It has been my personal experience, as well as my observation of other people’s experiences in the supernatural arena that when God performs miracles He normally does so through church leaders. Because of this the miracle worker, the miracle recipient, those who witness the miracle and those who hear about it invariably come to the same conclusion.  However, when their conclusion is compared to  the Holy Scriptures it is proven to be unscriptural. Their false assumption problem is caused by a lack of thoroughness on the part of everyone involved. There is a popular saying within the social arena that warns against making assumptions: “Always read the fine print, for the devil is in the details.” However, in the spiritual arena we find that the Lord is in the details. This series will highlight the life and death importance of those details.

Though miracles such as healings, deliverances, fulfilled prophecy, etc., are based on God’s Truth (Word–Jn. 17:17), they are not the point He is emphasizing. Though miracles, signs and wonders are promised by God in His Word, they are merely introductions to the “messages” He is “voicing” to those involved. Not realizing this, the people invariably miss the point He is making. This deadly phenomenon results when the people focus on the miracle –“headline”–while ignoring the purpose of miracle–the “fine print/details.”

This problem is universal within professing Christianity. As I have said before, many people can quote Biblical “headlines” such as “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). However, those same people cannot quote the “details” that explain exactly what being saved means, how, when and why it is awarded, etc. This is like baking a cake while refusing to follow the recipe. All of God’s promised miracles have effects that are much more important than the miracles themselves. It is imperative that we know and believe what He has to say about the spiritual effects the physical miracles are designed to produce.  In Isaiah 28:9,10 He uses the prophet to explain the all-important physical-spiritual connection behind His miracles, signs and wonders. In this passage the prophet asks the question: “Whom shall He (God) teach knowledge? and whom can He make to understand doctrine?” He then answers the question: “They who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast (mature believers).  For precept (Bible Truth) must be upon (combined with) precept, precept upon precept, line (Bible Truth) upon (combined with) line, line upon line, here a little (Bible Truth), there a little.”  The problem with headline hunters is that, having received the physical promise (example: healing), they refuse to acknowledge the spiritual changes God requires in their lives. The expression: “Ignorance is bliss” perfectly applies to this situation.

A good example of the Lord’s physical-spiritual relationship relative to miracles, signs and wonders is found in John 5:1-14. Here we find that Jesus has healed a man at the pool in Bethesda–the physical aspect of the miracle. Later He finds the man and commands him to “… sin no more”–the spiritual aspect of the miracle.  The physical healing was the lesser aspect of the miracle. The eradication of sin from the man’s life was the important part. The same physical-spiritual connection took place when Jesus forgave the prostitute. He ended the episode with the words: “Go and sin no more.”  The problem with modern miracle recipients involves the assumption that they are “saved” and “born again,” and that because of Adam’ miracle sin-injection powers they are unable to “sin no more.” Because of these “Biblical truths” they have no need to search the Scriptures for additional information. In other words, if it isn’t broken, why consult the repair manual? And Satan smiles. L.J.