Peter, the one-legged
apostle, who went about with one foot in his mouth, was instantaneously
transformed when tongues of fire settled on his head. He immediately preached
his first sermon, without teleprompter or crib-notes, to the multitude drawn to
God’s first Spirit Flow-Down Party, followed by a sermon in Solomon’s Portico
and an address to the Sanhedrin... all in a matter of days. This explains the
use of the Greek present participle, denoting repeated action, in Acts 4:13: “Now when they (continuously) saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled...” A
pattern of unexplainable behavior was emerging every time these Jesus Freaks
came to town. Side-Bar: The word "Freak" is used here in its current common usage to refer to a
person with something strikingly unusual about their behavior, exhibiting a
strong obsession with a particular activity. When the rulers, elders, and
scribes perceived... grasp and seized upon the fact, that Peter and John were
rank bottom-feeders of their social order, with no marketable education or
skill sets... literally illiterate and ignorant, they marveled at their bold
confident articulate unfettered eloquence of speech... “And they realized that they
had been with Jesus.” The Greek here paints the picture of a divine epiphany:
These “spiritual leaders” were astonished without explanation... literally
dumbfounded by Peter’s powerful comprehensive fearless presentation of the gospel
with accompanying signs and wonders, when it suddenly occurred to them that
Peter and John had been with Jesus: “You shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you... and you shall be witnesses...” The “promise of the
Father” (Acts 1:4, 5, 8) is supernatural enabling power to witness, to re-present
Christ, to a lost and dying world. There is an urgency... a singularity of
focus... a compelling determination... an obsession accompanying this promise
that is strikingly unusual, producing people of “One Thing.” Now... let’s go
see what a little quiet time in the presence of the Lord will do for our
“Freakiness”, and then let’s let the Holy Spirit manifest Christ in us... in
our home... our neighborhood... our workplace... the Mall... the highways and
byways of our life... 24/7... this is our only hope of Glory!
PEOPLE
OF “ONE THING”
HAVE
BEEN WITH JESUS
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