pramsay posted on October 02, 2008 16:05 1985 views

Lots of Words but No Power

“I love Jesus so much. I worship Him. I have never been this free. God has given me a totally new perspective on life. I can’t stop smiling. The pent-up feeling is gone. I’m so happy. I’m having a great time. I just praise Him and love Him and sing His praises. Like I said, I’m so happy!”

For sure, there’s nothing wrong with those words. In fact, a Child of God who is submitting to Christ and surrendering their life to Him – that should be their daily talk. Sadly, however the trials of life and the wickedness of our sinful flesh overshadow the joy that’s found in Christ.

But here is something to watch out for. Sometimes those exciting and thrilling words that come from people’s mouths seem to come at a time in their life when they are relinquishing and letting go of ‘truth’ rather than getting more of the ‘truth’.

In Corinth, some people who spoke great words had wormed their way into the assembly. “Did you hear Brother Jake this morning – wasn’t that something! I’ve never heard anything like that before. And he was just overflowing with excitement. You could see happiness written all over his face. I wonder if we’ve been too stiff all along. Maybe he’s on to something. Perhaps he really has the answers we’re looking for. He sure sounds convincing.”

Mixed in with the great talk, the people-pleasing ways and intelligent reasoning were strands of teaching that did not line up with the Word of God or the teaching of the Apostles. It usually starts off small as they test the water. If there are some sympathizers or some weaker saints who will give them a hearing, they become braver in spreading their views and ideas. They work at getting a following.

In Corinth, these men were becoming quite arrogant and bold as they influenced more and more of the believers. The Apostle Paul writes these words:

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills,

and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.

For the kingdom of Goddoes not consist in talk but in power.

(1Corinthians 4:19-20)

Don’t be fooled by the impressive talk of people. Look at their life. What are the signals in their lives? As they speak more of their joy and their happiness and their new freedom, do you sense they are becoming more Christ-like in their lifestyle or are they fitting in more and more with the world? Do they look like they are modeling themselves after true Godliness or are they slowly inching their way to world likeness.

As they talk more and more openly about loving Jesus and praising Him, are there indications of greater conformity to Christ or more conformity to the world? They may tell you that its only people who look on the outward appearance but God just looks on the heart. And that may sound rather convincing. But it’s not true. Yes only God looks at the heart but for sure that’s not the only thing He sees.

God sees professing believers with a bottle of beer in their hands. God sees the way rich people dress and He knows the clothes of the poor. He knows the way the world looks and the way the followers of Christ should look. He sees the flashiness of eye-catching and head turning material things, whether it is an elaborate head covering or an expensive neck piece or weighted down fingers or sensual ‘look-at-me’ clothes or exotic vehicles or breath-taking displays of wealth. He also knows what modesty is – modesty in all aspects of our lives – not just clothing.

Talk is cheap. The Kingdom of God does not consist of talk. That which is of the Kingdom of God has power. Only conformity to Christ produces power in my life. And only conformity to Christ produces power in an assembly of believers. The real power we need is Spirit-produced power produced by intimacy with Christ and evidenced by Christlikeness in my life. Talk is cheap.

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.

Warmly in Christ

Peter Ramsay

peter@heaven4sure.com

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