Only Believe

Why is it that we don’t experience the miracles which we read about so often and hear about taking place in other parts of the world? There is no doubt that most of us would get excited about it and encouraged in our faith.

I remember going to a Fire conference ( it is not a conference on how to make a fire safely ) in Birmingham NEC several years ago. There were several world renown speakers there. Rhinard Bonkie was the main speaker in the evening seasons. Rhinard is a great evangelist who has seen millions come to the Lord through his ministry Christ for All Nations. As the bible says “signs and wonders will follow the preaching of the word” and that was the case. I remember Rhinard at the end of his message going down off the stage and into the crowd.

There was a lady in a wheelchair, Jean Neil, he prayed for her and then took her by the hand and she stood up and began to walk, she went up onto the stage and walked across it, and then began to run. She had been wheelchair bound for several years. She had struggled with her back for 25 years and had 25 operations, 4 of which where major. Well you can image the excitement and the level of faith that rose in the whole hall, many people where healed and set free that night. Rhinard said that God told him the minute he walked on the platform that night that this lady would receive her healing, and God was true to His word.

I have been privileged to both experience and see God at work in situations and in people’s lives that can only be expressed as miraculous.

More recently we went to Kensington Temple in London to visit William Lee (who is now with the Lord) God was working through this ex gypsy, and every night for over a year they were encountering God’s miraculous power to save and to heal. Hundreds came to the Lord, many were also healed and set free.

God is the “same yesterday, today and forever” God is still in the miracle working business, He has not stopped. So why are we not experiencing those miracles, He said “greater things shall you do”.

There is an account in Matt 15 were Jesus feeds the four thousand, with 7 loaves and a few fish. The disciples had just witnessed this and yet they were complaining being hungry and not having any bread, they had set out on the journey without thinking about the journey. They I guess were blaming each other.

Read the account, I think Jesus was a little disappointed with their lack of faith, they had listened to the Pharisees and Sadducees and allowed their doubt to sow a seed, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”

Instead of believing in faith they allowed doubt to enter in! Luke 18v8 “Shall He find faith on earth when He returns”. Heb 11:6 “without faith it is impossible to please God” we are told to walk by faith and not by sight.

Rom 10:17 ” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God ” the more we soak ourselves in God’s word the more we cause that seed of faith to develop. Why not read again the Gospels and allow God the Holy Spirit to awake within you the faith to believe for the miraculous. I know God still is the same and wants to reveal Himself to us though signs and wonders following the word.

The world around us constantly wants to challenge our faith, either through humanistic thinking, materialistic behaviour, scientific so called facts, (ever noticed how scientific facts change!). The fool has said in his heart there is no God.

We are coming up to Christmas, the miracle of the virgin birth, the incarnation of the Son of God will be challenged by Xmas, taking the Christ out of Christmas, by aliens in our nativity plays which give the appearance to our children that Jesus was from some alien planet! By materialism that wants more and more of us and makes Christmas about gifts rather than the giver. Humanistic thinking just makes it another holiday. The truth is it is the most incredible time of the year because it is the time we celebrate God’s gift to mankind, of His only begotten Son. Yes Immanuel is with us, He came born as a baby in a lowly stable, God made flesh. The Saviour of the World, the hope to the hopeless.

This world needs the Good News this Christmas, when all around is sinking sand we need to stand on Christ the solid Rock.

Only Believe, let the miracle of Christmas live again in our lives and may we bring it to those around us.

We are believing for God to do the miraculous among us “only believe”.