iRetire4Him Show 81: The Holy Spirit and Retirement, Who is the Holy Spirit?

Intro: [00:00:00] While retirement is generally seen as a time of relaxation and self-focus, God calls us to love, serve, and help others for a lifetime. He has been preparing us for this retirement season, literally our entire lives. In retirement, countless Christians enter a state of spiritual dormancy not knowing how they are called to have an impact for God's kingdom.

The Retirement Reformation seeks to encourage and empower the 50 million Christians approaching or in retirement to embrace the calling God has been preparing in them. When the world says it's time to stop, you can begin to have your greatest impact. Welcome to iRetire4Him, the mouthpiece of the Retirement Reformation, where our goal is to journey from retirement to reformation so you can say, iRetire4Him!

Jim: Reaching out to the 50 million Christ followers in America who are [00:01:00] approaching or already in retirement, you've tuned into iRetire4Him, the Voice and Resource of The Retirement Reformation. I'm your host, Jim Brangenberg, and I'm joined as always by the founder of The Retirement Reformation, Bruce Bruinsma.

We invite you to check us out online Retirement Reformation.org, Retirement Reformation.org, and of course, check us out on Facebook. Follow us on Retirement Reformation. Today we start a three-part series entitled The Holy Spirit and Retirement. Our retirement years can be years of explosive spiritual growth.

Even though our body may wear out and break down, our spirit is capable of growth and renewal even in our old age. Christ followers in retirement can keep growing in wisdom, love, joy, and other spiritual gifts. It's a fact that many of the world's greatest prayer warriors are retired folks. In fact, the Retirement Reformation is here to help you cultivate your relationship with the Lord in the fourth quarter of life.

In spite of changes, losses, and chronic health conditions, our retirement years [00:02:00] bring about more quiet time to cultivate our relationship with God. Bruce Bruinsma's here today to talk about his spiritual walk in his fourth quarter of life and how his relationship with the Lord is expanding every day as he prepares to meet him one day. Bruce, we can't wait to hear your heart on this whole matter today as we talk about who is the Holy Spirit. Bruce, thanks for being with us today.

Bruce: It's good to be here, Jim, and, and the subject that we're talking about today is, you know, for some people they're just not comfortable with talking about the Holy Spirit.

Matter of fact, doing a little research, I went back and, and checked the original you know, the 1611 version of the King James version. And there they translate the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost. And so that kind of confuses some people. And so it's really good that we're gonna have these three sessions to be able to unpack that a little and perhaps bring people into the pathway that will perhaps change their life. So let me talk a little bit about the kind of the [00:03:00] backstory, if you wish, of how this series and, by the way, a new book that will be out, oh, after the first of the year on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

But it was probably, I don't know, six months ago, eight months ago, somewhere in that where I was with a whole group of seniors, of those that were, oh, that group was probably 65 to oh, 80 maybe that, that group range.

And as I, as I stepped back from the conversation that I was having and kind of just surveyed the group, one of the thoughts that the Holy Spirit brought to me was I don't think these people are experiencing the fruits of the spirit. Hmm. I don't see a lot of joy. And and why is that? That shouldn't be that way. And so that, that started a whole thought process that he brought in. And I've been able to, and I haven't been able to shake it. So I've [00:04:00] followed it, which is one of the things you do when the Holy Spirit prompts you on something, you better follow what he's saying.

Cause he won't let go. And so it's been a really fascinating both study, learning, introspective part of my life to, to grapple with issues of the issues of the Holy Spirit and its role in my life and in the role of each professing Christian.

Jim: Bruce, let's, let's dig deep. Why don't you talk about just personal, get personal with us right up front. The Holy Spirit is prompting you, as you just said. So the Holy Spirit's active in, involved in your life on a daily basis. How have you seen the Holy Spirit involved in growing you spiritually in your retirement years?

Have you seen an acceleration? As you, as you're closer, you are closer today to your end day here on Earth when you will shed this costume and get your brand new body. How have you seen your walk [00:05:00] expand in the Holy Spirit's involvement in your life?

