Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints
1 Co 2:1-5 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.
(I came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom)
Here was an educated man, an intelligent man, a scholar of his day, Paul was skilled in the use of words.
Paul was trained in the different schools of thought of his day and he knew the power of persuasive speech to influence and change the mind
He was trained at the feet of one of the greatest teachers of his day named Gamaliel
But this same Paul said: For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.
In other words Paul is saying: I emptied myself, I laid aside all the natural wisdom and human reasoning and I confined and restrained myself to only one thing and that one thing is (Jesus Christ and him crucified) That is Jesus Christ and all he provided through his life, death, burial and resurrection
Paul said: My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of mens wisdom but (in demonstration of the Spirit and Power) that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the Power of God
Paul was saying: I’m not just trying to impress you with my intelligence or my eloquence and I’m not just trying to win you over to another school of thought.
What Paul was saying was: I have come to bring you into contact with the Power of God.
Paul had the ability to speak to the minds and the reasoning faculties of men and sway them and manipulate them through human wisdom.
But he determined he would do anything necessary to guarantee that those he spoke to understood that it was more than just changing your view point or your perception
A lot of preaching today is focused only on changing the way people see themselves, and how to think different and how to how to mentally assent to a better life
But the Gospel is not about just changing the way you think (The gospel is the power of God to salvation) It is the power of God to transform your life, it is the power of God to heal, to deliver to work miracles.
The truth is: As new testament believers we should not tolerate, we should not accept a gospel that does not produce miracles healing deliverance and transformed lives.
1Co 4:20 For the Kingdom of God is not in word (but in Power)
Lu 17:20-21 The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation neither shall they say lo here or lo there for behold the Kingdom of God is within you.
Ro 14:17 The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the HolyGhost.
In the HolyGhost ( In the Spirit) In the Power (The HolyGhost is the Power of God)
This is what Jesus meant
Jn 7:37-38 He said: he that believeth on me as the scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters
Vs39 But thus spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive
Wherever The Kingdom of God is present, there will be manifestations of the power of God
Signs, wonders, miracles, gifts of the Spirit, healing, deliverance, righteousness, peace, joy, (liberty, freedom in the HolyGhost)
One of the saddest things that I have seen happening in our local Pentecostal full gospel churches is the substituting of mental assent, mental stimulation and inspiration for the power of God.
Songs that encourage and stimulate our minds to be all that we can be but not take us into the presence of God.
Preaching that provokes our minds but never penetrates our hearts
2Chron 12:9-10
Solomon had made shields of Gold and had them hanging in the Lords house
Then Shishak the king of Egypt came in after Rehoboam Solomons son became king and Shishak took away the treasures of the Lords house as well as the shields of gold.
But instead of Rehoboam being grieved over the loss, and instead of going to war to recover the golden shields and the treasures of the Lords house, he simply made shields of brass and hung them where the golden shields had been there.
In other words: He substituted the fake, the inferior, for the genuine, (they resembled the golden sheilds) they still had a shine, they sparkled, from a distance they even looked real but they weren’t.
Many pulpits today are substituting messages that sparkle and shine and stir the intellect and stir the emotions and they sound good but they are not producing power, they glitter but they do not deliver, they shine but their dead there is no life in them.
They are settling for something that sparkles and stimulates the emotions and the intellect but is powerless to cast out a devil or to deliver the drug addict or heal the sick or heal a wounded heart and set the captives free.
Jesus said: John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
That means that the words of Jesus are alive, they are powerful, they produce life, they change hearts, they change lives, they deliver the oppressed they set the captives free, they heal the sick, they produce miracles
Mk 16:15-18 Jesus said: 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Vs 20 says: And they went forth and preached everywhere the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following.
Jesus said:
Mat 10:7-8 And as ye go, preach saying (the Kingdom of heaven is at hand) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, freely ye have received freely give.
Let me say it this way: The gospel is two parts
1. The Message
2. The Manifestation
1. The good news
2. The power of God producing the results
I know we usually point our fingers at the pulpit and blame the preacher if we are missing something and falling short of our blessings.
But we can’t blame it all on the preachers, even though I know that as preachers we have failed in many cases to live the life and demonstrate the power of God
But the truth is: Many of Gods people are satisfied with a little sparkle and shine, a little tug on the emotions, and a little stirring of the intellect.
As Believers, as children of God our greatest battle is not against the filth and corruption of this world and it’s temptations
No the greatest battle for the true believer is the battle between Good and Best
Or I should say: The battle between good and God
It’s the fight to either move into the greatness of the purpose, the destiny and the power that God calls you into (or to simply settle down into a comfortable salvation,) just satisfied with fire insurance
Saved (but just saved)
In the Kingdom, but just barely
In the river: but just up to the ankles
Maybe even speaking in tongues every now and then
This is where the real battle is because every child of God has been called and destined to a life of purpose and power.
Mk 16:15-20 Was not written to a certain select group of pastors or prophets, or evangelists, but to every believer.
I believe many Christians will make heaven, but will miss their destiny on the earth.
How it must grieve our Lord Jesus Christ and the precious Holy Spirit and the heart of father God who have invested so much in us and it is wasted and lays dormant in us.
We are called not simply to be saved (but to manifest to the world the reality of the Kingdom of God)
Every child of God is called and commissioned to be a living demonstration of the full expression of the presence and the power of God through our union with him.
How disappointing it to the heart of father God to have provided so much and we are settling for such meager portions.
Jesus says we can have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives flowing out through us as mighty rivers of living waters.
But so many believers are content merely to speak in tongues on occasion
The HolyGhost brings with him nine mighty gifts of power to manifest the divine supernatural character and power of God to the world.
Jude says: I Exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
He is not speaking of a mental assent or appreciation, or a generic agreement with the gospel (he is speaking of the faith that produced power) miracles, signs, wonders, healing, casting out devils, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead.
The faith Jude was speaking of is a living faith ( a faith that manifests itself in the activity and the works of faith)
John 14:12 Jesus said: The works that I do shall ye do also and greater works than these shall ye do because I go to my father.
John 16:23 Jesus said: Whatsoever ye ask the father in my name he will give it you
1John 4:17 said: As he is so are we in this world
We must contend for that faith
We have a lot of attenders but not many contenders
To contend means)
* tofight adversaries
* to struggle, with difficulties and dangers
* to endeavour with strenuous zeal
* to strive: to obtain something
Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
The Bible says)
Ro 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
That means the whole human race is waiting and desiring to se us walking in our sonship and spiritual authority, revealing and manifesting the presence and the power of God.
I’m closing tonight: And I believe the question the HolyGhost has put before us tonight is this: Are there any Contenders in the House?
Where are the passionate, the violent, the bold, the hungry, the thirsty, the ones who want more than just a ticket to heaven, but you want your full inheritance (you want the power of God in your life)
You want to cast out devils in Jesus name, You want to lay your hands on the sick and minister the healing power of God, you want to operate and manifest the gifts of the spirit, You want signs and wonders and miracles flowing through your life.
Where are the contenders tonight?
Jesus said: They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled
Are there any hungry people hearing me tonight?
Are there any thirsty people hearing me tonight?
There is a lost and dying world waiting for us to assume our rightful place in Christ and manifest the Kingdom of God to them.
