From Spiritual Death to Life: Restoring God's Governing Force

We live in an age that prizes information, but people are hungry for demonstration. That’s why serving our community tangibly matters—love must be seen. From there, I challenged us to resist the tyranny of busyness and recover the countercultural practice of waiting on God. Waiting is not passive; it is the posture of trust where shalom, clarity, and courage are formed. Our lives were designed to flow not from frantic activity, but from fellowship with our Creator.

I asked: what is your governing force? Everyone is guided by something—culture, desire, fear, or God. Jesus promised the Counselor, the Spirit of truth, to live in us and govern us from the inside out. But why do we need him? Scripture’s diagnosis is unflinching: we are spiritually dead in sin. Not dead in body, not absent a personality, but dead in the deepest place—our spirit, the capacity to know God. Plants are governed by seasons; animals by instinct; humans were made to be governed by God’s Spirit. Lose the seasons and plants perish; lose instinct and animals cannot find their way home; lose God and humanity unravels. Sin isn’t the cause of our problem; it’s the symptom of our separation.

This is why wrath exists—not as a flaw in God, but as love’s refusal to be indifferent to what destroys us. At the cross, Jesus met that wrath head on as our substitute, not to make a sentimental point but to make a saving exchange. He bore what we deserved so we could receive what he alone possesses—life. By grace, God makes us alive with Christ and restores our governing force: the Holy Spirit dwelling within. This is more than forgiveness—this is resurrection life reinstalled, new desires awakened, and a new way to be human. He who has the Son has life. If you’ve been far from God, the door is open: move from death to life, from aimlessness to Spirit-led purpose, and join in demonstrating the love of Jesus to a watching world.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Choose waiting over chronic busyness Waiting is the quiet protest against a world that confuses frenetic activity for fruitfulness. When I wait, I re-order my loves and submit my plans to God’s timing. Shalom comes not from control but from trust. Direction flows from presence, not pace. [13:07]
• 2. Let the Spirit be your compass Every life runs on a governing force; neutrality is a myth. The Spirit of truth doesn’t echo the crowd—he anchors us in reality and aligns us with Jesus. Yielding to him is how wisdom displaces impulse and holiness displaces habit. Obedience becomes possible because love is now within us. [28:33]
• 3. Name the diagnosis: spiritual death Our deepest problem is not ignorance or bad behavior—it’s separation from God. We can be physically alive and emotionally active while spiritually dead. Only new life cures death; self-improvement can’t resurrect a spirit. We need the life that only Christ gives. [30:33]
• 4. Wrath is love protecting life If God didn’t oppose what destroys us, his love would be sentimental, not holy. The cross shows love’s severity—Jesus absorbs judgment so we can receive mercy. This sobers our view of sin and magnifies grace at the same time. Love hates whatever ruins the beloved. [45:41]
• 5. Christ restores life and governance By grace we are made alive with Christ, not merely improved. At the cross our debt is paid; by the Spirit our nature is renewed. God reinstalls the true governing force within—his own presence—so we can live as we were designed. This is hope now and forever. [47:43]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:18] - New album “Wait” and heart for outreach
• [13:07] - Choosing waiting over busyness
• [26:21] - What is your governing force?
• [28:33] - Promise of the Counselor and truth
• [30:33] - Our diagnosis: spiritually dead
• [32:08] - Body, soul, and spirit explained
• [34:58] - Why humans are uniquely spiritual
• [38:25] - Eden and the death of our spirit
• [40:43] - God’s design: seasons and instinct
• [43:49] - When humanity loses its compass
• [45:41] - Wrath as an expression of love
• [47:43] - Made alive with Christ by grace
• [53:13] - Invitation, prayer, and next steps

Bible Reading

- Ephesians 2:1–5 — And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath—like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. - John 14:15–17 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."

Observation Questions

1. Read Ephesians 2:1–5. What diagnosis does Paul give about our spiritual condition and what two core actions does he say God has done for us?
2. Read John 14:15–17. According to Jesus, what is the Spirit’s basic role for a believer?
3. In the sermon the pastor asked, “what is your governing force?” What specific governing forces did he name or imply (examples he gave: culture, desire, fear, God)? [26:21]
4. The speaker said people can be “alive” physically and emotionally yet “dead” spiritually. What signs or examples did he give that show the difference between soulish/physical life and spiritual life? [30:33]

Interpretation Questions

1. How should the church understand Ephesians’ diagnosis (“you were dead”) when the text speaks of being made alive “together with Christ”? What does this say about the nature of salvation—remedy, process, and result?
2. If the Holy Spirit is framed as the believer’s internal “governing force,” how does that change the way one responds to impulses, habits, and moral decisions? Consider what it means to be governed from the inside out. [28:33]
3. The pastor argued that “sin is a symptom, not the cause” of our human problem. How does that shape priorities for preaching, pastoral care, and personal growth (for example: emphasis on new life rather than moralism)? [43:49]
4. The sermon defined God’s wrath as an expression of love that opposes what destroys his beloved. How does this view of wrath affect how one thinks about the cross and about the seriousness of sin? [45:41]

Application Questions

1. Choose one recurring area of busyness in your week (work, kids’ schedules, online scrolling, volunteering). Commit to a concrete experiment: remove that activity for one 30–60 minute block each day this week and use the time to “wait on God” (quiet prayer, Scripture, listening). What will you stop, when exactly will you stop it, and how will you accountably report back next week? [13:07]
2. Identify the most frequent “governing force” in a recent hard decision you made (examples: approval, fear, career ambition, comfort, or God). Give one specific example from the past week where that force steered you. What would a Spirit-led choice have looked like instead? Name one small next step to practice yielding to the Spirit in a similar situation. [26:21]
3. The sermon invited people far from God to turn and receive life in Christ. If you are sensing spiritual deadness today, what is one concrete step you can take this week toward life? (Examples: confess to a trusted believer, pray the prayer of faith, attend a short meeting to talk with a pastor, read Ephesians 2 aloud and pray through it.) Will you do one of these? Which, when, and who will you tell about it? [53:13]
4. For those who already know Christ: pick one habitual reaction (anger, spending, gossip, avoidance) that is not governed by the Spirit. Design a specific, measurable habit to intercept that reaction (for example: pause and pray 10 seconds before answering; set a $50 weekly limit and ask someone to check in; send a text of apology within 24 hours). What is the habit, when will you do it, and how will you measure success next week? [28:33]
5. The pastor said wrath is love’s refusal to be indifferent to what destroys us. Name one sin you have minimized that likely wounds God and others. What is a first concrete move away from that sin this week (a boundary, accountability partner, deleting an app, counseling appointment)? Who will you tell so you have help? [45:41]
6. The sermon began by highlighting the “age of demonstration” and the importance of tangible outreach. Plan one simple, observable act of love you can do in the next two weeks to demonstrate Jesus to someone watching (examples: deliver a meals/hamper, invite a neighbor for coffee, help with a home task, write a caring note). What will you do, who is the person, and on what date will you do it? [02:18]