Why Christianity is a Supernatural Spirit-Filled Religion

6 · The pastor directs the congregation to Exodus 3 and reads the account of God appearing to Moses in the burning bush, emphasizing God's self-revelation as fire that burns but does not consume and the holiness that marks His presence

Now, I want you to turn. I'm going to have you flip around a little bit today. I'm warning you. And if you don't want to flip around, that's fine. We'll have a lot of these on the screen behind me. But if you can go to Exodus chapter three very briefly with me, maybe keep your finger on in acts chapter two and go to Exodus chapter three. Very familiar story, exodus three. Two, Moses. And Moses looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside to see this great sight. Why the bush is not burned. When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses. And he said, here I am. And then he said, do not come near. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 · The pastor explains the significance of God's self-revelation as fire—fire is unique, useful, beautiful, helpful, but untamed

Now pause here. We're familiar with this story, but the question is, why this revelation of God? Why appear as fire that burns and yet does not consume? This is an intentional revelation of who God is. Although no mere element of creation can capture who God is, fire helps us understand some things, doesn't it? Fire is unique in creation. Fire is useful. Fire is beautiful. Fire is helpful. But fire is not tame. Fire can warm or it can consume. It can light or it can blind. This is what God is saying. God is revealing to Moses that he is a rescuer and a help and will be to his people in the exodus. But he is also a terror to his enemies.

8 · The pastor traces God's continued self-revelation as fire through the Exodus narrative—the pillar of fire leading Israel and the fire on Mount Sinai—establishing a persistent biblical pattern of God revealing Himself as fire

Later, if you notice this, if you flip over to Exodus chapter 13, God again reveals himself in a particular way as he brings his people up out of Egypt. Look at 13, verse 17. It recounts that God then leads them out of Egypt. How? Verse 21. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light that they might travel by day and by night in the pillar of cloud, by day in the pillar of fire, by night, did not depart from before the people, and then flip all the way over to Exodus 19 again, Israel at Mount Sinai. And essentially the Lord, I'm not going to go through it. But the Lord appears on Mount Sinai, and the mountain is consumed by what? By smoke and fire. Right? This is a persistent image of God's self revelation. He is, as Hebrews 1229 says, the God of fire.

9 · The pastor returns to Acts 2, reading the Pentecost account where tongues as of fire rest on each disciple

Now go back to acts chapter two. Now back to acts chapter two, verse one. When the day of Pentecost arrived, let me say this. Let me prep this just for a second. In acts one and two, Jesus tells his disciples to wait until they receive God's power for God's mission. And so he tells them to wait. And then acts, chapter two. It says this, verse one. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And listen. Divided tongues. As of what? As of fire, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. Notice this, friends. Notice the imagery. The God of fire who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, who led them in a pillar of fire, who was on the mountain is now resting on each and every disciple. That is extraordinary. Theologically, that is a nuclear explosion. When you take the reality of the Old Testament and who God is and open acts, chapter two, it is boom.

10 · The pastor explains the theological significance of Pentecost: because Jesus restored the relationship between God and His people, God's presence can now be poured out on every believer

Because of what? Listen to this. Because of what Jesus has done through his life, death, and resurrection. The presence of God. Because Jesus has restored the relationship of God to his people, the presence of God can now be poured out on every believer in Jesus Christ. This is the extraordinary reason that Blaise Pascal experienced his night of fire. This is the extraordinary reason that every christian can experience the presence of God. The spirit mediates God's presence to the believer. The spirit is what allows us, as we'll talk a little bit more about this next week, us to experience the fire of God's presence not on a mountain near us, not on a bush distant from us, but in our very hearts.

11 · The pastor applies the theology with an urgent plea: don't let knowledge of the Spirit remain merely intellectual

So this is my plea. Do not allow the reality of God the spirit simply to take up space in your mind or be yet another thing you believe is true. Of course, I agree with the Trinity, et cetera, because it is. Look, let me say it this way. It is one thing to believe in fire. It is one thing, maybe, as a scientist, to do controlled burns while you're in a lab coat and you're behind a pane of glass. Right? That's one thing. But it is another thing to sit next to a warm bonfire on a cool evening and feel the warmth of it. That is how we're meant to experience the presence of God, not distant, not through goggles and multiple layers, but warmed by the very presence of God.

