 You know, I was just thinking, I think it was Chris was saying something about meeting his wife. You know, it brought me back to when I first met my wife. I was in my 30s. I wasn't even planning on being married at that point. And I met her and I just knew. I looked at her that wasn't, I don't know what it was, except the Holy Spirit. And it was like, I think that's my wife. And within a couple of weeks, she and I were having that kind of conversation. But because I'm such a knucklehead, it took two and a half more years. But I'm blessed. She's a wonderful woman and we have four children together. Three girls and a boy. And the boy's the baby. Our oldest is Hannah, she's 24 years old. And then Gabrielle, she's about to be 22 in a couple of weeks. Kaylee just graduated, she's 18. And then our little baby boy, who's almost my height now, is 15. So life is good. I always miss them when I travel. I travel a couple of times a month around the church. And I always miss them when I'm gone, but I always love what God's doing when I'm gone. But when I go home, I am fully there. I am there. I don't do anything, but stay home, be with my kids. And I love my family. So just wanted to tell you that. Yep. And what's interesting is this is a special thing that I just realized yesterday. I mean, I knew this all my life, but I put it together. I was born down the street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yeah, who else is from Pittsburgh? Let's hear it a little more than that, Pittsburgh. Come on, Yens. There you go. See, my uncle's here somewhere. Joe, raise your hand, say, hey, there he is. So it's a great privilege to be here. And I'm gonna give you a five-minute testimony, something that usually takes about an hour and a half at most of our events I'm gonna do in five. So y'all ready for this? So I was born, and now I live. No, so I was born in Pittsburgh, as I said, and I left there when I was about six years old. My whole family left there because when I was five, my father walked out the door never to return. And we moved down to Miami. Yeah, someone from Miami? All right, go Miami. And grew up there, and life, the way I described life growing up was chaos, survival. I would watch my mom as a little boy crying herself to sleep. And I grew this deep hatred and anger towards my father, because my father broke her heart as he was on a faithful tour. I watched my whole family go through various struggle but in that anger and in that hatred, it fueled me to have big dreams and I made a vow. You know, there's holy vows and there's unholy vows. A holy vow, marriage, right? An unholy vow is made out of a judgment. And out of my judgment towards my father, I made an unholy vow, which I didn't know at the time, but I vowed that I will never be like my father. I will never hurt a woman the way my father hurt my mother. And I dreamed of being somebody. And from the time I was eight years old, I dreamed of being a professional athlete. And all through high school, played three sports, ended up playing football at Florida State and then had a chance of my childhood dream. And while I was in the locker room of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the different Tampa Bay than just one of the Super Bowl, by the way, these guys were over. And while I was in the locker room, on the toilet, this is where my life changed. And I was on the toilet in the NFL locker room, looking out over my life like, wow, look what I've overcome. This is what I've always wanted. This is my dream. And then it hit me, who am I kidding? I'm miserable. I hated myself. I was full of shame because in college, I had given up on love after having my heart broken three times. And I said, love does not exist. And I lived what I thought a man was supposed to do, which is just stupidity. But anyway, the old song, some of you older folks will remember it, looking for love in all the wrong places, looking for love in too many faces. I think they wrote that for me. And that was my college journey. And then my senior year, I had a wake-up call. I got injured, missed four games, and was confronted with my life. And I realized that I am just like my father. I hated my father. And I realized I'm just like him. I hated me. So now, here I am in the locker room of Tampa Bay. And this all hits me. So this is what I thought I always wanted, and it's not enough, I'm miserable. So at that moment, I cried out to God. See, I went to Catholic middle school, Catholic high schools, grew up in the church. But in college, walked away completely, served myself. So here I am. I think I was 23, sitting on the toilet in Tampa Bay, saying, God, no, it's Bart. You remember me? I need to know if you're real. If you're real, please show yourself real to me. If not, I don't want to live anymore. A week later, my NFL dream came to an end. I went back to Tallahassee. My brother, Bob, invited me to a men's weekend. And on this men's weekend, a lot of things happened, but I'm giving you the five minute version. It was Sunday, and you're sitting around the table, six men to a table, 50 men in the room, and you're reading letters from loved ones. And Bob, who was on the weekend with me, writes this letter. Bob's eight years older than me, and Bob says to me, Bart, I just want to let you know I love you. And I'm proud of you. I thought, what is he, who's he kidding? I don't love me. I hate me. I'm full of shame. You're proud of me. I just