Friday, April 6, 2018
Building People of Substance for Works of Power
Prayin’ for the power, Amigos.
It hit me very early in ministry: People need God, not me. In the church where I worked, there was a precious man who had been terribly injured in a car wreck. He had severe brain injury and spinal cord damage. His faithful wife wheeled him into every service. We taught them, prayed for them, rebuked the devil and professed the Word. I never saw any improvement. I never doubted the will of God to heal him, but I could see that the faith formulas we were applying were not getting the job done. As a Pastor, I soon realized that some people are never going to receive what they need on their own faith. If it’s going to happen it will have to be a manifestation of the supernatural power of God, a gift of the Spirit. This revelation has led me to passionately contend for supernatural power in our services. I desperately want to see people made whole. Don’t you?
Over the years I’ve heard preachers praying for all sorts of things. We pray for our church to grow. We pray for money and helpers and facilities. I believe that it is time to remember to pray like Elisha. When asked what Elijah might do for him as he prepared to stand in the prophet’s office, he responded, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” When faced with the needs of broken humanity, I have to be overwhelmed at my inadequacy to do anything for them. I don’t need one more program, one more book, one more seminar, or one more really hip hashtag. I need more of His Spirit, more of His power, more of His strength. When the broken come to our service, they need me to get out of the way and facilitate the touch of God.
Somebody Said: People can’t do miracles and are not responsible to do miracles, but people can pick up miracles from God and hand it to another person – a miracle happens when that occurs. Bruce Wilkinson
Scripture Reading: Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen Me do. “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. (John 14:11-13 NLT)
I am committed to making disciples. Teaching and training is essential to growth in the Christian life. But the world we live in is filled with folks whose lives are in such a state of disrepair, they may not live long enough to grow. The may not have the mental or emotional stability to go through our rigorous programs. We need power, dear friends, to set the captives free: to heal the sick, cast out devils, and even raise the dead. If we don’t make room in our liturgy and our lives for the intervention of the Holy Ghost, all we will have is our wits and our strength. Rather than trust our own pitiful exertions, let’s pray passionately for His power in every gathering. It’s really all we need.
Pastor Virgil L. Stokes
Faith Christian Fellowship of Tucson
3141 W. Ironwood Hill Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85745
www.fcftucson.org
Office: 520-792-3238
For free classes on this subject, visit our FMTIonline Resources page.
pastorvirgil.com 