Message
In , Paul said that he planted, Apollos watered, but it is God who gave the increase. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts sinners to repent of their sins and become members of the body of Christ.
Beloved, no matter how eloquent you are, you cannot save a soul. If eloquence is required for people to turn to Jesus, the 3,000 people who got saved in would not have cried out to God in repentance because Peter was an ordinary fisherman, and his words were likely to have been unrefined. However, when the Holy Spirit came upon him, the people who heard him were convicted. When they heard his preaching, they were pricked in their hearts and asked what they should do (). Paul, who was well-educated, knew that he could not save anyone by his preaching alone and that his eloquence could not soften any man’s heart. This is why he said in today’s Bible reading that his speech and preaching were not with enticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
Only the Holy Spirit can soften people’s hearts. He alone can bring light to the darkness in a sinner’s soul. says that the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. Satan does not want people to be saved, so he blinds their eyes and keeps them from accepting Jesus. This is why you need the Holy Spirit when you go out to evangelise; He alone can destroy the lies of the devil in the minds of men. Without Him, your preaching will be mere words. People may clap for you because of your eloquence, but their hearts will not be changed, and they will remain hardened in their sins. However, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you won’t need to say much before people surrender their hearts to Jesus.
Beloved, you cannot go into a strong man’s house without first binding him (). To bind the devil and stop his activities in the lives of men, you need the power of the Holy Spirit. Before you preach to people, ask the Holy Spirit to work on their hearts. He is your Helper, and He is in you to help you become an effective soul winner. I pray that the Holy Spirit will work mightily through you to bring many lost souls into the kingdom of God, in Jesus’ name.