Air Series

-here’s where that comes from:

**Gal. 4:6a -> 6And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. (NLT)

-this Spirit of Jesus would be the Holy Spirit (again, that whole Trinity thing).

-Jesus explained this at the Last Supper when He said if anyone loves Him, they will keep His words and then God will loves us, then Jesus says “we” will make our home with them.

-that’s part of how we show we belong to Christ, His Holy Spirit living in us.

**Ro. 8:9 -> 9But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to Him at all.) (NLT)

-if we belong to Christ, then we have the Holy Spirit living in us, His Spirit is with our spirit inside this meat box.

-which leads to:

HE SHOWS WE BELONG TO CHRIST

-the best way I can think to explain this is a holy cattle drive. For many years, and sometimes still now, there was only one way to prove that an animal belonged to you. Let’s take sheep, since the Lord is our shepherd. If you had a sheep that belonged to you, you marked it. You branded it. There was something on that sheep to identify it as yours.

-likewise, although we can’t see it, we are spiritually branded for Christ. There is something in and on our spirits that identify us as His, and that mark is the Holy Spirit.

**Eph. 1:13b -> 13When you heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation—you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put His special mark of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that He had promised. (NCV)

-so when it finally comes down to that point where God asks who you belong to, who your lord is, the Holy Spirit will be with you saying, “Why, they’re yours, see? I’m here.”

HE GIVES GIFTS

-everyone here has something they are good at, some gift from God that you can use to make this world a better place and show God’s love to others. And as we talked about before, the Holy Spirit gives out those gifts.

**I Cor. 12:4-6 -> 4There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. 6There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. (GNT)

-but He does more than just give the gifts-

HE EMPOWERS US

-it’s through the Holy Spirit’s power we can use these gifts for God’s glory.

-it is through the Holy Spirit’s power we can live for God.

-that’s how Paul lived:

**I Cor. 2:4b -> 4Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. (NLT)

-that’s why we don’t need to be scared or worried when we feel like we are supposed to do something for God. If God wants us to do it, the Holy Spirit will help us.

**I Pe. 1:12b -> 12Those who preached the Good News to you told you those things with the help of the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven—things into which angels desire to look. (NCV)