Recap:

We are in the middle of a series on the Holy Spirit, and I know for a lot of people, the Holy Spirit feels like the misunderstood member of the Trinity. We understand the Father. We understand Jesus. But the Spirit? That feels mysterious. Maybe even a little scary. But I want you to hear me today: the Holy Spirit is not someone we should avoid. The Holy Spirit is the presence and power of God living inside the believer.

Jesus did not die just so you could feel better about yourself. Jesus died so your sin, your shame, your mistakes, and your brokenness could be removed from you as far as the east is from the west. And He did not just remove your sin – He made you alive. He brought you from death to life so that you could become a temple of the Holy Spirit.

That means we are not just forgiven people sitting in chairs on Sunday morning. We are Spirit-filled people called to change the world. If the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, you are a world changer. You do not have to live controlled by fear, anxiety, finances, worry, or the noise of the world. The Holy Spirit gives peace. The Holy Spirit gives power. The Holy Spirit gives confidence. The Holy Spirit helps you live an overcoming life.

In Acts 8, we see Philip go to Samaria. Now, Samaria was the place good Jews avoided. Jews and Samaritans did not talk to each other. They did not like each other. There was history, prejudice, religious conflict, and deep division. But Philip, filled with the Spirit, goes straight to the outcasts. And when he gets there, he preaches Jesus.

The people of Samaria had been paying attention to Simon the magician. Their attention was locked in on signs, spectacle, and false power. But when Philip comes preaching the gospel, their attention shifts. They begin to pay attention to the message of Jesus. They hear the gospel. They see signs. People are healed, delivered, baptized, and set free.

And I think that is exactly where we are today. We may not be staring at Simon the magician, but we are staring at our phones. We are locked in. We are scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. We are paying attention to the wrong things. These little devices become experience blockers. They fill every quiet moment and distract us from what God may be saying.

So here is the challenge: what if we gave the Holy Spirit our attention this week? Not just a quick thought. Not just a Sunday morning nod. But real attention. One screen-free hour a day. A walk with God. Time in prayer. Time in the sanctuary. Time to say, “Holy Spirit, what do You want to do in me?” Because I believe the Holy Spirit is drawn to people who are paying attention.

Then in Acts 10, we meet Cornelius. Cornelius was not Jewish. He was a Gentile, a Roman centurion, far removed from the people of God. But he was devout. He feared God. He prayed continually. He gave generously. His faith was not just something he said – it showed up in how he lived.

And I want you to see this: his hunger was contagious. His household was devout. Even one of his soldiers was devout. Spiritual hunger spreads. When someone is truly hungry for God, it affects the people around them. And I want us to be that kind of people. I want us to be hungry for more of God – not satisfied, not casual, not just playing Christianity, but desperate for the Spirit to move in our homes, our workplaces, our families, and our church.

Cornelius gathers a room full of people, and they are waiting for Peter to arrive. When Peter comes, he begins preaching the gospel. But before Peter can even finish the sermon, the Holy Spirit falls on everyone who hears the word. The Holy Spirit interrupts the message. Why? Because hunger draws the Spirit.

And I know this personally. When I was 15 or 16 years old, my parents were going through a divorce, and my whole internal world was upside down. I did not know what to think. I did not know where to go. My world felt like it was crashing around me. I was at a Christian conference during worship, and I just lifted my hands and cried out to God because I did not know what else to do.

And when I opened my eyes, there were 30 or 40 people around me praying for me. I did not go forward. I did not ask for prayer. They just started praying for me. And I believe it happened because the Holy Spirit is drawn to hunger. I was just crying out, “God, I need You.”

It was not some dramatic outward moment. I did not fall down. I did not start laughing. But I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit come upon me. And can I tell you something? It did not change the circumstances. My parents still got divorced. The pain was still real. The hurt was still there. But the Holy Spirit fortified me. He strengthened something inside of me. He gave me the ability to know that God was with me no matter what happened.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit does not take you out of the storm, but He gives you the power to walk through it. And I would rather walk through the darkest moment of my life with the Holy Spirit than try to survive it in my own mind, full of fear, worry, doubt, and anxiety.