failed at the only thing I was good at. But I thought it's the right thing to do. I'll go thank him. So I end up seeing him in the middle. We meet in the middle of the room. I reached out my hand and said, Bob, thank you very much. That was a really nice letter. And this guy behind us pushed us together, and the walls of my heart crumbled. All the hardened ears, the hardened, tough football guy, the macho guy all crumbled. And in front of 50 other guys, I'm sobbing like a baby on my brother's arms. And I feel this presence fill the room, which I now know as the Holy Spirit, who has filled this room tonight. And then I hear the father speak to me. And he says, Bart, I'm your father. I'm a father to the fatherless, and I love you. That was 33 years ago, and my life's never been the same. I encountered love himself. He didn't just love me. He is love. And love himself showed up, embraced me, and transformed my life. And it's my biggest passion. And that same father of love is here with you now, and he wants to embrace you. That same Holy Spirit that filled the room is in this room, and it's only gonna increase. He's just that good. If you will, just close your eyes a moment. I just wanna lead you in a quick meditation. Holy Spirit, I ask you to be present with us. The catechism says that meditation and contemplative prayer is gazing upon Jesus. The Scripture says it's gazing upon His beauty or His glory. I wanna invite you just to gaze upon Jesus. And I want you to invite Him, I wanna invite you to share with Him your desire. What is on your heart? What are you wanting from Him? Tell Him, He is here. Father, I pray that you would show us your love deeper than we've ever known it before. That Jesus, you would become so real within our hearts that it would radically transform us. Holy Spirit, come. Lord, I ask you to fill this place with your holy angels. Come, Holy Spirit. All right, and you're ready, you can open your eyes. Now, if you're having time with Him, just ignore me. He's more important. But before every event that I do, I try to anchor it in these two or three things. If you were there in the session earlier, you heard part of this. So catechism quote, a saint quote, and a fun little word picture. You all ready? So catechism, paragraph 2670 and 2671. 2670 says this, the church invites us to call upon the Holy Spirit once a month. Nope, the church invites us to call upon the Holy Spirit every day, before and after every important action. Let's say getting out of bed is an important action, going to bed is an important action, and everything in between is an important action. Eating, how about breathing? Important action. So what the church is saying to you and I is that we're to call upon the Holy Spirit always, all day, every day. 2671 goes on to say that the simplest and the most direct prayer is also traditional. Do you guys know what that is? Calm Holy Spirit. Calm Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and in kindle within us the fire of your love. St. Bonaventure, Steubenville, you're familiar with this? St. Bonaventure says the Holy Spirit comes where he is loved. The Holy Spirit comes where he is invited. The Holy Spirit comes where he is expected. You know, in all the events that I've done, I've done a couple where I did not invite the Holy Spirit and I'll tell you, I'd rather have a root canal and I made a decision that I'm not doing any more like that. You see, the Holy Spirit wants his church back and the Holy Spirit just wants us to invite him and to call him. He is the secret. Even Jesus had the Holy Spirit to send upon him at his baptism. We're to call upon the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to take over this room. He wants to take over your life. He wants to take over the church. He wants to move. So I'm gonna invite us, we're gonna do this together because it's one thing for me to do it. It's a whole other thing when we all do it. So let's stand up and say with me, come Holy Spirit. Again, come Holy Spirit. A third time, come Holy Spirit. Place your hand on your heart. Pray this with me, come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful. And in kinder within me, the fire of your love. Extend your hands out to everyone in this room. Say come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful. And in kinder within them, the fire of your love. Let's intercede on behalf of the church. You think the church might need this? Let's intercede guys. Come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful. And in kinder within the church, the fire of your love. Now let's do what St. Bonaventure invited us to do. Say with me, Holy Spirit. I love you. Holy Spirit. I invite you. Holy Spirit. I expect you. Ask a person next to you if you can place your hand on their shoulder. Please honor the person next to you, make sure they're okay with it. Place your hand on their shoulder. And let's pray this for the person next to you. You all ready? Pray for the people next to you. Come Holy Spirit. Fill your faithful ones. And in kinder within them, the fire of your love. Amen. Amen, you can be seated. He comes where he's loved, invited, and expected. And he wants to be here. And we want him. So here's my fun little word picture for you. I'll do it in a form of a question. How many of you have ever been in the back of a crowded elevator? Raise your hand for me. All right. How many of you can remember when you were a little