What was Paul's secret of success? So often we feel that we do not have much to use for Christ. So these few verses can be a great encouragement to us. Paul is saying it is never by our strength but always by the power of the Spirit of God that men and women are brought to Jesus Christ. Paul asks 'Don't you remember how weak I was when I first came to you?, As someone has said, he went to Macedonia in answer to a call and he saw some great things happen, but he was imprisoned at Philippi. He had to be smuggled out of Thessalonica. He was hunted out of Berea and when be tried to reason with the people of Athens, he accomplished very little. He was in fact so discouraged in Corinth that God himself had to encourage him. Look at Acts 18:9-10. God said to Paul, 'Be not afraid, but speak. Do not be silent for I am with you'. What then was the secret of his success? It was in his message of the cross and the power of the Spirit behind that message. As Paul looked at Corinth, he may have said to himself, 'No-one but Christ can change these people. It's the only message that would be sufficient.' Paul saw the truth of this demonstrated in the lives of converts. These people who lived in 'Sin City' were mightily changed. Read 1 Corinthians 6:10-11 and see what happened to them. Can others see the reality of Christ in our lives? Can they see what he has done? What is one of the greatest testimonies we could give for Christ? It is when men can see the reality of Christ in us, that they will begin to see what he can do for them. A VERSE FOR TODAY: 'Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.' |
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