Friday, September 15, 2006

Preaching With Power And Wisdom

"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor the princes of this world, that come to naught," 1 Corinthians 2: 4-6
God's Word should be preached with the power and demonstration of His Spirit. Read in the Old Testament, or the New Testament, and try to find a place where a prophet or preacher taught about God and there wasn’t something that transcended human abilities along with it. Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, Samson, Jesus, Paul, or Peter all were used by God to show His greatness. God’s normal is so far beyond man’s ability. Noah, one guy and a couple of his kids built an ocean liner! Peter, even if just for a moment walked on water, in a storm mind you. So preacher’s lay off Peter and his doubt, he at least tried, and he tried in a turbulent sea! I think it was awesome that he got out of the boat in the first place!
Preaching with demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit is extremely important, it allows our faith to rise above worldly wisdom. People need to see that God still performs above and beyond any physical human capacity. Jesus warns against only seeking out a sign, but that does not mean that God does not perform signs and wonders to confirm His presence and His Truths. “And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they will speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:15-18

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