LED - Week 1: Promise to the People

Tim Ross | January 2, 2022

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Transcription

I have a new series. If you have your Bibles, I want you to open them up to the book of Acts chapter number 1. We are starting a new series calLed Led. Everybody say Led

I want to start this year off in this first-month teaching about the Holy Spirit. I hope that this month calibrates, not just the rest of this year for you but the rest of your life. That you are to be a person who is Led by the Spirit of God. You go to a church that is Spirit-Led and I hope that everybody in here embraces a Spirit-Led life directed by none other than the Holy Spirit.

I want to just throw some things out there to you in this first message that helps you to open up and to be receptive to what's coming for the rest of the month. Whenever I teach on the Holy Spirit, I know that I have to navigate so much church stuff. Whether you've grown up in church or haven't grown up in church, the depictions of the way a church is displayed in movies or on television, everybody has a mental picture, something that comes to their mind, an instance or a circumstance where when you hear the word Holy Spirit, there's either a positive connotation that goes with that or a negative connotation that goes with that.

Being that I was born and raised in church, I have enough empirical data to know that everything that we call the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit. I want to just bring us back to the Bible as it relates to the person of the Holy Spirit. I don't want to talk about the scenes that you have in your head. I just want to talk about what Scripture says about the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is indeed God. He is the weird person in the Godhead.

That is not a disrespectful statement. Weird, by definition means supernatural and/or uncanny. In the Godhead, the Holy Spirit does all the supernatural and/or uncanny things. What he is not as crazy. To be crazy means to be deranged or out of one's mind. The Holy Spirit is absolutely not crazy. When you get the proper context that yes, he does weird things but he's not crazy, then the context that we have and that we can rest assured in is that, if we embrace being Led by Him, there could be some weird things that happen but they won't be crazy.

I have been in church long enough to see people do some things on their own and assign it to the Holy Spirit. I have seen people scream to the top of their lungs like a bird and call it the Holy Spirit. I have seen people jump up in shout and call it, the shouts, the Holy Spirit. I've seen people take laps around the church and call the lap that they took the Holy Spirit. I've seen people fall out in the floor and call that act the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a person. In the experience that we have with the Holy Spirit, we usually call our reactions to His presence the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person. He's not what your feeling is. He is Himself. The feeling you're experiencing is your feeling based on His presence. Let's not call what you're feeling Him. Y'all with me so far? I want to break some things down and I want to read this opening passage and then we'll dive right into it. All right?

Acts 1:4. Here's what it says. "Once, Jesus," this is Jesus, "When He was eating with them, He commanded them, 'Do not leave Jerusalem unto the Father sends the gift He promised. As I told you before, John baptized with water but In just a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" If you're taking notes on these messages, the first message out the gate is just simply promise to the people. I want to talk about the promise that God made through Jesus to His people.

Bow your heads, let's pray, shall we? Holy Spirit, help us to accept your promise. Amen. What's interesting about Jesus is this conversation that He has with His disciples who would soon be apostles acting out for Him, the great commission, He tells them, "Listen, I've been around for about 40 days, I've showed myself to a bunch of witnesses. Everybody knows that I'm alive. You are going to do something incredible on my behalf, but you will not do it without the Holy Spirit. I want you to stay in Jerusalem until my Father brings you His spirit like He promised because you will not do what I told you you will do without Him. If you think you're going to do this in your own willpower, if you think you're going to do this because you just wake up in the morning and feel great, I have news for you, you will not do it unless the Holy Spirit is on the inside of you."

Here's what He says in John 14 starting at the 15th verse, "If you love me, love my commandments. Obey my commandments and I will ask the Father and He will give you another advocate who will never leave you." That should just make 50 people get happy right there. "I'm going to send you somebody that's never going to leave you. I'm in a temporary body, I have an assignment in this body, but I cannot be with you all the time, so I'm going to send the spirit of God who is going to remain with you 24/7."

He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him because it isn't looking for Him, it doesn't recognize Him, but you know Him because He lives with you now and later will be in you. Jesus had not died on the cross yet and so the outpouring of the Holy Spirit could not come until He fulfilLed the great purpose and plan and passion that He had by shedding His blood on the cross.

