 Christ, we get to live a life of love. Welcome to Hope Today. We're so glad that you're with us. I'm Anna and I'm here with Tom and Pastor Jay. And Jay, we've got a great guest coming today. We really do. And I'm so glad that you have tuned in. Listen, if you have questions about how to live the Spirit-led life, we have a phenomenal man of God that is here, that is just excited about the Spirit-led life and going to teach us on how we can maximize a well-rounded spiritual walk. Tom, I'm really excited about it because we hear a lot of different views, you know, some maybe more focused on the gifts, maybe some focus more on the fruit, but he gives us a holistic approach on how we can truly maximize the Spirit-led life. I love that, Jay, because, you know, being a ministry that we have a lot of different theological streams on our airwaves here at Cornerstone Television and on this program, you hear a lot of different things about the Holy Spirit, about the gifts, like you said, Jay, but all of us want to walk in that Spirit-filled life. We want to walk in a way that maximizes that power of God in our lives. And so I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Yeah, it is such a good discussion. That's how I grew up in a small church. It was an Alliance church and the teaching there gave me such good foundations about the truths of who God is, who Jesus is as our Savior. But we didn't really talk too much at that point about who the Holy Spirit was. And then when I became an adult, I changed to a church that really taught me who the Holy Spirit is. And it's just so awesome to learn how he equips us, how he comforts us, he counsels us, he gives us encouragement and strength and power. And the more that we, as believers, can press into the Holy Spirit, the more fulfilled, abundant life we get to live. You know, I love that because I grew up, got saved in Nazarene Church, got sanctified there. I want y'all to know I'm sanctified, okay? Got sanctified there. I attended a Baptist church in college. You know, became a charismatic, gone to Pentecostal churches. And it just, you know, you can get so many different views of where the Holy Spirit is in the church age right now. But the main thing all those people believe is that we need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. You need that today. You need to be empowered. I'm excited for this program because it is, you know, we're not here just to talk about this, but we want to experience that spirit filled life. And we want to experience that here, but also in your life that you would experience that spirit filled life today. I know that's what God wants to. Yeah, absolutely. It is good to be a child of God. We get to be filled with all kinds of good stuff through the spirit. And we get the fruit of the spirit in our life. We get the gifts of the spirit. And if you're craving that type of purpose and enjoying your life, or maybe you feel stuck and you're running on empty, maybe you're missing out on something very important for your everyday life. Internationally renowned biblical scholar and author Jack Levison is our next guest. And in his book, Seven Secrets of the Spirit Filled Life, he shares how you can partner with the Holy Spirit and live the life God desires just for you. Jack, welcome to Hope today. Thank you, Jay. Great to be here. So great to have you. And listen, I'm so excited. I've heard so many different books written by the on the spirit led life and the Holy Spirit and all those things. You're one of the best well-rounded writers and authors that I've seen put pen to paper. And so I'm so excited for us to get into this. And my first question that I believe a lot of viewers would like to know your view on is how, why did God give us the Holy Spirit? Oh, a small question. Just a small one. Why did God give us the Holy Spirit? Well, you know, what you want to say to that is, you know, read the book. But I think the main reason God gave us the Holy Spirit, in my opinion, is to draw us back to Jesus. I think Christians get distracted. We get very distracted by all the things in the world. Should I speak in tongues? What should my politics be? What should I have for breakfast? And the Holy Spirit's work is to draw us back to Jesus. That's what the fourth gospel, John's gospel said, the Spirit will teach by reminding. And what does the Holy Spirit remind us of? The works and the teachings of Jesus. So if every day we are being drawn back to Jesus, that deep, intimate, knowledgeable relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are really at the heart of living the Spirit-filled life. So bringing us back to Jesus, not all the bells and whistles. You know, Dr. Leverston, you said something there that I think is really important to point out. Jay, you can call me Jack. Please call me Jack. Okay. Yeah, I'll call you Jack. If I call you Jay, you call me Jack. All right, sounds good. Well, Jack, I'd like to know also, how do we find that balance? I've seen a lot of people get stuck with that. You know, you talk about what should I have for breakfast or what suit should I buy or what should I do here that in the third? How do we find that balance that, you know, we're not so heavenly minded as they would say, you're no earthly good, but you're still depending upon the Holy Spirit. What would be your advice to someone about that? Well, you know, remember, scholars tend to write books because they want to become what they're writing. And so, you know, I write these books because I want to, I want to be able to answer exactly that sort of question. So I think the beginning point for learning to live into the Holy Spirit, and I begin each of the seven secrets with this, is learning to breathe. That is learning to be still. That is learning to receive. So even as I slow down now, I'm learning to receive rather than to give. And the theological reason for this, the biblical reason for this is that the Hebrew word ruach, which is translated as spirit, breath, wind, cool breeze, is really at the foundation of living the spirit-filled life. Living the spirit-filled