God empowers us through his Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? How can we grow our relationship with the Holy Spirit? Jesse breaks down the power of the Holy Spirit today and how we can be filled with this power.
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Show Notes:
This episode covers common traps related to blessings, in terms of what not to do with your response. Then three elements of a healthy response. Also, a twist in terms of our perspective.
From Adam and Eve, we learn when God blesses you don’t start calling the shots or elevate yourself above God. From king Nebuchadnezzar, the king, we learned not to boast foolishly, or try to steal the credit. From Zacchaeus, we learn when God blesses you, don’t try to steal other peoples, blessings, or hoard blessings. From the nation of Israel, we learn when God feeds you and you are satisfied. Don’t let it lead to pride, and then forget God. Hosea 13:4
Three elements in our response: Number one is glory. Blessings, glorify God and when we receive a blessing, it’s important to give God praise and thanks. Psalm 115 verse one, Psalm 67, James 1:17 the second element is Grace because God treats us better than we deserve, and the best is yet to come the third element is gratitude. It’s God’s will that we give thanks to God in all circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Like the prayer of Jabez, we often ask God to bless us. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the purpose of the blessing is then to be able to bless other people. Also, the lords prayer teaches us our own blessings, but to pray that God would bless all of us and lift up other people in prayer.
There’s an invitation at the end for people to follow Jesus.
Special thanks to World Concern for sponsoring The Bonfire Podcast.
Transcription:
Purposely. Your life, God’s purpose. Listen at onpurposely.com.
Pastor Jesse Bradley:
Welcome to the Bonfire. This is season three. So glad to be kicking the new season off. And if you’ve been walking with us the whole time, you know season one we looked at seven different people, incredibly inspiring. And then season two, seven different situations, practical every day. How do we respond? Now in this new season, we’re going to focus on the Holy Spirit, and the reason I’m so excited is because there is one God, three persons, father, son, Holy Spirit. And in my own journey, I would say my relationship with the Holy Spirit was later, and also, there was just less of a relationship for a long time. Now, when you think about your relationship with God, initially, your inclination might be towards the Father or towards Jesus, the Son, and then the Holy Spirit. We have a relationship with all three. We worship all three.
The Trinity is not Father, Son, and holy scripture. The Trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit shouldn’t make you nervous. The Holy Spirit brings comfort. The Holy Spirit brings guidance, peace, truth, power, different aspects of the Holy Spirit. Today we’re going to look at the power of the Holy Spirit, and each episode, a different facet that we’re going to emphasize. We want to grow in our relationship with God. This podcast, The Bonfire, it’s all about God’s presence and growing in our faith, growing together. God is love. God is light. God is a consuming fire. Throughout scripture, God’s image, it’s linked to fire, God’s presence, linked to fire. And again, God is a consuming fire. We want to grow. Jesus said, “I’ll baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Let’s talk about the Holy Spirit, and specifically the power of the Holy Spirit. When you open up the Bible, you’re going to see the Holy Spirit throughout the entire 66 books, and little different in the Old Testament than the New Testament. Same Holy Spirit, but we start to get glimpses and clues right from the beginning in Genesis, with Creation. “The Spirit was hovering.” “The Holy Spirit played an important role in creation.” Genesis, chapter one. Then we see with individuals like Samuel who will anoint David, and with that anointing, the Holy Spirit worked through David in mighty ways. In another example, we have Samson who had physical strength, and the Holy Spirit worked through him in terms of physical strength. We don’t see that the followers of God are all filled with the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, but the Holy Spirit is playing an important part in their lives and how they live for God.
It’s like there’s a visitation, the Holy Spirit is on them, but not a dwelling like we have in the New Testament. There’s different seasons and dispensations. God works in different ways, and I’m grateful for the New Testament. When you think about Jesus, he was filled with the Spirit. He was empowered, he was led by the Spirit. We see that in Luke chapter four, verse one. Jesus demonstrated, he modeled this life of being full of the Holy Spirit, and that’s a command in scripture. Ephesians 5:18, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit.” We also have Luke 11:13. “How much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?” The Holy Spirit is always good and we can trust the Holy Spirit fully. When you think about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Jesus knew that he would die for our sins risen from the grave and then ascend, and he promised the Holy Spirit.
