the flesh can talk about the word of God all day long and if not done in the spirit is it any good??
Good point. It seems there is a balance here.
The old saying is "we can love people straight to hell".
If we love people, but never tell them the truth... what good is that love? Especially in the light of eternity. One day when those people are burning in hell, are they going to remember you loved them, or that you never told them the truth?
..on the other hand...
If we tell people the truth, in a harsh, uncaring, unloving way... are they going to receive it? (sometimes they do anyway)
When it comes to speaking in the Spirit, the two thing above also matter. But It seems we can love "in degrees" so to speak.
For example, Billy Graham was a speaker at a large evangelical crusade. There could be thousands of people there. He might have "known" very few of them, possibly 3 or 4 of them at most. But he preaches on spending eternity in heaven or hell.
hundreds of people come up to receive Jesus at the end of the service. At a certain level, Billy Graham loved those people, but he doesn't really know most of them. Still they received his message.
He always prayed before delivering a message, and it seems God always gave him the right words.
On a more personal level.
Maybe you have someone you are close to... a brother or sister, a son or a daughter, a mother or father, a friend at work,... or maybe even a spouse, who isn't saved.
You "know" them. You talk to them every day. Converse with them, eat with them, work with them, just... spend time with them almost every day. You build a relationship with them.
You've shared the salvation message with them, they know how you feel. You've prayed, you've cried, you spoke with love and compassion... but they don't want to listen. (Although some do)
We all know someone like this. Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. We want that person to get saved... "so badly". So we share the gospel with them over and over again... to the point it becomes a sore spot.
They know you love them... they KNOW it. But they're just tired of you harping on them over and over again. Sometimes this can drive a wedge between people.
There have been total strangers, random people who I just met 10 minutes ago... on a plane, at a restaurant, at a park, that I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share Jesus with. Some even received Him after this moment.
There have been other times, when I have felt compelled by the Spirit to share with close loved ones, they listen. Some can repeat the words I'm going to say before I say them. But they don't receive it.
Just because we speak in the Spirit is no guarantee people will always receive it. Just because we speak in love is no guarantee either. It's been my experience, there's very few times the Spirit
will ever say "don't share Jesus with that person." But as others have said, it does take a little discernment in the Spirit to know when. One advantage a pastor like Billy Graham had was... the people who
were at the service came looking for something. They might not have even known what it was. The people we meet in life, aren't always looking... they "already have it figured out", or so they think so.
While some of that can be heartbreaking.... I have also had this happen...
Someone who I have been praying for and witnessing to for a long time never received what I had to say, then after years and years someone else shares Jesus with them... and they receive it.
... but praise God anyway!!
1 Cor 3:7; So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
1 Cor 3:8; Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
