 Let me be honest with you We need a fresh emphasis on the person of the Holy Ghost In a world that is crying out for the supernatural There is a church that is treating the Holy Spirit as a liability Instead of the power to reach the world We need to stop limiting the Holy Spirit to special services and private meanings We need to stop drinking and sipping from the river and we need to jump into the river and say holy ghost have your way The Holy Spirit Wants to move the Holy Spirit wants to speak will you give him a voice? Will you give him your hands? Will you give him your being? Come Holy Spirit Everywhere else they may say you're not welcome Everywhere else they may treat you like you're bizarre and you're weird and you're an outcast but not hear Holy Spirit Not hear Holy Spirit Here we welcome you Lord surge to our being I'm so aware of him right now. I can sense him touching hearts Church The Holy Spirit's power cannot be replaced with programs His miracles cannot be replaced by methods Our systems cannot take the place of the spiritual We need the Holy Ghost. I promise you this To the generation that comes before me. I promise you this Never will I reject the Holy Ghost He will be the emphasis He will be the stirrer of the gospel You know when we say That we welcome the Holy Spirit We mean it in our hearts, but you must recognize That nobody knowingly no believer knowingly rejects the Holy Ghost If ever somebody rejects his moving It's because they're doing it typically unknowingly So we must humbly open ourselves to the pressing question Am I welcoming the Holy Ghost? Nobody says I don't want him I've heard preachers tell me Make sure nobody is slain in the spirit. You can pray for the sick, but afterwards And I say don't you want the Holy Ghost to move and they'll say to me things like well and this sounds clever in their minds They'll say well people are saved aren't they? Lives are being impacted aren't they? That means the Holy Spirit is moving. I Said yes, the Holy Spirit is moving, but you're basically telling him that after salvation you can take it from there Yeah, save the soul, but then don't get too weird because we'll take it from there They want to wonder why they have to counsel so many people you're counseling them when you need to cast the devil out of them But you can't cast the devil out of them Because you're not allowing the Holy Spirit to move How sad that the church in many parts of the world has become a referral program instead of the source of the power of God It's his presence. It's his power that we need now more than ever We cannot say to the next generation you can build it on a system. Just be relevant Listen, I am all for modernizing things. I am all for excellence But given the choice you can keep your fancy haircuts your tight jeans your graphics and your methods Give me the power of God The church is shying away from the very thing that the world is longing for we need him now We need him want to share this thought with you a very simple thought and then I want to pray for you The scripture says in Philippians chapter 2 Versus 6 through 8 and I'm reading out of the new living translation Philippians chapter 2 verses 6 through 8 Though he was God He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to Instead he gave up his divine privileges He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being When he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross Jesus was truly God and truly man but he was so Much man That he stripped himself of certain divine qualities He gave up certain powers by choice You see you can't kill God Because he is eternity itself But the reason that Jesus was able to be subject to death was because he stripped himself of that eternal nature The scripture tells us in Matthew chapter 1 verse 18 that it was by the Holy Spirit That the word became flesh. I Want you to think about this an incomprehensible God Of whom we receive understanding only by the Spirit became flesh It's easier for me to explain how my iPhone works to an insect than it is for me to explain to a human the complexities of God's divine nature and God is eternal and God is all powerful and God is all loving yet The Holy Ghost took eternity himself and made him a man He opened an impossibly tiny door And the Creator stepped into creation It was by the power of the Holy Ghost that the word became flesh The scripture tells us in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and then in John chapter 1 verse 14 the scripture says and the word became flesh and dwelt among us And we beheld his glory full of grace and truth Jesus was the fullness of the image of God This is why he could say if you've seen me you've seen the Father the Holy Spirit missed nothing When you look at Jesus you see the Father so If Jesus stripped himself of these divine qualities How was it that he moved in such power or the scripture makes it clear That the Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to do many things Isaiah 61 1 lists many things that Jesus did By the power of the Holy Ghost Matthew chapter 12 verse 28 tells us that it was by the Holy Ghost that Jesus cast out devils The scripture says in Acts chapter 10 verse 38 that it was by the Holy Ghost that Jesus healed the sick Jesus preached the word healed the broken heart had brought comfort to a nation According to Isaiah 61 verse 1 by the Holy Ghost Did you know that Jesus was even resurrected by the Holy Spirit? But I want you to really think about this Really consider what I'm saying to you for all of eternity and I struggle with finding a way to word this because we're speaking in matters of eternity For all of eternity the father the son and the Holy Ghost dwelt together in a continual state of being united Never before had they known separation Until the day that Jesus was crucified my God my God. Why have you? Forsaken me that was the separation from his father And father into your hands. I commend my Spirit that was the separation of the spirit and Jesus took a trust fall and With faith in the power of the Holy Ghost eternity himself who had never before known death Fell backwards into the grave trusting that the Holy Spirit would resurrect him Romans 1 4 tells us that's true Romans 8 11 tells us that's true Hebrews 5 7 tells us that's true So if Jesus trusted the Holy Ghost, how much more can we if Jesus needed the Holy Ghost? How much more do we? You see it was by the Holy Spirit that Jesus functioned in his ministry and he has given that power unto us John chapter 14 verse 12 Jesus says I tell you the truth Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done and even greater works because I am going to be with the father Now why is it I looked at that scripture. That's John 14 12. I Looked at