If there is anything I have learned over my 20 plus years in leadership, it's that I have to BUILD a great team, I am not given a great team. And where that sounds easy enough, most of us will give up on building part because it comes at a cost. It will take you through a process of frustration, hard conversations, mentoring, correcting, shaping and adapting, and hopefully a beautiful relationship will come from all the pain of building something from the ground up.

So how do we build strong teams around us that will not only be productive but will reproduce the same leadership culture that they have experienced through you? I want to give you 3 strategies that will make you a better leader that people want to follow.

You need to become a pro at reminding your team what your values and beliefs are. Become a broken record. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Why? Because values and beliefs leak more than anything else in your organization. Just expect it. You may think, "they should know by know...", well guess what, they don't. It is up to you as their leader to over-communicate expectations, bring clarity and set vision and goals. Don't nag or beg. Set a clear and passionate vision that people can remember and buy into with your heart and soul.

1. GOAL
What does it look like for your team to win? If they don't know what their win is- how will they know when to celebrate?
2. PLAN
How are we going to get to the win? What systems, structures, routines do we need to get there?
3. MY PART
Always assume they are thinking you are talking about someone else. Teach them their part in the plan. What are they personally responsible for? What's their part? What's the thing only they can do? Make it personal to each team member. They matter.
4. THE WHY
Remind your team the 'why' you do what you do? Remind them of their purpose. Remind them that the details matter. Show them testimonies and examples of how they made someone's life better because of what they contributed. People will follow the 'WHY' not the "what."

Care for your team members. Really care for them. Ask good questions about their life, their families, their hobbies and their interests. Listen to their responses. Remember what they tell you. As your relationship with them builds, don't be afraid to ask  about things that they need or what is something they are going through that you might be able to help them with. Know they care. Don't just call them when you need something. You don't like that when people do it to you, so don't do it to them.
Create unity through your teams. Remind them and show them how they work together. That they can trust you and because they trust you, they can also trust the other people you placed on this team. Have fun together. Surprise them. Buy ice-cream on a random afternoon. Celebrate the wins together. REWARD YOUR TEAM. Give public recognition for productivity and team spirit.
Add value to your team. These people are giving you the best of themselves. Reward it. Partner with them. Celebrate with them in the victory and cry with them in hard times. 

Conflict doesn't have to be so hard and horrible. You can actually get really good at having conflicts with your team. In moments of disagreement, don't be discouraged. Take a pause. Listen to them and ask good questions. Why are they upset? Why do they disagree with your perspective? Listen to their responses. If it is a tense situation, let God settle your heart before you respond to them. You are the leader. Rise above and respond in wisdom and not haste or pride. What is the right thing to do? Grow through the conflict. Find a resolution and come out stronger on the other side.
Refuse to get offended. God covers you in your ugliest moments. Cover your team. Rise above your insecurities and know that He put you with this team member for a reason. Don't allow offense and bitterness to take root in your heart. Lead you team well through moments of conflict. Respond in wisdom and understanding. You will create a safe work environment where people will trust you have their best intentions at heart.

I hope these strategies encourage you and your leadership becomes stronger with them working in your life. Your influence matters and the world needs secure leaders who actually lead and not manage people. Enjoy your team members, love what you do and make a difference in the world.

Pastor Josh Cody | HOPE POINT CHURCH

Hope Point Church exists to point people to the hope of Jesus, one family at a time. Our service times are Sunday at 9AM and 11AM. Hope Kids is available at every service for kids ages 6 weeks through 5th grade. We would love for your family to come worship with us. You can find more information at www.hopepointkc.com.

2 Peter 3:18 - Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

Worry has a story for everything – You could get your dream job, dream family, dream income, dream political leaders and worry will still have a story for you – Anxiety will find you. If you are like me you like to avoid or deny your anxiety with sayings like, “I'm fine.” When in actuality you are not fine and everyone around you knows it.

