What Would Revival Look Like at Watermark?

I'm so glad you made it today. I want to say "Hello" to the people in overflow in the Chapel sitting right now, worshiping with us. Hey, you're with us. We are one family here today. I know we're in two rooms, but we're the same people, one church together. Before we jump into studying the Word of God, I just want to give you a chance to pray for yourself. Just like we did last week… You don't have to do this, but I want to invite you to assume a posture of receptivity.

Maybe even put your hands out like you're going to take someone else's hands or receive a gift from someone. Just say, "God, I want to hear from you today. Would you speak to me?" Would you pray that for yourself really quickly? Then, would you pray for the people around you, your family, friends, and other people in the room? Would you ask God to speak to them? Then, I want to ask you to pray for me, that God would speak through me to you.

Holy Spirit, I'm asking you to come and to lead us and guide us in all truth. Would you glorify Christ this morning right here at Watermark Community Church? I want to ask that not one person in this room, in the Chapel, or in the kid space would leave without encountering you, without seeing you and hearing from you and enjoying you today. Would you come, Lord? I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

If you were here last week, then you know I talked about our reading plan, Join the Journey, and I used an analogy from the movie The Karate Kid. I know it was life-changing for you to hear me talk about that. Here's what you need to know. This week, I found myself thinking more about Karate Kid. Genuinely, on Wednesday, more dots were connecting in my mind that I was like, "I have to add to this analogy. The people clearly want more of it." I could just sense it in the room.

Look. The Karate Kid came out 41 years ago. That's crazy. If you think I'm talking about Will Smith's kid when I talk about The Karate Kid, you have the wrong Karate Kid. I'm talking about Ralph Macchio. I'm talking about Daniel LaRusso. (All of those people are 40 years old and older, but thank you for being with me.) If you've never seen Karate Kid, do not go to sleep tonight until you have watched it. I am more convinced than ever that God brought Karate Kid out 41 years ago for Join the Journey at Watermark Community Church in 2026.

Here's what I want you to think about if you've seen the movie, and even if you haven't, this will make sense. At the beginning of the movie, Daniel LaRusso, this teenage kid, only knows how to throw a punch. That's it. If you remember, he goes to the beach, and he throws a punch at Johnny Lawrence. He only knows how to throw a punch, and it's not sufficient. He gets beat up. He finds out that Mr. Miyagi has it going on. He knows karate. So, Daniel goes to Mr. Miyagi, and what does he do? He says, "Will you teach me karate?" Why? Because he wants to grow. He wants to learn.

Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach him karate so he can grow, but then Daniel LaRusso proves that he actually wants karate on his terms, not Mr. Miyagi's terms. Mr. Miyagi actually starts teaching him karate so he can grow, but Daniel doesn't like it. He doesn't want to paint the fence. He doesn't want to wax on and wax off. He doesn't want to sand the floor. He doesn't want to do those things because they don't make sense to him. He wants karate on his terms.

As I thought about that, I was like, "That is so many people's walks with God." Like, so many of you here only know how to throw a punch, and it's not sufficient. Maybe a few times a week, maybe even every day, you get up and throw a punch. You read or listen to the passage of the day, or you read or listen to your cute little devotional a few times a week or every day. All you know how to do is throw a punch.

If that's you, let me just ask you: Are you growing or are you just maintaining? Just think about that. Have you seen growth? From where you were spiritually at this point last year, has there been growth, or are you just maintaining? If we were to sit down and I were to ask you, "Hey, do you want deeper intimacy with God?" I bet every Christian here would be like, "Of course." But the reality is you want God on your terms. You want things done your way.

All you know how to do is throw a punch. Maybe God is like, "Okay. But it's going to require you to adapt, to try new things." You're like, "No, no, no. I do want intimacy with God, but I need it to be efficient. I don't want to try new practices. Slowing down… I don't slow down. I'm a doer. Don't make me write anything. Heaven forbid." Just imagine if all of the authors of the Bible were like, "God, I don't write things down. No, thank you."

One of the reasons Join the Journey has changed this year is we are trying to appeal to both your right and left brain. We're trying to appeal to your head and to your heart. Some of you are resistant. You're like, "I don't want to paint the fence. I don't want to wax on. I don't want to wax off." I'm just telling you, God might be trying to invite you into something more. Just wait till it all comes together, if you'll just commit to believing nothing is beneath you and that throwing a punch is not sufficient; there is more to experience in the Christian life. I'm just telling you, just wait and watch what happens.

