When Elijah stood before his sovereign, he challenged the false prophets to display their arts and demonstrated to him the power of his God. Moses, in the presence of the king of the mighty kingdom of Egypt, confounded the magicians of Egypt and demonstrated the superiority of his God. Daniel and his friends, at the highest levels of state, of the dominant empire of their time, through gifts of wisdom and the spectacular deliverance they experienced, manifested the power and superiority of their God.
Confrontation of powers
In every place where men have taken God seriously, there has been a confrontation of power, and the outcome has always been the same: God has triumphed. Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, explains that when he preached the gospel to them, he did not use human rhetoric, knowledge, or eloquence, but rather the demonstration of the Spirit of God and the power of God. The goal was that they would not be persuaded by purely human wisdom alone, but that they would have an encounter with God and believe in Him. Masterful.
Our generation needs it too. I believe that what applies to the Corinthians applies to the Parisians.
Human beings have acquired technological knowledge, but their constitution remains the same. I am often struck in my conversations with people who claim to want to be convinced intellectually or philosophically of the validity and truth of the Christian faith that even when sensible answers are given to their questions, this does not necessarily lead to the recognition of God. On the other hand, many of these people are particularly touched by manifestations of God's presence and power—a prophetic word, an answered prayer, a healing, a manifestation of God's presence that brings them face to face with the reality of God.
[tweetthis remove_hidden_urls=”true”]It is the duty of the church to manifest God on earth, not just talk about Him.[/tweetthis]
The duty of the Church
It is the duty of the church to manifest God on earth, not just talk about Him. We who have come to spiritual life have the ability to bring the life of the spirit palpably into people's lives. The supernatural is natural for a child of God. Too often, we have abandoned it in the hands of shamans, healers, sorcerers, and other mediums. The brightest among us consult their horoscopes and believe in them; in desperation, they turn to 'spirits' for guidance; presidents make state decisions by consulting mediums; meanwhile, many Christians prefer to tear each other apart over the commas and semicolons in God's word.
[tweetthis remove_hidden_urls=”true”]We have abandoned the supernatural in the hands of shamans, healers, sorcerers, mediums…[/tweetthis]
God is supernatural and manifests the supernatural when He finds willing people, but we have a culture of spectacle. We are content to watch from afar, to hold our small gatherings where others come to regale us with stories of their experiences with God. Period.
I would have failed as a servant of God if the only testimonies of God's manifestations that my sheep know are those brought about through me, if they are content to live the power of God by proxy, by drinking in the experiences of others. This week, this is the subject of our prayers, we want to announce the gospel in the demonstration of the Spirit and power, we want the twelve manifestations of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12 to be an integral part of the life of each one among us. In short, we all want to be actors of the gospel and not just cheerleaders for the pastor.
Why pray for the supernatural
And if we pray, the goal is not to convince God to do something, it is to express our agreement with Him and our willingness for Him to do it through us, while sweeping away the obstacles that limit us. Often in our way of 'crying out to God' for revival, we almost think that we are virtuous, we want good, as for God, we must convince Him. In reality, it is we who need to be convinced because it is our reluctance that limits us, our acceptance of the status quo, our passivity and our refusal to 'rock the boat'. This is all that God works on when we pray.
It's simple, we have decided that 'we are determined to be God's agents to communicate His word and His power, so that He may save and bless through us, heal through us, and bring His supernatural help through us. Instead of shutting ourselves up in our 'towers of clay' and talking among ourselves, we will look to those outside and say that God does better than mediums and other charlatans, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth.
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