Bruce: Well, first of all is the, is the increasing awareness of his presence. And I'd like to say that I've always been there, but that would not be the case. And trying to grapple myself with you know, who is the Holy Spirit and how do I, how does that become personal for me? And I finally came up with, and I, the Holy Spirit's prompting with, this phrase that God is present and active in my life.

So the declarative statement, God is present and active in my life. And so it's been that phrase that has prompted my continued journey of, what do you mean present? And what do you mean active? And how do [00:06:00] I connect with that?

If you remember, Jim, just to remind us of some of the conversations we've had before, is that we say that one of the things that that distinguish the last 30 years of life for seniors is that in fact God continues to have a call on their life. And we've talked about that often in lots of different ways, but we're gonna talk about it in a way, in the context of the role of a Holy Spirit being active in our lives.

Cause when we talk about, you know, what are you gonna do in retirement? And the answer is nothing. You know, there's not a lot of room for a plan or, or to listen to anybody's advice or to be prompted in any way. But when we have that aha moment and we go, you know, there is meaning and purpose in life that goes all the way, or to be faithful for a lifetime.

And for me, continuing to dig into what is that role of the Holy Spirit? How do I connect with God's plan for my life? Not Bruce's plan for my[00:07:00] life, but God's plan for my life.

Jim: Versus a lot of misunderstanding about who the Holy Spirit is, and I think it's probably understanding better of who, - let's talk this segment about who the Holy Spirit is not.

Bruce: Well, the Holy Spirit is not a genie in a bottle. The Holy Spirit is not a supernatural force that is forcing anybody to do something. The Holy Spirit is, is not irrelevant as so much of the world and our culture would say that God is irrelevant. So if, if God is not dead, the Holy Spirit is not dead either. Because they are one and the same.

Jim: The local church doesn't seem to spend a ton of time talking about the Holy Spirit, cuz there's a, there's a general misunderstanding and there's a really, a general lack of understanding in and amongst believers today. Why do you think the local church pulls away from talking about the Holy Spirit?

Bruce: Well, it is, it becomes very personal. [00:08:00] And, perhaps our upbringing, maybe even the version of scripture that we were brought up on, the experience we saw with our grandparents or our parents. If they never talked about that and never taught us the reality of the holy of God in our life then, you know, they often would say God or Jesus, but wouldn't say the Holy Spirit.

And I think that's a cultural thing. And it's had a, a negative impact or negative influence because it should be just an absolute point of joy that God cares enough. We say that God cares and that he loves us, but then he takes the next step and through his son Jesus, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us to be able to then experience those fruits of the spirit and to guide us through the challenges the difficult and the wonderful joys of life.

Jim: Hmm. Really quick, where did you learn - most of what you know about the Holy Spirit? Where did you learn it? [00:09:00]

Bruce: Bible.

Jim: Hmm. When we come back in the third segment, we're gonna talk about who the Holy Spirit is, and Bruce is gonna give us a whole bunch of scripture passages to back that up.

We're gonna take a break and in our second segment we're gotta have an interview with Ted Hains, the founder of iRetire4Him, a Partner Ministry with the Retirement Reformation and my father-in-law. He's gonna share about the Holy Spirits working in his life. And he's almost 90 years old. You're listening to iRetire4Him, the mouthpiece of the Retirement Reformation and really a place where we become the voice and the resource for the Retirement Reformation, and we'll be right back.

Break: Recreating Retirement is an interactive small group study helping you to move from nothing to what's next. You can join us on Wednesdays at 6:00 PM East Coast time on Facebook.

Our goal for this study is to provide a group setting for interaction and new ideas while leading you through a first step in your journey from retirement to reformation. Here's the big idea: [00:10:00]during the next five years, 5,000 small groups will experience this journey of discovery in churches and faith-based organizations across the country.

Is your church a place where Recreating Retirement needs to be planted? Join us online to experience the study or prepare to lead a small group at your church or ministry. Email us at contactus@RetirementReformation.org or go to our website at RetirementReformation.org. That's Retirement Reformation.org.

