BIGGER THAN JESUS

INTRO

Good morning! My name is Ryan, I’m one of the pastors here at Georgianna.

It’s so good to be with you in worship today…

[MENTION LIVE STREAM AT 9:45]

Our Senior Pastor, Corky is out of town… He and Deedie are taking some time off enjoying some sports at some little college in Gainesville...

It’s weird… I’ve never heard him talk about it before…

ME

So… My daughter Zoe has never been a good sleeper… actually let me clarify that… She’s a pretty good sleeper… but a terrible “go to sleeper.”

In the 9 years of her LIFE bedtime has rarely been easy.

To be honest, we’re really not sure if it is simply stubbornness… or an extreme case of FOMO... or if she might actually have a particular anxiety surrounding nighttime and sleep.

Whatever the case may be, bedtime has rarely been easy.

We’ve tried many different things… people talk about ferberizing their kids (letting them cry it out)... we’ve been ferberizing for 9 years now… hasn’t been a great option.

We’ve tried dangling consequences over her… we’ve tried dangling treats over her.

We’ve also just simply given in… she’ll come in, beg to sleep in our bed… it’s only just this once, tomorrow will be different… I know you’ll never believe this… but that didn’t work.

It doesn’t happen so much anymore… but when she was younger it seemed like there would be things that she was legitimately scared of…

so oftentimes we’d try to console her… Zoe there’s nothing to be scared of… Our rooms share a wall… so we could tell her that Mom and Dad are literally on the other side of this wall… nothing is going to get you.

Sometimes that worked… but then we were bound to our room. If we left to watch TV or do laundry… we were no longer on the other side of the wall...

We had lied…

Which Allison was totally fine with… that kind of worried me.

But on our good days… one of us would try to talk her through it and give her the tools she needs to get through bedtime on her own… not to rely on us, but to take seriously what she knows to be true about bedtime and being safe.

Having dealt with anxiety myself I can let her know that thoughts are just thoughts… and, even though they’re scary, that doesn’t make them any more real.

She can talk to her scary thoughts if it helps… she can use words that she would never be allowed to say otherwise…

We would even let her say the “S word” to her thoughts…

The S word is stupid by the way. Her scary thoughts were stupid… just wanted to clear that up.

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And so maybe on most days her strength would come from having us in the room with her… or in the room next door… but the goal is for her to know she had the strength inside her the whole time.

She is a strong and fierce girl. And she can do this.

For Zoe the power to bring her anxiety or fear down is not far from her. It’s closer than me or Allison or the mountain of stuffed animals on her bed.

As her parents, we want Zoe to learn just how much strength she really has. For bedtime or for whatever comes in the future.

It’s not outside of her. It is within.

WE

I think as people of faith too often we can forget the immense power that is at work within us.

We get scared or anxious or all wrapped up in the news of the day… and then we’re way down the rabbit hole… and we have totally lost our grip with the promises of Jesus and the promises of scripture.

This happened to me this past week.

Allie works at MICS and she texted me on Wednesday saying they were on a lock down and there was police and dogs and even helicopters outside.

And we went back and forth over text a few times and then I got nothing from her for about 15 minutes.

And it’s amazing how fast your mind can end up at the worst-case scenario… is that just me?

Fear and angst can look really compelling in the moment… and we have this habit of forgetting just Who is in charge and Who is with us.

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This is where we are going to be for the next few weeks. I want to talk about this idea of forgetting… and particularly forgetting this part of the WHOLE of God that might just be the closest to us.

And here’s what is so unfortunate about this… and we’ll come back to this...

The Apostle Paul writes that:

***Romans 8:11 (NLT)

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.

Let’s say that again together:

***Romans 8:11 (NLT)

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.

But… I would suggest to you today that, by and large, the Holy Spirit IS The Forgotten God… or maybe The Ignored God… or, at the very least, The Misunderstood God.

Sometimes we overlook the very Spirit of God that LIVES in us…

OPENING PRAYER

GOD

The Holy Spirit has certainly been around since the beginning… we can read about the Spirit hovering over the waters at creation.

But the church and the Holy Spirit come together with a bang at an event that we call Pentecost… which we’ll spend some time on next week.

But today I want to back up before the event of Pentecost… because we get to know a lot about the Holy Spirit through the words of Jesus Himself.

