By Pastor Segun Doherty

“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” - Acts 4:13

It is one thing to say that I am a Christian and it is another thing for your life to portray that you are a Christian. Many people have been born again for ages but they still behave like they are still in the world; that will be corrected today.

The passage we read is a simple story of the Disciples of Christ. Consider Peter and John just healed a cripple man, because this occurrence was something wonderful and miraculous, the crowd gathered, then they seized the moment. They performed a miracle that cannot be denied because the people saw it. The religious leaders couldn't deny the healing of the crippled man. As a Christian, you must seize the moment everywhere you go. There will always be an opportunity to reach out to others.

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12

In the period of Peter and John’s crisis, He revealed the true about them. The religious leaders couldn’t figure out anything about them. They couldn’t deny the healing of the lame man because he walked, leaped and was praising God (Acts 3:8). The man shifted location from begging from alms at the gate to being a partaker of blessings in the synagogue.

Seeing the boldness of Peter and John, even after being arrested; they wondered how the unlearned men could freely speak to them who were the religious leaders; in the midst of this, they found out that they had been with Jesus. So I ask, have you been with Jesus?

Why is it that Christians have lost their influence on the society? Why is it that we can’t dictate the constitution? We are supposed to be the constitution and the world should coin the constitution from us. I pray today that God will restore us.

They early Christians turned the world upside down for God. They changed the system of encounter. This explained the boldness of the first generation of believers. You can be around Jesus and yet not be with Him. Gehazi the servant of Elisha was around him but not with him which is why he didn't have the same encounter as Elisha did through Elijah. Most of us these days have the head knowledge of God and not heart knowledge. We don’t have a kind of relationship with God that we can say, yes we are with Jesus.

Christianity is more than a religious hobby, it is a relationship with your maker. Many of us speak like those in the world, which doesn’t make us different from the world; so we are church within a wall. You can't be friendly with the world and be with Jesus.

Peter and John didn't need to announce themselves...but the people took notice of them because of their boldness and courage.

You can be around church and not be with Jesus. You can be around Christian events and not be with Jesus. But, are you really with Jesus? The disciples we learnt today had been with Jesus and knew Him intimately. You can’t be with Jesus and be late for church service. Doing nothing as a Christian is the best way to decay. Which means as Christians, we have to get out there and share the gospel. (Ecclesiastes 10:18)

The enemies of the disciples noticed the difference in them…what difference has Christ made in your life? You can't be with Jesus and things are not new with you. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Matthew 28, 1 Peter 3:15, Matthew 6:33

If you want to be relevant in life, you have to step out for Jesus. If you can reach out, God will step out for you. Those who are with Jesus, they spend and they are spent. You can’t be with Jesus and not speak about God to someone in a day. Cultivate a daily life of prayer intercession, studying the word of God and praising Him.