Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. [Romans 15.18-19]
Question: how did Paul fully present the Good News from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum? Answer: by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit.
The Good News IS being presented today around the world. However, it seems the Gospel lacks the fire-like spread described in the Book of Acts (particularly in the United States where I live). If Paul's words above shed any light on the reason why this is, it would be because the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit are lacking - if not missing altogether.
Should not the Church today be alarmed in its presentation of the Good News today that is not FULLY presenting the power of miraculous signs and wonders and ...the power of God’s Spirit? I say, yes.
If our vehicle is not running right, what do we do? We get it diagnosed!
If the Church is not functioning right, we should do the exact same thing! Get it diagnosed! How? By the Word of God!
If the problem is the lack of the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit, then we must see what the diagnosis from the Word is!
Let's troubleshoot, shall we? We can do this by understanding what the Living Word Himself said pertaining precisely to the power of miraculous signs and wonders and ...the power of God’s Spirit:
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” [Mark 16.15-18]
If the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit is missing, then, logical troubleshooting technique says to trace backwards from the problem. To do so, we must understand what initiates the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit, and, that is "believing in Jesus Christ." It doesn't take much of a troubleshooter to understand that if the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit is missing, then the problem is failure to believe in Jesus Christ.
There, problem solved!
Will we then repent of our unbelief and believe? Or, will we deny the obvious? I dare say most any "believer" who is reading or hearing this has already discounted the solution offered here and has resorted to other 'easier' solutions: doctrines, theologies and worldly explanations that justify God's power being missing as somehow 'normal,' thus relieving the alleged "believer" of any responsibility to FULLY present the Good News. Good luck getting that one past the Word today or past God on judgment day.
What do we do if we really want the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit? Well, for starters, we believe in Jesus Christ. Have we done that? No matter how convince ourselves and others that we have, the absence or presence of the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit reveals the real answer.
A good troubleshooter looks at the problem unbiased. The evidence doesn't lie. People lie though...Our deceitful hearts lie (Jeremiah 17.9). Should we not trust the evidence presented by GOD'S WORD? Or, are we going to rely on we want to think - what our heart tells us?
Father, I want to repent right here and right now for my lack of faith in Jesus. I will not spend my energy defending my obvious unbelief, but rather, focus all my energy on repenting and believing as Your Word indicates. Help my unbelief!
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