12 · The pastor addresses non-Christians directly, contrasting Christianity with Stoicism and self-help

And this is so important that Christianity. I want you to hear this if you're not a Christian. Christianity is not simply a set of moral precepts. It is not equivalent to. Well, I like stoic teaching. You like Christianity. Same thing. It is not a collection of helpful teachings. It is not a. A grouping of self help principles or a way to live your life a little better or more effectively. Christianity is an encounter with the God of fire. That is what it is and must be.

13 · Transition from the first point (who the Spirit is) to the second point (what the Spirit did), explicitly including all Christians in the second point's scope

Christianity is a supernatural religion because of who God is and who the spirit are. Second, Christianity must be a supernatural religion because of what the spirit did. If you're a Christian, I'm including you in this because of what the spirit did.

14 · As the congregation turns to Ezekiel 37, the pastor shares personal testimony of remarkable Spirit experiences—miraculous healing, tongues, revelation, revival—but declares that none of these are the greatest miracle the Spirit performs, setting up the coming exposition

Now turn to Ezekiel, chapter 37, if you can, or we'll have it on the screen behind us. Ezekiel, chapter 37. Let me tell you as you're turning there. I have had some remarkable experiences in my life with the Holy Spirit. I have been personally, miraculously healed of a health issue that was, like, on a scan and then healing and then nothing. On the scan, I've been given the gift of tongues. I have seen God reveal things to me or to others about someone else that no one but them knows. I have seen moments of revival breaking out as people repent and worship and God moves. But I want you to hear this. None of those are the greatest miracle I've seen the Holy Spirit do. None of those are the greatest miracle the Holy Spirit does.

15 · The pastor sets up Ezekiel 37, describing sun-blasted bones as the condition of God's people—not sick but dead

Look at Ezekiel, chapter 37. This is the miracle. Ezekiel 37. And God said to me, son of man. So he takes. Sorry. He takes. Let me set this up. He takes him to a valley of dry bones. There's, like, a battle filled with a bunch of dead bones, sunblasted, right? You know what happens in the desert when you leave, like, your plastic playset out too long in the backyard and you, like, touch it and it just crumbles? I guess we're done with this. That's the state of these bones, verse three. And he said to me, son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, I think Ezekiel is being probably noncommittal here. And I answered, oh, Lord God, you know, like, I'm not sure, but you do. And the dry bones here are a pointed picture of the state of God's people. Okay? God is telling his people, you are not just sick, you are dead. God's people are not just hurt, they are lifeless. And this is the state of humanity in many ways, ever since humanity chose to rebel against God in Genesis three, the state of humanity has not been troubled or broken or hurting, but dead.

16 · The pastor expounds Ezekiel 37:4, highlighting the Hebrew wordplay where 'breath' also means 'spirit

Now, verse four. Behold, God says, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Now, this whole section carries a play on words that might be easy to miss. The word for breath in Hebrew also means spirit. This is a picture going all the way back to Genesis one and two, where the spirit of God hovered over the waters of creation. The breath of God swirled around creation. And then God breathes out creation. He breathes the breath of life into humanity. Do you hear what he's saying here? Then the breather of humanity will re breathe out life into humanity again.

17 · The pastor reads the rest of Ezekiel 37, tracing the vision from bones reassembling to receiving breath/spirit and becoming a living army

It continues. And as I prophesied, there was a sound. Behold. A rattling. And the bones came together bone to bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath of read that slash spirit. The. The breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet an exceedingly great army. And then verse seven. Then he said to me, lest there be no confusion, son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are indeed cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them. Thus says the Lord God, behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, o my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, o my people. And I will put my. What? My breath, my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.

18 · The pastor returns to Acts 2, reading verses 1-2 and explicitly connecting the 'mighty rushing wind' at Pentecost to the breath/spirit of Ezekiel 37—the fulfillment of God's promise to breathe life into His people

Acts, chapter two, verse one. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And verse two. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Do you see what Luke is doing? He's saying, there it is. Ezekiel 37. The breath of God. The spirit of God breathed out and into these believers.

19 · The pastor declares the Spirit's work in regeneration, correcting an inadequate gospel metaphor

God friends, this is what the Holy Spirit does. This is one of the reasons I'm so eager to reintroduce you to the Holy Spirit, because the spirit is the one who breathes life back into us. Look, our state, apart from God's help is not us dying of thirst. I heard a pastor say, man, the gospel is like water offered to people dying of thirst. And there's a sense in which that's true. But Ezekiel could offer water to the skeletons in 37 till he was blue in the face. He could bring the jug. Skeletons, water. I have it here for you. How many of those skeletons are going? Well, I could use some water. No, they are not dying. They are dead. And yet the spirit of God rushes in and breathes life back into them.

