Jesus Christ and Him crucified......

"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." 1 Corinthians 1:17

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

"For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' " 1 Corinthians 1:19

"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?
Has not God made foolish the things of this world?" 1 Corinthians 1:20

"we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jew and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
1 Corinthians 1:23-24

"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:1-2

"So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Now we have recieved not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God." 1 Corinthians 2: 11b-12

"And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." 1 Corinthians 2: 13

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2: 16

There is so much meat in those words above. Just as I was reading and typing I was being filled with joy from the Lord. So much of our little bickerings could just be relinquished by reading and understanding the word of God.

I love to read what Paul wrote to the Corinthians. He was not sent to baptize. He was sent to preach the gospel!
And that not with eloquence of words.
In this day we feel we must be so studied and prepared to preach and teach the gospel. We feel that if we don't present it with the exact points and certain poignant words it won't come across to those we are speaking to.
Yet Paul wasn't worried about all of that. He knew who the one that would open mens hearts.
He knew that no matter how many eloquent words he used it would just fall on deaf ears if the Spirit wasn't in it.
The cross would be emptied of it's power.
How many times are we preaching a gospel that is emptied of it's power because we are speaking with our own wisdom?
We must remember that the cross is folly to those who are perishing. So why do we strain so much in trying to do the best we can with no avail?
For those who are being saved it is the power of God and the Lord will reveal the living word to those who are being saved. Without needing a special presentation of the word.
We don't need to use the techniques of the world in order to reach the lost. The wisdom of the world is foolish according to the word.
Just preaching Christ and him crucified is a stumbling block for most, because unless God is calling them it means nothing.
Were you wise when you were called? Did you have a lot of training and teaching that increased your spiritual knowledge? You see unless we are wholly dependant upon God to do the work when we evangelize then we are just spinning our wheels.
Yet the word does get planted. We may not see the fruit. Also though we don't need a special proclamation to do it. We just need to be able to speak.
No matter how good a sermon is prepared and sounds, it won't have any effect on those hearers it God isn't in it.
The natural person doesn't accept the things of the Spirit. That speaks volumes!
When we are out proclaiming the gospel it should be no surprise on how hard it is to reach the lost. If they are not spiritually discerning then it goes in one ear and out of the other. In some cases it may make them mad.
Paul said, "we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit.
If someone in your meetings or out in the world are spiritually awakened they won't need flattering words to convince them of the truth.
They will be taught by the Spirit as we impart the word in them.
Be ready to change the way you preach, the way you evangelize or teach because what the world says is the way may not be how God wants it done.
What I like may not be what the Lord wants to use in order to reach others.
Our wisdom is not Gods.
If you have the mind of Christ be ready to hear what He wants.
Don't get into useless debates with the lost either. Again you will be wasting your time. As only the Lord can open their eyes also.
If the Lord is showing you something it may not be for others.
We must be willing to be like Paul in how we interact with others. We must be like Paul when it comes to teaching and evangelizing. I mean it this way.
Understand what God wants and how He will use us.
Paul wasn't doing things his way. He came out of the synagogues well trained. "Seminary trained." Yet he didn't use his oratory ways to convince people about Jesus. He used what God showed him. He didn't follow what men thought was the way to preach. He used God's way of doing things.
So if you are preaching,do it unto the Lord. If you are discipling, do it unto the Lord. If you are teaching, do it unto the Lord. And if you are serving, do it unto the Lord. Not unto man.