Loyal
There are many preachers, and teachers in a lot of Churches and on TV every day. Youtube is filled with unlimited selections to choose from. How can a person know which one to listen to? Are they all just saying the same thing? They quote from the Bible so they must be good, right?
The Devil masquerades as an angel of light and he too quotes scriptures from the Bible!
Do we decide on the ability of a person to communicate the Gospel as a means of knowing where we should go to hear God's Word? How about the size of the congregation as a measuring tool of what is being taught as truth? How about do we look at someone's education and how eloquently they speak before we trust in what they say?
The Apostle Paul who wrote most of the New Testament said.....
1Co 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
1Co 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
1Co 2:4 And MY SPEECH AND MY PREACHING WAS NOT WITH ENTICING WORDS OF MAN'S WISDOM, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power:
Paul was not an eloquent speaker in fact the early Church thought Paul was a terrible speaker and not worth listening to!
Paul said......
2Co 10:9 I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters.
2Co 10:10 For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but IN PERSON HE IS WEAK, AND HIS SPEECHES ARE WORTHLESS!” (NLT)
The Apostle Paul's letters that he wrote to the Churches were “POWERFUL”
2Co 10:10 For HIS LETTERS, SAY THEY, ARE WEIGHTY AND POWERFUL; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. (KJV)
The Gospel message of the Kingdom is not in word alone but in “POWER”
1Th 1:5 For when we brought you the Good News, it WAS NOT ONLY WITH WORDS BUT ALSO WITH POWER, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.
Why is the “POWER” of the Gospel so important? The Apostle Paul tells us why....
1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 THAT YOUR FAITH SHOULD NOT STAND IN THE WISDOM OF MEN, BUT IN THE POWER OF GOD.
Faith without works is dead. Faith without POWER is dead! The power of faith is the works of faith! Without that power, our faith is dead and useless!
It does not make any difference if a preacher teacher has been educated or has any ability to speak eloquently at all. If that person is speaking using the power that came from their faith in the Power of God they too will speak with the same power that Paul did!
Faith always must stand in the Power of God. What does that mean? It means if the power of God's Word did not change your life first it will never change anybody else who hears you!!
If your life is constantly changing week by week into the image of the Son of God then your faith is surely in the Power of the Gospel, if not then go somewhere else!
The Devil masquerades as an angel of light and he too quotes scriptures from the Bible!
Do we decide on the ability of a person to communicate the Gospel as a means of knowing where we should go to hear God's Word? How about the size of the congregation as a measuring tool of what is being taught as truth? How about do we look at someone's education and how eloquently they speak before we trust in what they say?
The Apostle Paul who wrote most of the New Testament said.....
1Co 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
1Co 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
1Co 2:4 And MY SPEECH AND MY PREACHING WAS NOT WITH ENTICING WORDS OF MAN'S WISDOM, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power:
Paul was not an eloquent speaker in fact the early Church thought Paul was a terrible speaker and not worth listening to!
Paul said......
2Co 10:9 I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters.
2Co 10:10 For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but IN PERSON HE IS WEAK, AND HIS SPEECHES ARE WORTHLESS!” (NLT)
The Apostle Paul's letters that he wrote to the Churches were “POWERFUL”
2Co 10:10 For HIS LETTERS, SAY THEY, ARE WEIGHTY AND POWERFUL; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. (KJV)
The Gospel message of the Kingdom is not in word alone but in “POWER”
1Th 1:5 For when we brought you the Good News, it WAS NOT ONLY WITH WORDS BUT ALSO WITH POWER, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.
Why is the “POWER” of the Gospel so important? The Apostle Paul tells us why....
1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 THAT YOUR FAITH SHOULD NOT STAND IN THE WISDOM OF MEN, BUT IN THE POWER OF GOD.
Faith without works is dead. Faith without POWER is dead! The power of faith is the works of faith! Without that power, our faith is dead and useless!
It does not make any difference if a preacher teacher has been educated or has any ability to speak eloquently at all. If that person is speaking using the power that came from their faith in the Power of God they too will speak with the same power that Paul did!
Faith always must stand in the Power of God. What does that mean? It means if the power of God's Word did not change your life first it will never change anybody else who hears you!!
If your life is constantly changing week by week into the image of the Son of God then your faith is surely in the Power of the Gospel, if not then go somewhere else!