On the Day of Pentecost, Peter got out of the box. He had courage to address the crowd of onlookers. This is the same Peter who denied Christ 3 times! Now he has unabashed boldness to preach the Gospel to the same crowd, likely as not, who had earlier crucified Jesus! How come?
... He was drunk. Yes that’s right, he was drunk. But not drunk in the natural sense, rather drunk in the supernatural. And when your drunk you do crazy things. Jesus commanded His followers, to do crazy things. At least crazy in the natural. Things like heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and drive out demons — to preach the message of the Kingdom (see Matthew 10:7-8).
He told Ananias to go to Straight Street and lay hands on Saul so he would receive his sight. Which was crazy in the natural given the fact that Saul was going round arresting Christians and giving approval for their executions (see Acts 8:1). We have a hard time stepping out in risk in the Kingdom as most of us stay sober! - or put another way - most of us act out of the natural, when we should be drunk in the Spirit and operate out of the supernatural.
We're never going to argue people into the Kingdom. We are to demonstrate the goodness and kindness of God by meeting their needs whether it is:
It’s all about loving on them and serving them. When you strike up conversation, it’s about conveying:
The purpose of the prophetic words that any of us give, is to call out peoples:
Consider the parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22. The directive was to invite everyone to the banquet. But although all were invited, not everyone took up the offer. Looking for God’s Treasures is likewise, going out on the street — into the community if you like, and gathering all the people — that is all the treasures we can find (see Matthew 22:8-10). But it’s vital to understand our commission is to invite, not make them come. Although we may not successfully get everyone we meet into the Treasure Chest, our goal is to give them more than a one-time encounter.
What I mean is:
Yes, the Church, where they can be nurtured into maturity and given the tools and the support to live successfully in the Kingdom.
When you were born God began working in your life making you who you are today. It was only when you became a follower of Jesus that God gave you the gift of the Holy Spirit.
As we open more of ourselves to Him we will see the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) growing in us and we will receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 14).
In the book of Job 10:8 we read; Your hands shaped me and made me.