When you read John chapter 14, John chapter 16, you’re going to see that God doesn’t leave us as orphans. When Christ ascends and he is now at the right hand of the Father, we have the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, and the Holy Spirit helps us daily in our walk with God, the situations we face. We need the power of the spirit. There’s a spiritual battle and there is good and evil or demons, the devil, very real. Darkness, lies. And yet there’s also light in truth. In this spiritual battle, the one who’s in us, the Holy Spirit, is greater than the one who’s in the world. I love the Holy Spirit and it was such a major part of my growth as a Christian, as someone who loves God. We can’t do it alone. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. If there’s a demon involved or someone has a demon inside of them, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, you can cast out demons.
When God calls you and there’s an assignment, there’s an opportunity. You’re going to rely on the Holy Spirit. Spurgeon used to say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Even before he would go preach, he’d be saying, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” It’s good to affirm that, to remind yourself of that, to preach to yourself, to tell your soul, “I’m not alone. This is not just my strength. I can’t do it alone, but I’m going to rely on the Holy Spirit.” In your relationship with the Holy Spirit, reliance is a key. There’s no shortcut. There’s no substitute for reliance. It takes humility to rely. You have to realize, I can’t do this. I need God’s help. I need God’s help in a massive way. Whether that’s marriage, being single, parenting, serving God, strength, could be the words to say, “I need God’s help.” Complex situations, challenges, conflict, “I need God’s help.”
That should be a prayer, that should be an anthem, every day. You just start to say to yourself, to God, to let other people know, “I need God’s help.” Why is that important? Because God’s going to show up where he’s needed in special ways. God’s going to get the glory. We need to shift out of the mode of self-reliance. We need to shift out of the mode of, well, if I have a little more education, a little more experience, I don’t think I’m going to need the Holy Spirit that much. That’s not true. In this spiritual battle, when the darkness floods in, you need the power of the Holy Spirit, through prayer, through worshiping. The power of the Holy Spirit, it’s going to change you from the inside out. The Holy Spirit is helping to make you more like Jesus and bringing out your full potential.
There’s a collaboration. The Spirit leads. We follow. Listening to the Holy Spirit is so important. Holy Spirit communicates. You see that throughout scripture. Reinforcing the word. Also, convicting of sin. Rebuking. When you open up the word, the Holy Spirit and the Word are always together, always aligned. The Spirit won’t lead you somewhere where the Word doesn’t take you, like railroad tracks, always in agreement, going the same direction. The Spirit and the Word, we need both. God communicates through his Spirit and through his Word, and that desire to listen to Holy Spirit is so important. In marriage, in friendship, you have a desire to listen to someone. If you love them, if you care about them, if you think what they’re saying is wise and valuable, if it’s interesting, you’re going to want to listen. And the more you love the Holy Spirit, the more you want to listen during the day.
Another voice, and a source that’s reliable. You listen to a lot of people, you might listen to a lot of advertisements you don’t like. You’re constantly listening to things. Why? Because our culture bombards us with messages. Could be shorts, reels, social media. Constant messages. And you’re going to have the voice of the culture and there’s going to be patterns in the culture. You’re going to have the voice of the enemy in all the lies, then in all the accusations. Also, you have your own voice where you’re processing, you’re thinking to yourself, this makes sense. And then you have God’s voice. Naturally, during the day, it’s easy for you to shrink your attention and your intentionality with listening to God. If you want to have a vibrant relationship with God, you need to listen to God through the Word and the Holy Spirit. God will renew our minds and God will direct us. God gives insights. The Holy Spirit brings revelation, reminding us, helpful at every turn.
