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They Did Signs And Wonders
Brian Mashburn
April 6, 2008
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They Did Signs And Wonders
As I grew up, I would look around at the community of Christ I was a part of, and in some ways it didn't seem to square with the community of Christ in the book of Act...especially in the category of "signs and wonders".
Any honest study of the book of Acts reveals that it was with "signs and wonders" that the explosive expansion of the Jesus movement was accomplished. Those first followers witnessed them, expected them, prayed for the, and even did them.
I asked my mentors, ministers, and teachers where the signs and wonders that God is known for in Acts were. They usually went into long winded and complicated explanations about how and why those signs and wonders don't exist anymore. Problem was, I couldn't find one thing they said in the Bible. They said that because we had the Bible, we didn't need them anymore. Maybe I am just weak, but I, for one, did need them. Still do. I need a healthy dose of signs and wonders in order to 1) validate my belief in Jesus, 1) confidently share my belief in Jesus, and 3) connect myself to the movement of the Holy Spirit among the people of my world.
Acts 2:22 says that even Jesus Christ himself was validated by God through the miracles, signs, and wonders that came with and through him. How much more, then, did the first followers of Christ need God to validate them? And how much more then, do we need God to show up doing supernatural work around and through us in order to validate us. If we want the results in Amarillo that those first brothers and sisters got in Acts, then we should pray as they did in Acts 4:30 - "Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
Do you look for the wonders of God? Are you open to seeing the signs that He sends your way? Do you pray for God to heal and perform miraculous signs? Do you expect God to personally back you up and validate your message to others by His own direct intervention in the lives of those you want to know Christ?
Or do you have a long winded explaination for why God doesn't work that way anymore?