the attitude in miracles

Yesterday afternoon I sensed the Holy Spirit nudge me to call up a brother from my fellowship and ask him if he wanted to meet me up at the fellowship in the evening. I wasn't sure if it was myself thinking this at first, but after the third nudge I was "okay, I'll call him."

When I reached him by phone and asked him about meeting me up there at night, his response was "sure, what's up?"

I told him I didn't know, maybe that we would just pray or anoint with oil. Said I didn't know specifically why, I only knew I was prompted to ask. Said I didn't know he and his wife's schedules this week, but if it could work out some night this week to let me know.

As it turned out, I went to dinner with them and their daughter, then the brother and I met up at the fellowship after he dropped his wife and daughter off at home.

We went into the worship area, and shared for awhile, caught up with each other. Eventually we anointed and prayed for each other. After we prayed I got the oil and started going around to all the door facings that enter the worship area. My buddy still wanted to spend some time praying for his mom (has extensive brain cancer) and a few other things we didn't cover.

I started anointing all the door facings, starting at front by the stage, then going to the back. As I went to the back, I felt nudged to start singing a praise song, so I did. The one that came to mind was "Sing Hallelujah to the Lord" (it's kind of a slow song, where frequently men and women will sing in rounds--the men sing a line, and the women repeat, more or less).

My voice wasn't so warmed up, and I haven't sang much recently, so I didn't sing real loud. As I finished anointing the door posts in the back, I came into the sanctuary. I was still singing various verses of this song, but I stopped and sang in one spot. All of a sudden something clicked, and I felt led to sing uninhibited instead of singing quietly as I had been doing.

Something happened the whole time I was singing both quietly and regularly. Nearly the whole time I sang, I wondered if the Lord was going to somehow anoint my singing. All I could hear was myself, but I kept wondering if it was just me or if the Lord would or was somehow amplifying it.

So, here I was near the back of the worship area, probably about 80 feet or so from where my buddy was up front kneeling and praying for his mom and the church.

I sang two verses in the worship area standing in that spot, and it then seemed the time to stop singing. Right about this time, my buddy finished his prayer. I silently walked up to the front.

When I got up there, my buddy turned to me and said "I don't know what you were doing or what was happening, but as you sang it sounded like it was more than just you singing. It sounded like there was a group of men singing. Kinda like when a group of monks sing, as though there were multiple voices. And it was loud! It didn't distract me from my prayer, I knew the singing was in the background, but it was very, very loud. As though this place was full and everyone was singing. It was so surreal. it didn't distract me from my prayer, but man it was loud!"

I then told him that as I had been going around anointing with oil, that it crossed my mind if the Lord was going to do something during my singing, and wondering in my mind as I sang if I was the only one singing.

We both began to glorify the Lord! The Lord (just as in my driving travel a few weeks ago [see 'Capernaum 2005' entry of my blog]), kept me and my senses in the physical world, yet He allowed my brother as he was praying to experience the spirit realm.

What's amazing is, less than a month ago I was at this brother's house, and his wife had just a few days before had a vision. She and I talked about what it was like to be in the spirit realm (I was allowed to have an experience in the spirit realm this past summer), and the husband was just kinda sitting there. I looked at her and said "We ought to pray for him to experience the spirit realm so he'll know what we're talking about. We ought to pray this happen in less than a month."

My brother's ears were opened to the spirit realm (by the Lord) for a few minutes last night. Glory to God! This was none of my brother's doing, and the Lord kept me strictly in the physical world. I could only hear my voice singing, but in my spirit there was an intuition, a pondering if there was more than just my singing going on. Turns out there was. Bless the Lord.

Bear in mind above all these things being testified about: the glory and amazement of the supernatural events is not the point. The ambition is not to have experiences. The point is to know Jesus. To know His Father, the Creator of this universe and our heavenly Father. To know the Holy Spirit, who Jesus promised He would send after He ascended into heaven. The point is to know Them.