Today we’re focusing on the power of the Holy Spirit, and yes, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is poured out, and what an amazing picture. The followers of God now filled with the Holy Spirit. We start to see 3000 people in one day turn to Jesus, and I remember reading that and thinking, how in the world? I don’t think I’ll ever see that in my day. 3000 people in one day turn to Jesus. And now through digital media, we see hundreds of thousands turn to Jesus. There’s a harvest right now. The Holy Spirit is moving. The Holy Spirit saves people. We don’t save people, but going back to the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit saved 3000 people in one day. There was miraculous power. Things that were happening as you read through Acts two, Acts three, Acts four, the community, the way they love each other, there was the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. All this was happening as they were experiencing more of the Holy Spirit.
I’m convinced what we need today for the church is more of the Holy Spirit. If we just do methods, programs, repeat, try harder, humanistic efforts. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain, not by might, not by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty. The Holy Spirit moves in power, and the verse I want to camp on today is Acts chapter one, verse eight. “You’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, into the ends of the earth.” This word power, [foreign language 00:09:55] power. It’s relevant for us in the spiritual battle. You’re going to experience power, power that you don’t have alone. It’s also power to witness. “You will be my witnesses.” What does that mean? Power to live a life that points people to Jesus.
One of our great callings is to be an ambassador and a witness, to let your light shine where you live, work, learn, or play. And part of this is sharing the gospel, sharing your story, sharing about Jesus. Peter was someone who denied Jesus. He was scared to do it. He was scared of the cost. He might mess it up. He might be persecuted, he might be killed. He denied Jesus three times. And then what happened from that point to the book of Acts? The answer, the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit, we shrink back, we’re silent, we’re fearful. God doesn’t give us a spirit of timidity, but power and love. With the Holy Spirit, there’s opportunities, there’s boldness. We take risks. We trust God with the results. A lot of people don’t like to share their faith. That’s normal. It might be one of the most difficult things you ever do.
Why don’t people like doing it? Well, they don’t know how it’s going to go. There’s uncertainty. There’s risk. The other person might not like them anymore. The relationship might change. A lot of people feel like I’m not good at it. I only want to do things I’m good at, or I don’t know what to say. And all the what ifs. What if they ask me a question? What if I mess up? What if I stumble? What if I say the wrong thing initially? What if the person yells at me and calls me a loser? Whatever the scenarios are, we start to go through all those things in our mind. Accusations, fear, insecurity, uncertainty. And what happens when we have those feelings? A lot of times our actions then will result in not doing what we really want to do, not doing what we know is best, not doing what God’s called us to do.
If you ask people, “Is God good?” most people who know Jesus will say, “Yes, he is.” “Has Jesus changed your life?” “Yes, he has.” “Do you believe Jesus saves?” “Absolutely.” “Do you think it would be good if more people experienced Jesus?” “Definitely.” And then that naturally leads to, “Okay, you’re his witness,” and then people pull back and say, “Let someone else do it,” and I just don’t see that in the Bible. Follow Jesus. Let someone else do it. Follow Jesus. Don’t be his witness. Follow Jesus. Don’t be his ambassador. Follow Jesus. Just be silent, intimidated, fearful. Find a cave and just wait until you get to heaven. Then, finally, you’ll just be able to talk about Jesus. The Holy Spirit wants to help us now. The goal in the Christian life is not just wait till heaven and then we’ll finally have eternal life, and we’ll finally have those resurrected bodies.
There’s no evangelism in heaven. The one thing we do here on earth that we’re not going to do in heaven, it’s outreach. So what does that really look like? And I’m sharing with you today on my journey. I tried to deny it. I hated it. I got into conversations, and this started early on in high school, but then I got into conversations when I became a Christian and telling people who are leading me, “I’m not going to do it. I don’t like it.” I tried to be silent. I’d even tell my roommates, I didn’t want any part of it, so I know what it’s like to want nothing to do with what I’m talking about in Acts chapter one, verse eight. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” I remember going on my first missions trip saying, “I’m not going to do it, not going to do it,” and then what happened?
