Miracles: Why Jesus Did Them!

Could the absence of miracles be the reason our cities don't experience the Third Great Awakening we need? There has never been a time more critical than now to win the lost in the United States! The ruling by the Supreme Court that same-sex marriage is a "right" included by the framers of the Constitution has proven a watershed moment in history. Perhaps a generation of lukewarm Christians and snoozing preachers are jolted awake into just what is at stake in this country.

But what is the most effective way to take the Gospel to this nation? What will it take to bring a nation to repentance?

Some would say we need evangelistic campaigns--renting auditoriums, sending out street-preaching teams,

doing door-to-door witnessing, distributing bibles, having more Christian radio and TV, etc. All of those are indeed ways of getting the Gospel out. And clearly the Word of God must be proclaimed in the hearing of all, for how will they know unless someone is sent to them? But all of these things are already underway now (and have been for a very long time!) and still have not had enough impact to reverse the growing encroachment of evil upon our land.

So, "what would Jesus do?" Well, He tells us explicitly what must take place! Jesus reveals a different strategy that we should be VERY attentive to--yet one that tens of thousands of Christians say is not even possible. Let me quote Francis Frangipane:

He said, "For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." (Matt 11:21) Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities known for their debauchery and sin. Yet Jesus said that His life, revealed in power, can bring even the vilest cities to "sackcloth and ashes." The strategies, therefore, to win our cities is for the Church to reveal Christ's live in power....

One may say, "But that was then. Our cities are worse." They are beyond redemption. Not so. Jesus continued his rebuke of cities, saying, "If the miracles occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day." (Matt 11:23) Amazingly, when Christ is manifested in power, Jesus said even Sodom could find repentance.

--from "When the Many Are One"

Notice that Jesus links repentant cities to their witnessing the working of miracles. Notice also what Jesus did NOT say. He did not say "if Tyre and Sidon and come to our meetings in Galilee..." He also did not say "if you had gone two by two to proclaim the kingdom in Tyre and Sidon..." No. Jesus makes it clear that cities need to see the miraculous on their own turf for their hearts to comprehend that the message of the Gospel is true.

In fact, Jesus' command to His followers was quite clear. As they were to go about preaching, He told them:

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

--Matthew 10:8

So for every one of us--every believer, every pastor, every prayer warrior, every evangelist, all who are believing for God to do amazing things in our nation--go out and do miracles.

Let the healings begin!

Miracles: The Life-Changer

Its a MIRACLE!

We as believers love miracles but fail to see them as we should. We see them as an anomoly to everyday life as though it was an amazing, glorious bubble in time; as if momentarily, a portal opened and closed revealing the divine. We experience a miracle and praise God and then go home rejoicing returning to life as we know it.

That was also the reaction of Jesus' disciples in their own day and it left Jesus constantly amazed that they didn't respond to the miracles properly. By daily demonstrating miracles in His ministry, Jesus was showing that the Kingdom of Heaven is meant to live and thrive in the every day and not be the rare exception. And lets not think that was "fine for Jesus to do" because He's God. He said GREATER miracles we would do!

In Matthew 16, Jesus wants to address "the leaven of the Pharisees" which then reminds the disciples they didn't pack a lunch. To paraphrase, Jesus tells them, "Lunch!? Don't you remember me feeding the 5000 and then the 4000? Lunch is no problem, I'm talking about something else!" In a backhanded way, Jesus was suggesting miraculous provision is something that should already be considered a given!

Instead, the miracle is to have an enduring effect and not merely a temporary impact. Witnessing miracles are to create in us a paradigm shift into a new mindset. Experiencing the miracle should convince us not only of the wonders of God but that we are to be carriers of God's presence into daily life--taking the Jesus who lives in us to also live outside of us!

Jesus performed daily miracles. We are supposed to not only perform miracles, but are to keep that "heavenly portal" opened and live out of that as the new norm and not from our existing lifestyle. Lord, renew our minds! May miracles be a part of our daily lives displaying Your Kingdom in this life!

Developing Unshakable Faith

Which part of the news do you find disturbing? Could be anything from great to small: radical, Muslim atrocities or simply bakeries denied their right to a conscience; earthquakes in various nations globally or the riots in Baltimore or just the collapse of leadership in their Mayor's office; the US green-lighting Iranian nuclear development or else the massive scale of human trafficking. The list could go on, but are simply a brief sampling. These are only the early rumblings of shakings that must eventually take place.

As gradually more disturbing as the headlines become, we as Christians need to be able to put all these within the overall context of the shaking of everything that will ultimately occur:

 I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:26-29, ESV)

It is with that in mind that we are to comprehend that our Father is lovingly using such events to begin a sifting in the hearts of mankind--yours/mine, theirs/ours--you name it, whether structures or ideologies or governments! Whatever shakes is not established upon God's Kingdom and is marked for removal...particularly things that shouldn't be in our hearts anyway!

Are we fearful? That must be replaced with faith.
Are we disturbed? That must be replaced with an awareness of the Presence of Jesus.
Are we confused? That must be replaced with knowing His Word.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

In short, its time to seek the Lord and His Kingdom. Let's cooperate with God's Holy Spirit to remove the needless stuff He's revealing and to produce the beauty of His Presence in and through us! Great is our God and greatly to be praised!!

Isn't It About Making Disciples?

It's no secret to those who know me that the pursuit of discipleship and making disciples is a huge theme in my life.

I'm sorry, but I can't get around it! When I look at Jesus' life here among us, it's what I see plastered all over the pages. He modeled a supernatural lifestyle to portray how His followers were to live. His process was pretty straight-forward and uncomplicated: I do, now YOU do! It was like apprenticeship.

