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Someone has coined the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!” This is a reminder that different people can look at the same scene, or the same person, and yet their conception of what they are seeing could be so very different. Obviously, it all, and always, depends on how we view who, or what, we happen to be looking at.

They were a rather ordinary looking couple who arrived in town by train. She was plainly dressed in gingham, while her husband's homespun was obviously well worn.

Having made their way to Harvard University, and located the administration building, they requested to see the president of the university, even though they did not have an appointment. The president's secretary was not impressed by them and their appearance, and attempted to get them to leave. But they refused to be discouraged by her all too obvious negative attitude, and patiently sat in the outer office waiting for hours.

Eventually the president himself felt compelled to go out and see them with the hope he could send them on their way. They explained to him that their son, who had been a student at Harvard, had recently died, and they would like to erect a memorial at the university in his name.

Looking at this couple, the president let it be known that the university could not countenance busts, etc. being erected in the grounds. They responded that they were actually thinking of a building. Hearing this, the president looked again at this couple, and seeing only what he chose to see, told them to look around them, the buildings of the university cost millions. He was sure that they would be totally discouraged by that revelation.

The lady looked at her husband and smiled, as she said, to the effect: “Is that all it costs to build a university? Why are we wasting our time here? Let us go and build a university as a memorial!”

As Christians, especially if we witness to the experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, one of the most vital questions we must answer is: “When we see people, how clearly do we really see them?”

Do we see other people in the same way that the vast majority of the people around us see them? Or, have we allowed the Holy Spirit to so open our inner eyes that we now see people as the Lord Jesus Himself sees them? Do we see them, not only as they are now, but also as the Lord plans to make them become?

The person who is genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit sees people, as well as everything else, through eyes, which have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit Himself.

“Peter and John” - two of those men who were among the number of the one hundred and twenty who had personally shared in the glorious experience of Pentecost! They were men who were “Filled with the Holy Spirit!” Men who had been totally transformed by that experience.

The evidence of that dynamic transformation is so clearly seen in the effect, which it had on Peter. Prior to Pentecost, we see Peter, motivated by craven fear, on three separate occasions denying that he knew the Lord Jesus.

But, following his experience of Pentecost, Peter so boldly confronted the huge crowd which had gathered and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, preached the Gospel of Jesus to them, calling them to repentance.

Peter and John were making their way toward the temple, part of a very large crowd of thousands which moved as one in that direction. And yet, although that vast crowd was all around them, Peter and John could not really be identified as being a part of that large crowd.

The difference was: the Holy Spirit had done, and was continuing to do, a very special and glorious work within them. It was that vital ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which marked these two men out as being completely distinct when compared to the rest of that crowd.

It was: “The hour of prayer!” they had observed on so many occasions that their Lord before them had placed a very high priority on the place and practice of true prayer. Through His teaching and example He had impressed upon His disciples the vital place which prayer must have in their lives and in their service.

Today, we must carefully, and continually remind ourselves of our Lord's emphasis in this area. Every true believer who has been to their own personal Pentecost, to there receive their own personal baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit, will give clear and convincing evidence of the reality of that experience by the fact that they continue to place the highest priority of faithfully maintaining their place of personal prayer and intercession.

The focus of Peter and John that day was on the Lord and His glory, in which their attitude and motivation emphasized His commitment and His sufficiency. In genuine submission to the Holy Spirit who continued to fill them they walked as men who were open, both to the leading of their Lord, as well as to the needs of people around them.

The selflessness of the Spirit filled person will also be continually expressed in this same way. With the focus taken totally off self, attention will be directed to the Lord and His leading, while at the same time remaining alert and responsive to others in need around us.

“And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.”

From the time of his birth this man had been seriously crippled, which meant that he had never been able to work to support himself. The inevitable consequence of his condition, in those days, was that he had always been a beggar: a crippled beggar.

One man, sitting or lying there, as the great crowds hurried by him. The large numbers of the people involved must have made it seem to him that this on-rushing crowd was like the relentless flow of some great river, as the people pressed on into the temple to pray.

Yet, if any of them did notice him, all they saw was a crippled beggar. In their minds that was all that he was, and that was all that he would ever be: Nothing but a useless, helpless, crippled beggar.

Some of them may have thrown to him a scrap of food, or occasionally a small coin, but most ignored him, as they were intent on making sure that they were in the temple at the hour of prayer.

Yes, they were in that crowd, and yet were not a part of it. They were men who were filled with the Holy Spirit, and as they approached the crippled man the Holy Spirit checked them, challenging them to give close attention to the crippled man, to see that man as Spirit-filled men.

