Weak Made Strong

8.27.2018

Weak Made Strong

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Hello Church Family,

Our faith is in the power of God not the wisdom of men. The victory that overcomes the world is our faith, not our powers of persuasion. God has called us not so much to convince as to proclaim. Jesus saves. Our job is to let people know, and however God leads us to tell others, we do so in faith that God is at work, accomplishing His saving purpose.

The first time Paul went to Corinth, he traveled from Athens, where he had received a “body blow” of unbelief. The streets of Greece’s “culture capital” revealed its pagan heart, and encountering idol after idol deeply troubled Paul’s devout Jewish heart. He preached Christ as clearly as he knew how to the city’s sophists and philosophers, but their response was worse than rejection. It was a yawn. “We’ll have to hear you again sometime.” The resurrection Paul preached was nothing more to them than an odd curiosity.

Paul’s own testimony to the Corinthians was that he came to them in weakness and in fear and in much trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3). The great apostle was anything but invulnerable to doubt and inner trouble. But he was called and he knew his job was to follow God’s call and proclaim the Gospel.

And God knew when His child needed encouraging, so He reassured Paul in a dream that He was at work through Him. Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people. (Acts 18:9b-10).

Our world has changed abruptly in recent years. America has turned a corner—deliberately—and left Christ behind. We, as a collection of individuals, are the determiners of truth—judges of right versus wrong. Our Lord and Savior is an offense and a joke, or an inconvenient reminder of something we’ve lost—something we know we need but would prefer to do without.

In short, the society around us is in desperate need of the Savior and doesn’t know it. He alone can heal the disease that afflicts us. Politics can’t fix it. Technology only amplifies it. Art and scholarship just spread it. “What can wash away our sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus”—and the power of God the Son, who shed it.

Our call from God is to spread this Good News to the people God still has in this country who are His people. We are the church—the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We carry the antidote to sin. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

Do you feel inadequate? That’s just God’s way of telling you that you are. Paul learned this truth in Athens. We need to learn it now. We have the cure to the world’s ills and God’s call to administer it. We also have God’s Spirit and power to be effective.

Paul stayed on in Corinth and preached Christ in response to God’s call. Many believed. Many did not. But the church grew. It’s growing in us now and through us into the future.

In response to God’s call on our lives, we pray, listening for direction, looking for opportunities, and trusting in God’s power to direct and effect change in the people He calls us to. That friend who’s spouse just walked out. … That colleague who just received a cancer diagnosis. … The neighbor asking religious questions. … Those are opportunities to respond prayerfully to God’s call to tell them the news that “Jesus Saves”—then watch Him work. To the praise of His glory.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive.