The Power of God’s Word

It amazes me that God has ordained verbal proclamation as a primary way to bring people into the kingdom of God. I really don’t know why, but that is exactly what He has done.

Some people will substitute Christian radio or Christian television for going to church. And sometimes there are extenuating circumstances in which people can’t get out. But nothing takes the place of getting together with God’s people and studying the Bible together. Christian programming can be good, but it is not a replacement for getting together with God’s people. Something supernatural, something wonderful happens when the Word of God is proclaimed and when you hear it in person with fellow Christians. There is a freshness and an immediacy to it.

The early church believed in preaching, because God established preaching. Remember, Jesus Christ was a preacher of the Word. We read that when He began His ministry, "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand’ " (Matthew 4:17).

Preaching is God’s primary way of reaching lost people. As the apostle Paul wrote, "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Notice Paul didn’t say "foolish preaching," but "the foolishness of the message preached." God has ordained preaching and teaching in the church, and that is what the early church focused on.

Preaching is not something I wanted to do, but it is something that I felt God called me to do. And after sharing it in so many different settings, I continue to be amazed at how God’s Word impacts and transforms lives.