Christians are being slaughtered in Syria and Iraq.
Jews and Palestians are killing each other in the “Holy Land”.
Children are being Kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Ebola
World Hunger.
The rapid secularization of nations that once loved and served Jesus, and the consequent negative social consequences.
–and you are sticking coins and spoons to the wall? You must be kiding me!
In the light of the many serious and troubling problems in the world there are many who question the value and the validity of signs and wonders like the ones we are increasingly seeing in our meetings around the world. We have seen objects stick to the wall, golden dust appear on people’s faces, hands and bodies, oil spontaneously pour from peoples hands, feathers appear in mid air and fall in meetings, holy laughter and joy, people “drunk in the Spirit” and many other strange and wonderful things. Seen in a certain light it would seem that these things are so trivial, so pointless that one would question if they have any value at all. In fact I was asked about things like this “How does that help the Lost and the Hungry” I respect and value both the question and the man who asked it who I know to be a sincere and godly man. Here are some of my thoughts on that.
Perspective is everything sometimes. Suffering, persecution and pain are unfortunately nothing new, nor are they likely to be entirely eradicated for this world until the day that Jesus returns for his Church. In the first century the early church faced all the same demons which stand arrayed against us now, suffering, persection, hunger, disease and the power of anti christ political systems bent on the destruction of the church. The name of Christ was even less known then than now. In response to the challenges God gave an old man a vision, and in the vision he gave the old man a peek behind the curtain of eternity to reveal the God who sat on the throne of the universe. That vision we know today as the book of the revelation. Many think of the final book of the Bible as a frightening book that is filled with “Revelations” of things which will happen at the end of time. As a result I find many christians read the prophetic vision that John recorded, which is meant to encourage us, shuddering with fear and trembling. We need a change of perspective. The full name of the book is from Rev 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” If we understand how this vision meant to help the broken, suffering church and the lost of the first centuary we will understand the value of supernatural occurrences, signs, wonders and miracles in our day.
Jesus is Revealed
In the first centuary the trials and the pain that the infant church faced were extreme. Everywhere they looked the early christians were assaulted. Inside the church they were struggling against heresy, apostacy, compromise, false brothers, poor leadership amonst other challenges. Outside the church they faced persecution from both the political and religious systems of the day. They were a feared and hated minority in a brutal unbelieving world. To encourage them God sent a vision to an old man in exile on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. What was the point of this vision? It was given to Reveal Jesus! It made manifest what was otherwise hidden in the unseen realm it was a vision of God on the throne at the control centre of the universe, ruling over history and it pointed to the victory that would come over all the enemies the church faced. Today we can visit Vatican City not far from the ruins of the once mighty city of Rome which ruled the world. The church survived, grew and thrived. Rome fell.
In the same way today the supernatural gives us hope and courage for they point to a reality greater than the world around us. They are signs, of a world over and above the one we see around us, like the vision of John they point to God at work amongst us. They remind us that whatever challenges we face in this world there is a greater reality which supersedes this one and that as we place our faith in the Unseen Father he is able to make all things work together for good for those that love him.