Ruach- Are you living under the influence? The Was within - the Spirit Within

May 24, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: From Hiding to Boldness in Upper Rooms

The same disciples who cowered behind locked doors became fearless proclaimers of Christ. Pentecost didn’t just give them supernatural speech—it rewired their identities. When the Holy Spirit fills a life, fear dissolves into courage, and silence erupts into testimony. What once felt impossible becomes inevitable. [21:11]

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.’” (Acts 2:14–17, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been “hiding” in fear or silence? What specific step can you take this week to lean into the Holy Spirit’s boldness?

Day 2: Three Spirits Competing for Your Breath

Every heart inhales and exhales a spiritual atmosphere—either life or death. The spirit of God adopts us as children, the spirit of man fixates on self-preservation, and the spirit of Satan exploits unhealed wounds. Pentecost reveals which breath truly governs us. [03:24]

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:14–15, ESV)

Reflection: What recurring thought or reaction in your life feels more like “bondage” than “adoption”? How might you intentionally breathe in the Spirit’s truth today?

Day 3: Stephen’s Unshaken Government in the Storm

Even as stones flew, Stephen’s gaze pierced heaven. His attackers saw only a heretic; he saw the glorified Christ. When the Holy Spirit governs a life, external chaos cannot override internal peace. Persecution becomes a platform for divine encounter. [25:19]

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55–56, ESV)

Reflection: What current hardship or opposition could become a window to see Christ more clearly? How might you shift your focus upward today?

Day 4: Saul’s Violent Breath Meets Redeeming Light

Saul didn’t merely hate Christians—he inhaled violence and exhaled destruction. Yet one encounter with Christ reversed his spiritual respiration. The man who breathed threats began breathing grace. Pentecost power still turns persecutors into apostles. [29:31]

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:4–5, ESV)

Reflection: What “threats” do you unconsciously breathe out through words or attitudes? How might Christ’s light transform that pattern?

Day 5: Drunk on Spirit, Sober to the World’s Noise

The disciples weren’t tipsy on wine but intoxicated by divine presence. To live under the Spirit’s influence means our thoughts, reactions, and desires align with heaven’s rhythm. Daily surrender keeps the intoxication fresh. [38:22]

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. (Ephesians 5:18–19, ESV)

Reflection: What worldly “substance” dulls your spiritual sensitivity? What habit could help you stay “drunk” on the Spirit’s presence this week?

Sermon Summary

Pentecost stands up in Scripture as more than tongues of fire. Pentecost announces a new governing ruach, the breath of God that does not just gift a person, it reorders the inside life. The Spirit of God calls toward transformation, not partnership with the flesh. Romans 8 says the Spirit leads, not bullies, and He breaks the old bondage and seals adoption so that sons and daughters cry Abba. The spirit of man pulls inward, to self and its orbit, and Romans 8 warns that a fleshly mindset births death while the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. The spirit of Satan studies what already pulls the heart, then magnifies what is not surrendered. James 1 names the progression plainly. Desire conceives, sin is born, death grows up. A spark only becomes dangerous where there is fuel.

Peter’s story puts the tension on display. One moment bold, the next reactive, then after Pentecost he stands with courage, speaks with authority, and points everything back to Christ. Pentecost did not merely change Peter’s gifting. It changed his government. Stephen shows the same collision. A Spirit filled servant speaks with wisdom that systems governed by pride and envy cannot resist. The same sound cuts one heart open and hardens another. Saul shows what a governing breath can do. He breathes threats, exhales violence, then meets the One who breathes life. The mouth once animated by rage preaches Christ. Paul can finally say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

Offense, fear, anger, pride, and insecurity operate like filters. Offended people hear offense everywhere. Fearful people expect rejection. Proud people resist correction. The enemy exploits those filters, but the Spirit exposes and heals them. Life in the Spirit is not a one time moment or a spiritual memory. It is a surrendered life under divine influence. Ephesians 5 does not say get filled once. It says be filled, be saturated, keep on being brought under the Spirit’s influence. The world mistook the Acts 2 disciples for being drunk, but they were not drunk as you suppose. They were under Ruach. No one breathes the world’s air six days straight and then walks into Sunday hungry for God’s voice without returning to the breath of God. True Pentecost shows up as fearful people becoming bold, angry people becoming gentle, and self centered people becoming Christ centered. The greatest evidence is not what happens around a believer. The greatest evidence is what changes within.