life is having ruach in us. And ruach is God's spirit breath in us. So I think the beginning of all the fullness is being able to slow down, to receive, and to breathe. And that sounds maybe too simple, but if we breathe in each of the seven secrets, the first secret you breathe one minute, the seventh secret you breathe seven minutes, to settle us into a life of receiving God's grace. So as you say, Jack, that's kind of like living, you know, that story of Mary and Martha, with Martha was up running around and doing all that she was trying to do, but Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus just listening for his words. And do you believe that by taking that time to just breathe and allowing the Holy Spirit to just infiltrate our hearts and lives, it empowers us to work in his strength and in his anointing? Absolutely. So I got a great story told by a Catholic writer, Macrina Wittiger, who said, there were all these American businessmen on a safari, right? And they were being led around by an African Bushman. And they are wanting to go see the giraffes and the elephants and everything. They want to see everything really quickly. And they're the CEOs of these companies. They paid all this money. And finally, the African Bushman just sits down in the dust. And they say to him, what are you doing? We're paying a lot of money for this. Come on, we want the best of it all. And he goes, I'm letting my soul catch up. And I think American Christians need to let our souls catch up. So we're in Vancouver, Washington, away from Dallas for a month. And we go for long walks in the evening. We work during the day. And then we walk long evenings as the sun doesn't set until 9.30. And there's beautiful forests. And I said to Priscilla the other night, I think my soul is catching up because we live busy lives 11 months a year. And this time we're away letting our souls catch up. I think Americans need to learn to rest, receive, be still, and let our souls catch up. And that is a secret of the spirit filled life. I love that so much, Jack. And I love that we started off there. But I do want to ask you about the outward nature of the work of the spirit of the leading us to that empowering to take the gospel to the world and to cross the street to our neighbor to our family. Tell me about that. Where does that kick in that feeling that, okay, I've got this experience with God. I've got this fullness of the spirit. How does God through the Holy Spirit then lead us outward? That is a really good question, a great question. So Priscilla and I, my wife is a theologian and an historian and actually a United Methodist minister. And we were teaching in Alabama in well, in June about evangelism and the work of the Holy Spirit in evangelism. And so I think it's very important to be outreach oriented. In fact, I have a whole secret. I don't want to give them all away, but it's called break out of the familiar, discover how the Holy Spirit transforms our world. And I think if one side of the whole, if one coin, one side of the coin of the Holy Spirit is learning to rest and receive and let our souls catch up, another side of the Holy Spirit is allowing ourselves to be prompted to go out and change our world. And the classic example of this is Philip, who in the book of Acts has this amazing ministry in Samaria. I mean, people aren't being healed and there are exorcisms that people are becoming Christians. And what does God do with Philip? He walks him out and puts him on a wilderness road where nothing is going on. And that is where he hears a word of the Holy Spirit telling him to run up to a chariot where he meets the Ethiopian eunuch who will now go back to Ethiopia and spread the gospel doing more than Philip could have done in Samaria. So I think again, there's a connection between quietness and being still. God has to pluck Philip from Samaria, put him on a wilderness road where he can hear a word of the Holy Spirit leading him to someone to talk about Jesus with. And that someone will go and evangelize in the content, in the whole continent of Africa. So I think it's a both and stillness and outreach. And I think both, Tom, you're absolutely right. Absolute necessity to do both, to be still and to reach out. Jack, can you tell us a little bit about your life through most of the year you and your wife live on a college campus with 18 and 19 year olds? And you really work to embrace students of all different backgrounds, of faiths, of beliefs, and you create a community and share with us about how the Holy Spirit is moving through you to build community on this campus. Well, I certainly hope the Holy Spirit is moving through and with us. We are deeply flawed, Priscilla and I, but we do love what we do. I mean, I tell people I turned 65 at a college dorm, you know, I went back to college. So, you know, at a time when many people are retiring, we felt God was leading us to live in community with these students. So one of the things, every Sunday night, we have a thing called Bo. It's Bo's Commons. And we have a Sunday night gathering where we always put food in front of them and students just gather and have fun. But then out of this came something we call lattes in lent. So on Tuesday nights, we started a time where at 8.15, they could come to our apartment and we would make them a latte or a cup of hot chocolate or a cup of tea and we always had something to eat. And then we said at 8.15, we're going to have a conversation and we used a video of the Bible project, these little five minute videos. And we watched that and then I had worked with students who would then lead a discussion. And we bill lattes in lent. What I love about it, we bill it as for people of faith, of no faith, of any faith. And we have Catholics, Protestants, we have agnostics and one of our favorites, an atheist student. We have Sikhs, we have Muslims, we have Buddhists, we have Jewish students. And they get together and they talk honestly and openly about life and about faith and about lack of faith and about why they don't have faith or why they do have faith. And