Avoiding anxiety leads to distractions - distractions are temporary fixes that we use to ease our anxiety.  When our anxiety gets triggered and we are worried and stressed... we LOVE to avoid and the best way is to pretend its just not there.

Ladies- have you ever Stress Shopped – "I can’t feel anxiety if I’m at Target, got my
Starbucks and my perfectly balanced cart that doesn’t have a squeaky wheel." You feel so good that you convince yourself that you are not stressed… for a moment.

Guys – don’t be judging, We shop too, just not at target. Car stuff, tools, “I might need it one day." Your distractions soon become your addictions – I can eat my anxiety away, netflix my anxiety, shut down, or refuse to shut down but temporary relief becomes a strong habit that makes everything worse.

Avoiding anxiety isolates you from what you love – tells you you wont make it, can’t do it, not good enough. Anxiety screams, "You are not OK." Giving up isolates you. So we hide and look in the mirror and question our existence. Avoiding gets you addicted to comfort.

We miss out on so many things that we want, that we pray for all because to get them it will be too uncomfortable. People miss out on friendships because they have to go somewhere new with people. We miss out on deeper relationships because it’s not comfortable to be vulnerable. If you become addicted to comfort, you will never get to the dreams in your heart. 

Avoiding puts impossible pressure on those who love you. When I avoid anxiety I still feel it, I’m not facing it, but I feel it and it does NOT feel good. So now I need YOU to make me feel good. We say things like, “They should” “I can’t believe they did/didn’t”  or “I’m always by myself."

No human can overcome your anxiety – My wife loves me, but she is not made to overcome my anxiety – and when I avoid it, she is left trying to lift something no one was meant to carry. We have to deal with it. 

Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God.

Anxiety is biblical, letting anxiety overcome you is not. We need to eliminate the shame we have attached to having anxiety – it’s okay to not be okay. Please remember- Not ALL anxiety is bad – Anxiety can tell us something is up, off, wrong, needs to shift or change. When my stomach is in knots, I now know there is something 'off' that I need to shift, grow, change. The bible tells you that you will have anxiety, but anxiety should never have you – your thoughts, your decisions, your next step. It’s biblical to have anxiety, its also biblical to lay it before God.

1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

ALL your anxiety – never be ashamed you have it, and never hold on to it. You have anxiety, that’s a fact.  But Jesus is bigger and that’s the truth.

Remember what you have: I might have anxiety BUT I ALSO have…

1.) I have PURPOSE – don’t let anxiety talk you out of it.
Psalm 138:8 - The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

2. I have JOY beyond my situation.
John 15:11 - These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

3.) I have a SOUND MIND – access it.
2 Timothy 1:7 - For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and sound mind.

Anxiety does not have to be in control – it is there, but because that is not all that is there, it does not need to be in control of your life. Access your sound mind – put your eyes and ears to the words of God – life is in those words. You have purpose, joy and a sound mind.

Hope Point Church exists to point people to the hope of Jesus, one family at a time. Our service times are Sunday at 9AM and 11AM. Hope Kids is available at every service for kids ages 6 weeks through 5th grade. We would love for your family to come worship with us. You can find more information at www.hopepointkc.com.

Nehemiah is one of my favorite stories in all the Bible and if you have never read the story, you should. It’s about the people of God being defenseless for hundreds of years because the wall around their homes had never been rebuilt. This broke Nehemiah’s heart and he set out, rallied the families together, and in 52 days, they rebuilt the boundary around their homes.  

Nehemiah 4:20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”

Your home is the #1 priority of the enemy. He hates family, he hates marriage, he hates your children (they are the heritage of the Lord). If it is his #1 priority to divide our homes- it should be our #1 priority to keep them together, unified and solidified in Jesus. I need to know how and where he is getting in through the wall surrounding my home so I can expose him for the liar he is.

God is a triune God- meaning He is 1 God in 3 parts. We call this the Trinity. Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Marriage reflects our Creator. Husband, wife and Holy Spirit (marriage doesn’t work properly without Him). We need the Holy Spirit in our marriages because without Him- we will quit. THREE AND THREE. Your marriage is a walking image of your Creator on the earth. No wonder the enemy is out to destroy your marriage and the sanctity of marriage.

