This wasn't just a statistic for me—it was my story. I grew up in a small Methodist church, and when I heard the rhythm of "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," it took me back to something we sang or recited every single week. We sang the doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

But here's the thing: I was comfortable with God the Father. I was grateful Jesus went to the cross for our sins. But when it came to the Holy Ghost? That word scared me. It was a mystery. So what I did was simple—I just ignored the Holy Spirit. I left it over to the side.

I know I'm not alone in this. Many of us grew up thinking, God the Father, we're good. Jesus, we're good. Holy Ghost, I'm going to leave you over to the side.

Everything Changed at Highlands

When I was 19 years old, I came to Church of the Highlands for the first time. Jill and I walked in during the fifth week the church was open, and I knew something was different. I didn't have words for it then, but I realized: there's life here.

Normally I would go to church excited to leave. But at Highlands, I wanted more. There was an energy, a life, an excitement, a passion that was just different. It wasn't weird—no one was taking laps or getting slain in the spirit. The Holy Spirit does not make us weird. (We may be weird, but that's not God's fault—that's on us.)

What I experienced was a room full of people who had a relationship with a person, not a thing. They had a relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit. And because of that, they had the power of God in their lives.

The Thesis of This Series

So here's the thesis for the next four weeks: Being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn't make us better than anyone else. It makes us better than ourselves. We become more than me.

I cannot tell you, as a pastor, how desperately I want this for you. How desperately God wants this for you. Over the next four weeks, we're going to unpack who the Holy Spirit is. We're going to talk about tongues, baptism of the Holy Spirit, cessationism, healing, blaspheming the Holy Spirit—all of it. There's curiosity there, and often the enemy uses that curiosity to keep us blocked from God.

But the big deal, way beyond any information, is that we would all experience God in a fresh way. That's why we prayed that earlier: God, if you have something for me, I want it.

Foundational Theology: Who Is the Holy Spirit?

Let me lay some foundational theology for you.

He Is a Person

First, the Holy Spirit is a person. John 14 tells us that He's a person, and He's described as an advocate. That word means the Holy Spirit is always right there at your side. You may feel alone, but with God and with the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, you are never alone.

When you're at work tomorrow walking into that meeting, when you're a parent stepping into a situation with a child, when you're walking into a hospital room to pray for someone or you're the one in that hospital room—whatever the situation is—you are never alone. The Holy Spirit is your advocate. He's in the courtroom with you, defending you through the grace of God. He's your counselor when you don't know what to do. He's the comforter who brings His comfort into your life.

He Is God

Second, the Holy Spirit is God. Throughout the Bible, but especially in Matthew 28, the Great Commission tells us: baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A few weeks back, we did a baptism Sunday where almost 800 people got baptized. We celebrated them being raised to life—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the third person of the Trinity. One God, eternally existing in three persons.

He Is Knowable

Third, and this is crucial for this series: the Holy Spirit is knowable. This is what we see in 2 Corinthians 13:14 and throughout the Bible. How do you get to know a spirit? That's a legitimate question.

Well, the good news is the Bible gives us handles. God knew we would struggle. His ways are higher than our ways. So all throughout the Bible, God is intentional to give us pictures and symbols that help us understand. The whole point is this: God wants us to know Him.

The Holy Spirit as Wind and Breath

In this series, we're going to talk about how the Holy Spirit is seen as wind, fire, oil, and even a dove. But wind is where we have to start.

The Word "Spirit" Means Wind

Here's something powerful: the word "spirit" is written over 800 times in the Bible. And do you know what the biggest description of the Holy Spirit in the Bible is? The word wind.

In the New Testament, when you read the word "spirit," the Greek word is pneuma, which means a current of air, a blast of breath, a strong breeze.

We see this in Romans 8:11:

If the pneuma of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his pneuma who lives inside of you.

In the Old Testament, there's another word: ruach. Let me have you say it with me.

Ruach. When you finish that word, that last part forces you to exhale—to push out air. Ruach—to let that air go. That is exactly what God does. He breathes His life into all of us.

At the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 1:2, we read:

Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the ruach of God was hovering over the water.

