Remembering the Holy Spirit: Love as True Evidence

Devotional

Day 1: The Open Hands of a Welcoming Trinity

Jesus described the Trinity not as a closed circle but as outstretched hands drawing us in. Irenaeus pictured the Son and Spirit as the Father’s two hands, actively reaching to embrace all nations. This divine hospitality dismantles barriers, inviting everyone into God’s multiethnic family. Baptism marks our initiation into this love that refuses to exclude. The Trinity’s mystery isn’t a puzzle to solve but a relationship to enter. [58:27]

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you seen God’s “outstretched hands” recently? How might your life better reflect this Trinitarian welcome to those feeling excluded?

Day 2: The Forgotten God Breathing Beneath Our Striving

The Holy Spirit often goes unnoticed, like a backseat passenger, yet empowers every step of faith. William Seymour’s Azusa Street revival revealed the Spirit’s true evidence: radical love that unites divided people. This divine breath fuels obedience beyond human effort, turning duty into delight. To forget the Spirit is to rely on empty striving. [59:46]

“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1, ESV)

Reflection: What areas of life feel like “clanging cymbals”? How might leaning into the Spirit’s presence transform obligation into loving surrender?

Day 3: Water That Carries Us Beyond Willpower

Baptism’s waters symbolize drowning self-reliance. The Christian life isn’t about gritting teeth but receiving the Spirit’s current. Like a child carried by a parent’s strength, discipleship flows from trust, not trying harder. The same power that raised Jesus now lifts us to love impossibly. [01:14:58]

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’” (John 3:5–8, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you “swimming upstream” in your own strength? What would floating in the Spirit’s current look like today?

Day 4: Tongues of Fire, Language of Love

The Azusa Street revival’s chaos birthed a revelation: ecstatic speech matters less than love’s grammar. Seymour’s newsletter shifted focus from supernatural signs to Christlike compassion. True Pentecostal fire warms hearts before igniting miracles. The Spirit’s first language remains sacrificial love. [01:08:57]

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1–4, ESV)

Reflection: What “tongues of fire” might God be kindling in you? How could love become your primary spiritual language this week?

Day 5: The Circle That Makes Space at the Table

Jesus’ final command echoes the Trinity’s nature: a community where authority serves others. Making disciples isn’t recruitment but pulling up chairs at heaven’s table. Baptismal waters dissolve divisions, immersing us into the Triune God’s eternal “us” that always includes “them.” [48:37]

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:9–10, ESV)

Reflection: Who feels outside your circle of concern? How might you extend the Trinity’s inclusive embrace to them today?

Sermon Summary

Matthew’s ending sets Jesus in front as the one who now bears “all authority in heaven and on earth.” The text does not hand that authority to later writings or systems; it places it squarely in the risen Lord. The imperative flows from that: “as you are going,” the kingdom move is to make apprentices, to baptize into the triune name, and to teach obedience to what Jesus commanded. The commands gather into one double love — love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love the neighbor, even the enemy — under the promise, “I am with you always.” The presence of Jesus keeps the work possible.

The Trinity then comes into view, not as a math problem to solve but a mystery to explore. God is one in essence and three in persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — the unique Christian grammar for speaking of the one true God. Common analogies break down into old errors, so the reflection turns to older voices. Augustine’s “lover, beloved, and love” helps but risks closing the circle. Irenaeus’ picture of the Son and Spirit as “the two hands of the Father” opens the circle and invites the world into the Father’s heart.

The Holy Spirit often seems like the backseat passenger because the Father puts the Son in the center and the Spirit comes to glorify the Son. That is by design. Yet the Spirit is fully God, “God’s agent upon the earth,” the very presence believers are sensing when God draws near. History confirms that God will not let the church forget the Spirit. The Azusa Street awakening (1906–1909), shepherded by William Seymour, spread worldwide Pentecostal fire. Early on Seymour preached tongues as “Bible evidence,” yet mid-revival he named “divine love, which is charity” as the real evidence of the Spirit’s baptism. Paul had already said as much: without love, tongues and prophecies amount to noise.

