Acts Day 224 - Removing the Mystery

19:8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

So after all this talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit what does a Spirit filled life look like practically speaking?

To answer that question all we have to do is examine the lives of those we know were Spirit filled and Spirit lead. Let's begin with Paul since he's the main character of today's passage. Here are a few general points to note:

1, His life is not his own. He is not living for self-advancement or even self-interest. His life centers around bringing the knowledge of Jesus to the world.

2, He is bold. The main barriers to boldness are concerns about what others may think of you and a basic desire for self-preservation. In other words, when a man's desire to exalt Christ supercedes any desire to consider himself boldness follows.

3, He is considerate. When resistance built up against the truth in the synagogue he left. Just like Jesus, Paul never forced himself on the unwilling. Love is never forceful.

4, He is wise. Rather than waste energy trying to convince those who already had their minds made up against the truth, Paul took a new approach. He opened a school. He filled it with those in Ephesus who did believe. He trained them to use their God given gifts to expand the kingdom of Christ. The Bible tells us that school was the base for taking the gospel to all of Asia.

5, He is empowering. Self-centered people don't train, equip, and empower others. Some leaders seek to build empires but Spirit filled men and women build people.

6, He is all in. Filled is filled. Paul's life may involve building tents but everything is geared toward the one goal of building God's kingdom.

7, He has one clear simple message: Christ alone. Religion is filled with all kinds of mixed messages and competing priorities and theories but a man filled with God's Spirit has one clear purpose. To know Christ and to make Him known.