Here's what He says. He says, "Listen, y'all going to need this person. He is the Holy Spirit. You're going to need Him to come because without Him, you're not going to accomplish anything." Based on John 14, I want to give you the three things that Jesus says about the Holy Spirit. The three things Jesus says about the Holy Spirit. Here's the first one. Point number one, He's an advocate. He is the advocate. This is the first thing Jesus says about the Holy Spirit. He says He is an advocate.

If you read King James or New King James, that word is comforter. I want you to see the different nuances of this word in the Greek because comforter gives the implication that the Holy Spirit shows up to do this. "Oh, there there. Oh. Did they hurt you? Are they talking about you again? I'm so sorry. I'm here. You're going to be okay. Don't worry about it." No, no, no. You need to understand what advocate means. Comforter is a good word. It makes us feel warm, but the Holy Spirit is not just showing up to comfort you.

Here's how this word fleshes out. Advocate by definition means helper. That's one of the nuances to the word. Intercessor, mediator. I love this one. Legal advisor. [chuckles] Counselor. The Holy Spirit shows up in your life, He will help you, He intercedes for you, He mediates for you. He actually gives you legal advice. He's a counselor. "Well, Tim, the Holy Spirit is a legal advisor? He's my lawyer? Does He know US law like that?"

Well, here's what I want to calibrate your thinking around as it relates to legal advice in particular. The spirit realm is the most legal environment in the universe. The spirit realm, God's creation, His Word is law. When He speaks something becomes and it's governed by what he said. When He spoke the sun into existence, the sun has been where He told it to be since He told it to be there. It has not moved because it hasn't gotten the updated word. The galaxies are still where they are right now because He said, "Stay there," so they are there. Horses have not turned into fish for one reason. God didn't say, "Let them have gills."

The spirit realm is a legal environment. The Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of God knows laws of that environment and knows how to govern you in it, because you are a soul living in a body, not a body that just happens to have a soul. Now let me give you an example. In your free time, go read Job, chapter number 1. You'll find out how legal the spirit realm is. Satan shows up with some more angels and God says, "What are you doing here?" Satan says, "Oh, I've just been going to and fro seeing who I could bother." "Huh, seeing who you could bother? How come you're not bothering people?" He says, "Have you considered my servant, Joe? He said, "I have considered Joe, but I can't do nothing to him, because I don't have any permission to do anything to him."

Satan knows the law. He knows he can't break across the hedge of protection because he doesn't have permission. He knows the law. He goes, "Well, I would, if I could, but I can't, so I won't." God lifts the hedge of protection and as soon as He does, Satan takes off. He's like, "I don't know when you're going to put it back up, I'm going to go down there and mess with him right now." Why does this happen? Because Satan knows the law.

Now, the reason why this is very important for you to understand is because, from your perspective, you feel like all Satan does is lie. He lies to you. He cannot lie to God. Scripture says a liar cannot tarry in God's presence. Anytime Satan goes to God, he's telling the truth because he cannot lie to an all-knowing God. Here's what we say on this side, when we're under spiritual warfare and being attacked. "The devil is a lie. The devil is a lie." You start are going through some trouble. You're like, "I bind the devil. He's a liar." Who is he lying to? He's lying to you.

What does scripture say about him? He is accuser of the brethren. When he's accusing the brethren, who is he accusing the brethren to? God. He ain't lying. Welcome to the 11 o'clock service. You all about to wake up today. When the devil goes to God about you, he's not lying. He's telling him the-- This is why he's the greatest prosecuting attorney on the planet. He's telling the truth. When he goes to God and says, "Why you still messing with him? You told him 42 times to stop doing that. He keeps doing it. You might as well just let me have him. He obviously don't want to be your son."

If you heard it, you'd be like, "The devil is a lie," but then when he open up that caseload, you would be like, "You know what? I didn't know. You saw that? I had no idea. I didn't know. I didn't know you saw that. I didn't know you knew that." The enemy is telling the truth to God about you. He is daily making a threat to see if God will break His covenant with you. All God keeps saying back is, "You know my grace is sufficient for him. You know that blood worked, right? You know that blood has always worked.