Parents- Don’t leave your kids up to the pastor- the children’s pastor or the youth pastor. Where our Pastors love your kids..... don’t make us fight harder for your families than you are. The Lord said, “If you fight for your family, I will fight for you.”  This means that we raise our families. Not the school system. Not culture. Not Disney or Hollywood. It’s our job. The decisions you make now for your family will affect the generations to come. Your children and their children and so on. What you are doing now matters for the Kingdom of God.  But it is going to cost you something. Are you ready to fight for your family? 

Philemon 1:2 Paul is writing and he said, “and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:”

Do you invite the presence of Jesus in your home or only when you’re here at church? Do your children know how to work out their living faith in your home or do they think it only works at church?  I learned years ago that I have to be intentional with my home because, if I am not, how will we know where we are going? And how will we know if we ever arrive at our destination? I will not risk my marriage and kids and just ‘hope’ we get there. 

Exterior situations do not get to change the temperature of my home. It’s already pre-determined. Josh and I set the temperature for our home. We decided long ago that our home is a sanctuary. We almost always have worship music playing somewhere. We don’t open our home to anything and everything. It’s a safe place. During the day and the night. Our children sleep well. 

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

What is the Temperature of your home? If we did a reading would it be chaotic, argumentative, tense... or silent?  My mom is still a thermostat for me. She can adjust the temperature of my heart by the words that come out of her mouth. So this doesn’t matter if your kids are 6, 16, or 36. This never stops.  Be a thermostat.

Don’t underestimate the power of short prayers. Pray short prayers... often. Pray them with your kids, your spouse, when you are by yourself. Praying doesn’t have to be perfectly worded paragraphs. Sometimes prayers, are simply, “Jesus, give me wisdom in this.” “Jesus help me.” “Thank you Father.”  Teach your kids to pray short prayers. Tuck them in at night and have them repeat prayers with you. Often times, your children will pour out their hearts to you at night with stuff they haven’t talked about all day. Lead by example and allow them to work out their faith with you. Show them how to use their faith.

Not everything that comes to your home should be allowed through the front door. Not saying that you aren’t real if you have a bad day but your spirit should adjust to the spiritual habitat of your home.  Consider the boundaries you have set for yourself? Your marriage? Your kids? What are you allowing to continue that should be redirected?  
What boundaries need to put into place or adjusted? Boundaries or the lack thereof, will have an effect on the temperature of your home.  Maybe you have gaps in the wall around your home and attacks of the enemy keep coming in..... where do you need to set up and secure your boundary?
Remember- we fight against spirits not people. Boundaries are for people and relationships. Walls are for the spiritual forces that are out for my family. They will not touch me or my family. I need a wall of God that is strong and in place at all times to be our shield.  Consider the wall you have built. For your marriage. Your kids. For your home. What are you allowing to continue that should be redirected or rebuilt? Is it strong and sturdy or are there gaps? Is it broken down and you feel under attack. Out of control.  

Where is your family exposed to the enemy’s attacks? Where do you need to set up and secure your home?  

Philippians 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.

You are meant to stand with your spouse, your family in one spirit, one mind (not divided) standing side by side for the faith of the gospel. This means we need to get on the same page and bring clarity to the things we will and won’t do as a family. What are we willing to watch on tv? Listen to or have influence in our home. Everything is spiritual and everything matters. I am the gatekeeper to my children’s spirits. I take my job seriously.  Remember, God said, “If you fight for your family- I will fight for you.” He wants you together, one spirit, one mind, side by side.  Rebuild your wall and fight for your family. 

Hope Point Church exists to point people to the hope of Jesus, one family at a time. Our service times are Sunday at 9AM and 11AM. Hope Kids is available at every service for kids ages 6 weeks through 5th grade. We would love for your family to come worship with us. You can find more information at www.hopepointkc.com.