We learn by doing; by example. Now, true, we may know something by reading or studying but we don't really learn anything until we "do." After all, who ever earned their driver's license by just taking a class? Instead that class will always mandate a minimum number of hours spent with an instructor riding alongside you guiding you through the actual process of driving a vehicle.  Can you imagine what a disaster our roadways would be if just classroom time was really the entire process?!

But apparently, that process is just fine for the kingdom of God, if we are to judge by what most churches do! Ummm...look around folks. The wreckage of that kind of thinking is everywhere and has become a stench in our nation.

More often than not, churches teach classes or preach sermons thinking THAT'S what making disciples is. What gave them that idea? Why seminaries, of course!  Because that's what ministry students had seminaries model for them. Just ask any green pastor who walks out of seminary to go plant a church somewhere.  Does he feel equipped? No, but just ask him a good Bible question and he's ready for you! His education in ministry is only about to start!

So this weekend, I was at a men's conference and I have one of those occasions when the Holy Spirit begins speaking while the conference speaker was saying other things.  Here's the essence of what I got:

Men MUST engage in a spiritual life. They cannot leave it to "professionals." Why? Because a man will never really know how to be a father only until after he actually has children to rear. Because a man will never learn to be a devoted partner to his wife until after he's in a marriage covenant. Because warriors don't learn valor in bootcamp but on the battlefield. And disciples aren't made in church services but as they themselves are making disciples of others.

It was that last part that really got my attention. Interestingly, Jesus didn't invite his followers to go be good disciples, but to make some! Jesus commanded His disciples to themselves "go make disciples!" He knew that the they would all they needed to know was to teach someone else how to do it. He even told them there was so much they still needed to know, but not to let that deter them, He would send the Holy Spirit would help them carry on.

In my mind, the validity of any gathering of believers is how passionately they "do" ministry together. It developes a unity through comradery, brings scripture into stark focus, fulfills genuine needs, and more.

We each have much we can learn from each other and that's how the Body works together effectively--each doing what he or she does best and showing others how to do the same!

So what about it? How about we go ahead and start making disciples so that we ourselves would be the disciples Jesus envisions us to be?

Getting Ready for a Visitation

There is a stirring in the spirit telling more and more believers that something huge is looming.  Some say judgment and calamity will commence as swiftly as the biblical judgments against pharoah's Egpyt.  Others say not only will the U.S. experience the Third Great Awakening, but the revival will be worldwide.  Still others predict both will occur almost simultaneously.  In all three scenarios, it should be noted that the unique hour is the result of Earth experiencing a visitation by its true King (I don't mean physically...at least not yet).

Regardless of exactly what unfolds, the only clear imperative is this: every believer must ramp up their game!  There will be no point in casual Christianity then.  If calamity and mayhem break loose, each believer must

be confident he has already carefully examined his soul and changed his ways because "everything that can be shaken, will be shaken" (Hebrews 12:27).  Everything.  That is not the time you want your wagon wheels falling off.

If massive revival breaks loose, it will take every believer--both new and seasoned--to be ready to minister to the Great Harvest of souls.  Lukewarm believers will of their own choice bow out of passionate service and thereby disqualify themselves. So don't be that!

But personal preparation does not happen overnight.  Instead, it is a stringent evaluation of where I am today and what in me needs to change in light of the coming challenges of a world redefined?

We don't have a grid to truly grasp just how intent we must be in our spiritual preparation for a visitation from the King.  But we can illustrate that required intensity by recalling real-life preparation...only in this case, a visitation from a queen.

When the Queen of England visited the U.S. in 2007, extraordinary efforts went into making sure every detail of every aspect of her visit was in readiness.  Her visit was to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown.  The celebration itself would have necessarily been met with extensive planning and coordination of all events but once the Queen accepted the organizers' invitation it meant literally everything would have to ramp up to a whole new level. Add to the huge numbers the event was already forecast to attract those additional throngs who would arrive to catch sight of the Queen and suddenly, its "game on!"

Transportation companies re-train their drivers in safety and protocol.  Caterers contracted for a vast array of venues revamp recipes and ensure each item served is a work of art.  Florists order flowers they've never worked with before.  Traffic coordinators redraw population movements.  And security--oh, security!  Weeks ahead of time, background checks are done on anyone and everyone remotely associated with the anniversary (including garbage collectors); the Coast Guard scrutinizes every inch of the shores of every waterway; the port authority has to reschedule ships to arrive early or else be delayed offshore till the events are concluded; every hidden corner along potential motorcade routes are mapped to have plainclothesmen stationed.  A no-fly zone is created.  You get the picture.  Only the most professional in all the various trades could hope to produce the excellence required.  And the professionals themselves had to become more professional than they'd ever known.  Not even the most menial task nor detail can be left to chance!

Readiness!

Preparation for the coming hour demands the same attention to detail.  We need to give ourselves a revamp. In the hour that is almost here, the people of God are the only "professionals" our God has to draw from.  If you're an older believer, learn now to be a mentor to those younger and be devoted to excellence in living your life as an example to others.  If  you're a business owner, prayerfully rework your budget to be able to divert a percentage of revenue into funding special outreach and discipleship programs.  If you're in the marketplace, get a good book about friendship evangelism are start practicing what you read with the people you rub elbows with every day.  For those in ministry, it would probably be a good idea to get a little part-time job to rub elbows with coworkers and reacquaint yourselves with the issues they face daily.  But for everyone who calls himself a Christian, it is a necessity to fall in love with Jesus all over again and devour the Word of God as never before.  Believe me, you'll need both!

We have no time left for tepid saints but instead, we need to make ready for a lifestyle change that demands we are the caliber of disciples Jesus paid with His own blood to have.

Make ready!  We have the visitation of the King on its way!