Why is the Power Out?

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,

Luke 5:1 ESV

As the church, we want change, we want justice, we want equality and all manner of noble things.

We want to see more children waking up in a home where their father stuck around.

We want to see more mothers full of grace and wisdom, living as the individual God created them to be.

We want to see more pastors living uprightly, leading with integrity.

In short, we want to see heaven’s power brought to bear upon the earth, and when that happens, we crowd around it.

What were those people flocking to, what were they amazed by? It wasn’t Jesus’ appearance (Isaiah 53:2), or his social status, but “they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority” (Luke 4:32).

The the word of God is where the power is, not clever marketing or cooler looking Christians. The source of power for living, for loving, for changing is through God’s word and the Holy Spirit.

Our resurrected heart does rightly long to see these wonderful things come to pass, but our flesh still wages war against us, and wants nothing to do with Scripture. It wants nothing to do with the work of study, prayer, and first being transformed ourselves.

Really… we want the power without going to the source.

Just as the people came to Jesus to “hear the word of God”, we have the Bible and Holy Spirit to guide us in his word.

When you feel discouraged or as though there is no life in your ministry, go back to the words of God and be rejuvenated by their power.

Are you gaining your power and strength from God? Are you “plugged in”?