Preaching With Enticing Words Of Man’s Wisdom

True born again ministers filled with the Holy Spirit preach and teach by the will and inspiration of God. As they speak changes occur in the lives of people who hear them, because their words carry power.

However, when the Spirit of Christ is quenched, ministers are reduced to mere speakers of enticing words of man’s wisdom. They speak just like unregenerate men. Their words make little or no impact in the lives of people, because the power of God is absent.

Paul, the apostle, was aware of the temptation to preach and teach without the Spirit and power of God. He was not just aware of it, he determined not to minister without the manifested presence of God. He made this clear in his letter to the church in Corinth.

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4, JKV).

Today, the Holy Spirit has been quenched in many churches. Unrepentant sins, love of money and neglect of the preaching of the gospel of salvation has doused the fire of the Spirit of God, leading to powerlessness in churches.

Many ministers, therefore, rely on their natural abilities to preach the gospel. They only speak with eloquence, philosophical arguments and intellectual persuasions to impress people. This means they preach and teach fluently with appealing words, persuasive words or interesting words.

This, they do, to excite people’s emotions, capture their attention and persuade them to hear the Word without the Spirit’s power. This is the situation in most churches today. Ministry has been reduced to big, persuade words, projecting many church leaders as if they were wordsmiths.

Believers are, therefore, attracted to semantic expressions  pastors often use in the pulpit. Some craftily use words that rhyme. A common example is, “Vision without provision leads to revision of the vision”.

These catchy enticing words are even used in the themes for church programmes. For example: “September to remember”, “apostolic invasion”, “prophetic convocations”, “gathering of champions” and “crossover to takeover”.

These are just plausible words many pastors use today to persuade people to flock to their programmes. But the reality is that most of them are not inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are fleshly motivated. That is why they make little or no impact in the lives of people.

True servants of Christ ought to be men and women who minister not by empty words but by the Spirit and power of God. Scripture says, “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).

Our words must be potent enough to convict people of sin, comfort and edify them as well as heal the sick and cast out demons for the glory of God.

Now, the answer to powerless ministry is not less preaching but Christ-centred preaching empowered by the Holy Spirit. Churches do not need better slogans, cleverer themes, or more impressive presentations. We need ministers who know God, walk with God, and speak His Word under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Ministers who desire to preach with power must cultivate a life of prayer, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, meditation in the Word, and obedience to God. Power in public ministry is usually the fruit of a hidden life with God.

By James Quansah