Why We Need the Holy Spirit

As we often do on this day, it's good to start out with reviewing where this Holy Day is mentioned in God's Word and instructions provided with it. So let's open our Bibles to Deuteronomy 16 in verse 9. This will be a short just recap of some of the the meaning in this day that God provided to us with his own instructions. But Deuteronomy 16 in verse 9, if you want to put in your notes, we'll also reference a few verses from Leviticus. I don't know if I said Deuteronomy 16.9, but we'll also reference some verses from Leviticus 23 as well. So we won't hop back and forth. We'll just stay in Deuteronomy. But here in Deuteronomy 16 verse 9, it says, "'You shall count seven weeks for yourself,' that seven week being yesterday, being the 49th day, begin to count the seven weeks from the time you began to put the sickle to the grain." Leviticus 23 in verse 15 and 16 says, "'And you shall count for yourselves from that day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.

Seven Sabbaths shall be completed.' Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath." And so, as I already referenced, today is that 50th day. Staying in Deuteronomy 16 verse 10, "'Then you shall keep the feast of weeks to the Lord, your God, with the tribute of a free will offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, who is within your gate, the stranger and the fatherless, and the widow who are among you at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide." Leviticus 23 in verse 21 specifically for this day says, "'And you shall proclaim on that same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You should do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever and all your dwellings throughout your generations.'" As has been referenced, this day of Pentecost is especially significant to Christians because on the first Pentecost, after Jesus's death, God established the New Testament Church through the giving of His Holy Spirit. So the question for us to consider today, why do we need God's Holy Spirit? I'll give you a second to think about that. The list is long, isn't it?

There's no doubt in my mind that we each could go through a list of the reasons why we need God's Holy Spirit. The New Testament thoroughly covers this from Jesus' own words in the gospel of the need that we have for this, the power of God's Spirit, the Apostles' letters, references, and write to the power of God's Spirit and the need that we have for it. So it would not be difficult for each of us to come up with several answers to this question, but it really does come down to one simple answer. We need more help. We need more help. It really does come down to that simple answer. Let's turn to Romans chapter 13 and verse 14 as we start to explore a little bit of why we need this help.

Romans 13 and verse 14.

Here Paul admonished and encouraged those in Rome in chapter 13 verse 14. It says, "...but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, put on Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts." One chapter earlier, chapter 12 and verse 1 and 2. Paul says this. There's a tie in here in verse 12 and chapter 12 verse 1. He says, "...I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." What we have before us here in these few just three verses that we read is not a simple or easy task, and it's most definitely not something that we can do on our own. This transformation that we're told that we have to be working towards is not something that we can do on our own. So today on this Feast of Pentecost, let's look at and examine why we need God's Holy Spirit. Let's look in John 14 and verse 15. I didn't hear yesterday's sermonet, and so some of this may be a little bit of a repeat, but I know that this is what God has inspired, and so we will go with this, and often we will look at it from a few different angles, too. But let's look right now at how Jesus Christ himself, our Lord and Savior, described the Holy Spirit. John 14 and in verse 15. Christ said, if you love me, keep my commandments.

And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he or God may abide with you forever. The word helper here is paracletos in the Greek, and from the complete Word Study dictionary, it means to comfort or to encourage or to exhort. It can also be in the Greek, it can also be used as a legal advisor or a pleader, a proxy, an advocate. These are all part of the definitions. And then in King James Version, it refers to the helper as the comforter. In the Amplified Version, it says a comforter or advocate or intercessor or counselor or strengthener. And the New Living Translation refers to the helper as the advocate. Going on in verse 17, Christ says, The Spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive because it neither sees it nor knows it, but you know it, for it dwells with you and will be in you. As Christ is talking to the disciples here, they had not yet received God's Spirit, because Pentecost had not yet occurred. Our Lord and Savior had not yet been crucified. And so, he's referencing that God's Spirit was already working with them, but that a time was going to come that it was going to dwell in them. Just like we often reference with our teens and our young adults, God's Spirit is working with them today. They've received a calling, just as these disciples received a calling by Christ to follow after Him. And at some point at baptism and with the laying on of hands, our teens and our young adults receive God's Spirit to work no longer with them, but within them, as Christ references here in verse 17. Verse 20, He said, At that day you will know that I am in my Father and you and me, and I in you.

