Why would one fear gifts that God would give him to enable him or her to do his ministry? Why would he or she discount what God says one can have if he or she asks for it? It would seem evangelicals fear charismatics. Possibly they are thinking, what if one “buys into” the charismatic philosophy and God requires them to jump over a pew or fall down in exhilaration of the Spirit.
First of all, God never makes anyone do anything. He only works through those who are willing to accept his power and allow him to move in their life. He did not force me to become a preacher. Quite the contrary, I began in the ministry when I was about twenty years old. After about eleven years I got a little disillusioned and ran. I was in absolute disobedience. He did not require that I stay in the ministry, nor did he make it impossible to leave. However, the call is strong if we will listen to God. Approximately sixteen years later, I succumbed to his call and now he is blessing my ministry.
God in his grace even blessed me in my disobedience to a certain degree. Nevertheless, had I decided to be obedient from the start there is no telling what he would have done. It would seem that many hide behind the guise of God’s completed work to deny the miraculous powers of the Spirit today. I have no doubt that the previous statement will be challenged by all who are certain that God cannot (or will not) work his miraculous works in the twenty-first century. What was the date that God stopped using his disciples to show his glory through miraculous signs? Why would he stop? 1 Corinthians 14:24 says that tongues is a sign for the unbeliever. Later in this book we will discuss the gifts. Therefore, it would not serve a purpose to state it in this chapter. Nevertheless, it is important for one to understand the possibility remains that God might use his miraculous powers as a sign to the unbeliever today as well as in the first century.
No comments:
Post a Comment