Made for More: Part Two預覽

Peter

Many of us remember Peter, Jesus’s disciple, for his shortcomings and the moment he denied being a follower of Christ. Yet God still had much in store for Peter which perhaps we don’t hear enough about in church or Bible studies 

After Christ’s crucifixion, on an ancient Israelite festival that later became known as the day of Pentecost, thousands of Jews would return to Jerusalem from all over the surrounding regions. Scripture says, on this day, when all the disciples were gathered together in one place, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Repeatedly in the Old Testament, scripture refers to the presence of God through fire (Nehemiah 9:12, Exodus 24:17). On this day, God’s presence came down in separate, personal flames, representing God’s presence residing now in us - Jesus’s people.

Peter, the same man who failed to acknowledge Christ, stepped into a new passion. Some would even say he became a whole new Peter. 

Following the crucifixion of Christ, Peter quickly faced a time of MORE HUMILITY. Even as a disciple, Peter had struggled with arrogance, doubt, and confusion. But in Acts, it’s as if we’re meeting a revived Peter. When we first met Peter, his uncertainty and conceit had him caught up in himself. But Peter’s life is a beautiful transformative depiction of what the Spirit of God can do in us. 

In Acts 2, Peter and over 100 disciples encountered the Holy Spirit. As a result of this encounter, Peter was filled with MORE AWARENESS and CONVICTION, unlike the Peter we knew before. As the crowd was filled with the Spirit, they became joyful - so much so that they began to dance to the point that the others around them suspected that they were drunk. Yet Peter, full of awe and wonder at what the Spirit was doing, spoke up and reminded everyone what the prophets had said about the Messiah they had crucified. Then Peter called on them to “repent and be baptized" in order that they too would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36-39).

Peter spoke that day with fearlessness, passion, and conviction that came from the filling of the Spirit. Granted, Peter had faced his days of cowardice, of failing to step into moments of conviction for Christ. But even if he was ever filled with regret, it opened his eyes to the truth before him and fueled MORE PASSION within him to live for Christ. 

We can quickly get hung up on our faults, failures, and shortcomings. These things can all prevent us from moving forward and maturing in our faith, but Jesus came to leave us with MORE of himself, his Spirit, and his passion. When we allow Christ’s Spirit to fill us with MORE PASSION, it will fuel us like nothing on this earth can.