Do you know what's interesting? When Daniel LaRusso finally submits to the master teacher, you get this montage. You get this montage of Daniel like this. Then he's balancing on a boat where he's like this, and he's just on smooth waters, and then he's on a tree stump like this. (It's harder than it looks. Try it at home.) He's just on a tree stump, and he is in gear. It's what I want for you. If we get to December 31 of 2026, and we were to see a montage of your spiritual journey in 2026, what would it look like? Would it just be one long shot of you like this or are we going to see you like this? What are we going to see in the montage of your spiritual journey this year?

Let me tell you the title of the sermon today. I'm not a big sermon title guy, but I gave you one last week, and I'm going to give you one this week. Here's the title of the sermon today: What Would Revival Look Like at Watermark? What I need you to understand is this really isn't a sermon just for you; this is a sermon for us collectively. It's for the church.

When I ask, "What would revival look like?" what I'm asking is what it would look like for the Spirit of God to come and move in such an overwhelming, supernatural, and unmistakable way at our church that if there was a video of our church community, what you would see is just a montage of 10,000 Daniel LaRussos, just 10,000 people strong, who are all submitted to the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We're all in sync together. We're all painting the fence together. We're all sanding the floor together. It's all being combined, and there's growth. There's horsepower behind it. The wind of God is at our backs, and we are cheering each other on. God is moving in a mighty way in us and through us.

So, here's what we're going to see in Acts, chapter 2. What I'm going to show you in Acts, chapter 2, is a montage of clips of what Watermark would look like if revival broke out here. If you have a Bible, I want to invite you to turn with me to Acts, chapter 2. If you were here with us last week, or if you've been doing Join the Journey all week long, we have been sitting in Acts, chapter 1, which is this 50-day period where the apostles of Jesus Christ, eleven of twelve followers of Jesus (they add a twelfth by the end of the chapter), are waiting for the Spirit of God to come.

In Acts, chapter 2, the Spirit of God actually comes. What you need to know is the Spirit coming in Acts, chapter 2, is a special, unique, unrepeatable, defining day in the history of the church that was promised by the prophets and by Jesus. It's that unique. It's unrepeatable. Yet, while the day of Pentecost is unrepeatable, you need to understand if the Spirit were to come in a fresh way here at Watermark, it would taste of Pentecost. It would taste of Acts, chapter 2.

Think about Acts, chapter 2, known as the day of Pentecost, as a big splash that has been rippling out for 2,000 years. What I'm telling you this morning is while we can't repeat Pentecost, we can absolutely be struck by the waves of its ripples. What would it look like for us to be struck by and moved by the ripples of Pentecost? I'm going to give you three things today. It's really a montage. It's just three different clips of 10,000 Daniel LaRussos all in sync with the Master, Jesus Christ. The first thing that would be true if the ripples of Pentecost struck us here at Watermark in a new and fresh way…

1. There would be a churchwide pleasure in God's presence. If you have a Bible, look at Acts 2:1-4. It says, "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

This is such a defining moment in the history of the church. Just watch and see what's happening here. It says, "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and there came from heaven…" Something is coming from heaven. The reason that's important is in Acts, chapter 1, just 10 days earlier, heaven was taking from the apostles. Heaven took Jesus Christ from the apostles. Ten days later, heaven is giving. What's heaven giving?

Notice the description here. The description indicates God's presence, and it also appeals to the senses of the apostles. That's why I'm talking about a churchwide pleasure in God's presence. It said that what they heard sounded like a mighty rushing wind. Both the Hebrew and the Greek words for spirit can also mean wind.

It says what they heard filled the house. If you look in the Old Testament, when the presence of God fills the tabernacle or the temple… We should make that connection. There's a filling. God's presence is filling the house, just like the presence of God filled the tabernacle or the temple. It says the tongues they saw appeared. That's talking about sight. So, first it appears to the sense of hearing, and now it's appearing to the sense of sight.

Fire in the Old Testament was always associated with God. Think about the burning bush. That was Moses encountering God through fire. Think about the pillar of fire that led the nation of Israel by night. So, this is God the Holy Spirit coming to his people, filling the apostles. The filling they experienced compelled them to speak in other languages.

What exactly were they speaking? Verse 11 tells us the other people said, "We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." So, their senses are appealed to. They see. They hear. They feel. They are filled with the Holy Spirit. And what's the result? Praise and worship. So, what does it look like to be struck by a wave of Pentecost ripple? There would be a churchwide pleasure in God's presence.

