Throughout the gospels Jesus Christ is seen to give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, raise the dead, walk on water and feed thousands. Today many Christians are determined to hold to the notion that they are doing miracles in their churches and on the streets, when in fact they are belittling the name of Christ, the glory of Christ and the true power of God.
NAKED
That determination is partially fueled by a fear of questioning God or questioning the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s like the story of the emperor’s new suit of clothes. He was in fact completely naked, but he was sure he was regally dressed in the finest attire. His subjects were all deathly afraid of pointing out his nakedness in case he took it badly, and it’s likely that many of them had convinced themselves in their imaginations that he was indeed wearing beautiful robes lined with gold and mink.
Here’s a sobering indictment for our times:
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:22-23).
NO DOUBT
The faith of some is in their own view of what the Holy Spirit of God is doing and how He acts. Question that “miracle” and you are attempting to strip them of all they lean on and believe in. You are in fact threatening their “God”. Therefore they will not crumble. They will not doubt or query. They are busy doing “greater things than these”.
How can you do anything greater than the miracles Jesus did? He raised the dead and healed the blind, on the spot, completely. He made people leap and jump who had been lame all their lives – beat that! Yes, he did tell his disciples they would do greater things, but the only possible way to do anything greater is to go out into all the world, change lives and help to draw millions to faith in the only Son of God.
THE REAL THING
I for one feel insulted when someone tries to pass off something as a miracle and expects me to be impressed when it clearly isn’t. My view of God is far greater than that, and my faith is far greater. My hope and my concept of God, and the very Word of God, calls for stunning reality and something of great consequence. When Jesus healed, people flocked in their thousands from all around the land. The miracles were such that people were aghast at what they had just witnessed. Were they all giants in the faith? No, they were not. Most of them knew nothing of Jesus. It was not their faith which caused them to see miracles, it was the other way around: the great and totally convincing miracles of Christ drew the masses to him.
Such great things were being done by the Lord that many, many thousands were desperate to see the action, to receive similar healings, and to be a part of it all. Not so today. Yes, many believers want to see miracles. In fact, they want so much to see them that they convince themselves they are seeing them. To view things otherwise would be a denial of faith.
SHRINKING GOD
The worst part of it all, to my mind, is that the name of the Lord and the power of the Lord is shrunk and even mocked. Our great and almighty God created the heavens and the earth in six days. He formed man and all life on the planet. He came to earth as a man and raised the dead with no effort, and in plain sight for all to see – believer and unbeliever. Today some people are playing apostles, and playing healers, and playing tongues and playing Holy Spirit, and attempting to use the creator of the universe like a vending machine to gain wealth and prosperity.
A MOCKERY
I believe God heals. I’ve been healed myself a number of times through prayer and faith. However, what’s being passed off as miracles in some circles are not miracles at all. They aren’t worship, they aren’t honoring to God, they aren’t drawing unbelievers, they aren’t uplifting the name of the Lord, and they aren’t getting people out of wheelchairs. They’re a mockery: a mockery of God, a mockery of the Holy Spirit, a mockery of the Word of God, and a mockery of our own common sense and dignity.
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 