The book of John in the Bible is one of 4 places where you’ll find the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry.

In John in particular there are several chapters devoted to Jesus basically saying good-bye to His followers…

We’re going to be in John 16… today, verses 4-14...

He is preparing His followers for His death, resurrection, and (really) His ultimate departure through His ascension…

And they are going to wonder, “What Now???”

People call it His “farewell discourse.”

And one of the most important things on Jesus’ mind during these parting words is going to be His succession plan… He anticipates the question on everyone’s mind of “What Now?”

And so in our text this morning Jesus teaches His followers and He teaches us about What and Who comes next.

So John 16, about 1/2 way through verse 4…

PASSAGE

John 16:4b–16 (NIV)

I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.

[IN OTHER WORDS… THEY’RE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT IS HAPPENING NEXT… THEY’RE JUST SAD BECAUSE HE WON’T BE THEM.]

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate

[THIS IS HOW JESUS TALKS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT]

the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

[SKIP DOWN TO VERSE 12]

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

REFLECTIONS

***Several years ago I read a book by Francis Chan… called The Forgotten God, which I thought was a fitting title for a book about the Holy Spirit.

I don’t think we’re always sure of what to do with the Holy Spirit… so we focus a lot of our attention on God the Father and Jesus the Son.

Oftentimes I’m afraid we’re guilty of ignoring the Holy Spirit altogether.

This part of the Trinity becomes the Forgotten God.

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An example is really in just planning this series.

I’m looking on my bookshelves for some material to help me plan and write… and I ended up with that one book written about the Holy Spirit.

Nick and I are putting our heads together for some music to help with this theme… and it wasn’t like it was an overwhelming catalog!

Here’s a true story… I have several tattoos… I’m not really shy about that.

I have a tattoo of a dove on one of my shoulder blades… but since I never see it I keep forgetting which side it’s on.

I literally have a forgotten tattoo of The Forgotten God.

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It’s hard to know what to do with the Holy Spirit.

Maybe we’ve had experiences in churches where the Holy Spirit was barely mentioned. Certainly not at the same frequency that you hear of God and Jesus.

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My background was a little different… You all know that I grew up in the Pentecostal church. I mean if anyone knew how to understand the Holy Spirit and Pentecost it would be Pentecostals, right?

But even still it seemed like the Holy Spirit’s work was limited only to what sort of emotional fervor might occur within the worship service.

I mean, we’re not called “charismatics” for nothing.

Now hear me, emotion and passion absolutely have a place in worship… and there is a lot that we can learn from Pentecostals…

But what I’ve come to realize is that while the Holy Spirit’s role can be hard to define, it’s got to be bigger than just an hour on Sundays.

Than just what sort of charismatic ruckus can happen during a worship service.

After all, in Jesus’ own words in our text this morning, He says that it is BEST that He goes away, because if He doesn’t then the Holy Spirit won’t come!

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I mean can you imagine that?!

Can you imagine being one of Jesus’ followers… and the physical person of Jesus is standing right in front of you… you can touch Him! And He says to you that it is better that He leaves, and the Holy Spirit comes instead…

Uh… no thank you Jesus, I’d actually prefer you stay, right?

I mean, how could Jesus NOT being physically present be somehow better for anyone?

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***Many years ago, John Lennon got into controversy for saying that the Beatles were essentially “bigger than Jesus...”

Does anyone remember this?

I remember reading about the Beatles in history class, so I missed the headline…

Now… you might cringe a bit today… but that is the sense I get from the text this morning…

As He prepares to leave… Jesus wants His followers to know that if they thought He was a big deal… then just wait…

He says it’s better for you that I go and the Holy Spirit come…

It sounds like the Holy Spirit is bigger than Jesus.

What do you do with that?

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But think about this with me… If Jesus LEAVES… then that puts the disciples and all of Jesus’ followers in a crisis.

This was about more than just the loss of a friend and teacher. Jesus was here to reveal a new and better understanding of who God is…

And there WAS this new understanding of God because God, in Jesus, is HERE and He is present in and among His people.

It is no longer God at a distance… it is God WITH us.

This word “Emmanuel” in the Christmas story means “God is with us.”

And so here is the CRISIS… if God is WITH us because Jesus is with us, then what happens when Jesus leaves?