I know. 42 times, you're right. By my count, it's 42 times as well, but I'm still working with him, and my grace is still sufficient for him, and I am long-suffering, and he does have a legal counselor, advisor, that's been checking him on that. He's going to be all right. I'm going to need you to move along because that person is covered under my blood." The Holy Spirit will start to tell you what's going on in the spirit realm so that you will govern yourself accordingly, because not only is He a legal advisor, He is a counselor. Oh, my goodness, and His counsel is so good if you listen, if you're Led.

I remember one time, I was working for this company. My direct supervisor told a lie about me to the CEO, in front of me. There's only three of us in this meeting. It's me, my direct report, and the CEO, and my direct report told a bald-faced lie about me to the CEO, in front of my face. Now, I'm from LA, I used to be a battle rapper, I am quick with it, and so my clap-back is so good, especially, when I have time, and I had time on this day.

When somebody comes after me, whatever I clap back with is fact. It's because I'm a psycho-analytical profiler of people's behavior. If I come after you, it's not conjecture. I've already studied you. When I get ready to pop off, it's going to be personal. It's not going to be this pay and spray, it's going to be surgical. It's going to be so sniper-like that everyone is going to turn around and be like, "Did you hear that thud? I think he just caught a body." That's the grace of my life. The Holy Spirit doesn't like this grace on my life.

He lied about me in front of him, and I got ready to-- I'm about to get him. The Holy Spirit said, "Don't open your mouth." I said, "Did you hear what he just said? Sir, did you hear what he just said?" He said, "I heard it. Don't open your mouth." I'm sitting there like, "Mm. Mm." The CEO, after he hears my story and his story, he says, "Well, you're saying this, and you're saying that, the truth has to be somewhere in the middle, so who's telling the truth?" and I thought, "Lord, you wanted me to be silent there, so I could speak up here." The Holy Spirit said, "Don't open your mouth." I said, "You're going to let him get away with this?" That's legal advice. He knows the ramifications of popping off like that would do in the spirit realm, so he just told me to shut up. Because I'm Led, I shut up.

I went back to my office, I closed the door, and I started talking to my lawyer, "Hey, man, what was that? Are you kidding me right now? That dude lied, and you told me to shut up? Where are we going with this?" He said, "I want you to buy him--" "Sir, don't even finish this sentence. Don't do me-- Not today. I don't want to be done like this today." "I want you to go buy him a nice shirt, some cufflinks, and a tie, and present it to him. Based on the lie he told you, tell him that you're going to do better."

I am Led, so I go buy the nice shirt. I could've got a cheap one. I went and bought the nice cufflinks, I could've got cheap ones. I went and bought the nice tie and brought it to him. I said, "Sir, hey, I just felt Led to get this for you. I just want you to know that I'm going to do better, based on what you said. I don't see it the same way, but I'm going to do better." He said, "Man, I know you weren't doing that.

You don't even have to follow up with me on that." Now, I'm confused because I'm like, "Lord, so he just admitted to the lie, and he gets a shirt, and a tie, and cufflinks for it? What kind of--" I get back to my office, and I sit down, and the lawyer turned into the counselor and said, "Let me point out the brokenness that is in that man that made him lie, so you'll have empathy for him." Are you Led by the Holy Spirit, are you simply being Led by your emotions because you won't let him talk to you.

I can't tell you how many times Juliet and I have not seen eye to eye and the Holy Spirit checks me in my devotion time about my tone with my wife. "Sir, two of us were talking, have you talked to her about her tone? Because she was a little reckless at certain parts in this convo. Why are you talking to me? Did you talk to her?" When you're being Led by the Holy Spirit He will never talk to you about anybody else more than he talks to you about you.

