The Lord’s Spirit will be in that child. The Spirit gives wisdom, understanding, guidance, and power. And the Spirit \{will help this child\} know and respect the Lord.
But the Lord’s Spirit has filled me\par with power, goodness, and strength.\par Why? So I can tell Jacob {\cf2\super [41]} about his crimes,\par and so I can tell Israel {\cf2\super [42]} about his sins!”\par
He said, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Your help will not come from your strength and power. No, your help will come from my Spirit.’ The Lord All-Powerful said those things!
Listen! I gave you power to walk on snakes and scorpions. {\cf2\super [189]} I gave you more power than the Enemy (the devil) has. Nothing will hurt you.
The boy realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All of my father’s servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dead because I have nothing to eat.
People went out to see what happened. The people came to Jesus and found the man sitting there at the feet of Jesus. The man had clothes on and was in his right mind again; the demons {\cf2\super [154]} were gone. The people became afraid.
But the Holy Spirit {\cf2\super [5]} will come to you. Then you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—\{you will tell people about me\}. First, you will tell people in Jerusalem. Then you will tell people in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”
You know about Jesus from Nazareth. God made him the Christ {\cf2\super [213]} by giving him the Holy Spirit {\cf2\super [214]} and power. Jesus went everywhere doing good things for people. Jesus healed the people that were ruled by the devil. This showed that God was with Jesus.
I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I finish my work. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace (kindness).
But Paul said, “Why are you crying? Why are you making me so sad? I am ready to be tied in Jerusalem. I am also ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!”
In every synagogue {\cf2\super [491]} I punished them. I tried to make them say bad things against {\cf2\super [492]} \{Jesus\}. I was so angry against these people (believers) that I went to other cities to find them and hurt them.
Stephen (one of the seven men) received a great blessing. God gave Stephen power to do miracles {\cf2\super [114]} and to show proofs from God to the people.
But Saul became more and more powerful. He proved that Jesus is the Christ. {\cf2\super [194]} His proofs were so strong that the Jews who lived in Damascus could not argue with him.
And this hope will never disappoint us—\{it will never fail\}. Why? Because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. God gave us his love through the Holy Spirit. {\cf2\super [48]} That Holy Spirit was a gift to us from God.
The Spirit {\cf2\super [65]} that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we say, “Abba, {\cf2\super [66]} Father.”
My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit {\cf2\super [13]} gives.
Now you have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply—with all your heart.
Where \{God’s\} love is, there is no fear. Why? Because God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is \{God’s\} punishment that makes a person fear. So \{God’s\} love is not made perfect in the person who has fear.