Word of God & Miracles

[waiter]

Hi,

Am more open than ever I believe to this aspect of our faith, the miracles such as healing, and deliverance. However I find that my base more than ever is the ground level walk with the Lord, where I interact with him daily, hear him speak, spend time in his word in prayer, and then all seems to come out of that relationship of communion with him.
Have a friend who has zoned in on healing, as it is a need in his family. However it seems we have little to talk about since he is looking for a healing miracle and all else seems almost insufficient. I find when i am around him there is no conversation about the Lord, about the word. Seeing the biography of Hudson Taylor on my desk the other day, whom I said was much helpful to me in reading it, he commented that he is not interested in someone whose life exhibits no power. He means the miraculous. Well, I was deeply disappointed to hear him say that. I don't believe he is correct. We all want the miraculous, especially where it is needed.But in the meantime, we are to bide our time communing with the Lord and taking PRESENT joy in our fellowship with him and in the feeding on his word. We are to share these things with each other daily in encouragement and exhortation. I am surprised this brother who I believe is spiritual on one hand, is making this unbalanced view of things the hinge. I hear about the "revival" in Florida at Lakeland, but I feel no drawing or like I am missing something. I believe in the miraculous and believe I am open more than ever. But I know of a great need in the body of Christ also that needs healing. Christians who get excited about a meeting or time of revival, but do not know how to go back to their own lives and walk out daily living in victory where there is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
I do not deny the urgency of healing needed in many cases. I make no claim against that necessity. The other question I have is this: what is the difference between believers here, anywhere, and the thing which is going on in Lakeland? Nothing in my estimation. Whatever my situation is, I must somehow believe in a loving God who loves me in my situation where I am, and that knowing will help me believe that he desires my best and that I do not have to so much wrestle healing out of him for my situation, as open up to his love for me as much as love for anyone else. I don't understand why we are constantly looking everywhere to other people when we can call upon God ourselves where we are in what we are involved in.

I know the level of faith may not be there in some cases. However, this lack of faith does not mean God does not want to do creative things on our behalf right here right now, and that we don't have to run across the country for it. Something about that mentality is wrong to me and it grieves my spirit because we may be looking to man first, even a christian brother or sister, rather than to God first and believing we can hear God ourselves. I don't deny the need of the body or that we meet each other's needs, only that I know many of the folks who attend or follow some of the big names do not know how to walk with God on their own and that is their great need above all I believe. My two cents, any comments?

[DrRita]

What can I say . . . it's an old, old story. Tune in a year from now and we'll see how it goes.

[lynnmosher]

Great thoughts, waiter. I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I think he is missing out on a lot of the fullness of the Lord. If we focus on one area alone, we cut ourselves off from other avenues from which God can generate His miraculous power.

[waiter]

Hi Rita,
I see in the O.T. that the great fault was always the departure from the statutes of the Lord, and thus from the Lord himself. I am amazed at the simplicity of the christian life in that it is simply a focus on the Lord and his will, and once we remove our self as the prime culprit, life, God, everything begins to clarify and simplify. The reason I find this of great importance is first because of the wonderful benefit of keeping God first at all times-what a wonderful life!- and then because I am truly astounded that this is not the topic of preaching/teaching far far more. While we move on in understanding of the Lord we never cease the great need for our foundation. In the christian walk i believe simply that understanding the cross properly and it's daily application opens into a life where God's reality is accessible all the time and not a closed off thing. The great need is always God. While this may seem simple, it is the point of great mystery, attack, neglect,etc. It's like the spark plug for the car to me, a very simple thing, but without which there shall be no functioning of that car. When i say spark plug I am thinking that the answer to a life of righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Ghost is very simple to enter into, but often we may be looking to replace the motor, the transmission and a host of other things first in order to arrive at an answer. The answer is very simple: Give God our will every day all the day and we will find him in our life in great abundance fellowshipping walking with us. Out of that life will come healing, etc. Understand the great value above all things of the blood of the cross and we will find victory in life.
The foundation is always in need. A house sits on the foundation, relies on it, all it's natural life. We rely on a life of access to God thru the blood of the cross all the time, not just at salvation, and this simple but powerful thing is bypassed because often we believe we are to "move on". I believe we move deeper into the cross, that's all. We don't move on past it.

If we teach commitment to God, surrender of the will and what that means/looks like,what prayer really is- a whole language that must be developed, that we must learn by doing how to talk to God about EVERYTHING, what steady bible reading does, it's miraculous effects on the sincere heart, and how the life of Christ is accessed in real time and what this process looks like at the microscopic or breakdown level, we are teaching the greatest thing that can possibly be taught to a christian, if we teach what true discipleship is, what it's incredible blessings are and what's it sufferings are....we are teaching the greatest thing one teach a new believer in Christ. But many of us were not or still have not been properly discipled, and hence the great crying need amongst believers, forget about unbelievers-not that we forget about them. Anyway, it is my passion.

Lynn,
My friend is not happy. I cannot say I truly know what is going on in his walk with the Lord and what it looks like on the inside. He has three autistic children, a very difficult burden. I do not deny that nor claim to understand what that kind of life is like. All I know though is when he says to me that Hudson Taylor's life has no power and therefore he is not interested, I say to myself, Lord, this is not right. Something is wrong here. My sense this morning in thinking about it was that if he, and it applies to me where I am or where any of us is, if we know really know that God loves us personally and not just my neighbor or the folks in Lakeland or where ever there "may be" a move of God occurring.....if we know this, immediately we believe also that God is concerned about what we are concerned about. This immediately brings God closer if we truly believe he cares, is concerned, and that I believe opens up the possibility in a far greater way for a miracle of healing or whatever the need is, than not really being sure of God's love personally for us in the present moment. I had this strong sense this is very important. I would ask him: Do you know, not just mentally, but experientially in your soul right now, that in all that is going on around you, God loves you and cares? If we sense God's love, we are greatly increased in confidence. But if otherwise, then I suspect deep down we are not sure God wants to help us where we are in our very own unique situation. This is a great test of faith. My understanding of how do I know or receive the love of God is the cross. I go to the cross with the worst of my life and I cry out to God for deliverance and for all that I need. And this is where there is trial and suffering while we are in the process of walking this thing out. The bottom line is that we have a willing God and all the aspects of the gospel are ours, including healing. I find it increasingly difficult to understand and accept that we have to run across the country or even read this book or that book in order to access what God has promised to all of us as his children. Something about this is not twigging at all any more, in fact it is bothering me increasingly and I am asking the Lord to keep me on the clear and clear on all this because i just want to know what his highest and best is. I am not for knocking ministries or individuals. I would rather focus on a sure answer in the Lord and tout that rather than knock a person or ministry down. I will not comment on Todd Bentley for good or bad. I simply feel we are looking too much to men and not God and to what he has said. Anyway, now that I've got that out I feel better just articulating it because I find it important to keep this thing in order for proper perspective. Thank you Lynn

[DrRita]

Very true Waiter. I'm one who believes it's not about us it's about Him!! Instead of God affecting our culture and our world view, we impose our world view and form our image of him according to our culture. You are so right, we truly truly need to get back to the foundation of a Holy God and his Lordship, not this presumptuous demanding of spoiled children with too much already. I totally believe in healing and all the gifts but at God's discretion not ours. Your friend is suffering from Perpendicular "I" itis.

As for that silly comment I made, I was referring to the Lakeland Florida Spectacular Show. I don't doubt that God does these kinds of things at all, but I've seen sooooo much of this kind of hype and what your friend suffers from, sadly is most often the result. Have you ever read Watchman Nee's "Latent Power of the Soul?" Great exposition on what man can conjure up.