They Had Been With Jesus

They Had Been With Jesus

Acts 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Peter has preached a very powerful Gospel message! 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
That boldness made the enemies of the Gospel realise that the disciples had been with Jesus.

Boldness

In this short devotional talk we will see:-

1 That it is a Great Blessing to Be With Jesus!
Only true believers have this great privilege, of having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:7-11

That relationship includes:

• Having an intellectual knowledge of him. This is through his Word.
• Having an intimate friendship with him. 1 John 5:19-20.
• Having frequent communion with him.

THis is a blessing which the believer has, which others cannot know.

2 That When a Believer has Been With Jesus, it is Apparent.
There are two sorts of evidence that someone has been with Jesus…

• Internal Evidence. Because we will have abundant peace, complete surrender to God’s will, hope for the future, a calm sense of God’s presence, a love for Him, and spiritual joy. John 20:20.
• External Evidence. Other people will know that we have been with Jesus, just as the jews knew that the disciples had been with him.
  • By our deadness to this world. Luke 9:23
  • By our renewed minds. Romans 12:1-2.
  • By our humility. Numbers 12:3, 2 Chronicles 7:14
  • By our love of the true church. 1 John 2:9
  • By our zeal for God and our courage in His service. Remember that these early disciples were under serious threat. Before long the first of them would be martyred, and he wold not be the last. Yet in the midst of danger they were bold!

What a great encouragement and challenge to us as believers. Let us spend time with the Lord, so that others around us will take heed, and will know that ‘They have been with Jesus.’