Scripture to Read: Acts 4:9–12
God uses all His children who are full of Him and empty of themselves. As we read in Acts 4:8, God tells us, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…. God had filled Peter with His Holy Spirit because Peter willingly crucified His flesh and submitted Himself fully to our Lord. We know every Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but that does not mean every Christian is full of the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we can get full of ourselves when we’re unwilling to crucify our fleshly desires (Galatians 5:17). That is why God commands us in Ephesians 4:30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19 not to grieve or quench the Spirit. Peter was a vessel ready to be used by God because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, in Acts 4:9–12, God used Peter to proclaim boldly about our Lord Jesus Christ to the religious leaders who had him thrown into prison the night before. Peter had a boldness that comes from God alone. God wants us ready to share Him as He opens opportunities for us to be His witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ each day. We share Christ because we know, just as Peter had proclaimed in Acts 4:12, “…there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Being filled by God’s Holy Spirit, Peter spoke boldly (Ephesians 6:19–20). When we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, God uses us in the same way.
Challenge & Application
• Why was God able to use Peter in such a mighty and miraculous way?
• How are you submitting to our Lord daily so that you are filled with Him and not your fleshly desires?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!