20 · The pastor names the doctrine—regeneration—and traces its theological order: the Spirit makes hearts alive, enabling sight of Christ's work, belief, and rejoicing

This is what the Bible calls regeneration, or we think of conceptually, theologically as the work of regeneration. Re meaning again. Generation, life, regeneration, life again, breath again. Our hearts are made alive through the work of the spirit. And when we come alive, we see then the work of Christ for us. We see that Christ died for our sins. We happily believe. We then drink deeply of salvation. And rejoice. But the spirit is what enables us to see and understand and believe in Jesus as our savior. Apart from his life giving work, we would never put our hand up and say, as a skeleton, I'd like some of that water. The spirit of God quickens our hearts. John three five. Jesus says, truly, truly. This is why he says this. I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

21 · The pastor applies the doctrine of regeneration personally and emotionally, using the illustration of rescue reunions to frame the sermon as a reintroduction to the Spirit—the one who brought believers from death to life

So, friend, let me just say this. I want to reintroduce you to the one that brought you back to life. Right? There's these great, touching stories where somebody will save somebody. They'll, you know, pull them off a train track and some reporter will go back years later and be like, hey, we found that guy. And we found the kid that he saved on the train track. And they're all grown up and then they have a tearful reunion and it's on good morning America. And, like, man, you know, child rediscovers man who saved him 20 years earlier, and they're crying, like, oh, my gosh, this is so beautiful. Right? This is what I'm hoping to do today to reintroduce you if you need to be reintroduced to the one who brought you to life. What a tearful and happy reunion.

22 · The pastor addresses Christians afraid of the Holy Spirit, declaring it's too late—if you're a believer, you've already encountered the Spirit through regeneration

Now, look, I know some people, some Christians, because of their experience or because of what they've seen on YouTube, are afraid of the Holy Spirit, and they're afraid of encountering the Holy Spirit. And what I want to tell you today is, I'm sorry. Too late. Too late. If you're like, I don't want to encounter the spirit. It's weird. Well, you already did. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have surely encountered the spirit. Right? When we see the spirit's role in regeneration, we realize that the spirit is not an optional extra to the christian life. It's not like, well, I'd like to sign up for the Son and I'd like to sign up for the father. He sounds nice, but the spirit. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. With two. No friend. The fact that you see the Son at all is the work of the spirit.

23 · The pastor uses a personal childhood story about being introduced to relatives he didn't recognize to illustrate the sermon's goal: helping Christians overcome 'stranger danger' with the Spirit by recognizing that the Spirit is not unknown but is the one who brought them to life

Look, I had this experience, I don't know if you did this growing up, but I had this work of this experience growing up often where my parents would introduce me to, like, my uncle, even if it wasn't a real uncle. This is like your uncle, so and so. Aren't you excited to see them? But my parents also taught me stranger danger. Right? And I'm like, I've never seen this dude in my life. It's your cousin so and so from California. Mm Mm. Never seen this guy, right? Stranger danger. And then I remember what cousin of my dad's that we'd see a lot growing up. And I remember my dad going like, mijo, miho, this is. This is my cousin. Remember years ago when we went to Disneyland? And I'm like, yeah, I do remember that. That was awesome. If you remember, there was a guy with us that helped us get in, and then he even got you a toy. And I was like, yeah, I do remember that. It's that guy. And all of a sudden, I'm like, I like this guy. Hey, uncle. You know, cousin. All right, buddy. You know, all of a sudden, he goes from stranger danger to, like, best friend. Right? And that would happen often. My parents would then go, here's the person. This is when you saw them before. Oh, okay. So they're not scary. Okay, I get it. I'm good, right? In many ways, that's what I'm trying to help you do with the spirit to go. If you have stranger danger about the spirit, to be like, this isn't some weird person that you don't know. This is man. This is the one that breathed life back into you, friend, let me reintroduce you.

24 · The pastor summarizes the second point with vivid language, declaring that every believer's existence as a Christian is miraculous—the Spirit breathed life into spiritually dead souls

Christianity must be a supernatural religion because the only reason you are the walking miracle of a believer in Jesus is that the spirit breathe life back into your dead, sun baked skeleton of a soul. That's good news.