Is this the end of God’s presence with His people? Is this the end of a God that we can know… a God that is not just available for the religious elite… but a God for you and for me.

Was it just a moment in history and now it’s gone? You know, like it was the good old days… And if you didn’t know Jesus first hand, you missed it?

Is there any future in this?

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Have you ever seen someone leave a position well?

They retired or moved on for another reason… and during that transition it was obvious that the future of the organization was WHAT MATTERED MOST.

I have worked in various capacities in a few different churches for almost 17 years now. I have been present as 4 different senior pastors moved on and were appointed to other places.

I’m happy to say that I have seen them all leave well.

It’s not a celebration of all their achievements… it’s not a pity party because they don’t want to go…

It is a singular focus on the future.

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In Jesus’ “farewell discourse” there is an unmistakable future focus.

It’s not about celebrating the good old days… living in the past… revelling in all of His miracles…

No… He is preparing them for what’s next. He is giving instructions. He is sending the Holy Spirit.

This thing is not over. It’s not just a moment in history.

This doesn’t mark the end, this is a new beginning…

You get the idea that the Best is truly yet to come.

APPLICATIONS

Maybe you’re still wondering what does the Holy Spirit DO exactly? I mean… I understand that it is important… I understand that Jesus must go and the Holy Spirit will be better for us.

But what does an experience with the Holy Spirit look like? Is it speaking in tongues? Is shouting and raising your hands in worship… like the Pentecostals do?

Hear the words of Jesus one more time…

He says that the Holy Spirit “will guide you into all the truth… and he will tell you what is to come.”

In another translation Jesus says: ““He will take what is mine and proclaim it to you.” (CEB)

If there was a crisis, if there was a question whether this thing had a future… well it is the Holy Spirit who will step in guarantee this truth for future generations.

The Holy Spirit will guide you to The Truth… and will tell you what is to come…

It is not gone, when Jesus is gone.

Through the Holy Spirit the best is yet to come.

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The message of Jesus is now no longer bound to a particular person at a particular place and time…

And THIS is why it is better that Jesus go so that the Holy Spirit can come.

THIS is why for future generations of Jesus followers, the Holy Spirit is bigger than Jesus.

THINK ABOUT THIS WITH ME…

God empties Himself and becomes a man…

And the ministry of Jesus was bound to a flesh and blood person…

But the ministry of the Holy Spirit is boundless.

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If it is bound then this good news is about an event that happened in history… the life and ministry of Jesus…

If it is boundless then it’s not just an event, but it’s a new reality… one that includes us 2000 years later.

If it is bound to Jesus then the good news is due to the inspiration from one man…

But if it is boundless then there is potential for more than just inspiration… but the INFUSION of that power from within.

The message is the same… the potential is now boundless.

THE GOSPEL goes from a significant event in history to an enduring new reality.

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT!

***It goes From inspiration from the outside…. To infusion on the inside..

This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

And the best is yet to come.

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And to us who have never seen Jesus face to face… it matters.

In the book of John we find out that, for future generations, the Holy Spirit is bigger than Jesus… because it is only through the boundless work of the Holy Spirit, we can encounter Jesus at all.

We have not been left alone… Jesus has not left us abandoned.

The Spirit makes Jesus present to us… even when He is physically absent.

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I don’t want this to sound like bad theology…

Moment of honesty here… this sermon title is kind of a cheap way to grab your attention :)

I don't actually think the Holy Spirit is more important than Jesus…

But there is something significant that happens when the Holy Spirit and the church collide at Pentecost.

And there is something significant about the power of God’s Spirit that causes the church and the work of Jesus to endure for centuries… millennia.

Corky mentioned this last week… If you were going to bet on which one would last… the empire of the Romans or the message of Jesus...

You probably would’ve bet on the Romans.

But then the Holy Spirit gets to work…

Without Jesus we don’t have this model of new life… we don’t have the original story

But Without the Holy Spirit we don’t have that story breathed anew and afresh in every new generation of Jesus followers.

Without the Holy Spirit the story of Jesus remains in history to be studied.

***But through the power of the Holy Spirit, the story of Jesus is NOT just past history, it is a present reality AND a promised future.

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Here’s the point… Here is my heart today.

There is an unfortunate irony in neglecting or ignoring the Holy Spirit.

