Not Reset. Refilled. Mission: Riverside exists to create life-changing encounters with Jesus. Here we are on the first Sunday of 2025. Today, as part of our service, we will have special time of individualized prayer for you followed by communion. Today as we move into a brand-new year my challenge to you is not to start this year as a reset, but that you come to be refilled. So often, it seems to me anyway, we are living our walk with Jesus like he’s keeping a ledger sheet of our sins. And so daily, maybe weekly, we come to Jesus to zero out the ledger sheet and get it back down to zero. That’s when we’re forgiven. This morning, I want to introduce you to a different way of thinking. Instead of just dumping out our sins and being reset to empty, asking God to fill you with his spirit. Instead of just getting rid of the negative things, be filled with the positive things. 4 huge reasons that you need to do more than just ask for forgiveness and to ask to be filled with the spirit. If you think it would’ve been cool to walk with Jesus in his physical flesh, then you will definitely want the infilling of Holy Spirit who will bring Jesus to you right now. Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 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. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Starts with the concept of Another helper. Jesus is telling his disciples that he’s going away, and he was their first helper. And now Jesus is saying that he is sending another helper. 2. The Holy Spirit wants you to stop struggling with whether or not you really matter to God and finally accept that everything that the Bible talks about is for you. Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us… Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 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!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God… The last thing that God wants you to do is to fall back into what he calls slavery; the fear of not doing enough, the fear of losing your salvation, the fear of always disappointing God, the fear that you have some secret sin that God is going to punish you for, the fear that you’re not keeping the rules good enough, and all the rest of the fears that God has it in for you. The Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of adoption” who pours out the love of God into your heart. This is the relationship that we are to have. 3.The Holy Spirit gives you more than enough to be useful in God’s global purposes. Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 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. This Holy Spirit power is not given to make us feel good. He is given to make your testifying of Jesus effective. When you tell others about Jesus this is called evangelism. 1 Corinthians 12:8 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. Galatians 5:22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! He empowers us to tell others about Jesus. He gives us a gift to serve the people of Jesus. He works in us to make us look like Jesus. Romans 8:26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Be filled every day because you are leaky! So as to be filled with the spirit. Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. What are we talking about today? Not just a reset, but a refilling. Not just the minimum, the maximum. Not just a little bit, but an overflow. Not just enough to get by, but getting your tank filled Let’s see what GOD can do! Pastor Brian Harrell