Responding in the Moment to the Holy Spirit

Responding in the Moment to the Holy Spirit

God often leads moment by moment. He doesn’t always give us the big picture of what he is doing.

Acts 3:1-21

• The gate “beautiful”: Josephus gave us some details on this gate. He said it was 75 feet high, made of Corinthian brass. It had huge double doors.
• He’s crippled from birth is important, so he’s never learned to walk, his legs have never had muscle.
• Acts 3:7, describing the miracle, Luke uses a technical medical term.

Acts 4:1-20

• Acts 4:8, Peter is filled with the Spirit. I think filling can be used two ways in Acts. One is of the indwelling, such as in Acts 2 at Pentecost. That’s when the Spirit comes and makes His home in us. Sometimes, those already indwelled with the Spirit are “filled” in the moment with the Spirit. There are moments when the Spirit’s activity seems to intensify. All who have walked with the Lord deeply have experienced this! He can at moments uniquely take deeper possession of a person. He can speak with the mouth, think with the mind, take deeper control of our personality.
• Throughout the encounter, the Apostles actions are unplanned, unrehearsed and unscripted. They are lead by the Holy Spirit.
• How to have a bad day: What messes up your day is the flesh. The flesh has attitude. The flesh says things the Holy Spirit never would. The flesh is selfish. The flesh hurts people. The Spirit will lead you to sacrificially love others.

Nine Traits of People Easily Lead by The Spirit:

1. Have (Acts 3:1, they were going to the temple to pray.)

3 habits maintain daily:

• Habit of Prayer: Time set aside. (Trouble: Kick shoes)
• Habit of Scripture. Regularly. (I Plow/rejoice, call)
• Habit of meditation. (Think Word said/dialogue God)

2. Easily

• Acts 3:3, when the begger asks for money, they don’t’ respond by telling him they are too busy and already going to prayer meeting.
• They were aware of God’s activity in the moment, and so they stopped.

3. Belief that

• Acts 3:7, Peter had faith the man would be healed.
• Acts 4:10, Peter clearly communicates God is the one who healed.
• In the book, “Jesus Drive Me Crazy,” Leonard Sweet examines places where Christianity is growing. He states that Christianity is growing where there is: “Belief in miracles and a personal God who cares enough to intervene directly in everyday life.” He also points out that Christianity is in decline “where faith is being passed on by churches for whom the Real Presence has vanished from the world, churches that no longer have confidence in the Scripture or the Spirit, churches whose cold Christ can no longer warm the heart.”
• LETTER From Lance McDaniels: (2004, Iraq War) “I have had the opportunity to see and hear of many miracles out here. I am not much of a believer in luck, so when the enemy tries to blow up vehicles in my convoy and the explosion goes off between vehicles, and people are unharmed that is a miracle. When rockets land 33 feet from a plywood guard shack and shrapnel goes through the little guard shacks plywood walls on two sides, and the marines inside are untouched, that’s a miracle. When a piece of shrapnel from an explosion rips through a marines cover (the brim) and doesn’t touch his face, that is a miracle. When a rocket propelled grenade crashes into the engines of one of our hum-v’s and doesn’t explode, that is a miracle. When the enemies bullets punch holes in our hum-v’s and miss the marines inside, that is a miracle. When a truck with men in the back hits a mine so powerful it destroys the back of the truck, but the men inside the bed walk away with mild concussions, that is a miracle. Thank everyone for their prayers, we certainly appreciate it. I don’t know how people can see what we see and not be a Christian.”

4. Know (Acts 3:4-6)

• They did not have silver or gold, but they did have Jesus.
• Jesus Name spills out of Peter: Infuses passage: (Acts 3:6, Acts 3:13, Acts 3:16, Acts 3:20, Acts 4:2, Acts 4:10, Acts 4:11, Acts 4:13, Acts 4:17, Acts 4:27)
• They understood that two did not go to the temple (Peter and John) but actually three, Peter, John and Jesus. All they had to do was point to Jesus.

5. Speak (Acts 3:13, Acts 3:14, Acts 3:15)

6. Loud in (Acts 3:19-20)

7. Love (Acts 4:23)

8. Take personal (Acts 4:25-26)

They gook personal hope in the Scriptures.

9. Look forward to (Acts 4:31)