The first week of November has been a roller coaster ride, at least in terms of the weather. At least three storms have passed through the country, the latest one recorded as the strongest typhoon in the world for this year. It caused great devastation. Many were saved, but many lost their lives as well. Strong winds and heavy rainfall showered the Visayan region and a lot of provinces in Luzon and Mindanao. The heavy downpour was expected to last throughout the whole week...
But the skies were cleared hours before our SFC Chapters Napico 1 and 2 held the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Lord for calming the storm, and giving us the perfect weather to celebrate and join our new brothers and sisters in serving You.
We still experienced the heavy downpour and strong winds this night ... the pouring of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to our new brothers and sisters, and the winds similar to the first experience of the disciples on Pentecost. Tongues of fire were spread throughout each and every one's mouths, singing praises and worship to the Lord.
We started with the opening worship led by Bro. Arjay. As we start, we immediately called unto the Holy Spirit to come upon us, most of all for our new siblings. Time to sing praises and offer Him worship once more.
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You shall be clothed with power from on high when the Holy Spirit comes to you
and you shall be my witnesses throughout the ends of the earth...
Come, Holy Spirit
Let the Fire fall...
Spirit of the Living God
We affirm your presence here
Spirit of the Living God
We affirm your power here
To heal us and to deliver us
To rest on us and to empower us
Spirit of God
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Raising our hands, praying in tongues, closing our eyes, may we feel the presence of the Lord and the Holy Spirit witihn us.
It was still the same upbeat talk from Kuya Marlon. He never fails to deliver such a great talk for Baptism : from his personal experiences, sharings, jokes and skits. Our new brothers and sisters had their interests caught through these.
What struck our new brothers and sisters most is the moment when they have to admit all their mistakes in the past. For every bit of a shortcoming, failure or wrongdoing, they had to stand up and accept those. It is necessary for the full cleansing of themselves before filling them up with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is the time to ask God for forgiveness, which He willingly answered. Our God is a merciful God. He forgives everyone who asks for it and calls unto His name.
After unloading their burden, it is time for the climax of the talk : the pray-over to receive the gifts prepared by God for them. Silent prayers filled the venue.
Solemn, peaceful, light.
Tears, calm faces, delighted hearts.
The pray-overs ended. Candles were lighted to totally cast away all the negative emotions of guilt, unworthiness, sadness, and pain. The tongues of fire made the whole place in total brightness.
Every special event needs to be remembered. Our closing praisefest lead by Bro. Lei filled exactly what was needed. There is no place here for reservations and feelings of foolishness. We sang to the top of our lungs, shouted, raised and waved our hands, jumped, danced, fell silent, prayed, and raised our hands again - all for praising and glorifying God. The calm faces earlier had turned bright as well with smiles and laughter all around.
We are so blessed for having this multitude of new fellow warriors in service. Their number still is overwhelming - goes to show how God works through us and especially through them by accepting His invitation and receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
After tonight's experience, I believe that we will continue to harvest more anointed fighters ready to do His mission. We are out to win this good fight. Let us do this with Him, for Him, and by Him.
With You Lord, we will continue to experience this overflowing, ablaze, and overjoyed emotions while serving You, fulfilling your mission and looking forward to the future where every single man and woman all over the world experiences Christ.
For all of these, we praise and thank you, Lord God.
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