My brother, my sister, allow me to raise an issue that should not be ignored, as we are in the end times and there is great deception around, including within the body of Christ. Some churches perform miracles every single day, every single hour, every single minute! Yes, our God is a God of miracles and above all He is very generous and this is what the Bible says about how He distributes His Gifts: ” Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). Now, the worry comes when we see in our churches that one and the same person gathers all spiritual gifts and uses them on command, making that person a little god in the eyes of people.
Indeed, throughout the Bible, we see miracles performed as proofs of God’s power, love and authority. However, today’s passage shows us counterfeit miracles performed to deceive God’s people. Do you not remember Pharaoh’s magicians who were also able to duplicate Moses’ signs in Egypt? Now, how do we distinguish the miracles of God to deceptive miracles? Now, the other worry is that a miracle is that people have forgotten the true meaning a miracle, so allow me to give you a definition “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs…” Now, when extraordinary things happen every day, can we still talk about miracles? The same, when miracles are performed every day in a church, should you not wonder why they have become so common?
When we read today’s passage, we see that the performer of the miracle gains influence through the sign and wonders that he can perform on behalf of the beast that is his master and that is the reason why he orders the people to worship a statue in honor of that beast, which is a direct flouting of the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-6). Therefore, we should always ask with respect to each miracle we see: is this consistent with what God says in the Bible? My friend, true signs and miracles point us to Jesus Christ, not to idolatry! Allowing the Bible to guide our faith and practice will keep us from being deceived by false signs, however convincing they appear to be. The Bible warns us many times, but because we find it hard to patiently wait on the Lord, we are eager to accept anything as if it is from God. My friend, God gives gifts, but He does not use them in a meaningless way or in the midst of disorder, confusion, unrepentant sin, etc. For His miracles to operate in your life, God does not need a man, though He can still use a man to perform them. Truly the essence of your miracle depends on you, not on a man, for the miracles of God are performed by the Holy Spirit of God, not by man. Besides, know today that Jesus needs your own faith accompanied with a righteous life (or at least the determination to live a righteous life) to perform a miracle in your life. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.