Many people live for the signs. They thirst for the miracles. That's not what Jesus said it was about. Matthew 16:1-4.

"1 Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up to Jesus, and they asked Him to show them a sign (spectacular miracle) from heaven [attesting His divine authority]. 2 He replied to them, When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red, 3 And in the morning, It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and has a gloomy and threatening look. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and morally unfaithful generation craves a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Then He left them and went away. (Amplified Bible)

These were religious people. Religious leaders. People who believed in God. They asked Jesus for a sign. Asked Him for a miracle. Jesus saw their hearts. He knew why they were asking. They weren't asking for a sign so that they would then follow Him and trust Him as Savior and the Messiah. They wanted to see a sign or miracle for the purpose of seeing a sign or miracle.

So what did Jesus do? He told them no sign would be given except the sign of Jonah, then He turned and walked away. If they (we) weren't (aren't) willing to ingrain into the soul and heart the most important miracle and sign of all, His resurrection triumph over sin and death, then no other sign matters.

We see a similar example of this in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. At the end of the parable, the rich man, in torment, says:

"send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16:28-31; context verses 19-31)

Jesus spoke of mankind's heart here. The parable says the man in torment was a rich man. Would it be too much of a stretch to say that because he had gone to hell his heart was proud, unbending, arrogant and unrepentant? He pleaded that he had brothers who needed to hear the message, so that they could escape the same fate as he.

When he asked "can you send someone to warn my brothers", the reply was "they have Moses and the Prophets, let them listen to them". In other words, there is plenty of Biblical testimony for them, to know how to to escape punishment.

The rich man replied (paraphrased) "that ain't gonna do it". The rich man said this because he himself had studied the law of Moses and the Prophets. He knew the prophecies of the Old Testament to a "t". Knew them well. He believed in God (the Father).

He thought his brothers would believe if someone raised from the dead were sent to give the warning. Surely this miraculous a sign would be sufficient to cause his brothers to repent!

What was the reply to "send someone raised from the dead to warn them"? Yes, that would make them repent"?

No, the parable finishes by saying "they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead".

Jesus was talking about the heart of mankind here, saying that for some people even if a miracle happened right before their eyes they still will not believe (trust in, cling to, rely on) Him. (John 12:37)

Human logic says if someone was raised from the dead, that would be enough for ANYONE to believe (trust in, cling to, rely on).

Unfortunately, I've seen this happen here on earth. I have seen the Lord perform an absolute, undeniable miracle of healing, and seen people be in absolute denial of the moving and power of His Hand right before their eyes.

Will Jesus still sometimes heal even if there is unbelief present? He can do some, if He chooses. He can't do as much as He could do if there is belief in a place or among a people. At least once He willing to do some miracles among unbelievers who were offended by Him. (Matt 13:58, context verses 54-58)

Bear in mind healing occurs at His choosing. How often do people (even well-meaning, Jesus-loving Believers) claim the right and authority to invoke the Lord's healing at THEIR bidding, their timing, their choosing (instead of the Lord's)?

How many people put God and Jesus on the spot, essentially saying "Heal, Lord, or else"?

Some folks become spiritually stagnant unless God moves His Hand to heal.

Others play roulette with God, saying that He needs to heal so that their unbelieving friend or family member will become a Christian. Didn't we just read that Jesus said some will not believe even if there be miracles? And some won't believe even when the miracle is the raising of the dead?

Since when is it okay to tell God how and when to be God? Don't we take note of Jesus healing when humility is present?

"When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy." (Matt 8:1-3)

This leper showed two important traits when he asked Jesus for healing: respect and humility.

He knelt down before Him. Do we bow (either physically or in our attitude) when we approach Jesus? Or do we go to Jesus with a need, and in addition to saying "I know You can do this" is there also an attitude of "and I expect You to" along with it?

