The Brown Bible

Posted By Jane Harvester on October 19, 2009

Perhaps you have been taught that miracles are only for those who are “saintly” or “good enough” by tireless good works, or perhaps you have been taught that miracles went out with the apostles.

Those ideas are wrong. Miracles are available just much now as they were then, and can be brought forth by God working in any of His children, no matter how “worthy” the world perceives them to be.

Let me start by saying this: did you know that the Bible calls those born of holy spirit “saints”?

I Corinthians 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

Philippians 4:21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.
22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.

Philemon 1:4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

This is just a sampling of verses containing the word ”saints” in the New Testament. Each one of these usages is a variant from the root Greek word hagios, which means “holy” or “sacred”.  The saints in these verses were simply fellow believers, not necessarily amazing, unique, singled-out people that God randomly decided to gift with special abilities because they did lots of good deeds or were ultra-pious. They chose to believe and have holy spirit, and this made them saints (with the special abilities and benefits that particular state comes with).

When God gave Moses instructions for the sacrifices in the Old Testament, the animals that were brought were to have no ”spot or blemish” (whole, without defect) so as to be acceptable to Him. God also told the Old Testament believers that anything that “opened the matrix” (womb) or the “firstfruits” of plants were to be for Him. These items were delivered to the priests in order to provide them with food as well as atone for sin, or even at times for the people  just to show God that they were thankful to have received a good harvest or good favor from Him.

Numbers 18:8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.
9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.
10 In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.
11 And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.
12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.
13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.
14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.
15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

Note my emphasis on the use of “holy” on the preceding verses. There is nothing inherently mystical or supernatural about a firstborn cow or goat, or wine, oil or wheat, yet God considered them “holy” – special, set apart.

When ANYONE accepts Christ, they are born of God’s spirit and BECOME holy, special, whole, without defect, and acceptable unto God – and therefore, a saint. The holy spirit package includes these, among many other, benefits:

I Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

If the manifestation of holy spirit is given to every man (who has been born again) to profit withal, that has to mean everyone who has holy spirit has the ability to operate manifestations. It is not contingent on how good your heart is or how many good deeds you do or whether you feel like you are worthy enough on any given day - it is there for the using, permanently.  It is also true that the manifesting of each or all of these is contingent on whether the person doing so believes he or she can, “as he will”.  It is possible that someone could go their entire lives and not use their God-given spirit to perform miracles, but wouldn’t it be better for them to believe it was available and work in partnership with God to have them happen?

So the question is, if all born-again ones are saints, and all saints have holy spirit and can operate miracles, gifts of healing and more, why does it seem that there aren’t rampant miracles?

I have several answers for you.

Jesus Christ himself found his hands tied when he tried to perform miracles, because of other people’s lack of belief.

Matthew 13:53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

“Isn’t that guy the son of a carpenter? What good could come of someone like that? Where did he learn all this stuff?” This is the same man who brought the dead to life, calmed angry seas with a command, restored sight to the blind, healed lepers and cast out devils from people. Do you think he wanted to help those in his hometown? Of course. Did they think he could? No. So he had to move on. Even some of the apostles had problems with unbelief after Christ had risen!

Mark 16:14 Afterward he [Christ] appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

The first thing Christ instructed them to do was “preach the gospel to every creature”, not “go heal everyone and perform miracles”. He said the signs would follow them that believe, not precede. Other records I have read seem to indicate that very often, miracles were a response to uphold God’s Word that had been preached, to the end that people believed. They were not done for the sake of an on-demand ”magic show”, they were done as a response to prove that God and His might were real, and that the gospel that was spoken of was true.

John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me [the Samaritan woman] all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
…
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
…
46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did [the feeding of 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fishes], said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

There are records of Christ healing people by telling them they were “whole” or their sins were forgiven (the man who was lowered to the pool who took up his bed and walked, the leper that turned back to thank Jesus); that was his priority. Eternal life is more important to heal than physical life, which only lasts for a short moment in time.

So, it would seem that the best opportunity for a saint to operate holy spirit to the end of having miracles happen would be first to believe it is possible, then to preach God’s Word and allow Him to support it with signs, miracles and wonders, and for those who have a specific need, speak the Word to them in order for them to believe.  ”Preaching” does not necessarily involve renting a stadium and starting your own ministry (feel free if you are so led!), but you should seek to help people, believers and unbelievers both, with your daily conduct as befitting God’s Household, and speaking God’s good news to them in sincerity at appropriate times.  Do what He instructs you to do in any given situation, even if it sounds goofy. Put naysayers out of the room if necessary, so their unbelief doesn’t spread and hinder people from receiving His blessings.

Having said this, God doesn’t ONLY have miracles and healing performed in the context of  winning souls; Christ had compassion on people and tried to help them. Of course, many who were healed believed due to this, but the Bible says Christ moved because he had compassion on them.

Matthew 20:30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.

Mark 1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

Luke 5:12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

I can personally attest to the miraculous and wonderful things He has done for me and others.

God told me the month a friend’s baby was going to be born, over a year before it was even conceived.  They had been trying for some time and hadn’t been successful previously. I felt bad for them and He told me that the problem was the wife was fearful, but they would have a child in November. I told the husband about her being fearful, and he talked with her. The child was indeed born in November the following year.

I stepped in a hole during a “hang out with God” group camping trip and my ankle was swollen and painful overnight. The next morning I was still in pain. I knew I couldn’t do the day’s scheduled hike (to spend some one-and-one time with God) and told Him “If you really want me to hang out with You, You’re going to have to fix my foot” (more out of frustration than really praying or thinking anything would happen).  I rolled up my bedroll and was going to hobble over to the hike leader to tell her I couldn’t make it but as soon as I stood up, He healed it instantaneously. It thrills my heart to know He loves us so much that indeed, He wants us to “hang out with” Him.

God told me ahead of time there would be a deer on the winding, hilly road I was driving on at night. I was able to slow in time prior to seeing the large buck so I could easily stop when I drove around the bend and found him standing in the middle of the road.

God once told me to change from the right lane to the center lane on a freeway I was on at night. After I did this, some kind of animal about the size of a medium dog ran out from the side of the road across the lane I had been in, into the center lane partway, then darted back to the side it came from.  Had He not told me, I’d surely have hit the animal and damaged my car or swerved and possibly had an accident.

There are many more stories, from myself and many other people, but I’m only listing a few of the things that happened specifically to me since I can testify of them firsthand. I’m not anybody special in the world’s eyes. I have holy spirit because I have accepted Christ, and that makes me special to God, but anyone else who accepts Christ has the same eternal life and potential to use the manifestations that come with that gift. Remember what Christ said in Mark 16:

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So, if you want to see miracles and wonders, believe; accept Christ and holy spirit, and be one of His many holy saints in the Household; preach the Word, whether literally or by your lifestyle in action, or both; move with compassion, listen for and follow God’s instructions; be bold enough to do what He tells you to do (if He told you to go over to a person in a wheelchair and tell them to rise up and walk, would you do it? Or would you be fearful of looking silly?) He has fully equipped His children to carry out His work in Christ’s stead! This is how the signs, miracles and wonders will come, and I pray you will see them in your life and so give God the glory.

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Categories: 02) By Jane Harvester, 22) More Biblical Considerations
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