Jesus and Pentecost
Monday, February 5, 2018 at 06:19AM 
“For I am the LORD, I do not change.” Malachi 3:6.
No more miracles? Wha-a-a-t? Dismiss the myth that the demonstrations of God’s miraculous power stopped after the early church age. After his resurrection, Jesus led his disciples to a hill outside of Jerusalem called Bethany and spoke to them before His ascension. The disciples then returned to Jerusalem and began worshipping in the Upper Room. That’s when gift of the Holy Ghost was poured out. Follow the scriptures very closely here. Jesus was gone. He no longer had anything to prove about his deity. He had worked many miracles, signs and wonders which testified to his divinity. If we look at this from a purely human viewpoint, the church should have undergone a dramatic shift in purpose. Their focus should have changed from present to past. Instead of saying “Look at what is happening,” they should have said, “Look what happened.” Their message should have been, “Jesus Christ is different now. It’s too bad you didn’t know Him before he left us. You could have been healed. You could have been delivered. But now he’s gone.” Their proclamation should have been Jesus Christ, yesterday, but not today.
Instead, they preached a bold message. They did not say Jesus Christ was different. They said, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. So, they left the Upper Room and behaved as though their Founder had never left. Here is what happened next: “Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So, he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.” Evidently, the Apostles believed that if Jesus ever performed a miracle, He still had the power to do the same thing after He departed. Yes, Jesus worked miracles to prove His divinity, but He also healed because he had compassion. He healed because people exercised their faith in him. He healed because it paved the way to salvation and eternal life. Jesus still has compassion. He still responds to faith. We can still say “Rise, and be healed!”
The Bible states that the church would do greater works than he did. John 14:12. Greater refers to more in number because Jesus would not be limited to a physical body when we returned to his Father. He now extends His operation through his church. “Greater” surely does not mean “lesser.” If God wants to work miracles today, why should we try to limit him? Moreover, why should anyone today practice prayer in any form? The Bible instructs us to pray for healing and miracles. (James 5:14). If this scripture retains any value for the church today, it is because the potential for miracles to happen still exists. Jesus emphasized that whatsoever we asked in his name he would do it. John 14:14 states, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” Asking “in his name” is not a carte blanche, but a reflection of the nature and will of God. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Ephesians 3:20
My mother used to love to sing this old song about the Pentecostal Fire. “Pentecost can be repeated, for the Lord is just the same; Yesterday, today, forever, glory to His precious name! Saints of God can be victorious over sin and death and hell; Have a full and free salvation and the blessed story tell! Pentecostal fire is falling, Praise the Lord it fell on me! Pentecostal fire is falling, Brother, let it fall on thee!” We do not serve a different Christ than He who came the first time. Through the power of the Pentecostal experience, He remains as our living, healing, miracle-working God! Jesus Christ is still the same. Only believe!
Reader Comments (1)
I KNOW Jesus still heals. He healed me of scoliosis in '60 - and I didn't even know Him then. He raised my 47 year old son from the dead last year. Jesus Christ - the same yesterday, today and forever!!!