Page 85 - Back to Bethlehem 2-5-19

apostle in, they flogged them and ordered them to speak no
more in the name of Jesus, and then released them.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may God help us to see us; who
we really are! Peter was not representing the Lord from a
distant country. The Lord was living in Peter’s heart. It’s not
God in heaven and Peter on earth acting as a representative.
Peter wasn’t acting on God’s authority. The Lord was acting
on His own authority. It was the Lord that did that and that’s
the miracle life.

As the soil is related to the plant, as the branch is related to the
vine, as the wife is related to the husband, so then we can
produce fruit. If your life can be explained in any other way but
God, you haven’t understood the message. If someone looks at
your life and says, “Oh, he’s that way because he has a good
personality. He’s that way because he had a good education.
He’s had a lot of experience. He has a good program. He has
spiritual discipline. He gets up early and he prays and he reads
his Bible. He knows how to fast.” If someone explains your
life that way, you don’t understand fruit. Fruit comes from God
and it requires a miracle. That was illustrating works by the
life of God. He not only produces works but He manifests
Himself. I want to give one more illustration.

Acts 6:5, about Stephen, “And the statement found approval
with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man
full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochours,
Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from
Antioch.” Acts 6:8, “And Stephen, full of grace and power,
was performing great wonders and signs among the people.”
Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, full of power, full of faith
and full of grace.

In order to get this illustration before your hearts, I want to go
back in the life of our Lord Jesus. He came as far as He could
come in the body God gave Him through the virgin. I’m
referring to when Jesus was hanging on the cross. He spoke,