There are several main themes I see in the first seven chapters of the book of Acts. I believe the Holy Spirit is the main theme in the book so far, and the ultimate guiding foundation of all the Acts of the apostles. In the first chapter, Jesus "gives instructions through the Holy Spirit", and says the disciples will receive a gift from the father and be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He says the disciples will receive "POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES ON YOU; AND YOU WILL BE MY WITNESS... TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH". These words were Jesus' last right before he was taken up to heaven, which is extremely significant as we will see.
Next, the disciples physically receive the Spirit at Pentecost. I believe this was a mandatory foundation for them to experience, and for others to see. This miracle, in itself, was basically a super strong faith boost, just as Jesus' miracles were a faith boost for people in his life to see and believe his testimony. If we were to physically experience this type of miraculous "blowing of a violent wind" or "tongues of fire", I think we might look at our empowering of the Holy Spirit a little differently, as did the disciples.
"Brothers, what shall we do?" How do we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Well, according to Peter in Acts 2:38, we must believe in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, repent and be baptized in His name, then the holy spirit will dwell in us just as Jesus promised. After hearing this, "about 3000 were added" or saved that day. What a huge testimony to the awesome power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus!
Another important theme is the the fellowship of the believers, which again, the Holy Spirit plays a critical role in developing this kind of action through faith. "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need"-WOW, what a radical thing to do. What if Christians in our day and age lived like this? What if we lived like this in our house? Jesus calls for us to give up our physical wealth and possessions for the good of others, and the total wellness of the Church as a whole, not a continuation of wellness for someone of power in the ways of the world. In a way, this radical love and empowering of the Holy Spirit was so pronounced, it created a sort of communism in the fellowship of the early believers. There is a difference, however, between this kind of communism, and modern day political communism. The disciples' communism was operated out of love through Christ, and freedom, whereas, political communism has been forced upon people.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John find themselves working miracles in their everyday life. Peter heals the crippled beggar first, and from here, all of the disciples go on to perform many miraculous signs and wonders. This is a very important foundation for our Christian walk. We must have faith in God by the power of His Spirit to pray for the healing of others, and believe that miracles are really possible, even if God does not show up in a miraculous way. In this day in age this is a rare thing to see, but God does work in peoples lives through prayer, which I have experienced. We must make praying for healing, laying on hands and expecting God to move a "first response" in our lives as this scripture shows us.
Next, the disciples physically receive the Spirit at Pentecost. I believe this was a mandatory foundation for them to experience, and for others to see. This miracle, in itself, was basically a super strong faith boost, just as Jesus' miracles were a faith boost for people in his life to see and believe his testimony. If we were to physically experience this type of miraculous "blowing of a violent wind" or "tongues of fire", I think we might look at our empowering of the Holy Spirit a little differently, as did the disciples.
"Brothers, what shall we do?" How do we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Well, according to Peter in Acts 2:38, we must believe in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, repent and be baptized in His name, then the holy spirit will dwell in us just as Jesus promised. After hearing this, "about 3000 were added" or saved that day. What a huge testimony to the awesome power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus!
Another important theme is the the fellowship of the believers, which again, the Holy Spirit plays a critical role in developing this kind of action through faith. "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need"-WOW, what a radical thing to do. What if Christians in our day and age lived like this? What if we lived like this in our house? Jesus calls for us to give up our physical wealth and possessions for the good of others, and the total wellness of the Church as a whole, not a continuation of wellness for someone of power in the ways of the world. In a way, this radical love and empowering of the Holy Spirit was so pronounced, it created a sort of communism in the fellowship of the early believers. There is a difference, however, between this kind of communism, and modern day political communism. The disciples' communism was operated out of love through Christ, and freedom, whereas, political communism has been forced upon people.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John find themselves working miracles in their everyday life. Peter heals the crippled beggar first, and from here, all of the disciples go on to perform many miraculous signs and wonders. This is a very important foundation for our Christian walk. We must have faith in God by the power of His Spirit to pray for the healing of others, and believe that miracles are really possible, even if God does not show up in a miraculous way. In this day in age this is a rare thing to see, but God does work in peoples lives through prayer, which I have experienced. We must make praying for healing, laying on hands and expecting God to move a "first response" in our lives as this scripture shows us.
Also, the Holy Spirit empowers the believers with boldness to evangelize and proclaim the name of Jesus Christ in many challenging situations. In 4:8, Peter is filled with the Spirit to boldly speak up about Jesus to some of the religious leaders who put Jesus on the cross! This eventually got many of the early Christians killed, but it was what spread the Name. Acts 4:29-31 tells us more about the Lord enabling us to speak with great boldness about Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
There are many more examples of the Apostles' work through the Holy Spirit in ways of evangelism, sharing possessions (a severe example in the story of Ananias and Sapphira), healing and miracles, as well as boldness for Christ, especially with the story of Stephen. In the end of this section (Acts 7:54-60), Stephen is "full of the Holy Spirit" and prays for the very people who are stoning him. This is what Jesus meant when he said in Luke 6:27, "Love your enemies". Do you think the indwelling of Jesus Christ's Holy Spirit empowers us to love our enemies and do the radical things seen here in Acts? I think, without this key component allowed to work through our lives, we are watered down Christians, unable to do God's work for His kingdom to it's full capacity. He graciously gave us the gift of His Spirit so we could have His power! Think of it, the power of Almighty God living in us, and constantly molding and reshaping our lives! This blows me away. What do you guys think?
Oh yeah, it's Dec. 25th today-Merry Christmas!!
Oh yeah, it's Dec. 25th today-Merry Christmas!!
-Lucas
