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Gods Empowering Presence Tract Final
Gods Empowering Presence Tract Final
empowering presence
ALWAYS PURSUING, NEVER PRESUMING
Dr. Roger Valci
The New Testament Formula
for the Church has never changed.
Ordinary people
+ touched by the Spirit
= to reach the city
People are God’s method, God’s answer for this broken and battered world.
People who are willing. People who will take risks. People who look for ways to make the unseen
hand of God visible in this world. And if people are God’s method, then God’s empowering
presence is His means. God takes ordinary people and rewires their motives and priorities
so they can continue the words and works of Jesus. How does He do this? Through God’s
empowering presence.
All throughout the Bible, God is not just reaching individuals, but cities. Abram intercedes for
Sodom (Genesis 18:16-33). Jonah is sent to Nineveh (Jonah 4:11). Jesus warns the cities of
Chorazin, Bethsaida, Tyre, Sidon and Capernaum of impending judgment (Matthew 11:20-24) and
weeps for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). The Call is God’s plan to reach cities through the local church.
Jesus’ standing orders to the Church is to go and reach cities (Acts 1:8). Jesus is coming back not just for
local churches, but also for cities that exalt and glorify His name. The gospel is meant to penetrate all
aspects of culture, turning selfish institutions into instruments of God’s righteousness. God’s empowering
presence mobilizes Christ’s followers to engage in God’s endeavor to transform cities.
Whenever you see a verse in the Bible regarding the Spirit, one must ask,
Footnotes
Recommended Resources
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993.
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
Hayford, Jack, The Beauty of Spiritual Language. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996.
Lloyd-Jones, Martyn, Joy Unspeakable, Power and Renewal in the Holy Spirit. Wheaton: Harold
Shaw Publishers, 1984.
Stronstrad, Roger, The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson
Publishers, 1984.
About the Author
Dr. Roger Valci is the Senior Pastor of Valley Christian