Miracle Power from God Today for Your Life

God does not change, He operates in the same manner today as He did when He created the heavens and earth. In Malachi 3:6 God says "6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Not only is this point estabilshed by God in His Word, but further on in the New Testament the same state of unchanging being and power is also established in the Word regarding Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13:8 says, "8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." All throughout the Bible from Genesis to the book of Revelation are examples of Miracles, Wonders, and Might works of God. Some of these happened in the time of the writers, inspired by God, who wrote the books of the Bible and were witnessed by them and the people of the time. Other miracles, signs, and wonders were prophesied to happen in the future, some are happening in our time and a very significant number of them yet to come .

The Bible has no single word for miracle. The miracle concept includes use of several terms: wonder, might work, and sign. Wonder calls attention to the impression made by miracles. Miracle derived from the Latin word "miraculum" which means something that evokes wonder. A miracle is an event beyond the normal, triggering our awareness of God's prescence and power. Signs follow believers and confirm the Word of God spoken. Mighty works point to the presence in Biblical times and our times of supernatural acts of God involving the power that created the world from nothing. Being out of the regular course of nature and beyond the power of man, miracles are fitted to convey the reality of the presence and power of God. Where miracles are, there are believers, and most assuredly God is there. The man, therefore, who works a miracle presents clear proof that he comes with the authority of God and miracles are his credentials that he is God's messenger. Paul, in his teachings points to these credentials as a proof that he speaks with the authority of God. He boldly says, "God bears me witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles." The reality of miracles is established by the evidence of the senses, on the part of those who are witnesses of them, and to all others by the testimony of such witnesses. Miracles are credible just as any facts of history are credible. We believe a thousand facts, both of history and of science on the ground of competent testimony even though we were not there to see history unfold or witness the scientific research and experiments. An atheist of course will deny the possibility of miracles. But to one who believes that God is a personal God, who in His wisdom may see fit to interfere with the ordinary processes of nature, miracles are not impossible, nor are they incredible...they are to be expected according to His Word.

The wonder today is that there is no major manifestation of miracles. In the church today there are many teachers who instruct the believers that miracles have ceased, that they ended with the falling asleep (death) of the last apostle. Others teach that miracles in the Bible are myths. The secular education our children receive today undermines the possibility of our children believing in miracles. In almost every denomination (divisions of the body of Christ) there are no miracles, signs, or wonders to be seen. This totally contrary to what Jesus Christ promised when he taught the disciples and apostles shortly before he ascended into heaven. Jesus told them the following:

John 14:10-14
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Jesus told them that the words he spoke to them, were not his words, but the words of his Father, God. He then told them that God who lived in him did the works. Next Jesus told them something (if miracles have ceased means Jesus lied) that almost no believer today exhibits...Whoever Believes On Him Would Do the Same Works That He Did. That does not mean only your preacher, pastor, or evangelist had this god given ability. Every believer has the ability for God to carry out this part of our ongoing spiritual battle against the Devil. What works did Jesus do? Raise the dead, heal the blind, open the ears of the deaf, cast out devil spirits, heal the lame, and on and on...all of these works we as future believers would do. Then, if that was not enough, he said that We Would Do Greater Works Than These that he had done because he was going to be with his Father (God). And whatsoever (anything with no exception) we would ask (pray and openly speak) for in his name (the Name of Jesus Christ) he would do so that God would be glorified.

Matthew 13:53-58
53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

During his ministry Jesus went back to his home town to hold forth the Gospel and taught them in the synagogue. Look at the immediate reaction and response he received from the people he grew up with. They first looked at his family. They compared him to his father the local carpenter, his mother, his three brothers, and his sisters. They believed him to be "the carpenter's son" not the son of God. They thought to themselves, where did he get this knowledge and those might works. When their comparison was finished, "they were Offended in him." Jesus told them what had been experienced by evey prophet God had sent prior to him, the only place a prophet's ministry is rejected is in his own country and in his own house (by his family). The concluding factor as to why he could not do many mighty works came down to one major thing - Because Of Their Unbelief, the collective Unbelief of the people in his home town and the Unbelief of the individuals he wanted to heal with a miracle.

Jesus prepaired the apostles with instruction, by example, in Believing that manifests results. When you see something done and then have it explained it is far easier to do the same thing with results, than just being told it can be done.

Mark 11:11-24
11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Matthew 21:18-22
18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Now cursing a tree just because it had no fruit may seem unreasonable to some, but Jesus knew about fig trees. The tree in these two instances should have had fruit, unripe but existing. Fig trees bear early fruit under the leaves and later the fruit above the leaves. The leaves were a sign that there should have been fruit, unseen from the distance, under the leaves. The condemnation of this tree resulted from the absence of any sign of fruit. (We might consider this object lesson of failure to produce fruit; i.e. fruit of the spirit, winning others to Christ, etc.) Continuing on with covering the record in Matthew 21, it is a lesson in believing completely to receive results from God. First, Have Total believing that God will confirm your word. Second, speak your objective. Third, Do Not Doubt (doubt is unbelief), doubt in your heart means getting rid of even the smallest feeling of doubt. Fourth, believe without a shadow of a doubt that the things you say will happen (to the point that you can actually picture in detail them happening). Fifth, you will absolutely have "Whatsoever" (leaves no room for exception) you say. Then, Jesus applies this principle just taught to prayer; what ever you ask in prayer, believing you absolutely will receive. Note the extent of power of believing, his illustration was a mountain that saw in the distance (a literal mountain) being removed and thrown into the sea! What great power believers have through believing and today few really understand the unlimited extent of power we have from God.

