Message for September 11, 2022 from Pastor Jerry

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31(NKJV)

     This word, boldness, is defined in word wealth for the verse above.  It means outspokenness, unreserved utterance, freedom of speech, with frankness, candor, cheerful courage, and the opposite of cowardice, timidity, or fear.  Here it denotes a divine enablement that comes to ordinary and unprofessional people exhibiting spiritual power and authority.  It also refers to a clear presentation of the gospel without being ambiguous or unintelligible.The Greek word “Parrhesia” is not a human quality but a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

“And with great power(dunamis) the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:32(NKJV)

     Dunamis means energy, power, might, great force, great ability, strength.  It is sometimes used to describe the power of the world to come at work upon the earth and divine power overcoming all resistance.  The English word is dynamite.  The dunamis in Jesus resulted in dramatic transformations.  This is the norm for Spirit Filled Christians.

     We live in a world, today, that is putting pressure on us to compromise our faith.  I have lived my life by God’s Word.  I have preached His Word and I believe the Word is a standard by which we should judge our lives.  I will not change nor surrender my faith to any other idea or person.  I will love them, and help them anyway I can but I will not compromise my faith in God’s word.  I speak it.