You're On the Hook: How Pentecost Made Every Believer a Minister in Acts 2

Do you think ministry is mostly the pastor's job? Many Christians quietly take themselves off the hook because they don't feel like clergy. Acts 2 tells a different story. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came on every believer in the room. That means you are called, empowered, and gifted to minister wherever you are.

What happened on the day of Pentecost?

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came on the 120 believers gathered in one room, and three remarkable things happened at once.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:1 to 4

God introduced Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. He introduced the Holy Spirit in an upstairs room with about 120 people. Small rooms, but nothing small happened in them. Guest speaker Luke Barnett walked through the three signs: the wind, the fire, and the languages.

What did the sound of wind mean?

The wind meant that God's supernatural power was now available to every believer. During Jesus' ministry on earth, He did the miracles and everyone else watched. At Pentecost, everyone in the room heard the wind. Power was no longer held by one person.

That is still hard to believe. It feels like it must be for the person in the next seat. For example, Pastor Luke has a friend in the insurance business who was invited to present at the Oval Office. Beforehand, he called Luke for prayer and didn't get through. Luke told him he had the Holy Spirit's power available the whole time. His friend asked whether the Holy Spirit cares about health insurance. Luke's answer was yes. The Spirit wants to empower you, comfort you, and guide you in whatever you do.

What did the flames of fire mean?

The flames meant that every believer was becoming a minister. For thousands of years, priests had the special access. They prayed the public prayers, taught, counseled, married, and buried. Ordinary people couldn't do that work.

At Pentecost, every man and woman, young and old, rich and poor, had a flame. Not just Peter, James, and John. This is the priesthood of all believers: every follower of Jesus has access to God and is called to serve Him in ministry.

Look at what happened next. Peter, a commercial fisherman with no priestly credentials, stood up and preached. About 3,000 people came to faith, and the church was born from a sermon preached by a layperson. Then the believers became a community like this:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

Acts 2:42 to 43

They shared what they had with anyone in need. They ate together in their homes with glad and sincere hearts, and the Lord added to their number daily (Acts 2:44 to 47). Has the Holy Spirit lost His power since then? Absolutely not.

What does it mean to be "on the hook"?

Being on the hook means you can't hand ministry off to the pastors. Pastor Luke's church in Phoenix started in 1923. For decades it stayed between about 40 and 200 people. Each year the members voted on whether to keep the pastor, based on whether he was doing all the ministry.

In 1979, his father, Tommy Barnett, became pastor and cast a vision for a church like Acts 2. The people loved it and assumed he would build it. Then he told them that churches like that are built by ordinary people who love the Lord. They realized they weren't off the hook after all.

Pastor Luke confessed that he has never felt like clergy. Many believers take themselves off the hook for the same reason. But there is no longer a dividing line between pastors and everyone else. As he put it, "You are on the hook as much as I am."

How has God equipped you to minister?

God hasn't only called you. He has gifted you. Spiritual gifts are God-empowered abilities He entrusts to every believer so they can fulfill their calling.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.

Romans 12:6

Paul goes on to name several of those gifts in Romans 12:6 to 8:

• Prophesying, serving, and teaching.
• Encouraging and giving generously.
• Leading diligently and showing mercy cheerfully.

At 20, Luke was weighing a job in a landscaping business. His dad told him he had a gift of leadership that could move the church forward. Luke went into ministry. If you lead well in business, some of that leadership should push God's kingdom forward too. If you have hospitality, open your home. You didn't earn your gift, and one day you'll give God an account of how you used it.

Credentials aren't the point. For example, Tommy Barnett finished high school by correspondence and started holding tent revivals at 17. Pastor Luke's church also has a prayer pastor who was once an Iranian businessman with no ministry training. He loved the Lord and had a heart to pray. God used him to start a prayer ministry that now reaches people around the world.

What did the languages mean?

The foreign languages meant the gospel was going global. People who had come to Jerusalem heard God's works in their own language. The message was never just for one city. For God so loved the world.

Common questions

What is the priesthood of all believers?

It's the biblical truth that every follower of Jesus has direct access to God and is called to ministry. At Pentecost in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came on every believer in the room. The old line between priests and ordinary people was removed.

Are all Christians called to ministry?

Yes. Every believer is called and gifted to minister, even if they never work for a church. Pastors equip the church, but ministry happens wherever believers live, work, and go to school.

What do the wind and fire mean in Acts 2?

The sound of wind showed that the Spirit's power was available to everyone in the room. The tongues of fire resting on each person showed that every believer was now called to minister. The languages showed that the gospel was for the whole world.

Do I need training to minister?

No. Training can help, but it isn't what qualifies you. God uses people with a willing heart and a love for Him, and He gives them spiritual gifts to do the work.