The Lord in His mercy gives us courage to accomplish His work on the earth, and one of the catalysts for courage is God’s revelation through the power of the Holy Spirit!
The Apostle Peter was naturally bold. He was the only one who wanted to walk on water. He was also the one who declared Jesus as the Christ. However, Peter was also the one who made a few mistakes. When Jesus told His disciples about His death, Peter protested against it, and he told Jesus that He was wrong about it! Peter was very sure about his convictions, but he ended up denying Jesus three times. Despite all the mistakes, Peter became a different man after the Day of Pentecost.
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. Acts 2:14-15
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. Acts 2:22-24
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind and Peter became a spiritual giant! He was no longer walking in carnality and using his fleshly strength to do spiritual work. On the day of Pentecost, God gave him the courage to stand before thousands of people and tell them about Jesus’ work on the cross. Peter did not shy away from telling the Jews that they had killed Jesus by their lawless hands, neither did he fear their punishment.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit was Jesus’ promise to the believers. Jesus told them that they were going to receive power to reach people all over the world. Peter not only received power, but he also received the powerful revelation of the gospel! The Holy Spirit connected the dots! Finally, Jesus’ teachings, His arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection painted a picture of God’s plan of salvation. It all made sense because God took the veil off of his perception, and Peter was able to see! This revelation came in God’s timing not Peter’s!
We all need God’s revelation to be courageous in living the Christian life and sharing the gospel. We are not called to just learn from others and regurgitate information. God reveals His truth to us, and it takes root in our spirit man. We own that revelation, and we don’t forget it. This allows us to step into unknown and uncertain places. It also helps us in sharing the gospel. God’s revelation gives us the courage to be bold. We are able to tell others about the Lord because we have experienced and witnessed Him for ourselves.
Gaining God’s revelation takes time and patience. It doesn’t happen in our timetable because we want it or are ready to for it. We just faithfully need to spend time with the Lord in the word, prayer, and worship, and when God chooses, He reveals Himself and His plan to us. His revelation is long-lasting, and no one can take it away. Praise God!
We may have a certain expectation of spiritual life, such as having continual revelation, prophesy, or getting emotional during worship. All those spiritual encounters are great, but if we expect to experience them regularly or in our timetable to feel spiritual, we are in the danger of our soulish life manufacturing them to make us feel ok.
Do you rely heavily on commentaries or other people’s revelation of the Word? Or do you allow God to give you His revelation? Do you have certain expectation of what a spiritual life should include or what a mature spiritual person should experience? Can you feel ok without producing spiritual results? Are you bold and courageous in sharing the gospel with others when the opportunity presents itself?
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