Again, Christ referencing the indwelling of His Spirit. Verse 21, And he who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me, and he who loves me will be, who he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will manifest, which means to show or to indicate or declare or to make known, I will manifest myself to him. Verse 25, These things I have spoken to you while being present with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in my name, it will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all things that I have said to you. I can only imagine being in the disciples' shoes hearing this explained to them. Not fully understanding God's Spirit or the power, what it would actually do for their lives. What is this power gonna bring back to memory, these events and these encounters that we've had with Christ? How's that work? Yet we see in Scripture and in the writings just how powerfully God's Spirit worked with these men later on. And in our own lives, we've seen how God's Spirit has worked with our lives when we've recounted Scripture, when we needed a boost of encouragement because of a trial or a difficulty we're going through, and all of a sudden what comes to remembrance?

Things from His holy Scripture. When we need to offer an encouragement to someone else because of the trial they're going through, or they come to us saying, I don't know what to do here. I'm overwhelmed. I've got this internal strife, and then we're talking with them. Have you ever had a scripture just pop into your mind out of nowhere? It's beautiful how God can work with His Spirit working within us to help us comfort others. It's amazing this power that we have described here by Jesus Christ that we now have living within us.

Can't buy it? Can't sell it? There's nothing else like it in the entire universe, and yet God in His love poured it out freely to those who would commit themselves to Him and follow after Him. The Jewish people have historically celebrated this holy day in a connection with the giving of the law, the Ten Commandments, to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai on the Feast of Pentecost.

Just as the Israelites were once in the darkness of Egypt and its negative influence over their lives, we also were once in the darkness of our sins and its influence also over our lives. Let's turn to Ephesians 4 and verse 17.

Paul in Ephesians chapter 4 very plainly describes this aspect of darkness that once lived within our hearts and in our minds. And this is that darkness that we have to continually work to put out. This is the darkness that surrounds us in our communities. It's in the nature. It's so wired at times with our own human nature that it's a constant battle. And this is why we need God's Spirit so much in our lives. Paul says here in Ephesians 4 verse 17, This I say therefore in testifying the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness to work on cleanness with greediness. Let me repeat a few of those words. Darkened, ignorance, blindness sure sounds like a mess of a person who desperately needs help. This was once a way to describe each of us before God began to open our minds and to understand a better way to walk. Even if we grew up in the church, even if this was our home and we were tremendously blessed to be part of this home, a time had to come where we had to recognize there's something inside me that wants to go contrary to God. There's something I have to struggle against, I have to fight against. So even if we grew up, darkness existed within us because we battled our own nature and that own nature sat within us. I know sometimes that's harder for second... second... Thank you, generation Christians! And sometimes for the third generation Christians, it's hard because we've been blessed to be part of this family. We've had the Holy Days since we can... I don't remember my first Holy Day. I don't remember my first Feast of Tabernacles. There's photos, thankfully, but I don't remember them. And there's a tremendous blessing in that.

What comes with it is something that I think Mr. Hobb was referencing that we've all done, but especially those who've grown up in the church of trying to fix ourselves, right? I know too much. God has been too merciful with me. He's blessed me too much in my life. Showed me the right path to walk. Given me the information that none of my peers in school had. So I should be able to do this myself.