Priscilla and I just sit back on our little stools at the back of the, it's a very small living kitchen room, the dining room, and we sit back and we listen to them and to their honesty. The last time, it went so long that we had to call it lattes after lent, the students wanted to keep going. And the last time it was 11.45 p.m. And I said to that, I said to a few of the students who were still there, I'm going to bed, Priscilla going to bed at 10, I'm going to bed, just turn out the lights. And for us, this is the heart of the spirit filled life is being able to, Anna, you talked about hospitality, set the table, have a hot drink, have a snack and sit back and pray for the Holy Spirit to be moving in them as they have honest conversations with each other. And if you know anything about college campuses, honest conversations with people with whom you disagree are really hard to come by. And this happens, and I believe that is the work of the Holy Spirit that this community of different people gathered together in our apartment on Tuesday night and have honest conversation. That in my opinion is the work of the Holy Spirit. That is the spirit filled life. Thanks for that question. You know, Jack, that's really awesome. Matter of fact, we were talking earlier just about how relationally you just have a ability about you to just draw people in. And one of your secrets is the commitment to community. How does the Holy Spirit, obviously we're seeing it without reach in those circumstances you're talking about, but even within the church, how does the Holy Spirit keep us together? And what's God put upon your heart about the importance of having an establishing community in the body of Christ? Oh boy. You know, I'm in the United Methodist Church, which has just split, just this past year split. And it breaks my heart, not because I think one side is right or wrong or my side is right or the other. I wouldn't have split if I had my choice. And I think we are prone, I mean, I think we know with social media and with the books we read, we are prone to spend time listening to the people who agree with us. And I truly believe that the work of the Holy Spirit is to help us to listen to people who are different from us, to spend time in community. So, you know, one of my favorite chapters is chapter 20, struggle for harmony, where the text is Ephesians 4-3, make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. And I talk in that little chapter about that the words in this chapter are taken from prison. So, the bonds of peace. Community doesn't happen naturally. We don't just hang with people who are different from us, naturally. Naturally, we gather with people who are like us. But Paul uses language of prison, fetters, chains, bonds to say that the unity of peace requires very hard work. And so, I would say a deep work of the Holy Spirit is that to create community where people in their natural selves would never be in community. Jack, I love that. I love the community aspect of the Holy Spirit. Let me ask you, for someone who's watching, they're probably by themselves in their apartment or house watching this program right now. We talked about it earlier that we want to see God do something through the Holy Spirit in their life. Could you just speak to that one that they're watching? There's a hunger in them for more of the Holy Spirit. Could you just maybe speak to them, even pray for them that they might receive that leading of the Holy Spirit? Each person, thankfully, the Holy Spirit can work in the crevices and the cracks of our lives. And so, the Holy Spirit works individually for each of us. Six billion people, the Holy Spirit can work in our lives. And so, I would say to you, the Holy Spirit can work in your life in exactly a way where you need it. It doesn't have to mirror or imitate anyone else. But I would say this, there are steps we can take to living that life in the Holy Spirit. When you see an athlete make a beautiful catch in the end zone and the football is on the tip of their fingers, you know that that didn't happen just because they're a good athlete. That happened because they ran and did crunches and worked and were in a team and community. So, I would say the Holy Spirit can work definitely in your life. But begin to take up small disciplines. Begin to take one minute to breathe and receive. Begin to look for community with people who are different from you. Begin, the last chapter, Anna, is one of the most important. I would say this to the people in your homes. The last one is to leave a legacy. Begin to think about people with whom you can spend time who could benefit from your life in the Holy Spirit. So, slow down, receive the Spirit. Begin to look for communities, small communities, where you can experience the Holy Spirit. And think about the legacy you can leave, because even if you feel you have a lousy spiritual life, even if you don't have the disciplines I'm talking about, even if you don't feel renewal purpose and joy, which is the subtitle of this book, Seven Secrets, you still have a legacy to give. You have something you can bring to other people. So, I pray that the Holy Spirit will work in your life, stirring up a deep passion to take small steps and give gifts to other people. Jack, thank you so much. Ladies and gentlemen, Seven Secrets of the Spirit-Filled Life. I want to tell you this, you need to go get your hands upon this book. We only got into a couple of those secrets, but all of them are very well-rounded. It will help you to have a balanced approach in understanding how to live the Spirit-Filled Life. Thanks again, Jack, for your time, and we appreciate your ministry and your recent book. Well, you all are a gift to me. Thank you for having me today, all three of you. Ladies and gentlemen, you're going to want to stay tuned, because we have a time of ministry and some scriptures we want to give to you, but don't forget to grab this book. It'll really be a blessing to you, and we want to minister to you more right after this message. Remember your childhood joy and excitement when being