Jim: Hey, welcome back to iRetire4Him! Bruce, you know, during every second segment of every show, we've always brought on a special guest that has something to share about how God is working in their retirement. I'm gonna turn the tables on you. Instead of you bringing the guest today, Idecided to bring in the founder of iRetire4Him on the iWork4Him side of things and my father-in-law, Ted Hains, to join us in the conversation today as we're talking about the Holy Spirit in retirement. Bruce, is that okay?

Bruce: That's just great.

Jim: Okay. Ted Hains, welcome back to the iRetire4Him Podcast. We're so excited. Ted, I just would ask that you would share. [00:11:00] Here's the first question. We're talking about the Holy Spirit and retirement. How have you seen the Holy Spirit work in your life recently in, in your retired years?

Ted Hains: Well, most recently I've been mentoring a - I, I never called it that. We were just good friends. He's younger than me by, oh, 20 years or so. And he's shared most of his heart with me beyond what he shared with anybody. And the other day he called me on the phone. He said Ted. I have a problem.

I have a coworker that has just gotten a divorce and the hurricane Ian just totally destroyed his home. He has no home left, uninsurable out on the islands, and he, he's in despair. He's even considered suicide. And he talked to my friend David, and David said we [00:12:00] should talk about Jesus. And the man said, I'll have none of that.

So he's kind of really lost. A lost man. And so he said to me, Ted, how, how can I deal with this guy? And I said, David, this is serious. I, I really, I don't want to give you off the top of my head. Let me get back to you. I need to pray about this. And the thing I came up with was that David needs to be his friend. He needs to be a coworker's friend. And I said, David, you do that, and I will pray for both you guys in my prayer time.

Jim: Ted, let me just ask this question. You, and I appreciate you sharing that, and I love your relationship with David. That mentoring relationship is something that every one of our listeners could be involved in, just by pouring their lives into somebody that's younger than them.

Ted, you've often made the comment to Martha and I, Martha, my wife, [00:13:00] that even though you're almost 90, you'll be 90 here in just a couple of weeks. You're still learning things in the Lord, that the Lord is still working on you. He's not done with you yet, shaping you to be more like his son. Talk to me about that.

Ted Hains: Well, as you know, I've been real active in The Pocket Testament League, sharing those a lot. And I'm more restricted now, but I find that even health givers and people like that, that come into the home, are open to the gospel and I, I think that's where I am right now.

Jim: What, what do you mean? I mean, is God leading you to have conversations with these people?

I mean, talk to me about how you're seeing God use you. So you're not out there running the streets anymore. You're home. You don't get out much except a doctor's appointments. How have those conversations gone when you give somebody a gospel of John? Talk to me about one of those conversations you've had recently.

Ted Hains: Well, [00:14:00] most recently before oh, just a while back, I used to kind of stalk Walmart. I'd love to get this grocery list relay, and I was using a cart to go up and down the aisles. And I would be in an aisle where I needed something. Typically there'd be a man or a lady looking up here, seeing the things they need.

And I would ask 'em for help, if they would bring down a can of soup or whatever. And as they brought it down, I would engage 'em in conversation. And then I said, you know, I'd like to share the Gospel of John with you. And I explain to 'em it's from the Bible. It's the same Bible that they have, but it has the life, birth, excuse me, the other way around.

Birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. And some people are intrigued. Some people just take it and thank me. Rarely do I get rejected, [00:15:00] but I, I think people are more open than we give them credit for.

Jim: Bruce.

Bruce: Good to be with you, my friend. You've got a few years on me but I'm racing fast to catch you.

So Ted in your, in your private time, not when you're out handing out testaments, but in your private time with God, what are some of the things that you continue to learn?

Ted Hains: God's word keeps revealing things. I keep learning things from, from Paul and Jude. I've been real taken with the things that Jude has to say about apostates - people that are acting the part and not living the part.

Bruce: And if there was one thought, one lesson that you've learned that the Holy Spirit has taught you and throughout your whole life that you'd like to communicate to your grandchildren and to all the grandparents that are out there listening, [00:16:00] what would that single thought be?