Jesus was asked about marriage and this was his response, but
I believe this extends to the heart of family. Marriage is God’s beginning of family. Joining two people together creates life, moves beyond just two and becomes many. Your families should never be divided or separated. We need to learn to be the family that God created us to be through diving deeper into the values that hold us together. 

This verse and many others are responsible for how we learn to
love each other – family and beyond. We are called to carry their burden and love unconditionally. Sometimes when we read verses like these, we start to say things that become
common but are not in the bible like: “God never gives you anything you can’t handle", "Keep carrying all those burdens around you", "Keep digging in" and"Give til it hurts" –

THESE STATEMENTS ARE NOT IN THE BIBLE!

We must never allow the truth of scripture get twisted into a lie. This is how abuse creeps into relationships. We say something like this: “They are going through something and I need to help them carry their burden."  Never allow abuse (real abuse) in your life and in your relationships.
Acts 18:5 - When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be
on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Paul was sent to EVERYONE, but when they became abusive, He didn’t quit his calling, he moved on refusing to be abused. Satan will always try and twist what God says to hurt us – refuse abuse, but follow God’s word.

Notice I said boundary, not a stone wall. Don’t mistake a healthy boundary for a wall of bitterness.
Matthew 7:6 - “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
Jesus instructed us to have boundaries. A boundary can be a line in the sand or caution tape – My wife knows when something happens and I have a rough day and need some space.  We all need boundaries – to know how far its healthy for you to go, and how far it’s healthy for someone to come in. Relationships are about sharing who we are and giving
people access to parts of us – it's a beautiful thing when done right.

Without boundaries, people have full access to all that I am, and I no longer have a say in what I GIVE or RECEIVE. I am out of control and people can take whatever they want from you. If someone isn’t willing to carry their own load, they will never help with yours – this doesn’t mean God doesn’t love them, or that we should ignore them, but we do need to decide where the line is drawn.
Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

How to create boundaries
1.  BUILD BOUNDARIES WITH WISDOM– yes’s and no’s
Luke 14:28 – But don’t begin until you count the cost.
Don’t say yes until you calculate the “no’s” it will cost you. I can’t say yes to everything, my heart wants to – but my family deserves my yes's first.  Time only gives you a certain amount of “yes’s” so I need to say yes to God, and then to my family. Count the cost.

2. BUILD BOUNDARIES WITH LOVE – not absence – avoiding people is not setting boundaries.
Just because you need some boundaries doesn’t mean you have to write someone off completely. Allison and I have boundaries, and we make new ones often. She is allowed to speak to any situation in my life, but not as if I am her child. I am allowed to speak to most situations in her life, but not in the tone of accusation or dismissal.
Love sets better boundaries than anger – instead of letting it build up, say something when things are calm.  Love is communicated best when you ask someone to start
doing something that helps you instead of stating to stop something that hurts you with no suggestion as to what to do different – if you don’t know, they don’t know.

3. BUILD BOUNDARIES WITH FORGIVENESS – not walls of bitterness.
This is a big one – if you hurt me, now I want walls to go up. Walls are for hiding, isolation, and its where pain is allowed to grow and wounds can’t heal.  When I don’t forgive, and I just avoid and hide – then I just lock in me the bad thing I just experienced. Ever wonder why God is so adamant that we forgive?
Mark 11:25 says before you even pray, forgive everyone.

When someone hurts us, there is a power they keep over us until we forgive, a wound that even when they are no longer around we can still feel and experience. Unforgiveness takes power away from you and gives it to the one who hurt you. But when you forgive, that power goes back to you – forgiveness empowers you.
Healthy families have healthy boundaries. What boundaries need to be drawn in your life?

Hope Point Church exists to point people to the hope of Jesus, one family at a time. Our service times are Sunday at 9AM and 11AM. Hope Kids is available at every service for kids ages 6 weeks through 5th grade. We would love for your family to come worship with us. You can find more information at www.hopepointkc.com.

Becoming Family – It's a process.

