Miracles, Signs and Wonders by Larry W Peebles October 19, 2018 18.30
Jesus’ ministry was filled with miracles, signs and wonders. A miracle is something that happened that has no logical or natural explanation. A sign points to something. Wonder is the reaction of those who witnessed what happened. Jesus healed the sick. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, and the deaf regained their hearing. Demons were cast out of the people Jesus encountered. He told the woman at the well all about her past, although He had just met her for the first time. He raised the dead back to life (Lazarus- John 11:1-44), and many dead were seen walking in Jerusalem following His death on the cross (Matthew 27:50-54). The crowds followed Jesus, and many became believers. However, there were skeptics, including the scribes and Pharisees.
These examples and many others are well documented in the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. John wrote (John 21:25) – “And there are many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” When the Gospels say that everywhere Jesus went, all were healed, that is exactly what happened. The notable exception is that in His hometown of Nazareth, where He grew up, the locals were so skeptical that “He could not do many miracles there”. (Mark 6:5). Some of His many miracles were recorded, but the vast majority were not recorded. There were simply too many to write down. They happened so often and so fast it became impossible to document.
Sickness, infirmity and death have a spiritual basis that is the result of the work of the devil in this fallen world. Jesus as Creator (Colossians 1:16) has unlimited power and authority. He came to destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8). As He destroyed the work of the devil, the dark spiritual root of sickness and death lifted, and people were made whole. What He did cannot be explained in natural terms, as He is supernatural—above and beyond the natural world we live in. What seemed so unnatural, amazing and difficult to those around Him was quite natural and easy for Him.
As His earthly ministry drew to a close, He made an incredible promise. He said “he who believes in Me [Jesus], the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to my Father.” (John 14:12). He gave us that same authority. His disciples had already begun to do miracles while they trained under Jesus. Following His death and resurrection, the Bible records the disciples healing the sick (Aeneas-Acts 9:32-34), and raising the dead (Tabitha- Acts 9:36-41). Many other signs and wonders were done by the apostles among the people according to Acts 5: 12-16. Peter’s shadow had a healing effect as it fell on some of them as he passed by. The age of miracles did not cease with Jesus’ death. The apostles clearly carried on, giving all the credit to Jesus. The church grew in numbers of believers, but there remained those who were skeptical. Some even expressed rage, and killed the apostles.
Fast forward to today. At the writing of this article, amazing things continue to happen. A man’s Bible began to produce oil about eighteen months ago in Dalton, Georgia. It currently produces an average of five gallons of the oil each week, which is bottled and given away for free. The oil has been analyzed, without a match to any identifiable oil. After eighteen months of sitting in oil, the ink has not faded, and the Bible has not ruined or come apart. My wife and I have seen it and photographed it. Most Sundays the owner of the Bible and the oil are invited to a church somewhere in the southeastern United States for a presentation. More information can be found on Google and Facebook, although the comments from skeptics appear there. Both companies have stepped in to monitor what is written concerning the oil.
Not far from where I live, a church is experiencing a revival that has lasted over forty weeks and counting. It stems from a vision the pastor had of fire on the water in the baptismal pool, although the pool was empty at the time of the vision. Now each Sunday evening approximately one thousand people from far and wide gather for prayer, worship, preaching, and a baptism service. The pastor is careful to document some of the miracles happening in the water, but so many miracles are happening it is not possible to document them all. Broken marriages are restored, bodies are healed, while drug, alcohol and tobacco addictions are defeated. My wife and I have been to the revival meetings, and have felt the power and presence of God in the water. We came away refreshed and encouraged. I could not help but think of the Pool of Bethesda when the waters became “troubled”. (John 5: 1-15). Information on the meetings and videos from past meetings can be found on their website. Search for Christ Fellowship Church, Dawsonville, Georgia.
We should examine these events for authenticity, but we should start with an open mind. We should come searching for the fingerprints of God on the events, and looking for consistency with His Word and character. We should be mindful that even His Word does not contain all the miracles Jesus performed, so that what we are seeing may not be in the Bible per se. As an example, we may see someone come out of the water of baptism laughing uncontrollably because a great burden has been lifted. The Bible may not speak of uncontrollable laughter, but it does say God desires to give His children great joy- the joy of the Lord, which is my/our strength.
It may be more important to control our skepticism than it is to critically examine. There are enough skeptics; the world needs more believers. As an example, consider it is possible to live one’s entire life in Miami, Florida and never see snow. One might develop the belief that there is no snow because they have never seen it. They do not believe in snow, so they refuse to travel somewhere where there might be snow. They become hardened in their belief there is no such thing as snow. Something similar has happened in the church. There are segments of the church that believe the age of miracles ceased with the last of the apostles. They do not believe in miracles. They do not expect miracles; therefor, they do not see miracles. They certainly would not travel to where miracles might be happening. It is a big mistake to discount what we have not seen. Snow and miracles still happen whether we believe they exist or not. God is bigger than our mind can conceive.
My wife and I have seen many miracles in our ministry. I am reminded of the retired army colonel who came for prayer. He was facing surgery the next day for a blocked carotid artery. Encouraged by prayer, he asked the doctor to check again just before the surgery. The next time we saw him, he had before and after medical reports in his hands. The first report showed the 95% blocked artery and the need for immediate surgery. The latter report showed a clear artery nowhere near needing surgery. He had received a miracle. My wife has prayed for several barren women who received the child they had longed for. Many also received a prophetic word on the sex of the child, which proved to be correct. A woman in the town market in Kenya asked for prayer. She was instantly healed of asthma.
I have received a miracle healing on an injured disc in my back. A man in a church service where I later spoke received healing for his back injury when he heard the testimony of what God did for me. My wife’s friend, a woman who danced before the Lord, suffered a broken hip. Following surgery, one leg was significantly longer than the other. The short leg extended in length immediately when we prayed for her. She was able to resume dancing. The mother of another friend received instant healing of a heart condition. Our friend continues to give us updates on his mother.
Again in Kenya we have seen people receive jobs, promotions, and collect debts long overdue as a result of prayer. We have seen people delivered of demons and addictions. The greatest miracle of all is salvation. A drunk on the streets of Kenya was loudly ridiculing the preaching one moment, and the next moment he had encountered Jesus. He came to the altar with tears in his eyes to give his life to his Lord and Savior. He will never be the same. Miracles come in all forms and sizes. We give God all the glory. It is His power, and He gives us the authority, but without Him we can do nothing. We do not know how many we prayed for that received their miracle but did not come back to report. That is not important.
In Jesus’ time, miracles, signs and wonders served the same purpose as they do today. They point to Jesus. Jesus walks in such power and authority that miracles are second nature to Him. The only explanation is that when Jesus shows up (or His Holy Spirit in the earth today shows up), the supernatural collides with the natural world. Good collides with evil. God wins every time. The natural mind of man cannot offer an explanation of what just happened. The crowds follow and believe. Those who already believe are encouraged. While miracles are a big deal to the people, they are a part of the very nature of God. With God, nothing is impossible. (Matthew 19:26).
