From Watching to Walking

Sunday Morning Bible Study

March 17, 2002

As you follow the life of Peter, you see a man who goes from being a person who is “watching” Jesus do things to a person who begins to “walk” in the power of the Holy Spirit, doing some of the same things Jesus did.

(Mat 4:18-20 KJV)  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. {19} And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. {20} And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

When Peter started following Jesus, he was just a simple fisherman.
We are told that Jesus gave His disciples authority to heal the sick and cast out demons (Mat. 10:8), but I find it interesting that we do not have any record of anyone but Jesus performing these miracles during Jesus’ lifetime.

(Luke 8:49-55 KJV)  While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. {50} But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. {51} And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. {52} And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. {53} And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. {54} And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. {55} And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

Jesus raised a little girl from the dead.  Peter was there, watching.

(Mat 16:13-23 KJV)  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? {14} And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. {15} He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? {16} And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. {17} And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. {18} And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. {19} And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This certainly seems to have been a high point for Peter.  He was “the man”.  He was the one who made the wonderful confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah.  He had learned it from the Father.

{20} Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. {21} From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. {22} Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. {23} But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Right after having said this most wonderful of things about Jesus, the next thing out of Peter’s mouth is something from Satan.

(Mat 26:31-35 KJV)  Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. {32} But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. {33} Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. {34} Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. {35} Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Peter could never have imagined that he would have denied knowing Jesus. Yet Peter does deny Jesus.

(Mat 26:69-75 KJV)  Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. {70} But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. {71} And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. {72} And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. {73} And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. {74} Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. {75} And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Jesus would be put on trial and then led to a cross where He would die.  After three days, Jesus rose again from the dead and over a period of forty days, Jesus made a several appearances to His disciples.  Jesus then ascended into heaven and ten days later something happened that would change Peter and the other disciples.

(Acts 2:1-4 KJV)  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. {2} And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. {3} And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. {4} And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

They would no longer be “watchers”, but “walkers”.  They would no longer just be bystanders, but they would be the ones speaking boldly and performing miracles.

(Acts 2:14-16 KJV)  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: {15} For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. {16} But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

It’s been fifty days since Peter had denied Jesus.  He and the other disciples have been hiding in Jerusalem.  And yet now Peter is able to stand before a huge crowd and talk to them about Jesus.

(Acts 2:37-41 KJV)  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? {38} Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. {39} For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. {40} And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. {41} Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Three thousand people get saved because of Peter’s message.  Three thousand people become followers of Jesus.

(Acts 3:1-9 KJV)  Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. {2} And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; {3} Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. {4} And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. {5} And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. {6} Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. {7} And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. {8} And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. {9} And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

Instead of being the guy watching Jesus perform the miracles, Peter is now performing miracles.  When Peter and John are arrested for the horrible crime of healing this lame man and talking about Jesus …

(Acts 4:7-10 KJV)  And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? {8} Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, {9} If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; {10} Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Peter has incredible boldness to say these things to the very men who had earlier put Jesus to death.  How could he do this?  Over the next couple of chapters of Acts we see incredible miracles being done through Peter and the other apostles.

(Acts 9:36-42 KJV)  Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. {37} And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. {38} And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. {39} Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. {40} But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. {41} And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. {42} And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

Peter is no longer a bystander.  He is raising the dead.

Illustration

Maewyn Succat was born in AD 389 in Southern Britain.  He grew up as a slave, a shepherd tending his master’s flocks.  He ran away from his master and fled to France where he became a Christian and began to grow in the Lord.  He took a new name, Patrick.  He risked his life as a run-away slave and returned home to preach to his people.  When he came to the city of Dublin, the king had just lost his only two children.  The people announced the arrival of “St.Patrick, the potent reviver of many dead persons”.  The king said that if God restored his children to life, that he and all the citizens would become Christians.  St. Patrick prayed.  He wasn’t a “bystander”.  The dead were raised and Ireland came to the Lord.

It is my desire that we are not a church of just bystanders.

In, with, and upon.

There are three “prepositions” that are used to describe our relationship to the Holy Spirit, the words “in”, “with”, and “upon” (the Greek words are en, para, and epi).  Jesus uses two of the words in:

(John 14:16-17 KJV)  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; {17} Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Before becoming a Christian, the Holy Spirit was “with us”.  He was alongside of us drawing us to Jesus, telling us about Jesus.  When we opened our heart to Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to live inside of us.  Every person who has been born again has the Holy Spirit living inside of them.

But Jesus used one more word to describe something else, when the Holy Spirit would come “upon” us.

(Acts 1:7-8 KJV)  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. {8} But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
This experience was what happened at Pentecost.  If you track the events carefully through the book of Acts, you will find that this experience is referred to in many ways:  “being filled”, “the promise of the Father”, “the baptism of the Holy Spirit”, the “gift of the Holy Ghost”, the Holy Spirit “falling upon”, “coming upon”, and “poured out upon”.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus said that the main “sign” of this event would be the power to be witnesses for Jesus.

We sometimes hear things backward and are told that the “sign” is speaking in tongues, but Jesus said it would be power to be witnesses.

power – dunamis – strength, power, ability.  This can be the power to perform miracles, but it can also simply be the power to follow Jesus and live like a Christian.

One of the aspects of the Holy Spirit’s power is to help us with our sin nature.

(Gal 5:16 NKJV)  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

In other words, if I learn to live my life day by day having the Holy Spirit be at work in me, then instead of letting my sin nature be in charge, God will be in charge.

