"And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chose." -Hebrews 2:4
Have you ever asked God for something big in your life? Maybe financial freedom, bodily healing, or the dream of having a child. The prayers that seem biggest to us are truly nothing for God. But many times we forget that. In the midst of our tear-filled prayers, we act as if our requests are too hard, complex, or big for even God Himself. And if this line of thinking is prolonged, our doubts will fool us into believing that perhaps God does not want to answer our prayers...that miracles are a thing of ages past. But the record of Scripture shows a different picture. All throughout God's Word we see a God who brings water from a rock (Ex 17:5-6), fights against our enemies (2 Kings 19:35), and heals those fighting illnesses and in bondage to evil spirits (Matt 8:16). We, through our own weakness and unbelief, oftentimes place God in the box of our own limitations. But the Lord is greater than any obstacle we face. And the same God that did miracles in the Old Testament is still performing them today. The times may have changed but He has not. Remember the words written in the Scriptures, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb 13:8)
Confirmation Needed
Remember the last time you purchased something online? Regardless of the merchant, all legitimate purchases have this in common: a confirmation email. Tangible proof that the item is ours, even before receiving it. In similar fashion, God uses miracles to confirm His Word! Though the presence of miracles do not establish God's Word (Psalm 119:89), they can help confirm it. Jesus, the apostles, and early church preached and taught the Scriptures, yet the message was nearly always followed by miracles! Healing the sick, casting out demons, and financial provision were not uncommon results. It was the presence of miracles that helped listeners believe the Gospel message and its legitimacy! When Jesus healed the royal official's son in John 4:46-53, notice what the Bible says about the results of the miracle. John writes, "So he and his whole household believed". It was the boy's healing that proved to the official and his entire household that Jesus really is who He said He is! Listen to what the apostle Paul has to say about this matter, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor 2:5). Contrary to what we may have heard or perceived growing up, the Christian life is not meant to be a walk of "blind faith". Paul tells the Corinthians in plain terms that their faith was not to be based solely on eloquent preaching, but on experiencing God's power which confirmed the message. God gives us miracles to help us believe that 1. He is who He says He is, 2. that the message we hear is true, and 3. to help strengthen our faith during moments of weakness and doubt! Miracles are a good Father's way of continually affirming His Word to us.
The Heart of Worship.
There are about as many Christian churches and denominations as there are people and personalities. Some churches focus more on the gifts of the Spirit while others place emphasis on the fruit. And while it is my personal opinion that neither is particularly right nor wrong, I sought to find harmony in the two camps. As I searched the Scriptures for my own understanding, I found a common thread between the miracles Jesus performed. Almost all the miracles found in the Gospels drove the recipients to worship the Lord! When the Lord healed the man that was born blind in John 9, notice the man's reaction upon seeing the Lord face to face, "he worshipped Him". (vs 38) The presence of miracles causes the beneficiary & others to worship God because they see the fruits of the Spirit in action! The 9 fruits of the Sprit given to us in Galatians are not simply "feelings" nor emotions, they are internal postures that lead to external action. So in essence every time Jesus performed a miracle, He was showing those around Him love, kindness, goodness, etc. In Jesus' ministry we see the perfect balance & harmony between gifts and fruit. Both are important! Though the Word constantly shows us the primary important of love, we should use this message to invalidate our need for miracles! Miracles point us towards God and upon seeing His goodness and power, we are led to worship Him. This is pretty important because worshipping God will always lead us into experiencing greater intimacy with Him.
Transformation Needed
So far we have seen, through Scripture, that miracles help confirm the Word and cause us to worship the Lord. But there is yet a third element of miracles that we have yet to discuss. During one of Paul's missionary travels, he made his way to the city of Ephesus where Luke records that "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul" (vs 11). The miracles made a profound impact on this pagan city insomuch a group of seven men wanting to replicate Paul's miracles began casting out demons. Unfortunately they failed to realize that power for miracles should be the natural progression out of a real and deep relationship with God, not showmanship! So when the evil spirit overpowered and ridiculed the men, the people were astounded. But the extraordinary miracles and the incident with the sons of Sceva had a particular effect on the crowd, "seized with fear, the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly" (Acts 19:17-20). This is the third and final point. Miracles cause us to fear the Lord and renounce sin! When the people saw the power of God, for both blessing and correction, they realized that God really is God! Out of that realization, a fear of the Lord struck their hearts and this very fear caused them to destroy the items/instruments of sin in their possession. Miracles cause us to have an awe and admiration of God that leads to true repentance...and part of that repentance means forsaking sin. And when we reject sin, we will find ourselves headed into the arms of our Father.
Food for thought...
Dear Reader the same God that performed miracles 2,000 years ago is still doing them today! Asking the Lord for a miracle is not selfish. For out of His abundant treasures, God desires to grant us our requests. Miracles are not something we have to beg God for because God desires that through them we might believe His words, worship Him, and renounce our sin. My prayer is that through these examples you too might see how much the Lord loves and genuinely desires you, all of you. Now, will you honor Him with your love and grant Him the space in your life that He rightfully deserves?
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