{"id":11489,"date":"2012-06-27T13:00:09","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T17:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=11489"},"modified":"2013-06-22T21:21:43","modified_gmt":"2013-06-23T05:21:43","slug":"preaching-gospel-power-signs-wonders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/preaching-gospel-power-signs-wonders\/","title":{"rendered":"Preaching the Gospel in the Power of Signs and Wonders"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"This is a guest post by Micael Grenholm. He is a Charismatic activist who lives in Uppsala, Sweden. He studies development studies and belongs to an organic church plant called Mosaik. He blogs at Holy Spirit Activism<\/a>\u00a0about combining signs and wonders with peace and justice, and he is also a contributing author at Grace Ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you would like to write a guest post for this blog, check out the guidelines here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Editor’s Note: As with all of the Guest Posts<\/a> written on this blog, the view expressed below on signs and wonders is not the view of the blog owner, but is published here to encourage dialogue and discussion on this topic. So leave a comment<\/a> below!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Signs
Iris Ministries in Mozambique has a lot of experience in combining the preaching of the Word with the confirmation of miracles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We are to preach the Gospel not just with words, but also with power.<\/strong> Paul wrote: \u201cOur gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction\u201d (1 Thess 1:5). God\u2019s message is not dependent on the rhetoric skills of men, He empowers it with His Spirit.<\/p>\n

And what does that power mean? It means signs and wonders:<\/p>\n

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done\u2014\u00a0by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So fromJerusalemall the way around toIllyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ (Rom 15:18-19).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The evangelistic strategy of Paul thus is to lead people to Christ through 1) What he says; 2) What he does; 3) The miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

All three aspects of evangelism are needed. We need to preach the Gospel clearly with our tongues, we need to express the love of God in good deeds, and we need to let God confirm His Word through signs and wonders.<\/p>\n

In this blog post, I will express the Biblical foundation of the third aspect. It is inspired by John Wimber\u2019s teaching on \u201cPower Evangelism\u201d (see video below), but includes my own Bible study as well.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mx16hkqpwlM<\/p>\n

To make sure that people understand that the Gospel is not like any other message but a message from Heaven, God confirms it through miracles. Hebrews 2:3-4 says: \u201cThis salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.\u00a0God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.\u201d<\/p>\n

God thus uses miracles to testify<\/em> about salvation. Besides having an intrinsic value, for example abolishing pain when it comes to healing or offering guidance when it come to prophecy, miracles are tools for evangelism.<\/p>\n

The same can be seen in the last chapter of Mark. After Jesus has declared that miraculous signs like healing and tongues will follow those who believe Him, \u201cthe disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs\u00a0that accompanied it.\u201d (16:20). Thus, the Lord confirms<\/em> His Word with these signs, signs that are meant to accompany<\/em> the Word.<\/p>\n

I know that the end of Mark is a disputed text though, but the same line of thought occurs in Acts 14:3: \u201cPaul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.\u201d Again, signs and wonders confirm God\u2019s message.<\/p>\n

Jesus performed so many miracles that John complains about not managing to write about them all, but he states that the signs he has reported \u201care written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.\u201d Thus, the purpose of writing down Jesus\u2019 miracles was to lead people to faith in Him.<\/p>\n

In fact, miracles are so important for evangelism that when the apostles needed boldness for evangelism, they prayed: \u201cEnable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.\u00a0Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus\u201d (Acts 4:28-29).<\/p>\n

The Lord immediately answered their prayer and filled them with the Spirit so violently that the building shook (!), and then they preached the Word of God boldly (vv. 30-31). After all, Jesus had said to them that they would receive power when the Spirit comes upon them so that they will be His witnesses (Acts 1:8).<\/p>\n

To sum up: my point is that signs and wonders do not belong to the margins, and they are not opposed to evangelism; on the contrary Christians actively need to pray for them – like in Acts 4:28-29 – if they want to lead more people to Christ.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying that all<\/em> people who see signs and wonders become Christians, just as not all people who hear the Gospel become Christians. I\u2019m not saying that signs and wonders save. And I\u2019m not saying that signs and wonders are more important than salvation. I\u2019m only saying what the Bible says: the Gospel should be confirmed by signs and wonders.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s pray, \u201cCome Holy Spirit!\u201d and get going.<\/p>\n

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We are to preach the Gospel not just with words, but also with power. The Gospel should be confirmed by signs and wonders. 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