November, 2002
When I was in high school, I often talked to Simon, a fellow student, who was a self-professed atheist. In several of our discussions he would say, “If God is real then have lightening strike that tree”. The reason why I started thinking about Simon is the fact that man has broken down creation into what they call the laws of nature. The reason why they refer to them as laws is that they seem to go on without change. By referring to them as laws, they expect them to remain the same indefinitely denying the fact that there is a God who holds all things together. As Christians, we believe the fact that the world goes on as it has because of God:
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of
his being, sustaining all things by his
powerful word. (He.1:3)
The awesomeness of God is not revealed when everything continues in its usual course. Nor is the awesomeness of God revealed when something abnormal takes place, what one might consider a fluke. The awesomeness of God is only revealed when his servants ask or announce some extra- ordinary event prior to its occurrence- hence the reason for Simon’s sign. For instance, the Bible records that King Ahaziah served the idol Baal. Elijah, the prophet of God, prophesied that he would die from his injuries. Ahaziah’s response was to send a company of 50 soldiers to take Elijah back to have a chat with him. The problem that existed is that neither King Ahaziah nor the soldiers had any respect for God or his prophet:
They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite." Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’" (2Ki.1:8-9)
It is obvious that the king’s intentions were less then honorable. He could have sent a lowly messenger, but by sending fifty soldiers it is apparent that more then conversation was intended. Elijah knew that it would be meaningless to talk until those with whom he spoke recognized the authority God had given him:
Elijah answered the captain, "If
I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your
fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and
his men. (2Ki.1:10)
Elijah’s rhetorical question, “If I am a man of God”, draws attention to the soldiers’ unbelief in God. For if Elijah was God’s man, then it would be foolish to confront him with merely fifty men, ,five thousand men, or five million men. The king’s unbelief in God is evident by his sending out fifty more soldiers, probably more courageous then the first group, but certainly more unbelieving then the first group which is evident in their request:
At this the king sent to Elijah another
captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’"
(2Ki.1:11)
You cannot reason with anyone about the things of God until they recognize who God is. The captain’s arrogance is only surpassed by his ignorance of God. Elijah repeats the same lesson a second time:
If I am a man of God,"
Elijah replied, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your
fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his
fifty men. (2Ki.1:12)
It is at this time one would assume the king might have grasped the lesson, but not Jezebel’s son- he sends a third group. The point needs to be made that it is easy to send soldiers to war as long as you’re not the one going out. It is likely that King Ahaziah probably sent out a captain who was a follower of Yahweh, which would give him a win /win situation. If fire came down from heaven, he would lose a Yahweh sympathizer; if he brought Elijah to him, he would have the prophet. It is clear that the third captain recognized both God and Elijah, his prophet:
So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!" (2Ki.1:13-14)
It was after Elijah got the king’s respect by the display of God’s awesome power that it would be possible to talk to him. We cannot expect the world to listen to the church if the church does not present itself as the followers of an awesome God. It was only when the captain feared God that we read:
The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So
Elijah got up and went down with him to the king. (2Ki.1:15)
Many times we are in the same position as Elijah- at odds with those who govern us. However, because the church no longer demonstrates the power of the awesome God, we seek to influence them with the power of numbers though a petition. The power of a petition is only as great as the insecurity of those who govern. If those who govern feel secure, your petition is meaningless. Does a petition move the hearts of prime ministers?