Look back at verse 1. Look at how it started. It said, "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place." That's why I said this isn't just a sermon for you; it's a sermon for us. When I talk about revival coming to Watermark, I'm talking about God doing something churchwide when we're together, something happening while we're gathered right here in this room on Sundays.

I'm talking about when people are gathered tomorrow night at re:gen and when people are gathered on Tuesday nights at The Porch. I'm talking about something so significant happening when different ministries are gathering on our campus, and even when Community Groups are gathering during the week. That's what I'm talking about. Whatever God does, whatever that something is, collectively appeals to our spiritual senses so that it breeds pleasure in us in God's presence.

What are our spiritual senses? I'm talking about us seeing God. I'm talking about us hearing from God. I'm talking about us feeling God to the point that it overflows in worship to God. So, here's what I want to do right now. I just want to share with you some accounts from different people who have been a part of different revivals throughout history. Just listen to what they articulate their experience was.

Sarah Osborne, who was a part of the first Great Awakening, wrote something like this: "In the midst of the awakening, I watched countless souls swept into new life, not by human eloquence but by the Holy Spirit working conviction and…" Watch the wording: illumination. That's a word of sight. "…illumination in hearts that had long been dull." Is your heart dull toward God right now? She said, "God's power was felt as a distinct movement in our gatherings, leading men and women from cold formality into deep, living communion with Christ."

John Wesley, who was a part of the Methodist Revival, basically said, "Immediately, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground." An Asbury revival participant said, "I was moved to tears several times. I encountered the love of God, the transformational power of Jesus, and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in ways that are beyond words to describe. People came with a deeper hunger for the living God."

Can you imagine these types of testimonies coming out of Watermark Community Church? Can you imagine the Watermark News every single Sunday…? When you open it up, someone is just testifying to the transformational work of the Spirit. That's what it already is, but just think about every single week, we're just constantly hearing stories. We're coming in here every single Sunday, and God is doing such a powerful work in us that we're seeing him, we're hearing from him, and we're enjoying him. People are moved by him.

Now look. We don't have any room for skepticism in the room, so I want to call something out just in case it's here. I hope it's not, but if it is, I just want to call it out. Some people hear the word revival or hear me read those testimonies, and something in them is naturally skeptical. What you think is "Well, look. I don't want us to be a part of emotionalism." I get it. What you're saying is "I don't want people to just get caught up in emotions when it's not actually something godly happening."

I understand where you're coming from, but I also want to tell you there's a spectrum, and if emotionalism is at one end, what's at the other end is emotional stuntedness, emotional calluses. Here's the reality, which is so sad. I think our tendency, as Christians, is to villainize feelings and emotions. We make feelings and emotions villains, like we can never trust them. We explain it with Jeremiah 17, like, "Well, the heart is desperately wicked. Who can understand it?"

Do you know what the problem with that theology is for Christians? It shows a deep ignorance of the new covenant, because the new covenant promises a new heart with new desires. Jesus felt. Is it possible that God gives us feelings and emotions so that the Spirit of the living God can cultivate them to the glory of God?

Some of you in here are like, "Well, I'm not a feeler." Maybe, or is it possible that you've just shut off your feelings and emotions for long enough? Is it possible that you're actually quenching the Spirit in your life because you have shut off your feelings and emotions that the Spirit wants to cultivate to the glory of God?

Look. We don't need to wait for one day for the Spirit to finally come. The Spirit is here. So, if you want to see things change in your life, if you want to see things change in our church, then here's what has to happen. We… We. Not you…we collectively. We have to relentlessly seek pleasure in God's presence now. Here's what I mean. Let me be very clear.

As I was preparing this week, I really sensed God had me write three things down. I'm going to put these three things on the screen, and I'm going to ask you to either write them down or screenshot them, and then this week, think about them and pray through them until they begin to actually make sense to you.

Here's what I sensed the Spirit of God was telling me to write down. First, look at him until you see him. Look at God until you see God. Look at Jesus until you see Jesus. Secondly, listen to him until you hear from him, and then stay with him until you enjoy him. So, let me break those down really quickly. When I say, "Look at God until you see God…" Do you know what it's like to see somebody but not really see them?

Here's the reality. So many of you here are married to the person next to you, but at some point you were friend zoned. You were in the friend zone. They didn't see you then how they see you now. At one point, the person sitting next to you was like, "I could never marry that person. I only think of him as a friend." Then something happened one day. Like, God struck her, and she woke up, and she was like, "I am attracted to him. It's a miracle." That is sight.

