DCLM Daily Manna 6 January 2023 — Not By Your Efforts
DCLM Daily Manna 6 January 2023 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Not By Your Efforts
Click HERE for Previous DCLM Daily Manna by Pastor Kumuyi
TOPIC: Not By Your Efforts (DCLM Daily Manna 6 January 2023)
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (KJV)
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
KEY VERSE: “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4).
DCLM Daily Manna For Today MESSAGE:
The city of Corinth was a Roman colony in the second half of the First Century when Paul the apostle visited in one of his missionary trips. Its citizens and institutions embraced many sophisticated features of the Roman way of life including its politics, religion, culture, commerce and other civilizations. Members of the church established there were not exempted from these influences. But Paul, guided by the Spirit of God, knew how to tame these ungodly exertions on the Christians.
Also Read: DCLM Daily Manna 5 January 2023 — Between God And Gold
To effectively do so and make Christ the central figure of his message, the apostle renounced his own skills and wisdom, dwelling solely “in demonstration of the Spirit (of God) and of (His) power”. He preached the crucified and risen Christ to the Corinthians not in his own oratorical prowess or “the enticing words of man”. He allowed the free run of the gospel message so that his audience would not get the wrong impression that faith in Christ was a question of the wisdom of men or of the level of one’s education.
The audience of a preacher may be made up of the literate and the illiterate, the poor and the rich, the high and the low, the weak and the strong. Yet he must not seek to show off his powers as a great speaker to please only the elite. His utterances must appeal to all, because Christ came to save humanity. Like Paul, the evangelist must present only “Jesus Christ, and him crucified”. If He is the main theme, our converts will be discipled to learn that their faith should not be founded on human wisdom.
Our generation at this end-time has communities that are not quite different from the conditions Paul met in Corinth. The strategy God gave him to excel and subdue the godlessness of the region is still available to us. If we release ourselves into the hands of the Holy Spirit, He will use us mightily to impact our world in a wonderful and positive way.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The gospel runs better when it is Spirit-driven.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
GENESIS 17 – 20
Also Read: Open Heaven 6 January 2023 – Prayers For The New Year
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