The Holy Spirit motivated them to see the man as their Lord saw him, and, as they focused on the man, to listen attentively to what their Lord was saying to them.

They would see - what? They would certainly see everything that the rest of the people who were there saw that day: a cripple whose entire life revolved around the humiliating experience of being compelled to beg in the attempt to be able to continue to hold his miserable existence together.

They would see this man whose future was utterly devoid of hope. A man whose only prospects were more of the same wretched a dismal emptiness. There was nothing to look forward to but more of that demoralizing life of begging.

That was all that the man himself could see. Even as it was all that everyone else around him could see. Everyone, that is, except Peter and John! Being enabled to see with eyes which were enlightened by the Holy Spirit, they saw beyond all that was so dark and hopeless; they saw a totally transformed man whose future was full of the most unexpected potential.

They listened to the Lord as He spoke to them about this very man, and they heard their Lord speaking of one whom they would see: walking, leaping, and praising God!

The vast majority of the people there that day would have been fully content if they had been able to pass by the man unnoticed; the last thing they wanted to do was to attract his attention. It may have been because they had nothing that they could offer him. Or, that they just could not be bothered getting involved, after all, he was not their concern, was he?

That is the way the greater number of people are, including so many Christians. They do not want to get involved with such people, especially as they had nothing that they would choose to share with them.

Peter and John were totally different. For them to be filled with the Holy Spirit meant that His leading in their lives motivated them to care, to really want to get involved. The reality is, no matter how many want to claim that it is otherwise, there is no such person as the Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit who will choose to stand aloof from those who are in need, rather there will be a constant sense of inner compulsion to respond to the need.

Also, Peter and John knew that they did have something of incredible value, which they could share with the crippled beggar, something that he desperately needed to receive through them. They were committed to share that, not only with him, but also with everyone else who would receive it.

We have received from our Lord and Savior that which is of far greater value than anything this world has to offer: the gift of eternal life. Surely we want to grasp every possible opportunity to share this life with those who so desperately need it!

It is this vital factor which marks out those Christians who continue to life in the glorious dynamic of their personal Pentecost, in stark contrast to those many Christians who have remained content with an experience which is so tragically sub-normal.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be filled with Christ-like love, it is to really care. Paul expressed this experience in different ways. “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart”(Romans 9: 2). “My heart's desire, and my prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved”(Romans 10: 1).

“I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the Gospel's sake”(1 Corinthians 9: 22, 23)

It is this great concern of love, this compulsion that we see so very clearly in the attitude and actions of Peter and John. They saw the need, knew they already had God's glorious answer to that need, and were committed to do everything to ensure that the need was met.

It is this same attitude, compulsion, conviction, which will mark out quite clearly and distinctly the Christian who is living in the full power of their own personal Pentecost; those who walk, and serve, filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is not that hard to imagine something of the scene as Peter and John approached the place where the crippled beggar was. If we had been there we would have seen the beggar's eyes constantly moving from face to face as he desperately looked for some indication that there was at least someone in that huge crowd who would show some interest in him and his need. He would be continually searching for a sign that: someone does care.

Then, this habit of a lifetime was interrupted in a most unexpected way. “Look on us!” Instead of him urgently seeking to get some one's attention, there were the two men who were asking for his attention, wanting him to focus on them. Had that ever happened before?

In fact, they were being insistent in their emphasis, because to them it was so important that he give his full attention to them, so that they would have the opportunity to be able to share with him the love and grace of the Lord.

This emphasis in their approach comes to us as both an inspiration and a challenge. We who rejoice in the experience of our personal Pentecost, and being motivated by the Holy Spirit who continues to fill us, ask for the complete attention of people, especially those who are in desperate need. We ask for their undivided attention, because, first, that which we have to share with them is of the utmost importance to them, even if they are not aware of that fact. Second, because the enemy will use any and every possible distraction to divert their attention away from the message we are seeking to share with them.

This is always the way in which the Holy Spirit works as He seeks to draw people to focus solely on: Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The crippled beggar immediately responded to their invitation. Yes, he was interested because he was convinced that these men had something to give to him. He may have anticipated receiving a little money, or possibly some food. Something! He did believe that they had something they were about to give to him.

Think about it. We do have something that every person desperately needs to receive. People are looking for: Something! In most cases they really have no idea what it is that they do need, but they are vaguely aware of some very real lack in their lives.

So, they have become spiritual “beggars” - grasping for almost everything which comes their way as they seek for something to satisfied that undefined need of their lives. Something to fill the void which is in their hearts and lives.

People are trying everything to satisfy that need, everything that the world has to offer. As well as the things which come from eastern religions, the occult, and so much more.

