Ambrose.J. Chakre
The Spirit of God is the spirit of righteousness, truth and power. Inspite of the numerous messages preached to us many still do not receive the gifts of the Spirit, neither do they allow the spirit to work in them. If we preach about the Spirit without the Spirit in us, our messages will be dull and void of power. If we the spiritual leaders preach through the conviction of the spirit, our sermons will supernaturally impact the congregation. We should not limit God’s power to just mere words but we should use the power of the Word to promote peace, unity and righteousness to add beauty to the body of Christ.
We should not preach just because we should but we should preach with a heart of passion to impact and transform lives through the power of the spirit. If we keep on accusing ourselves, Satan will keep on accusing us of our wrongs and will try to destroy us. In view of this it is important that we live by the truths of God’s Word as we preach His Word to His people. The more our spiritual lives grow, the better our sermons should be. This is not to belittle the well documented and the well researched sermons but the sole purpose of this write up is to emphasis the importance of preaching in the Spirit. It is to our knowledge that a sermon preached without the spirit is a sermon preached without Christ.
If we claim to be inspired by the life of Christ, we should live as He lived. It is to our knowledge that Christ began His ministry only after His baptism in the Holy Spirit. The unique thing about the attitude of Jesus was that He preached with authority, prayed in sincerity and showed its passion for the lost by dying on the cross. He is what He claimed to be because He lived by what He preached.Developing the attitude of Christ is the first step towards spiritual maturity. The concept we have about the power of the conviction of the spirit should be in harmony with our practical and personal lives. The Word of Christ tells us that His Spirit will convict the world of guilt, sin righteousness and judgment.( john 16:8) As Christ appointed us to be teachers of the Word, He expects us to be doers of the Word. If we have not the Spirit in us, the truth can never be in us for the spirit is the truth. If we preach about the conviction of the spirit only after having a personal experience, our sermons will be more effective land anointing. The spoken words will become alive only if we have the spirit of truth in us. God expects us to preach with love, passion and truthfulness.
The scripture states “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline. (2nd Timothy 1:7) The truths of this Scripture is made known to us that we can be empowered by it. It is by the grace of His love that we are who we are. It is by the virtue of His love that we are chosen and appointed to be ambassadors of Christ. Being appointed as servants of Christ if we go forth with the blessings of Christ in us we will bear much fruit. The spirit of power is given unto us and it is for us to claim it in the name of Jesus. If we have the spirit of power in us we will be inclined to preach with authority and passion. It will be by the virtue of what we are equipped with, which will determine our worth as a preacher of the Word.
It is written in the Word that all authority on earth has been unto us to demolish the strongholds of the evil one. If we know not our worth as a believer of the Word, we will be wounded and bruised by the evil forces. The Word is given unto us that we can be empowered to conquer the strongholds of the dark forces. This message is not only for the spiritual leaders alone but it is also for everyone who is a member of the Church of Christ. If we live in the Spirit and preach with the Spirit, our lives will radically influence and transform lives. The Word of power is for us and we have to preach with the power and authority of Christ. Preach in the Spirit, that your hearers may be convicted by the anointing power of the Spirit. It’s the truth and you have to obey the truth and live by the truth. Pray in the Spirit. Preach in the Spirit. And live by the Spirit. The spirit speaks to us as we read this. Listen to the voice of God and claim his blessings now. The spirit of truth is here, accept it and be empowered by it. The Church of Christ stands by you. Strengthen our cause and receive the blessings of Christ as you live on. Remember you are a member.
