The Honor and Power Connection-Turning up the Power

I want to start with a phrase from my last post. "Reverence is appropriate activity in the presence of God." Jeff Weber.

What is appropriate activity in the presence of God?

Most people have defined it as silence, and not being able to be expressive in church.

That definition is not incorrect, but rather, I believe, incomplete. Sometimes it's appropriate to run, and jump, and sing at the top of your lungs. Other times silence is more appropriate.

However, outward expressions aside, I think the far more pressing matter is the heart. Once the heart is set aright, the outward expressions will follow.

So, we have determined to be reverent, what's next? How do we turn up the power? The answer is quite simple.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 tells us what the Apostle Paul did. He said,

¹And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

²For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

³And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

⁴And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

⁵That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

So, notice that Paul said his preaching was in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. He didn't come and try to show the people his slick preaching and oratory skills. No! He came in, and possibly said something like this, "Alright boys, I could talk to you about the power, and how good God is, and what Jesus did, but, let's see some power in action. Who's got some back trouble? Step on out here and be healed." And the guy would have gotten healed.

I know that Brother Joe Morris, on one of his first crusades with a friend of his, went to a particular city, and they were greeted by the media-this was billed as a miracle and healing crusade. So, they started asking them about the meeting, and his friend said something to the effect of, "I dare you to bring your sick and diseased, and watch the power of God heal them!"

Well, Joe preached the first night. He said it was bad. One person came up to him after the service, and told him, "Don't do this for a living." It wasn't the preaching that got the power to show up.

But, a night or two later, Joe saw a vision, during the service. Two angels, standing there. He asked God what they were there for, and God said to him, "They've come to give this woman a new heart." So, at the end of the service, his friend asked him if he had anything, and Joe told her what God had said. She went to the doctor the next day, and her heart was completely healed, and looked like it was brand new.

She went to the newspapers, and there were headlines that said, "Angels deliver woman new heart." Well, you could barely get in the place that night, there were so many people there, and they had revival! People got healed, saved, set free!

So, what am I saying? Don't rely on preaching and teaching for a miracle. It's good, and it has its place, but expectation is where the power comes from! Expect a demonstration of the Spirit and of power! Lives will be changed! People healed! People saved!

But, a Gospel without power is like a well without water. It is utterly useless. So, honor God, and expect the power!

My next post (maybe sooner than it took me to get this one out) will finish this series (unless God gives me more on this). It's going to be called, "Digging up the Wells of Your Fathers."