M&S – miracles and signs.

"I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done--kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.
I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father.
You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.” John 15:9-16 (Msg)

Yesterday I was telling you about how God had healed me over Easter.
Any way as I thought about this I realised [again] that we are also called to be obedient to Christ at all times, whether it is welcome or not. This includes [although I doubt it will be a regular thing] performing miracles. This is not just something that we leave up to our pastors or vicars at Sunday service, signs and wonders should follow the preaching of God’s Word and to many people in Newport the way we live our lives will be the only evidence of God’s Word that they will ever see. Let us also not forget that most of the miracles performed by Jesus and members of the early church were not done in church services, indeed most of them took place on the street corner, in people’s homes or in the market place.

As you think about this you may well be saying that you do not have the faith to heal someone. I am totally with you on that one, and would ‘amen’ that heartily! But the faith needed to perform miracles of healing is not something that we build up [like the fruits of the Spirit] it is a gift of the Spirit and therefore God gives us [for a time, through the Holy Spirit] the faith to perform miracles when he wants to perform them. All it requires of us is obedience.

Now you may relate to the story that I am about to tell you, if so please re-assure me by telling me that I am not the only one.

I can’t remember when exactly this occurred but Ruth and I had popped into M&S to buy just a couple of food items (an occasional luxury). It was a busy Saturday afternoon and so we ‘patiently’ waited in our queue. As we got nearer the checkout I felt my spirit stirring, you know the kind of way it does on the best church services you have ever been to (this is not something that usually happens while I am queuing you understand). I began to wonder what it was all about and then I felt God clearly say that he wanted to heal the girl on the checkout!
Oh dear!
I then looked and I noticed that the girl had a lame hand, it was curled up and unresponsive. What was I to do?! Could I really just go up to her and tell her that I believed that God wanted to heal her and then tell her to stretch out her hand in Jesus name?! What if nothing happened?!
The more this all spun around inside me the more I realised that God could do this and that Ruth and I would be left having to tell people about Jesus who was responsible for this miracle. The closer I got to her the more faith I felt God pour into me. But I did nothing, I squandered this gift of faith. I was not obedient, my fear had overwhelmed the faith that God had placed in me. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

You could reassure me by saying that God would have given me more faith if He really intended to do it, but I have never experienced anything like the faith that I knew God had placed in me right then. He was serious. We have to be obedient though. Having been through this once I know that I never want to fail God or another person in need of a touch from God.

Lord, use me again. Lord, cause us to be eagerly obedient when you call us and equip us to testify to your Gospel. Amen.