Key Takeaways

1. Pentecost changes government, not gifting Pentecost does not just add power on top of old habits. It replaces the inner rule of fear and flesh with the government of the Spirit so that courage, clarity, and Christ centered speech become normal. Peter’s after looks nothing like his before because a different Ruach now sets the terms inside him. The shift is not cosmetic, it is governing. [21:11]
2. The tempter rides unsurrendered desires Scripture does not let the blame drift. Temptation hooks what the heart already wants, then desire conceives and births sin. The enemy studies those pockets and magnifies what has not bowed to Jesus, so real warfare begins with real surrender. Cutting the fuel starves the fire. [09:21]
3. Heart filters bend what is heard Offense, fear, anger, and pride act like lenses, tinting every word and moment. A compliment can sound like a dig, a correction can feel like rejection, and truth can land as an attack. The Spirit exposes the lens so the disciple can hear straight and respond to conviction rather than take up arms. [12:39]
4. Holiness is surrender under influence Christian life is not flesh trying harder or religion managing behavior. Holiness grows where a life yields to the Spirit’s steady rule, moment by moment, conversation by conversation. Influence is the point, and the influence is not wine or mood, it is Ruach. [37:05]
5. Keep being filled to exhale life Filling is not a memory to frame but a flow to guard. The Spirit’s fullness shapes thinking, speech, reactions, and desires until what fills the heart spills into the atmosphere around a person. Continual saturation replaces worldly air with God’s breath. [38:22]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:30] - Ruach over creation to Pentecost
[01:51] - Pentecost’s greatest miracle is change
[03:24] - Which ruach shapes your nature
[04:14] - Adoption not bondage by the Spirit
[06:11] - The pull of the spirit of man
[09:21] - Desire conceives, sin is born
[11:11] - Targeted temptations across Scripture
[12:39] - The filters of offense and fear
[14:22] - Kicking out a negative spirit
[20:43] - Pentecost changed Peter’s government
[22:47] - Stephen’s wisdom vs religious rage
[29:09] - Saul breathing threats meets Jesus
[38:22] - Be filled, live under influence
[40:54] - Return to the breath of God
[45:40] - Evidence of true Pentecost within

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Romans 8:14-15 (ESV): "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'"
- James 1:14-15 (ESV): "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."
- Ephesians 5:18 (ESV): "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit."

Observation Questions

Romans 8:14-15 contrasts the "spirit of slavery" with the "Spirit of adoption." What specific outcomes (emotional, relational, or spiritual) does this passage associate with each?
James 1:14-15 describes a progression from desire to death. What role does personal desire play in this process, and how does sin "grow up"?
In Acts 2:13-15, observers accused the disciples of being drunk. How does Peter’s response clarify the difference between worldly influence and the Holy Spirit’s work? [39:56]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul emphasize being "led" by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) rather than coerced? How does this contrast with how the "spirit of man" operates, as described in the sermon? [06:11]
James 1:14-15 says temptation hooks into preexisting desires. How might this explain why the same circumstance can tempt one person but not another?
Ephesians 5:18 commands believers to "be filled with the Spirit" continually. What practical implications does this have for daily choices, compared to a one-time spiritual experience? [38:22]

Application Questions

The sermon highlights that "a spark only becomes dangerous where there is fuel" (referencing James 1:14-15). What “fuel” (unsurrendered desires or patterns) have you noticed in your life that the enemy might exploit? How can you actively cut off that fuel? [09:21]
Offense, fear, or pride can act like filters, distorting how we hear others. When have you recognized a "filter" affecting your relationships or responses? What step could you take to invite the Spirit to heal that lens? [12:39]
Peter’s transformation after Pentecost shifted his government (inner motivations), not just his gifting. What area of your life (e.g., reactions, priorities, speech) still feels governed by fear or self-reliance? How might surrendering it to the Spirit’s leadership look this week? [21:11]
The sermon compares being "filled with the Spirit" to breathing air daily. What practical habit (e.g., prayer, Scripture, worship) could help you "return to the breath of God" consistently, especially when worldly influences feel overwhelming? [40:54]
Saul’s story shows how internal governance shapes external behavior. What negative "exhalation" (words, attitudes, or actions) have you noticed in yourself lately? What might this reveal about what’s governing your heart? [29:09]

