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Discussion Forum : General Topics : What does it take to see the power of God?

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DEADn
Member



Joined: 2011/1/12
Posts: 1395
Lakeland FL

 What does it take to see the power of God?

I have recently been in conversation with a new believer in Jesus and he is all kinds of excited about his new belief in God. He says he has seen people cured of diseases. He says that Christians say they believe in God but don't see the power of God because they have not separated themselves from the world enough to see it.

Do you think this is true or that there is more to it then just separating the heart from the world? In America, what does it take to see the Power of God? By Power of God I refer to see events take place in which you know it isn't just a natural occurrence but that something unexplainable happened. Something that causes an individual to know it wasn't just a random circumstance.

The answer may be so simply that I don't understand it or see it. Maybe I have too much of a worldly mindset that I am not able to comprehend it?

input?

John


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John

 2013/5/10 9:09Profile
twayneb
Member



Joined: 2009/4/5
Posts: 2256
Joplin, Missouri

 Re: What does it take to see the power of God?

In John 14, in the context of doing miraculous works (see verses 11-13), Jesus tells us that He will manifest Himself to those who believes on Him. The manifest token of our belief is our obedience. If I truly believe, I will align my life in accordance with what Christ commands me to do, and I will cease to live unto myself, but rather have my life through Him. So verses 14-21.

So yes, I think there is some truth to the need to separate ourselves from the world and live a holy and separate life. But the motive behind that separation is much more important than the act of separation. The Pharisees lived a very separate life, but their separation came as an act of human will in an effort to attract God's approval. These efforts are misguided and vain. But, a person who is in relationship with God, whose life is hid with God through Christ, who has died to sin and is alive unto God will have a great desire to live a holy life.

Holiness does not earn or attract, in and of itself, the manifest presence of God or the manifestations of the Spirit of God. But I do believe that compromise with the things of the world will prevent the manifestations of the Spirit of God. Primarily because it will prevent us from walking before God in faith. See 1 Tim. 1:19. After all, everything we receive from God will be appropriated through faith. A man with a guilty conscience cannot have pure faith, but will doubt his own worthiness. Secondarily, I believe God may withhold His manifest presence because our compromise could lead to our destruction as well as many others who may follow us.

But, I have seen men who walked in the genuine power of God, who saw God do great and mighty things, who failed morally. Some of these men continued for a time, even in the midst of their failure, to minister and see the power of God manifest. I do not totally understand this, and my idealistic, human mind has trouble wrapping itself around this.

But I do know one thing. God desires that we seek Him for His own sake, and seek to have His heart in our desire to minister to others. If we sincerely seek Him, and if we are motivated by His motives out of a pure heart, we can believe by faith for Him to use us in mighty ways to accomplish His purposes.


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Travis

 2013/5/10 12:44Profile
romanchog
Member



Joined: 2011/10/27
Posts: 338


 Re: What does it take to see the power of God?

According to Acts, the purpose of miracles is to allow us to preach the gospel. (Acts 4:29-30: "and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.") That is why we hear of many miraculous healings from far away places where people are witnessing for Christ.


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Natalie

 2013/5/11 2:10Profile
AbideinHim
Member



Joined: 2006/11/26
Posts: 5185
Louisiana

 Re: What does it take to see the power of God?

"but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8).

All those that have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit have received the power of God from on high. It should not be an abnormal thing for a believer to walk in the power of God, but this should be normal Christianity. The Word of God says that believers shall lays hands on the sick and they shall recover, that believers shall cast out demons.

Of course holiness is part of the Work of the Holy Spirit in the believers life. The fruit of the Spirit should be evident, because without the fruit, the gifts can be used in the wrong way and can cause much damage. A believer that is filled with the Holy Spirit will be holy. He will be seperated from this world, and will repent of all known sin, but as our brother said, there can be those that are not living holy lives and still have signs and wonders that follow them for "For the gifts and the calling of God are not subject to repentance." (Romans 11:29).

Mike


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Mike

 2013/5/11 9:45Profile
DEADn
Member



Joined: 2011/1/12
Posts: 1395
Lakeland FL

 Re:

I don't necessarily mean seeing someone healed of something but more but more like seeing it around your own life. Seeing a path open up that was seemingly impossible Events in which you don't have to wonder if it was God and others would try to hard to make something up to explain it.


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John

 2013/5/11 10:10Profile
AbideinHim
Member



Joined: 2006/11/26
Posts: 5185
Louisiana

 Re:

"I don't necessarily mean seeing someone healed of something but more but more like seeing it around your own life. Seeing a path open up that was seemingly impossible Events in which you don't have to wonder if it was God and others would try to hard to make something up to explain it."

Brother,

I believe that what you are talking about is seeing and experiencing God move in situations where it was impossible with man. I believe that this is more common to most of us than healings, miracles, and signs and wonders.

The Lord's strength is made perfect in our weakness, and it is in that place where we know that if God doesn't move then it is over for us. That has been my life experience brother, being put in situations that were beyond my strength or ability to overcome, yet seeing the all sufficient grace of God come through, and this has happened time after time. When it is this way, God gets all the glory, because there is nothing that we can do, but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. God is faithful.

Mike


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Mike

 2013/5/11 17:40Profile
Lysa
Member



Joined: 2008/10/25
Posts: 3699
East TN for now!

 Re: What does it take to see the power of God?

Quote:
DEADn wrote:
He says that Christians say they believe in God but don't see the power of God because they have not separated themselves from the world enough to see it.


I believe that separating ourselves is a given because Jesus prepared the way of separating himself from his friends and going to the mountain daily to meet with His Father.