If you are ever in the spirit and all you keep hearing is what He wants to say about your spouse, your coworker, your brother, your sister, your mother, your father, your best friend then you're not being counseLed by the Holy Spirit. You are being counseLed by a spirit, but it's a small s and there's nothing holy in front of it. The Holy Spirit is our advocate. Point number two, please write this down. The Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit. I know that sounds redundant but the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says He is not was is, the words were in red. John chapter number 14 He is the Holy Spirit, not a Holy Spirit up to a point, not the Holy Spirit only through the book of Acts, not the Holy Spirit only for the first generation of disciples that received the Holy Spirit. He is, He always has been, He never was He always has been, He is the Holy Spirit. Genesis chapter number 1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and void and the spirit of God moved across the face of the deep." The Spirit's been around since the beginning, since before the beginning that we understand and know. He is the Holy Spirit.

To give you some calibration to how personalized you can make this to your life, Romans chapter number 8, my favorite passage personally for myself. If Juliet lets me get any tattoos in my forearm that's what's going on there. Pray that she opens her mind. Romans chapter number 8 starting at the 11th verse here's what it says "The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you." Listen y'all. I could run a revival off that sentence. I could run a whole revival off that one sentence right there. The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in who?

Me. I love the people that said "me". Personalize it. You have to be able to own this for yourself. This is not just some words you read on the paper. You have to own it for yourself. The spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead lives on the inside of me right now. Here's what Paul goes on to say. "Just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead He will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you."

Here's the strongest implication that is being said here. That means that not only do I have the grace of God to be resurrected, I have the grace of God to be restored. Not only does He resurrect people but He also revives people, restores people, replenishes people. He blesses people. The same Spirit that raised Him from the dead lives on the inside of us. He will give life to the same Spirit by the same Spirit that's living on the inside of us.

I love this next verse, "Therefore dear brothers and sisters you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do." Here's what happens when you get the promise, receive the promise to live a Spirit-Led life. You know you are no longer obligated to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. That should make 50 people so happy right now. If you caught the revelation of that you would understand that the Holy Spirit has come into your life to lead and guide you in, around, and through all of the temptations that urge you to do the things opposite and contrary to what's in God's word. Here's the two words. You have no obligation, to do what? To do what your sinful nature urges you to do. I'm not talking about a light suggestion. I'm talking about them heavy temptations, I'm talking about that stuff that you grew up with, because your trauma and the step that you go to whenever you feel scared or afraid or alone, and He says, "You don't even have to do it-- You're no longer obligated.

Outside of a relationship with me, you would always run back to that, but if you let me lead you, you are no longer obligated to pop off and wind up in a fit of rage anymore. You don't have to be angry for the rest of your life. You don't have to be bitter for the rest of your life. You don't have to be bound for the rest of--" You can break a drug habit off that verse. You can break generational curses off that verse, right there. It's not that you're not urged to do it anymore, you're just no longer obligated.

Anytime I read that verse I think of Jehovah Witnesses and the fact that when they knock on the door, I am not obligated to answer. I know it's probably a petty-- I love them. I love Jehovah Witnesses, but when they knock on the door and get ready to flash that Watchtower, "Hi, got some time?" I don't have to open the door. We have big glass columns on each side of the door. We don't have one of them doors that nobody can see us. If we're in direct eyesight, somebody's going to see it. When somebody knocks on the door, I can look, make eye contact with the person, and literally go back to whatever I was-- I don't have to open the door. Why? I'm not obligated to open the door.

This is what the Holy Spirit's telling you. "You no longer have to open the doors to the way you used to handle your life. I can start getting those doors for you." Sometimes we order a lot of Uber Eats, the introvert in me. I think Uber Eats, Instacart, Amazon, they were made for introverts. I think introverts just found a way to keep introverts in the house, and I love Bezos for it. I'm just like, "I don't want to go outside. You'll bring me a nail clipper." The CVS is two miles away, but I'm like, "You'll bring it here in seven hours? Sold." Why would I leave? It's introvert's dream.

Sometimes we'll see somebody pull up in the driveway, and the first thing we'll say is "Hey, did anybody order some food?" We'll be like, "No." Once Juliet and I realized "Oh, did anybody expect any company to come over?" "No." "Did anybody make any deliveries?" "No." "Is it an Amazon day?" "No." I go straight to the bedroom, I grab my knife, I come back, and then I say, "Answer the door."

