Untitled Sermon (3)

The Holy Spirit is Our Super Hero

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I’m so excited to be here! I feel like the Lord has given me a word for us all!

I think its interesting how well the super hero industry has done over the years. I think there has been an eb and flow of its magnitude but there have always been stories of heroes. Dating back even to the grecian times and stories of Hercules and other such mythical heroes. Today Marvel and DC have made a killing on movies, gaming, retail of all kinds. And its not just America… every nation is obsessed with either batman, superman, one of the avengers, or even maybe their own version. I mean, think about when kids play, theres always a good guy and a bad guy, and i don’t know about you but when i was daydreaming in the back of our station wagon growing up, i was definitely always the hero in whatever plot I had concocted!

no matter the culture, we’re all looking for a hero… “I need a hero” song

and why is that? why is everyone so enthralled with superpowers and heroes? I’ll tell you why… because deep down we all know, we cant do life on our own. Sure we can try, and that can get us pretty far… but eventually we realize, I cant do this all on my own, I need someone to help me. Some people are better at asking for help, say for example, children… my children… Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mommy, they have no problem asking for help, until its time that i actually need to help them in which case.... they delightfully inform me, i can do it by myself!

But maybe thats yet another layer of having childlike faith, asking for help and trusting that God is going to take care of it. that we don’t have to worry about it after we’ve asked. He’s not struggling to multitask, He’s got it. Its on His shoulders now, Not ours.

And wasn’t God so merciful to not only send His son to die for our sins so that we can be in relationship with Him, but also to send the Holy Spirit to be with us? I mean its just so the love of God to know that we needed someone to walk with us and speak with us and guide us.

(NKJV)

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

What?! Thats it! Thats our real life superpower! the Holy Spirit, sent to be our HELPER!

I need a Hero

(NKJV)

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

(NKJV)

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

(NKJV)

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Now, what is Jesus saying in this passage?

This is before he leaves this earth, he tells the disciples, listen I’m going but I’m sending someone to be with you, a helper, a hero!

Jesus knew He was going to be called back into Heaven with the Father, so He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us as a gift to help and comfort us.

and how can this play out in our own lives?

In my life, the Holy Spirit has come through in a big way for our family. When my son was about a year old I gave him a taste of some peanut butter toast i was eating, he didn’t really like it so he actually didn’t ingest any of it, but some did get on his lips. After he kinda pushed it away and made a face I noticed a rash starting around his mouth. Now, as a mom I immediately went to worst case senerio, but I washed his face and checked his mouth and throat as best i could with a 1 year old. i kept watch to make sure he was breathing ok, all that. He seemed fine, we had a well check with his dr the next day so i brought it up and he referred me to an allergy specialist to get into asap. I made an appt the next day. we go in, they prick his skin with some different vials filled with liquid, and then told me not to let him scratch it....

now, as i watched those little places on his back swell up I was pretty sure what i was seeing but i just kept praying that he wasn’t allergic to anything. After that alotted amount of time the dr came back in and said yes hes allergic, and then i a very kind way, he wasnt mean, but he started tellin gme all the terrible things that could happen if he even touched peanuts or got into any of the other things he was allergic to. I was so dissapointed, and sad, i didnt want my child to have to miss out on anything, adn then also i didnt want to live in fear that my kid was going to accidentaly eat a peanut one day and blow up like a baloon! But after the innitail shock, i just felt this boldness rise up in me, that i was going to pray and believe for his healing, and thats what i said. Thank you, now i know how to pray and i believe God will heal my son. You shouldve seen this drs face. I dont think he had heard tat response prior to me.

I had great days of faith and i had hard days where it seemed the universe was covered in peanut butter. You know what i’m talking about if your kid cant have something its like its lurking at every corner! And a 1 year old dosnt understand the concept. But all the while, the Holy Spirit reminded me of what God had said, and guided me to believe and continue to pray, He brought comfort on days i was frustrted. He was with me.

After a year of playing defense with sandwiches, granola bars, other kids sticky peanut butter and jelly fingers, constantly carrying an epipen with us we went for his year check up. The dr walked in told us that he would do the prick test again adn then if he passed (which was highly improbable) he would strt intorducing peanut products with gradual increases to see what his tolerance was, all the while assuring me they had the proper medications adn treatment if he had a lifethreatening reaction. But i was prayed up, i was ready adn excited and believing fully that he would pass! After the pricks, no swelling, the Dr didnt seem all that phased so he said sometimes the older kids get the allergy can develope more internally and less on the skin so ingesting was the next step, again assuring me of the treatments, but again, i wasnt fearful, we sat there another 3 maybe 4 hours while they gave mitchell tiny amounts of peanut butter mixed with other substances up to a full spoonful of straight peanut butter. nothing, no reation, at all! The Dr came back adn yall, hi face was priceless. He said he had only ever told 1 or 2 people their kid was allergy free especially as highly allergic as he was. My response was that God had healed him jsut as i had prayed and a whole lotta other Jesus talk literally praising in the middle of the Dr office. The dr just said, i dont know how your son is healed but he is. Now mitchell is almost 5 and has no allergy at all!