Family is supposed to be the highest form of relationship in our life but it can be very complicated, destructive, confusing and, on purpose or accident, unhealthy. God has laid out values and disciplines that will bind family together – church family or biological family. Family was God's idea (he put us in families) and if we can understand these values- our families will get stronger and healthier.

Maybe right now, you have the best family in the world, you are full of healthy relationships, healthy time management and boundaries – Great!  God’s values still make the good better. Maybe to no fault of your own you have no idea what a loving and caring family is – God’s values build have the power to redeem even the darkest of situations.  So no matter if it’s the family you can choose or the family you have no choice in – God’s values build us up to become better than we are right now.

 THE FIRST ONE WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT HONOR. HONOR  needs to be in ourselves and our families. Defining honor is difficult – we know it when we see it, but the simple definition of “to treat as special” doesn’t embody the power that is honor. The Biblical definition of honor is this: 

Honor – Kabod/Timao (Hebrew & Greek) – It's always used as a verb (shows action) and it means, "How you estimate value and the value YOU put on something or someone."

The value you assign someone shows in your ACTIONS. Another way of saying this is honor is ME adding value to a person with my ACTIONS. 

Honor is powerful, and yet so often we underrate it, under use it and often
can’t describe it well. You could describe honor in your relationships as – Praise, Celebration, Credit, Attention, Confidence, Trust, Recognition – all things we long to have added to us in our relationships.

Dishonor often feels like this – Blame, Neglect, Criticism, Disregard, Distrust, Disrespect, Unimportance – all the things that we never want to feel or cause others to feel. Honor always builds our family and a lack of honor will erode and destroy that which we are trying to build. 

True honor cannot be demanded – its given, not taken.  One sided respect breeds resentment and bitterness; so does demanded honor. Honor is learned by example – If we expect our kids to show honor, we better SHOW them how by honoring them – by adding
value to them with our actions. We can also do this through listening to them– ever notice kids want to be heard? We all do, but kids really do. Take the time. Let them talk without interrupting or trying to fix anything. 

Honor is about adding value to others, not getting what you want. It’s a God idea that goes against human nature but creates something better than what human nature can create. Without honor, the generational gap will only widen. We close those gaps through actions of honor. 

Honor is a choice. You can choose to be honorable or not – If you control yourself (what I
want, what I feel like) then you can be holy and honoring. “I can control myself” – honor will empower you to do what is right for others over yourself. Your family doesn’t need you to be selfish, they need you to add value to them. You may be willing to lay down your life for them, but will you build their life up? Even when it's not a benefit to you, your emotions and what you want? It's time to let honor change the direction of your family and build you up.

Hope Point Church exists to point people to the hope of Jesus, one family at a time. Our service times are Sunday at 9AM and 11AM. Hope Kids is available at every service for kids ages 6 weeks through 5th grade. We would love for your family to come worship with us. You can find more information at www.hopepointkc.com.

We have been learning that it is our responsibility to be informed, biblically about the things of the Holy Spirit. We cannot pretend or ignore what is in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. It's the same spirit. If God is good, the Holy Spirit is good. The Gifts of the Spirit build up and encourage the Church.  We need to familiarize ourselves with the Gifts so that we know how to develop them within ourselves.

1 Corinthians 12:1 - Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

Never be uniformed about what God is offering you.  We need to be informed, without pressure about what God is offering to us. All gifts are for GOOD – any gift used to tear others down or build yourself up is evil. Period. Simple. Maybe you are not an evil person but how you are using the gift is evil... we need to understand what we are doing.  It really matters. All gifts are for the GOOD of the church (people).

1 Corinthians 12:8-10  To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

 "I have intimacy, power, help, fruit and gifts – Why do I need the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit it our help that guides and teaches us – take your next step with Him. Develop the gifts that you have been given. Not sure what gift you have? Take this free spiritual gifts test: https://spiritualgiftstest.com/

John 14:26 - The Helper is the Holy Spirit. The Father will send Him in My place. He will teach you everything and help you remember everything I have told you.  

