Elah Assembly

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗧 - 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗧. 𝗦. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲

𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘴 3:5-6
5 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨;
6 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

This text is a reminder of our assured reliance on the Lord.. The theme of 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 is seen throughout scripture.

• Joseph's trust in the Lord caused him to be delivered from the pit into the
palace.
• Daniel's trust in the Lord delivered him from the lion's den.
• The three Hebrew boys who trusted in the Lord were delivered from the fiery
furnace.
• Lazarus's trust in the Lord delivered him from the grave.

Our trust in the Lord assures us of His Power, Promises, Person and Presence.
There are three pillars of trust:
𝟏 .𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 - Our God is more than able. He is a competent God and He bestows competence on those who trust Him.
𝟮. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 - His character is awesome and wonderful. It's the same God who fashioned us in such a beautiful way. Our trust in God makes us people of good character.
𝟯. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 - He is a steady God. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He knows the number of hair on your head. He never changes.

The four benefits of trust:
1. God will keep you in difficult times when you place your trust completely in Him.
2. Those who trust in the Lord will be like a tree planted by the water. When strong winds and turbulence comes, you will not be shaken because your roots are unshakable.
3. Those who trust in the Lord will not be anxious in a time of drought and dry season.
4. Those who trust in the Lord are safe and set on high.

𝘗𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘮 20:7
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥.

God will make a way when your knees hit the ground and your hands are raised to the heavens.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Have a blessed week.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧 - Dr Rowanne Marie

𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘴 2:1-4 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 2 𝘚𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 3 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 4 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

The word "𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭" means 50. Pentecost Sunday is observed 10 days after the Ascension and 50 days after the Passover. His Ascension made way for the descending of the Holy Spirit.

The book of Acts opens with the account of the Ascension and transitions in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus. The followers of Jesus were instructed to 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓 in Jerusalem. There were about 120 in the Upper Room, who waited in obedience for the gift of the promise.

We live in a world of broken promises, but we have the assurance of the promise made by Jesus who is the Promise Keeper.
Pentecost comes with a promise:

1. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫:
Acts 1:8 reminds us that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit descends on us. The followers of Jesus were a company of 120, but when they were empowered by the Holy Spirit, 3000 were added to the early church.

2. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
John 14: 16 reminds us of Jesus's promise to the disciples, where He states: "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳". People may abandon us, but the promise of Pentecost is that our advocate will be with us and protect forever.

3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞:
In John 14:27 Jesus declares, "𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶". Jesus was preparing His disciples for a time when He will no longer be with them physically. He is the Prince of Peace. It is the same Jesus who slept peacefully in the midst of a raging storm.
When Jesus is in the boat, you can find peace, calm and courage in the midst of the turbulence of life.

The function of the Holy Spirit is to help us in 3 important ways:
1. Grow in faith
2. Live according to God's will
3. Bear witness to the world

One of the ways in which the Holy Spirit is evident in our lives is by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐣𝐨𝐲, 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥.

We all have access to the Holy Spirit. Just follow the ABC principle:
𝐀 - Ask God for an infilling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31)
𝐁 - Believe in Christ because the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe (Acts 2:28)
𝐂 - Cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit by a strong prayer life, Bible reading and constant fellowship.

May you have a fresh touch and an infilling of the Holy Spirit in the week ahead.