Powerful Preaching

by Zeke Flores

Paul, the apostle, often portrayed himself as weak, ineffective, and even fearful. Sometimes, he felt that his words didn't impress anyone.

I can relate.

Every preacher has dreamed of doing great things for God with his oratory skills.

Some have.

Others simply preach the old, unchanging message consistently, despite their perceived lack of persuasive rhetoric. And they wonder if it does any good.

Take a lesson from Paul. Though he wondered about the effect of his presence and preaching, there was obviously power in it. Witness the scores of changed lives. But the power wasn't in Paul's ability; it was in the words, the message itself. In that message, the power of God works to soften, penetrate, and change the human heart when nothing else has been able to pierce it before.

Now, that's power; power from God.

"I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God" (I Corinthians 2:3-5).