Now you might think, "Wow, good Lord, Tim. What an overreaction? You're such a cynical person." No, I'm just from LA and I know what home invasions are like. They try to catch you in broad daylight, but they won't catch me. You don't have to get ready, you stay ready. That's in the natural.

In the spiritual realm, the Holy Spirit's like, "I have to go. I'll get it. Open the door." "Hey, oh, when did you move in here?" "Yes, may I help you?" "Yes, we're porn. We've been hanging out with him since like, age 12. He likes when we come over. Can you come outside?" Holy Spirit's like, "No. He actually can't." "He likes us, go ask him. He still likes us." The Holy Spirit is like, "You like them?" I'm in the back and can't lie. "I know they're bad for me, but yes, I still like them. Not like. It's just that it's just familiar. It's just met him a long time ago before you and so I still like it." He's like, "I appreciate the honesty. My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Here's what you need to know, he might still like you, I don't. Since I have the title deed to the property, as you can see this big old blood mark on the bottom signed in blood, you got to go. He is not obligated to come talk to you no more."

"Well, what if we stand here and scream? Timmy." "He's still not coming." "Timmy Ross." "He's still not coming." Why? I'm no longer obligated to do this. It's not that I'm not being urged, it's just that I'm not being obligated. In the past before the Holy Spirit, I didn't think I had another choice, but since I've been Led, things have changed. If you live by its dictates you're flesh, you will die, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit-- Thank you, Paul, for making this so plain.

You're not asking for my power? "No, because your power is weak." If through the power of the Holy Spirit, you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. Verse 14 and is so dope. "For all who are— Led"

Say it with your chest real loud. For all who are--

Real loud. for all who are-

Led by the spirit of God are children of God. I am a child of God. I am a friend of God. He calls me. Are you Led? I am a friend of God, but are you Led? I hear a lot of people saying that, "I'm a child of God," but they're driven more than they are Led. The Holy Spirit leads. Satan's spirit drives. "I got to go do it." You been driven into something instead of the Holy Spirit leads. He's like, "Hey, come over here. We're going to go through that. It looks scary behind that. Trust me, come on." He leads you.

Sometimes where you are Led, you would never have Led yourself there. I promise you, I was a West Coast dude and I thought I was going to die in Cali sea walking for Jesus. Instead of Cripp, it would have been Christ. I don't know. The Lord Led me to Texas on a Greyhound bus, a two-and-a-half-day trip. "How did you get here, Tim?" "The Holy Spirit said, 'Come to Texas.'" I came to Texas. I didn't know all this was about to happen in Texas, but being Led gets you places being driven will never take you.

Point number three and we're done. Point number three. He leads into all truth. I can stay on this for weeks, but I want to narrow this down because there might be some people in here saying, "Do I even have the Holy Spirit? I don't know. I think I do. I don't know if I have Him. I don't know if I have Him like the other people have Him."

You ever been in church and compared your relationship and your spirit feeling to somebody else's reactions to the Spirit's feeling and you're just like, "I don't do any of that, but I'd like to think he-- I don't do crazy stuff no more. I don't do cartwheels either. Am I even saved? Am I even okay? I guess I would skip around if I felt it, but I don't ever feel it. Do they have more of the spirit than I?" No, we don't. Listen, your reactions are completely different than the person Himself.

Here's the analogy I always love to give. If I gave you $100, you $100, and you $100. I can give you $100, and I give you $100, and I give you $100. I give you $100, and you go, "Oh thank you." Great. I give you the $100, and you're like, "Thank you so much, man. You have no idea man, had no gas in the car." I give you the $100, and you're just like, "Hallelu- thank Lord. [screams] [inaudible 00:35:48]."

