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Ministry news...
Have you listened to our weekly Internet broadcast this week? There is a new teaching every Sunday, and you can listen to it 24/7 from our Home Page while you surf the web.
A survey in the US last year discovered that "Born-again Christians and adults who attend Christian churches are more likely than atheists, agnostics, and adherents of non-Christian faiths to buy lottery tickets!" To help you see why God has a better way, this month we are featuring our book "Four Keys to Prosperity" on the Home Page.
The balanced scriptural exposition, mainly from Paul's epistles, uses four keys to depict the mental and spiritual laws of prosperity. Chapter titles are: Action -- Attitude -- Amount -- Affirmation. The four chapters are ideal for both personal reading and group study. Spread throughout the text are eight one-page mini-posters of significant prosperity verses. Included is an index to all the scriptures quoted. All this is wrapped in a brilliant silk-embossed gold cover. Learn how to operate these four keys and get into the flow of God's prosperity.
Online is an slide show giving an overview from each chapter. If you don't have this dynamic 48-page book, get your copy this month ($5.00 plus postage, and its available now). If you do have it, get a copy to share with someone in your fellowship or family. Let them learn too that God's principles of prosperity are a safer road to follow than the lottery!
Miracles and the New Creation
In the first and second editions of my book, "You Are A New Creation" (1983, 1999), in the chapter titled as above, I made the comment "I believe the Church has a problem with miracles". I'm currently revising the book for the third edition, and I still stand by the statement. On one hand we have the "cessationists", who believe miracles finished in the first century, and at the other extreme the "sensationalists", who chase after miracles and miracle workers. And in the middle, where truth is so often found, I stand with many other Christians--I rely on miracles daily!
The "cessationists" basically believe that upon the completion of the New Testament writings there was no further need for signs and miracles to confirm the truth of the gospel. They base this belief largely upon I Corinthians 13:10, "But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away"--the "perfect" being the whole New Testament. These people are entitled to their belief, and it results in them saying that miracles after that point in time are from Satan, so they personally do not want miracles. Many fine grace Bible teachers hold this view, even though much of what else they teach is most helpful.
The "sensationalists" will do anything to see a miracle or produce one. You might remember the film "The Leap of Faith" with Steve Martin, which was based on an actual incident where a TV evangelist was using information gained through an earpiece to convince people he was receiving a word of knowledge from God, whereas it was coming from information gleaned by his staff prior to the meeting! Most Pentecostals and Word of Faith people need to read Mark 16:17 again, "And these signs will follow those who believe..." This is not an encouragement to chase after signs, but a clear statement that signs follow (or accompany) those who believe. I prefer the word "accompany", as other translations render it, for in many places I have been the signs have followed so far behind that the link to "those who believe" is extremely difficult to see!
Check out the ministry of Jesus, "who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38b), and the ministry of the apostles--"through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people" (Acts 5:12, see also 2:43, 6:8). The apostles did the signs and wonders. There is no mention of people seeking healing falling backwards, with "catchers" behind them (see Slain by the Spirit?). There is no mention of the apostles saying "Someone here has a twitch in their big toe. Put up your hand and I'll pray for you!" There is no mention of "God has told me that you need to give 84 dollars and 11 cents right now, for this is your time!"
The problem today is that while Christians the world over are praying and waiting for God to perform a miracle, God is waiting for them to act! Is it any wonder they see so few miracles? The teaching is that miracles are a result of a divine "zap" from a capricious God in the sky, rather than from an outworking of the Christ resident within the believer. It's as if God is saying, "I can only please one person per day, and today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either!" So long as I am expecting a miracle from somewhere out beyond myself, I am going to be in a stretching, straining, stressful situation, almost begging God for the help I need in my life. I am all for miracles, but not for the "mumbo jumbo, hey presto, wow, there's a miracle" approach.
When you change your thinking to agree with what God has already provided for you, then miracles will be a constant, daily experience. With a miracle consciousness, you will start to count your blessings one by one.
* Every time a person is born again, it is a miracle.
* Every time you pray, it is a miracle.
* Every answer to prayer is a miracle.
* Every time God guides you with rich, divine, prospering ideas, it is a miracle.
* Every day you live a healthy life, it is a miracle.
Let us peel away, layer by layer, the false concepts that bind us, and walk boldly in faith and power, and the world will see that we are His sons and daughters!
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© 2005 Peter Wade. http://www.peterwade.com
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"IN CHRIST" QUOTE FOR TODAY
