02/13/2018
Can we perform miracles today? I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that question asked, but by merely posing the question we are pointing to the reason why so many ask it in the first place... faith, or the lack thereof. Have you reconciled yourself to the fact that miracles were a thing of the past, or do you grasp hold of this gift and see them performed today?
“And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."”
Matthew 17:16-17 ESV
This scripture comes as part of an account in which a man brought his son, who was possessed by a demon, to the disciples and they had been unable to cast it out. Fortunately the distraught father believed that Jesus could help him, and brought the boy to Jesus where He performed the miracle. Jesus saw this as a failure of faith.
Today the church has the same problem when it comes to miracles... faith. When prayers are offered, and a miracle isn’t immediately realized, we begin to point fingers, and then finally to believe that perhaps miracles were a thing of the past. When a prayer isn’t immediately answered, the ones who pray tend to look at those they are praying for and accuse them (verbally or by thinking) that their faith isn’t sufficient. On the other hand, the person needing the miracle looks at those who have prayed for him and thinks, or says, that they don’t have the power, or the faith to heal, or even to perform a miracle. When this happens enough times then the church as a whole begins to lose its belief, and faith, in miracles.
However, scripture is clear in this regard... miracles are not a thing of the past and are just as alive today as they ever were. Rather than challenging the faith of each other we should turn inward and ask ourselves “Jesus, why have I failed?” If you are the father of this boy, ask yourself “did I not have faith in the disciple’s ability to cast out the demon?” If you were a disciple did the situation frighten you and cause you to doubt that you could do this? Each must search his own soul for the answer, and pray again, and again until that mustard seed of faith is found.
“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."”
Matthew 17:19-20 ESV
To the father Jesus said “O faithless and twisted generation,” and to the disciples He said “Because of your little faith.” Both must believe. It is not enough that one or the other has faith, both must possess faith. Then together their faith calls God into action. The father sincerely believed that Jesus could heal his son, and Jesus had faith that He could cast out the demon... they didn’t have faith in themselves, but in the divine intervention that was about to take place. The father believed that Jesus wielded the power of God, and Jesus believed that it was God’s will to do this thing through Him.
The disciples had the ability to cast out demons and to perform miracles. We have that same power today. So why is it that so few believe that miracles are still being performed? Faith... a joint faith. Even when we see a miracle we seek to attribute it to some natural explanation before we can believe otherwise. If you ask God for a promotion and you get it, do you then claim it was your own ability, or was it indeed the result of your prayer... a miracle? How many miracles are overlooked because they look so much like something humanly possible? This is disbelief; this is a lack of faith in what God has just done. We have believed to the point of the miracle being performed, and then we turn our backs on it, and take credit for it ourselves, or assign it to someone or something else. Thus many churches today have lost faith.
“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.”
Matthew 10:1 ESV
When it comes to worldly things we exercise a kind of faith in one another all the time. I believe my daughter can succeed in school, I believe my son can shave a couple of seconds off of his time in a race, or I believe that my wife loves me. Yet when it comes to believing in God... something we can’t see, then our belief must change into something more, faith, and in this we become challenged.
The disciples had obviously performed miracles before, but why the failure in this particular situation? I work for a large corporation and at the end of each year I fill out a list of my goals for the upcoming year. Most of these goals I firmly believe I can accomplish, but there is always one that is questionable. We call those “stretch goals” because they stretch our capabilities and often take us into uncharted territory. The outcome is questionable. I think that the disciples had reached that place in their faith where the next step was a stretch. It wasn’t that they couldn’t reach it, but the effort required was going to force them to reach farther than they had ever reached before... they were going to take a step of faith that was beyond their comfort zone, beyond their previous stopping point.
Further on in scripture we read an account that tells us the disciples learned by this experience, and have begun to cast out demons. We also see that miracles are being performed by someone other than the original 12 disciples...
“John answered, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you."”
Luke 9:49-50 ESV
We also read in scripture that miracles, healing, and forgiving sins was to be expected in the early church. One of the most obvious scriptures in this regard comes in the book of James where we are instructed in how to heal within the church body...
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
James 5:14-16 ESV
So I pray for the church, I pray for my fellow Christians, and I pray for myself that God help us with our unbelief... our lack of faith. None of us is above this prayer. Will you join me in it, and see miracles?
“And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"”
Mark 9:23-24 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the miracles that surround me each and every day. I thank you for the faith to heal, and to do those other things. I thank you for hearing my prayers, for helping me in my unbelief, and I thank you for teaching me to stretch my faith. Holy Father, you are with us, and your provision is never found lacking. You give us sustenance, health, and faith. There is no area of our lives in which you are lacking. Teach us Merciful Father to listen to your Word, and to do the things you give us to do. Increase in us the faith we need to perform miracles; to heal, to quench thirst, to feed one another, to give sight, to cast out demons, and so many other miraculous things. Then Father, give us the belief in their aftermath to continue on in our faith, and to give you the glory for what you have accomplished through us... through our prayers to you. Send us out Father, that we might show the world your majesty, and your power. Give us miracles that others might see your presence, and have the spark of faith light a fire within them. Praised be your name, now and forever more, because you are the God of miracles, and your hand touches us all.
“And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."”
Mark 16:15-18 ESV
Rich Forbes