Today, we celebrate

Pentecost Sunday!

John 14:23-26

23 Jesus replied,

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we

will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me

will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to

the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have

spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the

Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of

everything I have said to you.

Today, we remember

the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all believers on the day of Pentecost that

came just as Jesus had promised.  The

Holy Spirit dwelling within us teaches us and reminds us of what His word says.  It’s an incredible reality that the infinite

God who simply spoke and created everything wants to dwell with us.  The very Presence of God living within us

through the Holy Spirit.  God personally

guiding and directing us; teaching us each step of the way.  That is, of course, so long as we’re willing

to recognize and listen to His voice and follow His lead.

This morning, we

continue our message series entitled, “Habits.”   Through this message series, we’re learning

about how to do small things consistently, which ultimately leads to an

abundant life of integrity.

Small habits lead to

big change!

We’ve been

encouraged to develop Godly habits in our lives and learned how God

intentionally made us as creatures of habit to set us up for success.  As we develop these habits, we will live

lives of Godly integrity. 

Last week, we were

encouraged to develop the habit of wisdom; not just gaining knowledge, but also

how to most effectively apply it and put it into action.

This morning, we’re

being challenged to develop the habit of learning.  The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and the

greatest teacher that we could ever have. 

His role is to teach, our role is to learn.  His role is to guide, our role is to

follow.  His role is to speak, our role

is to listen.  His role is to empower, our

role is to obey.

Last week, we

learned about how being a disciple of Jesus is more than just chasing after Him

for His awesome benefits.  To be a

disciple, and not just another person in the crowd, is to develop a

relationship with Him.  We become His

disciple by following Him and developing the same habits as He did leading to a

life of integrity.

A huge part of being

a disciple and making disciples is the process of learning.  In fact, last week’s message about wisdom is

really all about learning.

Proverbs 9:9

Instruct the wise

and they will be wiser still;

    teach the righteous and they will add to

their learning.

Of course, we learn

from the life of Jesus, from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, from God’s

written word, and from our past experiences. 

However, there is another great source of learning that we can draw from

for wisdom that leads to integrity: each other!

God has given us

each other to learn from one another’s successes and mistakes.  If left on our own, we’ll eventually veer off

course and be lead away from Jesus and, so often, without even realizing it.  Together, however, we can help keep each

other heading the right direction and spur each other on to live our lives to

their full potential.

Proverbs 11:14 (AMP)

Where there is no

[wise, intelligent]

guidance, the people fall [and go off course like a ship

without a helm],

But in the abundance

of [wise and godly] counselors there is victory.

In a world where

knowledge about anything is available in an instant, we don’t often take

advantage of God’s plan for us to lean on the wisdom and counsel of each

other.  I can admit myself that reaching

out for help is usually my last resort and often to my own downfall.

I often miss out

because of this.  When diving into

projects that are new to me, I often make stupid mistakes and learn the hard

and expensive way; from my mistakes. 

M