Acts 11:15-16

Acts 11:15-16 - As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as He had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said : “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Peter spoke these words as he was explaining his first visit to the Gentiles. His fellow Jewish believers were having a hard time accepting the fact that Peter had gone and stayed in the home of a Gentile. Peter explained the story of how God had spoke to him and told him to go and then proceeded to pour out His Spirit upon them. He told of how it surprised him at first, but then he remembered the Words of Jesus, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

There are a couple things that we can take from this story. First I want to point out that God will pour out His Spirit on anyone who will receive it. There is no difference. Once we accept Christ our bodies we are cleansed and made righteous so that we can house the Spirit of God. God does not show favoritism, but gives to all who believe.

I also want to point out the difference in baptisms. Jesus mentioned two baptisms, not just one. There is the baptism of John, which is immersion in water. Then there is the baptism of the Spirit, which is with fire. It is important that we receive both of these baptisms as we get our lives right with God.

First , the water baptism is to represent what is going on inside us. It is an outward expression of an inward work. Paul later describes it as joining with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. We can also think of it as a cleansing; washing away the old self and being made new with Jesus. This baptism is important because it is done in obedience. Jesus was baptized in this way as an example for us to follow.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is equally important. Jesus said that He had to go (to the cross) so that He could send us a helper. This helper is the Holy Spirit. After we are saved and accept Christ into our lives we must receive the Spirit. God’s Spirit helps us to live the lives God has called us to and is our direct line to Him. Through the Spirit we can live in constant fellowship with God.

Acts 10:34-35

Acts 10:34-35 - Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.”

This moment in Peter’s life marks a time when God opened up his mind to a new way of thinking. All his life he had been raised to think that the Jews were God’s people and that God did not accept the Gentiles. The Gentiles were an unclean people and could not be saved, but God corrected him. He opened up Peter’s mind, telling him that He has made all things clean. Peter had a vision and in that vision God told him to stop calling unclean what God has made clean. Then God sent him to the house of a Gentile to minister and stay with him.

There are a couple of things that we should take from this passage. First and most obvious: All men are created equal in God’s sight. There is no difference. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, what Country you are from, whether adult or child, or male or female. We are all made equal and have the right to become children of God. We just need to fear God and do what is right. Accept Christ and let Him bring us into the kingdom as children.

Next thing we can see actually happens after Peter return back home from visiting the Gentiles. When he got back he was receiving a lot of flack from his fellow disciples. It was their mindset that you don’t associate with this kind of people. Peter got a lot of grief, but he still obeyed God.

Obeying God can sometimes go against religious thinking. When you obey God you may get some grief from other believers, but who are we trying to please, God or man? We have traditions and upbringing that we need to get rid of as we renew our minds with the Word. Just because you have been doing something for years doesn’t mean it is right. Use the Word as the ultimate authority and be obedient to God. It is more important to obey God than to fit in with those around you.

Acts 9:15

Acts 9:15 - But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man (Saul) is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”

Ananias was a follower of Christ in Damascus. It is clear from his response to God that he knew who Saul was and why he had come to this city. There was only one reason Saul would travel there: to persecute Christians and throw them in jail. Saul was one of the biggest opposers of the Way of Christ and was causing much grief for the believers. He had been traveling to every town he could to imprison and kill Christians and now he was in Damascus.

After all this, Jesus was telling Ananias to go and see Saul. Ananias first response shows us that he does not want to chance this. He basically says, “Are you sure Lord. This man has done great harm to your saints in Jerusalem and now he wants to do the same here.” But the Lord reassured him and said, “Go.” Jesus then goes on to explain that He has chosen Saul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and the Jews. Ananias obeys and goes to see Saul.

As we look forward into Saul’s story we see that after changing his name to Paul, he boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus to all the known world. He walked in the power and authority of Jesus and ended up writing most of what we call the New Testament. And it is all because of the obedience of this one man, Ananias.

This story of Saul reminds us that we cannot judge a person by their exterior. We have no way of knowing what God is doing in that person’s heart. That is why we are to hate sin, but Love the sinner. We also need to be obedient to what God has told us. It may not always seem logical or even safe, but God knows best. God will use anybody, and He has a plan for everybody. Be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit and Love your enemies. That person who has been causing you harm could be the next Paul.

Acts 8:4

Acts 8:4 - Those who had scattered preached the Word wherever they went.

This was a time of great persecution for the early believers. Stephen had just given up his life for the cause. He was just the first. Saul (who had been there at Stephens death) was determined to put an end to all who called on the name of Jesus. Some he put to death, many were thrown into jail. As Saul went from town to town persecuting the Christians he was scattering them. Often when they heard he was coming they would disperse and leave before he arrived. Through Saul, Satan was trying to break up the early church.

