February 16th, 2018

1 Corinthians 2: 2,4

“For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified... ⁴ And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.”

People often think that you need to have an insane amount of knowledge of the bible and be good at public speaking to share the gospel. But this obviously not true. It isn’t true for a couple reason, one being that the Holy spirit is living in those who believe that Jesus Christ died for them and rose again. They forget that the Holy Spirit fill us and gives us the right words to say. He shows us the way of God and the path that He wants us to take. Sharing the gospel isn’t about how it sounds when you share. It isn’t about using fancy words to draw people in or about saying the right things that will entice people as if they are getting a reward. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:17b that he would not use “clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.” He, a brilliant public speaker and that could persuade just about anyone that listened said that he ought to not use clever speech. He saw the importance of highlighting only Jesus. He did not want any of the credit and he knew that the crowds to be distracted by what he was saying and not on what God was trying to say to them. Paul knew that a lot of the preaching he could do on his own strength. He had, after all been doing just that for a large portion of his life. But when he got saved he always made it a point to humble himself. He did not want to be considered great. He so often called himself a slave of Christ Jesus. This would put him as lower than God and most of the society on earth. He never wanted people to be following him and not God.

This passage has reminded me to fully rely on God in all that I do. Even things that seem simpler like children’s ministry and with photography. Never loose sight of the fact that God is God and you are no more than a mere servant.