Embracing Community and the Holy Spirit
Welcome to the Holy Spirit Untethered. My name is Amber Beals, and it is my job and my mission to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me, to help demystify who he is, what his role is, and to deeply encourage you to seek a relationship with him. Alright. Let's get started. Hey, guys.
Amber Beels:Welcome back to the holy spirit untethered podcast. My name is Amber. And today, I wanted to talk about unity, about doing life together. Now if you have listened to last week's episode, I did it with Ed Zajonk. He is an amazing man of God, and he actually asked to be on my podcast, which was a really big breath of fresh air.
Amber Beels:Normally, I have to ask people. So it was really cool to have him on. It's a really good episode. If you haven't already, go ahead and check that out. That is episode 41 with Ed.
Amber Beels:And in that episode, we talk about him and his wolf pack as he calls it. Just those circle of men that he surrounds himself with to really help him through life and to help him stay on the straight and narrow, to help him with his journey with the Lord. And it was a really amazing story. And so I kinda wanted to go off of that today and kinda keep that theme going with just myself. But I wanted to talk more in that realm of things and why it's so important for us to actually be a body of Christ.
Amber Beels:But before we dive into that, let's go ahead and pray. So if you can, it's safe to do so. Go ahead and close your eyes, and let's pray together. Dear heavenly father, I thank you so much for this opportunity to be on this podcast. I just pray for every single person that's listening to this podcast.
Amber Beels:I just pray that they would receive this message from you. I pray holy spirit that you would just bless them and just allow them to be able to just take this and be able to apply it to their lives, Lord. I pray, Lord, Holy Spirit, that you would just speak through me today and that it would be your words that come through and mine would fall away. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amber Beels:So unity, living life together. Now Ed, when he was talking about this last week, he had mentioned, again, his wolf pack and how that wolf pack was essential for his journey with the Lord. It was essential for him to be able to grow and lean on these men of God to have when he was going through a lot of trials in his life, and he's gone through quite a bit in the last few years. And so that group of men was really essential for him in those times of need. And so I wanted to talk about that, but also back it up with some scripture.
Amber Beels:Now I have a lot of scripture. So we're gonna be jumping around the bible a little bit today. And that's alright. So, hopefully, you will be able to follow along. If not, that's alright.
Amber Beels:You can always go back and listen to it again and look up these verses for yourself. So one thing that I really wanted to start off with was the fruit of the spirit. So how does the Holy Spirit play into the role of us doing life, not only with the helper, with him, the Holy Spirit, but with the body of Christ, the kingdom, all the people who are fellow believers, our brothers and sisters? Like, why is that so important, and how does he play a role in that? And so one of the biggest ways is the fruit of the spirit, and you can find that in your Bibles in Galatians five twenty two through 23.
Amber Beels:So I'm gonna go ahead and read that now. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such, there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.
Amber Beels:And I went a little further along. I went to verse 25, but it's just so good. But so those are the fruit of the spirit. Now if you've been listening to this podcast for a little while, you would know that I had a guest, Eloisa. Shout out to Eloisa.
Amber Beels:Love you. She was a guest, and we talked about the fruit of the spirit. And she had this analogy of, like, an orange and how it's one fruit. But then, like, if you look at the orange, like, each slice of the orange is, like, the fruit of the spirit. It represents, like, love, joy, peace, all the things I just mentioned.
Amber Beels:So I really love that. Go check that episode out if you haven't already. That's a really good episode as well. I forget what number it is, but we can link it in the show notes. But fruit of the spirit.
Amber Beels:Now one of the things that maybe we talked about in that episode and I just completely forgot, but it or it didn't stand out to me. But recently, I was thinking about it, and I was like, fruit is fair. Like, when a tree gives fruit, the fruit is not for the tree. Like, the fruit does nothing for the tree. The the tree doesn't eat its own fruit.
Amber Beels:Right? So fruit is for other people. And so when we display the fruit of the spirit, the love, joy, peace, patience, all the things, that is for other people. That is not for us. That is the evidence that the holy spirit is in us and he's transforming us and is the evidence for other people and for other people to enjoy.
