Filled with the Spirit.... Continually!

Acts 4:5–22 (CSB)

The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family. After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: “By what power or in what name have you done this?”

Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing here before you healthy. This Jesus is

the stone rejected by you builders,

which has become the cornerstone.

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. And since they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in opposition. After they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, they conferred among themselves, saying, “What should we do with these men? For an obvious sign has been done through them, clear to everyone living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that this does not spread any further among the people, let’s threaten them against speaking to anyone in this name again.” So they called for them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

Peter and John answered them, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

After threatening them further, they released them. They found no way to punish them because the people were all giving glory to God over what had been done. For this sign of healing had been performed on a man over forty years old.

So Peter was in the Upper Room when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on them in John. Peter was also filled at the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on him, and now we see Peter here in Acts Chapter 4, telling us again that he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Twice in this chapter alone we find that Peter is again filled with the Holy Spirit. What does this teach us? It teaches us that the day of Pentecost is not a singular event in the same way as the Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension are singular events. Pentecost is meant to be one of those never-ending days. Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit multiple times in order to speak the word of God boldly.

As we're about to see, there's several things that happen when we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Verse 5 picks up with Peter and John facing the Jewish leadership. The leadership is questioning Peter and John asking them by what power are you preaching and by what power have you done these miracles. And just like

Luke 12:12 CSB

For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”

say's The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say at the moment when you need them.

So, the last part of verse 7 is the Jewish leadership asking Peter and John by what power or in what name have you done this? Verse 8 says then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them… So number one, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak to anyone confronting us about spiritual matters.

Then the second thing that we see here is that Peter being filled with the Holy Spirit had a boldness to speak the words that the Holy Spirit guided him to speak. And then we jump down to verse 13, it's saying that they are observing the boldness of Peter and John, but their truly observing the boldness of the Holy Spirit in Peter and John, and they realize that they were uneducated and untrained men and they were amazed. Next it says they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

So when we're full of the Holy Spirit we will have a boldness and that boldness will help us proclaim what the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us to say, and people will see and recognize that we have spent time with Jesus. They will recognize that we are spirit-filled men of God… that we're sword-welding, Bible-believing doers of the Word type of Christians… that we're white-hot, on-fire disciples of Jesus Christ… they will recognize the Holy Spirit that is within us, and when they recognize the Holy Spirit they recognize Jesus because Jesus is the baptizer. Just like John the Baptist told us, I baptize with water but the one coming baptizes in the Holy Spirit.

And then in verse 16 we see the leadership and they're saying "What should we do with these men? For an obvious sign has been done through them, clear to everyone living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so this does not spread any further among the people, let's threaten them against speaking to anyone in this name again".

So when we're full of the Holy Spirit… when we are awakened… the people who are against us, whether they admit it to us or not, we'll see obvious signs. It will be clear to everyone living in Jerusalem and they will not be able to deny that the Spirit of the Living God lives within you and that the Spirit of the Living God is speaking through you and that the Spirit of the Living God is giving you a boldness that only he can give you.

The next thing that being filled with the Spirit continually does is it helps us become people just like Peter and John in verse 20, “For we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” When you live for Jesus and you remain continually awakened and full of the Holy Spirit, you won't be able to stop telling people about what God is doing in your life… you won't be able to stop no matter who tells you to stop… and when you stand up and that boldness helps you to stand up to the ones who could potentially harm you, they won't be able to harm you, because everybody will be praising God with a raised voice just like they did in verses 21 and 22 ,"They found no way to punish them because the people were all giving glory to God over what had been done."

Now we see Peter a man who just three or four months prior to this was at his rock bottom, who denied Jesus three times, and then it says he cursed and went out and wept bitterly. But then we see him get filled with the Holy Spirit for the second time at Pentecost and 3,000 people get saved by his preaching, because he's now filled with the Holy Ghost.

There's a verse in chapter two of Acts that says “And then Peter stood up.” You see, when we try to do it on our own We stand down. We're embarrassed… we're ashamed of the Gospel, but when we get filled with the Holy Spirit we become bold… we become raised and proud and ready to stand up for Jesus Christ. We're not ashamed… we're unashamed of the Gospel, ready to tell anybody, and we cannot stop talking about it. So Peter went from fearfully standing down to boldly standing up!

Men, I'm asking you tonight…Are you ready to boldly stand up?... Do you need a fresh filling tonight?

Don't leave tonight without being fire-filled with the Holy Spirit, and I promise you, you will see your households become fire-filled… you will see your workplace recognize the boldness… they'll recognize Jesus and they'll recognize the clear and obvious signs of a Spirit-Filled Believer, and then you will begin to see your church, no matter how on fire it is right now, become more on fire because of a group that decided that they need to be filled more and more and continuously with the Holy Spirit of God!