“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
I Corinthians 2:4
To effectively reach the lost, people need to know that our message is real. One way that God wants to reveal Himself is through demonstration of the power of His Spirit. If we ourselves are not certain that God wants to reveal Himself to mankind through miraculous ways, then we will not ask Him or expect Him to move miraculously through us.
Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians to be able to comprehend the love of God. When we have a revelation of the Father’s heart for people, we will realize that God will move heaven and earth to get to them. When we see clearly how much love was behind the gift of God’s Son as a sacrifice for our sins, then we have no doubt that God is not withholding Himself or His power from people who want to know Him (Romans 8:32).
In their quest to reach the world for Christ, the Christians in the book of Acts asked the Lord to stretch out His hand to heal, and for signs and wonders to be done through the name of Jesus (Acts 4:30). Paul said in I Corinthians 2:4 that his message was not based on what he said or how he said it, but on the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. These believers were not drawing attention to themselves, but to bring attention to God, a powerful and compassionate God.
Because Jesus healed the sick and performed miracles, people knew God in His power and love. Jesus told His followers that they would be witnesses for Him. He told them that they would do the same works that He did and greater (John 14:12). Jesus told His followers that they were to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit (the same Holy Spirit that created the world and the same Holy Spirit that raised the Lord from the grave) to live in us and to empower us as vessels containing the glory of God (II Corinthians 4:7).
The Holy Spirit moves through us, not just to bless us, but to show the world the reality and the goodness of God. The gifts of the Spirit are for the church, but they are also to be used as in our communities as a sign to the unbeliever (I Corinthians 14:22). Christians are not supposed to be all talk; we’re to be demonstrators of the power and love of God. Believe, ask and expect miracles to happen through you today!
Application: God, the Creator of the Universe, has chosen you to express Himself to the people His Son died for. Learn to hear His voice and be sensitive to the leading of His Spirit. Trust His lead; He knows what to do, what to say and when to say and do it.