Amber Beels:Just like when a tree gives fruit, the fruit is for other people to eat it, not the actual tree. Right? And I know that that may seem obvious, but to me, it was not. I it kinda, like, I had a mind blown moment for for that when I came to that realization because, like, whenever I pray for self control or patience, I'm always thinking that that's for me. Patience for me so that I don't explode and I don't start yelling at people.
Amber Beels:Right? But, really, patience is for other people. So if you're a parent, patience is for your kids to show them love the way that Christ would show them love. Patience is for those messy people in your church that maybe most people don't have a lot of patience for because they are messy or, you know, self control. Whatever it is, whatever fruit that maybe kind of stands out to you because you don't do that one so well or you're still the holy spirit is still working on that one in your life, whatever it is, it it changed at least my perspective on how I view the fruit of the spirit because it's not for me.
Amber Beels:It's for others. It's for the body of Christ and for unbelievers because, basically, it's a witness to unbelievers that you've changed. So if somebody knew you before you knew Christ and then now they come back years later and you've been walking with Christ for a few years now, there should be a change. There should be a transformation in your life, and you should be displaying some, if not all of these fruit. I mean, obviously, we're not gonna be perfect.
Amber Beels:We are still human. We are still on Earth. We are not, you know, with the Lord in our new bodies. So we still struggle with some of this stuff, but there should be progress. Right?
Amber Beels:There should be a difference between your old man and your new man, like, how you are operating now, and it should be evident to others. So that is just one of many reasons why it's so important for us to be around other people, to not exclude ourselves because your life is a witness. Whether you know it or not, whether you give your testimony like I talked about a couple weeks ago, you are a walking testimony. People watch you. You're being watched by somebody.
Amber Beels:Not everybody. You're not that important, unfortunately. I'm sorry to other people because everybody has their lives. Right? Everybody is caught up in the motion, especially if they have kids, if they have jobs, going to school, whatever.
Amber Beels:Like, they're in their world. But there's gonna be someone watching, and you are that person. And that leads me to the next point, which is in Matthew five. So I'm gonna turn there now. So Matthew five verse 13 through 16.
Amber Beels:And this is talking about us being light and salt of the earth. So I'm gonna start in 13, which says, you are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world.
Amber Beels:A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. So if you're a believer in Christ, you've accepted Christ into your heart, you are salt of the earth and light of the world. That is our responsibility. And it's not just like the fruit of the spirit.
Amber Beels:It's not just for the body of Christ, but it's for the unbeliever. We are the people that Jesus uses, the Holy Spirit uses to be an influence and an example to the world. And we are supposed to make the world sweeter. Now salt, if you think about the salt, salt makes food taste amazing. Not necessarily sweeter, but it brings out the flavor in whatever you're cooking.
Amber Beels:Short story, when I went to Israel with my church a couple years back, I thought the food in Israel would be amazing because, I don't know, I just thought it would be Mediterranean. But I guess I was thinking of, like, Greece and not Israel. I guess I got those confused. Because when we got to Israel, the food was terrible. Like, I loved Israel.
Amber Beels:I loved the people. They are kind of a hard people, but, like, I loved going there. I loved that trip. But, man, the food just sucked. I'm sorry, Israel.
Amber Beels:There was, like, no flavor in anything, and I think it's because they just didn't use salt. I'm not really sure. But I just remember when I got back from Israel, we went straight to, like, this restaurant and we Eric and I just Eric and I, we just just wharfed down amazing food, like, on the border or something. I don't know. But it was amazing.
Amber Beels:But that's what I think of when scripture says we are salt of the earth. We are supposed to bring flavor. We're supposed to bring a newness to the world, like a freshness to the world that maybe unbelievers don't have, that they don't taste, that they don't see. And I think a part of that is joy because we get our joy from the Lord. Right?
Amber Beels:And so I know that when I was agnostic and I was, like, down in the dumps, a friend of mine, I noticed he was different, and it was because of his joy. I knew he was different. He just brought a difference to my life when I spoke to him. And it was the Lord. It was the Holy Spirit that was in him.
Amber Beels:But at the time, I didn't identify it. But that is our role as being a part of the body of Christ, as being that salt of the earth. And then the light of the world, we are not to be hidden. We are supposed to glorify. And it says at the end, it's to glorify your father in heaven.