that scripture and I wondered why is it That we can do greater works because Jesus goes to be with his father Well, you see it was also Jesus going to his father That caused the coming of the Holy Spirit John chapter 16 verse 7 tells us It's best that I go away so that the advocate can come He's saying that greater works are possible by the Holy Spirit This same power that rested on Jesus. It's by the power of the Holy Spirit that you and I today Reach our world The Holy Spirit is the greatest evangelist of all time Convicting the hearts of men drawing them to repentance revealing Jesus with such vivid and intense reality That they are drawn to the splendor of his majesty The Holy Spirit is the world's greatest church builder He breathed upon the church in the book of Acts and there was explosive growth even in the face of persecution and death The Holy Spirit is the greatest healing evangelist Revealing Jesus as the healer to the one who is sick The Holy Spirit is your counselor. He's your teacher. He's the power of the church. I Was going through this in the class earlier But do you even know who the Holy Spirit is? He's the ancient spirit the breath at the beginning The one who hovered above the face of the deep darkness When God spoke the Holy Spirit moved and the word with spirit caused creation to come into existence He's the same Holy Spirit who was in Joseph the dreamer Causing him to see and fulfill all that God had for him And I can go on and on book by book and tell you where he is He inspired poetic stanzas of worship in the heart of the psalmist David He gave wisdom to Solomon and revelation to the prophets He gave power to the church an appointment to the disciples and he rested upon Jesus in that same spirit He dwells in you, but church We need the Holy Spirit this power This ancient moving this breath of God that sustains Calling us into the nations This is bigger than just miracles. This is bigger than just healing This is bringing people into the knowledge of Jesus to the Holy Spirit. That's his primary work You want to talk about miracles signs and wonders The greatest miracle is Jesus living in you Jesus is God's clearest sign and Jesus is the greatest wonder that ever was or ever shall be But we need to take this power that's available to us not by force not by effort not by intellect not by systems But by surrender You want to know the key to the power of God The power of the Holy Spirit. I'll give it to you in one word But once you know it, you'll be ruined for any counterfeit You want to know the key You have to die listen to me church Nowadays I hear a lot of preaching and a lot of it is not the gospel Let me tell you very plainly the gospel is not about self-help. It's about self-abandonment We need as the church We need to stop trying to improve and build what God told us to crucify He didn't say build your flesh. He didn't say get seven steps to a better flesh He didn't say here's three keys to how to make your flesh more popular He said crucify that flesh Especially to my generation. I must say this. It's not about your dreams. It's about God's will You know, we hear a lot of preaching about breakthrough and climbing your mountain and the fulfillment of the dream What do we mean when we say that the term breakthrough has come to mean the day that I have no more troubles The day that I finally find my comfort you want the power of God you got to pick up your cross and you God may not have called you to do what you're dreaming of Can you lay it on the altar? You think about the Holy Spirit is he has a fiery nature and the way you keep a fire burning as you give it something to consume Some of your fires are going out because you stop giving him things to consume And you need to begin to say Holy Spirit I surrender. I don't want to stifle you I need you The first prayer that the Holy Spirit inspired me to pray. I was 11 years old when the Holy Spirit had me pray this I Said Lord Let my hands be your hands Heal through them Touch through them work through them. Let my eyes be your eyes. I Want to see things people and situations the way you see Let my ears be your ears. I want to hear your voice. Let my mouth be your mouth. I want to speak your word Let my feet be your feet guide me where you want me to go Let my being be one with your being let my heart beat one with your heart Crucify my will and in its place resurrect your own You got to die You have to die to the flesh you have to die to the things of this world you have to say Jesus. I just want you It's very difficult to hear the voice of God when you're filling your ears with things of this world It's very difficult to see God in a situation when you're looking at things you should not be looking at It's very difficult for the healing power of God to move to your hands when you're touching things You shouldn't be touching. It's very difficult to walk in the will of God when you're walking in disobedience You have to walk in the spirit so you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. We need the power of the Holy Nodes We need him But it's to surrender. It's the giving of self Lord crucify this flesh God has commissioned a work of art Jesus is the model The Holy Spirit is the painter your life when it is surrendered Becomes the blank canvas upon which the Holy Spirit can paint the image of Jesus Enoch walk with God So closely that he was not God I want to be a was not I want to be someone who just isn't John 3 30 I must decrease he must increase a simple thought for you tonight We need the power of the Holy Goose now more than ever We always have we always will and we need to surrender You see the reason it takes you hours to cast out demons It's because you're spending seconds in prayer When you should be spending hours in prayer and only seconds casting out devils There is no substitute for time with the Holy Spirit all that he offers His power His love Romans 5 5 says the love of God is shut abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost We love Jesus because the Holy Spirit puts that love there I often pray Holy Spirit Nobody loves Jesus more than you Help me to love Jesus like you love Jesus Help me to see Jesus like you see Jesus He gives us that love He gives us his holiness his grace his peace And all those things we find Simply spending time with him Jesus said this one thing you need that one thing is fellowship Second Corinthians 13 14 tells us that there is fellowship with the Holy Spirit Don't ignore him Speaks with the gentle voice He's not invasive, but he is pervasive He will fill what you surrender immediately All that he offers all that you want to become is found in surrendering In spending time with him Just be aware of him. He's so humble and gentle. That's all he asks us