True Christians Can Perform Miracles
Summary: This page highlights details of miracles from the Bible to help true-Christians learn how to perform miracles.
Important Note:
The following is not to be viewed as don't see a doctor or stop taking medication etc. Those who tell you this don't know God. God provides in various ways; you must continue seeking medical help; the strength of your faith in God related to miracles has nothing to do with that. No, it is not a backup plan to miracles, it is God working in different ways.
CONTENT
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The Requirements to Performing Miracles
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What Would a Church Minister Say about Performing Miracles?
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This is How Jesus Performed Miracles
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Most Christians today are "Philips", not thinking spiritually
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There Were Different Categories of Miracles
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Miracles from the Bible that Can Help Us with the "How To"
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Fake Miracles of Today - Exorcism etc.
Does medical help show lack of faith in God's miracles?
NO!
God works in various ways. He created us with intelligent brains to learn and explore and find ways to survive. Taking pills to remedy your illness is a form of God's way to keep us healthy, in the same way we eat food and drink water so we don't die!!
A miracle of making a cripple get up and walk for example, is something else. It is the kind that requires obeying Jesus' commands, a strong faith, and a lot of knowledge of God from the person performing it. And of course, also the faith of the person receiving the miracle!
1. The Requirements to Performing Miracles
It is recommended that you first become mature in the knowledge of God through diligently studying the Bible before performing miracles.
This Bible-reference from Mark is a very good one to use as a guide for the 5 points made below. In this reference, Jesus was replying to His disciples explaining to them why they could not perform a certain miracle:
Mark 11:22-25
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
According to the Bible, we need to possess these characteristics in order to qualify for performing miracles:
1st: Become "Righteous", renewed day-by-day
You can't perform miracles if you're not renewed through the "daily Bread of life" for that day. First you must become filled with the Holy Spirit by getting renewed day by day through the Lord's Prayer - See details in The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood. We have to obey all of Jesus' commands, including the daily ones. Note, the Bible doesn't say we have to be sinless - the requirement is to be "righteous", which can only be achieved by having our sins forgiven through the Lord's Prayer. Then and only then we become "righteous" in the eyes of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and we become capable of performing miracles.
2nd: Faith - which comes from the true knowledge of God - Not the "by faith alone excluding Jesus' commands" type faith!
As in Verse 22 above, believe in your heart that what you're asking God in the name of Jesus, will happen without a doubt. If you start by thinking something like, "let me try if I can perform a miracle..." you've already failed. To perform a miracle, you go in as if the miracle already took place, that you're only doing the motions to complete it. Keeping your focus on God, not on the people around. Being new to miracles in this day and age, we can start with the low-hanging fruit type miracles like, calming a destructive storm, or helping an orphan child, say, who is crippled or blind. These types require only your own faith.
We need both, our faith and the faith of the adult-person receiving the miracle. Without faith nothing can be done. Even Jesus Himself could not perform miracles where there was no faith among people of that town:
Mark 6:5-6
... Jesus could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
3rd: Forgive the people that wronged you
Look at Verse 25 above. Jesus tied the "moving of mountains" to forgiving others!! If you don't forgive everybody, God will not forgive you your sins. And with your sins not forgiven, it is impossible to perform miracles. It is not the "sinless" who can perform miracles; no one is "sinless"!! It is the one who's sins are forgiven! Jesus gives us the procedure for miracles in Mark 11:22-25 above. But no one bothered to look!! Before the miracle, Jesus said when you stand praying, search yourself thoroughly. If you have even a hint of hate or grudge against anyone, clean it up, forgive them. Because only then God forgives you, which results in receiving the Holy Spirit. Then you've maximized your faith for the miracle.
4th: Confident, calm & collected
Have the confidence of a person filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember, having fulfilled the 3 previous points, you're now filled with the Holy Spirit. So behave accordingly. All you have to do is lay your hand on the person according to Jesus. Not making a scene of it, waving crosses, panicking, begging God, or continuously reading from the Bible at the scene in front of people, even worse reading it out-loud in old-English like a pompous, or sprinkling so called "holy water"! This would make you a disgrace to God; it is what unbelievers do.
5th: Refer to the miracle-scenarios below to learn how
See the details in the miracles below and my explanations. Example in some cases, the people who gathered around were told to leave the room. In other cases, Jesus for example took the blind man aside, away from people, and got him to focus on Him...