Sermon Clips

54s

#PentecostChangesHearts

“So this is the evidence of true Pentecost. Fearful people becoming bold. Yeah. Angry people becoming gentle. Proud people becoming humble. Bound people becoming free, wounded people becoming whole, self centered people becoming Christ centered. Can you say amen? Amen. So the greatest evidence of the spirit is not again, it's not merely what happens around you. It's what changed within. That's why Pentecost was was really was not merely heaven touching people publicly. It was heaven changing people internally.”

39s

#ReturnToTheBreathOfGod

“And I think this is where many believers struggle right here. Right? Because you cannot breathe the atmosphere of the world all week and expect spiritual sensitive without returning to the breath of God. Think about it. You know, six days of the week, you don't open your bible or you don't sing or you don't come to church or there there's no nothing. There's no devotional. There nothing. There's no home group. There's nothing. Nothing. You know? It is just like the world or news or social media or Facebook or YouTube or whatever it is. You know? And you all week long, every day, and then you come to church for one hour on Sunday.”

50s

#FromThreatsToGospel

“Which is amazing because the man breathing threats. Right? That's what he says. And now he encounters the one who breathes life. What a reversal. The same man who once breathed threats now breathes the gospel. Same mouth once filled with violence now preaches Christ. Same zeal once used to destroy believers, now he builds the church across nations. That's why, you know, nobody's ever too far down from the reach from heaven because god can do something like this and turn that person upside.”

46s

#SpiritGovernedLife

“Pentecost was never then meant to be a one time experience or an emotional moment or a spiritual memory. I mean, I still remember when I was filled with the holy spirit. Really. I still remember the time, the day, which day of the week. I still remember the year. It was amazing. Yes. But being filled with the holy spirit is more than that. It was it was the beginning of a life governed by the spirit. So the I mean, again, the Christian life was never designed to be flesh trying harder Or or willpower pretending holiness. Or religion managing behavior.”

25s

#WhichRuachShapesYou

“This week, I wanna focus on which ruach is shaping your nature. Wow. Yeah. That's good. Because it's like, you know, and I wanna focus on, you know, these these three sources of ruach, the breath, the wind, the the, you know, the spirit. It's like the spirit of God, spirit of man, spirit of Satan. Can we say that together? Spirit of God. Spirit of man. Spirit of Satan.”

28s

#PentecostChangedPeter

“Because after Pentecost, you see he stands with courage. He speaks with boldness. He walks in authority. He points everything back to Christ. The same Peter who was denied Jesus before a servant girl now confronts Jerusalem publicly. Why? Because Pentecost did not merely change Peter's, you know, gifting. It changed Peter's government.”

36s

#BreathRevealsGovernance

“Why it's so important? Because that word means breathe out, to exhale, to be animated by, or to inhale and release. That's what was going on in him. Literally, he was breathing violence. Not not just anger. He was being governed by anger. Not just emotional. He was animated by another influence, anger. Now what filled him internally eventually came out of him externally, and that's where we need to be careful.”

23s

#TwoResponsesOneSound

“Why was the collision? Because Stephen is being governed by the spirit. The religious system was governed by pride, jealousy, and rage. So the same same sound produced two completely different reactions. It's like one person hears truth and surrenders. Another person hears truth and becomes hardened and offended. Yeah.”

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Ruach- Are you living under the influence? The Was within - the Spirit Within

Devotional

Day 1: From Hiding to Boldness in Upper Rooms

Day 2: Three Spirits Competing for Your Breath

Day 3: Stephen’s Unshaken Government in the Storm

Day 4: Saul’s Violent Breath Meets Redeeming Light

Day 5: Drunk on Spirit, Sober to the World’s Noise

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Ruach- Are you living under the influence? The Was within - the Spirit Within

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