Raw Power

 I drove into Weatherford to walk this week. Along the path I heard a surprising noise. I also felt a strange sensation about the same time. The sound was a train horn. The strange sensation was the raw power of the train engines rumbling past paralleled to where I walked with the train cars in tow. 

I could feel the power, hear the power, and see the power. Soon the train passed, but I kept thinking about the raw power. Like I so often do, I related that incident to God. His raw power. 

We live in a day when the power of God may be hard to find in religious circles. Face the facts. Many religious institutions do not need God. We have learned through experience, tried and true methodologies, strategies, technological advances, and wall street marketing gimmicks how to do church. We know how to raise money, build cathedrals, do missions, conduct programs, hold Vacation Bible Schools, and revival meetings. God's help would be nice but we do not deem it necessary to success. We have learned to be successful. 

What we cannot do nearly so effectively is point to the raw power of God in our midst. We showcase preacher's talents but not show preaching with a demonstration of power and the Holy Spirit like Paul did. We can produce the best paid professional musicians to lead in worship, but we cannot equally offer sincere worship that blesses and pleases God. We can offer an endless parade of programs, but we cannot equally produce a parade of transformed people. 

The raw power of God is missing in the lives of individual believers also. People in the pew are easy prey to Satan and temptation. If not, then why do 80% of Southern Baptist Children who grew up in church leave the church when they go off to college? Furthermore in the SBC, there are about 16 million people on the roles, but around 10 million are AWOL every Sunday. Baptisms in the SBC have declined for several years in a row. Why are so many men and women bound in pornography? Why are so many living in immorality? Why are families falling apart? All of these point to the fact that the raw power of God is absent in individuals. 

The raw power of God is rare today. It is not because God has weakened. He is still powerful. All powerful. See [Jer 32:17]  He can do anything He wants. We act like we do not need Him. We can get people to make decisions for Christ my repeating a sinners prayer or raising their hands. We can get people wet in baptistries. Only Jesus can truly transform a life. Only Jesus can regenerate a person making new creations. Only Jesus can motivate people to worship, to serve, to sacrifice, and to witness. None of our manmade programs can produce the raw power of God. 

It is the raw power of God we need today. Our country is in a mess. Families are messes. For some reason God has linked His power with the cries of His people. Power and prayer are wedded. No prayer equals no power. No power is a by product of no prayer, or very little praying. 

We must have God's raw power to see people saved, delivered, strengthened, transformed, redeemed, renewed, revived, and powerfully enabled to make a difference. May God come in raw power again and this age see, hear, and feel the impact of raw power again as in days of old. [James 5:16] [Acts 2:47]