The account in Mark of Jesus giving the great commision to the disciples and apostles, gives us a further clarification of what the new believer would be entitled to. Note...New Believer/Whoever Believes to receive Salvation...not just the apostles.

Mark 16:15-20
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Signs absolutely will follow Them that Believe. Note in verse 20 the order of progression to signs being exhibited. (1) They went and preached everywhere and (2) God confirmed the Word they spoke with signs. This was the proper order in which God had operated since the begining: (1) God spoke His and (2) the heavens and earth were created; God's servants spoke and He comfirmed their words. In th Old Testament in Isaiah 44:26, "That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:". In the Acts 2, we find in the sermon delivered on the day of Penticost, the first example in the First Century Church of what Jesus promised right before he ascended:

Acts 2:40-43
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

After the outpouring of holy spirit foretold by the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28, "28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.") the word of God had been spoken revealing what Jesus Christ had accomplished for us, and God confirmed His Word spoken, with many wonders and signs being done by the apostles.

Lets look at some examples of miracles and who worked these after speaking the Word of God.

Seventy Disciples Commissioned Who Worked Miracles - the literal definition of disciple is "a learner, student, it denotes one who follows one's teaching." Ther term disciple would refer to any ordinary born again believer. Here Jesus gives these 70 students to same mission as he gave the 12 apostles, when first sent them out. Well if the math isn't wrong, we've got "82" Gospel speaking signs and wonder producing believers. When that last apostle died it would be a safe bet that there were bunches of Gospel preaching believers left of this order. - They returned with joy that even the devils are subject to them through his name.
Luke 10:1-10, 16-20
1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

The next example is The Individual Who Was Not A Disciple Casting Out Devils. This example illustrates the power that there is in the Name of Jesus Christ. That even a person who was not a disciple (a student) or a follower of Jesus, got results in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Mark 9:38-40
38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part.

Luke 9:48-49
49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

Seven Disciples Appointed - Stephen (the disciple) did great wonders and miracles among the people (the same Stephen who was stoned to death later on after preaching a reproof and corection message to the religious leaders and the people).
Acts 6:1-8
1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

Next, Barnabas who was a disciple, Pauls assistant and fellow laborer for God. The acount mentions that God wrought miracles and wonders among the gentiles by them (miracles and wonders performed by both Paul and Barnabas).
Acts 15:12
12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

Finally, working of miracles is just 1 of the 9 parts of the gift of the new birth. In 1 Corinthians 12, is the discription of exactly what the powerbase of our spiritual warfare abilities are. It describes "the manifestation of the Spirit." Most important to observe here is the word "manifestation." Manifestation is singluar in usage meaning this was one lump package. In illustration like a clump of grapes you were just given with nine (9) grapes. That means to you as a believer that God has given to you the ability through believing to utilize all nine (9) parts of the manifestation of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:7-11
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

The manifestation of the spirit is given to you for your benefit. You can receive and utilize word of wisdom & word of knowledge (receive revelation from God and know form him how to apply it), Faith (literally the faith of Jesus Christ-results producing), gifts of healing (ability to minister healing to others), Working of Miracles, prophecy (both foretelling and forthtelling God's Word to men), discerning of spirits (ability to be able to detect spirits and tell the difference between good and evil), divers kinds of tongues (speaking in tongues), and interpretation of tongues (ability to interpret what has just been spoken in a tongue. NEXT is the key statement to understanding these verses in application. A pronoun as a part of speach always is associated with the nearest noun, which in this case is MAN. What this final phrase says is that all nine (9) manifestations are energized by the Spirit, the New Birth in a man and that he is able to use them as he believes to utilize them.

Out of this section of verse in 1 Corintians we have only covered one of the parts of the "manifestation of spirit" with this topic lesson. Many have been mis-taught that each grape on the clump is one of nine (9) manifestations. As with any subject of endeavor, you can only go as far as you have been taught. Too many Christians out there are walking through their lives without realizing the full potential of God's power. The truth is that, as a born again believer , you have the ability to operate all nine (9) all the time as they are needed in your spiritual warfare against our adversary. As men and women of God we need to plug into this powerbase in order to produce victory in our lives. Do not allow the world and the unbelievers around you to lull you into apathy and doubt, to the point of not producing fruit, producing miracles, signs, and wonders through unbelief. Believe fully in God, speak His Word, do not doubt and you will absolutely have the witness from God that a man or woman of God is present. God will display sign, wonders, miracles, and mighty works in the Body of Christ again, confirming the Word you speak, when you stand fast on His Word, speak it.

Acts 5:20, "Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life."