Will you listen and obey?
June 20, 2022 - I'm just now getting around to posting this. It's a little lengthy, but what God revealed was so good.
In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested and brought before the council. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and addressed this council with boldness and much courage. He spoke TRUTH to them. What amazed me was that 50 days prior to him being filled with the Spirit, he had just denied his Saviour 3 times. Yet, in such a short amount of time, he had found himself redeemed and restored and preaching Gospel with "boldness and courage".
I started asking myself why? How was that possible. Here is my conclusion.
In Acts 4:13, as he was standing before the council it states: "The council members were astonished as they witnessed the bold courage of Peter and John, especially when they discovered that they were just ordinary men who had never had any religious training. Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him". TPT
Did you catch that? Peter had spent 3 years with Jesus. He knew Him intimately. He knew his Father's voice. When Peter denied Jesus there is no doubt that he was crushed by the weight of what he had done. However, since he had this beautiful, intimate relationship with Jesus he "knew the way home" and back to the Father.
Do I/you have an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus? When others look at us, do they KNOW that we have been in the presence of Jesus and are spending time with him on a regular basis? Do they sense something different about us. Are they drawn to the Father by the way we live? Or, do they see us as they probably see themselves? Living for today. No power. Ineffective in the world as we know it, etc.
After denying Jesus, Peter could have said, "I screwed up. I am no longer worthy to be a follower of Jesus", and just walked away. Instead, Peter repented and God used him mightily to spread the Gospel.
Stop listening to the wrong voice (satan) and spend time daily with the Father so you will KNOW who is speaking to you! The Father is saying, I have great plans for you, but you have to be willing to repent, listen and then obey. Will you?
