power and spirit 1 cor 2 1-10.doc

8/14/2019 power and spirit 1 cor 2 1-10.doc

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2ndSunday after Epiphany 15 Jan 2012

Dr Lutz Ackermann (Christ Church, Polokwane)

The Power and the Spirit

(1 Cor 21!1")

#race and Peace $e with %ou &rom our Lord 'esus Christ

#nade sei mit *uch und +riede on #ott und on unserem -errn

'esus Christus.

Last week &or two da%s / sat in m% o&&ice and read a $ook That is

0uite unusual normall% / am er% $us% on the computer most o&

the time ut on Tuesda% and 3ednesda% / neer een touched

the ke%$oard o& m% desktop in the o&&ice 4 and i& / did, nothin5

happened, the screen remained dead6 $ecause there was no

power7 A&ter a hu5e thunderstorm the electricit% went o&& on the

whole campus and it took them two da%s to restore it to workin5

condition

/ am mentionin5 this to remind us, how di&&icult our eer%da% li&e

can $e at times without electrical power (And / hear that happens

not onl% in Limpopo) ut then the same is true in a er% di&&erent

sense 3e use the word 8power9 not onl% when we talk a$out the

ph%sical power which dries our computers or 5ies us li5ht 3e

also use the word power in a metaphorical wa% 3hen we are

tired and e:hausted a&ter a lon5 da% we ma% sa% we &eelpowered!out ;r, when somethin5 (like a 5ood education) allows

us to $e success&ul in li&e, we sa% that it empowersus

/n the $i$lical te:t which we read earlier we hear the Apostel

Paul, as he 5oes on a$out a power o& a special kind /n his letter to

the Corinthians, he sa%s

2011 DRLUTZACKERMANN CHRISTCHURCH, POLOKWANE


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8So when / came to %ou, / was weak and trem$led all oer

with &ear, and m% teachin5 and messa5e were not deliered

with skill&ul words o& human wisdom, $ut with conincin5

proo& o& the power o& #odow this power he speaks o&, thats not ?ust a wa% o&

compensatin5 &or his weakness, &ear and trem$lin5 >or is it

#ods wa% to &ill in, where there is a lack o& a$ilit% on the side o&

the preacher 3e know that Paul was 5reat at &indin5 and

producin5 wise and inspirin5 words, at least in his letters $ut



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surel%, someone who is a$le, intellectuall%, to write letters like

Paul did, would also hae $een a$le to delier sermons, which

had 5ot su$stance, which had 5ot somethin5 to sa%

>o, &rom what the Apostle sa%s here, it was a rather deli$erate

choice, &or his messa5e to $e simple And the reason has 5ot to do

with the result he wanted to achiee ecause preachin5, in Pauls

understandin5, is supposed to create and nurture &aith And, he

sa%s

=our &aith, then, does not rest on human wisdom $ut on

#odow make no mistake, this is not some &orm o& anti!

intellectualism / want to repeat it the apostle Paul, as a writerand as a preacher, was er% well a$le to produce conincin5

ar5uments And we can see that in the second part o& the te:t he

alued wisdom and understandin5 The% are important &or &aith to

5row

ut Paul also knows that 5reat words, the% can impress and the%

can enrich 4 $ut the% cannot chan5e lies /t is the power o& #od

and the Spirit o& #od that chan5es lies Paul knew that er% well;n the wa% to Damascus, #od had chan5ed his li&e 4 not onl% $%

speakin5 to his mind 4 $ut $% a demonstration o& power

/n the ei5hties there was a pastor in Cali&ornia, who spoke a$out

8power9 all the time and we hae learned &rom him a lot -is

name was 'ohn 3im$er (some o& %ou ma% know him), and he

used to talk a$out 8power ean5elism9, 8power healin59, 8power



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encounter9 and so on +or him, the proclamation o& the #ospel

had to do with words $ein5 spoken and power $ein5

demonstrated The power o& #od, the power o& #ods Spirit7 And

in man% o& his seminars and con&erences, this was not ?ust atheoretical concept this was e:actl% what he did and what he

tau5ht others to do7

3hat is this 8power o& #od9B /t is 8#od at work79 And it is here,

at the +riedenskirche7 ecause here is where #od is at work / am

sa%in5 that, not $ecause %ou are so special 4 $ut $ecause #od is

special / am sa%in5 that, not $ecause %ou are such 5reat and

wonder&ul $elieers (ma%$e %ou areB) 4 $ut $ecause our #od is a

5reat and wonder&ul #od7

3e ma% not alwa%s $e a$le to reco5nize #ods work, $ecause

when we hear a$out the 8power o& #od9, ma%$e we think o& 5reat

reials, o& si5ns and wonders and healin5, o& mi5ht% outpourin5

o& the Spirit And it is true, thats what we can e:pect &rom #od

and it is m% pra%er that %ou will e:perience all that amon5st %ou

ut the power o& #od doesnt alwa%s show itsel& in a $i5 and

loud wa% /& it did, we mi5ht not $e a$le to $ear it /n &act, it all

starts hum$l%, with the cross Paul sa%s

Amon5 %ou6 / made up m% mind to &or5et eer%thin5

e:cept 'esus Christ and especiall% his death on the cross

an% Christians down the centuries hae e:perienced the powero& #od in er% hum$le wa%s 4 $ut in li&e!chan5in5 wa%s ;er

the Christmas holida%s / read a $ook $% a lad% &rom -olland (her

name is Corrie ten oom) who, durin5 the inasion in 33//

helped persecuted 'ews to hide and to &lee And she (and her

sister and her &ather, who were a &amil% o& ordinar% watchmakers)

did that, $ecause she was a Christian she did it in the power o&



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#od and in the Spirit o& #od7 And she e:perienced that power o&