One of the many other things that Jesus did was that He was “MOVED WITH COMPASSION” for those suffering. What I have found in most churches is a lack of compassion but plenty of judgment, example, “They made their bed, let them lie in it.” Etc. No compassion to help ease their suffering.

That’s just one aspect of what does it take to see the power of God!

God bless,
Lisa


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Lisa

 2013/5/11 21:28Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

John, I have been mulling your question ever since I read it a couple days ago...

It has been my experience that when 1Peter 5:7 is operative in my life I will be the recipient of God's mercy, grace in ways that defy logic, common sense. Many of these are ways I do not wish to share but they are events that strengthen me, encourage me. I just know God is real, He cares for His children. I also know that when He leads you He will lead you into a lot of difficult situations. These situations reveal to me how utterly helpless I am and how I need the sustaining power of God to live. It also exposes to me my weakness in areas that need changing. In other words it is a process that Brother Paul describes as being changed from glory to glory. Getting a grip of the holiness of God facilitates this process as well.

Have I experienced divine, instant healings? No, but I do attribute my general good health to making 1 Peter 5:7 a priority when it is threatened. My husband has prayed over me many times when I was in severe pain (back pain/arthritis) or for other ailments. We rarely go to doctors, not that we do not believe in their expertise, but we feel compelled to trust the LORD instead - not saying that going to doctors is evidence of a lack of faith.

I will share one incident that I have shared many times...

I was staying at my uncle Mel's house who were neighbors to our daughter and her husband when I got a call from our SIL that Gina is to go to the hospital in the morning because she is experiencing paralysis from the waist down.

My husband had taken me up there - 750 miles from our home in MS - to help care for Gina who was battling glioblastoma. He left me with little money but this did not worry me because I was not going anywhere. Now Matthew says he is leaving for Saginaw in the morning and that I may want to go as well, so how am I going? I had no vehicle...I called my uncle and asked if they would take me and they said they would. Problems solved, or so I thought. I had little money but figured it would hold me over until my husband got there in a could of days. Before I went to bed that night I prayed, talked to the LORD about this situation when the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to pray for money. I felt it was unnecessary because my husband was coming and I did have some. "PRAY FOR MONEY!" came the command. I thought OK, I will pray for money. And I did.

I went to bed and slept soundly until my alarm went off the next morning. When I left the bedroom, my uncle met me and asked, "Do you have any money?" I hedged, "sure I have some." "But do you have enough?" "Rollin is bringing me some." "Sandra, last night after I was in bed I got the strong urge to give you money and I could hardly stand it that I was not aware of this...I am going to put some on the desk and you are to take it and do not worry about repaying any of it!"

On that desk laid $300.

I was awed...

Did God care that we were dealing with terminal illness in the life of our daughter? He sure did. We were the recipients of God's intervention, comfort in many ways. This assured me that if she died it was God calling her home and when that happens his comfort will be there for us to cope. Now that is another story...but this is long enough - you get the idea.

God bless.

ginnyrose


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Sandra Miller

 2013/5/11 22:46Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

John, I have written a lot on SI about me dealing with our daughter's bout with glioblastoma and her eventual death. This happened in January 1996, 17 years ago...[EDITED-Dates]

This was a traumatic time for all of us. As I look at life, how the "church" is getting more wicked each and every day, morality is scoffed at, common sense rare, stupidity the norm, sin accommodated in the church apart from repentance I am glad Regina made it home. She ran the race faithfully. She does not have to live with the vexing things we do day by day.

I miss my only daughter. All we have left are four boys - now men - plus grandchildren. Gina had birthed two children and now the oldest one is coming to spend some time with us. This girl is so special to us, my family - it is like Regina incarnate - if we are not careful, will call her by her mother's name!

How is it possible that I can be grateful, and thankful after all these years? That I can be at peace with Regina's passing? John, it is only, ONLY by the mercy and abiding grace of God. ONLY. The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh, blessed be the name of the LORD. So said the Psalmist a long time ago and is still true today in 2013.

The comfort from God is awesome. But to experience it you must submit to the suffering that comes your way.If you fight it you will make it impossible to experience the mercy and grace of God that is inherent in His comfort. And brother, people fight suffering like a plague, getting angry, staying angry thus becoming infected with bitterness. In suffering people are confronted with two choices. One leads to life and the other to spiritual death. It is up to us how we choose.

God is good.

ginnyrose


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Sandra Miller

 2013/5/12 5:35Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

____________________________________________________________
QUOTE:
"“They made their bed, let them lie in it.” Etc. No compassion to help ease their suffering."
____________________________________________________________


Maybe it would help if you showed some compassion on these people? Try to understand where they are coming from. Just a thought.

I heard this statement from many of my single, pregnant clients at the Crises Pregnancy Center. All of them defied Biblical commands for moral purity but then expected family and the church to help them support the results of their sin with little thought of repentance. They wanted to keep living in the pig pen and wanted friends and family to make that stay comfortable. We must be like the prodigal's father: stay at home, leave them alone until they come to their senses which is facilitated by experiencing the horrors of their sin. Only after this has run its course will they be motivated to return home to the comfort of the Father.

Lysa, I have worked in this ministry for many years. I have observed a pattern and there is a need for all the gifts to be operational in dealing with these people: the ministry of the prophet and the gift of mercy. They may appear to be at odds with each other but they are not, they compliment. Let us be careful we do not stifle the working of the Holy Spirit in bringing about repentance in the lives of people given to sin.

ginnyrose


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Sandra Miller

 2013/5/12 5:53Profile





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