Amber Beels:Like, that is the point is to glorify God by being that light, by being that example, by doing the things that the Lord is doing in your heart, by expressing those things that the Holy Spirit is transforming in your life and making that evident to others. And you can only do that when you're around people. Right? You have to be around people. You can't be an island.
Amber Beels:You can't seclude yourself. And that's why it's so important for us to go out and do these things, right, and be intentional with it. I mean, loving people can be hard. I understand that it can be really hard to love people, but that is what we are called to do. And that brings me to my next verse, which is in John.
Amber Beels:So it is John 13 verse 34 through 35. It says, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Now this is Jesus talking. It's red text.
Amber Beels:Right? And so he is telling us, commanding us to love one another because the world will know us by our love. So not only are we and that supports the salt and light. Right? We can only be salt and light if we love people.
Amber Beels:And, again, like I said, that can be way easier said than done because people people are messy. People are prickly. Right? They can hurt us. And sometimes when we get hurt, we build up these walls, but that is not what the holy spirit has called us to do.
Amber Beels:That's not why he's here to help us. He's not here to help us build walls. He's here to help us tear down those walls so that we can love people. And when we get hurt, he is our comforter. He is there to help us.
Amber Beels:He is there because he knows what it was like. I mean, he did life with Jesus. He walked with Jesus, and so he felt everything Jesus felt. He felt it when Jesus got persecuted, when people were yelling at Jesus. He he felt that grieving of people being angry and people just denying Jesus and denying the gift that Jesus was giving them by giving up his life.
Amber Beels:And still to this day, he gets grieved by that. Yes. He lives in all the all the believers. He's in you. He's in me.
Amber Beels:But he still experiences everything we experience. He experiences all the emotions that we do. He's the most sensitive member of the trinity. And so he understands that it can be really hard for us to love people, but it's a commandment from Jesus. Jesus literally said, I I command you.
Amber Beels:I give you another command. A new commandment I give to you. Those are the words. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you. And Jesus loved people well.
Amber Beels:He loved people perfectly because, well, he's Jesus. And he truly, truly, truly, truly loves his children. He loves his people. And he emulated how we are supposed to love his children. And, yes, it can be hard.
Amber Beels:Yes. It can be sticky and prickly and all the things, but it's a commandment that we are supposed to follow. And when we are truly giving ourselves up as a vessel that the Lord wants to use, and we want the Lord to use us, right, then we need to show love for one another no matter how hard or painful it can be. Now that's not to say not to have boundaries. I mean, of course, there's a balance.
Amber Beels:Right? And even Jesus had a balance. Like, I talked about how Ed had a wolf pack. Right? Well, Jesus kinda had a wolf pack.
Amber Beels:I mean, yeah, he had the 12 disciples, but then he had an inner circle. Right? He had, like, Peter and John. Like, those were his, like, his wolf pack of people that he relied on. And so even Jesus had boundaries.
Amber Beels:He didn't share everything with everybody. He had that inner circle, but he did love everyone. And so I do wanna encourage you. This is not an invitation to not have boundaries. And even right now, I'm reading a book called boundaries from Melissa, my best friend.
Amber Beels:I had stuffed it because I had to read another book, but I'm I'm reading it again, and it is so good. It is a biblical book, and they talk about boundaries and how the Lord had boundaries and how we're supposed to have boundaries. And so boundaries are good, but we're not supposed to build walls. We're not supposed to seclude ourselves so much that we can't love one another or that we can't influence and be that salt and light like the scripture says. Now I've talked a lot about how we are supposed to be intentional and being out and in the world and being that influence, that example, that model for unbelievers, but this is also for the body of Christ.
Amber Beels:And so I wanna read Romans. Let me go there. Romans chapter 12 verse 15. And it says, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another.
Amber Beels:Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. I just went a little further. But, basically, 15 is the rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who who weep. And I think that is so important as a believer, as a member of the body of Christ, is to do life with one another.
Amber Beels:So important. And I didn't learn that until I went to my current church, Heart Church in Escondido. I love my church. And I had gone to church for a while in a big church. But when you do a big church like, big churches are great.
