LORD FILL ME AFRESH
In Acts 4:1-31, After the brethren prayed, the place they
were was shaken and they were all filled with the holy spirit. In Acts 2:1, Jesus promised them the
holy spirit and then in Acts 3, as peter preached the word of God, a
man at the beautiful gate was healed and rose up and walked.
In Luke 9, Jesus
healed a boy born blind and later the Pharisees started investigating whether
the miracle was real and whether the boy was born blind. The enemy looked for
ways to dispute the miracle. The man at the beautiful gate was also healed but
in his case he ran to the temple and there was serious uproar and while he was
speaking with the people in Acts 4, they came and seized Peter and John.
That
is to show that while God is performing miracles on one side the enemy is
increasing his oppression on the other side. The enemies came to stop the
influence of what the believers were doing in the name of Jesus Christ. The
brethren performed miracles according to the standard of Jesus Christ and a
true test of sign and wonder from God almighty can be seen in Deuteronomy
13:1-5, when the false prophets word comes to pass, further test is carried out
to check whether he is diverting men to follow other gods. Not all signs and
wonders are from God almighty as seen in Deutronomy 13:1-5. God saw the level
of opposition upon the brethren and decided to refill them with more power of
the holy spirit. What the enemy is after are those that do good in the sight of
God. It is being on the right path that attracts opposition from the enemies.
The power Peter and other brethren used to heal and perform miracles was of God
but they still required more power in order to resist the level of opposition
on them so God had to fill them afresh with the holy spirit as seen in Acts 4:31. Peter boldly proclaimed to the Sanhedrin that we have no other way of salvation than in Jesus Christ as seen in Acts 4:12, “Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.”.
When the Sanhedrin saw the boldness
of Peter and that he was uneducated they marveled at his boldness, this
boldness came from the power of the holy spirit. With this they also saw the
evidence that God is with them. Our prayer is that “Lord let that thing that
will show evidence that we are serving you, let it manifest “. After Peter and John were further threatened they were released and they returned to pray
and fresh power fell on them as seen in Acts 4:31.
One thing this tells us is, many
times when there are threats, our prayer is channeled towards the threat and enemy, but
part of the prayer should be on what God should do to us. There is leakage of
power as we do our day to day battle with the enemy. therefore we require fresh
grace and filling from God in order to do his work. The brethren prayed in Acts
4:30 “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the
name of your holy servant Jesus” this shows that as Christians we must
constantly pray for new level constantly, every time. One thing God can do is
to anoint us with higher power than the opposition facing us and take us to a
place where somethings no longer matter.
How does one work to be filled afresh
·
Humility: Ephesians 4:2 “Be completely humble
and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” Come humbly before
God everyday to be filled afresh.
·
Isaiah 9:7 “Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it.” There has to be an Increase of
God’s Government in our life
·
Ephesians 4:13 “And do not grieve the Holy
Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” Grieve not
the holy spirit of God and the prompting of the holy spirit. because it is by
him we are saved.
·
Godly exercise: Exercise yourself in the place
of fasting, worship, prayer and study of the word.1 Tim 4:8, “For bodily
exercise profited little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having
promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. “
When there are more oppositions, it is for us
to ask God to empower us afresh, so that all men will know that he is God.
Prayer: Father Lord forgive us all
our sins and Lord deliver us from everything the enemy wants us to do that will
draw us away from his presence.
MINISTER: SAMUEL OGUTA