kid being in the back of a crowded elevator? What did you see? Come on. Butts. Butts and elbows. As a little kid in the back of a crowded elevator, all you see is butts and elbows. I don't know about you guys, but these last few years have felt a lot like butts and elbows. Can I get an amen? I mean, it's like we've been swooshed in behind the back of that crowded elevator. We even had masks up to our face. But imagine you're that little kid in the back of the crowded elevator, and your father's in the elevator with you, and he's taller than everybody else. Which by the way, I'm eight foot four, up here maybe. But imagine your father there, and he's taller than everyone else. And you're there, Sam was in behind the elbows and butts, and you're pressed into the back, and you reach up your arms to daddy, and he lifts you up. Now what do you see? You see over top of everyone's head. The elevator door opens up. Now what do you see? You see out into the hall. Imagine, if you will, you're on the edge of a cliff. It's a beautiful blue sky day, panoramic view. Let's imagine there's a valley down there, maybe a church on a hill. Beautiful day. But you're in the back of the elevator, Sam was in behind elbows and butts. But daddy's holding you now. And the elevator's on the edge of this cliff, looking out over this view. And now the elevator door opens up. What do you see? You see as far as the eye can see. You see our perspective just changed? We went from Sam was in behind elbows and butts, to seeing out into the hall, to now seeing as far as the eyes can see. You know, I don't know about you. Like I said earlier, this has been a tough time. This has been a tough time. I mean, what in the world's going on? It's been a tough time. Tough season of time. And I want to applaud you guys. You've persevered and you're here. Give yourself a hand. And I applaud you watching. You're here too. But wouldn't it be great to have the father's perspective? So how about we do that? Let's do another meditation. You game? So if you will, close your eyes. And I want you to imagine yourself as that little kid in the back of the crowded elevator. Only instead of elbows and butts, it's your circumstances. I want to invite you to feel the oppression. And Holy Spirit, I ask that you make this real. Maybe it's what we've all gone through with COVID. Maybe there's something personal going on with your finances are at home or whatever it is. And now your father is in the elevator, but not just any father, God Almighty. And I want you to reach your arms up to the father. Either you can do this literally or in your imagination. Reach your hands up to the father and say, father, pick me up and help me to see what you see. Let me pray for you, father. I pray that you would show them how you see their circumstances. Come Holy Spirit, just continue to be present with us. All right, when you're ready, you can open your eyes. So let's talk about perspective. What in the heck has been going on? I mean, first, we had all these scandals. And just when we catch our breath, we get hit with COVID and we're shut down. Forced to wear masks. And as if that wasn't enough, we have racial tensions. People rioting in the streets. And just when we're trying to catch our breath again, behind our mask, we then get political tensions. Extreme right, extreme left. And then we can't go to church. What in the heck is going on? I don't know about you, but sometimes I sit there and I go, father, where are you? My God, were you just coming in and do something? He says, yeah, I want to. I need my body. I'm the head. You're the body. I want to partner with my church, my people, to bring my answer. So I decided to ask, you know, John 15, 15. Jesus says, I no longer call you a servant or a slave because a servant does not know it's master's business. No, I've called you a friend. God's called you a friend. He says, you're my bud. You are my friend. And I asked a friend, Jesus says, I reveal everything the Father has revealed to me. So I decided to take him up on it. I said, okay, Father, I know I'm your friend. I love you deeply. What's going on? What is going on? So I'll just share with you. This is just my own personal thoughts. You seek them for yourself. Hopefully we'll have witness. But this is my sense as I ask the Father what's going on. So the Father's perspective. As crazy as everything is and as crazy as it may sound, I believe we are living in one of the greatest hours in the history of the church. Before every major move of God throughout history, all the way back even to the book of Judges, the synonyms were exposed. And the people of God repent and cry out, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, cry out to me and repent, I will heal their land. God's waiting on us. In the book of Judges, the children of Israel were bringing evil into the temple. And God was angry. And he turned them over to the Medianites and the Canites and the Jebusites and Mosquito Bites and all those. And if you look those words up, they mean double. Double brawling, double incest. So it's almost like God said, okay, okay, okay, listen, I've given you all free will and you're just not getting it. And so he turns them over to double their sin. I believe that's what's happening today. And then what happened in the book of Judges is they cried out to God in repentance. They begged for his mercy. And he sent a redeemer. And it says, in the Nat generation