Signs and Wonders: Biblical Insights for Today

Posted on by korgrocker

“You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these “super apostles,” even though I am nothing at all. When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle. For I patiently did many signs and wonders and miracles among you. The only thing I failed to do, which I do in the other churches, was to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong!”
2 Corinthians 12:11-13 NLT

You can’t help feeling sorry for Paul, as he was forced to write uncomfortable truths, both for him and the Corinthians, in this letter. He was a humble man, never wanting to promote himself, and certainly not in the way the Corinthian “super-apostles” did. In his first letter, Paul wrote, “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). That was Paul in his comfort zone, preaching about Jesus so that the focus was on Him, not Paul. Preaching in a way that pointed to God, in a way that encouraged the early believers to look up and not at the messenger or each other. But word had reached him that there were some in Corinth who had a different approach, with a focus on their gifts and preaching rather than the Jesus whom Paul preached. 

There was no substitute for a simple sermon by those early Apostles, backed by signs and wonders. They had been with Jesus and had seen with their own eyes what their Master had done through the power of God. And they had heard Jesus say, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father” (John 14:12-13). In Acts 19, we read about the signs and wonders Paul performed in Ephesus. We read, “God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled” (Acts 19:11-12). This happened after his first visit to Corinth, so it can be assumed that “God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles” there as well. 

In Mark’s Gospel, we read the Great Commission, and Jesus said, “… Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptised will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed” (Mark 16:15-18). It was an expected phenomenon that the preaching of the Gospel was confirmed by signs and wonders, and we read that this was the case in Acts 14:3: “But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders”. 

What has happened to “signs, wonders and miracles” after the preaching of the Word today? There are a number of possible reasons. Firstly, in the first Century, the Apostles were preaching mainly to unbelievers and through God’s grace, He gave them the power to validate the Gospel message of Jesus, and Him crucified, in a way that convinced their hearers of the truth of the message. Peter’s great Acts 2 sermon followed a tremendous outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and we read that three thousand men were saved after believing the message. Secondly, the signs and wonders followed the preaching of the Gospel, something that only rarely happens in churches today, with sermons being focused more on discipleship than conversion. Thirdly, in some denominations or movements, the general belief (unbelief?) is that miracles were for the early Apostles only and died out with them. But “miracles, signs and wonders” have continued right up until modern days, confounding this view. Fourthly, perhaps the lack of signs and wonders is more about a general lack of faith than God’s willingness to provide them. The Holy Spirit will distribute gifts as He sees fit, and to fulfil His purposes. 

We pilgrims today are a counter-cultural people who challenge the status quo with an expectation that God is alive and well, and He wants to bless His people, with spiritual gifts if necessary, and see others come to faith. We are the key to that happening, and so we put aside our pre-conceived thoughts, and instead we look up, saying to God, “What do You want to do through me today?” A dangerous prayer to pray, as we see from Isaiah in his reply to God. He wrote, “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me”” (Isaiah 6:8). That question is still hanging in the air today. Are we a “Send me” generation? We have to be, because God desires no other.

Heavenly Father. We pray that prayer today, that You will use us to fulfil Your purposes in our communities today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Signs and Wonders

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?””
John 4:48 NLT

The civil servant from Capernaum came to Jesus and begged Him to heal his sick son. He was desperate and probably sick himself with worry over his son’s threatened demise. But Jesus’ response was to ask a question about how people can come to believe in Him. Did they believe in Him because of His message or because He healed them and did other miracles in their society? Did the “miraculous signs and wonders” convince people that He was who He said He was, or was it because of His message about the Kingdom of God? Here was a people who were anticipating the imminent appearance of their Messiah. But they were suffering under the Roman occupation, in poverty (apart from a select few, the landowners and others) and desperate for a solution to their suffering. The Messiah they were expecting would set them free from all this, or so they thought, and transform Israel into an utopian state.  

Jesus’ message was about the Kingdom of God and was about a world that differed from that of His fellow Jews. And he came to give them the opportunity to join their Heavenly Father there. It was not going to happen totally during their earthly lives but happen it would one day. Jesus’ message was simple – repent of your sins, believe in Me, and follow Me. He taught about a relationship that would blossom into eternal life and He showed the compassion God had for His people by doing “miraculous signs and wonders” in their society. In those days, Heaven touched earth, and crowds of people came to hear Him and be healed of their ailments. On two occasions, when they were hungry, He even fed them. To be near Jesus was an incredible and life changing experience, and yet most people rejected Him. 

