Talk Tuesday-The HOLY SPIRIT Series: Life In The Spirit, Pt. I

Peter and John were going to the Temple at the hour of prayer, when they healed a man who was lame from birth. The rulers, elders, scribes, high priest and family of the high priest demanded to know by what power they healed this man.

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:8-12 NKJV

They were astonished by the eloquence and fearlessness of Peter and John, who they considered to be uneducated laymen. The men of the Sanhedrin convened and commanded them not to speak or teach in the name of JESUS anymore. “19 But Peter and John replied, 'Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard,'” Acts 4:19-20, NIV.

Then, in the midst of persecution, they prayed for boldness and GOD responded with the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. “31 As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked. From this time they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God fearlessly,” Acts 4:31, NJB.

When we come to the wonderful saving knowledge of JESUS CHRIST, we accept by faith what He accomplished on the cross, repent, get baptized and are filled with the HOLY SPIRIT. It becomes almost impossible to keep it to ourselves! We find meaning and purpose that surpass the limitations of this physical world. GOD enables us to do great exploits for His Kingdom, in the name of JESUS, by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. We are no longer driven by our carnal desires. Join us next week as we continue to explore what it means to live a 'Life In The Spirit'. We leave you with the following verses until then:

1 Thus, condemnation will never come to those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because the law of the Spirit which gives life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 What the Law could not do because of the weakness of human nature, God did, sending his own Son in the same human nature as any sinner to be a sacrifice for sin, and condemning sin in that human nature. 4 This was so that the Law's requirements might be fully satisfied in us as we direct our lives not by our natural inclinations but by the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4, NJB