serve the Lord all the days of their lives. I believe that's the day we're living in. It's disheartening to see the scandals. It's disheartening to see all that's happening. But if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and repent, I will heal their land. I will send redemption. I loved the video where Father Dave was talking about St. Francis rebuild my church. I came back into the church eight years ago. Before that I went on a couple of events and some Catholic events and I stayed in a seminary and everywhere I went I stayed in the St. Francis room. What in the heck is this? And then when God starts calling me back into the church I'm wrestling with him for 11 months. Finally on a planned retreat, God speaks to me and he says, I'm calling you and inviting you into my church because I'm transforming the very heart of my church. And I'm preparing my church for a move of my spirit. And I'm gonna expose evils. See judgment starts in the house of the Lord. And I'm gonna cleanse the house. And then I'm gonna fill it with my glory. And he said to me, Bart I'm inviting you as my friend. To one feel my ache, which is painful. And to be about the work of transforming my church. Not me alone, we're all doing it. This is what we're all called to. And I said, yes Father I love you. And I came into the church, my family came into the church and I wish I could say it's been a piece of cake, it's been difficult. I feel his ache and his grief. I also feel the hope and the joy. And I'm standing before you with absolute confidence to tell you that I believe we are living in the greatest hour in the history of the church. That God is bringing us back into the fullness of our 2,000 year history. That everything that Jesus paid for through his death and resurrection is ours. And all he's asking for us is to repent. So let's do it, stand on your feet. On behalf of the church, on behalf of ourselves, but on behalf of the church, let's ask the Father to forgive us. Come Lord Jesus, come Holy Spirit. Come, lead us. Say with me, Lord Jesus, I thank you for everything you did for us. That through your death and resurrection, you conquered sin, evil and death. And you rose from the grave to bring us into your resurrection life. Forgive us Lord, for taking that for granted. Forgive us Father, for all of our sins, as your people, as your church, we repent on behalf of your church. Please forgive us. Jesus, please forgive us. Holy Spirit, please forgive us for grieving you. And forgive us for quenching you. Come Holy Spirit, heal our land. And may it begin here within me, in Jesus' name. Amen. Now you can be seated. So again, what's going on? Well, you'll probably recall Pope John Paul II, now saint, right? He spoke of a new springtime coming into the church. How many of you have heard that? A new springtime coming into the church. Well now, everyone raise your hand because you just heard it. All right, there we go. There's a new springtime coming into the church. I believe we're living in the fulfillment of what he prophesied. I believe we're living in the new springtime of the church. However, what comes before spring? Winter! I'd say we're in a winter, would you agree? So you guys probably get some pretty harsh winters. How are the trees looking in the middle of winter? Bare, dead, gray, ashy. If you didn't know any better, you'd get out your chainsaw and you would cut that tree down, wouldn't you? But what a mistake. Because what's happening in that tree in the winter is the sap is being formed in that tree and is preparing it for spring. A gardener, a good gardener, on their fruit bearing trees in the off season, they cut that thing back and it looks dead. It looks like a bunch of sticks. If you didn't know better, you would uproot it. It looks dead. But what happens to that tree or that fruit bearing tree in the spring? All of a sudden, the leaves start coming out, right? They start getting green. And the sap is doing something, informing something and then all of a sudden these little flowers come at the end of these fruit bearing trees, right? And if you pruned it back well, all of a sudden that tree is producing much fruit. Does that sound familiar to anything Jesus said? John 15, abide in me. My father is the vine dresser. I'm the vine. Catechism 1108 says the Holy Spirit's the sap. Abide in me and you'll produce much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. How about we put an end of doing church apart from him and we do it all from an abiding posture. And he says, as you abide in me, you'll produce fruit, much fruit, which is to my father's glory. I believe we've been going through a winter. We've been going through a pruning. You know, it's one thing when he cuts down the dead branches. But when he starts cutting the living ones, that really hurts, right, amen? Can anyone say amen? I don't know about you guys, but man, he's been chopping away at some branches in my life. Like I'm ready for this stuff to be done. He's pruning us. He's preparing us for springtime. I believe we're coming into the fulfillment of Pope John Paul II, St. John Paul II's prophecy of a new springtime in the church. You know what happens in the springtime? There's a mighty harvest. Jesus said, the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few. God is raising up the harvest, the laborers. And getting us ready for a harvest. It may not look good right now, but be encouraged and