Just before He returned to heaven following the Resurrection, Jesus Christ gave His disciples and followers these commands: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all 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 drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." (Mark 16:15-18)
Christ gave His followers the power to heal the sick, a miracle that He often performed during His three year ministry in ancient Israel. Christ sighted the blind (Mark 8:22-25); gave hearing to the deaf (Mark 7:31-37) and even raised the dead (Matthew 9:18-26, John 11).
The gift of healing is but one of nine gifts of the Holy Spirit that the apostle Paul listed in his first of two letters to the early church in Corinth. (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) It was a gift that was quite prevalent in the early churches, but has essentially vanished from Christendom over the past 200 years.
The question is why? Why is there such a dearth of miracles in the modern church? The obvious answer is faithlessness. Much of the modern church has marginal faith, meaning that--yes--most Christians still believe in the virgin birth of Christ, His miracles and in His resurrection from the dead. But that's about it. They don't believe that modern Christians are endowed by God with the power to perform the type of miracles that prevailed in the early church age.
The modern church's faithlessness is enabled by a false doctrine that attempts to explain away the lack of miracles. Many evangelicals embrace Dispensationalism, a doctrine that claims that miracles were permitted by God in an earlier age (dispensation) but are no longer allowed in the current age. Dispensationalism teaches that the miracles ceased with the death of the "last apostle", whoever that was.
That's pure baloney. Nowhere does the Bible even hint that the miracles would cease before Christ returns. That was a point made by a preacher named John Alexander Dowie, the founder of Zion, Ill. in the 19th century, who blasted the tepid faith of church ministers during his day. While Dowie was considered a nut by some folks for his unusual dress and erratic behavior, he was on the mark when he pointed out the metastasizing faithlessness in the church during his time.
Indeed, miracles are for today, as they were 2,000 years ago. Here's one example: Several years ago I shared the gospel with a Jewish man named Richard Krause. He admitted that he was willing to accept Christ into his life if God would show him a miraculous sign. I told him to ask God to provide him with that sign.
A few months later, Richard informed me that he had accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior because he received his sign. What was that sign? Richard revealed that he had suffered since childhood from Hepatitis B, a chronic, incurable and sometimes fatal illness.
Richard told me that after a routine examination, his doctor revealed that he no longer showed any trace of the disease. It was completely gone. Richard was healed. Was that a miracle? Indeed it was. And Richard became a believer.
Certainly, not everyone gets healed. Faith isn't a science where you say a simple prayer and you get results. If that's how it worked, then it wouldn't be faith. Rather, it would be witchcraft. Why don't some folks get healed? The best answer is that some folks are unwilling to let go of the sin in their lives that brings problems and curses.
And certainly, there are a lot of sham ministries out there that prey upon desperate folks by promising them miracles for money. They're despicable and too numerous to list, and they're a stench in God's nostrils. They've done almost as much harm to the church as the many pedophile scandals of the Catholic Church.
If you still have doubts about God, Christ and miracles, then I want you to ask the Lord for a sign just as Richard Krause did. Be sincere and be patient because you may not see it right away. But you'll see it.
And don't ask for selfish things such as vast wealth, material goodies or your favorite sports team to win a championship. Those are wants and not needs. If you have a health problem, or a marital problem, or a problem with family members, co-workers etc., or a serious financial or legal problem, then give it to the Lord and let Him take care of it. And He will.
Above all, get out of sin because that cuts you off from God. If you don't know what that entails, then here's a good reminder from Paul: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21)
Go ahead and ask God for sign. He's waiting to hear from you. And He won't let you down.
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