When I work on the dive boat, I have the chance to spend a day with strangers on their vacation. They come with all sorts of attitudes. You learn which newlyweds are still in love 48 hrs after the vows and which ones are sitting there zoned at the realization that not only will life never be the same but they'll be paying this trip off for the next 30 years. It's not uncommon for people to come to Maui and in going "all out" drop 20 thousand on a couple weeks of paradise. Truly an unforgettable experience for reasons both good and bad. But it's not the good nor the bad that makes an impression here. It's the ugly.

I had a group of people on the boat recently, we'll call group number one. They showed up forty minutes late, making the rest of the passengers wait and without a word of apology to the rest of the crew, boarded as though they owned the boat. Loud, obnoxious, and without regard for the rules of the watercraft. The captain wasn't amused. As they prepared to hit the ocean, the silicone and botox was on display. Modesty in swim attire was nowhere to be found. The captain was amused. When the bar opened, they indulged freely, increasing the volume with every mai tai. When the day was over, I packed my gear and walked away frustrated. See, this group was a group of Christian people who were part of a church. They had called and lightly demanded a group discount on that basis and when 15% was offered they asked if they could make it 20%. After all, they're Christians in church leadership and the world is entitled to offer them a little somethin.

Fast forward to the following Saturday with group 2. A bus unloads a group of people who have chartered the boat, crew, and video guy for the day. A dozen couples arrive, on time, well mannered, very polite. They kindly listened to instructions and shocked the crew by following them. These early to middle aged husbands and wives were extremely pleasant and the swimwear was about as modest as you'll ever see in Maui. When the bar opened, many abstained and went for the local juice, pog. (Passion, Orange, Guava) At the end of the day they tipped heavily and I was sorry to see them go. This group was made up of web pornographers. They were the CEO's of companies that distribute pornographic content on the internet and collectively, controlled more than 50 million sites between them. When I learned this, I was shocked. (Kind of like you are right now.) One of the men on the trip, I found later, was responsible for much of the porn spam. The kind that plagues the PC of those who navigate off the narrow road only to find their computer filled with spyware. Had I known that while we were diving, I may have turned off his air or put a jellyfish in his wetsuit. I came home and showed the pictures of each group to my wife and then told her what they did for a living and she was stunned.

This begs the question, what in the world makes us different? I've written this before but it's the power and nature of God within us that makes us different. The nature or character that we display in the way we do life opens the door for that power to be released. We are equally obligated to demonstrate both. The Holy Spirit may be in every believer, but He rests upon very few. There are two rails that keep us from going off the edge when it comes to the Holy Spirit. One is "grieve not" the other is "quench not". Grieve not is to keep us from doing, thinking, and harboring things in our heart that are inconsistent with God's heart. If I'm selfish, bitter, filled with hatred, I'm grieving Him, because I have embraced something in myself that is not found in His heart. Quench not is to keep us from embracing an invalid agenda by stopping the flow of His Spirit who is likened unto a river. You put a kink in a garden hose, you stop the flow. If your Sunday worship service is timed out to the minute for the comfort of the people under the guise of decent order you have put a kink in the hose. Why? Because in order for the Spirit to flow, time and attention must be given to that and when your agenda doesn't allow for it, His manifest presence would need to violate what you have created. Ask yourself this. Does the Holy Spirit flow freely in our gatherings? If not, that needs to bother you. You cannot be comfortable with lack when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Pastor, are you nervous about this? That's why He's called the comforter. When the river flows, people get nervous and that needs to be ok with you. Jesus' life is the picture of what flows from the heart of the Father, from the throne of God, down to humanity and He left the world so flood damaged with His presence that we have yet to recover. Picture this. Peter's shadow heals because whatever overshadows you will be released in your shadow. Ps 91.

The Bible says the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, "and remained". Get this picture. How do you walk in such a way as not to cause a dove to fly from your shoulder? Ever step you would take would have to be made aware of what you carry. This is not to build a sense of insecurity. The Spirit is in you for your sake but is upon you for the sake of others, and a person who does not position themselves as a contributor to the overall work of God on earth is not going to be a person upon whom the richness of the Holy Spirit is manifest. The treasure is not the power He brings, rather the treasure is the presence itself. God is looking for people upon whom the Holy Spirit can rest and that will be upon you who desire Him and invite Him and walk with the awareness of what you carry.