Over 800 times we read "spirit," but in the original meaning of the word, it's way more than just some ethereal spirit. God is telling us something important: I'm a wind. I'm a breath. I'm a spirit. And what does that really mean? The Holy Spirit is the wind of God that breathes life into us.

The Valley of Dry Bones: Ezekiel 37

I want to teach you today from one Old Testament passage where the word ruach is used 10 times. Sometimes it's translated as "spirit," sometimes as "breath," sometimes as "wind." Open to Ezekiel 37. This passage is often called "the valley of dry bones."

Let's start with verses 1 and 2:

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley, and it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley. Bones that were what? Very dry.

The Context: Israel in Captivity

This prophecy was spoken through Ezekiel from God to Ezekiel to the people of Israel at a crucial moment in Israel's history. Israel was in captivity. They had been taken hostage and moved hundreds of miles away from their homeland. Their cities had been burned. The temple had been destroyed. And they had been praying and praying and waiting on God to give them an answer.

Then God used His prophet Ezekiel to deliver that answer. And here's what's powerful: there is no one here by accident today. I know our prayers may look very different. But I believe with all my heart that there are hundreds, if not thousands of us here today to whom God has an answer for your prayer. Just as Israel was waiting and God chose that moment to deliver, today is a significant moment with whatever you're walking through.

Three Conditions of Despair

God speaks to Ezekiel in verse 3:

He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I said, "Sovereign Lord, you alone know."

Then in verse 11, God explains:

Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say three things: Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, and we are cut off."

And I want to tell you: this is us today. This is the people of 2026 in America and our culture today.

First, your bones are dried up. You're in church today, but you feel empty. You feel drained. You feel stretched. Maybe you've said, "I just feel so dry. I feel like I'm walking through a desert. I'm in a season of struggle." Jill and I are praying with so many people right now who, because of pressures of life, expectations, and transitions, feel like they can't find water. Maybe that's you.

Second, your hope is gone. You've been dreaming for a long time. You've been fighting for a long time. Or maybe you're a young person who's been pushing, but it just feels like you're falling flat. You say, "I just can't believe I'm here again." Yesterday morning at prayer, I picked up a card that simply read: "I am tired of waking up and fighting." Maybe that's where you are today—in your marriage, your finances, any area of your life. God sees you, and God has an answer.

Third, your connection is severed. You feel cut off. This was my story. When I walked into Highlands for the first time, I had written in my journal that I felt like there was a ceiling over my walk with God. I couldn't get past it. I felt separated from Him. Maybe you're here and you're saying, "God, where are you?"

I have four sons, and our youngest is Knox. The number one question in our family is: "Where's Knox?" We're at a theme park—"Where's Knox?" We're at church—"Where's Knox?" One day, Knox went out on his scooter all through town. His watch went dead, he came home super late. All day we were asking, "Where's Knox?"

After that, someone told me to buy an Apple Air Tag and put it on his scooter. So I did. I ordered it on Amazon and put it on his scooter. He went out, and for the first few minutes we could track him. Then we lost track. "Where's Knox?" We finally found him and said, "We put an Air Tag on your scooter!" He goes, "Oh, that was you? I thought someone was tracking me, so I threw it away."

Maybe in some weird way, that's you with God. You've seen God at times, but you're saying, "Where are you, God? Where are you, God?" Our bones are dried up. Our hope is gone. Our connection is severed. The Bible is preaching us today.

The First Action: Bones Come Together

Now, God gives Ezekiel instructions to prophesy. Look at verse 7:

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together bone to bone. I looked and tendons and flesh appeared on them, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

There's action! Bone to bone, tendon to tendon, skin, muscle. There's movement! But here's the catch: there was no ruach. There was no breath.

What's the result of that first part of the prophecy? It's just a valley of well-organized bones. And this is what religion does. This is a picture of knowing God, maybe even loving God. When we know God and love God, stuff starts changing. This was my story. I was on this journey, and a couple years later I walked into Highlands, and I was a better, more organized version of myself. There had been some action, some power in my life. But here's the thing: it was information without transformation. I was on a journey, but I didn't have the wind of God.

