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THE POWER OF PETER!
As you know, or will know in the very near
future, Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. It's that
time of year when we pause long enough to really appreciate and give thanks
for all the blessings that have been bestowed on us through the ups and down
of this past year. It is also that time of year when a family member
will undoubtedly ask us the one question we have wrestled with since childhood
and have yet to come up with the perfect answer. They will ask us "What
do you want for Christmas?"
This question haunts me. If I answer
it as I have always answered it in the past, I become the center of the universe. If
I answer it so as to direct the giving toward charity, I run the risk of coming
up short on Christmas Day. So here is the real question that needs to
be answered by each of us. Is there one thing we can put on the list
that would be of great benefit to us and others?
I think I have come up with, or rather God has
shown me, at least one good answer. In all likelihood, God has already
given you this gift and you simply need to express your appreciation for it. Or
perhaps, he has given it to you but it is in need of being recharged
by the Holy Spirit. But there are many people who don't have it and it
has never occurred to them to put it on their list of what they want for Christmas.
So what is the one item that we could put on
our list that would benefit us as well as others? The one item that we
all need, whether we know it or not, is power. We need the power to live
a life pleasing to God and others. We need the power to live such a life
that we can lay down at night and sleep tight. Solomon, in the book of
Proverbs, speaks of this power, perhaps unknowingly, in Proverbs 3:21 - 32. We
read:
My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight; 22 they will be life for you, an ornament
to grace your neck. 23 Then you will go on your way in safety, and your
foot will not stumble; 24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Have no fear of sudden
disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, 26 for the LORD will
be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.
Do not withhold good from those who deserve
it, when it is in your power to act. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Come
back later; I'll give it tomorrow"- when you now have it with you.
Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who
lives trustfully near you. 30 Do not accuse a man for no reason- when
he has done you no harm.
Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his
ways, 32 for the LORD detests a perverse man but takes the upright into
his confidence.
Here is the quiet power of a godly life. It
is the power to see things rightly. It is the power to say "no" to
the world and "yes" to God. It is the power of God at work
in our life. It is of great benefit to us and to our neighbor. It
is the power that speaks to our heart and the hearts of others. It is
the power we see in Peter's life - assuming we look beyond the headlines of
his ministry.
The headlines associated with Peter, as seen
in Acts, are captivating. For example, after Peter's first sermon those
who lived in and around Jerusalem were greeted with the following headline
the next morning. The Jerusalem Post in bold letters announced:
THREE-THOUSAND ACCEPT PETER'S MESSAGE!
We can picture this being the case because Acts
2:40 -41 reads:
With many other words he warned them; and he
pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were
added to their number that day.
In the days that followed there were other headlines,
in regards to Peter, that greeted the inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you
scan the first half-dozen chapters of Acts it is easy enough to imagine the
news that was hitting the streets in those early days of the church. We
can envision the following headlines:
CRIPPLE FROM BIRTH JUMPS UP & WALKS!
PETER QUESTIONED BY THE SANHEDRIN!
PETER CONFRONTS SCHEMING COUPLE!1
THE SICK & TORMENTED SEEK OUT PETER!
Of course, it wasn't simply Peter who was questioned
by the Sanhedrin. John was questioned along with Peter. But it
was Peter who spoke on behalf of the apostles when he and John were being questioned. Nor
was Peter the only one who performed miraculous signs and wonders among
the people. But it was Peter's shadow that the sick and those
tormented by evil spirits longed to have fall upon them so that they could
be healed.2
These were the headlines. This is what
everyone in Jerusalem was talking about in the days following the ascension
of Christ. They were talking about the power manifested by the apostles,
and, in particular, the conversation invariably centered on the power manifested
by Peter.
It is easy to understand how those who were
in and around Jerusalem at that time were caught up with the drama being played
out in the streets of their city. But today I would like for us look
at how the power of the Holy Spirit was played out in the non-dramatic events
of the day.
Let me give you two examples that didn't make
headlines but nevertheless furthered the work of God. The first example
is found in Acts 2:42 - 47. We read:
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching
and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone
was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the
apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45
Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke
bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to
their number daily those who were being saved.
This paragraph falls on the heals of about three-thousand
people coming to know Christ, many of whom were from out-of-town. With
everything that was happening in Jerusalem, and to them personally, many of
them undoubtedly chose to extend their stay even though they were running short
on resources.
Consequently, the apostles and the original
small band of followers took it upon themselves to care for this unexpected
surge in believers. They needed to be fed spiritually and their physical
needs needed to be met. So the initial group of followers gave of themselves
sacrificially, even to the point of selling personal possessions to meet the
needs of others. This is the quiet power of the Spirit working within
the heart of Peter and others to such extent that they unconsciously manifested
the fruit of the Spirit among these new believers.
Note the result -
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
You see, the power of the Holy Spirit was given
for a very specific purpose. It was given so as to enable you and me
to be an effective witness for Jesus Christ. This doesn't necessarily
mean that we will be enabled to perform miraculous signs and wonders at the
next home game for the Cardinals. It does mean that the Spirit will manifest
divine power in whatever way He deems appropriate to insure our witness to
others. How he does this varies, but the focus of the Spirit's power
remains constant.
In the second example, Peter and John were questioned
by the Sanhedrin and in reply told this imposing body that they could not help
but speak about what they had witnessed over the last three years. Further
threats were issued and they were reluctantly released.
I believe they left the courthouse visibly shaken. I
would like to think they walked out triumphant but the behavior that followed
their release suggest otherwise. In Acts 4:23 - 24; 31 we read,
On their release, Peter and John went back to
their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said
to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in
prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven
and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the
Holy Spirit . . .
After they prayed, the place where they
were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God boldly.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, that
is, they were recharged and ready once again to place their lives under the
control of the Spirit. So they again spoke the Word of God boldly
and undoubtedly drew others to the Savior. Again we are reminded that
the Holy Spirit was given for a specific purpose.
Peter experienced the reason behind the giving
of the Holy Spirit better than anyone else. Clearly the Spirit worked
through his preaching and his ability to heal others instantaneously so as
to draw thousands to the saving knowledge of Christ. But what Peter came
to realize is that this same Holy Spirit empowers us to manifest the goodness
of God through the normal events of our life. And he does so for exactly
the same reason - to make us effective witnesses so as to draw others to a
saving knowledge of Christ.
Why else does Peter tell us in II Peter 1:3
His divine power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his
own glory and goodness.
He tell us this for two reasons as seen in 10b
- 11 of the same chapter
For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11
and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
Do you get it? By the Spirit's power we
will live godly lives and others will come to know the Savior. In turn,
they will give us a rich welcome into the kingdom of God!
1 This headline would not have been printed by the Jerusalem
Post. It would have been found in the church bulletin. Nevertheless,
many outside of the church would have quickly been told about what happened
to Ananias and Sapphira. Their crime? They cooked up and carried
out a scheme to rob the church while gaining the applause of the church. In
the process they lied to God and others.
2 See Acts 5:12 - 16.
PETER: THE MAN AND HIS LETTERS 11/04/07 1
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