The Bible teaches that the Christian faith needs to be presented “with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (See 1 Corinthians 2:4-5.) Instead of using human wisdom to explain Christ, Paul demonstrated Christ’s glory by letting Spirit-taught words flow from within him.

Preaching that literally demonstrates Jesus is much more powerful than merely analytical and scripted preaching. Preaching the Gospel by definition is not enough! It needs to be preached by actual demonstration.

If you’re a Christ-follower, you’re supposed to be an actual demonstration of the presence of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” If Jesus is living in your heart, let Him demonstrate His presence in and through you throughout the day.

Words that only explain Jesus but fail to demonstrate His reality fall far short of communicating the truth of His presence. Jesus is demonstrated when human hearts are being so deeply moved by His presence that it’s obvious to those who are present.

People get bored hearing scripted lectures about Jesus, but when they see His reality demonstrated they are healed, delivered, and empowered. If your lifestyle doesn’t demonstrate the presence and character of Jesus, He might not be living inside of you.

The presence of the living Jesus is demonstrated by the presence of both the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. Everyday Jesus fills my heart and life with powerful demonstrations of His reality and power.

We can go beyond Bible study to Bible encounter by setting aside analysis and letting the words come alive in our heart. Bible words ignite a fire within me that doesn’t go out when I close the cover but continues to blaze as long as I keep my heart wide open to Scripture’s fuel and the Spirit’s presence.

It’s not enough to explain Jesus with words. We need to demonstrate Jesus by letting people see what he has done and is doing in our heart!

An orderly unprogrammed Spirit-led worship gathering is a powerful demonstration of the reality of the risen Jesus. Scripted words derived from study often block the flow of Spirit-prompted words in the moment that demonstrate Christ’s presence and reality. It’s hard to have strong faith if you’ve only heard lectures about Jesus but have never seen His presence demonstrated.

Demonstrate Jesus with your life. Show people that He’s real and present!