25 · Transition to the third point, announcing it as the sermon's landing place and previewing that this theme will continue over the next few weeks

Third, the reason Christianity must be a supernatural religion because of what the spirit does. All right, this is where we're going to land, and we're going to spend the next couple of weeks together.

26 · The pastor sets the scene for John 16, describing the upper room where Jesus announces His departure—the most shocking news for disciples who had become dependent on Him

Turn to John, chapter 816. John, chapter 16, if you would. Now, I want you to go in John, chapter 16 with me in your mind, to the upper room with Jesus. Right? This is right before Jesus is about to be betrayed and handed over to his enemies. And Jesus says a lot of shocking things in the upper room discourse of John 1317. Perhaps though the most shocking, the most concerning for the disciples was Jesus saying that the time was at hand and that he would leave his disciples. Now, this person that they've spent three years building with, growing with, trusting, becoming dependent on Jesus, says, I'm gonna leave. And I don't know about you, but there are so many days that I think, man, I would give anything to have Jesus with me while I have a tough meeting in my life. I would love to have Jesus when I'm weary and burdened out, and I'm like, ah, I can't read my Bible. If Jesus is just downstairs ready to lead me in a devotional time. Okay, I'm coming downstairs, right? There's so many times I wish he were there.

27 · The pastor reads John 16:7 where Jesus makes the astonishing claim that His departure is to the disciples' advantage because it enables the Helper (capital H) to come

But look at verse 16, chapter 16, verse seven. John 16 seven. Jesus says this. I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. Notice the capital there? That's a great translation. But if I go, I will send him to you. So Jesus is saying something shocking, which is that there is something else even better for the disciples and for his church than him physically walking and talking with them every day. Now, that is hard for me to imagine, but that is what Jesus is saying.

28 · The pastor identifies the challenge: unlike 'Father' and 'Son,' the term 'Spirit' or 'Holy Ghost' evokes unhelpful cultural associations (Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, Casper, horror movies)

Now. One of the challenges, though, about what Jesus is doing is he's introducing us, he's prepping us and the disciples for the coming of the Spirit. But when we think of the Spirit, we often don't arrive with any kind of a clear reference point. So when we think of the Father, we all likely at some point have some reference point of a father. Now, that could be a good reference point or a bad reference point, but we know in some sense what a father is. Or when we think of the Son, we think of a son. And we have pages and pages of stories about Jesus to help us understand what Jesus the Son, is like. But when I say the Holy Spirit, or maybe if you're from the south, the Holy Ghost, right? Somebody said, amen to that spirit, right? The Spirit. The Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost, man. That evokes associations of, like, the haunted mansion at Disneyland or Casper the friendly ghost or some weird supernatural horror movie that you saw and have been scarred by because you were at a friend's house and you stayed up late and they said, let's watch this. And you've never been the same, right? You got that rattling around in your brain when you think, spirit. So notice the way Jesus then introduces us to the helper. The spirit.

29 · The pastor reads John 14:16-18 and unpacks Jesus' phrase 'another Helper,' arguing that 'another' requires a first—and the first Helper was Jesus

Back up and look at John 14, verses 16 to 1814, says, this Jesus, 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. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. All right, next week, I want to do a little bit about Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit. But notice that repeated phrase in 14 and 16. The helper. The helper. Jesus says a few things that take the spirit from being this vague, ethereal mist to a tangible, glorious helper. The spirit. First of all, notice, I will send. I will give you another helper. That phrase is intentional because you're like, well, who was the first helper? If you have another, you have to have a first. Who was the first helper? The first helper was Jesus. The disciples knew what it was like to have Jesus as their helper, as their companion. And Jesus is saying, I'm going to give you another of the same kind of helper. Right. This is so important because it helps us understand that the spirit is not like the JV member of the Trinity, the junior varsity member of the Trinity, like jesus is varsity. Right. He's leading the homecoming parade. And the Holy Spirit, he's also on the team. He's in the back of the photo somewhere. No, Jesus is saying another of the same kind of helper.

