Michael Koulianos emphasizes the profound love of the Holy Spirit, highlighting that without the Spirit, life would lack joy, faithfulness, and divine connection. He explains that understanding the Holy Spirit as God enhances the beauty of His love for us, urging believers to cultivate intimacy with Him. Koulianos shares personal testimonies and insights on how the Holy Spirit gathers and unites believers, encouraging a collective pursuit of God's presence. He stresses the importance of abiding in the Spirit to experience God's love and to ask for what aligns with His will. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit, which is essential for experiencing and sharing God's love.

All right, you ready to talk about the Holy Spirit a little more? Is that okay? All right. Help me there, Joel. Joel's always there. Just... Wonderful Lord. Come on, close your eyes, make it count. Wonderful Holy Spirit, where would we be without you? What would life be like without your touch? Without your love? Without your faithfulness? Without your joy? I can understand, Lord, why David said, take not your Holy Spirit from me. Holy Spirit, without you we have nothing. And so we honor you. We worship you as God Almighty. And we honor your presence here in the room, in our hearts, upon us. We honor you, wonderful Holy Spirit. You are the Lord. And so we come this morning yielding the best we can, surrendering the best we know how. And we ask you to move as you desire and to inflame hearts with love for Jesus today. I pray that nobody would leave here who is not burning in love with Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Can we give the Lord praise just one more time? Isn't he wonderful? Take your Bibles to Isaiah 34. We are still in our beautiful eternal discovery of the Holy Spirit. But I'm going to kind of change gears here as I took three weeks to talk about God the Holy Spirit, that he is God. And now I want to kind of change gears and talk to you about the love of the Spirit. Isn't that wonderful? It's right to teach on his absolute godliness and the fact that he is God, I believe, prior to talking about anything else, because it makes his love all the more majestic. You know what I mean by that? You would act differently, you would respond differently to an invitation based on who the invitation is from. Does that make sense? Like your annoying neighbor, their invitation would not excite you as much as possibly your favorite man or woman of God. How many of you understand? So knowing the Holy Spirit is God makes the fact that he dwells in you and wants to love you and be with you all the more amazing. Do you understand? We call this a theology from above, if you're taking notes, which wouldn't hurt you. That's a nice way of saying take notes. If you're on a device, take notes without texting. The Lord will bless you, triple portion, or scrolling. Resist the urge, resist the demon of scrolling. We call this a theology from above. When you study Jesus, teaching John 1, in this light, that the Word became flesh, in other words, he has come down from heaven prior to him putting on a body. He was the formless, eternal, second person of the Godhead. This speaks of a Christology from above. It's a healthy way, a proper way to walk in intimacy with God. You must know who you're getting close to. And if you do not see him as the Lord, you certainly will not carry the fear of the Lord. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So if you lose it, you get stupid. The first person you get stupid with is God. You begin to treat him as a mere human. While he's fully human in the person of Jesus, he is fully God. That's why we started with God, the Holy Spirit. But now I want to talk to you about the love of the Spirit in Isaiah 34. But before I do, I just want to share a quick testimony. You don't mind those, do you? So we just got back from Alabama, myself, Joel, Dom, and Austin. And I had the real joy and honor of preaching the 25th anniversary of the Brownsville Revival. It was a real privilege. They're hosting an event there right now. And so I did what I could to get there. I took the honor very seriously because I'm believing for that and more here. I said I'm believing for that and more here. I see no other reason than to gather, than to be in God's presence, period. So I got up there and we kind of dodged that tropical storm. We did well while we were there. And we took a minivan up there and Dom had her little suite in the back row. She had a Dom actually reads her Bible with a clip on, like, nightlight. She's old school. She's from another age. She had her little pillow ready and it was really cute. And she was reading Corrie ten Boom, which makes me all the more grateful that Dom is here. I've actually been feasting on Corrie's teachings for the last week. And if you've never heard of Corrie ten Boom, you need to. So we drove up there and I ministered on Jesus and basically asked them the question, do you remember the presence of Jesus? And if you want to go back and watch it, you can. I don't have time to really talk about that this morning, but I wanted to provoke in the hearts of the people the memory of the presence. Because forgetting is connected to a hard