I need to clean myself up. Pride, arrogance, self-will. I mean, we could go down a list of all these things that says, I can do this. And it's until God brings us to that point where we recognize I can't. That we then give ourselves to God. So even if we've grown up in the church, we have to recognize that we've lived in darkness. We've been ignorant at times. We've been blinded. We need God's help. Paul goes on in verse 20. It says, But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard him and been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

And then one chapter forward, Ephesians 5 and verse 8. Paul says it straightforwardly, For you were once darkness. Notice he didn't say you were once in darkness or surrounded by darkness. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

He says finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. The calling that we have received by God and the commitment that we made to Him requires us to follow in the steps of Jesus and to become His disciple. What would it have meant to be a disciple of Jesus Christ when He chose His disciples?

What would have that have meant to them? What would have been in their mind? What would they have been committing themselves to by saying, Yes, I will follow after you and be your disciple? In the highest level of Jewish education, a select few, maybe one out of a thousand, of the most outstanding students would be selected to study with a famous rabbi, learning to explain and interpret the entire Old Testament, often leaving home and traveling with the rabbi for an extended amount of time. These students were called in the Hebrew what is translated, disciple.

We know from historical records and from other sermons that we've heard, when Jewish children would become a certain age, they would have to start memorizing parts of the Bible. They'd have to start understanding and putting to practice and living just like we do here today, observing the Holy Days, observing the Sabbath, putting it to heart in memorization. So they knew it forward and backwards. They could recite it. This is part of that training that Paul had so that when we see in the letters that he wrote, when he'd reference the Old Testament, he wasn't grabbing his Bible and having to flip through and find the verse.

It was all in his head. This was part of the training and that critical training that the Jewish children would go through. And they were diligent to follow through with it. But out of that, one in a thousand, maybe, would be chosen, smart enough, dedicated enough to become a disciple of a rabbi, a teacher. But what I find interesting is, who did Jesus choose and offer to be his disciples?

Were they the most well-read, the most with the best memory? They were fishermen, a despised tax collector, not viewed highly by those around them. Do you think any Jewish rabbi even had them on their radar? It would have been a joke to even throw their name into the hat or to consider their name. But Jesus saw the hearts and he knew what his power, when he would give it on that Pentecost after his death.

What that could do for their lives. And I think when we all sit here and consider the weightiness of the calling we've received, that God chose you and me to be here today, to grow up in this family, to receive his spirit because he saw something different in us and said, you can now go with this power and of a transformed life. Not because of what you've done, not because of what I've done, because we needed help.

What an amazing opportunity God has presented to us. Going on with some more information about the disciples and what it would have meant to them. A disciple was much different than what we would call a student today. It was much more than someone who simply wanted to learn from a teacher. A disciple wants to be just like or become what the teacher is. This was a passionate and personal system of education and imitating the teacher. They would watch his every move. They would sleep near the teacher.

They would eat what the teacher ate. They would imitate his behavior. If he liked it, they liked it. If he didn't like it, they didn't like it. They wanted to become exactly like the teacher, to do it exactly as the teacher did. That's the calling and the responsibility of being a disciple. As we read through the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there are a lot of bold and amazing things that Jesus did. Is there anything that our Lord and Savior did that we are not to imitate?

Might be something to think through. I've given this some thought over several months now, trying to find is there anything that Jesus, anything in his example, anything that he said, anything that he did that he doesn't want us to emulate in our own lives to imitate? Even to the point of giving our lives, right?

If we if we're asked to give our life, we have to do it. And right now, today, we're living a physical life. We haven't been asked to give it to the point of death, but we've been told to sacrifice ourselves spiritually, to sacrifice our will. Something to consider, is there anything that Jesus Christ did that we are not to follow? If you find some things, let me know. I'm not too proud to acknowledge if there's areas that I haven't discovered, but I haven't found one yet. So, based on what we briefly looked at so far, we need to put on Christ. We need to present ourselves as living sacrifices. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to walk as children of light. Oh, and if that wasn't all, we need to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. I can't speak for you, but I can sure say I cannot do this on my own. I need help. I've always needed help. I'm sorry, I'm just thinking that sounds like something my mom would say about me. Yep, he always needed help. So, as we transition to the heart of the message, let's again consider the help that we need from God and consider the gift of His Holy Spirit. Again, why do we need God's Spirit? What does God's Spirit do for our lives? I'd like to take the remainder of the time and focus in on two aspects of the life of our Lord and Savior, the life that He lived, and the example He set as we continue to answer these questions. The first area to focus on is compassion. If we had to sit down today and come up with a list of the root causes or the underlying feelings that are creating problems for society today, around us today, the issues going on. I think the lack of real compassion would rise to the top of our lists and pretty close to the top, if not the top. Jesus saw that the society around Him was filled with broken and hurt people. Let's look at a few of the accounts of what He witnessed in His response. Matthew 9 and verse 35.