Also note, miracles happen when they are performed to glorify God, not for entertainment, showing off your own abilities, or financial benefits. But to glorify God it still means there should be witnesses to glorify Him. At a minimum the person receiving the miracle can be the witness to glorify God. As long as we keep this in mind, we can ask anything in Jesus' name, and He will do it - John 14:13-14 I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.
This is exactly what the disciples and apostles of Jesus did. These mere humans laid their hands on the crippled and made them walk and brought dead people back to life! In today's world, real miracles like make a cripple get up and walk, are out of the question. They are impossible in people's minds, and therefore are not happening. Miracles became more and more rare around the 2nd century, after the disciples of Jesus, the apostle Paul, and a few others from that generation died. Today it is almost unheard of.
2. What Would a Church Minister Say about Performing Miracles?
Don't bother showing this page to your pastor or priest. The standard answer is: "these signs were for that generation - for the disciples and apostles at that time to help them evangelize the region." A typical answer from a church leader who is supposed to be a role-model and be able to perform miracles, but can't. So they coined this standard answer to justify why they can't!
But the Bible is full of references that point to anybody on earth who is a true Christian believer, can!
Here are some strong references:
Mark 16:17 Jesus said: "And these signs will accompany those who believe..." Jesus was clearly explaining to His disciples how to recognize a believer from the crowd.
John 14:12 "...whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these...". He said "whoever believes in me". This applies to all people on earth (unless you're a Calvinist of course).
Mark 9:23 ...Jesus said, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” That is, anyone! If you're a true believer, you can!!
And this indisputable one - anyone is capable if they choose to:
Luke 9:49-50
“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
3. This is How Jesus Performed Miracles
Mark gave us a glimpse of how-to here:
Mark 2:5-7
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Mark 2:10-12
10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Notes: Closely examining these verses, we can learn the following:
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Jesus clearly stated that the forgiveness of sins was a pre-requisite to the miracle - Verse 5.
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The paralyzed man getting up and walking was the proof that Jesus indeed had the authority to forgive sins! Because forgiving that man's sins was the key to enable the miracle! What Jesus said in verses 10 to 12 meant in other words: Without first forgiving the sins, the miracle would have been impossible.
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Of course, it goes without saying, the first pre-requisite was "faith" as in verse 5.
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We can perform these steps ourselves according to Jesus. Our Step2 is the Lord's Prayer. Then the miracle happens when we call on His name. He told us that in John 14:12-14, Mark 16:17-18, Mark 9:39, Matthew 17:20, and Acts 2:17.
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You may ask, "why do we not see these steps in other miracles in the Bible?" True, this detail was not always reported. In many other miracles, however, the Bible did mention Jesus praying first. It is likely that, part of His prayer was about forgiving that person's sins.
Summarizing:
The miracle Jesus' way:
Step 1: Faith ("when Jesus saw their faith..." in Mark 2:5)
Step 2: Forgive sins
Step 3: Miracle
Jesus made it clear in the reference above that without Steps 1 & 2, can’t do Step 3.
Then for us:
Step 1: Faith
Step 2: The Lord’s Prayer for forgiveness of sins and receiving the Holy Spirit
Step 3: In the name of Jesus Christ… miracle.
This is exactly what the disciple Peter did in Acts 3:2-8 detailed below. Peter who was already filled with the Holy Spirit, followed steps 1 and 3!
4. Most Christians today are "Philips", not thinking spiritually
If we happened to be witnessing a bad situation, example an accident with people severely injured, or came across a blind person, or a crippled in a wheelchair, etc., we never consider a miracle. I'm not saying just impose yourself and start performing a miracle. We have to be sensitive to the specific situation and if these people would be receptive. Example, if atheists or non-Christians they may be offended. Remember, God does not want us to shove Him down people's throats.
Here's an example of human-nature not recognizing a miracle-moment even after witnessing Jesus' miracles in-person daily for months:
John 6:5-7
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
And this was Philip! one of His disciples who accompanied Him for some time and saw His miracles! People today are no better than Philip. After chatting with Philip, Jesus went on with His miracle of feeding the 5,000!
Most Christians today are Philips, not thinking spiritually!! The feeding of the 5,000 was not only because Jesus was there in person. We can do greater things anytime today, because Jesus is alive in the flesh, seated at the right-hand of God the Father, and is with us in Spirit (through the Holy Spirit within us).
No one today even considers miracles as an option - sadly just like Philip who was even a disciple of Jesus!