So many of you come in here, and you see God, but you don't see God. You're looking at him, but you don't see him. I'm talking about you looking at him until you see him in such a way that you behold him, that you see him in such a way that you're captivated by him. I'm talking about listening to him until you actually hear from him.

Do you ever listen to someone, but you're not hearing them? No one does that here. Where you look at someone, and you even think, "I want to give them eye contact so they think I'm listening," but you're somewhere else. Does that ever describe you at church? You're listening, but you're not hearing. What I'm talking about is you deciding, "I'm going to listen until I hear, and then I'm going to stay with God until I actually enjoy God."

I remember God did something in my life through Psalm 16:11 where David says, "In your presence there's fullness of joy." When I read that, and God shaped me through it, here's what I realized. If I have a quiet time with God, then technically I'm meeting with God. I'm in the presence of God. If there's no joy in that time, something is wrong, because in his presence there's fullness of joy. If I'm meeting with God, but there's no joy in God, then I'm missing God.

There have been times where I've challenged myself and told myself, "I'm going to sit with God until I'm glad in God." Like, literally, I decided, "I'm going to sit here and think about God until I can't help but smile in God." Just try it. Some of you are like, "I don't have time for that." Okay. That's fine. Just keep on punching. Enjoy your insufficient punch. But if you want to sit with him until you see him and hear from him and enjoy him, just wait and watch what happens. Wait till you really experience gladness in God.

Just think about this. Is this you? So many of us enter our quiet times and enter church with zero expectations. We put all the responsibility on someone else. Like, in our quiet time… "If I'm going to be moved, God is going to have to move me." "If I'm going to be moved at church, TA is going to have to do something really crazy to move me."

So, people are like, "I haven't been moved by church in a long time." You're putting the responsibility on someone else. What if you took responsibility? What if you began to pray in every quiet time, every time you stepped into this room… What if you said, "Holy Spirit, help me. I'm not leaving until I've seen. I'm not leaving until I've heard. I'm not leaving until I've enjoyed God. I'm not leaving. I'm going to look until I see. I'm going to listen until I hear. I'm going to stay until I enjoy." Just watch what happens.

In my time with God yesterday, I prayed. I just said, "Holy Spirit, I want to see. I want to hear. I want to enjoy. Would you help me?" When I prayed that, I sensed the Holy Spirit smiling, like, "That's exactly what I wanted you to pray." The picture the Holy Spirit gave me in my mind… He wanted me to think of him like this, and I loved it. It's such a sweet picture.

I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to think about him like a private tour guide in a museum, drawing my attention to things I would never notice on my own. Isn't that an amazing way to think about the Holy Spirit? That right now, if you're willing, he just wants to be a private tour guide, like, "Hey, just notice Jesus' beauty. If you'll just look… Just look over here. If you'll just wake up, if you'll just listen… Just listen and hear from God. Just stay. Just stay a little bit longer and taste the joy that can come from his presence."

Listen to what a Hebrides Revival participant said. They said, "As we entered the meeting house, conversation died. There was a stillness, a silent waiting…" It's expectation. "…as though something holy was about to break in. We didn't know what would happen, but over and over again, we found ourselves convicted of sin and overwhelmed by God's presence." How amazing would it be for that to be true of Watermark Community Church?

I want you to skip down to verse 14 in chapter 2. What you need to know is verses 1-13 describe what happened at Pentecost; verses 14 and following are a sermon from Peter describing what it actually means. At the end of the first section, some people see what's happening, and they think the apostles are drunk. So, Peter responds, and listen to what he says.

"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, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy."'"

What's Peter's main point? He's quoting Joel, and Joel was saying, "Hundreds of years from now, the Spirit is going to come, and the Spirit is for everyone." It's for everyone who puts their trust in Jesus. He says, "For sons and daughters," so just think about the children in our church. He says, "For young men," so just think young men and women. Think about how many young adults we have here at our church.

He says, "For the old men and the old women." That's, honestly, anyone over 40. He just touches everyone in our church. That's why I said it's a churchwide pleasure in God's presence. Just imagine our kids. Imagine your kids. Right now, the Spirit of God working in them in such a way… Right now, can you imagine your kid's heart burning for God? Don't you want that? Have you ever prayed that for your child? Pray it right now, because God might just answer it.

