I have for some years been relating to what Paul said to the Philippians in chapter three, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." At first, like so many "full gospel" type Christians, I wanted the "power of His resurrection." We reason, "If I could just get His power, I could do so much for God!" Right? Wrong! I heard a story of a traveling evangelist who came to a church and gave a message and then an alter call. He invited all those who would wanted prayer to receive the power of God to line up on the left side of the church and all those who wanted to receive God's brokenness to line up on the right side. Well, it seems that about 95% of the folks got in the power line and the other five got in the brokenness line. After they were all lined up he walked over to those in the brokenness line and turned to the others and said, "I will pray for these and they will get their brokenness and they will also be the ones who get the power."
God does not give out His kingdom power so that we can go out in our rebellious hearts and do exploits for Him. He gives His power to those who want the fellowship of His sufferings and to be made conformable to His death. No pain, no gain. No death, no glory. We must fellowship with Him in His sufferings before we will know Him in His power.
We have seen for years this sham of men and women who parade before us in our meetings, claiming to have power in the presence of God. For a long time the best they could come up with was stretching legs; now they fill teeth with gold and claim the manifest presence of God with gold dust on the people. When God's real power shows up on His broken ones, there will be no doubt. But the true sign of His men and women of power will not be the overt signs that men seek after. No, it will be the sign of the Messiah, one who comes in all lowliness and humility, waiting for God to lift them up in his due season and not before.
This I am willing to wait for. I want nothing to do with the dog and pony shows that call themselves the power workers of God as they parade across the stages of churches and conference rooms, boasting of their greatness (in all humility, of course). I am reminded that the two final witnesses in Revelation are dressed in sackcloth and not shark-skin suits with gold rings on their fingers. The smooth clothing and fine jewelry are found on the Great Whore later in the book. Do not be fooled by the counterfeit false prophets, apostles, and wonder workers of this hour. Look for the brokenness of Christ in those who say they are of Christ.
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