full of hope we are coming into spring. And tonight, he's getting us ready. God is preparing his church for a springtime. He's cleaning his house and he's getting us ready. You guys familiar with the story of Esther? For such a time as this? But you know as you dig into that story, it's kind of strange. They took all the virgins and they prepared them for one night with the king. Who is this king? Esther's one of those virgins. And you know what they did? And they had a year of beauty treatments where they were bathed in oils and perfumes. They were scrubbed. A year of this so that they can have one night with the king. And we know that Esther became the queen for such a time. We've been going through some beauty treatments, church. Anyone else besides me feeling the scrubbing, the bathing, the cleansing, the beauty treatments? I'm looking forward to the perfumes. The aroma of Christ. God is preparing his bride, a beautiful bride. So I was in the upper room of a seminary. This was a couple of years before I came back in the church. This may have been 10 years ago. I'm in the upper room of a seminary. About a dozen in the room, two priests, a bunch of seminarians, my brother Bob and I. We just got done ministering to a priest who had fallen immorally. And we watched God do a beautiful healing deep within his heart. And then we're gathered and these guys are practicing praying with one another and I'm the guinea pig and it brings me right into the memory of when my father walked out of the door when I was five years old and I'm weeping in front of them. And then I get this pain in my chest. So you got a picture of this. I'm sitting in a lazy boy in the middle of the room, in the upper room of a seminary with these dozen or so seminarians, priests. I'm not Catholic at the time. I mean, I've always been Catholic, but you know what I'm saying. And I'm sitting there in the chair. I'm oblivious to anything that's happening in the room. All I'm in touch with now is this sobbing that I'm doing in this deep agonizing pain in the center of my chest. And I'm tapping my chest and I'm saying out loud, what is this? What is this? What is this? I literally had a bruise in my chest the next day. What is this? And I hear it. It's my church. It's my church. Her heart has not been receptive. And I'm shaking. This has never happened to me before or since. I'm shaking. And now I open my eyes and I look at the priest across the room as a good friend of mine. I look to him and I say to him, we, those not in the Catholic church at the time, are tired of hearing you say that you're the one true Catholic in apostolic church. Stop talking about it and start looking like it. And here's a man who's laid his life down for the church, a godly man, not one ounce offended. And he looks back at me and he says, amen brother. But she, the church, the bride will be so beautiful, the whole world will run to her. She will be so beautiful, the whole world will run to her. That's why we're going through what we're going through. The scrubbing, the pruning, because he's preparing a beautiful bride for such a time as this. We're coming into a new springtime. Just embrace what he's doing and prepare for a major outpouring of the spirit of God as he calls us more fully into our 2000 year history that everything Jesus paid for through his death and resurrection will come to bear fruit. Little did I know when I had that experience in the upper room that a couple years later God was calling me back in the church and inviting me to feel his ache. Woo, but the hope, the joy. I wish I could take you with me and see the things that I'm seeing as I travel around the church. There are signs, miracles, and wonders happening in the church. And if they're not happening through you, get ready, they will. So let's talk about two things. The Father's desire and Jesus' desire. So it's a prayer we pray all the time. I prayed it growing up. I prayed it every Sunday. I prayed it in school before school started. All the time, even my sports team, we prayed it. You guys know the prayer, right? Our Father. What are we saying when we say the Our Father? I had no idea. Our Father who art in heaven, how will be the name, that kingdom kind of will be done. I don't know if this is the name or give us the name. That's how I said it. And then it dawned on me. What are we saying here? See the disciples went to Jesus and they said, teach us how to pray. He said, okay, here's how you to pray. When you pray, I want you to talk to my dad, my Abba, my papa, my daddy. When you pray, pray our Abba, our Father. He's not just my father, he's your father. So when you go to him, you go to him and say, hey, a daddy, our Father who art in heaven, that doesn't mean he does art in heaven, right? Who is in heaven? Hallowed be thy name. Hallowed is holy. Name means nature, character. Our Father who's in heaven, holy is your name and your nature. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And then he says, now pray right into my Father's desire. