Our Milk - The Laying on of Hands - 03/28/2021
Hosanna! Hosanna to The King!!
Greetings to you on this Palm Sunday! We continued in our message series "From Milk to Solid Food" as a collaboration with Pastor Matt Stewart of Sweetser Wesleyan Church.
Are you celebrating the entrance to the week where God gave up His Son to atone for our sins? Is it weird to celebrate something so sad? I think it is. Especially because the people celebrating at the time had no idea what was coming. Although Jesus had shared with a few that this time was coming, most were still expecting a gallant King to come and conquer Rome and solve "all the problems" of the world. They had missed the message of the prophets about this Savior that was coming. The Savior riding in on a donkey's colt...the Savior who lived to serve first...the Savior who came to seek and save the lost...
Yet, we DO rejoice in this, the beginning of Holy Week. We celebrate the gift that Christ died on the cross to give. Christ told the disciples that He must go, but that the Holy Spirit would come and teach and guide and protect. The Holy Sprit has come and this is another reason to celebrate!
Today we talk about another step toward Spiritual Maturity in the "Laying on of Hands". What we learn is that it really isn't about the "act" of laying on hands as much as it is about invitation to The Holy Spirit that comes when we are truly seeking. Many rituals and traditions are important parts of church history, but "getting it just right" isn't the most important thing...the only way we get it truly right is to "give up" our "how to" part and allow God to work in us through The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to work through us...like a potter with clay, He wants to melt us, mold us, fill us and use us...we pray for Him to enter our hearts and guide our lives to serve God.
The choice to receive the The Holy Spirit is such an important part of our spiritual journey. We must accept Him in our hearts and set our eyes on His work through us. We are called to leave behind our worldly desires to receive the Gifts only He can provide - These Gifts are from The Holy Spirit. They are not ours. Gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control our ours because of Him.
Receive today the confidence and assurance that comes from The Holy Spirit! Realize that it is so much less about "what you do" for you and so much more about "why you do what you do" and "who you do it for".
When the "what" is driven by the "why" of The Holy Spirit, we live in Christ.
As we travel this week through the dark time that leads up to the most amazing victory every recorded, be at peace knowing the Holy Spirit is in your heart and if you haven't yet received Him, there is no need to worry...just ask Him now. He is always right there...He loves you no matter what and longs to give you these gifts.
Here is the link to this week's message:
Be blessed and remember His Sacrifice this week,
Pastor Jeremy
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