#od, as #od protected her and others

;r, think o& a er% di&&erent person in the histor% o& this countr%

Steen ico -e spoke a lot a$out 8power9 and 8empowerment9

and he had to su&&er and he was persecuted &or it ut one o& the

sources that ener5ized him was his Christian &aith 3ithout the

power o& #od at work in his li&e, could he hae said and done

what he did sa% and doB

And so / could 5o on er% di&&erent people, &rom the most

prominent and cele$rated Christians to the most unknown ones(let me call them the saints &rom around the corner) 4 the% hae

e:perienced the power o& #od and the% hae lied and still do

lie in that power

So this is not somethin5 &or the super!heros amon5 the $elieers 4

there is no such thin57 /t is er% &undamental to the Christian &aith

itsel& An%one who is a &ollower o& 'esus Christ 0uali&ies &or a li&e

in the power o& the liin5 #od That is what $ein5 a Christian is

all a$out7 3hat no e%e has seen, what no ear has heard 4 #od has

reealed it And it is in the power o& #od and throu5h the Spirit

o& #od that we hae access to #ods new horizon &or our li&e

As we continue this serice, as we turn to #od in pra%er and as

we hae communion with him and with each other, let us do so

with the e:pectation that #ods power will trans&orm our lies /&Paul sa%s that &or our &aith this power o& #od is more important

than 8$i5 words and 5reat learnin59, we should $e more than

ea5er to come under the in&luence o& this power 4 and that means,

under the in&luence o& #ods Spirit7

/ dont know, in which area o& %our lies some o& %ou &eel a need

to e:perience #ods power &or themselesB +or someone, who is



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unemplo%ed, he or she mi5ht cr% out Lord show %our power in

m% li&e $% helpin5 me to &ind a ?o$

+or someone, who su&&ers o& an addiction o& some kind, he or she

mi5ht realize onl% the power o& #od can help me out o& this7

+or someone, who is sick or in some other desperate situation,

the% mi5ht come to a point where the% e:perience the power o&

#od is 5reater than these challen5es

+or someone, who stru55les in relationships there mi5ht $e this

5reat need &or #ods power to interene and to $rin5 healin5 and

&or5ieness

+or someone who is su&&erin5 &rom a low sel&!esteem or &rom

arious &orms o& inner $onda5e the power o& #od can set %ou

&ree and empower %ou to lie the li&e #od wants %ou to lie to $e

&ull% alie in his Spirit7

And there ma% $e man% other wa%s, in which some o& us will sa%

%es, / need this power, %es / want this power to $ecome real in m%

li&e

3hen there is a power &ailure in our electricit% 5rid, it ma%

inconenience us ut i& there is a lack o& #ods power in our

lies, we are 5ettin5 nowhere So, it is m% pra%er &or all o& us that

we will encounter #ods power and #ods Spirit in our lies 4

toda% *ach one in the wa% that he or she needs itAmen

And now, ma% the 5race o& our Lord 'esus Christ, the loe o&

#od and the &ellowship o& the -ol% Spirit $e with us and remain

with us now and &oreer7



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3hen / came to %ou, m% &riends, to preach #od


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End der +riede #ottes, welcher hoeher ist als alle Fernun&t,

$ewahre unsere -erzen und Sinne in 'esus Christus, unserem

-errn7 Amen7.

End ich, lie$e rGder, da ich zu euch kam, kam ich nicht mit

hohen 3orten oder hoher 3eisheit, euch zu erkGndi5en die

5Httliche Predi5t Denn ich hielt mich nicht da&Gr, daI ich etwas

wGIte unter euch, als allein 'esum Christum, den #ekreuzi5ten

End ich war $ei euch mit Schwachheit und mit +urcht und mit

5roIem Jittern und mein 3ort und meine Predi5t war nicht in

ernGn&ti5en @eden menschlicher 3eisheit, sondern in

eweisun5 des #eistes und der Kra&t, au& daI euer #lau$e

$estehe nicht au& enschenweisheit, sondern au& #ottes Kra&t

3oon wir a$er reden, das ist dennoch 3eisheit $ei den

Follkommenen nicht eine 3eisheit dieser 3elt, auch nicht der

;$ersten dieser 3elt, welche er5ehen Sondern wir reden on

der heimlichen, er$or5enen 3eisheit #ottes, welche #ott

erordnet hat or der 3elt zu unsrer -errlichkeit, welche keiner

on den ;$ersten dieser 3elt erkannt hat denn so sie die erkannt

htten, htten sie den -*@@> der -errlichkeit nicht 5ekreuzi5t

Sondern wie 5eschrie$en steht 3as kein Au5e 5esehen hat undkein ;hr 5ehHrt hat und in keines enschen -erz 5ekommen ist,

was #ott $ereitet hat denen, die ihn lie$en Ens a$er hat es #ott

o&&en$art durch seinen #eist denn der #eist er&orscht alle Din5e,

auch die Tie&en der #ottheit

(1Co 21!1")


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power and spirit 1 cor 2 1-10.doc