Daytona Beach, spring break. Some other people were sharing their faith. I watched it. I wrestled with God and then I finally said, “Yes, I’m in.” I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how it would go. When I grew up in Minnesota, there was sledding on the hills sometimes. Could be at a golf course, we would find a hill, and it took a little push. Someone would come alongside you, say, “Hey, can I get a push?” And they’d give you a little push and then you’d start to roll, and the momentum would come. You’d be going downhill, you’d be having fun, but you needed to push to get going at the beginning. Makes it a lot more fun. The Holy Spirit brings that push. The Holy Spirit compels us. The Holy Spirit moves us. The Holy Spirit has plans and challenges that we didn’t want or see coming, and then there’s going to be fruit as you trust God with the results.
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I have over 50 people in my family that don’t know Jesus. When I decided to follow Jesus, it wasn’t a real popular decision. I had no idea. How do I communicate that? I messed up. I was blowing it at first, just the wrong approaches. I’ll tell you, I still am learning because it’s going to be lifelong learning, but I learned that there’s times when you have 10 seconds and someone’s ready to share or they want you to pray before a meal. Then there’s other times where someone wants to talk for five minutes. Then there’s other times where they want to talk for an hour. And then sometimes they get really hungry and you can share them videos, books, and now they’re really open. There’s an opening and closing of their souls in terms of what they’re willing to receive, what they’re excited to receive.
And be faithful. Sometimes it’s going to be a question. Sometimes it’s going to be a sentence. Sometimes it’ll be more of your story. You get to share what you believe and why you believe it. You get to share about your life before Jesus and then how you came into Jesus, and how Jesus has changed your life. Sharing your story is one thing that’s always good. It’s personal, it’s disarming, it’s authentic. Another thing that’s always good is to pray. Pray for opportunities. Pray for boldness. Pray for your conversations.
Another thing that’s always good is to love people. Love your neighbor. Serve people. As you serve people and love people, the doors are going to open to talk about God. And another great thing always is listen. Listening to people, draw them out. And could be on a plane ride. It could be where you work. Could be over lunch, could be you buy someone a meal. There’s an acronym, BLESS. Begin with prayer, listen, eat a meal together, serve them, and share. And those pieces are always good. To love people, to listen to people, to ask questions, to pray, to share your story, and you’re going to be able to share about Jesus. Across the nation, there’s been a lot of research, whether it’s the He Gets Us campaign and seeing how open people are to talk about Jesus. I talked to a ministry recently and they had people who don’t follow Jesus conduct a survey across America, and the one thing they saw consistently out of the survey that covered a lot of topics spiritually is that people in our nation are eager to talk about Jesus.
They might not be eager to go to church, but people are often dying to talk about Jesus, ready to talk about Jesus, more than we’re ready or dying to talk about Jesus. And conversations about Jesus, when you share, it helps people think and process. I remember when I didn’t believe, I needed to ask dozens of questions. Now, I was in a car recently and it was an Uber ride and there was a man, he was Jewish from Uzbekistan, and with our conversation, we were talking about the Middle East. It was fascinating. I was learning a lot, and then I felt that prompting by the Spirit and I asked the question, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah?” I’ll call this man Gabe. “Gabe, do you believe Jesus is the Messiah?” And he said, “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
And I said, “What about Psalm 22 in your Bible, Gabe? What about Isaiah chapter 53, the suffering servant? They describe Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, his death on a cross in great detail, and he’s risen. There’s a lot of prophesying. There’s a lot of that prophecy in the Bible that points directly to Jesus. It’s fulfilled in Christ. Born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin.” And we started to talk about the evidence, that we are like being on a jury and let’s bring out the evidence. Let’s look at all of this. Now, some people aren’t open. Even if all the evidence was there, even if the resurrected Jesus was right in front of them, they’d still say, “I don’t want to follow you,” but most people are open. They might even be praying to God, “God, who are you? Jesus, who are you?” They’re doing Google searches. Jesus, who are you? And if you simply start to lay out some of that historical evidence, talk about the evidence of the resurrection or who Jesus is, how he’s unique. He died for our sins. He’s risen, he’s sinless, he’s returning. People start to think and process that.
