Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
I Cor. 4 ... 20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
Some in the church were puffed up in themselves and had not repented. Paul warned them that when he got there he would deal with them in power and he advised them to straighten things up before he got to them.
I Cor. 4 ... 14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. 15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers:for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. 17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
18 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. 19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. 20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
When we think of the kingdom of God being in power, we think of the way we are changed by the power of God, by the Holy Spirit, as HE speaks to us. Often God will, by the Holy Spirit, bring an idea to our mind that we had never considered. And when we act upon that which we have heard, we see that power of the kingdom of God.
I have several examples of this in my own life, both in the past and the present.
I knew I was to be a minister but I had no idea how this was to happen. I wasn't hired by any church group and I wasn't seeking employment by any church group. I was just waiting until God showed me what to do. As I waited I read Bible and talked with God. I waited from July 31 to the following January with no word as to what I was to do in ministry. I had no income at the time and was living off the money made from the sale of the merchandise which had been in my shop which I had closed on July 31. I had no vision concerning future. I was just waiting. 5 1/2 months passed with no word. Then on January 10, I had an experience in the night where I believe an angel of the Lord spoke to me to show me what to do. I was asleep and 3 words were spoken in my ear. It was like the sound of a trumpet with these words: "Hartford, Seattle, KWJS"
KWJS was obviously call letters to radio or TV. I looked it up and found it was radio. "Was God telling me to go on radio?" I had never heard a radio broadcast on a Christian type radio station. I knew nothing at all about radio. I didn't consider myself to be a speaker. "I wouldn't know how to do this," I said to God.
A gentle thought followed: "Call the radio station manager."
That morning I did call the radio station manager as soon as the office opened. He told me to make an audition tape of 29 1/2 minutes and if I fit into their programming they would offer me a contract.
I made the tape that morning and sent it to the radio station.
Within a week, I was broadcasting on radio.
Months later a woman in Ft. Worth, Texas, told me this story. She had been asking God to put someone on the radio who really lived in faith and taught about faith in God. One day, she turned on radio and a woman began speaking. Lilly said to God, "A woman ... NO ... not a woman." Lilly rushed to her radio to turn the broadcast off but before she got to the radio she became interested and kept listening. That was my broadcast she was hearing.
For 3 or 4 years I was on radio from coast to coast in USA.
Here we see a power of God to cause us to take an action we had never thought of doing.
A similar thing happened to cause me to start this blog and do these exhortations on the blog. I had quit playing bridge at the bridge center because there was just too much trouble. I had no where to go after I quit bridge. I had nothing to do. I quit in September and I didn't try to find any activity for it was very clear to me there would be no worldly activity that would be suitable for me. So I just sat home all day and waited. Toward the end of March, the following year, God gave me a dream: In that dream, a woman was singing to a small group of people. It was not a great voice but it was a nice little voice. I was shown the blog and knew it would be a "nice little voice". When I awoke that morning, I called Pam Padgett who had done computer programming at Fed Ex. I asked Pam if she could set up a blog for us. Within three days we were writing on the blog you are now reading.
Jesus said to his disciples: Acts 1 ... 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
This is exactly what I have found to be the case. We wait until we hear from God by HIS Spirit. That is when the power of God comes. Then we act upon that which we have heard from HIM.
Last September, I was driving down the street. A pickup truck with a trailer pulled up beside me. He was carrying a load of fire wood for fireplace. I said, "Oh ... firewood ... How wonderful!" I had a fireplace in my house but it had gas logs and I rarely lit it, not liking gas logs. But I love wood logs. About a year before this, I had thought how I would like wood rather than gas but I didn't feel I was physically able to handle wood because of an accident which left me partially crippled. But after seeing that load of firewood, I had a dream a few nights later: In that dream I was told I was now able to change the fireplace to wood burning. As soon as the fireplace store opened the next morning, I called them to arrange to have the gas logs removed and to set up grate for wood burning. I went to the store that day and purchased the things I needed and got the name of wood dealers and set schedule to have gas logs removed. Within 3 days, I had wood burning fireplace. It has been wonderful for me these past months. I usually have fireplace going each morning as I have my breakfast. And again at night I often burn wood and read by fireplace.
Another recent example of the kingdom of God being in power ... I was having trouble with TV picture and had been having trouble for several months. I kept trying to tune the TV. It was as if the Holy Spirit was standing there beside me watching me struggle with this and I heard: "You don't have to put up with this." I thought about those words and replied, "That's right!" Until I heard that word, it had never occurred to me to change TV's. But after hearing that word, I went immediately and bought another TV.
I am moved this way by the Spirit of God. And when the Spirit of God speaks to me, there is power that was not there previously.
Thus, the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. I Cor. 4:20