I am writing this blog because there seems to be a
serious issue today with people who say they are Christians and yet they are dead
set against signs and wonders thinking they are all the works of the false
prophets! After doing some research, I
discovered that the people writing these articles may be sincere, but they have
not taken into account the many other references to signs and wonders that were
(and are) done by Jesus, the apostles and through Spirit-led Christians of
today. So because they have not done
their complete Biblical research, given personal examples of how they have been
affected good or bad, or spoken to the miracle workers today that they question
to discover the truth for themselves whether they be of God or not, we have to
question the validity of their arguments.
From doing my own extensive Biblical research on this
topic, I have been surprised to find so many references to signs and wonders,
their purpose, and their continued purpose, I have come to believe that living
a Christian life without expecting signs, wonders and miracles, or encouraging
them in those that are gifted that way, is a glaring result of not only understanding
the Bible (which absolutely must be studied in context), but even worse,
unbelief! A heart of unbelief is very
serious business with God, so had we better take a closer look at Scripture and
see if we are failing in this area! I
encourage you to read on, even if you are skeptical about signs, wonders and
miracles (as mentioned in the Bible) being legitimate today.
In my own life, I have been personally and profoundly
affected by legitimate, God-breathed, Bible-based, signs, wonders, and miracles. The first miracle is that I got saved. The second miracle is that God spared me from
dying in a serious car accident when I was teenager. The third miracle is that even though I was a
drug user, backslidden and opposed to the things of God, I ended up in Bible
School by a miraculous set of circumstances (I had no desire to go and no money
to go). The fourth miracle is that God
completely took away my desire for drugs and the godless lifestyle that went
along with it without me ever going for counselling or a drug rehab
program. I had absolutely no withdrawal
symptoms, and I never touched the stuff again.
Suffice it to say that if I were to write all the miracles in my life since
then, I would have volumes of books. So
I have to confess that yes, I believe in signs, wonders and miracles (many of
them having to do with healing of my body, clinical depression, precise
direction and answers to prayer, deliverance, legitimate visions, dreams that I
knew were from God, and so on) because that is the testimony of my life with
Jesus! And I have also heard many
legitimate testimonies and seen miracles in others that were jaw-dropping and
astounded me, but probably shouldn't have if I had been believing for them. I believe without a doubt that our God is a
miracle-working God!
Through extensive Bible study and experience, the Lord
showed me that when He reveals something or performs a miracle, a sign or
wonder, it is never for head knowledge.
There is always a much deeper purpose because God's ultimate goal is to
draw us to Himself for the purpose of relationship and He also wants to be
glorified so we will worship Him and Him alone.
It also increases our faith. Why
would we pray in the first place if we didn't really believe He would answer
us? How and when He answers us is all in
His timing, still, Scripture teaches that we must believe when we pray.
Let's look at what Scripture has to say about signs,
wonders and miracles.
Jesus gave it (signs and miracles) as a result of those that believe when He
gave us the Great Commission:
Mar 16:15 And he
said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature.
Mar 16:16 He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall
be damned.
Mar 16:17 And
these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out
devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt
them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
These verses are for EVERY believer, not just for the
disciples He was speaking to. This is
very important to note because some skeptics say that it was only given in
Jesus' time and in the Book of Acts for unbelievers to see so that they would
see and believe and get saved. They also
say it was given ONLY to the apostles for the purpose of ministry. But they are mistaken because they have
neglected to mention one of the main purposes of signs and wonders. It is found in Hebrews 2.
Heb 2:1
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have
heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Heb 2:2 For if
the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
Heb 2:3 How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to
be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4 God also
bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles,
and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
God confirms our faith by action and deed - there is
physical evidence. If this were not
true, none of us would be saved, would we?
After we are saved, there is often a physical evidence that all things
have become new just like Paul said:
2Co 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new.
And as for faith, it is substance and evidence, something
that is not secretive and hidden.
Heb 11:1 Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So if we really believe the Word of God, then we will
also believe in signs, wonders and miracles, and we need to be expecting them!
Now I'd like to address the verses the skeptics have
quoted so we know where they are coming from:
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mar 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall
rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even
the elect.
First of all, with careful study, we discover that the
above two passages of Scripture are written to the Jews, not the Gentiles, and
certainly not the Church of today, the Bride of Christ. Christians today may be struggling with
apathy, worldliness, sin and many other things, but the signs and wonders of
that time that is coming will be so deceptive, that without the Spirit of God,
we would not be able to discern the source of it, whether it is of God. I believe that the Church will have already
been raptured when this time occurs.
So for people who are afraid of signs and wonders
thinking that all of it is of the devil and should be shunned and disregarded,
this is a very serious charge against the Holy Spirit if the works being done
are from Him. So what does a person who
is skeptical do in such a case?
Christians in Jesus time and Christians today have the help of the Holy
Spirit to discern such things:
Joh 15:26 But
when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Joh 15:27 And ye
also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
This is not to say that we shouldn't search Scripture and
pray if we are in doubt. We should pray
about everything. How do we discern what
is of God and what is not? I have
discussed this in a previous blog, but I will write it afresh here:
We should consider the following:
1Pe 2:12 Having
your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against
you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify
God in the day of visitation.
2) Are they submitted to God (you will know them by their
fruits)
2Co 9:13 Whiles
by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed
subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto
them, and unto all men;
3) Are humility
and repentance a part of it?
1Jn 1:5 This
then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God
is light, and in him is no darkness at all.1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:1Jn 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us.
4) Are they full of
the Holy Ghost and professing and acting on faith?
Act 11:21 And
the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned
unto the Lord.Act 11:22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of
the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should
go as far as Antioch.Act 11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of
God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would
cleave unto the Lord.Act 11:24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy
Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
5) Are the works unmistakably a work of God based on the
truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit? Do
they glorify God?
Joh 16:13
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. Joh 16:14 He shall
glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Note that false prophets "seduce" - they do
just the opposite of a work that is of God.
A work of God draws you TO God, but a work of a false prophet does not
do this. They will cunningly turn you
AWAY from God. Their works are not based
on the truth of God's revealed Word, but they may still quote Scripture (which
is likely taken out of context or whole portions of Scripture will have been
ignored or removed altogether). And also
important to note is that we are not to look for a gifted man or a woman to
perform miracles for us; we are to look to the Lord for everything we need or
desire. He may choose to use a person to
meet our need, but we must always remember that He is the ultimate source of
everything good that comes to us. To Him
alone goes all the glory.
To close, while researching, I discovered much more on
this topic and I have not been able to cover everything here without turning
into an even lengthier blog, which could also easily end up in a book
form. But I hope that what you have read
has shed some light on the subject and that you will feel encouraged to
believe, really believe, that God not only hears and answers prayers, but He is
miracle-working God! The more we read
His Word, the more we will believe as we see the awe-inspiring jaw-dropping
works of our Great God! Glory be to His magnificent
name.
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