heart. That's what the Bible teaches. Jesus said to the disciples on the boat, have your hearts hardened. Have you forgotten? Remember, they were freaking out over not having bread. That's what happens when the Holy Spirit doesn't live in you. When he's not in you, God can do stuff around you and you still don't believe him. You missed that. You should say amen. Because it's true. And that happens here. It happens in school. Our school leaders would tell you God's doing incredible things in the atmosphere, but for some people it just never gets in. God's doing stuff around them, but God wants to also do stuff in us primarily. Do you understand? So we asked them if they remembered what the presence of the Spirit felt like. What his voice sounded like. What he did to the air when he came into the room. What he did to the anxiety. Only God can make you just want to sit on a platform for hours and hours and hours and not go anywhere. How many of you know what I'm talking about? How many times have we sat in the presence of the Lord on a Sunday night and just been there or at our events year after year? The last night just turns into a massive Holy Spirit camping session. I'm serious. And that's why I believe the send actually started at Camping World Stadium. God wants to do more than just get people saved. Though that's very important. Many will be saved this morning. God actually wants to live with his people. Do you understand? So I asked them that question. People began weeping. It was really beautiful. And I went in the back, and a precious father in the faith shared something with me. And that's just kind of what I want to throw your way regarding what God's doing here in us as a church family. He said some people in movements become nails for God like a nail. Most don't even get to that level of maturity. Most are never trusted enough to be pounded in to the tapestry of God's eternal purposes. They can get saved. But I'm talking about God trusting you with the person of the Spirit. Actually, getting to know him. Have you ever wondered why the Holy Spirit is so important came upon Jesus and remained? One of, and there are many reasons. One is his perfection. But one of the reasons is because yes, of course, Jesus trusted in the Spirit. We know that. That's taught very often. But the Spirit trusted in Jesus. The Spirit trusted Jesus with his feelings. He knew that he would never be grieved, never quenched, never rejected. You know, the Holy Spirit, you're going to discover in this series that the Holy Spirit can be vexed deeply, grieved deeply. When Paul writes, grieve not the Holy Spirit, it's a deep internal wounding, a painful grief. And the Holy Spirit knew that he could remain on Jesus because of the ways of Jesus, because of the heart of Jesus. So most people don't even get to the place where they become a nail, where they can be trusted. Some do. Some allow God to process them into a life of trust. I hope you're listening. He said, and then there's a few ministries or people who become a spike, a thick spike, a permanent fixture in that tapestry, in that wall that represents God's kingdom. He said a nail is more easily pulled out. You just take the back end of a hammer and pull it out. And so the devil comes along, and he sees that God is using a life, that somebody's growing in favor, but they never stay in the fire of the presence long enough to grow and become a spike. So the devil just comes around with persecution, temptation, fear, and distraction, and just pulls them right out of the wall. He said, but the spike is not so. The spike is not so. And you, he said, and that would mean our ministry, this church, he said, you are a spike in God's eternal purposes. A hammer will not pull you out. He said, but the devil will bring a crowbar to the one who is the spike and give it everything he has. What he basically said was, and this isn't word for word, but what he basically said was, distraction, he said, territorialism that rests in Orlando that's been here way too long, competitiveness, he said, that's the crowbar. He said, the problem with the devil pulling you out is this, is that he knows that God bends his bow. He loads the bow with an arrow, and God releases the arrow, and the arrow takes a little time to get to its destination. And he said, the arrow is headed toward the spike. Now look, a lot of people try to give me words. I'm fine with it sometimes. Sometimes I'm really not. And Bill taught me, he said, your heart is a garden. You have a key to the fence around the garden. Song of Solomon says, a garden enclosed is my sister. She's fenced in. So we all have this garden in our heart. Bill told me, you have the key to the front door. You get to determine who speaks into your heart. So I don't just receive words from anyone, and you shouldn't either. You shouldn't either. You should receive words from trusted, Jesus-loving people who have a track record, who have actual authority. Do you understand? It's the safest way to live. I just spared you some really bad nights and fear and anxiety and decisions. All right? So he said, God bends that bow, and he fires that arrow, and that arrow is revival. That arrow is the manifest presence of Jesus. That arrow is the actual