Make Room: Empowered by the Holy Spirit

when you make room to be empowered by God's Holy Spirit, you cannot even imagine now what God is going to do with your gifts. Now, some biblical theologians have asserted that the Magi were wise men, that they were gifted astronomers and astrologers who were sort of a priestly group of people that interpreted celestial phenomenon. But I can't imagine that the Magi ever imagined that their gifts would lead them to Jesus. [00:29:29] (40 seconds)  #GiftsBeyondImagination

We need to perfect our gifts that's what God asks us to do as disciples of Jesus Christ but we also need to acknowledge that we're not perfect in the utilization of our gifts and sometimes our gifts have limits. Let me tell you about an example of when I learned that about myself. I am a gifted planner. I don't apologize about that. I can craft a fabulous strategic plan and I can make an outstanding itinerary plan. I'm gifted in that way [00:32:16] (42 seconds)  #PerfectYourGifts

In that moment I realized I had to surrender my giftedness to the Holy Spirit and I had to allow God to work that thing out. I had to rest it with God and not be anxious about it not try to control it with my gifts but just let it be God's. When you make room to be empowered by the Holy Spirit you can't imagine where your gifts are going to take you and and you cannot imagine where your gifts won't take you and where God will need to fill in. That's what we learn from this story of the Magi. [00:35:05] (50 seconds)  #SurrenderYourGifts

We also learn that when you make room to be empowered by the Holy Spirit you cannot imagine what places and spaces God is going to place you in. Now as I said before some Biblical traditions identify the Magi as learned scientists. Other traditions label them as kings. Whether they were scientists or kings they were men of great privilege. We know that because they had an audience with King Herod. We know that because they had enough gold frankincense and myrrh to give some away. [00:35:55] (47 seconds)  #PrivilegeMeetsPurpose

These men were not the type of men you would find in a place that held animals. These men were certainly not the type of men that you would find meeting with a carpenter or his young fiance who had just had a baby before they had actually gotten married. These are not the type of men who would have gone to a place where there was a trough where the animals were being fed and cared for. Yet empowered by the Holy Spirit this is where those men went without reservation. and this is where those men went because they had been chosen by God for this assignment. [00:36:42] (63 seconds)  #ChosenToGoAnywhere

``Making room for the Holy Spirit. Empowered by that Holy Spirit we will find ourselves in places and spaces we never dreamed or imagined. finally beloved making room for the Holy Spirit can literally save your life. Because the magi made room for the Holy Spirit they were warned in a dream by God's Holy Spirit that Herod was after them. And so they were given the wisdom they needed to go another way. [00:37:45] (49 seconds)  #MakeRoomForTheSpirit

Because the magi made room for the Holy Spirit they were warned in a dream by God's Holy Spirit that Herod was after them. And so they were given the wisdom they needed to go another way. So it can literally save our lives when we're empowered by the Holy Spirit but being empowered by the Holy Spirit also can lead us to rebirth. [00:38:14] (33 seconds)  #SpiritSavesAndRebirths

So it can literally save our lives when we're empowered by the Holy Spirit but being empowered by the Holy Spirit also can lead us to rebirth. It can lead us to new life. It can lead us to abundant life. When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit we have access to hope that cannot be diminished. We have access to peace that cannot be explained. We have access to joy that is overwhelming and we have access to love that is unfailing. [00:38:34] (37 seconds)  #SpiritBringsAbundantLife