{"id":915,"date":"2021-08-04T07:48:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T07:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/?p=915"},"modified":"2021-08-03T08:51:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T08:51:20","slug":"empowered-not-excluded-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/empowered-not-excluded-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowered, not excluded!"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Empowered, not excluded!<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We all have times in our life, when we feel powerless to change and our own ability to\u00a0organise\u00a0and fix things gets us nowhere. It\u2019s in these times when we\u00a0realise\u00a0the power of God is the only way to effect change and we need to turn to Him rather than systems and\u00a0organisations. God is the only one who can bring life into being and sustain it and only He can breathe life into our aspirations and the work of our hands.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2\u202fAnd suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3\u202fThen there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4\u202fAnd they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0– Acts 2:1-4<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pentecost means fifty and was celebrated fifty days after Passover. Here the church was gathered in obedience to Jesus at ascension, ten days earlier. They didn\u2019t know exactly what was going to happen, or when it would take place, they were simply instructed to wait.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0– Luke 24:49<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What this shows is that an\u00a0organised\u00a0gathering of people can exist without Holy Spirit power, but without it they will never truly be alive. We must avoid those gatherings of people who concentrate all their time and energy on schedules and\u00a0organisation\u00a0but deny the one who makes them alive.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0 – 2 Timothy 3:5<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Acts 2 describes an\u00a0organised, but lifeless body of people waiting. Suddenly, they heard a sound from heaven, a rushing, mighty wind, which went through the whole house, not just the front row. Then tongues of fire which sat on all of them, no one was left out. They were\u00a0<\/span>all<\/span><\/b>\u00a0filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues, everyone, without exceptions. God breathed life into\u00a0them\u00a0and the church was born. This took place at a time when people from all the known world were gathered in Jerusalem to witness it. The result of the encounter in the upper room spilled out onto the streets and the message was heard by all in their own language and dialect.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this helps to hammer home the message that nobody is excluded from the blessings of God, all can be used to give the message because this Holy Spirit power is available to all, not just the leaders or the select few.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/b>And it shall come to pass afterward<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;\u00a0Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your old men shall dream dreams,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your young men shall see visions.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0– Joel 2:28,29<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0signs of life seem to be missing from so many things we are asked to engage in, but we\u00a0want\u00a0real\u00a0genuine, unscripted Holy Spirit encounters which will lead to life and change. Not\u00a0the limited\u00a0change born out of\u00a0organisation\u00a0and earthly power.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, you are not\u00a0excluded\u00a0and you can never be powerless, when you invite Holy Spirit into your life and allow Him to take control. He will guide in the way you should go, comfort you in times of difficulty and empower you to achieve\u00a0all of\u00a0the plans laid out for your life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Empowered, not excluded!\u00a0 \u00a0 We all have times in our life, when we feel powerless to change and our own ability to\u00a0organise\u00a0and fix things gets us nowhere. It\u2019s in these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,136,87],"tags":[171,172,66],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":921,"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions\/921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worried.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}