UNLEASHING THE SUPERNATURAL
"The natural person does not accept the Things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are Spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14(NKJV)
BIBLE READING: ACTS 8:5-40; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:2-16
Anytime the Holy Bible talks about “the Things of the Spirit of God” that the natural person cannot accept and is unable to understand, the reference is to the Main Content of the Message preached. Apostle Paul channelled his Entire Ministry towards the preaching of the Glories of Christ Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. He preached a Powerful Blend of Two Major Things:
(1.) The Power of God: This focuses on His Capacity:"THE WORD OF THE CROSS is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it IS THE POWER OF GOD"(1Cor. 1:18).
(2.) The Wisdom of God: This focuses on His Competence: "Since, IN THE WISDOM OF GOD, the world did not know God through wisdom, IT PLEASED GOD THROUGH THE FOLLY OF WHAT WE PREACH TO SAVE THOSE WHO BELIEVE"(1Cor. 1:21).
It was this Reality that caused Apostle Paul to focus mainly on the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Crucifixion (1Cor. 2:2). This speaks about those things that are Spiritually discerned according to the Holy Scriptures, i.e. that which the natural mind can neither receive nor comprehend (1Cor. 2:14).
The Primary and Ultimate Purpose for preaching is for the Purpose of bringing people to ENCOUNTER, EXPERIENCE, and EXPRESS the Glory of Christ and all that God is for us in Him. This is an Aim that can never be accomplished solely by mere natural means. It cannot occur in a preacher or a hearer who is what Paul the Apostle refers to as a “natural person.” Preaching is not an offshoot of natural rhetoric. It is not a means of using persuasive or compelling language to persuade the natural mind to simply act differently. Rhetoric or natural oratory aptitude has the capacity to move the natural mind in various stunning ways. Entire movements within society can be (and have been) awakened and sustained by such rhetoric. Of a truth, several so-called "Mega Churches" could be grown numerically by natural rhetorical skill. Nevertheless, this natural effect on the mind is not a Spiritual Taste for the Beauty and Worth of God. Natural oratory aptitude is incapable of imparting the Miracle of SEEING, SAVOURING, and SHOWING FORTH the Glory of Christ Jesus. Therefore, Genuine Christian preaching has neither interest nor foundations in merely natural rhetoric.
What preaching does is that it aims to activate and sustain the Spiritual “Taste Buds” of Christian believers to continually perceive God as being Supremely Beautiful and Satisfying (Ps. 34:8). Therefore, the Ultimate and Major Aim of preaching is not possible apart from the Miraculous Workings of the Holy Spirit. Without His Supernatural Work, neither the preacher nor the people can see, savour, or show the Beauty and Worth of God. The Supernatural guides us beyond the Veil and the limitations of flesh and blood (Matt. 16:17). In other words, preaching can never achieve its Aims without the Sovereign, Life-Giving, and Glory-revealing Power of God working Supernaturally through His Own Spirit (Rom. 8:11; 2Cor. 4:3-4).
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, we glorify You today. O Lord, we desire to know You, the Power of Your Resurrection, and the Fellowship of Your Sufferings. Please let the Force of the Supernatural completely overwhelm us in Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen.