The Holy Unscheduled And Uncomfortable Spirit Series

In the book of Luke, we find an interesting dialogue between Jesus and a few men as they make their way to Jerusalem. One of the men tries to make himself look and sound good to the others as he exclaims to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus, knowing the man’s heart, looks at the man and smiles kindly. He warns the man that following Him would be uncomfortable and unpredictable. The man’s smile slowly disappears as he ponders the weight of Jesus’ response.

Jesus then turns to a different man and says, “Follow me.” That man, excited that Jesus is acknowledging him, nearly jumps to the moon. “YEA! I’ll follow you. But first, since my Father is old, let me wait until he dies. Then I will be right behind You.”

Still another man exclaims to Jesus, trying to make himself look better than the previous guy, “I will follow you! Let me just run and say goodbye to my family.”

The problem with these men’s comments was that even though they were willing to follow Jesus, it was on their terms. They wanted to be in control and be comfortable as they followed Jesus. They would follow Jesus based on their schedule, only after certain things had been done. They were not willing to drop everything and follow Him on His terms.

These same two factors play a big part in our lives today. When we talk about the Holy Spirit working in our lives and changing hearts, this skit illustrates how we often approach Him.

***Holy Spirit in a Box Skit (written by Steve Kostecki)***

[The Scene: Person J & Person S are in a car with a box (with a person inside) is in the back seat]

Person S - Hey this trip was a great Idea

Person J - Yeah! We’re going to do some real Youth Group stuff now. It’s going to be a "Spirit-Filled" day.

[The Spirit in the box rustles, trying to get out]

Person S - Excellent! I’ve been looking forward to this kind of thing for a while. Hey, what’s in the box?

Person J - Oh. Yeah. That’s the Holy Spirit.

Person S - Ah. Good idea. Umm… Shouldn’t we let Him out?

[The Spirit in the box rustles, trying to get out. Person J slams his/her hand on the box to keep the Spirit in.]

Person J - Oh no! It’s not time yet.

Person S - It’s not? OK. When are we going to bring Him out?

Person J - Later. Don’t rush it. I figure we’ll take the Spirit out later this afternoon for about ½ an hour. We have a stop to make first.

Person S - Wow. A whole ½ hour!? Good idea. So, where are we stopping first?

Person J - Well, we’ve got to filled up with the Spirit first. I thought we’d stop in at McSpirit’s first.

Person S - Man, you’ve got this covered. Excellent idea.

[The people drive up to a drive-through window and we hear, Welcome to McSpirit’s. May I take your order?"]

Person J - Yeah. I’d like a super Spirit burger. Could you hold the pickles and onions. Oh, and could I have extra cheese… and no special sauce please.

[Unseen cashier – "Thank you please drive around"]

Person S - Wow man. That doesn’t sound like much of a Spirit burger to me. Why’d you leave off the pickles and onions?

Person J - Oh, because they give me gas.

Person S - Ah. Well why did you get extra cheese?

Person J - Well, to me it’s al bout the cheese. I love the cheese! I can’t get enough cheese.

Person S - And no special sauce!?

Person J - Yeah. I don’t like the sauce… too spicy!

[Person J pays for the burger and drives off]

Person S - Ah I see. That doesn’t seem like a real Spirit burger to me Hey, aren’t you going to eat that?

Person J - That’s fine for you. But that’s just your opinion. It’s exactly the way I want it… just the way I like it.

Person S - Hey, aren’t you going to eat that?

Person J - Naw. I’ll eat it later. I’m not hungry right now.

[The Spirit in the box rustles, trying to get out. Person J slams his/her hand on the box to keep the Spirit in.]

Person J - [Yelling] Not Yet I Said! Later!!!!

The End

Just like these men on the road with Jesus, we want the Holy Spirit to do His work the way we say and on our time tables. But unfortunately for us, that is not how God works! To explore this deeper, let’s open our Bibles to Acts 2:1-13.

***Read Acts 2:1-13***