A lot of people haven’t read a Bible, but you get to start to share some different gems from the Bible and they’ll start to maybe read the Bible or they’ll also read your life. And as you share, they get to kick the tires. They get to think things through. And for a lot of people, they’ve had misconceptions. I had so many misconceptions. First, I didn’t believe God existed, and then I started to look at the evidence. Facts lead to faith. And then also I had my own personal internal story. There’s the outside story and the inside story. I had an emptiness that just wouldn’t go away without God. I was stuffing everything else into my life and the emptiness wouldn’t go away. People are in those situations right now and they’re looking, is God good? Does he love me? I had a view of God that he was only interested in my success. Things going well. That was a false view of God.
When you talk with people, listen to them, share, you start to help them make some shifts and get a more accurate view of Jesus. Ultimately, they still get to decide. Who are your friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbors, and coworkers who don’t know Jesus? Let me say that again. Who are your friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbors, and coworkers who don’t know Jesus? And then, as you think about those people, they’re not in your life by accident. You might actually need to build some more relationships. If you’ve been a Christian for a long time, you might be stuck in an echo chamber, a false holy huddle. You might be stuck in a Christian cave and you’ve got to go out like Jesus and build some relationships.
If you have those relationships, find things you like to do together, common hobbies or activities, trips you can go on together, restaurants you like to go up, movies, books, book clubs. There’s a hundred ways to do this. I’m not here today sharing that there’s one way. What I’m sharing today is that the Holy Spirit is going to help you and empower you if you’re willing. If you’re available, if you’re able to say yes to God today, the Holy Spirit is going to give you power. And before this podcast, I’m praying for the Holy Spirit’s help. We just had an interview with NBC News, praying for the Holy Spirit’s help. In every conversation, every setting, whether it’s one-on-one, whether it’s someone you know very well, or it’s a total stranger, I’m always thinking, God, what does it look like to be faithful in this opportunity, in this conversation? God, help me today. Help me, Holy Spirit, to take the risks today, to have courage today, to have opportunities today.
Why? Because I care about people and I love people. That’s the bottom line. I care about their souls. I care about their mental health. I care about their bodies, their physical needs, and I care about their souls. And our souls, they’re real. Eternity is real. Heaven and hell is real. God’s love is real. And there’s no more important decision than your response to God. No one told me. I want to make sure everyone has an opportunity. Every man, woman, and child should have an opportunity. I believe that with all my heart. That’s one of my deepest convictions in life. You have some deep convictions and deep convictions are good. They drive us to action, and ultimately they’re stronger than feelings.
Deep convictions. What are your deep convictions about the Holy Spirit? How much do you need the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit good? Reliable? How much do you want to listen to the Holy Spirit during the day? How much are you going to rely on the spirit? Now, out of those deep convictions, when you ask to be filled, when you confess your sins, you surrender to God, you yield, you ask to be filled, God’s going to give you power. The Holy Spirit is going to give you power and love. You’re not going to have the Holy Spirit and then not really have much power in love. Receive the Holy Spirit. It’s the same from Pentecost to today. The church, the people of God, need the Holy Spirit. And when you receive the Holy Spirit, God is going to do amazing things through you. Peter had no idea that 3000 were going to turn to Jesus. Peter had no idea the places he was going to go, the people he was going to meet, the conversations, the opportunities. The more you’re faithful, the more God gives opportunities.
