When we look throughout the many sections of the church, we find that
there is generally three thoughts. Some believe that miracles can
happen, but it depends as to whether God wants to do a miracle or not.
Some believe that miracles past away along with the Apostles of the
early church and some believe that miracles are still a vital part of
the church. When we look through the Old Testament, the earth ministry
of Jesus and the ministry of the early church, there is no doubt that
God is a miracle working God. That He not only used Jesus to perform
miracles, but also ordinary, frail and imperfect people. But God sees
people in a way that most do not see themselves. The Apostle Paul tells
us, "But God has chosen the
foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen
the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are
mighty." (1 Corinthians 1:27) This is not saying the people that God
uses are foolish to Him, but they seem foolish to people who think they
are so wise and knowledgeable. The Book of Judges tells us of such a
story.
Not to long after God had given Israel the promised land and warned then who it was that gave them "...large and beautiful cities which they did not build, houses
full of all good things, which they did not fill, hewn-out wells which
they did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which they did not plant and when
they had eaten and were full, not to forget the Lord who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."
(Deuteronomy 6:10-12), but they did. (Judges 6:1) In doing this, they
had taken themselves out of the Lords protection and provision and fell
prey to their enemies. During this time an Angel of the Lord appeared to
an Israelite name Gideon who was hiding from the Midianites in a
winepress threshing wheat. The Angel of the Lord said to Him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judge 6:11-12)
Gideon's response it typical to many in the church today, "Gideon said to Him, O my lord, if the Lord
is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His
miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
(Judges 6:13) Many feel as though God doesn't care. That He has brought
sickness, disease and disaster upon the earth. After all, if God is all
powerful, if He is a God of love, why does He let these things happen?
Let's remember, Israel forsook the Lord and went their own way. They
chose to take
themselves out of the Lords protection and provision, which opened the
door to their enemies. This was not God's doing but their poor choice.
As a matter of fact, at the conclusion of Judges, even after all the
chaos that came with their poor choices we read, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25)
We
also see in Gideon's response to the Angel of the Lord, that he
accredits God as a miracle working God based on the reports that had
been spoken from one generation to the next. The fact is, God had not
stop performing miracles, Israel
lost they faith in a miracle working God by choosing to follow the
way's of the world. We also see Gideon blame God for the present state
of Israel. He says, "...the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Once
again, we see in the words of Gideon, the typical response of many in
the church today. Although they may not directly say that it is Gods
fault, they say the same thing that Gideon said indirectly by saying it
this way, "this sickness, disease, disaster, etc., is God's Will, so I just
have to accept it. The reason for this thinking is always followed by
"God is sovereign." The fact is, God is the supreme King. He has all
authority. However, we must always keep in mind that God does not use His sovereignty to operate above or outside of His Word.
The Bible records many references of the steadfastness and immutability of God's Word. For instance, "My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips." (Psalm 89:34). "Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven." (Psalm 119:89) Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." (Mark 13:31) God's Word is just as powerful and unchanging today as it was when it was first spoken and it will always be.
Like the children of Israel, believers today fall prey to and are taken
advantage of by Satan and his demonic forces due to their
misunderstanding of God and his Word. Also as Israel, they have learned
to put their faith in the world more than in the unchanging, miracle working God. As Jesus said to the religious of His day, "Jesus answered and said to them, are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?" (Mark 12:24)
The
Apostle Paul tells us that the believer is to "Put off the old nature
(sinful nature prior to being born again) and to put on the new nature which
was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."
(Ephesians 4:17-26) He goes on to tell us that when believers give place
to their old sinful nature that it gives place to the devil, the enemy.
(Ephesians 4:27) The oppression that Israel faced was just that. They
rejected the Lord and lived life by doing was seemed right in their own
eyes, the fallen, old nature. Though they were not born again, they were
still God's chosen people and He promised to take complete care of them
if they walked in His ways. For the enemy oppression to be lifted from
Israel, all that was required was for Israel to repent from their sin
and turned back to God. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
The
same is true for the believer today. The Apostle John tells us that sin
(darkness) breaks fellowship with God (1 John 1:1-6) But if the
believer "walks in the light as the Lord is in the light, they have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses them from all sin." and "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7, 9) Satan
has no place in the believer who walks through faith in Jesus Christ.
In the same manner, God will work miracles through believers who have
faith in a miracle working God. Of course this takes faith in the integrity of God's Word. The Apostle Paul tells us, "And
I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech
or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined
not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I
was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech
and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5) PTL...
Monday, August 22, 2022
Let's Talk Miracles
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