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. Where? As it is? That's the Father's desire. You know how many times Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God? When you pray, pray to my Father, our Father who's holy, who's in heaven. Pray that his kingdom would come and his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Yeah, we're gonna get to heaven one day. We are, and it's gonna be glorious. But let's not use that as an excuse. We got work to do here. And he wants to bring his kingdom here. And he wants his will to be done here. You know how he wants to do that? Through you, through his church. What is Jesus' desire? Well, I'll give you a hint. Anywhere in scriptures where Jesus says, I came to, that's a hint of his desire. If anyone says to you, this is what I came for, you should pay attention. So Jesus says, I came to do the will of my Father. He came to reveal the Father. He only did that what he saw his Father doing. And he says to you and I in John 14-12, if you believe in me, you'll do the things that I've done. The believe is the real question. So he says, I came that you might have life, abundant life. You know another one of those that Jesus said that we're gonna emphasize here tonight? Luke 12-49. Jesus said, I came to cast fire upon the earth. And how I wish it were already kindled. Jesus said, I came to cast fire on the earth. And how I wish it was already blazing. That's quite a statement. This is one of the reasons why he came to set the earth on fire. He said this 2,000 years ago. How do you think he's feeling today? He came to cast fire upon the earth. If you've ever seen a forest fire, not a pretty sight, but if you set a controlled fire, it actually prevents forest fires and it burns away all the brush underneath and then what happens later is everything's revitalized and turns green. You guys have seen the Lion King, member Scar, the evil one, gets rid of Mufasa and Simba, takes over the kingdom and everything's become fiery and ashy and gray. Everyone's oppressed. Simba finally wakes up, he comes back, defeats Scar. And what happens? Everything goes from gray and ashy to green and vibrant and life. That's what happens when the church knows who she is and stands in the glory of God and fulfills the Father's desires and Jesus' needs. Jesus came to cast fire upon the earth. You say, what is fire? Thanks for asking. Catechism 696 says this, Fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. Fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The fire of the Holy Spirit's actions. The fire of the Holy Spirit transforms what he touches. St. Catherine of Siena, you're probably familiar with this. Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire. Now, she's not saying be like the next pope. She's not saying be like a canonized saint. She's saying be you. Just be who God meant you to be. Just be who God created you to be. That's all you got to do. That's easy. Just be you. And you'll set the earth on fire with the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. Jesus came to set the earth on fire and he wants to set the earth on fire by setting the church on fire. And he wants to set the church on fire by setting you on fire. And the way you're going to be set on fire is just being who God created you to be. What's fire? Fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The fire of the Holy Spirit transforms what he touches. Now, let's talk real quickly about the life of Jesus. John the Baptist, you know, a strange cousin who wore camel's clothes and ate honey and locus and would cry out in the wilderness, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. He was Jesus' cousin who leapt in the womb when Mary showed up. So Jesus shows up at 30 to John. Before that, Jesus is a carpenter's son. He's the son of Joseph and Mary. As far as the people know, he's an ordinary guy. Little did they know, he was God Almighty who lowered himself of his divinity and dwelt among us as a man. Other than some profound wisdom, he was a carpenter's son. But at 30, he goes to John and he's baptized. And three things happen at his baptism. It says, the heavens opened and I'm believing God is going to open the heavens over us. And then the Father spoke, this is my beloved and whom I delight. In other words, this is my boy. I love him. And then the Holy Spirit descends upon him like a dove. And then after this, Jesus goes into the wilderness where he's tempted and tested. And he says, devil, get away from me, it is written. And then he goes to a little wedding with his mom, a little Jewish wedding, and they happen to run out of wine. So Jesus blesses it, turns the water into wine, it's the best wine. And then we watch Jesus for the next two and a half years. Signs, miracles and wonders. He forgave the sins. He taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news. He loved. He had mercy. He forgave. He laid hands on the sick and they were healed. The blind would see, the deaf would hear, the lame would walk. Even the dead were raised. And then he dies. He conquers. Senevo and death. Snatches the keys from scar. Snatches the keys. Raises from the dead. Conquering all sin, all evil, all death. The victorious one. And then listen to what happens. John 20. This actually was referenced a couple of times last night. John 20. When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, I want you to picture this. So all the followers of Jesus, they had this thought that Jesus was going to take over the government. I don't know, you guys probably never have that thought. And they're thinking he's going to overthrow the Roman government. Hey, we're fighting, man. Who's at his right? Who's at his left? Yeah. Yeah. And even though he told him 100 million times, I'm going to die. No, Peter, nope. Not on my watch. Get behind me, Satan. So here they