30 · The pastor unpacks the word 'helper' (advocate, counselor), using the illustration of a lawyer defending someone overwhelmed by lawsuits

And that word helper, it's hard to translate. It could be it's maybe in your Bible, it's translated as advocate or as counselor. It stretches our english definition. But the image is this. The image is of a strong advocate who stands next to you providing crucial and needed help and guidance. All right. I had a friend a number of years ago who was involved in a car accident. And unfortunately, the car accident not only was painful and led to lots of rehab and things like that, but there, after the car accident, followed a dizzying array of lawsuits of people suing and countersuing one another is. A lot of money was at stake. There's a number of vehicles involved in this lawsuit. And all of a sudden he found out he was hit, but he was being sued because then he had hit someone else. So he's like, what in the world? What am I supposed to do with this? And all these things were filed and counter filed, and he found himself just, like, overwhelmed at the idea that I was hit, and then I could owe hundreds of thousands of dollars. Until he found a helper, or better known in our world as a lawyer. Right? A counselor. Not in the sense of like, you know, lay on this couch and tell me about your childhood, but like a counselor in the sense of the courtroom, a counselor who stands with you. Right? There's the defendant. There's the counselor, right? The advocate. The person who's going, something's happening, and I don't know how to stop it. The advocate steps forward and says, objection. The advocate knows what to do. The advocate knows what to file. The advocate knows how to help. In the very moment you most need help and you are most helpless. That is what the Holy Spirit does, friends, he is our advocate. He stands next to us. He is not some wispy, impersonal force. He is the strong friend by our side that will never leave. And he is another of the same kind of helper. Jesus was. Another storm calmer, another dead raiser, another sickness healer, another of the same kind, our helper with a capital h. That is why it's good news that Jesus says, if I leave, I'm gonna send this guy.

31 · The pastor explains why Jesus' departure is advantageous: so the Spirit can do what even God the Son incarnate did not do—dwell within believers

Now, why, though, is it better for Jesus to leave? So that he can send him. Look at that phrase. He dwells with you and will be in you. Now that is what the spirit does, that even God the son does not do. The God of the burning bush who took on flesh. Right? The God of the burning bush, who in God the Son became Jesus. Now that God, that other member, that other person of the Trinity, God himself, will now dwell within his creatures in the Holy Spirit. My friend Jeff Schlieder, who's another pastor in California, says that this way, which I love, he says this side of eternity through the spirit, God couldn't be any closer to his people. The spirit, brothers and sisters, mediates the very presence of God to us and strengthens us.

32 · The pastor applies the theology personally and concretely

So look, here's where these two pieces come together. The spirit not only breathes life into us, that we go and believe in Jesus, he then stays with us. It's not as though he goes, brings us to life and goes, my work is done. I'll see you in, I don't know, 80 years or less, and in eternity, have a great life. Thumbs up does not do that. He brings us to life and then stays. Oh, man. Right? How different would our christian lives be if we took in the simple truth that the one who raised us from the dead and brought us from sun baked skeletons to life is the one with us and within us. Now as christians, that is unreal. Look, friends, even this week I hit a moment of weariness, of physical pain, of discouragement, looked at what I had left to do this week. I looked at my calendar, saw various things coming up, and I checked my spiritual and emotional and life fuel tank and found it empty. How many times do we do that? We're just like, ugh, I can't do it. I'm tapping the gauge. Is there a little more in there? No. Okay, I guess. And then you think, I guess we're done. But, friends, how different is our calculation? This text served me this week. How different is our calculation when we remember we have one with us and in us whose fuel gauge never diminishes, whose power is unmatched, who brought us from death to life, another helper like Jesus, the helper, the advocate, the counselor, with us every day of our christian life until we stand face to face with Jesus. He takes no days off. He's intimidated by no circumstance. He finds no life challenge overwhelming our advocate, our helper, our counselor. That is why it's such good news that when Peter stands and says in verse 16, this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel, Joel. And in the last days it shall be, God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Oh, man, isn't that good news? That is the best news.

33 · The pastor explains that when Peter quotes Joel about 'the last days,' he means the present age—from Jesus' arrival to His return

And look, let me wrap it up this way. Here is what we should see, what should astound us as we read acts chapter two. When, when Peter says, the last days, sometimes we take this promise, in the last days it shall be, I will pour out my spirit. And we might be tempted to think, well, that'd be nice. I hope I'm around for that. No, he says, but this is what was uttered through Joel, meaning just like Jesus. Peter refers to the last days as these days, the days of Jesus arrival to Jesus return. These are the days of the spirit. That is good news for every christian. And in these days, the rushing wind of Ezekiel 37 is rushing into the world and bringing dead hearts to life. Look, the only reason they interrupt Peter's speech in acts chapter two, and they don't even let him finish preaching the gospel. They're all shouting out, what must we do? Why do they do that? Because the spirit rushes into that city and brings dead hearts to life. Why did we have a line of people lined up ready to declare Jesus as their savior and king? Because the spirit of God has brought them to life, man, every time we see that, it reminds us he's still here, the same God of Exodus, of Ezekiel, of acts. He is still here. He is still doing the work.