glory of the Lord, blessing, dreams fulfilled, breakthrough. That arrow is carrying the moisture, the substance, the oil of heaven. And that arrow is aimed at the spike every time. He said, but if the devil uproots the spike from the wall, the arrow will hit its mark, because God never misses. But the spike won't be there to grab it. And he said to me, before a move of God came to his ministry, and it did, shook the world. He said, oh, I thought about leaving. I thought about going here and there. He goes, but for some reason, the mercy of God kept me. And God, as arrow pointed, and it slammed me in the chest, and God began to move. This is what I want to share with our church family this morning. Don't budge. Don't look to your left or to your right. Listen to me. With territorialism comes terror. It's where fear is birthed. It's where what-ifs are birthed. When Peter asked Jesus, what of John? Isn't it amazing that Peter gets restored? He went back to fishing. But comparison was still in his heart even after the Lord restored him. Isn't that wild? And what did Jesus say to Peter? Don't even care. Don't even worry about it. What's it to you if he lives and if he doesn't die until I return? All of you here, individually and us collectively, we have a mandate from heaven to love Jesus. And that's what we're going to do. And that's all we're going to do until he comes home. And through that love, everything else will just happen. I promise you. People are getting saved in prisons, saved on the streets. Miracles are happening. How? Through the love of Jesus. Amen? All right. Do you receive that? That's for us, and I feel like it's very timely. Isaiah 34. Search from the book of the Lord and read. Not one of these shall fail. Not one shall lack her mate. For my mouth, listen carefully, has commanded it, and his spirit has gathered them. Say this. The Holy Spirit gathers because the Holy Spirit loves. This gathering is because of the love of the Spirit. The Lord has gathered us to himself and to each other. This meeting alone is proof that the Holy Spirit loves us. Because he gathers us. Acts 15, 28. I want you to see now how the early church related to the Holy Spirit. Who he was to them. Acts 15 is a champion of a chapter, and we would not be here if it were not for Acts 15 regarding law and all of these different things. Acts 15, 28. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit. Listen to this language. And to us. I'm just going to stop there. How close do you have to be to the Holy Spirit to even be able to say that as a church leadership team? And how many church leadership teams are actually even talking like that? See, we've replaced it seeming good to the Spirit with human reason. Let me tell you something about the presence of the Spirit when it comes to church. Growing up or coming up in a spiritual environment where the Spirit is honored, where we're not ashamed of him, where we let him move, where there's an understanding of the anointing. One of the things that is birthed is honor. Honor. Honor for each other. Honor for gifting. Honor for offices. Because we understand something. Our relationship will be affected. Our relationship with the Spirit will be affected one way or the other based on how we live our lives. And so you see churches full on attack their own pastor. The root cause there is obviously pride. But one of the issues is you don't understand the Spirit. You have chapter and verse. The problem is you're using chapter and verse as a weapon. When you don't know the Holy Spirit, you can use the Scriptures to do the work of the enemy. Happens all the time. If I don't know the Holy Spirit, know the actual author, I could look at a Scripture that justifies stoning the sinner. I don't see Jesus rightly. I don't understand the point of the Bible. So I can't turn away the adulterous woman and say, sin no more. Where are your accusers? If I don't know the Lord Himself. Do you understand? And so Paul writes, the letter kills, but the Spirit brings life. When you know the Holy Spirit, you realize, these are not words that I use against people or to get my theology across. When I know the Holy Spirit, I look at the Scriptures and say, these words are alive and flow from His heart. Do you understand? So growing up in an atmosphere that honors the presence of the Holy Spirit actually exposes me to the ways of God. I don't know why in the world certain churches believe that the leadership teams, and this isn't here, but if the shoe fits, whoever's listening, you need to wear it. I don't know where they get from the Bible that leadership teams work for the givers in a church. As Heidi said at Jesus 15, I didn't come here to sell books and promote a conference. That would make me a prostitute and I am not a prostitute. That's Heidi said right after I introduced Jesus 365, which made me feel wonderful. I slid down to my seat. I will never do that again. I just said, hey, Jesus 365 just came out. If you want it, it's in the back. I introduced Heidi, who's coming by the way. I'm not telling you when, but she's coming. She's coming. It's going to be phenomenal. My ears are already tingling. Got my helmet ready. I'm ready to rumble. But I just said, hey, Jesus 365 is