Sep

Why Are There So Few Miracles?

Posted by: Sonny in Miracles, Supernatural

Personally, I know that the miraculous, the supernatural, is real and does happen today. I won’t argue with you or really even try to convince you of this. Why? Because it seems that for some Christians and definitely for those outside of Christ’s kingdom, it would make no difference. Most minds are already made up.

But I have my own question about this. Why are more signs and wonders going on in some third world countries than in the USA, a supposed Christian nation? This is if the stories are real: and the sources for a lot of them seem to be of unquestionable integrity. At least in my personal experience they are.

When I read about the early church I see so much more supernatural activity than we experience today, yet the number of disciples today vastly exceeds those of their time. What might be called a miracle today?

I think it would be something that happens with absolutely no way for it to be explained in the natural world. As I said, I know they happen and I know it because, I have experienced them.

But when I read about the signs and wonders in the bible I notice that they are always succeeded by an increase in the Kingdom of Christ.

Is that the answer?

If miracles are only given by God to further the gospel, to advance the Kingdom, and we live in a culture that is going to insist on them being false even when there is pretty good evidence of the reality of some of them, might that be why they do not happen more often?

Sorry about the length of that question.

And with some of the things that are going on supposedly in the name of Christ, is it any wonder why no one believes? This simply has to be rebuked, and harshly. But that is another post.

I was saved because of signs and wonders. God did a couple of things to me that could not have happened. At another time, God caused an aneurysm in my wife’s brain to disappear before the specialist could decide on surgery. But, even when someone is healed such as my wife, it did not convince anyone that they need to serve Christ. Not even my kids took it as a sign to get right.

It seems that the answer could be that if no one is going to pay attention, that if God is not going to be glorified and the Kingdom increased, then He is not going to bother. God help us.

Love you all

Tags: America, Body of Christ, Faith, Holiness, Jesus Christ, Kingdom, Miracles, Pentecostal, Salvation, Signs and Wonders, Supernatural

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 1:52 am and is filed under Miracles, Supernatural. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 comments so far

Connie Davis

Love your blog. I never get to hear any “grown up” teachings. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching the kids, but I do need some adult teachings sometimes. Keep up the good work.

Your a blessing to me. I watched Tammy pray for your salvation for so many years and I think I was as excited to see you praise the Lord as Tammy was!

Love you. You are a blessing to our church and me.

September 15th, 2008 at 10:34 am

Sonny

Thanks Connie for the comments and for praying with Tammy during those years.

September 15th, 2008 at 7:12 pm

Shannon

Interesting… I read this post again today and thought about our tendency to understand signs being for unbelievers as meaning that we should display our “healing services” on national television. What if the signs serve unbelievers mainly in the context of their (that is, the unbelievers’) relatedness to the believing community? In other words, if I don’t believe in Christ, yet I am friends with John (whom I know is a Christ-follower), it could be that I regard the sign as valid, considering the authority that John would have (as my friend) to speak into my life. Of course, this is an individual witness (of John), but if we think of such validation in the context of a local assembly’s witness to a community (as you allude) – the relatedness (body-life) of the faith community bears responsibility in the lack of the miraculous manifest before unbelievers.

I think this goes hand in hand with our tendency in the West to compartmentalize our faith. In our minds (oftentimes), we consider signs as effective only if we put them on TV, broadcast their occurrence on radio, internet, etc. And this sort of gets us off the hook, so to say, regarding the role of the believing community in validating such signs by the faithful witness of our own lives (body-life). Thus, as well as the staunch unbelief of our culture, the body-life of the witnessing community (not just a few faithful individuals but the church as a whole – local, regional, national, global) affects the receptivity of God’s supernatural intervention and/or manifestation through the miraculous.
Just a thought…

Blessings

September 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pm

Sonny

At some point in time, someone did get the idea that the display of the miraculous was something that should be out there in the airwaves. As I touched on last night, with Pastor’s confirmation today in service, I believe TV evangelism has done way more harm than good to the Kingdom. And it is time for those who truly are motivated to be instrument of growth to step back and reevaluate what they are accomplishing.

Signs and wonders were for the unbelievers. And you are right in saying that it only works, in my opinion, when those that see them are in relationship with the believer. Whether that is a personal or community relationship.

And I do not even need to get started on the church body as a whole. I watched their behavior which was the very antithesis of their statements of faith, for a lot of years. Sadly, it still is.

The whole premise behind my question is simply, why don’t we see more of the miraculous. I do believe it would not be miraculous if signs and wonders occurred all the time. I also believe that our standing with God, in the areas of faith and obedience, have the most impact on whether God will use someone to work through.

But even as pessimistic as I find myself to be at times, I still think the miraculous should be happening more. Even in the small circle of relationships I have I know a number of people that I believe God could use based on who I see them to be, in Christ. Even with the general lack of real, dedicated disciples, there are still a vast number of real men and women of God that He could use.

This brings me to my conclusion. If a true sign or wonder is to glorify God and bring unbelievers into the Kingdom, and in our heart hardened culture this is not effected, does God simply say “why bother?” He knows that those who truly love Him do not need the signs and wonders. Which leads me to another thought entirely?

Are all of those that seem to chase signs and wonders, and call themselves part of the body, truly in a “real” relationship with Jesus Christ?

September 21st, 2008 at 9:45 pm