Duncan Campbell, a leader in the Hebrides Revival, essentially said, "Men, women, and even children would come to prayer meetings with deep expectation. The atmosphere seemed weighted with God's presence. People would break into sobs, confess sins quietly, and nearly fall under conviction as though touched by the Spirit himself. You did not come for entertainment or preaching alone. You felt something happening within you each night you gathered." If revival were to come to Watermark, if we would be struck by a wave of the ripple of Pentecost, first, there would be a churchwide pleasure in God's presence.

2. There would be a churchwide urgency for mission. Look back at verse 5. "Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians-we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.'"

Now, this is where people are like, "Okay. What's he going to say about the gift of speaking in tongues?" That's not what this passage is about. This passage isn't about the gift of speaking in tongues. This is a passage about mission. Remember what Jesus promised the apostles just one chapter earlier in Acts 1:8. He said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The moment the Spirit comes, what happens? They start witnessing. The Spirit gives them so much power they just start witnessing, testifying to the great works of God. What's amazing is right here in Jerusalem, they're already speaking in other languages as a foreshadowing that the gospel isn't just for the Jews in Jerusalem; it is for the nations. It will go to the end of the earth, like Jesus told them it would.

If you were to read scholars on this, they believe something incredible is happening here. They believe it is a dramatic reversal of the Tower of Babel all the way back in Genesis 11. What happened at the Tower of Babel? You had a group of people who were trying to ascend into heaven to get to God. So, what did God do? He confused the languages so no one could understand each other, and that's what created the nations.

What do you have here in Acts, chapter 2? What you have is the Spirit of God himself coming to earth. The language distinctions remain, yet the language barrier is broken down so that everyone understands. It's as if God is signaling a reversal of the Tower of Babel where the nations will be gathered together in Christ.

That's why you look at Revelation and see people from every tribe, tongue, and language. That's why we did the partnership with the Seed Company: because God wants people to hear the gospel in their native tongue. They deserve to hear it in their native language. God is calling the apostles to mission, but he's also calling us to mission. Verse 16. Let me show you something else. Peter says in his sermon:

"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, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.'"

What's he saying there? This is amazing. If you'll grasp onto it, it is incredible what is being delivered to us right here. What Peter is communicating is that the privilege of the Spirit that was reserved just for a small number of prophets and kings in the Old Testament, who would hear from God primarily through dreams and visions and words so they could go and declare it to God's people… Peter is saying everyone who knows Jesus now has that privilege.

Everyone who knows Jesus now has the privilege of drawing close to God. You get to go up the mountain like Moses went up the mountain. You get to come down, and you get to declare the wonders of God. You can meet with God, and you can know God through the person of Jesus Christ, through his Word, through the leading of the Spirit. Now you can go and witness and testify to the greatness of God.

If you're a Christian, would you just say out loud, "I am a witness." Yeah. Yeah, you are. You're a witness. You are. God wants to use you. That's why I love what we're doing on Join the Journey. If you're doing it with us, then on Friday, here's the graphic you saw. I would encourage you to take this and fill it out. "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The explanations for each of these… Let me just put them on the screen. Jerusalem signifies those closest to you…your family, friends, and neighbors. Judea symbolizes your broader community…your coworkers, classmates, and local connections. Samaria involves people you might naturally avoid or who are culturally different from you. Then, the ends of the earth are global opportunities…missions, online connections, and supporting missionaries.

Every Christian, every witness, should be clear on how God is wanting to use you and who God is wanting to use you with. Just imagine 10,000 people praying and then 10,000 people intentionally and strategically pursuing and sharing. Imagine thousands of text threads between Community Group members like, "Hey, pray for [so-and-so]. I just shared the gospel with them. Pray for [so-and-so]. They're contemplating Christ right now." Just imagine.

When we read on in Acts, chapter 2, you're going to see that just from Peter's one sermon, 3,000 people trust Christ. I'll tell you, this revival will find a people with a collective sense of urgency to mission, which includes eyes on the nations. As I was preparing for today, walking this room and praying before the service, I sensed God inviting me to pray against a spirit of fear, so I just want to pray that right now. I'm not done. I have one more thing to share with you, but I just want to pray.

Lord God, I pray that you would break a spirit of fear in our church, a spirit of fear that would prevent people from sharing their faith, engaging with neighbors, loved ones, or other people. Would you just break that spirit of fear? You have not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. So, I pray that we would be a courageous people, that we would be strong, bold witnesses this week. In Jesus' name, amen.

3. There would be a churchwide amazement. If you're tuned out, I need you to tune back in. This is so important. Watch this. Verse 12: "And all…" That's an important word. "And all were amazed and perplexed…" That word in the Greek that has been translated perplexed means they were at a loss, like, "Can you believe what you're seeing? I can't believe what I'm seeing. I wouldn't know how to describe it if someone asked."