Did anybody get anything more than $100? Does he have 110 because he was excited? Does he have 150 because he cried? Does she get 200 because she ran? The $100, is $100, but their reaction to that $100 is based on their personality. You get the Holy Spirit, He's not going to come bop you over the head and change your personality. If you're like a chill person, you get filLed with the Holy Spirit and just be like, "Hmm, thank you." I'm talking big swan dive of the Holy Spirit straight into your chest and if you was always a chill person you'll be like, "Boy that feels great. That's amazing. I just feel warm in the chest area. I feel a lot of peace. I don't feel angry anymore at all. It's pretty amazing."

If you are always at emo, the Holy Spirit's going to get in there, you was already crying about stuff anyway. If the nationwide commercial was 90 seconds you would be crying, "They are on your side." You get the Holy Spirit, you're going to still be a crier. If you were like the turn-up king or queen, you got the party started wherever, you are the life of the party, and you give your life to Christ and you receive the Holy Spirit, you're still going to be the life of the party. Your turn-up meter doesn't go down. You're just going to be who you are. Freer. You will be who you are more authentically. You will be who you are with more vulnerability. Yes. He's not trying to change you, He enhances you. He puts this extra on your ordinary for you to become who He has calLed you to be. That's what He does.

I want to give you this verse because this verse right here, this is my litmus test. Oh, I'm about to make some Pentecostals mad right here. I'm here. I'm ready for it too. This is my litmus test for people to know if they're spirit-filLed. 1st Corinthians 12:3. Paul writes this. "I want you to know that no one speaking by the spirit of God will curse Jesus. Impossible for anybody speaking about the spirit of God to curse Jesus and, no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."

Oh, that's my test y'all. See, y'all testing tongues. Y'all testing reactions. "Do you really got it? Let's see it." Here's what I want to know. Is He Lord? Hear me. Not savior. Lord. Here's how I will know that you have the Holy Spirit. If you can confess Jesus as Lord. If you have literally been Led to take that L. I have accepted him as Lord. Let me tell you something, when you choose to have a Lord, you are choosing to give up running your own life.

I can't tell you how many rappers, singers, artists, and musicians have gotten up and won some award and be like, "I would like to thank Jesus. Without Him, couldn't do it. Couldn't write them dirty lyrics. Couldn't call all of y'all out of y'all names. Couldn't describe my body parts the way I do, except if it wasn't for Jesus." I have seen entertainers back behind stage praying before they go out, to spew some of the most vulgar stuff you've ever heard in your life. "Father. God, right now, don't let us forget any of these lyrics. Lord, just bring it back to our remembrance." I'm like, "I don't think that's how the verse-- He would bring His verses to your memory. Not your verse." I don't-- That's not how-- You haven't been disciples."

"Okay. Anyway, Lord, just use us all. We're going to twerk for Jesus, and work for Jesus and we going do it all for Jesus," but nothing about the lifestyle has changed. When you get rescued, nothing has to change. What happens when you get rescued? You just thank them. "Thank you." That's all a rescuer gets, is a thank you. A Lord gets a life. Saviors get thank yous. Lords get lives. Are you Led? If you say, "Jesus is Lord," something about you has to change.

Or you just have a savior and you think your thank you is enough. When you have a Lord, you will know that thank you is just the beginning. The life is what it's worth to say thank you for all He has done. This is our series for this month. I want to lead you through what it's like to be Led. Today, I just wanted to remind you. He gave a promise to the people, that the Holy Spirit is available to all of us.

If we would simply open up our hearts, He would come in and lead us into all truth. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message? My hope and my prayer is that something has been said on the first service of this new year, something has been said that allows you to be reminded that you have a promise.

You don't just have a promise of something good happening for you or to you. You have a promise of a person living inside of you and that if you would let Him, He would lead you into all truth. The truth about Jesus, the truth about you, the truth about your relationship, the truth about the purpose, the plans, the destiny that He has for your life. If you would give Him the opportunity he would lead you into the promises of God. We made all this room before the end of the year, simply to be Led by the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit, I thank you and I praise you for our hearts being open to be Led by you. I pray that this word would settle in our heart and that we would embrace you as advocate. We would accept you as the person of the Holy Spirit and that we would let you lead us into all truth in Jesus' name.