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are good and for today. They are meant to edify your life and be developed in every believer. In 1 Corinthians 12 the Gifts are listed as: Knowledge, Wisdom, Prophecy, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Discerning Spirits, Tongues and  the Interpretation of Tongues.  And if God gave it us, we need it in our life.  But these gifts also come warnings that we must listen to.

In 1 Corinthians 14:18-19, the Apolstle Paul warns us, "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue."

Another warning is listed in 1 Corinthians 13.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

In a lot of churches, the focus is split between the Gifts of the Spirit (power) or only on the Fruit of the Spirit  and what it is supposed to produce in us and they miss the power. But if we only focus on the Fruit, we will miss out on the power that the Holy Spirit wants to bring to our life. The Bible talks about both: The Gifts and the Fruit. It's time to stop hyper-focusing on one and not the other. It's both.

The Fruit of the Spirit is a must and the world around you needs it. The Fruit of the Spirit is listed as: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. Gifts are good but if the fruit is not being produced through me, what good is the gift? What good are miracles, if the goodness of God is not in them? I think that if sometimes we want to operate in the GIFTS of God without learning how to operate in the CHARACTER of God (The Fruit of the Spirit).

Galatians 5:16-17 - So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

We have to produce fruit before the gifts. We have to learn to follow the Holy Spirit in order to produce fruit, not just leaves. The world needs the fruit your produce. Your family needs your fruit. 

Mark 11:12-14 - On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.  And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

What’s the point of leaves without fruit? Maybe you wear a cross necklace, you have Christian music playing all the time, you carry your Bible to work or in your car – that’s all just LEAVES.  I might be wearing leaves but am I producing what people are looking for? Sometimes we look really good as a tree, but do we have the fruit to go along with it – you will know them by your fruit.  Am I producing fruit or just covering up my mess with leaves – Adam and Eve tried it, didn’t work.  What’s the point of all of this if I hide my mess instead of letting God work in my life?

We must expect and allow trimming. The Holy Spirit will trim you so that you may produce more fruit. John 15:1 - “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 
God will cut off the areas of life that don’t produce so that the areas that do produce can do even more.  Allow the Holy Spirit to shape you by removing anything that isn't based in His character. Getting His Fruit growing in your life is worth the discomfort of the prune.

GIFTS ARE GOOD BUT FRUIT IS ESSENTIAL. WHAT ARE YOU PRODUCING? 

PASTOR JOSH CODY | LEAD PASTOR
HOPE POINT CHURCH

John 14:26 The Helper is the Holy Spirit. The Father will send Him in My place. He will teach you everything and help you remember everything I have told you.

According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit is where we get the help and the power we need. I need something more powerful than myself fueling my life and empowering me to walk out my daily relationship with Jesus.  I think we would all agree, we don’t need more of the world, we need more of God. Did you know we were all created to need a significant connection with God?

There is something more and that's a relationship with the Holy Spirit. We are really good at recognizing God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) but we forget that the Holy Spirit is God. We tend to treat Him like an 'it' and not the triune God that He is. It's just like water: water, ice and steam. It's all still water, but in three different forms.

 The first thing to understand is that the Holy Spirit is your helper. He helps us understand what we cannot understand. He Helps us speak up when we should and more importantly tells us when to BE QUIET. He gives us wisdom, knowledge and will teach us the ways of God. We don’t need to understand how He does this, we just need to believe that He does.

 John 16:6-7  Your hearts are full of sorrow because I am telling you these things. I tell you the truth. It is better for you that I go away. If I do not go, the Helper will not come to you.

Jesus knew we would need help. It's OK to need help. Let the Holy Spirit be your helper. Be quiet, actually listen to what He is trying to tell you and obey.

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

If you have prayed the salvation prayer, you have the Holy Spirit in you. Are you leaning into His help or are you trying to manage everything on your own? He has unlimited resources for you to tap into if you would take the time to ask Him.  Are you open to Something More?