Amber Beels:But when you go to a big church, you can get lost. Right? You kinda lose that connection of that one on one. You kinda just become like a fish in a big sea of people. Right?
Amber Beels:And unless you are super, super, super intentional about joining a life group or joining some kind of program or some kind of, like, a bible class, whatever, you could easily attend church in in a big church and just get lost. And people wouldn't come up to you or say hi or get to know you. Like, you could easily get looked over, which is sad. But that is one of the issues with having a big church if you're not really good at being intentional with making relationships, with connecting with people. Because it's not just for you.
Amber Beels:It's for other people. Right? And so when I stopped going to the big church that I was attending with Eric, we decided we wanted to go to a small church. And so I was looking at very small churches and, you know, I I was looking for a different church when I found Hart Church, but the Lord knew what he was doing, and I found Hart Church. And it ended up being day one of Hart Church, and there was literally only, like, 30 people there.
Amber Beels:We were meeting at a middle school, and it was, like, 30 people. And that's it. And Eric and I, we were like, oh, we were looking for a different church. But you know what? We're here.
Amber Beels:Let's let's sit in for the service. And we did, and it was so sweet. And every single person, almost every single person, those 30 people that were there came up to us and made it an an intentional move to speak to us, to welcome us, to talk to us. And it felt so welcoming and, like, I was wanted. And I didn't realize that I was missing that in my life.
Amber Beels:Like, I had friends and everything, but it was different at this church. They genuinely wanted to learn about us. They invited us immediately to all the life groups and all the things. And you know what? Eric and I, we were like, sure.
Amber Beels:Let's say yes. And so we started attending LifeGroup and really got to do life with these people. Now our church is close. It's hitting 200 people now. And I am I feel incredibly blessed that I got to be a part of this church when it was so young, when it was so small because I get to do life with those core members of the church and have seen everybody grow.
Amber Beels:I've and they've seen me grow, and we've been there for each other. And I can't tell you how many times I have gone through something and really leaned on my church, really leaned on the people who attend. People I know I say this, but, like, I do life with them. I could not imagine going through life at this point in my life and not having my church. I couldn't mm-mm.
Amber Beels:No way. I love my church. Like, just recently, this last weekend, I had my baby shower for my my daughter, Aviva, and I and but it was basically my church that was there. We had it at a park by my house, and I had almost a hundred people come. And I would say 95% of those people were my church.
Amber Beels:And I had a couple of neighbors come, and I had one neighbor come up to me, and she was like, a lot of these people are from your church. And I was like, yeah. This is, like, 90% of my church. And she's like, that's that's really cool. Because she came from a church that was another ginormous church here in the area.
Amber Beels:And she's like, yeah. I have my life group, but there's no way I could have this many people from my church. I just don't know that many. And I just feel I I know that I am incredibly blessed because of that, because I have the support and the love from all these people at my church. And I really leaned on a lot of them for this baby shower.
Amber Beels:Like, I think I had, like, 15 people helping me out, setting it up, sending up the pop ups, you know, setting up the chairs, the tables, and everything. And most of them just volunteered. They were like, I'll be there. Do you need help? I'll be there, like, know, type thing.
Amber Beels:It was just like, I didn't even have to ask. And when I asked, they were like, yeah. No problem. I'll do it. Like, it's it's I'll be there.
Amber Beels:You I got you, you know, type attitude. And that is just an example of celebrating with one another. And, you know, when I had my miscarriage, I had the support of my church. They wept with me. They grieved with me my loss.
Amber Beels:And I don't know how I could have gone through that season in my life without my church, without those people because they are I don't wanna say that they're my foundation. Christ is my foundation. But Christ uses the body of the church. Christ uses us to build up one another. And he gives us gifts of the spirit to edify the church, to edify one another.
Amber Beels:The fruit of the spirit is also to edify one another. Like, we are supposed to build each other up and be that support system for one another because we are like minded, because we have the same values, because we believe in the same God, and we love the same God. And that spills out and we love one another because of it. Like, it's such an amazing experience that I can't really describe how important it is. You you you can't understand it until you experience it.
