WORD, POWER AND SPIRIT - PART 1

SATURDAY 15 AUGUST 2021

When the Good News is shared, it is the demonstration of the power of God unto salvation, by the Spirit. In other words, we don't have to share the gospel by coming up with human effort and latest worldly idea, when the power of God is evident to back the Word as we share it under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The last thing the Lord said before His ascension was "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations." Simply put, all we need has already been given to us.

Reference: 1 Thessalonians 1:5 New Living Translation (NLT) "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..."

Here's the truth: The lost people hope for light and to walk in light but they don't know how to do so. Why? It's because 2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV) says, "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." What the natural man has not realised yet is that God never wants him to be in enmity with Him in the universe because Christ has come. But there are forces that blinded his mind and as a result, keep him in shackles of bondage.

The gospel is the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Through preaching of this Gospel, God delivers the lost from the god of this world, who is in charge of the kingdom of darkness, and transfers them into the kingdom of the Son He loves dearly. And Paul the apostle, in his epistle to the Thessalonians, tells us how this supernatural transfer works. It works by sharing the word of truth backed up by the power of God, and confirmed as true in the hearts of men by the Holy Spirit, who gives them full assurance.

Beloved, this is the reason we must share the Word with others in Spirit-taught and inspired words. That means, your own words are important in delivering the gospel message. Did you notice that Paul actually testified about their own words in our referenced Scripture? He said, "For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power..." It was conveyed to the Thessalonians in Pauline utterances. No wonder Paul asked in Ephesians 6:19: "And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." In other words, the Spirit of God would give Him a message and inspire his own words whenever he was ready to speak.

Awesomely, you'd be surprised to hear that when Jesus Himself said, "The words I have spoken to you - they are full of the Spirit and life," He was referring to His own words and way of delivering the gospel. Yes, He was sharing the good news, but in His own words, guided and inspired by the Spirit of God. That's why He mentioned that they are full of the Spirit and life. The Spirit gives it life because Jesus was always full of the Holy Ghost (see Luke 4:1). That means, while sharing the Word with others, you must always be filled with the Spirit of God, so He can inspire and impregnate your own words with power as you communicate the message of the gospel to them.

The latter part of our referenced Scripture says, "the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true..." This means that no matter what we say or how we share the gospel with others, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to grant them deep conviction and full assurance about the truth shared. Without the Spirit's conviction, they cannot understand and accept the mystery of the Kingdom shared and explained to them as truth. This conviction must be activated in their hearts by the Spirit for them to be delivered from dominion of darkness and receive Christ as Lord. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Acts 26:18; Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 2:4.

Exuberant Declaration: I speak and share the Word with boldness and consciousness of the power of God at work in my life. By the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, my words are saturated with the power of the glorious gospel and its received with an overmastering conviction in the hearts of men. Therefore, I'm thankful for the good news, which is the power of God for salvation to all who believe and are being saved. Hallelujah!