Acts 2:22-47
"When we give our faith ACTION,
God gives it wings."
*
As we continue to study Acts 2,
we wonder how it is that Peter can lie
not only about his friendship with Jesus
but also his LOVE for Jesus.
Selfish sin can make us do some of the dumbest things.
The fact is... we DO them
and it cuts God to the heart when we do.
Just a few weeks after Jesus died,
Peter gave his faith a major
"attitude adjustment"
and he decided to
GIVE ACTION TO HIS FAITH.
By making this decision,
God gave Peter's faith WINGS.
Peter was then ABLE to stand up
before the people and preach about why
Jesus came to earth, died on a cross,
and rose to eternal life and kingship.
(Remember it was just a few days earlier
that Peter could NOT stand in front of anyone
and say that he even knew Who Jesus was!)
*
God is a Gentleman
and He IS Good Manners.
He is NOT a bully.
He would never tells someone,
"You HAVE to believe in my Son!"
There are consequences and rewards for ALL actions.
God let's us take action on our own decisions.
Peter's message to all people
(including us)
is one of the reward for believing in Jesus.
"Repent and be baptized, all of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins,
and you will recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38
*
Saying I'm sorry is easy.
Repenting is not the same as just being sorry.
Peter followed Jesus like a caterpillar,
eating up every single word Jesus said.
When Peter lied about knowing and loving Jesus,
he went into a cocoon.
It wasn't until Peter made the decision to REPENT and CHANGE
that God gave Peter the strength to break out of the cocoon (sin).
Peter took action with his faith,
God gave it wings.
*
The students watched as I took a normal piece of paper
and BENT it, folding it this way and that.
Then I ran it through a machine that CUT it and FORMED it.
We are much like that paper,
(although the paper I used had no choice of me using it)
we must be BENDABLE -like the paper,
"cut to the heart" by our sins -like the paper was cut,
and formed by God -like the machine formed the paper.
Only then can the Holy Spirit give our faith wings.
The paper was made into butterflies and
the butterflies were used to create the beautiful gift seen here.
*
Will you choose to take ACTION with your faith?
If so, just watch how God will give you wings!
It is my prayer that each of us
will be inspired by Peter's faith and
excited about how the Holy Spirit desires
to make "beautiful gifts" of our lives.