Ted Hains: Well, two things come to mind. When I was a small child, I learned this song: Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him... who comes next... belong. They're weak, but he is strong. That's one thought that I have.

The other one is that faith, faith hope and charity, charity being love, and the greatest of these is love. And if we can love our neighbors, if we can love our people that are unlovely, then God is honored.

Bruce: Ted, thank you for those two thoughts. With that, God bless, my friend.

Ted Hains: And you, [00:17:00] God bless.

Jim: And we'll be right back with more on iRetire4Him. Thank you Ted Hains.

Ted Hains: Thank you.

Break: Our work on this earth doesn't end when the paycheck does. God calls us to be faithful for a lifetime. Whether you're looking forward to retirement or you're already there, our all small group study Recreating Retirement will help you understand, engage, and activate what God has for you in this fourth quarter of life.

Join Retirement Reformation founder Bruce Bruinsma as you consider your past, strengths, spiritual gifts, and your passions and how they all come together as the call God has for you in these years. Connect with us on our online community group at Facebook.com/ Retirement Reformation Wednesdays at 6:00 PM Eastern. Or if you'd like to bring Recreating Retirement to your church, email us at contactus@retirementreformation.org.

Are you ready to start your life-changing journey today?

Jim: Hey, welcome back to iRetire4Him. Bruce, as we're talking about the Holy Spirit in retirement, we talked in the [00:18:00] first segment about who the Holy Spirit isn't, why don't we talk about who the Holy Spirit is? Naturally I think we should dedicate the segment to doing that and, and what does that all have to do with the spiritual growth in our retirement years?

So who, who is the Holy Spirit?

Bruce: Well, first of all, if we don't have an understanding of the Holy Spirit, we are cutting ourselves off from the greatest resource of wisdom and truth, and that would be God's wisdom and truth. Matter of fact I just pulled up here, I see John 14 starting in verse 15. So let's, let's go to some foundational things so that we can understand the basis for - and you asked me before, how did I learn about the Holy Spirit?

Right here. In the Bible is where I learned about Him. I didn't learn about it anyplace else. I learned about it here and it just jumps off the page at you. But in here it is John 14:15, Jesus talking, and so pay attention: if you love me, keep my commands. [00:19:00] And I will ask the Father, and he'll give you another advocate, another helper to help you and be with you forever.

Man. Powerful stuff. God the Father, Jesus asking God the Father through Jesus, sending his son, and now the Holy Spirit to do what? To be with you forever. And then it says Forever the spirit of truth.

The spirit of truth. In today's culture, the truth is hard to get your hands on. Cause man, it's like a bunch of jello nailed to the tree. You never can tell. And one day this is true. And the next day the opposite is true. But here through the power of the Holy Spirit, what we have is the spirit of truth.

It says the world cannot accept him cuz it neither sees him or knows him. [00:20:00] And so because the world never sees him or knows him, We have this, this challenge as a believer. When I accepted Christ as my Savior, then the Holy Spirit came to us and those who have not accepted that, don't understand it, don't know about it and don't have it.

And so we are so blessed to be able to have God's wisdom, knowledge, and power, and the truth that he then brings to us. Someone asked me the other day talk about, you know, how do you deal with issues in retirement? And they, you know, shared a particular problem and they said, well, what's your formula?

Or what's your way that you deal with these kinds of things? And I said, first of all, I wanna know what's true. Once I know what's true then the Holy Spirit will continue to guide me there, but I need to know what's true. If I start with not knowing what's true, that would be [00:21:00] assumptions, cultural impact, whatever the lies of today, if those are controlling me, never gonna have a good answer.

Jim: But the Holy Spirit can help you determine and discern what's true though, right, Bruce?

Bruce: That's right, because he is the spirit of truth. So that's where you start. Holy Spirit, God, please show me what is true in this situation. Tell me what is true about here. Not what the world says, but what is true.

And when we talk about faith, we gotta include that because faith is acting on God's promises. Before you see the reality, acting on God's promises before you see the reality and what the world says. Well, if you can't see it and touch it, then in fact, it doesn't exist. And here we have the Holy Spirit, God himself with us. And so that is critical. Let me just bring up one other, [00:22:00] hold on just a second.

