The Action in Acts

Mike Hosey, Elder

The book of Acts is one of the most popular sections of scripture in the Bible. In fact, of all 66 books of the Bible, Acts ranks as #10.  It’s pretty easy to see why.  Acts is a book of action.  From the first chapter to the last, there are stories of amazing motion from the early foundational days of the church. Central to the story is the character of the Holy Spirit.  He appears early on in the book, and it is He who moves things along to accomplish God’s purposes on earth.

There are some interesting things about the Holy Spirit that we learn in Acts.  Consider these three things:

1) The Holy Spirit EMBOLDENS people for service to God:  Take a look at Peter.  Just before Jesus is crucified, Peter fearfully denies Him three times (John 18:15-27). But after the Holy Spirit touches him in the Book of Acts, Peter becomes exceedingly bold, preaching a sermon on the proofs of the Lordship of Jesus.  He sums up his sermon by openly proclaiming to the religious leaders who had just murdered Jesus for His claims, that they had, in fact, murdered both their Lord, and the anointed Son of God (Acts 2:36).

2) The Holy Spirit ENLIVENS the word of God: When Peter had finished his Holy Spirit inspired sermon, which was filled with direct quotations from the word of God, and which also became the word of God, the people were pierced to the center of their being (Acts 2:37). It put them in a state of immediately wanting to serve! And it’s no wonder that this happened.  Afterall, because of the Holy Spirit, the word of God is ALIVE and sharper than a two edged sword, and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)!

3) The Holy Spirit causes even the least to PROCLAIM God’s Truth:

Take notice of Peter’s sermon once more.  He quotes from the Old Testament book of Joel which decrees that even slaves will proclaim the truth of God to the world (Acts 2:18) in the last days.

So if you want to be emboldened, with an enlivened sense of the Word, and an effective proclamation of the truth, then submit yourself to Jesus, and God will give you a very great gift (Acts 2:38).