BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Paul may have been seen as a babbler, but he began to change their lives with the good news. Yes, the gospel is foolishness to the world. As a preacher, my whole profession is foolishness to unbelievers. Nothing supersedes it, though, because those who don't believe have nothing better to o er. They can't compete with God's truth. The Foolishness That Transforms Lives The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Take giving, for example. The world doesn't understand why Bible-believing Christians give money like we do. They don't understand the laws of sowing and reaping at the spiritual level, only in the physical. But we're spiritual farmers—sowing in season and reaping in season. When someone comes to Christ and learns what it means to sow and reap in the spirit, they fl ourish. Why? Because the Word restores, lifts and rescues those who believe it. Even Jesus wasn't immune from this. People looked at Him and said, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). Jesus' response? "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matthew 11:25). He didn't care if they thought Him a fool. He knew the power of the Word to restore, lift and rescue those who believed it. When the heart and the conscience are touched, the will is subdued. The truth of the gospel and the foolishness of our preaching come together to do something magnifi cent. It subdues the will of men and transforms lives. Simply Irresistible A wonderful pastor friend of mine once told me, "Jesse, you make Jesus irresistible." I love that. I hope I always make God Almighty irresistible so that people say, "I just got to get around this Jesus." That's what Paul did. He made God Almighty irresistible to the would-be wise men of his day. He proved to them that he was called by God with the Word of God. They weren't infl uenced by a philosophy (Colossians 2:8). B V O V : 1 1 WORDS OF FAITH: HOLINESS WORDS OF FAITH: W THE MORE WE WALK IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD, THE LESS ROOM WE GIVE THE DEVIL TO OPERATE IN OUR LIVES. (Prov. 16:7) Separating yourself unto God opens the door for Him to be the Father to you He desires to be. (2 Cor. 6:17-18) God created you to be a vessel of His glory and walk in the light. (1 Thes. 4:1) Walking in holiness is part of your divine calling. (1 Thes. 4:7) HOLINESS DOESN'T COME FROM STRIVING LEGALISTICALLY TO KEEP RULES AND REGULATIONS. (Gal. 5:16) They were transformed by the gospel, by the power of the Word. Preaching of the Word is not foolishness. It's only would-be wise men who consider it foolishness. It's a solemn responsibility of every preacher, pastor and believer to present the gospel. When we do, we are a divinely appointed channel of divinely ordained foolishness. That's why the world thinks of us as fools, but their opinion doesn't matter. Like Jesus, we answer to our heavenly Father, not the world. Every miracle Jesus performed defi ed all logic. It started with Him turning six water jugs into wine and ended with an empty tomb. It was foolishness to the wise men of His day, but it's not foolishness to God. Two thousand years later, Jesus is still defying logic, only now it's through us— revealing truth, laying hands on the sick, living without debt, and casting out demons. That's the foolishness of our preaching. Let's not preach the truth as if it's fi ction. Let's preach it for the life-changing, transforming power of God that it is. Praise God, let's embrace it!

• Cover