Talk vs Power

1 Corinthians 4:20-21 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21 What do you prefer?

I read this in my morning devotion and it has been stuck in my mind. Even though verse 21 is a precursor to the rest of the verse, it made me think. "What do people really prefer?" Words, or power? Looking at the church the past 20 years it appears that "Words" dominate the season. Power seems to be absent in the church. In some churches today, if you feel a little tingle during worship you think that the power of the Holy Spirit is just rushing through the place, when 15 years earlier in the same church, the power of God was so evident, that you could almost reach out and touch it.

I was talking with a friend last night at a birthday party. We had both cut our teeth in ministry at a certain church we had both attended. We reminisced about how you had to be at this church on Sunday Nights at least an hour or more before service started to get a seat. It was generally standing room only. Sunday evenings were much more "free" in a sense because there were no time restraints. Worship was over the top. You could feel the "Glory of the Lord" in and outside the sanctuary. At times you could see it. It was like a cloud hovering over. People accepted Christ not because of what the pastor preached, but due to the presence of power in the place. No words needed to be spoken. God was there and everyone knew it. Even the people who came in off the street and did not know God knew who they were in the presence of. People were healed of sickness, set free from addictions, and totally restored. Services started at 6pm and many times we left after 10pm. Why? God was moving. Man stayed out of the way. Man did not input his own wisdom into the service. Man followed God, and His Word. This same church is just a shell of what it once was. The leadership and people currently attending this church now will tell you that it is alive and has cutting edge everything, and reaching people for Jesus, but like in Revelation 3:1, "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead." They are following one of the church "models" that are out there and now they accept what used to be unacceptable. Rich Wilkerson asked on FaceBook what we thought "Status Quo" meant, well concerning today's church, it is doing what everyone else is doing. Just getting by. Doing just what is good enough. Using man's creation other than God's.

What do I prefer? That's easy. I'll take the manifestation of God's power any day. I have heard enough talk in church. I want to see action. Prayer brings action. Prayer lays the ground work for God to move. I was once a proponent of the best bands, fun in service, cutting edge technologies being used in services, all the things to draw people to church. It was all man's ways. I had been influenced by other church leaders, conferences, and even seeing people come into church in large numbers, but I found how shallow the church was. Now I am not against good worship music/bands, technology, or even have a fun service, it's all about why? Why do we do what we do? Do we want bodies to fill the seats to show that we are successful or do we do it because we have a heart after God? There's a big difference between the two. Paul had it right. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.