Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

August 02, 2019

by Pastor Hawtree

BIBLE READING: I Corinthians 2

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

It is the opinion of most authors that have studied the life of Paul that when you compare different passages about the life and ministry of Paul, it seemed evident that Paul was not a very good public speaker. Obviously, that did not keep God from using Paul to do some miraculous things for the kingdom of God. Paul even acknowledges that very fact in this passage. The most important thing is not the ability of the messenger, it is the authenticity of the message. Paul says here that the message was the testimony of God. Look at what Paul says in verses three and four:

* 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

Paul had no issue with admitting weakness. He was willing to admit that he was fearful. He also acknowledges that he was nervous and intimidated when it came to proclaiming the Gospel, truth, and testimony of God and His Word. But do not miss this:

BUT HE STILL DID IT!

Paul was illustrating that in his weakness, Gods’ strength became perfect and that allowed the hearer to place their trust in the power of God instead of the ability of Paul. I encourage you not to let your lack of ability or talent to inhibit you from being a witness for the Lord. If it was about your ability or talent, then people would be so taken with your ability that they would barely notice the importance of placing their trust in the Lord. We are not here to manipulate or convince people to make a decision. We are there to share the truth and to let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Apparently, that sure worked out for the greatest missionary church planter, and possibly Christian, that ever lived.