Everything He did was for a purpose. EVERYTHING.
As an example or as a substitute, He knew exactly what He was doing with every word, and with every deed.
Here is a partial list of the things He did as examples during His time here on earth:
- He did only what the Father had Him do – John 8:28
- He listened to and obeyed the Holy Spirit – John 14:26 (exemplified 93 times in the New Testament)
- He was light and has left us to be the light – John 8:12, 9:5, Matt. 5:14
- He shared truth (78 times in the New Testament He says something pertaining to “I tell you the truth”) – John 16:7
- He touched and healed and gave – Mark 16:17-18
- He was perfect – we are called to be, also – Matt. 5:48
- He took authority over nature – we can, too, as we are led by the Holy Spirit – Matthew 8:23-25
- He was persecuted – we will be too – Mark 10:30
Still, with all of this said,
I have lived years on end without seeing much done by God, through me, in anything like a miraculous way. How can this be? If it’s His will for us to be healed, if it’s His authority we carry about to do wonders proving His hand on our lives, if it’s already been purchased for us – why don’t we see the impact in practical ways around us?
There are several possible reasons:
- Sin in our lives will interfere with our communion and walk with God. The young nation of Israel “grieved and limited the Holy One” by complaining and rebelling against His ways. (Psalm 78:40-41)So too can we grieve Him by our complaining and sin. This will impact our ability to manifest the power and working of the Holy Spirit.
- Lack of faith is a strong deterrent to our ability to receive the promised power, authority and blessings that He purchased for us. Just as people miss out on salvation because they don’t believe, we may miss out on blessings and power-filled ministry due to a lack of faith. Just because we have faith to receive His gift of salvation, does not necessarily mean we will have faith to be healed, to walk in power, or to be blessed in other ways.
- Lack of knowledge of what He offers will stop our efforts cold. How can we believe the gifts are ours when we don’t know what they are? This is part of why biblical teaching is so important. We must learn what He has done in order to have faith in His desire for us to have it.
- Unbelief is the antithesis of faith. If we listen to voices, reports, feelings or symptoms, they will sow unbelief in our heart. This undermines, or negates the positive function of faith. Just as hearing the Word increases faith, hearing anything that speaks against the finished work of Christ increases unbelief. Unbelief is somehow different from a lack of faith. When the disciples were unable to cast the demon out of the boy, Jesus did it, and reprimanded them for “lack of faith”. They had just come back from a ministry trip on which they had manifested the power of the Holy Spirit, so they had faith. In fact, they were told that all they needed was faith the size of a mustard seed. But, even with that faith, unbelief interfered with their ability to win this battle.
So what are the solutions
for a life devoid of the signs and wonders promised in the Bible?
They are things we’ve all heard of our whole Christian lives. But now, knowing a bit more of what’s at stake, perhaps we’ll be more diligent in consistently pursuing them.
In the next post, we'll dive into them...
This is another excerpt from "The Rest of the Gospel".
If you simply can't wait to read the whole book, you can find The Rest of the Gospel at:
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