Amber Beels:And so I wanna encourage you, like, if you don't have a church right now or you're just watching church online or, you know, whatever, maybe you're more introverted. Like, I get it. If you're more introverted, it can be hard because it drains you, right, to be around people. But I wanna encourage you to try it. Be intentional with it.
Amber Beels:It you don't have to go to every function, and you don't have to know everyone in your church. But you can join a life group. You can join a bible study of just a small group of people, just something that you can handle, something that is digestible for you. Right? Just a few people to really develop that relationship with so that you can lean on them, so that you can call them family because they are your family.
Amber Beels:They're your family in Christ. They're your brothers and sisters. And it's such a blessing to not only be on the receiving end of that, but also be on the other end giving and pouring into other people and being that person for them, for your life group, for whoever. Whoever it is, your inner circle that you're choosing, being that person that they can go to and depend on, that is an amazing blessing as well. A lot of the times, it's more of a blessing to give than to receive.
Amber Beels:Right? And the Lord says that. So I wanna encourage you, dive into a church. And if you can't find a church, keep looking and pray about it. Ask the Holy Spirit.
Amber Beels:Like, Spirit, I really, really, really wanna be a part of community. I really wanna do the things and be in obedience to you because you've called me to be a part of the body. And I can only do that if I'm around other people, so please lead me to a place where I can participate, where I can serve your kingdom, and I can also just have people to edify and edify me too. And who knows? Maybe you'll find a mentor in that group in that group because that's super important too.
Amber Beels:Like, I can't tell you how much a mentor has helped me in my journey and accelerated my growth with the Lord, but it requires other people. It requires obedience. It requires listening to the Holy Spirit and actually doing the things that he wants you to do and seeking out people in your life that he can use in your life and that he can use you in their lives. So, so important. And, again, it can be a little uncomfortable, especially if you're more introverted in nature, if people exhaust you.
Amber Beels:But that's one of the the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience with people. Right? Patience or long suffering, whatever you wanna call it. It's just being able to be around people and asking the Holy Spirit to give you that heavenly lens to see people the way that he does. Now I don't know if it'll happen right away.
Amber Beels:You gotta keep praying that prayer, but you gotta be super committed to it when you're asking him. Like, Lord, help me see this person the way that you do. Help me die to myself so that I can love them the way that you love them so that I can be the light and salt in the earth and that they can see your fruit of your spirit in me. And the Lord will answer your prayer. The Lord is good.
Amber Beels:The Lord is good. But be careful what you pray for because sometimes he'll do it, and it won't be exactly the way you thought he would answer it. And that's okay. He's God. He's gonna answer it the way that he sees fit.
Amber Beels:Right? His will and thoughts are higher than ours. Right? So, yeah, I I just really wanted to touch on that today because I I think it's so important, especially me just coming out of this baby shower from this weekend and just feeling the love and the support from my community, having that episode with Ed and really talking about having that wolf pack, having those people around that I can serve and that they can help serve me and support me in areas of my life that I may struggle in or seasons in my life that I may be struggling. Like, that's the point is being able to build each other up and be a vessel so that the Lord can use you to build up his his children and his kingdom.
Amber Beels:Right? And not just for the body of Christ, but for unbelievers as well to being for being the salt and light of the earth, to being that example, that influence, that model for Jesus to use. Another example is being the hands and feet of Jesus. You can only be his hands and feet if you're around people. Right?
Amber Beels:If you are doing the work that he's called you to do, and you can only do that typically if you are around other people and you're loving them the way that Jesus commanded us to love one another. So, again, easier said than done. But if you wanna be in obedience with Christ, which should be your heart posture, is to be obedient to the Lord, to want to serve the Lord, to be used by him to build his kingdom because ultimately, he loved us first. And so we get to love because of that. So, anyway, food for thought for this week.
Amber Beels:I hope this blesses you guys. I hope that you guys got something out of today's episode. If you did, please go ahead and share this episode with a friend or with your coworkers or whoever. Like, just spread the word so that we can get this podcast out there. And, thank you so much for listening.
Amber Beels:I really appreciate the support. If you can write a review, that would be awesome. It just helps the algorithm with this podcast. And, yeah, I hope you guys have a great week, and I'll see you next week.
