What would you say is the difference between the first century church in the New Testament and the twenty-first century church in America? That was the question I pondered when I was recovering from major surgery a few years ago. I spent several weeks going back through the book of Acts with this question in mind. My conclusion? Our forefathers in the faith were people just like us. They were not perfect and had problems just like we do. Those problems took the form of internal conflicts and external persecution. There were times when leaders failed to make wise decisions and workers quit in the middle of the mission. However, one thing stood out that helped me understand how that frightened band of disciples locked in an upper room would later turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). They were dependent on the Holy Spirit.
- When there was a great harvest of souls, they devoted themselves to studying the Word and prayer. (Acts 2:42)
- When times of persecution came, they gathered together and prayed until God met with them. (Acts 4:31)
- When they gathered for worship, they were willing to listen to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:2-3) As a result, the gospel was taken to the Gentile world.
The Holy Spirit taught them, directed their ministries, protected them from heresy, and empowered them for service. Without the Holy Spirit, the Christian movement would not have spread to the far corners of the earth.
When I tell people what I’ve observed, they almost always ask me, “What are we depending on?” My answer? For the most part, we are depending on personalities and programs. We have celebrity preachers who draw crowds and the most polished programs the church has ever seen. Sadly, we are also losing ground in almost every state in the Union each and every year. The fastest growing “religious affiliation” in America is “no affiliation.” More and more people in North America have no religious background at all. Sadly, the church tends to respond to this situation by either wringing their hands and crying “Woe is me”, by blaming the culture for being anti-Christ, or by developing more and more corporate business models to improve the effectiveness of the church.
What does this mean for the man or woman who has been chosen by God to speak?
We need to make sure we are utterly dependent on the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us. Look at the example of the Apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (ESV) 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.
These passages make it clear that Paul was dependent on two things:
- The simple message of the cross. He didn’t use lofty arguments. He preached the simple message of Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of the world.
- The power of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t try to impress anyone by his great scholarship. He sought to allow the Holy Spirit to do a great work as he took the message of the crucified Christ and drove it into the hearts of his hearers.
The results?
God used that beautiful message of redemption through Christ to establish missional communities all over the Gentile world.
Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to Christian speakers being educated. Get all of the education the Lord will allow. I’m not opposed to preparation. God can use a sharp tool better than a dull one.
Then what am I saying?
A big part of our preparation needs to be surrendering to the will of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Humbly acknowledge your own weakness and yield your efforts to the Lord. Make sure you have confessed all known sin and ask him to fill you as you prepare and as you deliver whatever message you are called to give. Then rest in the knowledge that the results were always in God’s hands.
Speaking in the strength of the Holy Spirit empowers faith, encouragement, love, peace, conviction, hope, endurance and more. Let Him do the Powerful Work He can do through you.