If you're looking for maybe a quick study topic one morning, one that won't take too much time, but one that is really deep in meaning, look through the Gospel accounts of when the word compassion is referenced and just read through the the dialogue. We'll read through a few of them, but we can't read through them all today. There's quite a few, but the depth of the example that we see in our Lord and Savior and the compassion He showed is tremendous. Matthew 9 and verse 35 said, Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching in the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. I mean, I've never been a shepherd, but I can imagine a sheep with no shepherd. They're in disarray. They're wandering around. They could be near the cliff, not knowing they're near the cliff.

They're not looked after. They're not cared for. They're not protected. Jesus looked out among the multitude and his heart hurt because He knew they need help. They need support. He could only do so much. He knew that. He knew He was limited in His fleshly body. He could only do so much to help the physical people there. He knew His ultimate plan would be for everyone, but He knew His time was short to actually be able to help them in that moment. He was moved with compassion. Let's look at another Matthew 14 and verse 14. We're gonna just look at 3 just in the book of Matthew alone. That's why it's a good study if you're looking for something to do, something to look at.

Matthew 14, 14. And when Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude and He was moved with compassion for them and He healed their sick. And how sick have we been at times spiritually? And we needed His healing and thankfully He has come and healed us, helping us overcome our sicknesses spiritually. Going on in verse 15, when it was evening, His disciples came to Him saying, this is a deserted place and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. But again, in the context of the compassion that He had on them, Jesus said to them, they do not need to go away.

You give them something to eat. And they said to Him, it's kind of funny because I can imagine the disciples saying, you're the one that does the miracles, not me.

And you're the one that knows how much food we got with us. And you're telling me to feed them? This has got to be a joke. But Jesus was wanting, I think, them to grow in compassion. To realize, yeah, you don't have a lot, but I have a lot.

You have a little, but I can take that little and make it great if you will stay a tool in my hands. If you will stay committed to this goal that we have to provide compassion. I think He used this, I'm reading in a little bit into the Scriptures here, but I think He used this as a teaching point to them as well.

You give them something to eat, Jesus says. Verse 17, and they said to Him, we only have five loaves and two fish. He said, bring them here to me. And then He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up in the heavens, blessed and broke, and gave the loaves to the disciples. And the disciples gave to the multitudes, and they ate, and they were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men besides women and children. Just one of those things that, could you imagine of witnessing that yourself? Being a disciple, being one of the multitude, and saying, this is unbelievable, because it simply was. Let's look at a few chapters forward. Matthew 18 and verse 21.

Matthew 18 verse 21. Then Peter came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Then Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wants to settle accounts with his servants, and when he begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. Then the master of the servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. We know this is a parable that Jesus was sharing with the disciples, but it was also foretelling a future that would touch me and you personally, because you and I were the one that owed the debt and had no way to pay it. You and I had our sins before us, the mistakes we had made, and no way that we could get out of them. But our Lord and Savior had compassion, our God had compassion, and so that we could have our sins forgiven, so we could be released. It's true the compassion of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father that we're sitting here today. It's amazing the level of compassion that Jesus not only exhibited in his physical life, but that he's poured out onto all who will believe and follow. These accounts are just a few, again, of the instances we had of recorded of Jesus' compassion on those who were broken, those who were hurting. The example we see set by our Lord and Savior, again, in the Gospel accounts, is of a compassionate high priest. In Hebrews 5 and verse 2, we see that a human high priest was to have compassion. So these were the human high priests that were looking and serving God's people. They were to have compassion on those who are ignorant.

