Spirit's Power

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdomas I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^[a] 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Observation:

• Paul is a Pharisee trained from childhood to speak, argue and be articulate in presenting ideas.
• As Saul, he led the persecution of the early church and convicted Christians to death.
• After knowing Christ, Paul admits that all his worth is rubbish. V4 "My message and my preaching were not with wise". 
• Coming from man who persecuted those that Christ love and finally meets his maker on the road to Damascus. 
• How shameful and broken Paul must have felt. He thought he was doing the right thing, but the whole time he was breaking Christ's heart through his own understanding of the Word of God. He missed the mark and message God had from the beginning of time.
• Finally receives wisdom that comes from God. 
• A man who finally understands what it means to come in weakness.

Application:

Many times I come to Christ in pride and self confidence. When I serve on the praise team or in any other forms of ministry at church, I forget about God and use my own abilities to accomplish the task at hand. The goal is evident... To bring closer the hearts of those I serve to God. Yet when I take God out of the equation, only glorify myself. Paul had every right to be proud of his heritage and his ability to speak. Paul had the knowledge to refute and debate against the best of thinkers as shone in the times when he was in the Greek Providences of Corinth. But more important... God humbles Paul and shows him that his abilities comes from the Lord. My ability to work, serve and love all come from Holy Spirit. That is the true wisdom that is hidden from those who don't know Christ. 

Prayer:

God help me to be more in tuned with the Spirit. You are within me, yet I drive you out so easily to accomplish my own agendas. When you tug, and encourage me to walk in the steps you would walk - help me to listen and obey. Forgive me for having pride in my own abilities and help me to be more Christlike in the ways that I would be intuned with you God. Allow more prayer and reading of the WORD, so that I can be closer to you God. More important break my pride in myself.

In Jesus Name
Amen

No longer Calloused

32 The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. ² So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said,³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon— ⁴ the land the Lord subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. ⁵ If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”

⁶ Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? ⁷ Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them? ⁸ This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. ⁹ After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. ¹⁰ The Lord’s anger was arousedthat day and he swore this oath: ¹¹ ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— ¹² not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lordwholeheartedly.’ ¹³ The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.

Numbers 32:11

Observation

• Israelites we're once again willing to settle and not take back the land in which God commanded them.
• Settling for the Israelites was a direct disobedience to God
• God wipes out the generation that didn't follow God whole heartedly. 

Application / Reflection

• I too fail at following God whole heartedly. I give him lip service and do things for the sake of doing things. 
• Out of the millions of Israelites that were wandering the desert, only Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who followed God. 2 out of a million!
• Live up to my name. Be like Joshua in a world full of apathy. Get excited for Christ and live it out.

Prayer

God forgive me for not taking my relationship with you seriously. Like the Israelites, you have promised me inheritance which is far greater than this world can offer, yet I settle for what is easy and whats infront of me... A comfortable life doing the 9-5 and serving at church without a change in my heart. Serving at churh has become nothing more than a pat on the back and I ask you would change that. Allow my heart to be in it completely. Help me to see what you see, hear what you hear, be at a place where you would be and love those who you love. Break my heart God for what breaks yours. I don't want to be calloused to these things anymore. I want to be genuine.

I want to love you more God.

In Jesus Name
Amen