are, their fearless leader, who they've seen amazing things happening, is now publicly shamed and crucified on a hill. Most of them run away. Except John, Mary, maybe a few others. And now here they are after Jesus is crucified. And they're upstairs praying. And that's what this is talking about. When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, in the doors of the house where the disciples had met, were locked for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. All right, let's pause there a minute. Jesus just gets crucified. They're next. They're hiding. They're not praying. They're hiding for fear. I don't know about you. But if I'm hiding and I'm afraid because my fearless leader just got crucified, I'm trembling in fear. And the doors are locked. And all of a sudden a ghost shows up that doesn't help my fear. But Jesus shows up and stood among them. And then he says, peace be with you. This is what I'm picturing. If I'm Peter and I relate a lot to Peter, peace be with you. After he had said this, he then shows them his hands and his side. Remember Thomas? Oh, it's the Lord. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. And then Jesus said to them, again, peace be with you. Hey, guys, I don't know what you've been through. I don't know what's gone on in your life over the last season of time. But I bet it's been tough for a lot of you. I don't know the things you've walked through. I've ministered to a lot of people. I know a lot of things that have happened. I know my own journey. It's been tough. In some ways it feels kind of like Jesus has died. Can't even go to church. So just put yourself in the position of these disciples. Talk about despair. Everything we hope for is now gone. And they're afraid because they're going to be persecuted. Jesus shows up and says peace. Jesus shows up to you in your circumstances. And he says peace be with you. You know, yeah, that's great. But then he proves to them it's me. It's me. The Lord wants to show you that he's here. He's with you. He's got you. He's got your circumstances. It's not a big deal for him. God, Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit are not sitting up in heaven right now going holy. We didn't see that one coming. What do we do now? No. No, no. They're fine. Peace. Peace. They just want you and I to understand. Everything's fine. Everything's fine. Peace be with you. And he proves to you, hey, I got it. Now you can rest. And then he says again, peace be with you. And then it says, as the Father has sent me, so I send you. When he had said this, peace be with you, he breathed on them. Isn't that odd? Peace be with you. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. What in the world is that about? You know what that word breathe is there? Anybody? Ruach. Where else in Scripture did we hear that word breathe? Ruach. Genesis. You guys remember? God forms Adam from the dust. And then he breathed into his nostrils, the Ruach, breath of life. And then it says, Adam became a living being. But we know how, why. I don't know why Adam and he made this decision. Holy. They decided to rebel. And they lost their breath. The spirit within them died. And man has been walking around like zombies ever since. And then Jesus comes, who the Scripture says is the second Adam. And he dies and he pays the price for us to come back to the Father, come back to the garden if you will. And when he shows up, he says, peace be with you. And he breathes on them. The Ruach, breath of life. And he says, receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus wants to breathe on us. John says in Matthew 3.11, I came. Let me find it. John says, I baptize you with water for repentance. But one who is more powerful than I is coming after me. He, Jesus, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And with fire. What does the church say fire is? The transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. What does St. Bonaventure say? The Holy Spirit comes where he is loved, where he is invited, where he is expected. What does Jesus say? I came to cast fire upon the earth. And I wished it was already so. What is the Father's desire for his kingdom to come and his will to be done here on earth through you? As it is in heaven. But we need his breath. We need his fire. We need the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions to touch us, to heal us, to transform us. Please stand to your feet. I want you just to close your eyes and just to gaze upon Jesus and tell him what you want. He never violates our will. Tell him what you want. If you want him to breathe on you, say, Jesus, breathe on me. Your ruha, breath of life. If you want him to set you on fire with the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions, say, Holy Spirit, set me on fire. If you have already been set on fire, tell him you want more. Tell him what you want. Now, Lord Jesus, I ask that you would make this very real. That you would show up right here. With all of us fearful, disoriented people from a hard season of time. And I ask you to come and break off the disillusionment, the despair, the discouragement, the depression, the oppression. And I ask that you right now, Jesus, would come and breathe your breath of life into their nostrils. Breathe on them, Lord. Breathe on them your ruha, breath of life. Jesus, may we be the people that fulfill your desire. Set us on fire. That we might set the earth on fire.