It actually says this. Let's turn to... we're gonna look at Hebrews 14 or 4 as well. Let's go ahead and turn to Hebrews 5. Let's read this with our own eyes, because it's important to actually recognize the words that are used here because they're weighty when we really consider them. Hebrews 5 and verse 2.

Again, this is speaking of the physical, earthly, high priest that was to look after and care for God's people. This is part of what was expected of them in Hebrews 5 and verse 2.

It says, he can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray.

God recognized that the human form, you and me, would at times be ignorant and at times we would go astray. And he gave instructions that the physical high priests, the ones who are fleshly like them, the ones who have their own mistakes, they're not perfect, but in the role that they served as the physical high priest before them, was to have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray. And as the Scripture finishes up in verse 2, since he himself is also subject to weakness. One chapter before that, in chapter 4 and verse 14, we see Jesus Christ described as the spiritual high priest, the perfect high priest. Hebrews 4 and verse 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So if Jesus is being referred to as our high priest, and we know the earth we high priests were to show compassion on the ignorant, on those going astray, how much more compassion would Jesus show? It's not even measurable, is it? The amount of compassion that he would show us, and to show all who will follow after him, to show compassion on the world, who is continuing to live in darkness, who is who are continuing to go astray. Just as the multitudes that were surrounding him, some came for the show, some came for the free meal, some came because they were intrigued. Yet he showed compassion on them all, without fail, without wavering.

What are we to be doing today? When we were dead in our own trespasses and sin, our Savior extended his compassion to our lives today, and because of this, we are eternally blessed and forever changed. What did we deserve? Eternal death. What did we receive when we committed our life to God through baptism and the receiving of his Holy Spirit? As we've seen today and was shared during the sermon that we received the down payment on eternal life. Some of you might have received a down payment from your parents or as a gift from someone else to buy a car or to get a house. Nothing greater than a down payment when you're trying to go after something big in life. We've received that down payment on eternal life you and I have. Christ desires that we grow in compassion, recognizing the community around us is filled with broken and hurt people. We each have been showed tremendous compassion by God when we definitely did not deserve it at all. And with the giving of his Holy Spirit, God now desires that we grow in compassion towards others we both know inside and also outside of these walls of our church. Being compassionate doesn't mean that we turn a blind eye to sin, but it means we see beyond the outward expression of the sin and we see the root cause. The root cause is Satan and Satan the devil and the grasp that he has on the world. Our compassion is to those who are in his grasp right now, knowing that we would be in the same exact shape as they are right now if it was not for God's grace and if it was not for his love and by him placing us on a new path. We know firsthand, you and I do, how difficult it is to live a life today, a physical life. We know how difficult it is to be part of the state of Michigan, part of the United States of America. We know how difficult it is because we're living it. We know how our nature wants to take control of our actions, our thoughts, and our words. We know the temptations that exist all around us and if we know this and we know people are struggling and people are hurting outside these walls who don't understand because their minds haven't been opened just as Christ had compassion on the multitudes because they were lost without a shepherd. We should feel the same towards those in our communities and those who are also struggling, hurt, and confused. So as we reflect on why we need God's Holy Spirit, let us consider how God's Spirit can help us grow in compassion that Jesus demonstrated to those who needed his compassion. As we continue to consider what God's Spirit does in our lives, let's consider the example Christ set in service to others. If we really sit back and consider our nature for a moment and really think about the motivation of our human nature and what really gets us going, what really fuels it and feels good is we want things the way we want it, how we want it, and exactly the way that we want it. We want others to interact with us in the way that we want them to. We want others to drive on the highway around us pretty much to stay out of our way. Don't bother me. Don't cut me off. Go to speed limit. I want you to go and actually stay out of the high-speed lane because that's where I want to drive. We want, we want, we want. Is there any end to the things that we want in our lives?

