The Face of a Believer

Acts 6

Reading the book of Acts is really an adventure. We see the gospel “in motion,” and Acts chapter six is no different. The last verse in particular is incredible.

“And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” (Acts 6:15)

The subject of everyone’s attention is Stephen, a man first introduced in this chapter and stoned to death in the next, being the first martyr for Jesus Christ. He was so passionate and filled with faith and the Holy Spirit that he began to do amazing works. People eventually grew offended at his teaching and wisdom that some (wrongly) accused him of speaking against the Old Testament and God.

Yet when these charges are brought against him, people in the council could not help but see his face. How was it like an angel? Matthew 28:3 describes an angel whom the women at the tomb saw, and he was described with the appearance “like lightning.” Perhaps this is how he looked. Such a radiant face would attract attention for sure. Or what if he just had a huge smile on his face the entire time? That would be just as amazing, especially while false charges are brought against him. How did he get this glow? From the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, Moses spent so much time with God that his skin started shining, and everyone knew he spoke with God (Exodus 34:35). In the same way, God, in his Holy Spirit, gives us the confidence and boldness to speak his word, so much so that people just have see our boldness to see if it’s correct. Of course, there is evidence for the truth of the gospel, but the word of a genuine believer cannot be refuted.

Steven was probably at the earlier prayer meeting, where the disciples asked, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” (Acts 4:29)

We can pray for boldness and strength as well. God simply wants a willing person (Luke 11:13).

By Jared Saavedra

Power when Under Pressure

Acts 4:19-20, 29-31

In Acts Chapter 3 through the power of God Peter and John healed a man who had been crippled from birth. This angered the religious leaders because as we have previously learned; they were afraid that if people followed Jesus then they would lose their position and power. For this reason they threatened Peter and John, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus.

This was far worse than a situation today were a teacher may ask a student not to bring a bible to school, or a court ordering a copy of the ten commandments to be removed from a public place. This is because unlike in our current culture in America today; in this time period and culture to disobey an authority figure could easily result in instant death, or a horrific beating.

With this in mind let’s read Acts 4:19-20 and check out how Peter and John reacted:

• But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

This is the deal: Peter and John declared that they clearly knew what the right thing was for them to do. However they were under tremendous pressure, and they needed the power to do the right thing.

• Acts 4:29-31 says, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, “by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

Notice that they didn’t pray that the problem would go away. Their prayer was selfless; they were totally committed to the mission that God had given to them; therefore they prayed for the power to continue under pressure, and it was granted.

Just like Peter and John all of us will encounter situations in our lives when we are under pressure, and it seems easier to just give in, go with the crowd, not speak up for the Lord, or any number of temptations which result in a compromise of our faith. God promises that through His Holy Spirit He will give us the power to do the right thing.

• Philippians 2:13~ for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Our part only involves two very simple steps:

• Pray
• Do the right thing.

By Morris Brison

Acts 2

New Birth

Have you ever had a hands-on experience with the birth of a new child? Maybe your parents, a sibling, aunt and uncle? Isn’t such a joyous time to reflect on the pregnancy that was before, to look back and see some of the hardship someone may have endured through the pregnancy, but to now see the bundle of joy resting quietly in the arms of the mother? It is a precious moment between the mother and father with their new child. It is a time of rejoicing!

In the book of Acts, we have here, a church which has been planted, Peter and the apostles are leading, and many are coming to know Christ as Lord and as Savior. Specifically in chapter 2, Peter gives this awesome message about the person of Christ, who He is and what he came to do. In other words, Peter was preaching the gospel!

Peter comes before the men of Judea and Israel because they accused Peter and the apostles of being drunk, but in actuality, they had received the Holy Spirit and they were speaking in tongues (Acts 2:2-4). Peter begins by speaking about the prophecy from the Old Testament about the things that were to come which were happening right then and there. Peter then gives them the power of the gospel message by saying in verses 22-24, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

Peter said to these men that they were the ones who crucified Jesus on the cross, and explains to them their intentions, but then shows them the will of the Father, “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” That is the gospel message! Jesus came, was crucified, died a sinner’s death even though He wasn’t a sinner, and God raised Him up from the dead, conquering sin and conquering death!

This gospel message is also true for everyone today! Notice, the gospel message has not changed! We preach the same exact thing even in this very day, and do we not see people coming to know Christ? Yes we do! And you know how many were saved by the message that Peter gave that day?! 3,000!!! 3,000 people gave their lives to Christ, repented of their sin and now have been made right with God. It goes on in verse 42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” This verse is actually what Harvest takes as part of their statement of faith and we believe it to be true, that those who come to Christ need to hear the Word of God taught so they can grow in their faith, and they need to continue to have fellowship with the brethren.

There are 2 things we can take from this:

1. Preach the Gospel!!!!

It is so important for us as believers to be preaching the Word of God. If we did not preach the gospel how would others know about God? We have been called by God to preach! Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Also in Romans 10:14-15 it says concerning preaching the gospel, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” That is the mission, preach the gospel. You want to be used mightily by God? Preach the Word.

