Take the Opportunity to Give the Gospel – Acts 3
“And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.” — Acts 3:12–13
One day, Peter and John are on their way to pray in the temple. As they go there, a lame man asks them for money. Not having anything to give, they heal the man through the power of Jesus. This created a big stir, perhaps bigger than they even anticipate.
Seeing the interest of the people, Peter takes the opportunity to preach a very bold and direct message about Jesus to the people. He explains to them who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and why they needed to believe on Jesus. He does not shy away from pointing out their sin, and He also tells them of blessings that will come from faith in Jesus.
The example of Peter here encourages us to 1) look for ways in which the Lord is working and opening doors, 2) take advantage of those opportunities to preach the gospel, and 3) be bold through the power of the Holy Spirit in our proclamation of the gospel.