“You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches, and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who He is; then Jesus and what He did–Jesus crucified.

I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate–I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it–and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it; which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.”
1 Corinthians 2: 1-5, The Message

Last week I mentioned that if Paul were in our church today, many Christians might want to be in his inner circle simply because of his status. As I read what he writes in these verses I am initially struck by three things: the simple, straightforward approach of Paul’s message; the fear/inadequacy Paul felt in this situation; and changed lives through God’s power…not our own.

I like that Paul deliberately keeps his message simple by sharing about who Jesus is and what He did for us. He notes in later verses that he has much more wisdom to share for those who are mature, but couldn’t we all benefit from regularly re-centering our hearts and minds on who Jesus is and the sacrifice He made for us?That truly is the good news. Plain and simple.

Like we saw last week, God partners with us to minister to others, but it is His power that causes changed hearts and changed lives. Paul says he deliberately kept his message simple and in return God receives the glory for His demonstration of power. When there is no eloquence coming from the preacher, there is no confusion over why someone decides to follow Jesus…it is simply by God’s power.

It’s interesting that Paul says he felt totally inadequate, even scared, when first approaching this ministry opportunity. I regularly feel completely inadequate when I am about to minister to someone so I ask God to minister through me. I think that’s ultimately the right attitude to have. It strikes me that if we are adequate or feel adequate in and of ourselves to minister, then for what do we need Christ’s power? I never want to be ministering out of my own power, because that is no power at all and it won’t deliver what the person needs. I want Christ’s power to flow through me because He is the source of every good thing.

Be encouraged that in order to be used by God, you don’t need to be an eloquent person who has it all together (because none of us do). You simply need to be a willing vessel. God will bring the awesome.