Empowering Yourself
Notes
Transcript
Empowering Yourself
Empowering Yourself
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
In a world filled with self help books, we find the need to learn, to grow, to expand.
people speak of the need of being “empowered” to live out your dreams, goals and plans...
But is this a worldly philosophy that we have swallowed - hook line and sinker?
What does empowerment even mean?
em·pow·er·ment
/əmˈpouərmənt/
📷
noun
authority or power given to someone to do something.
"individuals are given empowerment to create their own dwellings"
the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.
"political steps for the empowerment of women"
Definitions from Oxford Languages
The 4 "E's" of Building up You
* Encouraging Yourself
* Examining Yourself
* Edifying Yourself
Empowering Yourself
Empowering Yourself
Let’s look at what the scripture says about this area of empowerment...
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Several Observations:
We can do nothing of ourself
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
abide - Mean- eat- tee = to continue
9 times - abide
1 time - “continue ye in my love” - vs 9
vs 5 - for without me, ye can do nothing...
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
We Belong to the Lord
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Purchased - bought with a price
Redeemed - to deliver from harm or evil, to buy back, to be rescued...
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
He Empowers for His Work
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Frank Laubach, a missionary to the Philippines in the early 1900s hit rock bottom one night. Looking at his life’s work, it seemed as if it all amounted to nothing. He and his wife had lost three children to malaria. Now, in his mid-40s, he was sick and had to sequester himself from his wife and only remaining child. He was completely alone. That’s when he met God.
Imagine how shocking this must have been. He had been a Christian most of his life, had given his life to taking the gospel to a foreign people. And in his moment of deepest despair, he finally realized that he could live in intimate communion with God through the Holy Spirit. In quarantine, he found the union he longed for all of his life. He began to keep a journal and wrote the following words sitting alone on a mountain.
The most wonderful discovery that has ever come to me is that I do not have to wait until some future time for this glorious hour.
I do not need to wait for any grace. This hour can be heaven. Any hour for anybody can be as rich as God.
The blessed Holy Spirit of God is Available
The blessed Holy Spirit of God is Willing
The blessed Holy Spirit is Able...
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.