I mean, if we really get down to it, if we really had to sit down again and make another list of all the things that I want in life and really let our carnal nature kind of grab hold for a minute, that list would be long because deep down that is the motivation of our hearts. It's what we can get, what we can pull back, what we can acquire, what we want, when we want it, how we want it. But through God's calling, we have come together each week on the Sabbath and come together on the Holy Days to learn more about God's way and the instructions He has us to follow. And then through the power of His Spirit that we've been gifted with, God desires that then we go and apply what we have learned in service to others and to ourselves. He wants us to take the knowledge that that we've received here today, the knowledge we've received yesterday. And He says, now go and take this. Recognize who you are and recognize the motivations in your heart and then let my Spirit help you push those down.

And then let my Spirit help you serve others. This is the calling and the tasks that we have before us. Matthew and Matthew, I thought we were still there, but we weren't. We went to Hebrews. Let's go back to Matthew chapter 20 and look at an example of get that some around Jesus had and the boldness they had to actually ask these things. They wanted some things from Jesus. The mothers did, the sons did, and they were not bashful about what they were asking, what they wanted. I want, they wanted, they wanted, they wanted. Matthew 20 and verse 20. This is always one of those passages that kind of makes you scratch your head. How could they even think this way? But if we put ourselves in their shoes and if we really think about our own lives, have we had these type of motivations in our heart? Maybe not exactly the way that it's phrased here, but are there other things where we just wanted for our own desires, for our own glory, for our own fill-in-the-blank. Matthew 20 verse 20. Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from him. And he said to her, What do you wish? And she said to him, Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on your left in your kingdom. Do you think she was asking this so that they could be servants? They could go out and do these great things on behalf of God? That they could humble themselves and truly wash one another's feet? That they could do the dirty job?

That's not fun when somebody needs your help? Do you think she had all of these things in her mind when she said, Let them sit at your right and left hand because they're good kids and they will get their hands dirty and they will serve to the ends of their life? I really don't think that was what was in their heart based on what Christ said as he continued to work with them. Verse 22, But Jesus answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? I think this is clear that they had no clue what they were asking and no clue the right motivation in their heart because they said to him, We are able. And he goes, You have no clue what's gonna transpire here in my own life. What I'm about to do in service to the world. You want to be in my right and left hand. You want to serve like I'm about to go serve and give of my whole life for the sake of humanity? And they said, Yep, we're ready. They didn't understand. So he said to them, You will indeed drink my cup because he knew what he was going to ask them to do and what they were going to actually go out and do in the future. You will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with. But to sit on my right hand or my left is not mine to give. But it's for those for whom it is prepared by my father. And when the ten heard it, I always laugh at this part, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. I can never, I can, I just love visualizing. They're like, Are you kidding me? Like, I know who you are and I know the motivations of your heart. I know the discussion we maybe had yesterday. And you want to sit at Christ's right hand? And I'm obviously not going to sit at his right hand because you get to sit at his right hand. I think this is an understatement that they were greatly displeased. I think they were losing their minds, probably. Verse 25, but Jesus called them to himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and those who are great exercise authority over them. That was a mindset that they were coming to sit at his left and right hand so they could rule with Christ. So they could tell and control others. But yet he says, It shall not be so among you. Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as a son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Again, did Salome, the mother of James and John really understand the importance of service? She couldn't have by making the request that she made. Did James and John really understand what real service meant? They had no clue until the moment that Jesus Christ sent them out with instructions to preach the gospel to the world. When he gave them his spirit with a mission to do, I think that's when it clicked. When he washed their feet, that's when they began to understand a little bit more about what true service meant. But in this moment, they didn't get it. I think a fair question for us to consider is, did we really understand the depth of the deep meaning of true service until we were called and God began showing us what true service really meant? Did we understand that ourselves? And then as we started to understand a little bit, right, you'd hear a sermon on service.