When we're in a human situation in life, what's our gut instinct when a stranger approaches us with a strong expectancy for us to do something for them? What about when it's a friend or acquaintance, and again there's a strong "I expect you to do this" in their voice? What's our instinct to manipulation by those who don't know us or those who do know us, either one having an overbearing spirit when they ask us to do something for them?

There seems to be a lot of prideful expectation in the Body of Christ in America when asking the Father or Jesus to do something (heal or miracle), instead of humble requests before Jesus and humble submission with regard to the Father's will (versus our will).

Right on the heels of this healing of the leper in Matthew 8, Jesus entered Capernaum, where he came across a centurion:

""Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed." (Matt 8: 6-8).

What would most of us say to Jesus if He physically walked the earth and said "I will go and heal who is sick in your house"?

Would we call home and frantically tell whoever was at home to clean up? Would we say "And do it right! The King of Kings is coming!"

Would we make fifty calls on our cell phone to everyone we know and say "Guess what!?! Jesus is coming to MY house! Yes, yes, Jesus!!! Can you believe it?!? I know!! Yeah, He chose me!!"

Where is our humility before Jesus and Father? What a stark contrast between this attitude and the centurion's "I do not deserve for You to come under my roof".

With unbelief in a lot of places (churches included), and with pride (instead of humility) running rampant (even within the Body), it makes you wonder--is Jesus willing to still do miracles?

Sure He is. He wants to! He yearns to, yet bear these things in mind:

--He doesn't want to just "do miracles". Above everything He wants mankind to come to repentance, turn from sin and Follow Him. That is His first priority, to save us from ourselves and/or from satan's grip, more than anything else. Repentance and salvation are the main course. Miracles are the side dish, but a very important and powerful one.

We see the importance of miracles in Mark 16:20 and 1 Cor 2:4-5:

"Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." (Mark 16:20)

Jesus is in sync with His disciples. He works in a tag team effort to confirm preaching of the good news of His forgiveness and victory over sin and death with signs.

"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 men's wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Cor 2:4-5, context is verses 1-5)

The Christian faith is not a faith of words alone. There are a lot of churches who conduct their Christian ministry and business without any signs. A lot of churches have pastors who are polished in both appearance and speech. Is the gospel they preach one of words, or is it a gospel of words AND the demonstration of the power of God?

In asking this question I'm not saying to switch churches necessarily. I'm saying (1) to examine the fruit on the tree (Matthew 7: 17-18), and (2) Pastors, wake up to the Bible you preach and embrace.

Drop your denominational and theological rigidity. Why hold on to tradition, ceremony, structure and dull repetitiveness if there is no demonstration of God's power?

People wonder why the youth of America are where they are in terms of God. There are several factors. One of them is there is no power demonstrated in some churches of today. They see more make-believe power in Harry Potter movies than they see the real power of God moving in the church their parents drag them to every Sunday.

There is an intrinsic capacity inside every human being to believe and savor the supernatural.

If the Body of Christ is not walking and living in the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, kids/people are going to look to alternate (fake) sources of the supernatural. Would it be true to say that in America more people embrace Harry Potter (though it's clearly a make believe movie) than embrace the true miracles done here on Earth by God's Hand? This should not be the case.

We have a resurrected Lord, who overcame and put death to shame. The gospels are full of His miraculous moving and power to heal and save. He then charged us to do the same (Mark 16:17-18). Jesus also said His followers will do the same things, and in fact greater things than He because He was going to the Father (John 14:12).

What are we waiting for? Are we requiring that Jesus Himself appear to us personally in our bedroom before we "get it", and start doing what He said His Followers WILL (not might) do?

I am so convicted right now.

Bear in mind, our moving in His power MUST be done at His direction, not ours. Period. To walk on the same page with the Lord simply means being led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14), with Jesus working with and alongside us (Mark 16:20). By walking in His power under His guidance, we are not in peril of His telling us "I never knew you, depart from Me" (Matt 7:21-23).

This is very sobering to ponder, but it is Truth. Let's strive to be led by the Spirit.