One day, a stranger came to my door asking if I were interested in spiritual things. I said, “You’ve come to the right door. I am an evangelist
“Oh,” he said, “So, you’re a preacher! Sir, do you preach the kingdom?”
I said, “Yes, I do. I wonder if you know anything about it.”
In First Corinthians 4:20, Paul writes that the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. I told him truthfully of blind people that had received sight in my meetings. Of cripples that had gotten up and run, etc, etc..
He stared at me in open-mouthed amazement. I said, “Does anything like this happen in your services?”
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“Well,” said he, “The Kingdom of God is a government.”
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I said, “That’s right. That’s right. And my Bible says in the word of a king there is power. Is there any power of any kind in your services
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He said, “Well, no.”
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I said, “Let me put it this way.” I said, “When were you born again?”
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“Well,” he said, “I had not been born again.”
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I said, “I know that.”
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He said, “We believe.”
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I said, “I know what you believe. Let me ask you one pertinent question.” I said, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ was deity incarnate in the flesh?”
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“Well,” he said, “We’re all sons of God.”
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I said, “You’re not answering me. Was he God incarnate in the flesh
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He said, “Well, no.”
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“I said, all right. Over in Zechariah, the 12th chapter, Yahweh is speaking.” I said, “You know, of course there is no word ‘Jehovah’. That’s a polyglot thing we cooked up. But,” I said, “Yahweh is speaking the name of God. And he says, ‘They shall look on me whom they have pierced.’ When was God pierced?”
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He said, “I can’t talk to you.” And he is running yet. My friends, so long as we live only in the physical and intellectual realm, we limit and bind ourselves.
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But there is a power that transcends the abilities of the intellect and the body. There are faculties that are not part of the active thinking mind, so that what cannot be done in the physical can be done in the spiritual
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The problem for those with great natural ability is their attempt to get by on natural endowments. And when their lives are also clean, they feel able to produce for God.
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But natural abilities cannot produce supernatural results. Hence, Jesus said,
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“Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you all.” Oratory, logic, earnestness, and pulpit craftsmanship have their place, but nothing stirs the soul like the breath of God. Not even obedience to the letter is enough. For Christianity is more than a moral code. It is a deep, penetrating, all-pervading life. One has a new and intimate awareness of Christ as a present reality, not an historical, far off person, but rather a moving, thrilling life Presence within.