George Goodman writes: “The gospel must be preached with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven (1 Pet 1:12). This is why such blessing attended the preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost. He was filled with the Spirit and spoke as the Spirit gave him utterance (Acts 2:4). The preacher must be one in whom the Spirit of God is not grieved. If he is conscious of unjudged sin, of disobedience of heart, of deceit in his life, let him stop preaching. He is a fruitless branch (Jn 15:4-6). He must also be ‘in the Spirit’ when he preaches. To go unprepared in heart, without exercise before God, is to go and fail. He must get both the message and the grace to deliver it from his Lord. The spirit of discernment is needed to speak a ‘word in season’ (Isa 50:4). In the end the words must be empowered. The apostle could say, ‘My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’ (1 Cor 2:4).”
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 12-16 Memorize: John 14:1-3