Miracles: Really?

Read: Act 3:9-26

What is the work of God’s people supposed to be like? How should it affect the world around them? Do you notice any disconnect between the way that the C/church is described here in the book of Acts and your own experience? One thing is for sure - there is a common thread in people’s responses when they first come in contact with the work of the living God:

“And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered…amazed and astonished…” (v. 2:6,7)

“And all were amazed and perplexed…” (v.2:12)

“when they heard this they were cut to the heart…” (v.2:37)

“And fear / awe came upon every soul…” (v. 2:43)

“And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened…” (v.3:10)

There is no subtle response to the work of God in his people. As people are drawn near to the Lord they are “cut to the heart”… their reactions are powerful gut level reactions. Notice that these descriptions are matters of both the head and the heart. When you read these reactions you do not think of someone sitting around in a room with a bunch of ideas! It is something visceral and existential… something that strikes you at the core. THIS is what God is up to! He is working at the deepest levels of our existence. God knows that we are lovers and worshippers before we are “thinkers”. He is not just concerned with us agreeing to a set of ideas… he is calling us to be transformed at the “gut” level… he is calling us into organic relationship with HIM. This is why he traffics in the miraculous. This is what happens when we link arms with God and become involved in what HE is doing. This is what it means to be “like Christ”. To live this way requires two truths to work in unison… each pulling in the opposite direction. Peter and John are the case study for us today:

God uses his people to “dispense” miracles:

“But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’” (v.6) In that moment, God was giving Peter and John something miraculous to dispense… to hand out. Look at the language: “silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you.” Peter is willing to take the responsible to hand this out. In that moment he describes it as something that he has to give. God was handing it to Peter, who had to take hold of it before he could give it away. How often have we simply NOT taken hold of the miracle God was handing us to give out? If we think that God has stopped working this way, then of course we never even look to him to hand us anything! Likewise, most are ready to say that God still does miracles… but they don’t acknowledge the normal WAY that he does them. Jesus during his earthly ministry was our perfect example. Peter models it for us here in Acts. To say that God still does miracles, but then to ignore the way he works them through his people is to functionally be a cessationist. (Cessationist: one who thinks that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit stopped at the end of the Apostolic age.) We are not the source of the miracles. We do not decide to whom or when they take place. But we are involved in “handing” them out. God works through us… his people… this is his design. Out of fear and a pseudo-reverence God’s people often neglect their part in God’s miraculous work which is why we are often left working in powerless and under-whelming ministry!

God is the source of the miraculous:

It is God who works miraculously. We are simply laying our hands to the work we already see God doing. This is frequently misunderstood - both today and back then in the scriptures. “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” (v.12) WE NEVER THROUGH OUR OWN “POWER” OR “PIETY” ARE ABLE TO MAKE ANYTHING MIRACULOUS TAKE PLACE. This truth frees us from the guilt that the “church” has heaped on people. It is not your lack of “faith” that is “stopping” miracles. It may be a faith matter that would allow you to SEE and acknowledge the miracles that are happening or to be a recipient of them, but others are not being “kept” from the miraculous work of God because of your “lack of faith”.The occurrence of miracles does not hinge on YOU, your “spirituality”, or your “faith”. Peter lays this out clearly for us: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus…whom God raised from the dead…his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.” (v.13-16) Faith DOES seem to factor in to our ability to experience and receive miracles. This passage shows us that JESUS GIVES US THE FAITH WE REQUIRE TO BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE MIRACULOUS CHANGE GOD IS EXTENDING. These two truths seem to pull in opposite directions. God is the source of all miracles and we have them to give.

Could you believe that God would work miraculously through you? What powerful work is he “handing” to you so that you can in turn GIVE. “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you.” What do you have that you are “handing out”? Have you even asked God to give you something to dispense? Do you have room in your “faith-system”… in your heart and mind… to accommodate the sort of work that the scriptures are describing? Have you asked God to stretch you? To strengthen you? As God’s people, we all have something to “give”… something to “hand out”… something other than our “silver and gold”. Giving material things is fine and good… but awe inspiring ministry is born out of the Spirit… and is not often driven by “silver and gold”. Our job is to LISTEN to what God is telling us and to LOOK for his hand already at work. I picture it like when I would mow the lawn with a push mower. My son would look out and see me mowing and want to come and grab the handle. He would come out and push the mower with me. Our job is to look for the “mowers” that God is pushing and then grab onto the handle and push with him. God decides when. God decides where. God decides who. God provides the power. We push… we “give”… we work as his hands and feet in this world! I know that everyone of you knows of at least one place or person that God is working in right now… ask God how you are supposed to “grab hold”. Ask God what he wants you to hand out this week. In a season of handing out a lot of “silver and gold”… may we never give people material “loose change” when we could and should be giving them powerful, miraculous, life-changing, transformative, God centered transformation and miracles. I would love to hear your feedback and experiences. Love you guys. - JDP