{"id":2911,"date":"2023-06-07T19:27:50","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T19:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=2911"},"modified":"2023-06-16T18:38:53","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T18:38:53","slug":"11-june-2023-it-seemed-good-to-the-holy-spirit-who-decides","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=2911","title":{"rendered":"11 June 2023: &#8220;It seemed good to the Holy Spirit&#8221; &#8211; who decides?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:24% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"407\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230611.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2912 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230611.jpg 407w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230611-286x300.jpg 286w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230611-24x24.jpg 24w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230611-34x36.jpg 34w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230611-46x48.jpg 46w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-090a7876-6b6f-475f-bd24-2fdf9d5343ad\"><strong>Bethel Baptist Church<br>Worship Service @ Home<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-090a7876-6b6f-475f-bd24-2fdf9d5343ad\"><strong>11 June 2023<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=2888\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"15\" height=\"10\" class=\"wp-image-1006\" style=\"width: 15px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow.png 120w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow-24x16.png 24w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow-36x24.png 36w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/leftarrow-48x32.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 15px) 100vw, 15px\" \/> <strong>Previous Service<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=2916\"><strong>Next Service<\/strong> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"15\" height=\"10\" class=\"wp-image-1007\" style=\"width: 15px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow.png 120w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow-24x16.png 24w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow-36x24.png 36w, https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rightarrow-48x32.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 15px) 100vw, 15px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Welcome<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"background-color:#f8e9c8\"><em>\u201cIt is good and pleasing to the Lord when His people dwell in unity, so much so, that it is like precious oil poured out and it is there that the Lord commands His blessings. (cf. Psalm 133)\u201d<\/em><br><br>Stella<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Worship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How Good And How Pleasant It Is Song Lyrics Video - Divine Hymns\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ARCsYwPzb6Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><sup>Song: How Good And How Pleasant. Album: The Worship Collection ( Vol-07). Writer: Graham Kendrick. Publisher\/Copyrights: 1995 Make Way Music. CCLI Song No: 1091536<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Word<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>It seemed good to the Holy Spirit&nbsp;and to us<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<cite>Acts 15:28<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Does this seem a bit presumptuous of the apostles, to speak like this? Aren\u2019t they putting themselves on the same level as the Holy Spirit? I mean wouldn\u2019t it have been better for them to say something like this, <em>\u201cWe were led by the Spirit to \u2026\u201d<\/em>? We read of Jesus being led by the Spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then Jesus was led by the Spirit \u2026<\/p>\n<cite>Matt. 4:1<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of Simeon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now there was a man \u2026 called Simeon \u2026 and <strong>the Holy Spirit was on him.<\/strong>&nbsp;It had been <strong>revealed to him by the Holy Spirit<\/strong> that he would not die before he had seen the Lord\u2019s Messiah. <strong>Moved by the Spirit<\/strong>, he went into the temple courts \u2026<\/p>\n<cite>Luke 2:25-27<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And later on, of the apostle Paul and his companions,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia&nbsp;and Galatia,&nbsp;<strong>having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word <\/strong>in the province of Asia.<\/p>\n<cite>Acts 16:6<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the situation we are looking at concerned the Council of Jerusalem brought about because of disagreement within the Church itself, e.g.,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Certain people&nbsp;came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:&nbsp;<em>\u201cUnless you are circumcised,&nbsp;according to the custom taught by Moses,&nbsp;you cannot be saved.\u201d<\/em> This brought Paul and Barnabas <strong>into sharp dispute and debate with them<\/strong>. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem&nbsp;to see the apostles and elders&nbsp;about this question.<\/p>\n<cite>Acts 15:1-2<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Council at Jerusalem, as it has come to be known, took place and even here there was disagreement at first:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then some of the believers who belonged to the party&nbsp;of the Pharisees&nbsp;stood up and said, <em>\u201cThe Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.<\/em><em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<cite>Acts 15:5<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some straight talking took place e.g., Peter addressing the meeting,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now then, why do you try to test God&nbsp;by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke&nbsp;that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace&nbsp;of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.<\/p>\n<cite>Acts 15:10-11<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The emphasis in the speeches had been on what God had done e.g.,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported <strong>everything God had done <\/strong>through them.<\/p>\n<cite>Acts 15:4<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: <em>\u201cBrothers, you know that some time ago <strong>God made a choice<\/strong> among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.&nbsp;<strong>God, who knows the heart,&nbsp;showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit<\/strong> to them,&nbsp;just as he did to us.&nbsp;<strong> He did not discriminate<\/strong> between us and them,&nbsp;for He purified their hearts by faith\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n<cite>Acts 15:7-9<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eventually, unity and unanimity was reached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then <strong>the apostles and elders,&nbsp;with the whole church, decided<\/strong> \u2026<\/p>\n<cite>Acts 15:22<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it was vital to convey this in the message sent, <em>\u201cIt seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us \u2026\u201d<\/em> Who decides at Church meetings? It is so vitally important that we come to that place that we can say, <em>\u201cIt seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us \u2026\u201d<\/em> Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Quote of the week<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"background-color:#f8e9c8\"><em>\u201cThere has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.\u201d<\/em><br><br>Arthur Tappan Pierson<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Verse<\/strong><strong> of the week<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus looked towards heaven and prayed \u2026 <em>\u201c<\/em><em>I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,<\/em><strong><em><sup>&nbsp;<\/sup><\/em><\/strong><em>that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me<\/em><em>\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<cite>John 17:1, 20-21<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Let\u2019s Pray<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heavenly Father, may Your Church be so one with You, and so filled with Your Spirit, that we might be able to say \u201cIt seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us on all things in Jesus Christ, Amen!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome \u201cIt is good and pleasing to the Lord when His people dwell in unity, so much so, that it is like precious oil poured out and it is there that the Lord commands His blessings. (cf. Psalm 133)\u201d Stella Worship Word It seemed good to the Holy Spirit&nbsp;and to us. Acts 15:28 Does this &#8230; <a title=\"11 June 2023: &#8220;It seemed good to the Holy Spirit&#8221; &#8211; who decides?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/?page_id=2911\" aria-label=\"Read more about 11 June 2023: &#8220;It seemed good to the Holy Spirit&#8221; &#8211; who decides?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2911","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2911"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2918,"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2911\/revisions\/2918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethelmacclesfield.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}