Wasted Effort

“My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” - 2 Corinthians 2:4

I am not good at proclaiming the gospel (or “gosful” as I am inclined to pronounce it).  I never have been very good at it.  I am not a salesman.  If I had to make my living selling anything we’d be real hungry.  If you like it, buy it.  If not, don’t.  The last thing I want to do is have someone spend their money on something they don’t really want or on something they can’t afford.  I have the same internal inclination away from “selling” the Good News.  It is like my entire body is rebelling against me if I have to confront people.  It takes so much emotional energy out of me that I often need a quick sugar drink afterwards because I feel so physically wiped out.

The description above is my experience of witnessing, teaching, or preaching when there was direct confrontation regarding salvation or sin to others.  It is difficult and I am uncomfortable in it.  However, this is usually because of my wrongful perception.  It is extremely hard to be a witness and proclaim salvation through Christ if you are perceiving in your own mind the why and how.  The why and how are from God and must be done because of Him and through Him.

Why do I want anyone to know Christ?  Or, a deeper question is do I really desire for them to know Him?  I can only answer that question truthfully as it should be answered if my heart completely believes that anyone who accepts Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection will be saved.  And anyone who lives their life obeying God’s Word as closely as they can will have a more fulfilled life.  If I don’t know this, I can’t commit myself to answering “Yes” to either question above and if I can’t answer with a convincing “Yes” then I am no witness for Christ.  More importantly, I am not teaching or preaching “in His power”.  I sincerely believe that the number one problem today with the witnessing church in America is they cannot answer the two above questions with conviction and certainty.  Because of this the church is not working in the power of God.

There are times when I am able to witness, teach, or preach and it is exciting.  It actually is so encouraging and fulfilling to know that God is spreading His message of hope and truth to others so they can have the best life, the one God crafted for them, and He is using me – even me!  This is a completely different mind and heart.  The power of God is in it and there is no salesmanship involved.  No one has to be a salesman to help another person to a free gift, a gift that will help them and complete them.  Moreso, the message of God in Christ does not need any effort added to it from me, the message and act of love is complete in itself.  There is such a dominating reward in seeing someone accept Christ or repent and turn away from their sinful way simply because God used you.  It is deeply emotional for me.  That is the power of God working.

The first description is a picture of the church working in their own power and the second is a picture of the church working in the power of God.  Paul came to the Corinthians only preaching salvation through Jesus the Son of God.  We should be less concerned about how we do things and why we do things as churches until we figure out where our hearts truly are so we can do His work in His power.  Anything else is wasted effort and will not last.