9-27-2026 Resistance or Pursuit of the Spirit!

Sep 27, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Hiding Among the Supplies Masks Your Calling

Saul’s towering frame crouched in the supply tent, avoiding the throne God prepared for him. Fear and insecurity often drive us to shrink from the new identity Christ offers. Like Saul, many cling to old patterns, hiding from the fullness of who God says they are. The Spirit’s work isn’t just about empowerment but about courage to step into transformed purpose. To live as God’s anointed means rejecting the safety of shadows for the risk of obedience. True identity flourishes when we stop letting fear stockpile excuses. [14:23]

“So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.”
(1 Samuel 11:15, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you been “hiding” from God’s calling out of fear or insecurity? What practical step could you take this week to lean into your true identity in Christ?

Day 2: Born of Water, Reborn of Spirit

Physical birth gifts a body; spiritual rebirth ignites a soul. Jesus told Nicodemus that flesh alone cannot inherit eternity—the Spirit must breathe new life into dust. This rebirth isn’t a metaphor but a seismic shift: the same power that resurrected Christ now rewires our desires, heals our brokenness, and aligns us with heaven’s rhythm. To be born again is to trade the limitations of biology for the boundlessness of divine kinship. The old self drowns; the new self rises, gasping for holiness. [03:00]

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.’”
(John 3:5–6, NIV)

Reflection: How has your “rebirth” in the Spirit tangibly changed your priorities or relationships? Where do you still feel the tension between flesh-driven habits and Spirit-led desires?

Day 3: Stewarding the Flame Before It Flickers

Saul’s anointing burned bright—until disobedience smothered it. The Spirit’s fire isn’t self-sustaining; it requires daily tending. To “quench the Spirit” isn’t always outright rebellion—it’s neglecting prayer, dismissing promptings, or choosing self-reliance over surrender. Every compromise drafts a cold wind. Yet God’s presence, like embers, waits to reignite where we yield. Stewardship means guarding the flame through obedience, even when the world insists on practicality over passion. [21:09]

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:19–22, NIV)

Reflection: What habits or choices might be dampening the Spirit’s work in you? How could you “stoke the flame” through intentional spiritual discipline this week?

Day 4: Prophesying With the Procession You Once Feared

Saul’s transformation was public: the once-self-conscious man now prophesied among prophets. The Spirit doesn’t just change hearts—it thrusts us into communities that amplify our calling. Resistance often crumbles when we join the “procession” of others walking in power. Our old identities shrink in the collective rhythm of worship. To prophesy here isn’t about prediction but participation—voicing God’s heart in a chorus that drowns out insecurity. [59:40]

“When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.”
(1 Samuel 10:10, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your life models Spirit-empowered boldness? How might engaging with such believers help you embrace your God-given identity?

Day 5: Asking for Scorpions, Receiving the Spirit

We often fear God’s gifts, assuming He’ll give snakes when we ask for fish. Yet Jesus insists the Father’s delight is giving the Spirit—the ultimate gift that realigns all lesser desires. To “ask, seek, knock” isn’t transactional begging but relational persistence. Every prayer for more of the Spirit dismantles our distrust. The oil of anointing flows when we stop negotiating with God and start expecting His goodness. [27:09]

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
(Luke 11:13, NIV)

Reflection: What hesitations keep you from boldly asking for the Spirit’s fullness? How might trusting God’s generosity change your approach to prayer today?

Sermon Summary

Identity cannot be found by looking within or made up from cultural pressure. The question is not merely who a person is, but whose a person is. The Holy Spirit brings revelation that believers are not finally defined by the world, by family wounds, by fear, or by old patterns of thinking. Christ alone gives the true identity that human striving cannot create.

The Spirit’s work has always been present in Scripture. Moses knew God’s presence and power as a forerunner of the new covenant life that now flourishes through Christ. The Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, drawing broken people toward repentance and faith. New life begins when the light of Christ is born within, when creatures of God become children of God through repentance and belief.

Saul’s anointing in 1 Samuel 10 gives a powerful picture of this work. God changes Saul’s heart, the Spirit comes powerfully upon him, and Saul is changed into a different person. Saul receives both the manifest presence of God that transforms and the power of God that equips him for kingship. Paul’s conversion carries that same pattern forward: Christ changes the murderous Saul on the Damascus road, and the Spirit fills and empowers him for a life of witness.

Saul’s life also carries a warning. Fear causes the newly anointed king to hide among the supplies when Israel comes looking for him. Fear later causes Saul to take matters into his own hands, offering a sacrifice that God had not assigned to him. Saul does not lose the kingdom because God failed to give him what he needed. Saul squanders what God gave because he refuses to steward his new life through obedience, trust, and courage.

The tension remains for every believer: resistance or pursuit. The Spirit is not meant to be quenched, dismissed, or treated with contempt just because his work feels supernatural. The Spirit is also not meant to be accepted without discernment. Paul calls the church to test everything, hold on to what is good, and reject evil.

Jesus joins asking, seeking, and knocking to the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit. The Father does not give snakes or scorpions to children who ask for good gifts. The Spirit calls believers beyond mere openness into a real hunger for more of God’s presence, more of his power, and more of the life for which they were created. Anointing with oil becomes a simple sign of that yes: a fresh desire for God to renew the heart, reveal true identity, and empower daily obedience.

Key Takeaways

1. Identity is received, not invented. [48:16] Identity becomes confused when it is built from inward searching or cultural approval. Christ reveals whose a person is before he reveals what that person is called to do. The Spirit patiently untangles false names, old labels, and fear-based identities. Believers grow into freedom as they receive the identity Christ gives. [48:16]
2. New life requires spiritual birth. [01:04:41] Creation in God’s image is glorious, but sin still marks human life from birth. Jesus describes salvation as being born of the Spirit, not as moral improvement or religious effort. The light of Christ comes alive within those who repent and believe. This new birth makes real fellowship with God possible. [64:41]
3. God’s gifts must be stewarded faithfully. [01:12:58] Saul receives a changed heart and Spirit-given power, yet fear repeatedly governs his choices. God’s provision does not remove the call to obey, wait, and trust. A new heart must be lived from, not merely admired as a past experience. Daily decisions reveal whether believers are stepping into God’s life or hiding among the supplies. [72:58]
4. The Spirit invites pursuit, not passivity. [01:24:07] Openness can become a polite way of keeping the Spirit at arm’s length. Jesus calls his people to ask, seek, and knock with real desire. Discernment does not mean dismissal, and spiritual hunger does not mean gullibility. The church is called to test what comes, hold fast to what is good, and keep pursuing God’s work.

## [84:07]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[45:45] - The Crisis of Identity
[47:35] - Looking Up to Know Whose We Are
[49:32] - Naturally Supernatural Life
[52:06] - The Spirit Convicts and Gives New Life
[54:33] - Saul as a Forerunner
[59:03] - Saul Changed Into a Different Person
[62:15] - Born of Water and Spirit
[65:12] - Wonderfully Made and Sinful
[70:53] - Paul’s Conversion and Filling
[72:25] - Saul Squanders His New Life
[77:12] - Fear, Disobedience, and Resistance
[80:48] - Do Not Quench the Spirit
[85:39] - Ask, Seek, Knock for the Spirit
[88:05] - Anointing and Saying Yes

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Samuel 10:5-6
“After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.” [59:03]

John 3:5-6
“Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” [01:02:34]

Luke 11:9-13
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” [01:26:22]

Observation questions

In 1 Samuel 10, what changes are promised and then take place in Saul after the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him? [59:03]
What connection does Jesus make in John 3 between physical birth, spiritual birth, and entering God’s kingdom? [01:03:15]
In Luke 11, what actions are repeated in Jesus’ invitation to his disciples, and what gift does he connect to the Father’s response? [01:26:22]
What two ways did Saul’s fear show itself after he had been anointed and empowered to lead Israel? [01:14:28]

Interpretation questions

Saul was given a changed heart and Spirit-given power, yet he still hid and later disobeyed. What does this show about the difference between receiving God’s gifts and faithfully living from them? [01:13:09]
Jesus says that people must be born of the Spirit. Why is spiritual birth more than becoming a nicer person, trying harder, or adopting religious habits? [01:04:53]
Luke 11 presents the Father as a good Father who gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. How does this picture address a believer’s fear that pursuing more of the Spirit might lead to deception or harm? [01:26:39]
Believers are told not to quench the Spirit, while also testing what is claimed to be spiritual. What might faithful discernment look like in a church or small group without either gullibility or dismissal? [01:21:42]