5. There Were Different Categories of Miracles
Looking at Jesus' miracles in the Bible at high level, one observation we notice is that sometimes He tells the person "Go home your request is granted", and other times He performs strange rituals, like spit in the eyes or spit on dirt, mix it and rub it, etc. Here's my interpretation of these things, with wisdom from God:
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Cases when the request is simply granted: If you look again at these miracle cases, you'll notice that the person requesting makes an extra effort to reach Jesus and shows great faith with answers to Jesus' questions. I can see Jesus thinking, "with all this faith, this is an easy one!"
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Cases where Jesus Performs a ritual: And in these miracle cases, you'll notice the person in need was either brought to Jesus by others, meaning the person himself may not have had faith to come on his own. Or is in an area occupied by known unbelieving people, or simply that Jesus sensed their unbelief. In these cases, Jesus performs these physical actions to increase their belief in order for the miracle to become possible. For the blind man for example, this man would be thinking something like, "oh He's performing something - He must be a prophet who really knows what He's doing." In these cases, Jesus' bigger objective was He wanted the people around to see and believe, and also His disciples to document in the scriptures for the rest of us to read about it.
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One clear and consistent behavior from Jesus on "people-miracles": In most miracles Jesus waited until they came to Him, and sometimes begged Him. And even then He asked them again, something like "what do you want me to do for you?" Why did Jesus do this? A miracle involving people is only possible when those people are truly faithful in God, and are making the extra effort to get to Jesus for help.
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Some exceptions to the usual were when Jesus had compassion on someone: It wasn't always people asking Jesus for help. There were a couple of cases when Jesus decided to perform a miracle because He had compassion on the person. Example, the miracle of raising a young man from the dead. This only son of a widow was being carried out on a bier on the way to burial. Jesus stopped them, and told the dead man to arise, then gave him alive, to his crying mother. See Luke 7:11-17 in the next section.
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Nature miracles were easy but some people miracles failed: Calming storms, seas, and walking on water - no problem. But Jesus could not perform miracles in His hometown due to lack of faith of the people there! These are very important key facts for us to know!
Summarizing, Jesus, our God, possessed all the Holy requirements needed to perform miracles. But the questionable part was always the faith of the person receiving the miracle. Of course, calming the storm or the sea, was always no problem - God is in full control of nature. But humans? it depends on our faith, which is something within our reach if we're genuinely willing.
6. Miracles from the Bible that Can Help Us with the "How To"
The following are observations of miracles in the Bible performed by Jesus, His disciples, and apostles.
Peter walked on water, then sunk:
Matthew 14:28-31
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Observations from this miracle:
Why did Peter sink? He took his focus off of Jesus and turned and saw the violent seas around him! Essentially he lost faith, due to the scene around him. Jesus told him "why did you doubt?" We could have all the right elements in place. But if there is any hint of doubt then miracles will not happen.
The faith of the person receiving the miracle is also key:
Matthew 9:27-30
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored.
Observations from this miracle:
“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Jesus asked. Had they shrugged their shoulders, like the usual reaction from today's people, then no miracle! If you walk up to a person and decide you want to help him/her, a miracle may or may not happen, because it requires belief on both sides - you and them. A couple of exceptions to this rule: When the person in need of a miracle is either a baby or an unconscious person, and when the miracle is nature-related, like calm a destructive storm. In these two cases it is all our own faith. Another note about children, sometimes the faith of the parents standing around may also be needed.
A second observation from this, is that Jesus, our God, had to double-check with these people if they truly believed that He could do this!! It is all about our attitude towards God, our decision, and our belief.
A third observation, Jesus touched their eyes and said "According to your faith..." Jesus did not have to spit or mix mud and rub their eyes etc.. Why? because these men were so sure He could heal them = strong faith.
Another miracle from Paul showing how the faith of the person played a major role:
Acts 14:8-10
”In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.“
"Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed". This man was listening attentively to Paul's teaching about Christ! A clear indication of his faith! Thus an easy miracle to perform.
A seizure example:
Matthew 17:14-21
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, 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.”
Observations from this miracle:
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Seizures might be a form of demon possession, which can be driven-out by asking Jesus.
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His disciples could not drive out the demon, but Jesus could. ...the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. How do we increase our faith? Focus more on God, and less on the world. Get to know more about God from the scriptures, which naturally translates to more faith. Re-examine the 5 points at the top of this page.
