SIGNS AND WONDERS
by David A. Christy

THE DEBATE

Recently I was engaged in a debate regarding an area church and an experience where "gold dust' began appearing on the speaker and on special prayer cloths in the assembly. Many attendees attribute this manifestation to the Lord with glowing comments like,
"It is from the Spirit" and "It is the gold dust from heaven". In the ensuing debate comments like "God is doing a new thing" and "We want to be where the 'anointing' is and "It's all about worship" and "God is bigger than the Scriptures" were made.

I was aghast at the description of this experience and these comments from the mouths of committed evangelical Christians. They are unbiblical and illogical, showing a very poor understanding of the Word of God. They are indeed scary and reveal what I believe to be an attempt, if not the beginning of a work of the devil in the end times.

 

SIGNS AND WONDERS AND MIRACLES

One of the most common errors regarding interpretation of "miracles" is to trivialize them to our own experience. It's not "all about you", it is "all about God".
Supernatural events in the Scripture always accompanied a work that God is validating and authenticating. Examples abound from THE EXODUS IN THE OLD TESTATMENT TO THE COMING OF THE SAVIOR, THE GENTILES AND THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH (ACTS) IN TNE NEW TESTATMENT!. The point is miracles, signs and wonders are not random -THEY ARE PURPOSEFUL! These were the stamps of Godly authority. I emphasize, "WERE" because with the coming of the Savior and the canon of Scripture all NEW revelation has ceased.

"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son… " Heb 1:1

"…as for prophecies, they will pass away: as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge , it will pass away. I Cor 13:8

TRUTH

The gravest error in determining truth is to use your experience or emotions as the measuring stick. Ask any pilot. Ask JFK Jr. "Spatial disorientation" can occur when a pilot encounters clouds or fog or bad weather. There is no way to determine upside down from right side up by using senses or experience. This is what happened to JFK Jr. He thought he was ascending--instead he was horrifically descending to death! That is why he and several others are dead! Experienced pilots refer to their INSTRUMENTS. They are an outside source of truth-a true bearing unaffected by our experience or senses. So too, THE WORD OF GOD! In the spiritual realm we do not pilot by our senses but by TRUTH. God's Word is truth! Jesus said in His prayer to His Father in Jn 17:17…
"Sanctify them in the truth…my WORD is truth"
Truth is not affected by my experience-it is my true Spiritual North-it is what I gauge and authenticate all spiritual experiences by.
Not to do so is to risk being fooled, deceived. Unwittingly I could actually be turning away from God rather than toward Him and in the process heading for a fiery end

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord' did we not PROPHESY in your name, and CAST OUT DEMONS in your name and do MANY MIGHTY WORKS in your name? And then will I declare to them' I never knew you; depart from me' …"
Matt 7:21-23
These had all the signs and wonders…but they were not of God. It is interesting to note that this passage precedes the teaching of the importance of "building on and obeying the Word." (Matt 7:24-27)

 

CAUGHT UP

The society we live in is "caught up" in this "feeling oriented" frenzy. We are saturated with appeals to the senses. Many Believers coming out of this world are dragging this lifestyle baggage into their spiritual lives and courting disaster as a result. Weak churches with a poor emphasis on discipleship are promulgating the problem. This so called movement today seeks the miraculous for the "rush', the feelings, the emotional high, " and in fact comments like "I felt the Spirit there" are used to verify and validate that these experiences are from God rather than to examine them from a Scriptural view to see if they fit the patterns of Truth. Hence truth is what I feel or experience over what God clearly reveals in the Scripture! ("God is bigger than the Scriptures") This is not to denigrate the emotional aspect of our being that God created rather it is to highlight the fact that God never intended for us to lead our lives by our "feelings" nor are our feelings or intuition ever to be used to validate a spiritual experience, gauge truth or interpret Scripture!

Diagramming clearly reveals the illogic and unbiblical ness of this approach to Truth.
It looks like this;

EXPERIENCE --FEELINGS -EMOTIONS-AUTHENTICATION- REVEALED TRUTH -SCRIPTURE

Rather than the Biblical pattern;

SCRIPTURE--- REVEALED TRUTH-AUTHENTICATION-EXPERIENCE-FEELINGS--EMOTIONS.

DANGER-KNOW YOUR ENEMY

"A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign" Matt 16:4 (Jesus)

The second letter of Peter 1:3,4 states emphatically that God has given us…
"ALL things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us…"
True or false? I think you know the answer to that one.

Are you looking for and seeking "signs and wonders'? Watch out-you will get them!
Satan knows what appeals to the human being-THE SENSATIONAL. The Bible clearly warns us that this is exactly what he will use to deceive mankind and EVEN God's own!

"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and PERFORM SIGNS AND MIRACLES to deceive the elect-if that were possible." Matt 24:24

The Scripture states that we have EVERYTHING we need for this life -in Christ, now. If someone tells you differently or tries to titillate you with the miraculous-IT IS A LIE!
It is the pattern of the evil one.

"The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with ALL POWER AND WITH PRETENDED SIGNS AND WONDERS and with all WICKED DECEPTION for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a powerful delusion to make them believe what is false so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
(Unrighteousness= those who are immersed in the deception of "pretended signs and wonders.")

Notice how the deception is accomplished. The focus is away from truth to the
miraculous.

"Because of the signs he was given power to do…he deceived the inhabitants of the earth." Rev 13:14

You want more? You want power? You want victory? You want intimacy? You want to touch God?

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises that through these you may escape the corruption that is in the world because of passion and become partakers of the divine nature."
2 Peter1: 3,4

I see the key. Do you? Go for it.