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Archives: September 2009
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Archives: September 2009
Peter & John...
From Soul Action
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand…
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them:
“Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed…
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied:
“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4v1-4, 8-10, 18-20
Ever wondered what qualifications you need to preach the gospel? According to this passage Peter and John were both unschooled and ordinary (v13) and they seemed to be doing pretty well at telling people about Jesus!
We don’t need to have degrees in theology or be the world’s best preachers to be able to talk about our faith. Plain old, ordinary people like us are the ones that Jesus has chosen to make himself known on this earth. But this passage does give us some clues as to what will help us be effective.
Firstly, like Peter, we need to be full of the Holy Spirit (v8) so let’s daily be asking him to fill us.
Secondly when Peter explains their reasons for preaching the gospel he simply says ‘we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard’ (v20). They just can’t keep it to themselves!
For Peter and the other disciples the previous few years would have been an incredible adventure with Jesus. He had changed their lives and as they’d walked with him and seen him in action, they were just bursting to tell everyone about him.
That’s pretty easy to relate to isn’t it? When we have an amazing encounter, don’t we want the world to know about it? When we start walking closely with Jesus he will change our lives too and we’ll be like Peter, just bursting to tell others about the amazing God we’re in relationship with.
Action
Think about your story and your encounter with God and work out how you would explain that to someone who doesn’t yet know him.
Pray
Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you again to make you a powerful and effective witness and ask God to give you an opportunity to tell your story to someone this week.
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