Why is it that with so many people looking for that “something' which can fill the void in their lives, that so very few of them turn to the Churches seeking the answer to their need? In many cases, it is because they do not see anything vital or alive flowing from the life and worship of the Church which attracts them.

It could also be that they show so little interest in the Church, because, in contrast to Peter and John, the Churches make no attempt to reach out to them.

The real problem is: There are so very few Christians living out the experience which Peter and John was living out. Far too few who are genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit demonstrating the reality of that fact by reaching out in love to those in desperate need. Too many who profess to be filled with the Holy Spirit reveal the emptiness of their claim by being callous in their attitude to those in desperate need around them.

When the Holy Spirit fills, He loves with all of the infinite love of God through the one He fills, and people become aware of the genuineness of that loving concern and compassion, and will respond.

“I have no money to share with you.” Yet money was probably the very thing which the beggar wanted more than anything else. He may have been willing to settle for some food, or something else that would provide him some material help. Yet, some money, even a little, would have been welcome.

In the instant in which he heard Peter utter those words there would have been certain thoughts and feelings which would have flood the beggar's heart and mind: disappointment, discouragement, even, possibly, disgust. After all, why would this man deliberately call attention to himself if he had no money to share with the beggar?

This is an inescapable truth which every sincere Christian has to learn, which is illustrated by this development: there are a great many “wants” in this world which we will never be able to satisfy, and which we have no business attempting to satisfy.

In each new development we need to be very sensitive to discern what it is that the Lord Jesus is seeking to accomplish through us. In the situation we are studying, the Lord was moving to meet the man's greatest needs, and, as he met that need, reveal that so many of his lesser needs would also be met.

The beggar's greatest need was not money, it was something far more vital. In that sense, he had so much in common with so many people today: they are completely unaware of what their greatest need is.

Peter knew that the beggar needed Jesus in his life, and that which only the Lord Jesus could bring into his life. Peter had: Jesus, even as he was committed to share Jesus with this man in his desperate need. It was by the Holy Spirit's enabling that Peter could so effectively share Jesus in this situation.

To most people today we may appear to be completely destitute of most, if not all, of those things that the world so highly values and so diligently seeks. Yet, we do have the One whom the world so desperately needs more than anything or anyone else. Therefore, it is our mission to go, in the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit, to all who are in need, and to share the Lord Jesus with them.

Paul wrote, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2: 2).

We must always focus on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, exalting Him in all His glory and grace. Explaining to people everywhere Who He is, why He came, and what it cost Him to come. Taking the time to make clear to them everything that He so effectively accomplished by coming - all the way to the Cross. Explaining the wonder of the truth, the Good News of Jesus to those who are still in such desperate need all around us today.

“In the Name of Jesus Christ . . . rise up and walk.” Jesus Christ was not only the One who understood the true need of the crippled beggar, He had come with the specific intention of meeting that need. He had come to make it possible for that man to do the things that he had never been able to do, yet which he so greatly longed to be able to do.

The Lord Jesus came to make it possible for that man to leave behind the old life with all of its humiliating limitations and negative elements, and to go on into a glorious new life which was filled with the most exciting potential.

In the Lord Jesus Christ there was the amazing promise that this man could be a new man in every sense of the word - far outstripping and surpassing every hope and aspiration, which he had ever, have dreamed about.

It is the Lord Jesus who stills brings to every person in need the fullness of this same glorious promise. We are challenged to be the instruments of the Holy Spirit in sharing this message of glorious promise with every person who needs to hear about it. That must be our goal, every day.

As Peter took hold of the hand of the crippled beggar, the Holy Spirit used Peter's testimony to the Lord Jesus to inspire that vital spark of faith in the heart and mind of the needy man. It was that spark of faith that the Holy Spirit proceeded to use to work in power to accomplish a most glorious transformation.

The beggar, throughout his entire life, had never been able to stand on his feet, his serious crippling condition would not allow him to do so. Yet, in an instant, the power of the Holy Spirit used the spark of faith to make the exciting difference.

The faithful concern of the Spirit-filled servants was used by the Holy Spirit to inspire the spark of faith in a life that had been utterly hopeless. This is they key to effective ministry. We need this today. We need this means of effectively witnessing, and it is available to all who have experienced their personal Pentecost.

The Apostle Paul had written to the Romans, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (10: 17).

The crippled beggar had responded to Peter's words, “Look on us.” He looked, “expecting to receive something of them.” In other words, he demonstrated an attitude of strong anticipation and expectation.

