“Evangelist Oral Roberts, founder of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University, died Tuesday from complications of pneumonia in Newport Beach, California, his spokeswoman said. He was 91.”~CNN
I was born and raised the son of a Southern Baptist Preacher. We were never much into the business of miracle shows. I know many people were and still are, but I think times have changed. It seems to me there was likely a time when the Holy Spirit was more free to work miracles in the US. We were a country in need. We had fought wars that threatened our very existence. There were diseases with no cures. It was at a time when if God did not step in, we would not live. Times have changed….
“Oral Roberts was a man of God, and a great friend in ministry,” the Rev. Billy Graham said in a statement Tuesday. “I loved him as a brother. We had many quiet conversations over the years.”
If I had any doubts about the sincerity of Oral Roberts, my confidence is encouraged by Rev. Billy Graham noting his friendship of Oral Roberts.
My struggle is that we are still a people of need. There are unexplained illnesses everywhere. As smart as doctors are, they really know very little.
You may be following my blog and comments about Nathan and his son. They are hurting and need God’s healing touch on them. They apparently have been to the healing sessions and they are still sick. I believe God can heal. Why does He touch one and not another?
Nathan and I would really like to know….
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I will begin by sharing my belief that miracles, exorcisms, healings, and the like still do happen in our world. As for why they might happen in one place and not another, I don’t know — though I have a few thoughts.
– Even Jesus could/did not do miracles where the people lacked faith. I wonder if American Christianity (or much of it) has carefully placed God in a box that has no room for the miraculous? And so, he doesn’t perform them.
– Miracles often happened when the gospel was moving into a new place, and I would suggest they may still follow a similar pattern. The truest miracle is that a sinner can die to self, be forgiven, and then transformed to be a new creation, obedient to God where he once was his enemy. I suggest we see more miracles (exorcisms, physical healings) in places where there are no/few transformed disciples of Christ — as a testament of God’s power. But when a community can see an individual, who used to be selfish and greedy, become caring, loving, and selfless, that is miracle enough to show the power of God.
John 10:37&38
37Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Recently I have been asking Father why we do not walk in the power that I know is available. And although He has given me many answers over the last few weeks, just this morning I heard something new. God has gifts He wants to give us, but in His mercy He will not give us something that He will have to judge us for later. There is a purging of our hearts that needs to be done. This morning I realized that I still have a desire to receive glory. I know He deserves all the glory and I know that I deserve none, but there is still purging in my heart that needs to be done. God showed me this in the following senario. The church where I am worship leader meets in a building that is shared by 2 other congregations. A few of us have been praying fervently for revival in our service. I fealt God asking me if I would still be willing to pray for revival if He didn’t pour it out in our service, but on the catholic service before ours. I thought hmmmmm…. not to sure if I would rejoice for them or be jealous. The second time He showed me this was when I prayed fervently over me son’s broken foot to be healed. My children believe in the power of God and have seen it in their lives and I knew God was just going to heal his foot. He didn’t. The next moring my dad called me not knowing about our prayers and said, “Elisha, my foot after 2 years of pain is healed.” Now, I was rejoicing and knew it was God, but there was a tinge of anger that God didn’t heal my son. Then a verse came to mind.
Romans 9:14-16
14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[f] 16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
More scripture we like to ignore:
1 Corinthians 12:28
And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
Galatians 3:5
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Romans 15:17-19
17Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.
I am praying for God to impart to my Spirit the desire for Him to receive ALL the glory.
Thank you James for your well thought out comment. I’m inclined to agree that God is inclined to work in the lives of people that love Him or will love Him.
Elisha. Good to hear from you. I enjoyed this thought: “God has gifts He wants to give us, but in His mercy He will not give us something that He will have to judge us for later.”
It is a great desire to want God to receive ALL the glory.
I’ve discovered also, it is not enough to just want something. God has to choose to participate in the fulfillment of the desire, no matter how admirable the desire may be.
Merry Christmas!
archie
Ahh yes, but it never hurts to ask 🙂
Matthew 7:7-11
7″Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9″Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!