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And most importantly, when failing to perform a miracle, to remember to wholeheartedly forgive everyone, as Jesus explained why they couldn't in Mark 11:25.
The same seizure story as reported by Mark - Jesus here said: “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Mark told the same story of Matthew 17:14-21 above - a man asked Jesus to drive a demon out of his son:
Mark 9:18-29 (excerpts from this reference):
18 ...I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?
22 [the boy's father:] ...if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
25 ...Jesus rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked...
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer." (Or prayer and fasting in some manuscripts)
Observations from this miracle:
In this version of the story, there was a slightly different response from Jesus in the part about "his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer."
We can actually use both versions of this story to learn a lot more. Jesus answered their question with:
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Because you have so little faith (from Matthew)
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“This kind can come out only by prayer." (or prayer and fasting in some manuscripts)" (from Mark)
So what does this mean to us? It means another key to increasing faith, is "proper prayer", the kind Jesus taught us (i.e., the Lord's Prayer). And fasting can also help as noted here by Jesus. Fasting is an act of humbling ourselves before God. Fasting for any duration, one or two days for example, enough to feel discomfort while focusing on God, is a humbling act of worship.
Persistence is another key:
Luke 11:8-10
...yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Observations from this miracle:
Jesus here is saying don't give up. Keep asking God in Jesus' name. Persistence may bother God to a point, that He'll answer you just to get you off His back, so to speak. But careful, this has to be done the proper way. If the miracle fails, then look again at the 5 points above in case you forgot something. Then clear people out to focus on God, get on your knees next to the person, and pray more - mainly pray the Lord's Prayer and focus more on the words. Then put your hand on the person and ask in Jesus' name again. After several times, if no miracle, then you can leave, and go back to examining yourself and the situation you were in. From looking at Jesus' responses when His disciples failed, I can point out one or two possibilities: (1) You're not qualified per the 5 points at top of this page, or (2) the people of the area is mockingly unbelieving, as Jesus Himself faced similar situations at times and failed, example Mark 6:5-6.
Jesus had to repeat this miracle twice to get it to work:
Mark 8:22-25
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
Observations from this miracle:
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Here's an example miracle that Jesus had to repeat because it did not work the first time. Likely because of lack of faith of the blind man. And this is Jesus Himself!! If Jesus had to repeat twice, multiply by 10 times for us. Don't give up.
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Another observation from this miracle, Jesus led the blind man outside the village first, why? Likely because Jesus saw their unbelief or mocking behavior, and wanted the man to keep his focus on Him in a private place, to maximize the chances of the miracle. Even then, He still had to do it twice!
Jesus raises a dead son of a widow:
Luke 7:11-17
11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Observations from this miracle:
This whole funeral scene was taking place, with people not knowing that Jesus had just arrived in the area. Jesus noticed the widow crying and her dead son carried out. Apparently this scene affected Jesus that He volunteered Himself to help. He went up to her and said, "don't cry" (verse 13). Then just raised her son from the dead without anyone asking Him to!! This is different than the usual Jesus that waits for people to approach Him and ask. But the end objective element of "glorifying God the Father" is still there. Crowds of people witnessed it, and "praised God" (verse 16).
A cripple walks - a miracle from the disciple Peter
Look at the specific details here, and remember that Peter is a human like us:
Acts 3:2-8
Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
The Apostle Paul raised a man from the dead:
Acts 20:7-12
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
Observations from this miracle:
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Paul threw himself on the man and put his arms around him - maximum body contact because Paul knows he's filled with the Holy Spirit.
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What Paul did is consistent with what Elijah did (in the Old Testament) to raise a boy from the dead: 1 Kings 17:21-22 Then he [Elijah] stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. The same physical contact with the dead person in both cases, Paul and Elijah.
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Paul clearly showed no doubt - (1) He assured the people around "don't worry he's alive". And (2) he didn't wait around to see if the miracle worked. He was so sure it did, he just went back upstairs and continued preaching!!!!
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And a word about the faith of the man that fell and died. Notice that before this man fell from the window, he was so dedicated to listening to the Gospel preaching from Paul, that he was there till midnight listening, despite the fact that he was so tired, and started to fall asleep...
Peter raised a woman from the dead:
Acts 9:36-43
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha; she was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Tabitha had made while she was still with them.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.
Observations from this miracle:
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The girl was a "disciple" herself. Obviously, a Jewish woman who became a Christian believer, doing good helping people etc. Already a strong starting point for bringing her back to life.
