"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come to proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men ....but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-9
We who are believers should be relying on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and not what men have to say. If we are truly studying for the message then we need to know for sure what we are hearing and writing down is of God. By His Spirit we are saved, not by man. So it goes to say our using big lofty words is not what brings about conviction! It is the Holy Spirit. If Paul didn't use lofty speech then what makes us think we should too?
Paul completely and utterly depended on the Holy Spirit to feed him words. He didn't have all of the written complitations of previous men's work to teach. He prayed heavily. The proof of that is in his epistles. He is constantly saying how he is praying for the saints, and telling us to pray without ceasing.
I am not against using others to bring about a point. What seems to be the norm though is more of men's words seem to be used then that of God's.
People need a word for now that will change their lives. We need to be prepared to hear God on the spot for whatever need arises. Something that is spontaneous at times yet also pre planned.
Paul lays it out when he says "in fear and trembling...in demonstration of power and the Holy Spirit."
Two things verily lacking in today's modern church.
Humility is key to being able to hear the Lord for others. If we are not humbling ourselves during our prayer times then we are cheating others.
We are making a mockery of God.
You know it is good to have the internet and all of the info. at our finger tips. Yet it is also something of an hinderance. Because now we don' nesscessarily have to depend on the Holy Spirit to get a word or messge. Or to understand a passage.
We can just go and research it without ever seeking God.
That is dangerous. We must be able to discern what is and is not of the Lord.
Again I want to explain I am not against using the tools set before us.
I am just saying if that is all we are using without ever seeking God then we are doing a great injustice to the body of believers.
So what am I trying to say is, seek God while He may be found. Hear from Him on what He wants His people to do. Be prepared to make changes if the Holy Spirit really does show up during a time of teaching. Be willing to have your service disrupted by the King when He enters the room.
Everything doesnt't have to be flowing in order.
Many times the Holy Spirit shows up and we say oh don't worry we have it under control thanks anyway.
Then we miss the blessing!
2 comments:
steve-o
we rely on a book that is written through men, and for men, how, then, are we to know when listening to men if we are hearing the word of God or not? does God no longer communicate through men?
Charles, what I am trying to present is that we have men who are trained to use great expressive words. Words to impress the audience they are presenting to. Paul was a simple speaker. He was totally relying on words from the Lord to present the gospel. Of which we have record of in the scriptures.
Yes the scriptures were written by men. Yet the Holy Spirit will confirm or deny whether something is of God in the heart of a Christian.
When I am out in the midst of homeless people and others. They don't want an impressive presenter. They need the gospel. And we must rely on what the Lord is showing us and telling us. They don't need a presidential type speech meant to convey a message to a solution. The gospel.
Read about how Paul also mentioned that it was with "power".
I feel a lot of the preachers of today make up with the lack of power by making a fleshly powerful presentation.
I hope I am conveying this in the right way.
I appreciate your comment Charles.
You keep me on my toes and stirred up. Also later on I am in the process of gathering thoughts about the Holy Spirit and His role in the body. That is coming.
Steven
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