Page 82 - Fundamentals Ebook

took his advice; and after calling the 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, you know, seven times.
No one can deny that those were the words of a crucified man. I’m