out. Then I introduced Heidi. She came up. She started singing and then she said, I haven't come here to sell books. That would make me a prostitute and I'm not. And I'm like, oh my God, please give an altar call, Heidi. Please give an altar call. I remember that. Oh, just, just whisper. She goes, she's rebuking you. I go, figured that out. Thanks babe. I'm hosting the event. I'm not sure I need to feel this way right now, but look at this language. It seemed good to the Holy spirit and to us. Now, how close do you need to be collectively as apostolic elders? Because these are the apostolic elders talking, which is an entirely different teaching. The whole eldership thing, which is important, but this is a different teaching. Let me just keep it moving so I don't get into trouble. All right. How close do you need to be as apostolic elders running the church to even be able to say, it seems right to the spirit. How unified do you need to be as a team to all say it seems right. They didn't say here, I had a vision or a dream. Look, we'll take as many as God wants to give us. Right. But that's not what they said here. They, what they basically said is we, we got together and it felt right. That's the love of the spirit. It seemed right. And to us. So what they're saying here is actually a fulfillment of John 15, that if his words abide in us and we abide in him, we can ask for whatever we want and he'll do it to the glory of God, the father. Let me tell you how you ask whatever you want and get it by asking what God wants you to ask for. And you only get that by abiding. That's the context. The context is not wake up and go, I want a triple engine, 225 ranger bass boat, 18 foot with a trolling motor in the front and a hundred gallon live well that would hold shiners and a fly rod rack on the side with a big sticker across the side that says walk on water. You would, you would think I've thought about this before. Okay. You would take this, this idol in the depths of my heart that I could so quickly describe that in front of you. It could not be. You're happy today. All right. It's wonderful is what I just said. And as anointed as it was, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about union, union with the Lord that only comes by you abiding in him and his words abiding in you. Does the scripture tell us to protect his words in our heart? Sort of. No, it says thy word. I have kept in my heart. Have you ever kept something? It speaks in a much greater detail than just protecting it or storing it. Keeping something requires loving protection, tender protection. And that's what Mary said. She pondered these things. She kept them. She made sure they stayed alive. You ever kept a garden? Of course you keep it. You keep the deer out. Those demonic morphed rats is what they are in our, at least in our neighborhood who eat everything, everything. And of course you can't do anything to the deer. They just eat everything and poop on everything. Okay. To keep them out. You don't, you don't just, the point of your garden is not to simply keep the deer out, to put a fence around it. It's to actually see growth in the garden that requires sun and water and the proper nutrients. This is what it looks like to keep the word. And this is major when it comes to union with the Lord. When I keep his words, when they're in me, I keep them. And then I abide. I live in his presence. In that moment, I start asking God for the right stuff that God wants me to actually ask for. See, God wants us to ask for our building. God wants us to declare favor. God wants us to speak into existence. Soft-hearted leaders in the city who see the value for God's people. God wants that. God wants us to ask for an outpouring of the Spirit. And God may want you to ask for something even more specific. It's okay to ask God, Lord, we need our house. I need a job. That's all fine. But something happens when it's birthed in that state of union. When you begin to ask God for what he's telling you to ask for in that moment. My father-in-law taught me that. As a little kid, he'd say, at some point in the service, usually right in the middle of worship, he'd say, now ask God for whatever you want. We weren't asking for billions of dollars unless we really needed it for God's glory. I was 12, so I didn't need the billions of dollars. Now I could do something with it. I said I could do something with it. Jesus could just uproot all the horrible works of the devil around here. We could do something with it. But back then I didn't know. I would ask for stuff like this. Oh Lord, here I am. Come visit me. I want to be your best friend. Things like that. I discovered that in the presence, when his word was abiding in me and I was abiding in him, I would ask God for the right things and he would do it. It's very important when it comes to it seeming right to the Spirit and to us. We're going to have to learn to do that as a church family. What is the Spirit saying right now to us? Of course he deals with us on an individual level, but we have to have a more macro view at times or it just becomes about us. There's something about it not being about me that actually breeds longevity in a work. Because if it's built around me, it's going to