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The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power

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That's found in 1 Corinthians 4:20.  Let me apply it a bit to my corner of the world:  The great need of my life is not that I could be a better singer, a better songwriter, or that I could make amazing videos for YouTube that get 5 million views!  My greatest need is not that I have a cool looking website or that my writing be extraordinary in insight and depth.  It really doesn't matter if I can dazzle you or not if God's not present.  And if He is present, there's no need to put on a show, is there?

"The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power."  The Devil would love for us to believe the opposite.  The enemy of our soul flashes the tawdry things of the world and tells us to use them in the service of God.  He'd like no better than to have us put on a laser show, fire up the fog machines, and impress!  Satan knows our carnal attempts are nothing more than cheap veneer.  He doesn't mind if we look good to everybody as long as we're basically a cheap imitation inside.  The Devil's all about image, he fears substance.  He knows better than anyone this verse:  "…the reality,(the substance), is found in Christ."  (Colossians 2:17)  He knows that, "Christ in you" is the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)  And it is "Christ in you" that He fears.  It's not your eloquence, it's not your wisdom, it's not your talk that Satan worries about, it's "Christ in you"  that he's concerned about.

Paul, the apostle, knew this truth, and avoided the lure to "show off".  He says in 1 Corinthians 2:4: "My message and preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power".  If a man can be talked into something, he can be talked out of it too!  Oh, how the Devil wants converts made by men!  He fears converts made by God for their faith rests on "God's power" and the Devil is no match for that.

You can see then why the Devil loves a carnal church which uses the world to attract the lost and entertain the found.  He doesn't fear the flesh, he fears the Spirit of God.

Brother and sister in Christ, "it's the anointing that breaks the yoke":   

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing."  (Isaiah 10:27)

Seek the anointing of God and not the silly methods of men!  The Devil doesn't care what you can dream up; He fears only what God pours out.  As I start this New Year, I hear God telling me to look to Him.  He wants us to seek Him and His anointing.  We may not be impressive to the world; we may be quite weak in fact, but God is mighty in us.  Look to Him!  Christ in you is the hope of glory.

"For we have this power in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us."  (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Tags: 1Corinthians 4:20, 2 Corinthians 4:7, carnal, Christ in you, demonstration of the Spirit's power, Kingdom of God, power of God, the anointing, the hope of glory