Walking – taking one step after another.

Each time you are filled with the Spirit, you are taking a step.  Each time you choose to move your life in a direction that the Spirit is leading in, you take a step. To “walk” in the Spirit is learning to live a life of being filled over and over.  It’s learning to yield over and over to God.

Sometimes we can get the idea that we are “filled” with the Holy Spirit when we come to church.  That’s a start, but what is more important with God is whether or not you will be filled with the Spirit an hour after you leave church.

The amazing things we see the apostles doing in the book of Acts didn’t all happen at church.  Many of the things happened outside of church, in peoples’ homes.

You will not become perfect when you learn to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul talks about how he had to rebuke Peter for doing some stupid things.  Peter wasn’t perfect.  But he was walking.

“It’s not how high you jump when it happens, but how straight you walk when you hit the ground.”

John 7:37-39

:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast ...

This is the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was a time to celebrate two things:

1.  It was a time to celebrate the harvest being fully brought in, and was alternately called the “Feast of Ingathering”.

2.  It was a time to reflect on how God had taken care of them while they wandered for 40 years, living in tents (“tabernacles”) in the wilderness.  It was a time when God had “tabernacled” with His people, when God had lived with the people.

There were certain rituals that accompanied this great Feast. (Lev. 23:36)

a. Booths

The people built little “tabernacles”, booths, like living in the backyard in a tent to remember what life was like back in the wilderness.  This wasn’t looked at as though the people were deprived to live in tents, it was looked at as God having been a shelter and protection for the people.

b. Sacrifices

The feast lasted for eight days, and there were a huge number of sacrifices made during the week.  The “great day” was the last day of the feast.  Lots of people would be around to hear Jesus.

c.  Pouring Out Water - a time for joy

Every day of the feast, the priests would go just outside the city wall to the spring of Gihon, and draw out water with a golden pitcher. Then they would form a procession and walk back into the city through the “Water Gate”, and then the 1/3 mile through the city to the temple, while a choir would sing a text from Isaiah,
Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
When the priests got to the temple, they would pour out the water on the altar, as a way of remembering how God had provided water for them in the wilderness from a Rock (Num.20:8-11) that gushed forth with water.
For the Jews, the idea of God providing water in the middle of the desert was a HUGELY joyful time, and so there was lots of dancing, music, and rejoicing.

d.  Praying for rain (let it rain)

It was on this day that they prayed for the rains for the coming year. They lived in a land where their whole life depended on the rains coming to water the fields.

It’s at this crucial point, with this as background, that Jesus stands up and cries out.

:38  as the scripture hath said

Isaiah 44:3   For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

:38  out of his belly

belly - koilia - the whole belly; the innermost part of a man, the soul, heart

:38  rivers of living water

rivers - potamos - a stream, a river; a torrent; floods

There were two kinds of water you could get from the ground in those days.

There was water from cisterns.

They were large reservoirs carved into the rock, and when it rained, the water would be stored in the cisterns.

There were underground springs.

Where the water came bubbling out of the ground, like Gihon.
GihonGiychown – “bursting forth”
Instead of having to travel to the well at Gihon, you have your own “Gihon”.
It was fresh running water, not the stale stuff found in cisterns.
It was called “living water”.

Jesus is saying that if a person believes like this in Him, that rather than being a dry, thirsty desert, they become a full pressure fire hydrant!

And a fire hydrant of Arrowhead Spring water!  The stuff that tastes good!

Not only is your own thirst taken care of, but you start soaking others around you.

:39  this spake he of the Spirit ...

Jesus is talking about the experience that was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

:39  Jesus was not yet glorified

Before the Holy Spirit would come upon the believers, Jesus would first have to pay for their sins by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.

Once He would ascend into heaven, proving once and for all that He had won the victory over sin, then the Holy Spirit could be given freely to all who trust in Jesus for their salvation.

How to be filled with the Holy Spirit

This is what it means to take a “step”.  This is what leads to “walking”.

1.  Thirst

dipsao - suffer from thirst; those who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for

This is the condition (subjunctive).  If you are not thirsty, it won’t happen.

I think this may be why sometimes it takes hard times for people to finally come to Jesus. It’s in the hard times that we realize just how badly we need Jesus.

There must be a strong sense of need in our life.  You must be desperate.

2.  Come

John the Baptist said,

Matthew 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

You have to realize that to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you’re going to have to come to Jesus.  You don’t have to come to a special person to pray for you.  You have to ask Jesus.

Only He has paid the price for your sins, enabling you to come into a personal relationship with God.
This is the first of two commands.  This is something you must do.  You MUST come to Jesus.

3.  Drink

To drink a glass of water, you first have to open up your mouth.

Imagine drinking a glass of water with your mouth closed. You would certainly have a “drinking problem”!

To receive the Holy Spirit, you have to open up your heart.

The is the second of two commands.  You must not only come to Jesus, but you MUST drink.  You must yield.  You must open yourself up to the Holy Spirit.

4.  Believe

Jesus didn’t say, “He who feels this tingle down his back will have rivers of living water ...”.

He said, “He that believeth ...”

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is based on trust, on faith, not on feelings.

This is not a command (it’s a present participle).  It would seem that this is what is assumed that you are already doing.  If you are already believing in Jesus, then “Come” and “Drink”.

I’m not asking you to take a “leap” of faith.  I’m asking you to take a step.  Take a step this morning.  Take another one this afternoon.  When you put together all the steps, you will find yourself not “watching” but “walking”.