Jim: All right. What book are you going to? So we can get people turning while you're there listening to us?

Bruce: Yeah, John. I'm going to John 16:7. So listen to this: But very very truly, I tell you, it is for your good.

This is Jesus talking to his disciples and they're lamenting about the fact that he's telling 'em that he's gonna go away. And so they're beginning to mourn that loss and he is encouraging them by again, by saying, but verily I tell you, it is for your good that I'm going away. Unless I go away, the advocate, the Holy Spirit will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment.

Isn't that the cultural battle that we're in? Isn't that what is leading so many Jesus followers to say, I have nothing [00:23:00] in retirement of meaning and purpose? And then to be able to have the affirmation from a 90 year old as we just had with Ted to be able to, you know, to be able to encourage us.

So let me just continue on. I jumped down to verse 13: but when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify Jesus, me, because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what He will make known to you.

Man, I have just, I have read that [00:24:00] I don't know how many times and prayed for a deeper understanding of what, what are the promises that are in those words of Jesus? So one of the promises is that we can know the truth in our world, in our culture.

How important is that? Cuz it's hard to get your hands on it. We'll know what is true, not only that it will glorify Jesus, which is what we are all called to do. We're called to represent him to the world and he will tell us what that looks like and so that we have the opportunity to plug into God's wisdom because it is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit will only tell us what it is that God the Father wants. And that's what Jesus said: also, I only say what I am told to say by God the Father, and so it gets, you know, you gotta deal with the Trinity issues [00:25:00] and a whole bunch of things you gotta deal with there. But man, that affirmation that you have access to the truth, to God's wisdom, that he will always, he is always here.

We don't have to call "Holy Spirit, please show up." No, he's already here. What we need to do is increase our awareness and plug into God's wisdom and truth through him.

Jim: So Bruce, tie a little bow on this as we close out the podcast for today as we're talking about the Holy Spirit and retirement right here on iRetire4Him. Bruce, why? Why is it important that we have a proper understanding of the Holy Spirit, of the role of the Holy Spirit in our retired years? Why is that so critical?

Bruce: Well, it would be like walking by a pie and missing the fact that they had pecan pie in the store. Pecan pie is your favorite pie and you just missed it. And so it is our awareness of the [00:26:00]role, the availability, and the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit that allows us to live with the fruits of the spirit, which we'll talk about later.

Jim: We're gonna have a incredible time having this conversation over the next three podcasts about the Holy Spirit and retirement.

Bruce, it's just been a great, great intro. Good reminder. Most of us don't spend enough time really focusing on who God is and in the Trinity, who God is, Jesus is, and the Holy Spirit and I, I just wanna thank you for bringing that to our attention and just helping us to dig through this a little bit.

Bruce, thanks for being on iRetire4Him today.

Bruce: Yeah, it's been a good start, good beginning, and I'm looking forward to what's next.

Jim: You've been listening to, iRetire4Him the Voice and Resource of the Retirement Reformation with your hosts, Jim Brangenberg, and of course, The Retirement Reformation's very own founder Bruce Bruinsma. We're Christ followers journeying from retirement to reformation so we can ultimately say iRetire4Him!

Outro: Thanks for listening to [00:27:00] iRetire4Him with your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg and Retirement Reformation founder Bruce Bruinsma. iRetire4Him is the mouthpiece of the Retirement Reformation. Christians tend to follow the world's pattern of rest and self pampering during retirement. However, in your retirement, you can be focused on God's unique call to love, serve, and help others.

This can be your best season of life if you take advantage of a life's worth of knowledge and experience and combine it with a greater freedom of time and money and invest it all in the generations, both preceding and following you. The Retirement Reformation is encouraging Christians to find and follow God's call in all seasons and aspects of life, especially in retirement.

Take time to sign the Manifesto at RetirementReformation.org And explore the wealth of resources available on our site. Join this movement of God [00:28:00] and journey from retirement to Reformation so you can say iRetire4Him. Go to Retirement Reformation.org.