Hello, church, 14th of April 2014

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 „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.”

Apostle Paul speaks to the church in Corinth and reminds people there of the way he got through to their hearts. How did this happen and why is it so important? He reminds them, that, pay attention, I did not come to you with lofty speech or wisdom. Many preachers of the Word of God aim to be more expressive. They even copy one of their charismatic idols’ way of speaking to try and impress their audience. They want to be heard and followed because of the knowledge they have gathered through reading Christian literature, watching Christian TV shows or just by imitating other ministries. Let me tell you this, anyone, who does this, regardless of sex, skin color or situation, is not doing himself a favour. Apostle Paul tells us, that he got through to the people with one simple message – the message of the cross. And he adds „I decided to know nothing among „ – even though he knows so much already. I think it’s very hard for people, who know a lot, to speak little. At least for me that was and still is a challenge. Continuing, the apostle says that his preaching was not the wisdom of men – very powerful words! Many believers today try to convince their relatives or not Christian friends that Jesus is alive.  This inevitably leads to their failure and sucks out their faith in God. Even if someone believes in Jesus Christ by reason of your persistence and persuasion, they might not always keep their faith in the future. Here is something important for you to learn today: the proof of the Holy Spirit and His power is what arouses the faith in the Lord and binds people to Him. It’s sometimes better to just live your life in Christ and let others see what that means. Whether the tree is good or bad is only defined by the fruit it bears. Amen!

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.”

Pastor Vasil Petrov