Thursday, December 5, 2013

Miracles


Why Miracles?

1. Not all illness is a result of sin.

2. God has power over sickness and death. He and the apostles worked miracles to confirm the message and the messenger (Heb. 2:3-4; 2 Cor. 12:12). Jesus performed miracles to prove He was the Messiah.

3. The purpose of miracles was to produce faith in the Lord's word. God never did a miracle without a purpose.

Miracle "mighty work or deed" was a supernatural work by God and "signs" means it pointed people to faith or a spiritual truth as in the 7 sign miracles in John. "wonder" spoke of the human reaction. There are 121 recorded miracles in the bible.

Q- What about faith healers today?

I believe in divine healing thru the prayers of the saints (James 5) but not faith healers after the last apostle.

Many were healed in the Bible who expressed no faith or even asked for a healing. Of the 35 healings in the gospels only 10 expressed faith or asked to be healed.

1. Jesus healed the multitudes who did not express faith (Luke 6:19; 9:11; Matt. 14:14; 15:30).

2. Malchus did not ask Jesus to put his ear back on and did not express faith (John 18:10).

3. The demoniac was incapable of expressing faith (Luke 8:26).

4. The blind man in John 9 expressed no faith.

5. Nine of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11 expressed no faith.

6. Paul had great faith yet God chose not to heal him for God's divine purpose.

7. Paul did not heal Timothy of his stomach ailments and I am sure he had faith.

8. Paul did not heal Trophimus but left him at Miletum sick (2 Tim. 4:20).

Con: God heals at his sovereign will and for His sovereign purposes to bring someone to faith or convey a spiritual truth. We can't demand or claim a healing by positive words of confession.