Maybe you're in that place right now. You've been on this journey, but you just feel like you're missing something. Well, there it is. You've been missing the breath of God, the wind of God.

The Second Action: The Breath Enters

But God isn't done. Look at verse 9:

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, the ruach. Prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come breath from the four winds or the four ruach and breathe into these slain that they may live.'"

The breath of God begins to sweep in. This is God's heart for us. What God wants for you has never been religion. He wants a relationship that through that relationship you get access to all that He is through the person of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in John 10:10:

I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.

Not just a well-organized valley of bones kind of life. Not stopping in religion, but living in relationship—not in our own strength, but through a relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We don't need more of our will. We need more of His wind. The wind of God.

Look at verse 10—this is where the story builds to:

So I prophesied as he commanded me and breath entered them and they came to life and they stood up on their feet a vast army.

The bones that were very dry turned into a very, very great army. God has more for us. Has anyone here experienced the wind of God, the breath of God? If you've experienced the Holy Spirit, make some noise. Thank God—He breathed His life into us.

How to Receive the Holy Spirit

This teaching changed my life, and I'm praying it meets you right where you are. As we close, I want to share three things that changed my relationship with the Holy Spirit. These come from my pastor, Chris Hodges, and his message that revolutionized my walk with God.

1. Let Go of Fears and Misconceptions

First, if you're going to experience Him, you've got to let go of fears and misconceptions.

I had a huge misconception when I first came to Highlands. It started about four years earlier at an event at my high school called "See You at the Pole." We were going to gather around the flag pole and pray. But when I got there, there was already a group of Christians circled around it—Whoville style, holding hands, praying in tongues out loud.

I had never seen anything like that. It was strange. It was weird. And they wouldn't let anyone else come in the whole time. People just began to walk away. It was a confusing moment. For years, that was the beginning of misconceptions about what I'm teaching today.

But here's the thing: that was not a bad God experience. That was a bad human experience. For so many of us, our misconceptions of the person of the Holy Spirit have nothing to do with Him. They have to do with how we saw others behave.

If that's you, let go of it. By letting go and giving God a fresh take, it will change everything.

Maybe for you it's not a misconception—it's a fear. Maybe you've never had an experience with the Holy Spirit. You're new to church, new to faith, starting from scratch. That's great.

But I know we all have a fear of letting go of control. Can I get an amen? We like control. And when we let go of control, it's a moment of faith, a moment of letting go of our own strength.

Here's my question for all of us: How's life going without God's power? If any part of your life is saying, "You know what, I could use some of God's wind in this area. I could use His life. I could use His power," then today is a chance to let go of that fear. God, if you have something for me, I want it.

2. Go All In

Second, go all in. It's so easy to judge something of God without giving it 100% faith. If I only read my Bible three days out of seven, and then I say, "The Bible doesn't really change my life," I'm missing the point. The power is in the consistency.

Jeremiah 29:13 says:

You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.

All. One hundred percent. Go all in.

Jill and I had a chance to serve at a high school retreat called Ascent. The preacher preached on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and that night, we fully yielded control of our lives to the Holy Spirit. When you're saved, you receive the Holy Spirit—that's what John 20 tells us. But there's an opportunity to fully yield to the power of the Holy Spirit.

I woke up the next day wrestling with everything that had happened. I remember saying something like: "Holy Spirit, I let you in, but like, don't get crazy."

But can we just reframe what "crazy" means? Crazy is not allowing the wind of God to blow on the inside of me. Crazy is missing out on something God has for me. Crazy is limiting the person Jesus died to give me access to. That's crazy.

Today's the day we go all in.

3. Develop an Intimate Friendship with the Holy Spirit

Third, and this is beautiful: we get to develop an intimate friendship with the Holy Spirit.

I want to read from The Message, a paraphrase of the Bible. It says:

The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ. The extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit.

You can have an intimate friendship with the person of the Holy Spirit. How? First, you can talk to Him.

I pray to the Father. I pray to the Son. I pray to the Holy Spirit. You can ask Him: "Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?"

