4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
If you are living eternity now, then there will be proof in two areas of your life. The first will be the presence of God’s Spirit. We can look in Scripture to see what the presence of the Spirit ‘looks like.’ If we recorded the early church and watched the video, we would see the Spirit working. The fruit of the Spirit could be seen. Can others ‘see’ the Spirit in your life? The second will be God’s power. I am not suggesting that we would all be raising dead people back to life, although if you have the chance to do it in Jesus’ name, don’t let me stop you. But that power would be manifested in eternity-living day by day. Our priorities would be changed, sin and rebellion – choked out by the holiness of the Spirit. Both will be present in a way the convincingly demonstrates the reality of that presence. That is what makes the message of the Gospel powerful, words and life lined up together, each reinforcing the other, no discrepancies. Infomercials are notorious for showing you an image of this wonderful jewelry for an unbelievably low price, but when it arrives, you got what you paid for: junk. You have to remember that they have spent hours positioning and adjusting lighting and angle so that it looks expensive. Music composed to move you toward impulsive action. There are rapid repositioning with the hands, and the camera never lingers too long before the image is cut back to the host who speaks in excited urgency. All this is done to entice you to purchase what your rational mind would never purchase. Do we live and speak a message that is filled with content, clearly visible and available for closer examination, or do we hide behind quick moves and expensive lighting?
The Arnold Journey 