Exposure
15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Luke 7:15-17 (ESV)
It’s almost magical what can be done with multi-media, lights, sound and action. That’s pretty much what we’re looking for these days, too – or so we’re told. The best use of all these will surely make the best impression and fulfill the great commission most effectively. Our culture is geared to the high tech and will never show up to a place where this appetite is not met.
Ok, they show up, but for what? What happens when there is another need other than that entertainment hunger, like healing, deliverance, restored relationships, or finances? For this woman that Jesus met she might have been impressed with a band they could have put together or maybe a nice banner show, but the real heart starter and belief transformer was the demonstration of a power beyond any earthly planning or human creativity. There was a display of His power to meet her right at the point of her heart’s breaking with a remedy. You might wonder how many brainstorming sessions Jesus had with His disciples about ministry growth and how to keep them coming back, but it would seem that these supernatural manifestations of His power alone provided the necessary drawing power of a heart connection to someone who could meet them at their greatest needs.
There are marketing firms and training sessions, along with books of ‘fishing’ methods and organizational leadership, but for all the preparation of man there is but one presentation that will truly turn a heart from a path to destruction. Only when there is an encounter with a superior power that exists specifically for their good and for their salvation, will there be a true conversion of the heart. Mental agreement and gratified flesh may produce a popular social gathering, but all the ‘successful’ plans for expansion and exposure will ultimately be rendered superfluous and insignificant if, upon arrival at the gathering there is never a life-transforming encounter with the Worker of Miracles.
Each gift is so precious and useful in bringing relevance of the Gospel’s message to a tech culture in need of an eternal heavenly impression. In all who have experienced the breath of life and its supernatural transformation there is great potential to reveal to a needy world just how real and pertinent our God truly is. There is an anointing and flow of the same power that raised Jesus Himself from the grave that is residing in all who have embraced His offer of life. Through gifts of music, art, governance and proclamation, there will be a wide variety of means for His power to be demonstrated, but when these gifts are utilized and when the people show, may they encounter the One who provided those gifts and may much more than just their minds and flesh be impressed by each gift’s display. It will be Jesus’ glory and His touch that bring the changes each heart is longing for. Through all that is said and all that is done, may what He did be the subject of conversations. Where He is exposed in His power and might, there will be an irresistible draw to His love and His light.