May 4, 2012

• Holy Spirit inspired words are powerful

  Words we speak that areinspired by God are powerful

  The power of the Lord was present through the Holy Spirit whenPaul ministered.  He says: 1Thes 1: 5  For our gospel camenot unto you in word  only, but also in power, and in the HolyGhost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were amongyou for your sake.

  I have heard someone say, “Preach the gospel; use as few words aspossible.”  But they did not understandthat the Lord has chosen to use words to teach His heart to us and through us.

  God uses preaching to share thegospel.

  Romans10:¹³For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall besaved. ¹⁴How then shallthey call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe inhim of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?¹⁵And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written,How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bringglad tidings of good things! ¹⁶But they have not all obeyed thegospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? ¹⁷Sothen faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. ¹⁸ButI say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth,and their words unto the ends of the world.

   

  There are words that come fromtrained speakers well versed in great skill of reasoning, vocabulary, and worldly wisdom.  That is not what Paul  had.

  1Corinthians 2:    ¹And I,brethren, when I came to you, came notwith excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony ofGod. ²For I determined not to know any thing among you, save JesusChrist, and him crucified. ³And I was with you in weakness, and infear, and in much trembling. ⁴And my speech and my preaching wasnot with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit andof power: ⁵That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men,but in the power of God. ^{………………………………………………12}Now we havereceived, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that wemight know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¹³Which things also we speak,not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

  Preaching  God’s Word has the power to save people – eventhough this seems foolish to the world (they would rather we just shut up anddo “good deeds” rather than preach the gospel as written in the Bible):

  ^{1Cor 1: 17}For Christ sent me not tobaptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross ofChrist should be made of none effect. ¹⁸For the preaching of the cross is to them that perishfoolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of thewise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. ²⁰Whereis the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer ofthis world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹Forafter that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preachingto save them that believe. ²²For the Jews require a sign,and the Greeks seek after wisdom: ²³But we preach Christ crucified,unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; ²⁴Butunto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, andthe wisdom of God. ²⁵Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; andthe weakness of God is stronger than men. ²⁶For ye see your calling,brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not manynoble, are called: ²⁷But God hath chosen the foolish thingsof the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of theworld to confound the things which are mighty; ²⁸And base things ofthe world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, andthings which are not, to bring to nought things that are: ²⁹Thatno flesh should glory in his presence. ³⁰But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is madeunto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: ³¹That, according as it is written, He that glorieth,let him glory in the Lord.

  Rom 1: 16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God untosalvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also tothe Greek.

  1Peter 1:23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth andabideth for ever.

   

  The Word of God is supernaturallypowerful.  If we choose to share HIS wordwith others, the Word itself will work miraculously in a person whose heart isexercised to hear (think of the parable of the sower when you think of theheart’s ability to hear).

  ^He4:12For the word of God isquick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to thedividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and isa discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

  The Word of God does not have to beshared with others in a clever, insincere   fashion. We can preach  plainly withoutpretense .  It is wonderful to have “atmosphere”enhancers – but, we should never use them to “trick” or pressure others intohastily agreeing with all we say – we should allow them thoughtful, prayerfulresponse time as well as time to check out the Word for themselves to make surewhat is being said is so.

  2Corinthians 4 :1¹Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we havereceived mercy, we faint not; ²But have renounced the hidden thingsof dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of Goddeceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to everyman’s conscience in the sight of God. ³But if our gospel be hid, itis hid to them that are lost: ⁴In whom the god of this world hathblinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the gloriousgospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
  ⁵For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; andourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶For God, who commanded thelight to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give thelight of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ⁷Butwe have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power maybe of God, and not of us.

   

  When we preach God’s Word in theSpirit, we can, in the Spirit of  Christ, do so with authority.

  ^Luke1:21And they went into Capernaum;and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. ²²And theywere astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority,and not as the scribes.

  2 Cor3: 6   Who also hath made us ableministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for theletter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

  ^{John6: 63}It is the spirit thatquickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they arelife.

   

  We are to minister in the Spirit. TheSpirit was sent to teach us what to think and to say.

  John16: 13         Howbeit when he, the Spiritof truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak ofhimself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shewyou things to come.14       He shallglorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.15        All things that the Father hath aremine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

  We must continue to pray that theLord would confirm our preaching with supernatural  results in the lives of the listeners. The Wordhas the power to transform people.

  Ephesians5:  ²⁵Husbands, love yourwives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ²⁶That he might sanctify andcleanse it with the washing of water by the word ,
  ²⁷That he might present it to himself a glorious church, nothaving spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy andwithout blemish.

  Mark16: 20        And they went forth, andpreached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word withsigns following. Amen.

  Acts11:21 And the hand of the Lord was withthem: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

  Acts10: 44          While Peter yet spakethese words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

  Heb 2: 3     How shall we escape, if we neglect so greatsalvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmedunto us by them that heard him;4          God also bearing them witness, bothwith signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost,according to his own will?

   

  The Word has the power to stir theheart of men.Jesus shared a lot of the Word with the men on theroad to Emmaus after they told him all about His own crucifixion (they did notrecognize Jesus – they thought He was a stranger ).   Afterthey got to the part about the women saying Jesus was alive , Jesus said:

  ^{Luke24: 25}Then he said unto them, Ofools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ²⁶Oughtnot Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? ²⁷And beginning at Moses andall the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the thingsconcerning himself. ²⁸And they drew nigh unto thevillage, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. ²⁹Butthey constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and theday is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. ³⁰And it cameto pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, andbrake, and gave to them. ³¹And their eyes were opened, and they knewhim; and he vanished out of their sight.
  ³²And they said one to another, Didnot our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while heopened to us the scriptures?
  
  

  The Word of God is sent forth toaccomplish the will of God.

  Isa 55:6     Seek ye the LORD while he may befound, call ye upon him while he is near:7        Letthe wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let himreturn unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for hewill abundantly pardon.8     For mythoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.9   For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.10 Foras the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may giveseed to the sower, and bread to the eater:11 Soshall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto mevoid, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in thething whereto I sent it.

   

  When that  words shared in sermons  are indeed God’s Word,  we need to respond as unto the Lord, not untoman.   We need , therefore, to deeplylisten to and  respect the words inSpirit led teaching and not think “I don’t want to do this just because someperson is telling me to”.  God’sWords, when received, do a work in us. His Words are Spirit and life.

  1Thes2: 9  For ye remember, brethren, ourlabour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not bechargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.10          Ye are witnesses, and God also, howholily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:11       Asye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a fatherdoth his children,12         That ye wouldwalk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.13 For this cause also thank we God withoutceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us,ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word ofGod, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

  James1: 21         Wherefore lay apart allfilthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engraftedword, which is able to save your souls.

   

   

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