The Holy Spirit then inspired Peter, a man in whom He dwelt in power, to say to the man, “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

Expecting something the man heard, first, “The Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth;” then, the promise of the transformation, “Rise up and walk!” The Word of the Lord spoken by Peter took root in the man's heart and mind, so that faith in the Word was the direct result.

It is only the Holy Spirit, who applies the Word as He glorifies and exalts the Lord Jesus, can bring about this kind of response of faith.

It is in the light of this fact that this man, in faith, was enabled to do what he could never have done before: “He leaping up stood.”

This is not to be seen as a unique series of events. Rather it so dramatically illustrates this vital aspect of the Holy Spirit as He works in and through wholly sanctified people. We can, and should, expect to see these vital principles being worked out today on a regular - daily - basis.

Peter and John had their own personal responsibilities in this series of events, which included faithfully allowing the Holy Spirit to continue to be all He sought to be in them on a continuing basis. Plus a genuine sensitiveness to the leading of the Holy Spirit, as well as immediate obedience to every direction given to them by the Holy Spirit.

The fact that results from this vital cooperative ministry of the Holy Spirit in and through faithful Spirit-filled servants was: a man who had been totally transformed. A man, standing, walking. A man: being and doing all that he could not be or do before.

This is the fact which results whenever the Holy Spirit is able to freely have His way with people whose hearts have been purified, made meet to be His temple, His instruments, whom He can use in power to glorify the Lord Jesus.

He was no longer a crippled beggar. In an instant he had begun a new life. His transformation was a very practical demonstration of the great Biblical truth: “Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”(2 Corinthians 5: 17).

Expect this to happen. Whenever the Holy Spirit works in a person's life in response to faith in Jesus and Him crucified, the evidence of the Holy Spirit's work will be irrefutable. We have only to think of the great variety of examples that we have in the New Testament, and over the many centuries since, to realize how true this is.

There are many today who would want to give testimony to the work of the Holy Spirit's ministry in their lives, either in salvation, in sanctification, or some other area, and yet there is little true evidence of any real, decisive change in their lives.

Remember, whenever the Holy Spirit as able to work as He seeks to work in any person's life, the evidence of that fact will always be quite obvious. Always. Everyone who knows the person concerned will identify the fact that something significant has taken place in their lives.

The man so spontaneously expressed his praise to God. This fact is emphasized in both verses eight and nine. He did not praise Peter and John, they were but available instruments which were used by the Lord.

Peter and John did not look for the praise to come to them, their only desire was that the Lord Jesus continues to receive all of the glory and praise which was due to Him.

It is so important for us to always remember: Whenever the Holy Spirit decides to work through us to touch others, the glory always belongs to the Lord. That everything the Holy Spirit does He does to exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

“And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.”

This man was very well known as: the crippled beggar who sat every day at the gate of the temple, Yet, the people saw him: “Walking and praising God!” They were astonished at this development. It is not at all surprising that their curiosity was aroused.

Whenever the Holy Spirit is permitted to work in the ways in which He seeks to work, the lives of people will be dramatically and totally changed. This fact will inevitably have a great impact of the people who knew those whose lives have been wonderfully transformed. They will also be “greatly wondering” what has made this difference.

Peter was quick to grasp this opportunity. “He answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we made this man to walk? The God of Abraham . . . hath glorified His Son Jesus.”

The Lord Jesus was lifted up and presented to the people as God's appointed Savior. In this development we see demonstrated that which is always the central objective of the Holy Spirit. It is not to focus on the amazing wonder of the miracle, but to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of all who will respond in faith.

Follow through to see the thrilling outcome of all this. “Many of them which heard the Word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand” (Acts 4: 4).

What a glorious in-gathering of precious souls! It all began with: Spirit- filled men being able to see a man in need through the eyes of the Lord Jesus; seeing that man as Jesus saw him: transformed into a glorious testimony of the saving power of the Lord Jesus.

The Key: The Holy Spirit! Through your personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, be filled with the Spirit. Continue to be responsive to His leading in your life and service. Be available and usable in His hands as purified vessels, which are meet for the Master's use.

Stay totally committed to this Spirit-filled life so as to be able to glorify the Lord Jesus as you are usable by the Holy Spirit in the ministry of saving transformation.

Apart from the Holy Spirit Peter and John would have been no different to the rest of the people who were going up to the temple. And, nothing out off the ordinary would have happened.

But Peter and John had had their experience of their personal Pentecost. They were continuing to walk in the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit.

How we must ensure that we do experience our own personal Pentecost, and then daily allow the Holy Spirit to continue to fill us and use us.

Then we will witness lives being transformed. We will see others being attracted to the Savior. We will have the joy of experiencing the Holy Spirit in grace using us to bring others to Jesus.