Okay, I got it. I'm gonna go out and do good things. But with the wrong motivations? I've served with the wrong motivations at time. Okay, I'm getting it.

There's another sermon. I heard another sermon on service. I'm getting it. My heart was bad last time, but I got it better now. Well, it's slightly better, right? It takes decades, doesn't it? To truly continue to let God convert us from the inside out. To truly understand what true service really means. Not just to wash another person's foot at Passover. It's deep in meaning. We're required to do it.

It's important. But if that's the end of our service, it falls short. If we wash another person's foot, but with a bad attitude, then it's like we didn't do it at all. All this deep meaning that you and I have grown in over time is tremendous, but it has taken time and practice to begin just scratching the surface of what God we service really means. And it obviously takes the transforming power of God's Spirit to help us understand God we service more deeply. Let's turn to Mark 12 and verse 28. We see another teaching in Mark 12 and verse 28 about service in this heart that we're supposed to have.

I'm kind of smirking. It's not obviously not in my notes, but I love hearing the little voice in our congregation, and it reminded me, you want to know what true service is? Have a little one. The dedication, the getting up at all hours of the night, the worry, the constant involvement. You learn a lot about service when you have a little one. And then even as we do in the congregation, we learn a lot about service as we have youth in our congregations and as we get to opportunity. It's not in my notes, but I couldn't help but just think about it.

What a blessing that we have. What a blessing and a great example of two great parents. Mark 12 and verse 28. Then one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together, he perceiving that he had answered.

I'm messing this up. Start over. Then one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second like it is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. So the scribe said to him, Well said, teacher, you have spoken the truth for there is one God and there is no other but he. And to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength. But notice what he says here, and to love one's neighbor as oneself is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

It's an interesting statement, isn't it? Because Christ didn't necessarily didn't say that part of the scripture, but remember this is a scribe. This is one who would have had a Jewish education, would have known the scriptures, the ancient Hebrew scriptures. He says, And to love one's neighbor as oneself is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And now Jesus in verse 34, when he saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. Jesus acknowledged, you're right. King David talked about this exact aspect in Psalms 51 and verse 16. Let's quickly turn to Psalms 51 and 16 and 17. I didn't look it up to see if the reference from that is here in Psalms, but I wouldn't be surprised if the scribe who was sharing this with Jesus was thinking of this exactly. Psalm 51 and verse 16.

Psalm 51 and verse 16. King David said, For you do not, and this is after he had transgressed, broke God's law, committed adultery, had another man murdered, and he's going through this psalm of repentance. At the end of it, he says, For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it. You do not divide and burn offerings. The sacrifices of God are what? A broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. David's saying, we could offer up all the bulls, all the goats, all the offerings that we could muster up, but it would mean nothing if our hearts are not right. Because God wants a sacrifice of our hearts. He wants a sacrifice of our attitudes. He wants a sacrifice of our, the views that we have on others, and why are they this way and why are they that way? He wants us to sacrifice our judgmental views. He wants us to have a humble heart, a lowly heart, and recognizing that's more than any sacrifice that we could give. And this is exactly at the heart of our Lord and Savior when ultimately He gave His own life for you and me. In turn, we must also be willing to give our lives in service as well. Philippians 2 in verse 1.

Philippians 2 in verse 1. We're gonna read about part of our calling here and the expectations that's placed on us, and we're also going to look at the example that Jesus Christ set in this perfect way from Philippians 2 verses 1 through 8. Paul says, therefore if there's any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, if any of these things exist in your family and your congregation, he says, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love being of one accord of one mind. Let nothing, zero, nil, nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not for his own interests but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of man. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So again, as we reflect on why we need God's Holy Spirit, why we so desperately need his Holy Spirit, let us consider how God's Spirit can help us grow in Godly service to others. As we conclude today, God in his ultimate wisdom knew that we would need help in this life, and so he held nothing back from us. He did not even hold back his own son, which we talked about at Holy Days 50 days ago, and he did not hold back his spirit from being poured out. In his ultimate wisdom, he knew we would need help. That was beyond what we could ever do on our own.