The Holy Spirit guided me through that reminding me of what God had said, and comforting me when days were hard, and i had to throw away all the easter candy because there was peanut in majority of it.

You might be thinking thats not that big of a deal, and it was only 1 year, you dont know what ive been praying for, thats true, i’m so grateful it was only 1 year, it seemed like a long time when i was in it, but it really wasnt, compared to the things ive been prayig for everyday for over 10 years its not that long…

but I want ot continue to listen and obey the Holy Spirit beliving He is leading me into all truth. We have to have a relationship with the Holy spirit.

Again, i could’ve been scared

Have you ever been driving and a friend you haven’t seen in a weeks pops into your head and you think huh? haven’t talked to her in a while, I should see how she’s doing. You say a quick little prayer, Lord, be with Jenna today, help her know your love more fully. Then you text her “ hey girl, thinking about you today, just thought id say hi praying you know Gods love more fully today!” and then she texts back. “wow! Ive had the worst morning, thank you for texting, its nice to know someone is thinking and praying for me today” I have a friend who has done that many times! She is hearing the holy spirit prompt her and she is obeying!

it builds up her ability to hear, and builds up my faith to trust God has me in His hands.

Thats an example of when we should listen and then reach out. Sometimes its that we shouldn’t speak out.

How many times have you almost said something to someone and a little voice seemed to whisper, nows not the best time dear...

sometimes my Holy Spirit has a British accent, thats just me...

you might be thinking, the holy spirit doesn’t really care that much about what i say, i mean what i’m saying is just the truth.

(NKJV)

6 Now when they (Paul Silas and timothy) had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.

that was the holy spirit saying , nope… not nw honey… thats a battle better suited for later, i’m just over here trying to save your life!

or you yourself have had a really bumber day, you were late starting off, then you accidentally ran a red light with a camera, then the extra large latte you sprang for to make up for the sleep deficit is burned, but the holy spirit reminds you of all the promises God has for you and reminds you to live your life with a grateful heart and settles your heart with peace. “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

I’m not trying to convince you that the Holy Spirit is real, or is for today, I believe most of you probably already believe that. and if your still struggling with that we have an amazing pastor who has an incredible book and whole teaching series on the holy spirit called the “God I never knew I highly recommend it! So I’m not convincing you of all that… I’m trying to highlight the fact that he is right by our sides everyday and there available to us at any moment.

2. Let yourself have a Hero

The fact that he will guide us into all truth… thats the key… to so many of our struggles, what is the specific answer to this question today Lord! Is this a friendship

I should invest in, is this the career you want me to pursue, should I marry the guy I’ve been dating, how do I parent my strong willed child and pull out all that gold within them? Parenting is all throughout the bible, but your not going to open proverbs and find the answer to your question “lord how do I get johnny to stop punching his brother in the face, that is something you ask the Holy Spirit advice on and He will give you an answer, and in my experience its quite a creative one at that!

Trust me, He’s not too busy for your meltdowns, He is there to guide you in your time of need, if you will let Him!

sometimes I feel like I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to hearing God. I’m too busy, I accidentally fall into the mindset I’ve gotta do everything on my own. I mean, I’m a woman! If somethings gunna get done its usually at the hands of someone in this room! Who plans family gatherings, who makes meals for the friend who just had a baby, who goes shopping to find your sister the perfect dress, who calls to check up on the neighbor, who offers to carpool so the other working mom doesn’t have to miss her thursday morning meeting for the next month? WOMEN! So obviously we can fall into a routine of being there for everyone, and make shifting the project at the last second to save the day, frequently, we end up being our own, or someone elses hero. Which is awesome and most of the time the Holy Spirit working through us to help out someone else, but somtimes in all our hustle and bustle we forget that we have a hero ready and waiting to save the day for us!

have you ever been in a situation with a friend, child, family member, and your like at your witts end “Let me help you!” If the Holy Spirit can get perturbed, I’m pretty sure He’s said that a few times with me! like “put me in coach!” I mean He’s longsuffering but like… how long?

the Holy Spirit isn’t a bench player, put him in the game of your life and let him make the calls, learn to be in constant communication with Him. I say this all the time and i heard it said by so many, i just want to be in the will of God, i just need God to speak. I need a word!

If and are correct, which let me answer that, its the word of God so it is, then God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to abide and dwell with and in us, to lead and guide us into all truth and tell us all that God wants to share with us.

Let’s let ourselves be saved! Let’s welcome the Holy Spirits advice and wisdom, it will bring peace, comfort, healing, joy, restoration.

We all face difficult situations, lets let the Holy Spirit lead our tongue instead of later thinking … hmmm… probably should have left that comment out.

Let the Holy Spirit come to your rescue and lead and guide you through the day to day good, bad, and especially the ugly!

How many of us know we live in a tumultuous time that needs guidance. We have a lot of people guiding us and trying to tell us what their truth is, whether its brands, influencers, social media, celebrities, friends, family. We have so many messages coming at us without the Holy Spirit how can we possibly stay the course without the Guidance of the Holy Spirit the one God sent to lead and guide us into all truth.