The Critics and the Curious

And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Acts 2:12-13 ESV

People in the neighborhood heard two things:

1. A loud noise…
2. People fluently speaking languages they couldn’t possibly know…

Welcome to church!

The Holy Spirit had just fallen on the disciples who gathered to pray. They were waiting on God — and he showed up miraculously!

Let’s look at the two responses from the crowd.

We see two types of people emerge: curious and critical.

Curious About the Things of God

Whenever God moves there will be people who are curious. They will wonder, “What does this mean?”

The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit coupled with the unity and joy of believers will attract them.

You can trust the Holy Spirit is wooing these people and drawing them toward Jesus.

Our mission is to seek God, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and share the gospel with the curious.

Critical of the Things of God

Then we have the critical.

In Acts 2, they accused the believers of being drunk! They thought there is no way these people are doing anything worth our time.

They judged the believers harshly. They were the critics without curiosity, cold to the things of God.

Today, we call this Twitter… 🙂

Seek God

Disciples of Jesus won’t let the critics silence us.

We will keep testifying to what we know is true:

1. Jesus was who he said he was,
2. he died and rose again,
3. and the Holy Spirit will seal eternal life in us through believing in him.

Don’t worry about the critics, worry about seeking God. Focus on faithfulness. And then be ready to invite the curious into our faith family!

What if the disciples would have focused all of their attention on the critics that morning? What if they would have spent hours debating them and trying to prove their legitimacy, instead of sharing the gospel?

They would have missed the 3,000+ souls who were curious about God and ready to accept the gospel!

Don’t miss the people with soft hearts and open minds God has placed in your life to see the work he’s doing in and through you.

Are you more focused on the critics than seeking the curious?

P.S. Even the harshest critics can become the most passionate evangelists. Just think about Paul.