"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they realised that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13 NKJV
Why would the members of the elite Sanhedrin, marvel at untrained and unlearned men? Because they were so impressed at their courage and the results they had received in healing the man at the gate Beautiful. They had nothing else to compare it with; the evidence was staring them in the face, the man had been made well. It could not be denied. Therefore, they were astounded and realised that these men had been with Jesus.
Now that is amazing in itself. They knew of Jesus, they had seen Him around preaching and teaching and had also seen Him in the synagogues around the area. He had such a mighty reputation. Now Peter and John were carrying out the same type of work and the results were evident, the man had been healed and they were echoing the work of Jesus and displaying the training He had given them.
The Sanhedrin would also have recognised that there was a dynamic power to all of this. It was the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were fulfilling the work Jesus had left them to carry out and were flowing in the power He said they would receive. It was a Heaven sent power.
All of this shines a light on the fact that there are many Christian leaders in the world today, who haven't received a formal training in theology and the hierarchy knock them for this. Let me just say, yes there is a place for formal training, very much so and it is good to attend these training places if one is to serve Jesus. However, Jesus can also anoint ordinary, Spirit-filled people to build amazing ministries, bringing many thousands of people to Jesus. We should never knock either direction a person takes. Jesus is the one who makes this choice. Therefore, sharing one's faith or testimony, should be guided by the Holy Spirit not just one's educational experience.
God can use little old you to make a mighty difference where you live, work or go during any given day. He has commissioned you Matthew 28 & Mark 16 and you have been filled with the Holy Spirit from that day you came to Jesus. Perhaps you need a little extra power, so ask Him to baptise you in the Holy Spirit if you haven't been already. Get stuck into studying your bible until you're familiar with key verses. Once this has happened, you're good to go.
The most important characteristic you need to carry around, is allowing people to see, that you have been with Jesus. People cannot resist Him, whether they like Him or loathe Him.
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a message