Category: Thoughts

One of the most interesting demonstrations of God’s power coming with the Holy Spirit is the lack of fear in the disciples after the day of Pentecost.  Think with me about this before and after comparison.  How many times did Jesus say to His disciples in the gospels, “Do not be afraid”?  Fear was a real challenge for the twelve.

Storms, waves, Jesus appearing as a ghost on the water, and simply astonishment at some of the things Jesus did lead to fear for the disciples.  But more specific to this post is the fear that Peter and the others felt at Jesus’s arrest and execution.

On the night before Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Him three times out of fear.  “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You too were with Jesus the Galilean.’  But he denied it before them all, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’  When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’  And again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’  A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.’  Then he began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know the man!’  And immediately a rooster crowed” (Matthew 26:69-74).  You can hear the fear in Peter’s replies.

Following Jesus’ execution, there was a continuing fear of the authorities that kept the disciples in hiding.  “So when it was evening on that day [the day of Jesus’ resurrection], the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’ “ (John 20:19).  The disciples were hiding in fear of the Jewish authorities.

Now compare this fear in the disciples before the coming of the Holy Spirit to what happened after the day of Pentecost.  Peter and the others, filled with the Spirit, showed an incredible boldness in their interaction with the authorities.  Look at this back and forth with the Jewish leaders following the arrest of Peter and John in Acts chapter 4.  This interaction is in regard to the healing of the lame man in Acts chapter 3.

“When they [the Jewish leaders] had placed them [Peter and John] in the center, they began to inquire, ‘By what power, or in what name, have you done this?’  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by this name this man stands here before you in good health.  He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone.  And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved’ ” (Acts 4:7-12).

The confrontation ended with this well-known response from Peter and John, “And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard’ “ (Acts 4:18-20).

Commentators often ascribe the new found boldness of the disciples to encountering the resurrected Jesus.  But I think there is more to it and I think the coming of the Spirit is the key.  The writer of the book of Acts made a point to preface Peter’s bold answer in Acts 4:8 to him being “filled with the Holy Spirit.”  The indwelling Holy Spirit drives out fear.

It’s great to read these stories about the disciples but what about us?  Are we included in this outpouring of the Spirit?  We will talk about it next time.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were filled with a brand new power by way of a brand new Spirit; the Holy Spirit who had come to dwell in them.  Peter followed the dramatic arrival of the Spirit with a powerful sermon in Acts chapter 2 that God used to immediately add three thousand people to His family.

This manifestation of God’s incredible power continues throughout the book of Acts.  The next chapter, following Peter’s sermon, starts with this story, “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.  And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.  When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.  But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, ‘Look at us!’  And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.  But Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene–walk!’  And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.  With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:1-8).

Wow, this power of healing sounds familiar and mirrors so many of Jesus’ miracles.  Why?  Because it is the power of Jesus that Peter and John carried.  As the people looked on in awe, Peter explained where the power came from.

“While he [the man who was healed] was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.  But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, ‘Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?’ … ‘On the basis of faith in Jesus’ name, the name of Jesus has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all’ “ (Acts 3:11-12,16).

This is the same power we saw throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth.  Luke summarized it this way, “And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all” (Luke 6:19).

Luke followed this with a specific story of Jesus’ miracle working power.  “And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.  And Jesus said, ‘Who is the one who touched Me?’  And while they were all denying it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.’  But Jesus said, ‘Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.’  When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.  And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’ “ (Luke 8:43-48).  Jesus’ power and her faith made her well.

Now come back to Acts chapter 3.  As a result of the miraculous filling of the Holy Spirit, the power of God is on display in the lives and work of His disciples.  There are many more outpourings of God’s power through the disciples in the book of Acts.  We will talk about one of those next time; an often overlooked but dramatic turn in the apostles’ ministry.

It is easy for us to equate the character of God with incredible power.  From the beginning of the New Testament – “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Matthew 6:13) – to the end of the book – “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’ “ (Revelation 19:1) – the power of God is proclaimed.  God equals power.

But what if I told you that this power is not reserved for God alone?  What if I told you that some aspect of the power of God resides in you?  “Whoa,” you might say, “We may have some power, but not THAT power.  No, we are way below that.”  Are we?

The word “power” appears over 100 times in the New Testament.  And as you can probably guess from where I am going with this, many of these occurrences refer to God’s power in us.  If you have believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, God’s power lives in you and supplies the overcoming and abundant power we need to live the Christian life.

Before we look at how that power works in our lives, let’s consider the timeline and person of how that power came to us.  After Jesus’ resurrection, He delivered this charge to His disciples, “And He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high’ “ (Luke 24:46-49).

Look at the last sentence.  Jesus is saying, “Don’t even start on this mission until you have received power from on high.”  Hmm.  What is this power the disciples are to be waiting for?

The next power reference is in Acts 1:8 where the promise of a coming power becomes clearer.  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  Ah, the Holy Spirit, the Helper that Jesus promised would come to live in us; He will be the source of this power.  Said another way, the Holy Spirit living in us will be the power of God acting through us.

So what is next in the timeline?  THE POWER ARRIVED !!! THE POWER CAME !!!  “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).  The promise is fulfilled.  The promised power of God has come by way of His Spirit filling His people.

So how did the disciples put this outpouring of power into action?  We will look at that next time.

Here is a brief reminder of the simplicity of the gospel.  CHRISTianity is all about Christ.  It’s in the name.  Jesus is the gospel.  The gospel is Jesus.  The gospel is grace and truth.  Jesus is grace and truth personified.  The grace of the gospel is Jesus.  The good news of the gospel is Jesus.  Why am I pounding this point?

As I survey the evangelical landscape, I fear that we have relegated Jesus to being just a puzzle piece in our doctrinal mosaic.  He is an important piece, but just a piece nonetheless.  He is the Son of God who lived among us, died for our sins, rose again, ascended, and sits at the right hand of the Father awaiting His return to our planet.  And as He sits neatly in our doctrinal puzzle, we argue, theorize, and condemn each other over things that have nothing to do with the gospel message of Jesus.

Maybe the puzzle piece Jesus that we have created is why the world is not paying Him much attention.  But this Jesus the world yawns at is not the Jesus I know.

• My Jesus is alive!
• My Jesus lives in me.
• My Jesus is living His supernatural life through me.
• My Jesus lifts my eyes above the waves when life becomes overwhelming.
• My Jesus wraps me in His arms of compassion when I fail.
• My Jesus secured my once-for-all-time forgiveness.
• My Jesus provides every ounce of goodness, kindness, and patience that I display and experience.
• My Jesus mends my broken heart.
• My Jesus heals me.
• My Jesus drives away my fears.
• My Jesus infuses me with power to do the right thing.
• My Jesus infuses me with power to do the next thing.
• My Jesus leads, assures, calms, provides.
• My Jesus loves me with an everlasting love that I can feel.
• My Jesus is my life.
• My Jesus did not come to make bad people good, He came to make dead people alive and I am a living testimony of that.

Saying “My Jesus” may sound possessive or braggadocios, but my God spoke about my Jesus many years ago, long before His coming.  “I am my Beloved’s and He is mine” (Song of Songs 6:3).  I belong to Jesus.  And if you have believed His gospel message, you belong to Him as well.

This is the Jesus that I invite you to find.  He is waiting for you!!!

When We Sin

If confession, repentance, and seeking God’s forgiveness is not the pattern when we sin, what is?  After all, believers do sin.  We have times when we do not walk in keeping with our identity.  Sometimes we walk according to the flesh.  Well, there is at least one verse that talks precisely about “when we sin”.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (I John 2:1-2).

What is it that we should do, what is it that we should remember “if anyone sins”?  We are to recognize that a one-time sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins has already been accomplished for us and for everyone in the world who has believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  And we are to remember that we have an Advocate who declares us righteous before the Father.  The Advocate and the sacrifice are one and the same, Jesus Christ.  There is no pride in this recognition of Christ as our Savior who has already completed the work of saving us.  There is only gratefulness and thanksgiving and praise.

But what about a serious sin, an addiction, a sin that we are having trouble shaking?  Shouldn’t some form of confession and seeking forgiveness be required to come “back to God”?  Let’s look at Paul’s approach to this topic.

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2).  The Greek word for “caught” here is not “detected in the act.”  It is more of a “caught in a trap” thought; overtaken in a sin from which it is difficult to break free.  It sounds like what we would think of in today’s terms as an addiction or a besetting sin.

Now the one caught in a sin is not instructed to seek restoration through confession, repentance, and asking God for forgiveness.  No, they are to be restored in their spiritual life by brothers and sisters who are spiritual.  And this restoration is to be done with gentleness, not with shame or condemnation or looking down on our brother.  This restoration is done by those who are spiritual coming alongside.  Those who are spiritual understand how we walk by the Spirit by embracing the power of God’s grace to set us free from sin and sins.  They understand how our new self and new nature are fueled by the power of Christ in us.

Bearing one another’s burdens as we help someone through a sin crisis is extending grace to our friend.  I can speak from personal experience, as many of you could do as well, that helping someone navigate freedom from addictive behaviors can be burdensome on the helper.  But we bear one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ when we do this.

What brings believers freedom from sinful actions and attitudes?  The knowledge of grace.  The knowledge of who they are in Christ.  The knowledge that the power of Christ is flowing through them and empowering them to find freedom.  These answers to our sin may be short, but they are not just pat answers from Scripture.  I have seen this effect in the testimonies of believers from all around the world.

Grace itself teaches us to live godly lives, not a repeated pattern of confession, repentance, and seeking forgiveness from God.  “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12).  Walk in the power of God’s grace, my friends.  His death in your place – and the complete forgiveness that came with it – has set you free.