Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Exodus 13-15
     New Testament Reading: Acts 3

When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus (Acts 3: 12-13a).

After the events in chapter two, it would have been easy for the apostles to get a big head and think they were something special. All they had to do was stand up and speak and 3,000 people were saved – a simple day’s work. At that rate, they could evangelize the world in a few months, a year at most.

But here in chapter three, we see that wasn’t the case. As Peter and John were walking to the temple to pray, they saw a man who was lame from birth. Luke says, Peter, along with John, looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” As Jesus had done so many times, Peter and John saw an individual, had compassion on him, and ministered to him. They were not seeking a large crowd; they simply saw an opportunity to minister and acted.

When the people saw what happened, they were amazed and rushed toward Peter and John. Humanly speaking, it would have been easy for Peter and John to think they were something special. But as humble servants, they gave God the glory and honor. Then they took the opportunity to witness to them. As a result, many more people were saved, and the church grew that day to well over 5,000 (Acts 4:4).

Throughout the book of Acts, you will never find the apostles developing an ‘Evangelistic Program’. You won’t find them organizing Christians to ‘canvas the neighborhood’ or knocking on doors to share a ‘Bible Tract’. There is no ‘Evangelistic Crusade’ with weeks of hype and promotion preparing for it. Not once do you find anyone ‘Inviting Someone to Church’!

Evangelism is not a program, it’s not a 6-week training session. While it is great to invite the people we know to come to church and worship with us, that should not be the extent of our witnessing. The church was never designed to be a place where we invite people to come so our paid professional staff can tell them about Jesus.

Evangelism is something that you are to do as you go through your daily life. Peter and John saw the opportunity before them, shared what they knew about Jesus, and relied on the Holy Spirit to give them the courage to do so. What a great example for us to follow. We all would do well if we would do the same.