Application questions

What labels from family, past failures, fear, culture, or personal striving have most shaped the way you see yourself? What would it look like to bring one of those labels before Christ and receive your identity from him instead? [48:16]
Where are you most tempted to act like Saul hiding among the supplies—avoiding a responsibility, conversation, act of service, or step of obedience because of fear or insecurity? [01:14:28]
Is there an area where impatience has tempted you to take control rather than wait for God and obey his direction? What would trust look like in one concrete decision this week? [01:15:44]
New life in Christ is meant to shape daily thinking, feeling, and action. What is one old pattern that does not fit the new life God has given you, and what practice could help you walk in a new way? [01:05:00]
Would you describe your posture toward the Holy Spirit as resistant, merely open, or actively pursuing? What could asking, seeking, and knocking look like in your ordinary routine this week? [01:27:22]
When something feels spiritually unfamiliar or supernatural, is your first instinct to dismiss it, accept it without question, or test it? How can you grow in both discernment and hunger for God’s work? [01:22:23]

Sermon Clips

55s

#StewardTheNewLife

“And yet we have a role to play. It's not a circumstance where it's just, well, god's gonna do whatever god's gonna do. No. God has arranged this world in such a way that the decisions that you make matter, That we're called to, I would say, pursue and cooperate and collaborate with the work of God within us and through us in this broken world. And perhaps too many of us are consistently not stewarding well this new life that the spirit of god is creating within us and unfolding through us.”

78s

#PursueTheSpirit

“I think the lord wants more than openness. I think the lord wants us to pursue this new life. I think the lord wants to us to to bring a measure of passion and desire and longing. I feel like so often we're like, yeah. Yeah. But we're really stiff arming the lord. I do have football on the mind. But the we're and we do that to the spirit. Rather than going, spirit, I trust you. I trust what you're doing. Friends, I believe the enemy wants to throw all sorts of distractions. And what we should be doing is stiff arming our distractions and saying, yes, Lord, come, teach me, speak, empower, anoint, because I want all that you have for me. I want this life of flourishing.”

54s

#IdentityInChrist

“When it comes to identity, statements related to identity in our culture are all over the place. Sometimes you hear you'll find truly who you are if you look within. Some would say, no. No. No. No. You have to create your own. The focus on your own life, who you are. You determine. You are the master of your own life. But I wanna suggest that from a scriptural perspective, the more we look inward or the more we look to culture for our sense of identity, the more confused and thoughts and sense of disarray that we will experience.”

44s

#SayYesToGod

“But I can't live the life for you. I can't say yes for you. can't create that desire in you. You can walk away from this message and go, wow, it's a good message. Good. And yet not really say, oh, Lord, this this new heart that you gave Saul, this this empowerment that and you wanna do that in me?”

43s

#TransformedByGod

“I believe Saul is modeling what God wants to do for each and every one of us. He wants to transform our hearts, our minds, our lives. Paul uses the language of to become a new creation. And then he wants to empower us or or clothe us with power. Those two things. And we see that the manifest presence of God transforms Saul, and the power of God moves him to be king.”

60s

#NewLifeInChrist

“your neighbors, your loved ones, your friends and family who do not know the lord. I believe the holy spirit is at work in their lives. He's working. drawing. speaking. He's convicting them along sin, judgment, and righteousness. The only question is, will they hear, and will they perceive? And if you are a Christian here today, he was working in that until you repented and then received this incredible new covenant process, a promise. You repented and believed, and you received life, new life, a new identity in Christ Jesus.”

48s

#DoNotQuenchTheSpirit

“we can dismiss or squander or quench what the spirit is doing in our lives or in the congregation because it's got more of a supernatural feel to it. And Paul is saying, don't do that. Don't do that. Now we can go to the con congregation in Corinth, and he's saying, guys, come on. Get get it together. Order. God has a god of order. Thessalonica? No. He's saying, don't quench. Be open. Here's what you do right in that first Thessalonians five is the remedy. Don't treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all.”

48s

#MoreOfYouLord

“And I think the way the presence and specifically the power of the spirit works is that we get to ask again and again and again. Lord, I want more of you today. I wanna be used by you today. I wanna learn a little bit more about you and about myself today. Lord, teach me, show me, help me to see what you're doing within me through me.”

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