In John 1:10-13, we read, “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God“. Sadly, many of the people on His day failed to recognise their Messiah and instead of believing in Him they rejected Him, even though He did some amazing “signs and wonders” amongst them. But it wasn’t all bad news and a wasted opportunity. In spite of all of this, there were many people who did believe in Him and were born again into His Kingdom. The Church was birthed and has been growing ever since. The early believers, fronted by the disciples, turned their world upside down with their message of hope.

The Apostle Thomas wasn’t present with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection. He had to wait for Jesus’ next appearance and his response to Jesus, after he had the opportunity to examine His wounds, was “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). But Jesus’ reply was significant – “Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me” (John 20:29). We pilgrims heard the Good News about Jesus and believed in Him, but we have never seen Him bodily. However we will one day and in the meantime we share that message today with anyone who will listen. We perhaps think we don’t see many “signs and wonders” today, but we should pause and think. Many good things happen today and we do God a disservice by not giving Him the glory for them. The amazing strides made in science and medicine, for example. These would have been “signs and wonders” to the people of Jesus’ day. Perhaps we should thank God for His gifts, even though arrogant people claim the credit for themselves. God’s compassion for humanity, and His “signs and wonders”, didn’t end on a cross at a place called Calvary.

Dear God. We thank You for doing so much for us, even when we don’t ask or recognise Your hand in the answers to our prayers. We worship You today. Amen.

The Two Witnesses (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.” These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.”
Revelation‬ ‭11:3-6‬ ‭NLT

We are still in the part of John’s vision between the second and third terrors or woes. And he was busy. John has just finished measuring the spiritual well being of the Church when he noticed two figures arrive, dressed in burlap, which is a very coarse, hessian-based cloth. Straight away I am reminded of John the Baptist, who appeared out of the desert dressed in clothes made of coarse camel hair. So these two people, referred to as “witnesses”, were dressed in the traditional way of Old Testament prophets. Perhaps the implication of wearing what was effectively sackcloth was to demonstrate, in the Jewish way, the importance of repentance.

And prophets they were. John said so. And they prophesied for 1,260 days, which is, more or less, the 42 months we read about in previous verses. There has been some speculation about who these two prophetic witnesses were. The most popular suggestion was that one of them was Moses, because of the reference to turning rivers into blood (Exodus 7:17) and that the other was Elijah, who commanded no rain to fall, coincidentally, for 42 months (1 Kings 17:1, James 5:17). But the Scriptures do not say specifically who the two witnesses were.

The reference to “the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth”  is underpinned by the writings of the prophet Zechariah. We read in chapter 4:11-14, “Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?” “Don’t you know?” he asked. “No, my lord,” I replied. Then he said to me, “They represent the two anointed ones who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.” So in John’s vision he saw the culmination of another prophesy, made many years before. An olive tree represented fruitfulness and the source of the Holy Spirit, and the lampstand declared the light of God to those around.

John was told that the two witnesses, the two anointed ones, prophesied for three and a half years. I wonder what they said. We might get some help from Scripture. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “Above all, you must realise that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God“. So a genuine prophet is someone who communicates, via the power of the Holy Spirit, what God wants people to hear. In John’s vision the two witnesses had some fearsome abilities to defend themselves from harm, so it can be concluded that what they were prophesying was not always a blessing to their listeners. The signs used by Moses and Elijah were used to back up the witnesses’ prophetic words, and I suspect that the two prophets were also using their power to draw people’s attention to what they were saying, lending weight to their messages.

What do we think of prophecy today? One thing for sure, there are many counterfeit prophecies. People claim to be able to see into the future and make declarations of things to come, usually far enough away to avoid any repercussions if they turn out to be in error because they will be long dead. And a common aberration is the use of horoscopes. But such devices are not of God. We pilgrims must always beware of getting caught up by counterfeits from the devil. We are told to test prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). And take note that no prophetic message will contradict what God has said in His Word, the Bible.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your prophets, men and women who are prepared to stand up and declare Your message to us. And we thank You for caring so much about us that You send us direct messages. We are so grateful. Amen.