Can you imagine 10,000 people saying, "I just can't believe what we get to be a part of"? No one is trying to leave early to beat traffic. People are like, "Shoot. Does that mean we can't leave early today?" No, you cannot, just to be clear. No one is trying to leave early. People don't want things to end.

Do you know what February 8, 2023, was known as in regard to the Asbury revival? It was known as the day chapel never ended. Why? Amazement. Worship. I pray that happens here, where it wouldn't just be 5 people or 100 people but there would be 10,000 people who are amazed by what the Spirit of God is doing in them personally and in our church collectively.

But I think there is something we need to address today that could potentially be hindering that day. Look at verse 13 really quickly. It says, "But others mocking said, 'They are filled with new wine.'" Isn't that interesting? This is one of the greatest days in the history of the church, and there's resistance. It's good to remember there is always resistance where the Spirit of God is moving. And it isn't always from outsiders; it's, honestly, a lot of times from insiders. The resistance to the work of the Spirit can actually come from the most devout followers.

So, I just need to ask. Is that anyone here right now in regard to what the Spirit is doing at Watermark? Is that you? What if we are in the midst of great days at Watermark? What if the Spirit is moving here at Watermark and you're the resistance? I believe God wants me to speak to a very specific group of people in the room. I don't know who you are. I don't know how many of you there are. It could be one person; I pray it's no one.

I want to speak to people in the room who continue to come to Watermark every Sunday and sit here with a spirit of bitterness toward Watermark, a spirit of skepticism toward Watermark, a spirit of comparison to the past at Watermark, a spirit of critique and criticism of Watermark, a spirit of gossip about Watermark, or a spirit of assuming the worst.

Here's what I need you to know: you're hurting yourself, and you're hurting your church. You are holding us back, because when you come and sit in that stuff in the place where the Spirit is moving, and you sit in that stuff without going to God about it, without repenting of it, and without seeking reconciliation, do you know what you're doing? You are actively sowing seeds of disunity, and you are actually serving as an active force of resistance to the work of the Spirit of God in our midst.

Here's what you need to know. The staff here at Watermark are going away for three days this week. We're spending all three days talking about the Spirit. We want to make sure we identify any ways that we, as a staff, are quenching the Spirit. We're going to talk about how we can grow in the Spirit. You need to know that the 10 elders of this church are actively talking about how to grow in the Spirit, enjoy the Spirit, no longer in any way quench the Spirit.

We're moving forward. We are putting up our sails for the wind of the Spirit of God to blow. I've heard from different members who are so excited and expectant for what God is going to do here at Watermark. People are all in. So hear me. Don't be the anchor dropping when we are in open waters. The Spirit is going to carry us forward. Don't be an anchor.

Some of you right now are like, "What is he mad about?" I believe so much in what God is doing here, and my heart grieves for the people who will show up here on Sunday and just sit in bitterness. Why? I'd tell you to go to another church, but I don't wish that upon them. Go to God with it. Repent of it. Seek reconciliation, but let's move with God together. Let's put up our sails together. No one is dropping an anchor here when we're in open waters.

I'm committed to inviting us to respond more in the moment on Sunday, so I just want to give you an opportunity right now to pray. If you've already moved out of a place of worship, get back into it. If you haven't seen God yet today, if you haven't heard yet from God today, if you haven't enjoyed God yet today, there's still time. Just ask the Spirit right now to help you. Ask him to do a work right now in you. Just ask him.

Maybe you don't know Jesus Christ, but you're seeing him clearly for the first time. You're realizing that Jesus lived for you. He died for you. He rose from the dead for you. Only Jesus can make you right with God. You can have peace with God today. If that's you, surrender your life to him. Give your life to him. Pray to him and invite him in. If there's someone in your life who doesn't know Jesus, pray right now for a divine appointment with them this week. Pray that God would ready their heart to hear the gospel.

Ask the Lord if there are any ways you're resisting the work of the Spirit here at Watermark, and if he brings something to mind, repent. Then, would you ask on behalf of your church that the Spirit would become overwhelmingly, supernaturally, unmistakably evident in your life and at our church? The band is going to lead us in a chorus. I invite you to assume whatever posture you need to to respond. If you need to get on your knees, do it. If you want to stand and lift your hands, do that. If you want to sit and pray… Just respond freely to what God is doing in your life this morning.