Hello
Everyone,
I want
to begin with a story I ran across of a lion, who wanted all the other animals
to know just how powerful he was … the story goes like this —
"One
day a large male lion decided to make sure that all the other animals knew he
was the master of the jungle so he went to the gazelle and roared, 'Who is the
king of the jungle?' Trembling, the gazelle answered, 'Why, you are mighty
lion.'
He went
next to the zebra and roared, 'Who is the king of the jungle?' Fearful, the
zebra answered, 'Why, you are, mighty lion.'
Then he
went to the monkey and roared, 'Who is the king of the jungle?' Startled, the
monkey answered, 'Why, you are oh mighty king!'
Finally,
full of himself, he went to the elephant and roared, 'Who is the king of the
jungle?' The elephant reached out and grabbed the lion with his trunk, whirled
him around in the air like a top, body slammed him to the ground several times,
and then he flattened him against a large boulder.
The
beaten, bruised, and battered lion struggled to his feet … he looked up at the
elephant and said — 'Look … just because you don't know the answer doesn't mean
you have to take it so personally!'"
To the
lion … the purpose of his power was to make sure everyone else
knew that he was king!
In the
animal and human kingdom — power is often a tool of intimidation … and
for many that's what the perks of power are all about — dominating, dictating
and even destroying!
Listen
Carefully —
Power in
the Kingdom of God has an entirely different purpose … the power Jesus promised
and provided through the person of the Holy Spirit isn't power to
intimidate or impress … it's power to impact!
Commentator
Lloyd Olgivie puts it like this —
"The power of Pentecost is for
people. What happened at Pentecost is for the broken of the world. The Holy
Spirit, Christ in the present tense, is for the healing of people in the
present age. The excitement and enthusiasm of the infilling of the Spirit was
to create a people through whom the Lord could continue his ministry of restoration
and healing. A new age was born, Christ was alive in his people, and they were
now equipped to do what he had done and the greater things he promised —
communicating his love and bringing people to him."
Don't
miss it —
"The power of Pentecost is for
people … it's God's answer for the broken of the world!"
[Here
are the questions we need to ask ourselves]:
Have I
been filled with the PERSON and POWER of the Holy Spirit?
Has the
filling with the nature and abilities of the Holy Spirit equipped
me for ministering to people in need?
Are the giftings
of the Holy Spirit being used in my life to intimidate AND impress
or to impact?
Greater
Things Are Still To Come!
Pastor Phil
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