2 Sam 23:2, "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. 
We are considering the manner in which God has spoken through so many people in the course of the history of His plan of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. We know that the many prophets of old, whose writings comprise the Old Testament were fully inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the necessary laws and ordinances and prophetic statements that would declare the arrival and working power of the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised and Anointed One. 
We continue forward into the New Testament with the declaration of Jesus about the reality of His established relationship to Yahweh as the Only Begotten Son of God. Jesus was so very adept at opening up, with full authority and explanation, the Word of God. This was because He is the Living Word. The truth is that all that was written by men through the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit serves only to declare and explain and establish Jesus and His tremendous and awesome work.
Let us consider how Jesus could readily make known those things that were written about Him by such as David, one of the prophets of great regard among the nation of Israel. Not only was David the King who established the united nation of Israel and its capital city, Jerusalem, but he was a tremendous prophet by whom so many of the Psalms and songs of praise unto God were written. 
Consider how Jesus so adroitly explained what David had written, under the direct inspiration of God, about the placement of the Christ above all other powers and rulers and authorities. This is recounted in Mark 12:35-37. 
Mark 12:35-37, And Jesus answering began to say, as He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? "David himself said in the Holy Spirit, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet.'" "David himself calls Him 'Lord'; and so in what sense is He his son?" And the great crowd enjoyed listening to Him. 
	Notice how Jesus was not only able to declare His place as the Son of God, but that the large crowd of listeners enjoyed hearing Him declare the truth of the scripture that they knew by word, and study, but seemingly not by the declaration of the Spirit. Jesus was able to so open up the Word because He is the Living Word of God.
	Before His birth, there was another expression of what was about to take place within the midst of the Children of Israel. As prophesied by Zecharias, in Luke 1:67-79, the truth of the work of God by the Holy Spirit was on his tongue. Something wondrous and amazing was going to be presented to the nation by his newly born son, as he would be the forerunner for the Messiah, the Christ, the Promised One. These were the words of inspiration by the Holy Spirit moving in the heart and mind of Zacaharias unto the inspired declaration before the gathered people at the birth of John, soon to be called the Baptizer.
Luke 1:67-79, And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant —  As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old — Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." 
	This was a time of intense spiritual activity as the Christ was born and all the prophecies from of old were absolutely and completely fulfilled in Him. There was nothing missing, not one jot or tittle was amiss as the Holy Spirit accomplished all that was inspired through His moving on the hearts of those who wrote down that which the Spirit brought forth through their obedient and committed recording of the Word so given.
	Jesus was born where He was so prophesied to be born. He lived the life and followed the guidance of the Father through all the manifold ways and means of revealing what the heart of God had always been moving unto in the expression of His so great and wondrous love for such as you and me. 
Jesus gathered those disciples who would be empowered to proclaim and explain what Jesus did and said and related in the truth of the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Then He permitted that unfathomable suffering and death on the cross, to pay the debt of our sins and trespasses as He became the ultimate and perfect sacrifice to set us free from all our transgressions. 
As a result of that faultless obedience, even unto death, He was then raised from the grave on that third day, and soon brought into His glory at the right hand of the Father, the triumphant and magnified Lord of all creation.
	Such is the encapsulation of how Jesus of Nazareth opened the vastness and the magnitude of the Word of God that was given by the working power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But that was not the end of that inspiration and power in action. Consider what happened, as detailed in Acts 2:2-4, when those disciples, so distraught before the resurrection of Jesus, were gathered in the upper room awaiting that which He had promised would take place. 
	Acts 2:2-4, And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. 
	Those disciples received the courage and the fortitude and the desire to share the truth of Who Jesus was with everyone who would come into their lives. As well, but they were given the utterance, from the Holy Spirit, to speak in a language that was here-to-fore unknown to them. They did so with the eloquence of the Spirit to meet the very needs of those who were gathered from all the nations in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit’s use of these disciples meant that they went forth courageously speaking in other tongues declaring the Good News of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. 
	As well, the Holy Spirit empowered these disciples to bravely stand before the magistrates and judges. This was just as Jesus had promised in Matt 10:16-20, as we read last week.
We read it once again because it is the very word of God voiced by Our Lord Jesus, the Christ. Matt 10:16-20 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves. "But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues; and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 
His disciples were do emboldened, by the Holy Spirit, to declare the truth before those who held the power of mortal life and death over their heads. Yet, by the authority of the indwelling Holy Spirit, these disciples knew Who held the power of everlasting life. Therefore they were much more concerned about the eternal than the temporal. That is why they could not be muzzled from declaring the truth. 
They were anxious that none would perish in the everlasting flames of hell, but that all, including those who were their persecutors, would find eternal life in the belief and acceptance of the great gift of salvation that was offered to all in Jesus Christ.
	Listen to what Peter declared so boldly on the Day of Pentecost, to those who had been the ones to condemn Jesus to death. This great oration, by the power of the Holy Spirit in putting these words upon Peter’s tongue, is recorded for us in Acts 2:22-36. 
Acts 2:22-36, "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. "For David says of Him, 'I was always beholding the Lord in my presence; For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 'Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will abide in hope; Because Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay. 'Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; Thou wilt make me full of gladness with Thy presence.' "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. "And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet. "' "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified." 
	Moreover, as these disciples were so filled with the Holy Spirit, and declaring the Good News to all those who would listen, they were led to the poor, the marginalized, the needy, the sorrowful, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the lame, the blind, and the other people unto whom God was showing forth His great love. This was through these dedicated and inspired ministers of the grace and the mercy and the love and the healing power of God. It was not their power to use, it was the directed power of the Holy Spirit which brought forth those miracles at the appointed time in the plan and the purpose of God. 
	As one of the great examples of the working might of God in these chosen apostles, consider what happened when Peter and John were going to the temple, and were accosted by that man who had been lame since birth. He was seeking alms, and what they gave him was the inspired truth of the power of the name of Jesus Christ the resurrected and glorified Nazarene. As the Holy Spirit healed this lame man, the crowds surrounded Peter and John and were praising God for the great work that they had witnessed. 
	Peter and John were then brought before the High Priestly council because of the uproar of the crowd’s witness that was taking place outside the temple. These were some of the greatest scholars of the Word of God, dealing with these mere fishermen, who were supposedly uneducated and unskilled in the ways of scholarly address. How the Holy Spirit set them back on their heels as Peter and John were filled with the inspired words of the Spirit that proceeded forth from their tongues.
	Acts Chapter 4, verses 8-22 detail this exchange. Please open to it so we can rejoice in the fact that this is the same Holy Spirit Who now indwells us and is to be given every opportunity to use us as Jesus so directs for our feet to tread and our tongues to declare.
	Acts 4:8-22, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. "He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But when they had ordered them to go aside out of the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, "What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. "But in order that it may not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any man in this name." And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard." And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which they might punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. 
	Lord willing, when we are next together, we will continue forward with this depth of consideration of the power and the work of the Holy Spirit to influence and to inspire and to empower such as we are on this earth. Of ourselves, we can do nothing. But as we obey and as we offer ourselves to The Lord, and as we spend the time in His Word, soaking up all that the Spirit reveals of The Lord Jesus Christ, we will find that our lives are no longer our own. We are to be fully surrendered to the work that God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has prepared for us to His glory and His glory Alone. So be it!
"The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. Amen and amen.

	This morning’s benediction is Ps 9:1. I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Thy wonders. Amen.