In-Step, Not In-Charge

KiDZ Message

SLIDE - KiDZ Message

Props - a large bunch of grapes on a vine

Onramp

“Does a vine TRY hard to grow fruit?”

“Or does fruit grow because it’s alive and connected?”

Fruit grows when something is healthy and connected.

Galatians 5:22

“The fruit of the Spirit is…” Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.

This is what grows in people who follow the Spirit.

(Quick Follow-the-Leader)

Have one child follow you for 10 seconds.

When you keep in step, you move when the leader moves.

When we keep in step with the Holy Spirit, He leads us to be like Jesus.

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

There is one God.

The Father is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God.

The Holy Spirit is God living in and with us.

SLIDE - KiDZ Big Idea:

When we keep in step with the Spirit, good fruit grows.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, help us follow You and grow good fruit. Amen.

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Main Sermon

I. ON-RAMP

SLIDE - Title

“You are being led by something right now. Do you know what or who it is?”

Easter last Sunday.

Resurrection celebrated: Joy, hope, renewal.

But Monday still came.

Responsibilities still there.

Work still needed.

Relationships still require care.

Decisions still carry weight.

SLIDE - who is in charge?

“If Jesus is alive, the question isn’t just what we believe. The question is: Who is in charge of our lives now?”

Everyone is led by something.

Expectations.

Fear of outcomes.

Fear of missteps.

Pressure to hold things together.

It results in feeling “burdened”: overwhelm, anxiety, stress, etc.

“Most of us are not overwhelmed by responsibility. We are overwhelmed by divided authority.”

And divided authority always produces things like Anxiety. Exhaustion. Reactivity. A life that feels pulled apart.

If nothing changes, that doesn’t get better. It compounds.

II. BIG IDEA

SLIDE: Big Idea

Big Idea

You were not made to be in charge. You were made to walk in step with the Spirit.

III. SCRIPTURE EXPOSITION

If we’re going to say we were not made to be in charge, we need to see that in Jesus first.

Because the Christian life is not about inventing a new posture. It is about participating in Christ’s posture.

So open your Bibles to John 14:15.

We’re not going to read every verse straight through — but we’re going to trace the pattern Jesus lays down.

And what we’re going to see is this: Jesus Himself was not in charge. He lived under the Father’s authority — and He promises the Spirit to lead us into that same life.

A. Jesus Was Not “In Charge” — He Lived Under Authority

SCRIPTURE - John 14:15

John 14:15 NIV

15 “If you love me, keep my commands.

Love connected to obedience.

Not emotion alone.

Alignment.

Direction.

SCRIPTURE - John 14:16–17

John 14:16–17 NIV

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Promise of the Advocate.

Sent by the Father.

With you.

In you.

SCRIPTURE - John 14:31

John 14:31 NIV

31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.

Exactly.

Not mostly. Not when convenient. Not when it aligns with preference.

Exactly.

The Son of God lives under authority.

That word should slow us down.

Notice what’s happening in this passage.

Jesus tells His disciples to keep His commands. Then He promises the Spirit. And then He reveals something about Himself:

He is not acting independently.

“I do exactly what the Father has commanded me.”

Jesus is not autonomous.

He does not self-authorize.

He does not improvise reality.

His authority is singular.

His will is aligned with the Father.

John 5:19 “Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”

Jesus is not in charge in the way we think of being in charge. He is fully powerful — and fully submitted.

and because of that, he speaks peace.

SCRIPTURE - John 14:27

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus has peace not because He controls everything. He has peace because He trusts the One who does.

Peace tied to trust.

Trust tied to singular authority.

Authority does not diminish Him.

It defines Him.

If the Son of God Himself lives under singular authority, then being “in charge” was never the goal of discipleship.

The goal was alignment.

And that’s where the Spirit comes in.

B. The Spirit Leads Us into That Same Pattern

As we just read in v. 16-17, Jesus promises ‘another Advocate’

he also said,

John 16:13–14 “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.”

Does not speak on His own.

Glorifies Christ.

Same will.

Same mission.

“The Spirit is not here to make you feel in charge. The Spirit is here to lead you in obedience to the Father through Christ Jesus.”

C. Led by the Spirit

Romans 8:14 “14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

Led.

Authority language.

Direction.

SCRIPTURE - Galatians 5:25

Galatians 5:25 NIV

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

“You cannot keep in step and remain in charge. One of those has to give.”

IV. APPLICATION

SLIDE: Big Idea

In Step, Not in Charge

Genesis 1 — humans given dominion. (Quick reference Genesis 1:26–28)

We were made to rule.

But rule under God.

Stewardship, not ultimacy.

You were made to steward life under God — not to secure life as God.

Pressure often comes from living as a god.

“If I misstep, everything collapses.”

“If I don’t hold this together, who will?”

You are responsible for obedience. God is responsible for outcomes.

This week — before one significant decision — pause.

And pray: “Holy Spirit, what does obedience look like here?”

Then act on what is faithful.

When you are not in charge, you are free to be faithful. And faithfulness is lighter than control.

Because when you stay in charge, you carry weight you were never designed to hold.

And it will eventually crush something — your peace, your joy, your relationships, your identity.

V. CONCLUSION

SLIDE: Who Is in Charge?

Who Is in Charge?

Jesus trusted one authority. The Spirit leads us into that same trust. Peace does not come from being in charge. Peace comes from walking in step.

Remember: You are responsible for obedience. God is responsible for outcomes.

SLIDE: Big Idea

Big Idea

You were not made to be in charge. You were made to walk in step with the Spirit.

VI. INVITATION

Invite band up

For Those Who Follow Christ

If you already belong to Christ, today is about realignment. Where have you tried to take charge again?

Surrender that place. Say: “Holy Spirit, lead me. I will follow.”

For Those Considering Faith

Maybe you’ve been leading yourself for a long time. Maybe Easter stirred something in you.

The Christian life is not about trying harder. It is about surrendering to a better Lord.

Surrendering control includes confessing that we’ve tried to be our own lord.

Sin is essentially us trying to be our own lord, intentionally or unintentionally

If you are ready to stop being in charge of your life and trust Jesus as Lord, you can do that today.

TO ALL:

You don’t have to be in charge to be faithful. You just have to be in step.

let’s pray, before we sing one last song

Prayer:

Jesus, I trust You. I surrender control. Forgive my sin. Lead me by Your Spirit. I belong to You.