by Peyton Jones: In Acts 1:8 Jesus promised his followers that they would become his witnesses, but how does this happen? Looking closely at Acts chapter two again, it should not surprise us that the gifts of everyday believers were at the heart of what the Spirit was doing in Jerusalem. When the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost, the crowd inquired what was going on. Peter quoted from the obscure Old Testament Prophet Joel saying that what they saw was a result of God pouring his Spirit on “all flesh”. Peter then goes on to define who that was; young and old, rich and poor, male and female. All flesh means…well…all flesh. Everybody was a part of this. He drives his point home by saying, “this promise is to you and your children, and your children’s children, and as many as the Lord our God shall call.” At that moment, Peter looked down the corridors of time and saw that whenever God poured out his Spirit on individuals, their gifts would awaken, and something powerful would happen, just like it did at Pentecost. I’ve watched people come alive when they realize that they have the gift of helps, compassion, mercy, or administration. Whereas they were asked to do chores at their previous church, you’ve allowed them to operate in their gifts. And when they start to operate in their spiritual gifts, they feel alive…maybe for the first time since they came to faith.As the believers gathered to meet in the temple courts to hear the apostles teaching, they spread out from house to house (Acts 5:40) to engage as microchurches. This is where the magic of Acts 2:42 happened, and they became the embodiment of Joel’s prophecy. The result was that their Christianity became so contagious that salvation was like a domino effect. Average everyday believers were causing such a ruckus that Saul of Tarsus came creeping into Jerusalem to put a stop to it, scattering them Northwards to Antioch and beyond. The result is that the first church was planted.

Accidentally.

Buy Peyton’s newest book “Reaching The Unreached: Becoming Raiders of the Lost Art” over on Amazon.com. You can also download a free chapter and watch a cool trailer for the book HERE or click the image below.

reaching-the-unreached-book