Help that was beyond anything outside of these walls, or that is in the physical creation that our Lord and Savior made. He knew we needed more help than we'd ever be able to acquire here on this earth. So he gave us his spirit to lead and to guide us as we yield to that spirit working in our lives. There's no way we could ever grow to the level of compassion and service God desires us to grow to without the help of his spirit. Before departing from the disciples the last time, Jesus shared with the disciples what they were to do once they received the Holy Spirit. This is in Acts chapter 1.

Acts chapter 1, and we'll start reading verse 4. And notice, Christ is not going to just say, you're gonna get the Holy Spirit and it's gonna transform you and it's gonna do great things in your life. He knew that would happen, but there was much more to it. Much more to it, including the compassion and the acts of service that we've already looked at today. And we'll see what he said in his own words. Acts 1 verse 4, And this is the action part, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. Now when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. We must never lose sight that part of our calling, a large part of our calling, to receive God's Spirit as we have is to then go and use it to be witnesses to the world of this transforming power. To let others see our light shine, to others to let others see that we have something that we believe in with our whole life that if we're asked to, we'll lay our lives down both spiritually today but also physical if that time ever came. The world and society around us is not getting any better. It's not growing any closer to God. Things will get more challenging and more difficult as we continue to try to be a light to the world, as we continue to try to witness to others around us. It's not going to be simple and it's not going to be easy. To be an effective light, we must continue to let God's Spirit work powerfully in our lives as we continue to submit to God and become more like Jesus Christ. Many came to Jesus because of the message of hope he taught and shared with those around him. Many people came to him because he had words that were not expressed the way that he had expressed them before. They hadn't heard it with that power and with that knowledge, with that wisdom. Many came to listen. Many came to hear, if we will allow God's Spirit to transform our lives, God will draw others to cross our path with their path. I truly 100% believe that. If we will allow God's Spirit to continue to transform us, there's nothing to keep God from saying, you know what? I'm gonna let this person meet you. I'm gonna let this person talk to you. This person is broken. This person needs help. And you have some words that I've put into your heart that can help them right now. I truly believe that if we will continue to allow God's Spirit to transform us, to have more compassion on the brokenhearted, to have more compassion on those who are lost in our communities, to have more compassion on those who are under the sway of Satan, his attacks, his relentless attacks, and then to go out with this attitude of service. I believe he will allow others to cross your path. God will use us to illuminate a world that is growing darker, just as he used the disciples to bear witnesses of who he was and of the message he came to share. We must grow in compassion and we must grow in God we serve as. Let's finish by looking at Ephesians 4 and verse 1.

Ephesians 4 and verse 1. I love the beginning. I love this passage here in Ephesians 4, the beginning here, because it just gives me so much encouragement, especially on a day like today, on this holy day, this Feast of Pentecost, because we see the oneness described throughout here, that oneness that you and I have because we have God's Spirit. It's just a beautiful passage to consider any time of the year, but also right now, because this is what God has drawn you and me to to become. Ephesians 4 verse 1. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling which which you were called. You and I received a calling where to walk worthy in it, with all lowliness and gentleness, humility, kindness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit of the bonds of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. Verse 11. And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, the work of service. If you look up the word there of ministry, it means service, for the edifying of the body of Christ till we come to the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

That's a tall responsibility. That's a lot to achieve, and there is absolutely no way that we can do this on our own. And through God's grace, He's given us the Helper. He's given us His Spirit to help us overcome and to be able to start working this path of being able to serve in this way. On this feast of Pentecost, let us remember that God poured out His Spirit to those who committed their lives to Him because He knew that we needed help to become the people He wants us to become. Let us live lives as witnesses of Jesus's compassion and His service and witness to the world of the transforming power of God's Spirit working powerfully in the lives of His people.