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Peter here did it slightly different from Paul and Elijah in the last example. He cleared people from the room, then got on his knees and prayed. Then he just looked at the girl and told her to get up. And she opened her eyes!! No panicking from Peter, no waving of crosses and Bibles, no begging God, or disgraceful scenes demeaning to God!
Jesus Raises Lazarus who was dead for 4 days!
One of the most significant miracles in the Bible:
John 11:38-44
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Observations from this miracle:
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This is Jesus, God Himself showing His Glory and magnificence to the people of that village. This, I believe, was Jesus giving it an extra push to get those people to strongly believe that He was indeed the awaited Messiah. In other words, this gave a strong start to Christianity. Here's why I say this: John 11:4-7 When He heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ... when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” - He purposely delayed more days, to make a super significant event of it!
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I'm not saying it is impossible for us to perform this miracle. I'm saying it is a difficult one, requiring the Holiness and faith level of Jesus.
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For those wondering what happened to Lazarus after that. The Bible did not say anything about it. Therefore, we can only deduct that Lazarus lived a normal life and died of old age like other people.
7. Fake Miracles of Today
Watching world events and news of exorcism for example, and other misleading activities, drove me to add a section on this. Beware of the fake miracles out there today!
7.1 Exorcism?!!
Matthew 7:22-23
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Why did Jesus in this Bible reference condemn those who drove out demons and performed miracles? Because He was addressing those with fake actions, for sensational showing and financial profiting. He knew there will come a day when many will do this, and went ahead and rebuked them ahead of time.
You want to know who these people are? Here's an example of them today - watch the Exorcism show on the Travel channel. That's who Jesus was talking about. Priests driving out demons in sensational ways, on TV, and getting paid for it!!
Comparison of the right way of Jesus vs. the evil way of this TV show:
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Back in the days of Jesus, those that were truly filled with the Holy Spirit, touched the possessed people and commanded the demons to come out “in the name of Jesus Christ” and demons shrieked out.
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Today, those who God told, "away from me you evildoers...": Wore crosses, waved Bibles, and performed sensational shows. Using terms like “by the powers of heaven” … Performing so called "exorcism" with so called "holy water", continuously waving a Bible or a cross. A lot of emphasis and focus on the holy water sprinkling on the victim, using it like magic potion … No mention of the ways Jesus and his disciples drove out demons, and no Lord's Prayer, but occasional Hail Mary prayers. Some scenes taken out of horror movies with levitations and objects moving, people with scary costumes etc.. You get the picture.
7.2 Dead People Declared Saints because Their Bodies Did not Decay?!!
This Catholic practice used to be more prevalent outside the U.S.. But recently seemed to be making its way into a town near you! Likely due to dwindling church attendance - in a desperate effort to boost donations to keep the church in business.
Where in the Bible does it say that if the body does not fully decay after death it means the person is a saint??!! This is not Christianity. It is worse than pagans and atheists!
The most recent one of these was in the news in May of 2023, about a nun who died 4 years prior, then was exhumed and found to be still preserved like a mummy. And now her church is asking the pope to declare her a saint.
This nun situation happened in a Catholic church called "Queen of Apostles". The name itself is a statement of blasphemy! It seems to be in protest of what the apostles said about women in the Bible:
1Corinthians 14:34 The Apostle Paul said:
Women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church.
I guess they showed the apostles who's boss - "the queen of apostles!" And certainly got their revenge from "the chauvinistic God!" See here: Mary the Mother of God.
I know there are Catholic people out there who just want to reach across the screen and choke me. It's sad, because they're more interested in keeping church traditions, than truly seeking God!
7.3 Multiplying Hosts?!!
Another fake miracle taking place in the Catholic church today is what they call "multiplying hosts". Which is when the priest giving wafers to people during communion, runs out of wafers in the plate, but by miracle more wafers show up in the plate. This is the easiest sleeve trick in the magicians book. How low can you go Catholic church to boost attendance and donations?!! Everything done in the Catholic church today is unbiblical. But people continue to accept and believe it.
7.4 Speaking in Tongues?!!
Pentecostals making a lot of noise as in a sports game, and declaring receiving the Holy Spirit! Then performing fake speaking in tongues!!
Anyone can fake this. All you have to do is speak gibberish like SIMS.
Acts 5:32
...the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.
No one even knows Jesus' commands, much less obey them!
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