34 · The pastor highlights Peter's transformation from coward (denying Jesus three times in Luke) to bold preacher at Pentecost

And in these days, we see Peter, the very one, who, at the end of the gospel of Luke, is the scared fisherman who denies Jesus three times. It is that very man who is standing and declaring boldly and with power that Jesus Christ is king. How is that possible? Because the spirit not only brought Peter to life, he's there as his advocate and helper and counselor. Right, man, that means this, that everything that happens in the book of acts happens because the church carries the fire of the spirit. Everything, brothers and sisters, that has happened in the last 2000 years of gospel advance has only happened because the church carries the fire of the Holy Spirit.

35 · The pastor closes with an extended illustration from Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road—a father tells his son to 'carry the fire' in a dark wasteland

Let me end with this. In this dark and broken world, our charge is to carry the fire. I read years ago this heartbreaking and beautiful novel called the road by Cormac McCarthy. It is too dark. Don't read it. It will depress you. But I did for you. And in the story, a father and his young son wander. This modern world turned into a wasteland. There are dangers everywhere. There's not enough food, there's no medical supplies. But the father keeps encouraging his son to keep going. And he says, this son, keep a little fire burning, however small, however hidden. And then at the end of the novel, the father has to leave his son. And so he returns to his advice to carry the fire. But the son is frustrated and perplexed. Why does the father have to leave? Why can't the father stay with him? Where is this fire? How is he supposed to carry it? And the Father, in this beautiful moment at the end of the novel looks in his son's eyes and tells him, it's inside you. It was always there. I can see it. And as the father must leave he sends his son with the fire out into the broken, dark world.

36 · The pastor brings the sermon to a doxological close, declaring that Jesus has sent the Spirit to dwell in believers' hearts

And this, brothers and sisters, is our task. Jesus work has brought the presence of God to us. He has sent the spirit to dwell in our hearts. Jesus may no longer be here in bodily form but the fire of God's presence remains. And this, brothers and sisters, this is peace for the christian. This is power for the church. This is the only hope of our world. So this, over the next few weeks, this will be our charge. May we carry the fire. Amen.

37 · Closing prayer asking God to help the congregation see and experience the miracle of the Spirit's presence—moving knowledge from head to heart, recognizing the miracle of regeneration, and feeling the reality of the Spirit as advocate and helper for the week ahead

Heavenly Father, I pray that in your kindness you would do something in our hearts and minds today. Lord, would you? I really just have this simple burden for our church. Help us to see the miracle of God's very presence poured out through the spirit into our hearts that brought us to life and then stays with us through our christian life. Lord, there's much more to discuss. There's much more to think about, how that works out, how do we grow in faith? How do we share the gospel? What does this mean for gifts, all that stuff? Lord, but I pray right now you would simply help us to sit in the warm glow of a bonfire. That is the very presence of God. Lord, I pray for anyone who, for whom the knowledge of God has lived in their head, perhaps their whole life, that I pray that it would go from their head into their heart, into their very soul, that they would see and experience the spirit of God. And, Lord, I pray for all of us that have been brought to death, from death to life. Lord, we stand a resurrected body. We stand resurrected not because we worked everything out, not because we read the Bible and became just simply on a human level, convinced of Jesus. Lord, we stand here as people have gone for, from death to life, because you breathed on us, because the spirit of God that breathed over the world in Genesis breathed into our hearts. And I pray that we would see and feel and rejoice in the miracle of it. And then last, Lord, I just pray. I pray that today every brother and sister that is about to walk into a week where they need a helper, where they need an advocate, where they need a counselor, where they feel alone, where they feel abandoned, where they feel they're struggling, where they feel their gas tank is empty, Lord, I pray that right now you, through the spirit, would help them feel the reality of the God of fire. Their advocate, their counselor, their helper, has their arm around them and will never leave them. Lord, bring life to the lifeless, bring hope to the hopeless, bring strength to the weary, for only you can do it. Only you can. So I pray you would in your name, amen.