Even though this was a hard time and Satan meant it for harm, God still used it for good. As the believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria they continued to preach the Word. Even though they were facing persecution and possible death they would not keep quiet. They could not help but share the message of Jesus and tell His story.

What are you facing today? Are you being persecuted or ridiculed because of your faith? While there is still heavy persecution in some parts of the world, most of us just face peer pressure and the fear of man. We are talking about persecution, but ask yourself this: “Do those around me even know that I am a Christian?” These early Christians faced death for sharing the gospel, yet they still would not keep quiet. They still preached Jesus in word and deed. And it wasn’t just in church, they preached wherever they went.

We often speak of wanting to see the power manifest now as it did in the early church, but we won’t get off our butts and share Jesus with those around us. We are too afraid of what people may think. Our Nation is currently in a place where we have freedom to speak what we want and we need to take advantage of it. If you want to see our society change for the better it is time to do something about it. As Jesus told us, “Go and make disciples!” It is time for us as the church and as individuals to step up in the boldness of the Spirit and take the world for God. We need to preach the Word wherever we go.

Acts 7:55-56

Acts 7:55-56 - But Stephen, full of faith and the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the Glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

This man, Stephen, is the first recorded martyr for Jesus. When He was first appointed to his position in the church he was said to be “full of Faith and the Holy Spirit.” He, along with six others were given the task of caring for the widows and the poor, in regards to food distribution. Now he was on trial before the Sanhedrin. All the religious leaders of the day were questioning him and he was given boldness and spoke from the Spirit that which was within him.

As he began, he told of Abraham and then continued with the story of the Israelite's through Isaac, Joseph and Moses. Then He brought it all the way around to Jesus. He told of how they had brought Jesus in and had Him killed. This made the leaders angry. These men could not handle the truth because it cut straight to their hearts. It convicted them and they didn't want to hear it.

At this moment Stephen had a vision. He saw heaven and the glory of God, with Jesus standing at His right hand. This man was so in tune with the Spirit that he was given the privilege of glimpsing into heaven while still here on earth. God opened up his eyes to see what was in store for him and it was glorious.

In our lives it is easy to live by what we see and hear. We need to surrender our lives to God and let the Spirit flow through us and lead us as Stephen did. He may have been the first to die for Christ, but he died in the arms of Jesus. God may not be calling you to die for Him, but He is calling you to live a life of worship to Him. Take hold of all that Christ has done for you and speak with boldness the message of His grace.

Acts 6:7

Acts 6:7 - So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

At this time we see that the Word of God was spreading. There were more and more disciples being added to the Faith. But why? What was the reason for the success in the kingdom of God? Take a look at the earlier part of this chapter. We see an issue come up. There are some of the Jews who were concerned because the widows among them were being overlooked. They brought this up to the disciples, who in turn made a decision. The disciples realized they could not handle everything. They needed to devote their time to prayer and teaching, but they also couldn’t let these people get neglected. So they delegated.They had the people choose some men that would be responsible for taking care of the widows and the poor.

We as the church are the body of Christ and we need to act like one body. Here in Acts they were so successful because they had people to fill all the roles. They didn’t try to do it all themselves. It’s about finding peoples strengths and giving them a place to use them. Each member of the body of Christ has a role to fill and the whole church will suffer if you are not fulfilling that role.

This is often the problem we run into in the local church today. We are not fulfilling the calling that God has placed on us. It seems we think that the pastor should take care of everything, but that is not the case. Other times the pastor himself has trouble letting go of things, and therefore tries to handle things outside of his strengths. Both of these situations will lead to an ineffective church, and the body suffers because of it. It is the pastor’s job to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Part of the ministry is in the church, part is to the world.

God designed the church to function as a body and each member to carry out a different job. We see Paul lay this out for us in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And in verse 26 he reminds us that if one part of the body suffers the whole body suffers and if one part rejoices the whole body rejoices. We must work together and function as one body. If we get back to this design we too will see the Word of God spread and the number of believers increase.

Acts 5:38-39

Acts 5:38-39 - “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

It is very important that we follow God in all we do in life. This message here was specifically referring to the disciples. When the religious leader wanted to kill them or throw them into prison , this man stood up and presented this argument. If what they are doing is from man it will fail; if what they are doing is from God it is unstoppable.

This same message is true for us as well. We know that we want to serve God and fulfill the plan He has for us. Sometimes we get so excited for it that we jump into it prematurely. We are given a glimpse of what God has for us and forget to wait for His timing.In this case you can be doing all the right things, or so it seems, but you are not following God. It was your own idea. If this is the case you will struggle and grow weary in what you are doing.

On the flip side though, if you are focusing on God and His leading and acting in His will you will succeed, no matter who or what may come at you. You will run and not grow weary. If God is in what you are doing He will give you the strength and drive to keep going. For we know that if God is for us, no one can stand against us. Make sure that you are serving Him for Him and not for yourself. Let the Spirit lead you in your words and deeds.