A Demonstration of the Spirit

-


Scripture:

1Cor. 2:4 My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1Cor. 2:5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Observation:

Paul had a great education and he knew how to prepare messages for the people to hear.  This Scripture does not intend to serve as an excuse for avoiding preparation for preaching, but it is a suggestion that even the greatest of preachers is to be dependent upon the demonstration of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is to infuse our work so that the presence of God is revealed in the spoken word and not the eloquence or the preparation of the speaker.

Application:

All followers of Jesus Christ should realize that there is a need for the demonstration of the Spirit within their lives and work.  If we believe in the priesthood of all believers, then we believe that all are called to a lifestyle that would reveal the work of God in and through them.  This means that all of our talents and abilities are dedicated to God and in doing so, we ask the Holy Spirit to be revealed in and through all that we do.

Paul was a very accomplished religious leader.  He had just about the finest education possible in his day and yet he knew that he would have to be dependent upon the working of the Holy Spirit in his life.  Some of the greatest preachers of all time have understood this very need.  Charles Spurgeon was a great preacher, and yet, he realized the need for the Holy Spirit to work through his preaching.  While he preached an entire group of people gathered in a separate area to pray.  This “boiler room” is what stoked the fire of the Holy Spirit that infused his preaching.  Therefore his preaching was with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

We cannot be dependent upon our own abilities and/or talents these days, but upon the working of God’s Holy Spirit infusing these talents.  There is a temptation to be dependent upon human wisdom and understanding, but there is no power in our humanity.  Only when the Holy Spirit pours in and through everything that we do will we begin to see a real movement upon God’s people.

Are we hungry today for an outpouring of the Spirit?  I believe that we are — but it’s only possible when God’s children rest upon the power of God.  No matter how smart or how capable an individual might be, there must be a dependence upon God.

Prayer:

Lord, may your Holy Spirit infuse all that I do today.  Amen.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a time when we try to carry
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her
Read more

The Advantage of Sanctification

-
Scripture: Rom. 6:22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Observation: Two sides of life are presented here in great contrast.  One is a life of sin and enslavement to evil.  The other side of life is freedom which provides the advantage of sanctification (or holiness as some translate the word) that leads to eternal life.  The options here are a life of sin, slavery and death; or freedom, holiness and eternal life.  The advantage of holiness or sanctification is the benefit of the life of freedom.  Jesus died so that we might be made holy like him and this is something that is offered as a “fruit” or “advantage” right now.  The end is eternal life — but the living of life is that it can be lived out in holiness.  The next verse is really just an affirmation of the verse 22.  Sin will lead
Read more