Look at Paul’s words to the church in Corinth in I Corinthians 2:1-5 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Paul did not win the Corinthians to Christ not through his eloquence. He didn’t captivate audiences with comedic timing or passionate pleas, though he may have had those skills. He didn’t wow people with his knowledge of Scripture or religious pedigree, although, he pretty much was at the head of his class. He didn’t fascinate people with all the Bible facts he had memorized in Hebrew school. You know, all the churchy, evangelistic tools we might think we need in our toolbelt if we are going to get into a Jesus conversation? He didn’t use any of those.
No, he spoke very humbly. He said, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” What he knew never trumped WHO he knew. He had one message. He had one drum that he kept beating. It was the message of the cross. He didn’t try to dress up the message or make it flashy or politically correct or palatable. He didn’t insert pressure or his own opinion. He just proclaimed the simple Gospel message that Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of the world, as the world’s substitute, and that all who turn to Him in repentance will receive forgiveness and eternal salvation.
Paul shared about the cross because that is where the battle was waged and that’s where the victory was won. Sin was defeated there, death was defeated there, and Satan was defeated there.
Because of the cross, I am no longer defined by or condemned by my sin. Jesus was condemned there in my place. Because of the cross and resurrection, death has no power over me! It is no longer an enemy, but it is just a doorway I will walk through into eternal life. Because of the cross, Satan has been defeated, and I have been given authority over the devil. I’m not afraid of him, and I will not be controlled by him. Oh, Church, there’s victory in Jesus!
The cross where Jesus died became a place of victory for the rest of us. That is powerful! That is a triple victory. When every enemy you have has been defeated in one place at one time by one man, that is truly a demonstration of power!
You can activate the power of God in you by lifting high the cross where Jesus died. His worst day became our best day. Paul’s success in winning people to Jesus wasn’t the result of him having a winning personality or a flashy smile. It wasn’t about being clever or churchy. It was simply that He shared what God had done to rescue humanity through Jesus’ death on the cross. Paul was living Kingdom life in two strategic ways:
- He didn’t rely on his own intellect.
- He didn’t rely on his own strength.
He shared the message of the cross, and the Holy Spirit gave him power. We can do the same thing. We can be Kingdom expanders if we will share Jesus and let the Spirit give us the power to do it. We don’t have to lean on our own understanding or skill. We just share what we have learned and what we have experienced.
If we wait until we think we are ready, we will never do it. We’ll just be like a stick of dynamite sitting in the corner, all powered up but with nowhere to go. Truly, if every believer in this room won just won person to Christ in 2024, we would have far more than 50 souls to celebrate.
Kingdom life is a doing life with a focus on bringing others into the Kingdom. To actively witness we are going to have to be intentional. Kingdom life is intentional. To witness in Corinth, Paul had to go there. In fact, he moved there. He lived with Priscilla and Acquilla for the better part of two years. He became a tentmaker. He made tents in Corinth so that he could pay the bills and share the Gospel in Corinth. Isn’t that interesting? He wasn’t a preacher in a temple. He made tents AND he told people about Jesus.
What conclusions could we draw from that? We could be in healthcare AND tell people about Jesus. We could be a lineman AND tell people about Jesus. We could be in Information Technology AND tell people about Jesus. We could be in education or banking or sales or accounts payable or work fast food AND we could tell people about Jesus.
While in Corinth, he didn’t get deep into the weeds on lots of topics. He kept it simple. He kept it focused on Jesus and Jesus’ mission to save us by the cross. Do we keep this dynamic message to ourselves because we think it is too complicated or that someone wouldn’t be interested in it? Do we think it’s someone else’s job to share the Gospel? Do we think Jesus will understand if we aren’t really interested in the Kingdom life part? Are we satisfied with living a Christian life but not interested in Kingdom life?
When Paul said he came with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, I’d like to think in part that he meant he came as a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. Paul wasn’t talking about something he had not personally experienced, and his rap sheet, his B.C. life was pretty nasty, vile and heinous. If God could change Paul and save Paul and turn Paul’s life around, well, what other proof did people need that the message of the cross had transformational power?
I’d also like to think he meant that he was relying on the Spirit’s power to do what he was doing. It’s a lot to work a full-time job and just take care of the business of life. Working in additional time to be an intentional Kingdom Witness, well, that can be tricky. Building relationships with people takes time. I’m guessing people heard his speech more than once. I mean, he was there almost two years. He had to have some repeat conversations with more than a few folks. He needed supernatural power to not get discouraged and give up. He also needed power beyond himself to discern who to talk to, how to start the conversations, and what all to include.
What does it look like when the Spirit empowers someone? Maybe there is a sincerity with which they speak that piques someone’s curiosity. Maybe there is an authority that has a supernatural component. Maybe hope springs up in the heart of the listener, something the preacher isn’t even aware is happening. Perhaps there is a love that can be felt from the speaker, the kind of love that woos people, that draws people, that compels people to want to hear more. May it is a courage that comes on a person suddenly so that even if it isn’t like them to be bold for Jesus, it happens almost effortlessly.
What I do know is that over and over in Scripture, we are assured of God’s presence with us, we are promised that He will give us the words we need to speak, and He will guide us into the places He has prepared for us to be witnesses for Him. If we believe all of that and yet never open our mouths to share the Gospel, we are sticks of dynamite that never get ignited. Don’t wait to feel powerful before you share. The power is activated as you share.
I am believing God for a minimum of 50 souls in 2024 and 250 souls by the end of 2028. Doubling the size of this congregation in the next five years. That will require we move beyond being content with simply experiencing a Christian life and that we become intentionally active about living a Kingdom life as we share the message of the cross in the Spirit’s power.
To help us make this message concrete, I want to encourage you to ask someone this question this week, “What do you believe about Jesus?” If that seems too pointed, too daunting, then ask someone, “What do you believe about God?” Then just listen.
Over the next few weeks, I want you to be thinking about your one. Jesus left the 99 to go after the one to bring that one back into the fold. Surely, over the next five years, every one of us who claims Christ could help bring one person into the Kingdom. It won’t happen using our own intellect. It won’t happen by relying on ourselves. It won’t happen if we just all agree it is a good idea and should happen. It won’t happen if we just think about it happening. It won’t happen if I preach every week about it happening. It will happen as we activate our witness and trust God to supply the power.
This is the Year of Activation at Teays Valley Church of God and is the start of something very intentional, very strategic, and will prove to have an energy and momentum that can only be attributed to the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s move from potential to power and activate our witness for Christ.