So I am telling you with everything in me: you need the Holy Spirit. This world is too difficult to do on your own. You need to be filled. You need your own personal Pentecost. You need the power of God dwelling inside of you, giving you joy, wisdom, understanding, strength, and the ability to overcome.

So this week, I want you to pay attention. I want you to hunger for God. I want you to pray, “God, I need You, and only You can fill me.” Take time to seek Him. Take time to listen. Come to the sanctuary. Go on a walk. Put the phone down. Make space for the Holy Spirit to speak.

Next week is Pentecost Sunday, and I have been praying that God would pour out His Spirit on this church in a fresh way. We are stepping into our 60th year of ministry, and I believe God wants to do something even more powerful than what He has done in the past. He wants to raise up Spirit-filled people who will make a difference in their workplaces, families, neighborhoods, and city.

But we have to come hungry. We have to pay attention. We have to seek Him.

So let me ask you the question: are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

Maybe you have never heard that phrase before. I want you to be hungry for it. Maybe you have been filled with the Holy Spirit before, but you have grown cold. I want you to come hungry again. Come ready for fresh fire. Come ready for God to move.

And maybe you are here and you have never given your life to Jesus. You have never had your sin, shame, and mistakes taken out of your life. That is why Jesus came. He went to the cross for you. He paid a debt you could never pay. He overcame death so He could give you life – life to the full.

My prayer is that we would be a church full of expectation. That we would be like those Gentiles gathered in a room, waiting for the good news and the power of the gospel to turn everything upside down. Lord, make us hungry. Make us attentive. Fill us again with Your Holy Spirit.

Group Questions:

Icebreakers

  1. What is one thing that easily grabs your attention during the week – your phone, work, news, sports, family, something else?
  2. When you hear the phrase “Holy Spirit,” what is your first reaction – comfort, curiosity, confusion, excitement, nervousness?
  3. Have you ever had a moment where you knew God strengthened you, even though your circumstances did not immediately change?

Discussion Questions

  1. The sermon talked about how many people understand God the Father and Jesus the Son, but the Holy Spirit can feel mysterious or misunderstood. Why do you think the Holy Spirit can feel harder for people to understand?
  2. The preacher said, “Jesus did not die just so you could feel better about yourself. He died so your sin, shame, and mistakes could be taken away.” How does that deepen the way we think about salvation?
  3. The sermon emphasized that believers are temples of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to live as someone who carries the presence of God?
  4. In Acts 8, Philip goes to Samaria – a place Jews usually avoided. What does this tell us about who the Holy Spirit is for?
  5. The Samaritans were first paying attention to Simon the magician, but then their attention shifted to the gospel. What are some things people “pay attention” to today that can distract them from God?
  6. The sermon used the word prosechō – to pay attention, to be locked in, leaning forward, and unable to look away. What would it look like for you to “pay attention” to the Holy Spirit this week?
  7. The preacher described phones as “experience blockers.” In what ways can our phones or distractions keep us from being present with God, with others, or even with ourselves?
  8. The challenge was to take one screen-free hour a day to pay attention to God. How realistic does that feel for you? What would make it difficult? What might make it powerful?
  9. In Acts 10, Cornelius is described as devout – his faith showed up in prayer, generosity, and the way he lived. Where do you see a gap between what you believe and how you live?
  10. The sermon said, “Spiritual hunger is contagious.” Who has modeled spiritual hunger for you? How did it affect your faith?
  11. Cornelius gathered people in a room hungry to hear from God, and the Holy Spirit fell while Peter was still preaching. What does that teach us about hunger, expectation, and the work of the Spirit?
  12. The preacher shared a personal story about the Holy Spirit strengthening him during his parents’ divorce. Why is it important to remember that the Spirit may not always change the circumstance, but He can change and strengthen us in the middle of it?
  13. Where in your life do you need the Holy Spirit to fortify you right now?
  14. The sermon ended with the question, “Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?” How would you answer that honestly today?
  15. What would it look like for our group or our church to come into Pentecost Sunday with hunger and expectation?

Application

This week, choose one screen-free hour to intentionally pay attention to the Holy Spirit. Go on a walk, sit in silence, pray, journal, read Scripture, or come to the sanctuary. Ask this simple prayer: “Holy Spirit, what do You want to do in me?”