The king’s heart is in the hand
of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. (Pr.21:1)
When we petition, we act as if those who govern are neutral people with good intentions who are making bad decisions, denying that there is a spiritual agenda. We act as if the people make the policies, yet the Bible clearly teaches that Satan has his own agenda:
For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph.6:12)
We must realize that the reason why so many laws being promoted are anti-christian is because Satan has control of their agenda. So many Christians rely on a petition when the Bible calls us to pray. The truth is, that the government’s attitude reflects the lack of power in the church. When we as Christians speak out on an issue we speak out with all the powerlessness that we have relegated God to- mere talk. Yet we read:
For the
Today the
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2Ti.3:1-5)
We must have nothing to do with those who preach powerlessness, because doubt is contagious. Not only does it spread to others but it is very infectious affecting the whole of our theology. There are many churches who have a form of godliness, but deny its power. They have the rituals and traditions, but they deny that God’s power is for today
However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Lk.18:8)
One noteable event that took place in 1980 that made the papers
across
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mk.11:22-23)
This mountain- the
mountain he was referring to was the
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (Ja.1:6-8)
One percent doubt negates 99 percent faith. When that minister taught me that God couldn’t move physical mountains, he taught me to doubt the word of God. This takes over like a cancer, for if God did not mean what he said in one situation, then it is possible that he did not mean other things he said as well. In the church where my dad attends, this kind of teaching has weakened their faith so much that they cannot believe in God for the moving of spiritual mountains: alcoholism, pornography, drug addiction, etc.. When we reach out to society we must realize that sometimes “Jesus saves” does not help them as their lives have demonic strongholds. Spiritual mountains block their growth, for example:
A spirit of prostitution
leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God. (Ho.4:12)
If a person is dealing with someone who works as a prostitute, the good news is not enough. There are many people in the church who because of their past have a spirit of obsession that enslaves them to a certain sin. All the church has to offer is, “Look to Jesus”. When Jesus sent out his seventy-two disciples to the towns ahead of him, we read:
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Lk.10:17-19)
These were not the twelve, but regular everyday disciples who had the power to overcome all the power of the enemy. The point is, the spirit world has two distinct divisions of which one is stronger then the other. I am not stronger then Satan. Christ lives in me, and he is stronger:
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. (1Jn.4:4-5)
If we negate all forms of power relegating the church to verbal theology, then the other side will overpower us. All promises made to Christians are for his church and to deny them is to place us at the mercy of our enemies:
But as surely as God is faithful, our message
to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was
preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and
"No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no
matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to
the glory of God. Now it
is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. (2Co.1:18-21)
The reason why we have the Biblical narratives is so that we can learn our terms of engagement with the enemy. Every time the Spirit of God came upon someone of the Old Testament and did something special, it was for us to learn the power of the awesome God and his ability to intercede for us:
For everything
that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through
endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Ro.15:4)
On the other hand, we must also realize that we, the church, are under a new covenant having far superior promises than those which Elijah had:
But the ministry Jesus has received is as
superior to theirs as the covenant of
which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better
promises. (He.8:6)
If we only grasp the promise of God’s power we can both effectively minister to the lost as well as stand against those who oppose us. It was after Elijah used the power God had given him that he could stand before King Ahaziah and say:
He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there
is no God in
The reason why the world does not take Christians serious is because we do not display the awesomeness of God. In fact, we display no more power then the Buddhists, Moslems or other false religions of today. However, the Bible tells us that we have the greatest power on earth at our disposal if only we believe.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (Ja.5:16-18)
We have the
power of God just like Elijah did; however, today we
have negated that power through our unbelief causing the world to conclude on
the basis of evidence- there is no God.
If our religion has become nothing more then words, we are no different
then the prophets of Baal on
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (Jn.14:12-14)
We, the church, are not doing the same things that Christ was doing, let alone even greater things. Yet the Bible promises to common every day Christians:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2Co.9:8)
Notice the all inclusives in the previous verse. I refuse to put God in any size box, for even the universe could not contain him or what he wants to do in his church.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph.3:20-21)
How big is
your vision? Mount St. Hellens was a 9700
ft mountain,
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the
truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ’Move from here to there’ and it will
move. Nothing will be impossible for
you." (Mt .7:20)
If man could
develop a single bomb to destroy
I can do everything through him
who gives me strength. (Php.4:13)
The world does not believe in God because we no longer believe in miracles. Can you blame them?