From January 13
The Main Character of Acts = The Holy Spirit
Of the three Persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the Holy Spirit seems to be the most misunderstood. He is certainly discussed the least. The Son (Jesus) is easy to identify because He actually became a physical man and people got to hear His teaching, saw Him perform miracles, watched Him die for sin on the cross, and also got to see His resurrected body. Nevertheless, Jesus gives plenty of instruction regarding the Holy Spirit in the Gospels and we can clearly see Him at work in the early Church throughout the book of Acts. His role may be a bit more "behind the scenes," but it is no less important than the Father's or the Son's. So what exactly does He do? Here is a list of just a few things the Holy Spirit does that are vital to the life of a Christian:
- He Convicts The World of Sin (John 16:8). When a person begins to feel convicted and broken over their sins against God, that is the Holy Spirit at work. He is the one who produces "Godly sorrow" which "brings repentance that leads to salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10).
- He Lives Within Believers (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Since the Old Testament, God has promised to put His Spirit IN His people (Ezekiel 36:26-27). With the advent of Christ, those who repent and put their faith in Him are able to receive the Spirit of God permanently.
- He Empowers and Guides Believers (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit changes the behavior, attitude, and outlook of the believer. We are no longer slaves to sinful desires, but instead we are compelled by the Holy Spirit to live according to God's ways. He empowers and enables us to do the things that please God, including producing the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
- He Seals Believers For Eternity (Ephesians 1:13-14). How does a Christian know if they are going to heaven or not? The Holy Spirit is our deposit or down-payment from God "guaranteeing our inheritance." If you have put your faith and trust in Christ for salvation, then you have been marked with the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, then you can be 100% certain that you will spend eternity with God in heaven.
From January 20th
Peter: A Case Study of the Holy Spirit
Jesus' disciple, Peter, is a prime example of what a person looks like before and after receiving the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, Peter failed:
- He failed to understand God's truth
- He failed to stand up for God's truth
Whenever it seemed like Peter would get something right, he would still end up falling short. He got out of the boat to walk on water with Jesus, but he let fear take over and started sinking (Matthew 14:25-32). How many people today say they believe in Jesus and yet they are drowning in fear and doubt? Peter also gets something right when he acknowledged that Jesus is the Messiah. But his small victory is short-lived when he reveals his flawed understanding of what the Messiah must do (Matthew 16:13-23). In the same way, many people are still professing their own version of Christ rather than submitting to the true Lord and Savior. Finally, Peter is completely exposed for the faker he is when He denies Jesus, his friend and master, not once, not twice, but three times even though Jesus told him it would happen (Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75). We can all identify with Peter because we have all failed in similar ways. I am sure that every believer remembers a time when they had the opportunity to speak up and say something on Christ's behalf or to stand up for what was right and, like Peter, we took the coward's way out.
But the good news is that Jesus not only died to make atonement for such sins and failures, He has made it possible for His Spirit to dwell within us so that we can succeed in these areas where we have otherwise failed. In Peter's case, once he received the Holy Spirit, he not only understood God's truth, but he became a preacher and teacher of God's truth. In fact, the first time he preached (when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers on the Day of Pentecost), 3,000 people believed in Jesus (Acts 2). Peter also got the opportunity to stand before the same Jewish leaders who killed Jesus and boldly proclaim the Gospel (Acts 4). Some might say that Peter got the chance to redeem himself, but this is simply what a life redeemed BY Christ THROUGH the Holy Spirit looks like.
Let us not underestimate the power of the One who is in us what He can do to turn our failures into victories for God's Kingdom!