expire with me. So Wesley's tomb says, John Wesley's tomb says, the man is gone but the work continues. That takes wisdom. That takes its seeming right to a people. It's interesting to me that the denominations that have been around the longest, the ones we criticize and say are dead, you know we're pretty new to this whole thing, by the way. This thing's been around much longer than four or 500 years which is where most theologies begin. But it was around 45 or I should say 5,500 years prior to that with God's dealings with men on the earth and 1,500 years prior to that in the church. So the point is not so much to flash in the pan who's the most famous pastor. That's not the point of this. Some of these movements have been around for 1,700 years. You can't tell me that's not valuable. They're still here. That's why Jordan is better than LeBron. Sorry to tell you. Side note. Okay. Okay. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. We love them all. We love everyone. Calm down. Longevity speaks. Here's the question. You look at some of these major denominations. You don't know the ten Lutheran pastors in the city. You can't name ten. You can't name ten Catholic priests or ten Orthodox priests. You can name ten preachers from our types of environments. Good and maybe bad. Those churches have been around a while, a long time. They're still here building hospitals, feeding the poor. You know, in the culture I grew up in, do you know the first building you built when you immigrated? The church. And then the whole community lived around the church and they built out from there. In today's society, we build our own lives and add church. I have news for you. When your favorite preacher is long gone in the dirt, when I'm long gone, those movements will still be here. Because, I'm not saying they're all perfect, but I'm saying there's something about it seeming right to the spirit collectively and asking the Lord, what are you saying to us? Not just what are you saying to me? When you can say what the apostle said in Acts 15, it seems right to us. When you can say that, you realize God's kingdom is much bigger than Michael or you. Imagine that. Imagine that God has more up his sleeve than just me. You'll never see that way if you can't say it seemed right to the Holy Spirit and to us. Say this, the Holy Spirit wants to talk to me and he wants to speak to us. I long for the day where whether I'm here or not, you can come in with a smile on your face and worship Jesus. And I understand this Sunday morning, it's the baby. And the framework is being built and the foundation is being built. I understand all that. I've been preaching the Sunday nights now for three years, 95, 99% of them. I understand what season we're in. You need to catch the voice of what God has mandated Jesus' image with. I understand. And you can't just impregnate and then go on somewhere. I get that. But I don't want to build this church around me. I'm going to be here, hopefully, until the day the Lord takes me home. That's my plan. But if we're going to be at Jesus people, we're going to have to be more aware of the presence of Jesus than the presence of our pastor. That's important. It's important. Look, the reason I come is because I want to be with the Lord and with you. But if we're going to actually step into what God has called us to step into, we've got to come in going, Jesus is here and you're more than enough. Do you understand? That takes time. It takes time. Paul would go to his city and stay for two years and build the people up. And then leaders emerged. That's what needs to happen in a healthy church is that Jesus himself becomes so central that we depend on his presence and not on the presence of leaders. Amen? Amen. I'm not going anywhere, so don't worry. If I go anywhere, it'll just be Augusta National for two, three. If there's a member watching, four days up there would be wonderful. We love you. And I'm happy to pray for you after the 18th hole. All right. Romans 5.5. You enjoying this? Romans 5.5. Hope does not disappoint. Can I just stop there? I have precious friends right now fighting cancer more than I've ever had. I've never had so many friends either suffer with it or whatever. I've never had so many friends suffer with it at one time than this last season. Typically when I get the call, the call is because it's a dire situation and they need a miracle. That's why a lot of people come to this church, come to this ministry. I tell this to our team all the time. This is not the type of ministry that can afford to leave people unchanged. It's not why they come. Sometimes when I'm weak, I'm physically tired, I'll say, or I'll hear this little voice go, what if you pray for them and they don't get healed? And then some critics will say, isn't that a false hope? Look, if the worst we give people is hope, I'm doing that. Now we don't pray so that there's mere hope, but the Bible here says hope doesn't disappoint. If you praying for them brings hope. If you declaring the word over them that with long life, I will satisfy you and show you my salvation. If they leave with that, I mean, what's the alternative that they rot and die with no hope. If people are going to close their eyes, may they