WORDS OFWISDOM

The Holy Spirit is the One that associates so closely with us – He baptizes us. He operates only through the Word of God. Until the Word is spoken He does nothing. Look at Creation, where he hovered like a wind over the face of chaos. When God said, “Let there be light”, He brought light. That is why we need Holy Spirit preaching – the Spirit blesses the Word. No one else can do that. By HIM the Word of God becomes a life-giving, life-changing power. Nobody can preach with Holy Spirit power unless we preach the Word of God. He is committed to the Word and the living link between God and the Word. That is His eternal association. The Spirit acts when the Word is spoken. Holy Spirit preaching is not just passionate, but compassionate and creative. People come alive through the Spirit-Word; they are born again by His creative work. No preaching of our own, however brilliant, produces miracles, but the Holy Spirit belongs to the Word and the Word belongs to the Spirit, charged with all the energies seen from the day of Creation. The divine purpose in Holy Spirit preaching is nothing less than the miraculous. Blessed? REINHARD BONNK