God is looking down. He looks to and fro across the earth to see who’s committed to him, who’s ready, who’s going to share the good news, and he will bring those people to his people who are ready. And then the more you share, the more God’s going to bring opportunities. Like a dimmer switch, the more you say yes to the light, the light keeps getting brighter. Light keeps getting brighter. Paul had a deep conviction. “My life means nothing to me,” in Acts 20:24. “If only I may testify to the gospel of God’s grace.” Talking about the grace of God, his pardon, his mercy. It’s greater than our sin. Talking about the grace of God, this amazing grace. What’s so amazing about it? It’s transformative. It’s healing. It brings restoration. The grace of God is an undeserved gift, and ultimately God’s grace, it’s demonstrated through Jesus.
Receive God’s grace today. When you talk about the gospel, you’re talking about His grace. The Holy Spirit will give you power to talk about the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. And there’s going to be times when it’s a stranger. It might not make sense. During the day, take the posture where I’m going to lean in. I’m going to lean in for the opportunities, and God, I’m going to share, and then redirect me. Redirect me. Guide me today.
Let’s get practical. I encourage you today, right now, to think of one person. Think of one person in your life that doesn’t know Jesus. Maybe you’ve been praying for them. You love them, you care about them. You’re concerned about their eternity, and you know how Jesus has changed your life. You know about Jesus, and now you have the opportunity. How do you think that person would like to receive this good news? Would it be through a text, a book, a link to a video? Would it be personal, a conversation, a meal? Have them over your house? Think about this. Who’s the one person and how is God guiding you to reach that one person? Will you take a risk? Will you trust God with the results? That one person.
I’ll never forget when Mike knocked on my dormitory door and asked me a question. He had a survey. It was part of an outreach. And then he asked me what I thought about Jesus and if I’d like to learn more. That open invitation. He just simply asked me, “What do you think about Jesus, and would you like to learn more?” When I said, “Yes,” he was a little surprised. We spent that whole year meeting up, talking. Our relationship grew, but that was a safe place where I could ask and learn about Jesus. People are looking for a safe place. You are that safe place. You don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to be slick. You don’t have to be perfect, but you, with authenticity, the Holy Spirit helps you. You’re going to end up sharing some things, you’re going to give some resources, and that person’s going to have opportunity to respond to God’s love.
It might not happen the first day. It might take a week or a year. You might not see the results. It might be someone else that comes along and as a conversation, but be faithful with your part. And it starts with the Holy Spirit. When God brings the Holy Spirit in Pentecost to the church, to his people, communities change. Families change. Nations change. Unstoppable. Don’t water down or underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit is what we need in church today, not the form of godliness, but the power. The power of the Holy Spirit, we need this in our one-on-one conversations. The power of the Holy Spirit moving globally right now as more people are turning to God, his kingdom and family is growing every day. This is all the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look at Acts chapter one. Study those first couple chapters in the Book of Acts. Look at the power of the Holy Spirit and say yes to God. God wants to do some things in your life that you’ve never done before. God’s going to guide you in these risks. It’s your yes. On the other side of yes, there’s transformation, and it’ll bless you, it’ll bless the other person, and it’ll glorify God. Let’s say yes to the Holy Spirit. Thank you so much for starting out with this in this new season. Saying yes to the Holy Spirit’s power, it’s a starting point. We’re going to cover seven different aspects of the Holy Spirit, but this relationship, it all comes down to trust, and trusting God includes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This is The Bonfire. We’re all about God’s presence. We’re all about growing in our faith, and we want to encourage each other, build each other up. And from this podcast, we want to bring blessings and hope locally and globally, and there’s no limits to what God can do. Let’s rely on the Holy Spirit, the fire of God. The bonfire grows. The embers are coming together. This is God’s flame, and no one can stop the Holy Spirit.
If you’re enjoying this podcast, I encourage you to rate and review, tell a friend, share what you’re watching and hearing, and also, if you have friends who are interested in the Holy Spirit, this would be a great series to invite them in and let’s walk through these episodes together. It means so much to me that we’re journeying and learning together, and we want to draw close to God, we want to get deep in His word, and then we want to live it out. That’s the vision God has for us. We’re trusting him together.
