Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

You cannot spend time in the presence of the Lord Jesus without it being obvious. Spending time in His presence will provide knowledge that the schools of this world cannot give. It will make you bold when you share the Gospel. Others will notice.

These disciples had spent time with the Lord during His earthly ministry. That they knew Him as well as His teaching and mission was obvious. They were common men who had an uncommon understanding of spiritual issues and an uncommon ability to prove that they were preaching the very Word of God through the miracles that they performed. They undoubtedly had an air of authority about them that the religious leaders could not deny and certainly did not understand since they had not been with the Lord Jesus.

When Moses spent time in the presence of the preincarnate Lord in the old testament, it caused his face to shine.(Exodus 34:30). When the two disciples on the way to Emmaus met the Lord, it caused them spiritual heart burn. When the disciples saw the Lord in the upper room, it caused them to be glad. When John saw the Lord on the Isle of Patmos, he fell at his feet as dead. Psalm 116:11 tells us that in His presence is fullness of joy.

I suppose one of the most intimate ways to spend time with the Lord is in prayer. In Acts 10:9, Peter was praying while waiting for dinner when he fell into a trance. He was told not to call what God had cleansed unclean. As a result Peter was willing to preach the Gospel to a Roman soldier that the Jews considered unclean.

I believe that spending time with the Lord increases our IQ’s, makes us happy, gives direction to our lives and. in general, makes people wonder what is different about us. Some will think we have been drinking too much wine, while others will think we have become fanatics. All who do not know this experience will wonder what makes us tick. Some will be in awe of us and some will think we have lost our sense. But everyone will notice that something is different when we spend time with the Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys this experience who could be enjoying it.

We cannot follow the Lord like the twelve did since the Lord is now in heaven. But we can spend time with Him in prayer, and we can spend time with Him reading His Word. We can spend time with Him in congregational meetings where He is honored and His Word is preached and we pray together. One of those meetings should involve the Lord’s Supper where we remember Him and commune with Him. Being with the Lord Jesus is a privilege of the saved, since the unsaved are separated from Him by sin. God calls them dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). No matter how much a person might want to know the presence of the Lord, this sin issue has to be dealt with before communion with the Lord can be enjoyed. However, faith in the Lord Jesus provides forgiveness of sins (Acts 13:38), a home in heaven, peace with God and a new life in Christ. Once we have this new life, we should have a new desire to spend time in the presence of the Lord. Before we were saved, we tended to avoid “religious things” and “religious people” because the presence of the Lord made us uncomfortable. After we are saved we will want to spend time with the Lord Jesus, and there is no doubt that those who know us will notice.

Bruce Collins