Maybe the Holy Spirit seems like The Forgotten God to you sometimes…

And There is also an unfortunate irony in thinking we recognize the Holy Spirit, but we reduce it to an hour on Sundays…

You see there is an irony of neglecting this expression of God that is so vital and, while it’s not more important than God the Father or Jesus the Son…

it seems that it is only through the Spirit’s voice that our faith is more than just history.

It is a living, breathing story today.

It would be a sad irony… It would be so unfortunate to neglect the very presence of God that we are actually most closely connected to.

The Greek word we use for Spirit also means “wind and breath.”

It is like the presence of God that moves in and around us… as close to us as the breathe we breathe.

And it’s the presence of God that is carrying us forward.

Because if you have felt the influence and guidance of Jesus on your life… Jesus who is now physically absent… then have encountered the Holy Spirit church!

Make no mistake… it is the Holy Spirit who is alive in this church, in this faith, and in you and me.

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So a couple of years ago this thing called COVID happened. Do you remember this?

Life was disrupted. And many people were so discouraged about the church and they were wringing their hands about what the future might hold.

But the Holy Spirit still moves within me and within you and carries us forward.

And our denomination has some issues and disagreements… And many people are so discouraged and they are wringing their hands about what the future might hold.

But the Holy Spirit still moves within me and within you and carries us forward.

And 500 years ago the overall church had a massive split…

But the Holy Spirit was still moving and carrying the church forward.

And 500 years before that the church had a massive split…

But the Holy Spirit was still moving and carrying the church forward.

And 500 years before that the world around the church was crumbling…

And 500 years before that God who appeared as a person was leaving his followers…

But the Holy Spirit was moving and carrying the church forward.

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And there are so many events throughout history that threatened to make the church a just story in time… But the Holy Spirit still moves within me and within you and within the Church and carries us forward.

I feel this… if you feel it too… then you feel the Holy Spirit on the move.

It is more than inspiration, it is infusion… and it carries us forward.

And the best is yet to come.

WE

Our goal as Zoe’s parents… probably the goal of all parents… is to teach our daughter about the potential and power that is inside her.

It’s more than just bedtime… in life Zoe will need the confidence and strength that comes from knowing she is loved and safe and secure.

And that knowledge can’t be based on my own physical presence… I won’t always be there.

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Jesus knew He was leaving. He knew His followers, His friends would need help with the “What Now?” after He was gone.

They would need more than just to be inspired by a person. They needed to be infused by a Spirit.

To not rely on a physical presence, but on the power that could work within each of them.

Jesus took on a physical body… which meant that He would not always be there.

Thanks be to God that He sent the Holy Spirit.

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The power of Jesus… the message of Jesus… is in each one of us. It is called the Holy Spirit.

When the message of Jesus is on display in your life… it is the Holy Spirit.

When we do anything that rises above ourselves… it is the Holy Spirit.

When someone beats an addiction… it is the Holy Spirit.

When people reconcile… it is the Holy Spirit.

When you overcome your pride and selfishness… that is the Holy Spirit in you.

When you love your neighbor as yourself… it is only through the Holy Spirit.

In Francis Chan’s book he says:

***Without [the Holy Spirit], people operate in their own strength and only accomplish human-size results… But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice.

So when you take relief trip… or when you work with kids down the hall… or when you cook meals for those who need it… that is the Holy Spirit working within you.

When you raise over $200k in just a few days for orphans on the other side of the planet… that is the Holy Spirit at work within you...

When you throw an Easter Egg Hunt with pancakes and face painting… and a gagillion Easter eggs… and you color your beard pink while you do it…

That is the power of the Holy Spirit church!

And here I always thought you had to be a Pentecostal to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It turns out that you simply have to be a carrier of the good news of Jesus.

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Georgianna… let the power of the Holy Spirit infuse you from within. Don’t simply be inspired by the message of Jesus… Be INFUSED with the power that was IN Jesus.

Because-

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.

And the best IS yet to come.

CLOSING PRAYER

Who You are, who we are, who You’ve called us to be…

BENEDICTION

So here’s where we’re going to be for the next couple of weeks.

It is my hope to get us acquainted… or maybe re-acquainted… with God’s Holy Spirit.

It is the power of God that not just INSPIRES us.... it is the power that INFUSES and works within us.

God is not far from us… He is WITH us. He is in us.

And the best is yet to come.