Daily Java: When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
When I was a young preacher, I tried so hard to find the right way to say something, the best way to present the gospel so people would understand it and accept it. I felt it was all on my shoulders.
One of the hardest things for a preacher to do is realize that his power comes from God, not his own ability.
We are not salesmen trying to find a way to present the word of God. The word of God is power and great in its own right, and really doesn’t need our help.
It is after all, the mighty and everlasting word of God that comes from the mind of the all-powerful heavenly Father. It doesn’t need our help,
If someone accepts it, that is good and the ability to accept comes from God. But if someone doesn’t, it is not our fault.
Jesus says No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (John 6:44). If anyone comes to God, it is God that draws him, not you. You can try and you can teach and preach to the best of your ability, but when it comes down to it, it is God who is at work.
That takes the burden off you. If someone refuses God, it is because they refuse him, not because you are a bad teacher or preacher.
He is Lord, he is God, and his will shall be done, no matter how badly you may botch up the telling. You do the best you can and God will take up the slack.
After all, it is his word anyway. All you are is an inadequate presenter. If you love him, that is all that matters.
The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, wrote that it was he who planted, others watered, but God gives the increase. It is his seed, his word, and his will. We have to realize that and let him work.
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