Friday, January 14, 2011

Thoughts on Acts 3-4

Look at the powerful prayer in 4:24-30. And then look what happens right after in verse 31. They rejoiced in being persecuted. Once the council started in on them, they stood firm in their beliefs because it was truth. Then they went to their brethren and rejoiced about it, praising God and asking for boldness to go forth for Him. And after, my favorite verse (31): "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." The rest of the chapter, they're just on fire for the Lord.
And can I just point out that being filled with the Holy Spirit and being on fire for God is not the same as "getting in the Spirit". If you take note in chapter 2, when they were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues, it was for the edification of those who were present. The languages they spoke conveyed the truth to the many people visiting Jerusalem from different regions. This needed to be done to jumpstart the work of the church. In chapter 4, we see again where they're filled with the Holy Ghost again. They didn't speak in tongues, but again, spoke God's word with boldness. If we are to be like that early church, we need to stand on the Bible and the Bible only. Not hearsay or opinion.

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