Insightful, Biblical Devotions
On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them, the disciple’s confidence in Christ returned with a rushing mighty wind. Then with a rush of confidence, Peter stood and delivered a powerful sermon to the gathered crowd (Acts 2: 14-39). He raised his voice with great confidence and addressed the crowd and three thousand people were saved (Acts 2: 41). This was a message preached only a few weeks after Peter had denied any association with Jesus (Mark 14:66-72). The power of the Holy Spirit had transformed a coward into a confident and courageous spokesman for God.
When Peter and John were warned not to preach in Christ’s name, they spoke with power and confidence: 19 “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. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4: 19-20). Their answer was a surprise to the religious leaders at that time. But for the believer in Christ, this was no surprise as we remember Christ’s last words to the disciples before His return to the father in heaven. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
They witnessed with the confidence they had in Christ. Our confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit is worth the risk of going to all nations to make disciples irrespective of the opposition we might face. Our confidence in Him will never fall, it’s a lasting confidence because he will never leave us nor forsake us. He is always with us (Matt 28 :20). The confidence we have in Christ enables us not to get distracted from the task of being His witnesses. As we share our faith, the confidence in our voice and the power of the gospel will cause our hearers to exclaim, “what shall we do to be saved?” “Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb. 10: 35-36).
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