The Pursuit of His Spirit

Pentecost Sunday – Week 4 of the “Pursuit” Series

Talk about Youth Camp this week, why we chose Upper Room, prayer for youth at end, and taking up an offering to pay for camp

Today’s Theme: The Holy Spirit isn’t just a power to experience, but a Person to pursue. He is the guarantee of what’s to come, the transformer of who we are, and the guide for the journey of identity, prayer, and lasting change.

This is not just a teaching on the Holy Spirit’s purpose—this is a call to hunger, rooted in desperate need.

We don’t pray because we don’t believe we need Him.

But He comes to those who wait, who thirst, who pursue.

Acts 1:4–5 NASB95

4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus told them to wait and they did so, not as passive spectators but as persistent seekers.

Acts 1:12–14 NASB95

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Ten days of prayer in the upper room wasn’t just obedience—it was dependence.

They didn’t know the timeline—they pursued until He came.

Their posture in the upper room was one of pursuit—not passive waiting, but devoted prayer and expectation

To the Youth:

You’re about to step into your own upper room at camp this week. Don’t wait for God to find you; go after Him. Take ten days’ worth of hunger with you.

To the Congregation:

This is not a youth moment—this is a church moment. Why would they be hungry if we aren’t? Why would they be desperate if they’ve never seen it modeled?

The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost—the Feast of Firstfruits. Why? Because He is the firstfruit. A deposit of what’s coming.

Ephesians 1:13–14 NASB95

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

2 Corinthians 1:22 NASB95

22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

The Spirit is called a deposit—a down payment of what God promises.

If we aren’t willing to pursue the down payment, why would we expect the promise?

Church, if you’ve received the Spirit, don’t treat Him like a souvenir. He’s the starter and the sustainer.

The Holy Spirit isn’t just an emotional high—He is evidence of our belonging and power to walk out the rest of the journey.

A lack of dependency on the Spirit produces the lukewarm church…

Revelation 3:14–17 NASB95

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,

We live in a privileged society that has taught us that all we need is us, and in part we have believed it to the point where we no longer have need of the Spirit of God!

The church has lost her desperation for God!

And look what Jesus says just a few verses down…

Revelation 3:20 NASB95

20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

He’s at the door! We often hear this in the context of salvation, but he’s saying you’ve lost your dependence on me and now I’m not even in the room with you… I’m at the door, waiting on you to let me in!

This is what it looks like when you lose your dependence on Him, you push Him to the side and eventually out the door, because you don’t have room for anyone to be in charge but yourself…

So He stands at the door and knocks, waiting for you to return Him to His rightful place in your heart and in your life.

I wonder if He were to say to the Church in America today these words, if the church in America would be like the church of Laodicea…

I wonder if He would say, “You’re having worship times about me, but you haven’t made room for me…”

“You’re preaching sermons about me, but I’m still standing at the door…”

“You’re having services in my name, but I’m not even in the room… I’m standing at the door and I’m knocking, but you’ve lost your need for me!”

How scary a thought that we could have church, but leave Jesus at the door, knocking… waiting to come in…

No I would rather have the cry of David on my lips…

Psalm 63:1–8 NASB95

1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. 4 So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, 7 For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Look at the way David talks about his reliance and desire and desperation for the Spirit of God…

My soul thirsts for you… by flesh yearns for you… My thirst is as though I’m in a desert, desperate for a drink…

My soul clings to you…

Prayerlessness is not a discipline issue—it’s a dependence issue.

It’s easy to pray when prayer is your survival… It’s not a chore any more than drinking when you’re thirsty… It’s refreshing and fulfilling and satisfying to your soul…

Ask: Where has self-reliance crept in? What have you stopped praying for because you stopped believing you needed Him?

Call Worship Team

Have you stopped praying? When’s the last time you prayed until God moved in you? Is He standing at the door of your heart, knocking?

This is a call to hunger! We don’t just want to know about Him. We want to be undone by Him.

What would it look like if The Shed really started to hunger again… What would it look like if we rekindled that fire that was once burning on the inside of you…

Altar Call:

Pray over the youth, commissioning them for a week of encounter.

Invite the whole church into renewed pursuit—this is not a youth-only invitation.

Take up an offering as an act of participation—sowing into the pursuit of the next generation.