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DA I LY D E V O T I O N A L IN THE N E W T E S T A M E N T
S T UD I E S
FOR INDIVIDUAL MEDITATION
AND FAMILY WORSHIP
By R. A. TORREY »■"■«"Mi"'"''"
........ ........................... nimm
Sunday, October i. Acts 2:12-21.
Spirit. Peter went to the right place to get an explanation o f this strange scene, not to human philosophy but to the Word o f God. He told them it was but the fulfill ment o f one o f thé great Old Testament prophecies (vs. 14-21, cf. Joel 2:28, 29). The complete fulfillment o f this glorious proph ecy lies still in the future, a future that may be very near at hand,, and this great outpouring o f the Spirit is to be followed by judgment, “blood and fire and vapor o f smoke,” the darkened sun and the blood red moon: that will be “the Day o f the Lord,” and “ a great and notable day.” Then, as now, whosoever shall call on the name o f the Lord shall be saved (v. 21 ; Rom. 10:13). But the time to call on the name o f the Lord in order to be saved is right now. Peter after his explanatory introduction, proceeds at once to preach Jesus. Any Spirit filled man will always make Jesus the very center o f his preaching. He begins with Jesus as a man, but as a man He was “approved o f God.” The word here trans lated “ approved” means set forth (or, ' declared) approved. It refers to God’s public endorsement o f Jesus rather than His secret approval o f Him. This endorsement was by “mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by Him.” The thought is that the miracles o f Jesus were God’s endorsement o f Him and His work. The evidence for these miracles o f Jesus is overwhelming. A host o f gifted scholars, among whom Strauss and Renan are prob ably entitled to the first place, have put forth the most strenuous efforts to explain away the accounts o f the miracles o f Jesus; but all these attempts have failed utterly. Monday, October 2. Acts 2:22, 23.
Pretty much every word one can think o f is used to bring out the overwhelming amazement o f the people at what they saw and heard in Peter and the rest They were “confounded,” “amazed,” “they mar velled,” “they were perplexed.” The world cannot account for a Spirit-filled man, he is beyond their philosophy. When the world can explain a preacher and his power you may be sure it is not o f the right sort. But when a preacher and his power bewil ders the world and upsets its philosophy, then it is likely he is a Spirit-filled man. These Spirit-filled men and women lost sight o f self entirely and were taken up with the mighty works o f God (v. 11). They did not even talk much o f the Holy Spirit. The mighty work o f God which they especially emphasized was His raising Jesus Christ from the dead( vs. 24, 32). The Spirit-filled man is sure to be much occupied with the resurrection o f Christ (cf. ch. 3:15; 4:8, 10, 31, 33). (It is the work o f the Holy Spirit to bear witness o f Christ (John 15:26), and to take the things o f Christ and declare them unto us (John 16:14). When we are Spirit-filled Christ will occupy the whole horizon o f our vision. Some thought that the disciples were drunk. This is not strange for the effect o f both wine and the Spirit is stimulating, only the one stimulates unnaturally and the other supernaturally. The stimulation in one case is followed by wretched reaction, but in the other case one is lifted perma nently to a more exhlted state o f joy and l blessing and vision and power (cf. Eph. 5:18, f f ) . The best cure and the only sure cure for the craving for alcoholic stimulation is to have the holy stimulation that comes .from being filled with the Holy
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