invited to a party? You felt valued, included, wanted, and ready to have a good time. Best-selling author Bob Goff believes that every day of life can be lived with the same childlike enthusiasm and sense of humor. Inside Love Does, you'll learn that love is a verb, not just a feeling. His insights and joyful reflections will help you discover what it means to live fully alive, even as you serve others. Prepare to encounter remarkable stories from Bob Goff's life as he shares how living and loving to the fullest is the best way to make Jesus known in this world. Request your copy of Love Does when you give your best gift this month. Your gift today will help Cornerstone Television show the life-changing love of Jesus through Christ-centered TV programs. Call us at 888-665-4483 or give at ctvn.org slash donate. What an important and wonderful conversation we have with Jack Levinson and I just think of that and that book by Bob Goff. God is calling us into something deeper. He's calling us into this real, incredibly, I mean we have this incredible relationship that he's invited us into. And we have a scripture about that. Romans 8 verses 15 and 16. This is from the New Living Translation. It says this, so you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead you receive God's spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him Abba Father for his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Oh guys, I don't know. I'm getting the chills over here right now. You know, does that mean the Holy Spirit's moving past today? I'm getting the chills because I think about this and I think we've not adopted a code of ethics. You know, we've not adopted a religious, you know, just a religion. We've been adopted by God into his family as his children. What a fantastic thing. I think of my own children and my grandchildren now and how, you know, that love of a relationship. My grandkids just with their parents of course went up to a cabin we have up north and we couldn't go. And so they were always there when they come and they were so, our grandkids were so disappointed that we weren't there. They're like oh, and pep-up slot here. It's not going to be the same. I love that even though they had a good time anyway, but it's because that relationship I have with them that we have with them that is deep and meaningful and fun. And God has that feeling towards you as well. Anna, what are your thoughts? Yeah, I don't know what kind of a home that you grew up in, what your parents were like, what your father was like, but as children of God, our Heavenly Father, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as we get deeper revelation about who he is, then we get deeper revelation about who we are as his children. What benefits come with that? What privileges come with that? If you have take some time to get into Ephesians today, it talks all about the benefits of being a child of God that you have been given every spiritual blessing that you have been seated in heavenly places when we understand the protection of our Father, the blessings of our Father, His abundant grace, His comfort, His encouragement, His ability to take us up out of the grave and give us this new life of purpose. Why do we fear? Why do we hang onto the spirit of timidity, of fear when we have been given a spirit of love, of power and a sound mind? Today is your day, my friend, to step into the benefits of being a child of God. And I think that's one of the greatest blessings, Anna, that we have. And I feel like there's somebody watching right now that maybe you've made some mistakes, maybe you've fallen short, maybe you've done some things wrong, maybe you feel like it's too late for you. I believe right now that passive scripture that Tom just read, he talks about how now we have the spirit of God inside of us crying out Abba Father. I love also in Romans chapter eight as well as the spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, then heirs. We are joint heirs with Christ. And there's somebody right now that needs to understand no matter what you've done, no matter how far you've fallen, no matter what you're walking through, it's not too late. The covenant was not broken with you, it was broken with his son, Jesus Christ. It is an everlasting covenant. He simply chooses you today. You may have a ministry that you're called to do and something that you're called to operate in. You say, well, I've made this mistake, Pastor Jay, it doesn't matter. The covenant was not with you. It was with Jesus and he has chosen you today. All you have to do is simply receive his love. And if you're feeling that this ministry time is simply for you, I want to encourage you to pick up that phone and dial 888-665-4483. Today is a new day for you. Today is a day of hope. Today is a day of God's love. Today is a day that it's time for you to pick yourself up, receive God's love, realize that you are his son, his daughter and he has a plan for your life and you're going to learn how to live the spirit let walk in. That's right. And remember at the child of God, you were born at this time in history for a purpose. We live in a culture where there is an epidemic of loneliness and as we heard from Jack today, people need to be loved. They need to be seen and heard and understood. So ask the Lord to send you to somebody today to invite them into your home to be hospitable and just listen to their stories. Think about how you can encourage them about who they are and how much God loves them and what he wants to do through them. Friend, you've got purpose, you've got gifts, you've got talents, you've got life experiences and people that you can touch and impact for the Lord. Thank you so much for being with us. We love you here. Have a great day. On tomorrow's Hope Today equipping you to understand spiritual warfare and how to pray from heaven's perspective, author and pastor Mike Thompson shares about his encounter with Jesus in heaven and shows us how we can understand God's purposes and the spiritual warfare in which we are called to engage. That's tomorrow on Hope Today.