The Power in Proclamation

…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life
(John 6:63)

The Holy Spirit of God gives life unto the Word today, changing it from mere letter to life giving water. Likewise, in all our religious pursuits, we must be ever mindful of the need for the Spirit to bring to life our proclamation of the Gospel. The Spirit is the only thing that can possibly succeed for more than a season.

The talent of mankind preaching to the lost, or reading the Scriptures without the Spirit can only convince our minds, but the Spirit is needed to reach the heart for everlasting change. The famous scientist, mathematician, and philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “The heart has its reasons which reason does not know of”.

Many have known about Jesus, but haven’t known Jesus. Jesus tells us in John 17:3 that eternal life is to know the Father and the Son who He has sent. If something isn’t in the head it isn’t likely in the heart, but knowing the Father and the Son requires more than intellectual assent to doctrine. Both theology and devotion must be present in order to truly know God.

And so heart knowledge is critical to a man’s eternal destiny, but what is the difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing someone? How can we know Jesus personally, if He ascended to heaven 2000 years ago? How do we take head knowledge and turn it into heart knowledge?

Let’s give you an example of the difference between knowing about and actually knowing someone. Think about this: You may have studied the life of a famous person, say Martin Luther, to the point that you know basically everything there is to know about him. You know his doctrine, his birthday, his ideas, and where he lived. But someone else, who actually lived with him, say his wife, might not know everything he believed or might even forget his birthday, but she talked with him everyday, slept with him, ate supper with him; she actually knew him.

See the difference?

This is a key as to why experience is as important as reason in the pursuit of God, for reason alone is not sufficient in the Christian walk, and reason will not bring conversion. Only the Spirit converting someone’s heart will count for eternity. To quote Pascal once again, “It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason. This then, is faith: God felt by the heart, not by the reason”. Only the power of the Spirit can turn head knowledge into heart knowledge.

This is precisely why we must accept no preacher who may have all the letters of academia but does not have the unction of the Holy Spirit, the enduement of power from On High for service to the Kingdom. Of course we must not confuse adrenaline with anointing, but the question is this: Has God called the man to preach?

To the extent that a man shows his talent, he is the worst preacher of all time. To the extent he shows power by the Holy Spirit, he is the greatest preacher of all time.