close their eyes in hope. So hope doesn't disappoint. The scripture says here, listen, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts, say in my heart, by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Hold on here. Hold on. The love of God is available and God wants to give his love away. He wants to put his love so close that it is, look down at your Bible, verse five, in your heart. God wants you to feel and know his love in your very heart. And I don't mean your blood pump. I'm not talking about the actual flesh, the depths of your being, in the depths of your spirit. God wants to insert his love, and he has if you're born again. But how, or I should say, who is the love and who carries the love? Look down. The Holy Spirit. Say that out loud. The Holy Spirit. So the love of God, the way by which we receive the love of God, is by the person of the Holy Spirit. So if you have a love issue, by default you have an intimacy issue, and by default you have a Holy Spirit issue. You cannot know the love of God outside the Holy Spirit. The good news is he's been given. If you're born again, your heart is filled with the love of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. How do you experience that love? Are you ready? By experiencing the Spirit. Who is inside of you? Step one is to simply give him your attention. Step two is to respond to his awareness through adoration and love. This is how you do it. How can I be filled with the love of God? You know what's so wild to me is that many of you grew up in church, and no one ever taught you how to experience the presence of God. But you learned everything else. Wild, isn't it wild the stuff we learn? Think about it. I'm not joking. We know more about catching people that are falling than experiencing the presence of God, which could make you fall. Right? Brian's a great catcher. I'm gonna give him the catcher's chest guard one day. The softball one. How do you experience the love of God? Number one, realizing he's been given to you by the Spirit. Number two, engaging him. How do I engage him? How do you engage anyone? Simple, childlike, loving, adoring, adoration. Let honey drip from your mouth as it flows from your heart. Romans 15 30. Is this boring you? Okay, you're quiet. Hopefully, Madam Guyon said people are quiet for two reasons. One, they have nothing to say. Two, they have too much to say. Hopefully, it's the second here this morning. I'm giving you what I was raised on. I hope you're cherishing it. Romans 15 30. Oh, listen to this. Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ. How would you like to get a letter like that? Paul's saying, I'm urging you now by the Lord. Okay. By our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit. Say this out loud. The Holy Spirit is filled with love. Say this. The Holy Spirit is love. If you want to love people more, love Jesus more, let him love you more, and you'll love people more. First Corinthians 6. Oh, man, this one. This one gets me. First Corinthians 6 17. Is this too much Bible? Just making sure. But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. This word joins here is in the context of marriage. You don't just think you came to an altar and entered the Christian demographic in heaven, do you? You don't think that's where this whole thing ends. What you didn't realize is that you got engaged. God and the Spirit put a ring on your finger, the seal of the covenant, the Holy Spirit himself. Because of, oh, I feel the presence of the Lord. Because a wedding is coming. This started with a wedding in Eden where the two became one flesh. And now we hear Paul's words in First Corinthians 6 of this joining. And the two shall become one flesh. Why do you think you take bread and wine? There's way more to it than just feeling better. You should feel better after communion, no doubt. But why do you think we're going to take communion here in a minute? What did Jesus give in his bread? But his flesh. What did he give in the wine? But his blood. And what does the blood carry? But the life of the flesh is in the blood. When you receive the body and blood of Jesus, it is marital to the core. He who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with the Lord. This is marital. Therefore, it is love. Can I have these bottles of water? My father-in-law used to do this all the time, and it will bless you. So I just need, here, grab this one right here. And this is your, let's just say, dead spirit prior to meeting Jesus. This one has the bubbles, so this one is alive. And guard my Bible. And then you're born again, and the Lord comes and fills you with himself. And the Spirit here and the Holy Spirit become one in the same container. Now, does anybody have eyesight that's so wonderful that you can see the difference between the water? And that's the bubbly stuff. Had I poured the same type of water in here, can anyone decipher between which water is which? No. And so Paul writes here, when you give yourself to the Lord, when you join yourself to the Lord, you become one spirit with him. This is probably the greatest example I can give you as it pertains to the love of the Spirit, in that he becomes one with our Spirit. Wow, he's right. Somebody say amen.