Living Fearless

 Matt 26:35
Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.

Bold words from the mouth of Peter. I believe he meant it with all of his heart. That was Peter’s personality. He was not afraid to step out. He was the one who stepped out of the boat into the water when Jesus called out to Him. He was the one who drew out his sword and whacked off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest. Impetuous, acting quickly and without thought or care of the consequences. Here he is again, in the heat of the moment, speaking out without really thinking. Jesus, who knows our hearts better than we do, looks at Peter with a heart of compassion and says, “Peter, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me three times”. What a blow that must have been for Peter, but when the rubber hit the road, Peter gave in to his fears. Our humanity is so prone towards self-preservation. When the going gets tough, we take the road of least resistance. This proneness is made more evident without the help of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We see a different Peter after Pentecost. Peter at Pentecost experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in His fullness.  (Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost…Acts 4:8)   Filled with the fire of God, Peter’s fear was gone as he spoke with boldness about Jesus. As newborn Christians, we have become a follower of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us into all truth. The Holy Spirit will lead us to a place of full surrender. To a place where we give everything to God and allow the Holy Spirit to remove the proneness to sin. Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not dehumanize us, but it does empower us to live victorious and fearless where we are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we are tempted to fear, we can stand up to our adversary and truly say, "Though I should die, I will not forsake my God.”

Filled with the Holy Ghost

Act 2:4 … And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost..

The idea of being filled implies there is an indwelling presence of something. We say that we are filled with joy and running over, or filled with excitement and can’t contain it. Such fillings are emotions that are created by experiences and situations in our lives that cause us to express an outward manifestation of happiness. The day of Pentecost was more that just a day of great joy and expression of emotions of happiness. The coming of the Holy Ghost into the heart of believers was a spiritual experience that transcended the mind and emotions. The Father sent the Comforter, the Holy Ghost to fill the heart to those who were praying in the upper room. They gathered for one purpose, seeking God for power and purity. Power to stand boldly in the face of opposition, and purity to live a life holy and acceptable to God. The Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer is what caused the world to turn upside down. The church of Jesus Christ was born, built on the foundation of Christ alone, His Spirit empowered His church to spread the news of His love, grace and mercy.

The Promise of Jesus

John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

The promise of Jesus given to believers that there will be one that will not only be with us, but “shall be in you” Such was the case on the day of Pentecost. The day that believers gathered together in the upper room united together in prayer. The Holy Spirit came, purifying their heart’s by faith, filling their heart with burning love, gave them power over the works of darkness and sin. As believers, we need the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and lead us and direct our path. He is the source of truth who will not lead us astray. Believers in Christ are still human vessels subject to the temptation of Satan. It is essential that we have the Holy Spirit in us to be all that God wants us to be. The Holy Spirit want to work in our lives, but we must submit ourselves, our will, our desires to His will. Let the Spirit of Truth be our standard of living. We are never alone, and He will go before us.

Abstain From Sin

1 Peter 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

Accepting Christ into our lives and being forgiven of our sins does not mean that we will no longer be tempted to satisfy the desires of the flesh. Especially as new born babes in Christ, the flesh wars against the new spirit within us to yield to the temptation to gratify sinful human desires that God tells us to refrain. As we feed on the milk of God’s word, the Holy Spirit begins to strengthen our resolve and gives us the means to fight against the flesh. As we grow in God, His Spirit brings us to a place where we yield our bodies as a living sacrifice to God’s perfect will in our lives. As it was in the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit takes control of our lives and empowers us to live holy and blameless. We daily submit to the will of God because Satan will continue to tempt us through our humanity to doubt God’s love and will for our lives. “Did God say?”.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

Filled With The Holy Spirit

Acts. 9:17 …the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

The Bible is filled with scripture where believers in Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit after they have turned their life over to Christ and their sins have been forgiven. The Day of Pentecost is a historical event that demonstrates that the Holy Spirit desires to indwell all believers to equip them to live a victorious life in Christ. Empowering them to preach the gospel of Jesus without fear of man. This is the foundation principle of holiness. A Holy God through the Holy Spirit, living in and through those who name the Name of Christ. There is no formula, or procedure manual showing how this takes place. It is  base on Bible teaching, that God will not dwell in an unclean vessel. The vessel must be sanctified before it can be filled. This is the Wesleyan doctrine. Believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved. Consecrate and surrender your life to the will of God, and the Holy Spirit will come to all who trust and obey.

Go, and Sin No More

John 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Christ came to fulfill the law to perfection that through His life and death, He enables us by His grace to sin no more. The concept of living a life without sinning is foreign to many who see themselves struggling with life’s temptations and fleshly desires to please self. The carnal nature of man is enmity against God and is not subject to His holiness. Without grace, man is helpless to live a life that is sinless. The heart of man is desperately wicked, even a person trained to be good will stand before God naked and see the uncleanness of his heart. What is man to do? All have sinned and come short of pleasing God, we have only one remedy, flee to the cross, confess our sins, ask Him to forgive us of our transgression, and to clean our hearts of all that is unlike Him. His love and grace without fail will speak,”Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin more” He promise to them that would believe in Him that He would send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit will come as we seek more of Him. The Holy Spirit, as in the day of Pentecost will come to them that seek Him and He will give us power to live a life that can love God with all our hearts, mind, body and soul. Without Him, it is impossible to fulfill this commandment. But with God, all things are possible.

Coven Tongues of Fire

Act 2:3,4 “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”-

Cloven tongues of fire is a symbolic sign of the Holy Spirit falling upon those believers that have prayed for the fullness of His power. The fire of God to purge the heart from sin, power to live above sin, and power to communicate the message that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and life. Power to speak God’s word without fear and to do it with love and compassion. On the day of Pentecost, many travels from different parts of the world, all speaking a language unique to their location. God, gave those in the upper room the power to speak in a tongue that could be understood by many languages. The language was split (cloven) and was spoken with power, so that others could understand the message that Jesus Christ came, died for our sins, rose again to give up life eternal. The message of hope that God has provided a way for sinners to come to Him. We now, through the blood of Christ and power of the Holy Spirit can come boldly to the throne of God and have an audience with Him. “It is for us all today, if we trust and truly pray” Come Holy Spirit!