Show Them Jesus!

"1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”  - Acts 3:1-10

To often Christians sit back and wait for people in need to come to them for prayer.  We see individuals who are hurting.  It may be physical, spiritual or emotional pain.  People experiencing this are all around us yet we often turn our head and ask God to bring those to us who need prayer.  In Acts 3, the man was not asking for physical healing.  He was simply begging for money.  However, Peter and John went beyond the immediate need the man had and healed the man without him even asking.

They also didn’t simply tell the man about Jesus.  Instead, they showed him Jesus by demonstrating the power and authority that Jesus gave them. John 14:12 states “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” We need to go beyond simply telling people about Jesus and do the things that Jesus desires us to do and as a result show them the true love that the Father has for them.

This type of evangelism takes a lot of faith.  We are focusing on equipping the youth to operate within the power and authority that Christ gave them and utilize the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring about a revival based on showing the world the love of God.  As they operate within those gifts the world around them will be “filled with wonder and amazement” and come to realization that Jesus is King!