SCRIPTURE: Acts 4:1-17
OBSERVATION:
Notice the change in Peter (and the others). No longer afraid, denying under pressure, or using the sword to defend Jesus. The Holy Spirit has changed these ordinary, unschooled fishermen into dynamic and bold messengers!
The message is radical, Jesus was crucified but He came back to life and is responsible for healing the cripple. This Jesus is the only true Saviour for all people, no other religion or god or saviour can help.
The evidence is undeniable for the Jewish leaders, both the change in the disciples and the healed man. But still they seek to deny what they see because their hearts are closed.
APPLICATION:
How have I been changed by the Holy Spirit, have I been transformed into someone/something new because I follow Jesus and His Spirit fills me? Am I living proof that the message is true?
Is my message Christ-centered (He died, He lives, He can transform you if you surrender to Him), or have I fallen into the trap of turning His life-changing message into a religious system, rules and rituals?
No matter how strong the evidence, people whose hearts are closed will not believe it, and they will find any way they can to deny or cover the evidence.
PRAYER:
Lord, I long to experience this dynamic change within, not for my own reputation but so that I can serve You with boldness and confidence. Help me to follow You Jesus, to have a living, life-changing relationship with You, so that I may overflow with Your power, for Your purpose! Amen.
Peter, who had denied His Lord and Master, now proclaims the Gospel boldly. The Spirit enabled His disciples to do their part, Though the preachers were persecuted, God’s Word prevailed. The number grew to 5000!
Peter and John were tried during the day and not the night as Christ was. Yet they were questioned by the leaders of the day – religious and law. They wanted to know the power of their acts so that they too could do what they did. When Peter spoke, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t Peter, but God using Peter for His purposes. It is He who gives the power and strength and boldness, and not we ourselves. The council had but two choices – to hear and be baptised and join the fellowship or to reject the Word of the Lord and be at a loss of what to do.
Lord, help me from day to day to stand up for Jesus so that I too may boldly share Your Good News.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.