2. Go To Church!!

It is also important to be in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. How will we grow and how will we know Christ if we aren’t reading the Bible, praying and going to church surrounding ourselves with other believers. Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Go to church, get involved and allow the Lord to use you in any way capable. Get plugged in and see the transforming grace of God in the lives of those who come to know Christ.

Is it not cool when we see people come to know Christ? It is so cool when people who have lived their entire life for themself, realized their importance for a Savior, and the power of the Gospel is right there, ready to change them! What power the gospel has! Did you know the same power that conquered the grave lives in you now? You, as a believer of Jesus Christ, have received the Holy Spirit, and are now a new person, the old has gone away and the new is now here!

How awesome is the power of the gospel!? Has it changed you? Have you allowed the Lord to be Himself, Lord? Does He rule and reign your heart? I pray so! Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”

How do I preach the gospel? Acts 2:38-39 is the answer! “ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Acts 1

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Have you ever felt like you just are not capable of living the life that God has called you to live? You keep sinning, you let opportunities to share the Gospel go by, or you just keep forgetting to pray and read the Bible.Maybe you feel defeated.  You are not alone. Many Christians experience these feelings.

That may have been how the Disciples felt when Jesus ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:6-11). They asked Jesus when if He was going to restore God’s kingdom(make everything perfect) right then. They did not want to live without Jesus. They were probably worried that they would fail to do what Jesus had called them to do based on the fact that they failed even when Jesus was with them. But Jesus gives them a promise of hope.

“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” That was Jesus promise to His disciples. They did not need to worry or fear because the Holy Spirit would soon be upon them. In John 16:7 Jesus says “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” Jesus has to remind them that a helper is coming. The Holy Spirit is the helper that Jesus was talking about. The Holy Spirit will come upon the Christians of the early church in Acts 2 and and give them power to be be God’s witnesses in Jerusalem (Acts 1-7), Judea and Samaria (Acts 8-12), and to the ends of the earth (Acts 13-28).

That same power is available to us today. Jesus was not just promising that the Holy Spirit would come to the first Christians but to all Christians. Have you prayed and asked that the Holy Spirit would help you? Do that today. You feel incapable to do whats right because on you own, you are incapable. But the Holy Spirit is here is help you and give you strength and power to do what God has called you to. As we go through Acts remember that this is not a history of what the early church leaders were able to accomplish, but it is a history of what the Holy Spirit accomplished through ordinary men and women who were yielded their lives to the power of Holy Spirit.

John 21

Follow Me!

John 21:22 “Jesus said to him, “what is that to you? You follow me!”

Have you ever felt bummed out because you look at the lives of your friends and others around and then compare it to your life and it doesn’t quite add up? Your friends have more stuff and a bigger house,  your brother and sister are allowed to do things that your parents never would have let you do at their age, or you are going through a tough time in life and it seems like everyone else has it easy. You are sitting there asking “Why me?”

This is where Peter finds himself after Jesus informs Peter that he is going to die for the glory of God.(vs. 18-19). I’m sure this was not easy news at first. Imagine if someone told you that you were going to die and that it was going to be extremely painful. Not fun news. So Peters response was “well what about John?” He was basically wanting to know if John was going to suffer like he was going to suffer. Peter was comparing his situation to John’s.

Jesus’ response to Peter is something that we all need to hear. “What is that to you? You follow me!” Jesus redirects Peter’s attention to what really matters. Jesus is saying to Peter “it does not matter what I have others do. That is none of your concern. Your job is to follow Me and do what I tell you to do!”  The same applies to us. If we focus on the blessings of others or that others don’t have it as hard as we do, we lose focus of Jesus.

What are you focused on today? Do you think a lot about how much harder your life is than everyone else’s? Jesus says, “what does that matter? You follow Me.” Are you bummed because the people around you are being blessed and you feel like you are not? Jesus says, “what does that matter? You follow Me!”  Focus on Jesus and what He has called you to do. Don’t worry about others, follow Jesus!

John 20

Do You Believe This?

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31

John remarks on the facts that are necessary for us to believe that Jesus is the Christ. After everything amazing we have seen in this rich gospel account, John yet says, “There’s still more!” Nevertheless, we don’t read about everything that Jesus did, but only the important details.

Of course, to call chapter 20 merely “an important detail” is an extreme understatement! Moments before, John writes the account of Christ’s resurrection. In verse 9, we are told that the scriptures say that Jesus must rise from the dead. In other words, all of the Old Testament and all of Jesus’ teachers require Christ’s resurrection to be true and valid. Well, he did.

The challenge now is for the disciples to believe it. John’s book is for that very purpose. Many don’t believe, not because there’s “not enough evidence” but because they have a choice: to believe or not believe. In John 11:25-26, when Jesus talks with Martha about raising her brother from the dead, he says,
“Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Then he asks, “Do you believe this?”

Martha responded with a “Yes.” And after that, he brought her brother Lazarus from the dead!

So before you go any further with reading in the New Testament, ask yourself, “Do I believe these things?” Perhaps it won’t bring anybody from the dead, but what was the reason? We believe that we may have life. This means that we have a relationship with God through the sacrifice of Jesus, whereas we were dead before in sin.