Brian Hopkins – Page 16 – Mt Freedom Baptist Church

When’s the last time, or perhaps the first time, you experienced the Greatness of God or the powerful presence of His Spirit? When’s the last time you expected God to hear your prayer, answer your prayer, and then move in your life because of your prayer? God desires to hear from us. He wants His children to speak with Him. Ask Him things. Share their struggles. Share their joy. Jesus teaches us that God moves into action because of our prayers. Will you be bold and audacious enough to speak with your Heavenly Father?

“Πεντηκοστή” (Pentēkostē), the fiftieth day from Easter is a unique and special day of celebration for the Church. This day represents the birth of Christianity and celebrates the permanent arrival of the Holy Spirit into the lives of Jesus’ followers. On this day, expressions of joy and worship flow from believers in celebration of the indwelling (fire) presence of the Spirit of God. Pentecost Sunday is a reminder for each of us that God’s Holy Spirit is now available to all who repent of their sins, are baptized, and continue to follow and obey Him.

One of the travesties found in Christianity is that we tend to overlook the significance of serving an Ascended Savior. It is vitally important for every Christian to develop a better understanding of Jesus’ Ascension and what it means for our future. Yes, we serve the one true living God. And it’s this same living God that sits next to the Father awaiting His opportunity to come back and call His bride, the Church, into our heavenly home. It is The Ascended One who saved us, who protects us, who guides us, and guarantees our access to the Father and His Kingdom.

Very few people outside the original nation of Israel find great joy in reading through the genealogical lists found in Scripture. Genealogies are usually cumbersome and seem to serve as place holders in Scripture. Therefore, most people just skip over these lengthy lists of names hoping to get directly to “the good stuff”. However, Matthew’s list in the beginning of his Gospel account gives us insight into the true background of Jesus, the Messiah. While Jesus is perfect in every way, his past descendants were far from it. God used Matthew to show us, through Jesus’ lineage, how powerful His saving grace truly is.

Spiritual leadership is not something to be taken lightly and is not for everyone. God gifts spiritually mature men in this area and then calls them to serve Him and His Kingdom through the local church. Elders should not be selected based of their business knowledge, or their large bank account, or their social status, but should be chosen because God has gifted and called them for a time such as this. Peter is a great example for us to consider when looking at leaders in the church and he provides some of the best instruction on how a spiritual leader should shepherd the flock.

It’s safe to say that no one is immune to moments of fear, or doubt, or frustration, or weariness, or fatigue. When Jesus was arrested and eventually crucified on the cross, His followers fell apart and briefly struggled with His departure from their lives. They were frightened, discouraged, defeated, confused, demoralized, and perhaps even depressed. In a word, their world had just crashed in on them and they were left with empty tanks. At this point, they were running on “E”. Fortunately, Jesus’ appearance some three days later rejuvenated them and began the process of filling their tanks back up.

Easter is not about peeps, colored eggs, or some cute little over dressed bunny. Instead, Easter is all about the risen Savior. The resurrection of Jesus brings us hope, forgiveness, redemption, and an eternal guarantee. If you belong to Jesus, you don’t have to fear anything! What’s the worst thing that could happen to you? You could die, and then you get to go to heaven! Jesus brings us life, eternal life, life to the fullest, life that begins the moment we believe and continues into all eternity. Do you have that assurance? Do you know that you know you belong to God?

On Good Friday we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. And now we wait, just like the disciples did, for what would come next. We wait for the opportunity to celebrate and shout praises on Sunday morning about our risen King, our risen Savior! We wait so that we can shout to the world that Jesus is Alive!

Palm Sunday is a great time to be reminded about Jesus Christ and His role in our salvation. It’s also a great time to be reminded that Jesus will come again one day soon. The King is Coming! He is the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for sinners, who triumphed over death through an empty tomb, and who now reigns in glory as the King of heaven and earth. Will you open your heart and let the King come in?

There is nothing more special than to know and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is when we willingly obey the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives that God can use us for the purposes of His Kingdom. Our role includes a full commitment to trusting His ways over our ways. When we do this, then and only then will we produce and experience the harvesting of His fruits in our lives. We will continually taste love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and those around us will see Jesus Christ on full display.

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