Pentecostal reality keeps reminding the wider church that the Trinity is not Father, Son, and Holy Scripture but Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church needs that reminder now, because many try to follow Jesus by white-knuckled resolve. The claim stands clear: the Christian life is not willpower, but willingness to open to the Spirit’s power. The Spirit does not just inspire; the Spirit empowers obedience to Jesus’ commands and reshapes people into the likeness of the Son. So the posture becomes simple and steady: keep Jesus at the center, keep the heart open to the Spirit, and step into baptism and teaching with confidence that the Lord is with his people to the end of the age.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus holds all authority today [47:02] Jesus, not later writings or leaders, is the living center who authorizes the mission. His “as you are going” resets discipleship as a way of life, not a special trip. Apprenticeship to Jesus locates baptism and teaching inside his ongoing presence, not human programs. His promise sustains the commission as much as his command directs it. [47:02]
2. The Trinity is mystery to explore [52:15] God’s oneness and threeness refuse neat analogies and invite worshipful attention. Mystery here is not God hiding, but God revealing beyond human measure so that meditation can ripen into trust. Older metaphors help only insofar as they keep the circle open and hospitable. The Son and Spirit, the Father’s “two hands,” draw people into divine life. [52:15]
3. The Spirit glorifies Jesus and indwells [01:00:32] The Father pushes the Son forward, and the Spirit shines the light on the Son, which is why Jesus remains center stage. That design does not diminish the Spirit; it clarifies the Spirit’s ministry. What believers call “God’s presence” is the Holy Spirit at work. To forget the Spirit is to miss how God is actually meeting his people. [60:32]
4. Love is the Spirit’s clearest evidence [01:08:27] Gifts matter, but love unmasks whether the Spirit’s work has gone deep. Seymour’s mid-revival correction lines up with Paul’s: without love, the loudest power fizzles into clanging noise. Charity is the Spirit of Jesus forming a new kind of life in ordinary speech and daily choices. The surest sign of heaven’s fire is a durable, patient love. [68:27]
5. Open to the Spirit’s power, not willpower [01:14:58] Resolve runs out; surrender opens doors. The Spirit empowers real obedience to Jesus’ hard commands, not by bypassing effort but by enlivening it. Transformation becomes cooperation with grace rather than self-repair. Willingness invites the Spirit to shape a life that looks like Jesus from the inside out. [74:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[44:44] - Trinity Sunday and Baptisms
[46:45] - The Great Commission Read
[48:13] - Apprentices “as you are going”
[49:21] - Teaching Love of God and Neighbor
[51:14] - Who God Is: One in Three
[52:15] - Trinity as Mystery, Not Math
[54:29] - Remembering the Holy Spirit
[56:26] - Augustine’s Lover-Beloved Model
[57:51] - Irenaeus’s Two Hands, Open Circle
[61:28] - The Spirit: God’s Agent Here
[62:32] - Azusa Street and Pentecostal Awakening
[68:27] - Love as the Real Evidence
[72:23] - A Holy Convergence of Traditions
[74:41] - Willpower vs Willingness to the Spirit

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV)
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Observation questions

What three actions does Jesus command in Matthew 28:19-20 for fulfilling the Great Commission?
How does the sermon describe the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit using metaphors like “two hands of the Father” or “lover, beloved, and love”? [57:51]
According to the sermon, what did William Seymour identify as the “real evidence” of the Holy Spirit’s work in a person’s life? [08:27]
What contrast does 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 make between spiritual gifts and love?

Interpretation questions

Why might Jesus emphasize His authority (“all authority has been given to me”) before giving the Great Commission? How does this authority shape the mission?
The sermon states, “The Trinity is not a math problem to solve but a mystery to explore.” What does this mean for how we relate to God’s nature? [52:15]
How does the metaphor of the Holy Spirit as “God’s agent upon the earth” clarify the role of the Spirit in daily Christian life? [01:01:28]
Why does Paul prioritize love over dramatic spiritual gifts like tongues or prophecy in 1 Corinthians 13?

Application questions

Jesus’ command to make disciples is framed as “as you are going” — a way of life, not a special project. What ordinary moments this week (work, errands, family time) could become opportunities to reflect His love?
The sermon warns against relying on “white-knuckled resolve” instead of the Spirit’s power. Where have you been trying to live the Christian life through willpower alone? What would it look like to surrender that area to the Spirit? [01:14:58]
William Seymour called love the “real evidence” of the Spirit. How could you intentionally cultivate “divine love, which is charity” in your relationships this month?
The Trinity is described as an “open circle” inviting us into God’s life. How might this truth change the way you pray or worship this week? [58:49]
Baptism is linked to Jesus’ promise, “I am with you always.” If you’ve been baptized, how does this promise encourage you in current challenges? If not, what hesitations or questions do you need to address?

Sermon Clips

43s

“And the reality that Pentecostal charismatic Christians remind us of is there is another world outside of the world that we perceive with our five physical senses. This world of heaven is here and present, and the Holy Spirit is being poured out upon the earth and is at work. And we need the power, the presence, the work of the holy spirit. I think we need it even more today. We need it because I see so many Christians wearing themselves trying to follow Jesus in their own strength and their own power.”

35s

“God the father pours out the promised holy spirit. And do you remember what Jesus said about the holy spirit? Jesus said, when the spirit comes, he will glorify me. So the father is sort of pushing Jesus into the front that we might understand God. And the Holy Spirit doesn't come to bring attention to the Holy Spirit. The spirit comes to glorify Jesus. So we can be both trinitarian, believing in the father, son, and holy spirit, and focus our attention on the son. I think it was designed that way.”

35s

“That word go is not an emphatic go as much as it is thinking of going in the present progressive sense. In other words, Jesus is saying, as you are going, I want you to do some things. As you are going, I want you to make disciples. Disciples are followers. Disciples are students. Maybe the best modern way to think about disciples is disciples are apprentices of Jesus. People are learning to live life according to the Jesus way. That's what it means to be a disciple.”

33s

“Because in this picture, it is the holy trinity opening up and inviting us in. See, it's the father sent the son that the holy spirit and the son might invite us into the heart of God the father. And so I like Irenaeus a whole lot better than Augustine in this regard because it it shows us what is true about God and that God is always open to us. That God is always inviting us in.”

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