!
Today, I am talking about navigating small church dynamics and how men are supposed to treat women like their sisters.
And if you have a question you’d like answered, email it to [email protected] today!
John #31 – A Personal Relationship with the Holy Spirit: John 14:12-31
What do you need help with today? When Jesus needed help, He went to the Holy Spirit. Jesus also promised to send the Spirit as our Helper. Learn about how to have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit as Jesus does, and get the same helpful power that empowered the earthly life of Jesus Christ.