So many times during my day, when I have confusion or a question mark or just a pause, one of the greatest things I can do is say, "Okay, hold on. I'm about to walk into this meeting and I don't really have the peace of God right now. Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me? I'm about to send that text message. Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?"

There's an intimate friendship He wants to give you—His voice to be with you.

Second, include Him in your life. Don't face life without the advocate, the counselor, the comforter. He develops in us the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. That's the fruit God has for you, and it comes through including Him and talking to Him.

Third, and most importantly, listen for Him.

You can't see wind, but you can hear it. Isaiah 30 says:

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way. Walk in it."

How do we listen? Open up His Bible. Those words are spirit-breathed words. John 6:63 says:

The Spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken, they are full of Spirit and life.

This is why you can read the same verse 50 times and on the 51st time, God shows you something completely new. Why? Those words are alive. They are breathed by the power of His Spirit.

We need the wind of God. This is not Mark's plea. This is Jesus's plan. John 16:7:

Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.

Why Jesus Would Say That

Why would Jesus say that? Why would He be willing to die to give us this wind? Because God saw you. Jesus saw you in the valley.

Jesus saw us in the valley of dry bones. When He was on the cross, Jesus made seven statements. Almost half of those statements either are directly from or reference one psalm in the Old Testament—Psalm 22. Some theologians believe Jesus on the cross was actually singing Psalm 22.

Look at verse 1:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me? So far from my cries of anguish?

Jesus knows what it's like to be cut off. He knows what it's like for God to feel a million miles away.

Verse 2:

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night, but I find no rest.

Jesus knows what it's like to feel no hope. And even today, He sees you right there in your situation. If you're discouraged, hurt, lost, or confused, He sees you. He sees you with no hope. He sees that feeling of being cut off.

Verse 14-15:

I am poured out like water and my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax. It is melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.

Jesus knows what it's like to have dry bones. Why? Because on the cross, Jesus became the valley of dry bones. Everything we will go through, everything you have gone through, even death.

We know He was laid in that tomb. But come on, church—on the third day, the wind of God entered into Him. That stone was rolled away and death could not hold Him.

And what is the first thing Jesus does for His disciples? Does He scold them? Does He say, "Peter, you have so little faith. All that striving, all that religion—you guys are so weak"? No.

John 20:19-22 tells us:

On the evening of that first day of the week when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Death could not hold Him, and now death cannot hold us. He saw us in the valley, but He would not leave us there. He came to give us life and life to the full.

The Altar Call

Bow your heads and close your eyes. We have a chance to receive this gift today. This is a holy moment.

I'm speaking to business leaders, dads, moms, single, married, teachers, coaches—every walk of life. Here's the question in your own heart: Do you have the wind of God in your life right now?

If the answer is yes, over these next few moments, can you just ask God to fan that into flame?

But if the answer is honestly no, then this is your moment. Let me walk through what we just preached today.

You want the wind of God. Number one: let go of that fear. God, we let go of fear. God, we let go of control. We've come to the end of ourselves. We've done everything we can do in our own strength. We've maybe even been religious, but we've never had access to Your power. We let go of the fear. God, any misconception, any experience that's kept us blocked—I pray that wall would fall down right now in Jesus' name.

Number two: go all in. All over every room, online, on demand—we go all in. We take a step right now. We open our hearts and say, "Breathe into us, Holy Spirit. Come have Your way in our lives."

I receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Fill me. Baptize me. Overflow from inside of me. Holy Spirit, blow, God. I thank You that even now Your peace is coming. God, there's a joy that is rising up. God, thank You for the ministry happening right now.

Maybe you're here today and you can't pray any of that because you don't even have a relationship yet with Jesus. This is the perfect moment. We can't wait to celebrate with you in a few minutes. Take this moment. If you don't know Jesus personally, if you don't have a personal relationship with Him or maybe you have and you've walked away—this is the moment of salvation.

Just pray this prayer:

Jesus, I invite You into my life. I declare You Lord. I declare You Savior. I repent of my sins and I run to You. God, fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I can live for You for the rest of my life.

God, thank You for what You've just done in these last few moments. As we started with a deep well of gratitude and expectation, we say thank You in Jesus' name. Amen.