Pentecost Sunday!

It was the day before yesterday (yes yes I'm behind the times)! The morning service was super powerful. Speaking about God's glory. About miracles. About how everything from Genesis to Malachi points to Jesus. About how the things of God can come like a whirlwind.

Ezekiel 1:4
"Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like color of amber, out of the midst of the fire."

I love that. I've felt that. I felt that in April and I wrote about it, except I called it a tornado. It was a tornado prayer time service. It was powerful. So incredibly God powerful. Then a great dramatic representation of Pentecost. It was really moving.

Then hit the Kingston Kingdom Come Prayer Meeting. From there, onwards to Ottawa to the Fire of God Church to hear Jesse Duplantis speak. He's really funny! He threw out the message he had planned. I love that, it's how I was saved. He had powerful things to share, mostly about being willing to receive from God. About purposing to receive.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8
"Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed"

Purposed. The core of his message was in this. Purpose affords anchorage in God. We give so that we may receive. It sounds wrong to us. We fight against it. I fight against it. Jesse spoke about how this feels like greed to us. That that's a lie from the enemy. What we feel may be greed could instead be us, or others, seeking growth. Nothing's wrong with growth in God, in fact it's everything right. Jesse Duplantis explained that purposing our hearts is outside of feelings. It's something we determine before we let ourselves feel emotion. Before we even get to church. We purpose in God, become prayerful, perceive His truth, and then operate in His power.

He also spoke further about power. About determining the power of God and not taking that on ourselves. He spoke on how Jesus was superior to power. How He never threatened with armies of angels. He, with power, kept Himself on the cross for us. He was above it, not overcome by it. Jesse Duplantis talked about how people can be overcome by power. They can fail. People can fail, but God can't. We need to believe that with all that we are.

There are so many promises in the Bible. For us. For every single one of us. It's painful to see other people not claiming them. It's a deflection. I know I haven't been willing to claim them either. I haven't felt worthy. We're not, but He still offers us "an abundance for every good deed". He still offers us His love. Taking it fully is living wholly for Him. I'm working on it.