The Gospel must be in BOTH Word & Spirit

I just attended a conference with some of the world's leading apologists and polemicists in the area of Muslim Evangelism. The material presented was incredible, persuasive and intellectual. I was attending with a friend who himself is a former Muslim.

What was sadly lacking however was an emphasis on presenting Muslims the Gospel along with the power of God. 

It isn't that the those who were presenting didn't believe in the miraculous, as I am sure all of them know how critical things like visions, dreams and other miraculous demonstrations of God's power are in the bringing Muslims to Christ. The stories of such things are impossible to deny. 

However, most of the people at this particular conference would probably relegate such things to God's initiative exclusively and minimize the ways evangelists can be learning and growing in ministries that are more supernatural in nature. 

This is the tragic oversight. We can and do grow in ministering in divine healing. The more one sees and the more experience one has contribute to a greater expectancy. Many Evangelicals simply do not believe this to be the case.

The same is true in the area of prophetic evangelism. We also must grow and learn how to hear God's voice more accurately. Again, and are where we must grow. Sadly, this is another area where many Evangelicals do not believe this aspect of our Christian lives can be trained and developed. Over-exaggerated notions of God's sovereignty is one of the reasons for this. And a misunderstanding in how gifts of the Holy Spirit operate is another.

As with any gift that God gives, they need to be developed and grown. They need to be stewarded. God expects us to do our part even as He does His part. Who doesn't believe that a gifted teacher of God's Word didn't grow and develop in that gifting? Why would gifting in healing, the prophetic and exorcism be any different? 

I pray that future conferences like the one we attended today would include growing in ministering in the more supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. That people would be trained to minister both in WORD & SPIRIT. Wise and persuasive words AND the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's power. That was Paul's model. And it should likewise be ours.