There’s much hubbub these days about miracles, signs, and wonders. I’m as pro-supernatural as anyone on the planet can be. I’ve experienced many exciting supernatural phenomena in my life. I just refuse to make merchandise or a reputation out of them.
Would you consider something with me? If Jesus’ life span was approximately thirty-three years, and if His ministry was approximately three years, that means He spent thirty years in sonship and three doing miracles.
A ten to one ratio: thirty years of “non supernatural” sonship, and three years of “stuff.”
More Miracle Ministry?
There are voices, personalities, and teachings saturating Christian consciousness these days that would have you believe that if we are not pumping out miracles three times a week (Wednesday night and twice on Sunday) fifty-two weeks a year, that we are somehow failing to realize the kingdom of God.
Young people are being especially affected. Young people are being enticed to “greatness” and “realizing their destiny,” and being “world changers” by performing “signs and wonders.” Kingdom greatness is defined by being the servant of all, not by being the most prolific wonder-worker. The fabric of the kingdom of God is sonship, not the working of miracles.
God has spoken to us in these last days, in, through, and by the Son . . . literally, in a sonly way (Heb. 1:1). Sonliness is the final word of God to humanity. Sonliness is the seedbed from which every other facet of kingdom expression must derive (including signs and wonders) or that expression, whatever it is, is an illegitimate expression, and perhaps even an anti-Christ one. By making a legitimate subordinate value an ultimate value, many individuals and ministries who promote the signs and wonders paradigm have lost their way in Him. Their words, spirits, values, theologies, and methods frequently betray them as manifested by what I call a “bullying spirit.”
Many of the individuals who are deeply vested in the so-called signs and wonders movement, will use intimidation of various sorts (spiritual, psychological, theological) to bully you into agreeing with them or demeaning you by making you feel inadequate, inferior, or incomplete because you do not share the same enthusiasm as they do for the alleged “pursuit of the supernatural.”
This childish bullying spirit is frequently accompanied by a form of elitism that is condescendingly dismissive of others.
Dear ones, lift up your heads. Do not let the immature or the ignorant bully you and rob you of the joys of your inheritance-your sonship. Paul said the world is waiting for the manifestation of sons (sons and daughters) not wonder workers. All sons may work wonders, but not all wonder workers will be sons.
Pray that the Lord of all mercies will have mercy on us all and save us from our own blind pursuits—even those done in His Name with a Bible under our arm and a worship chorus on our lips.
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Copyright 2011 Dr. Stephen R. Crosby www.drstevecrosby.wordpress.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references. For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact stephcros9@aol.com. I am indebted to my friend Marc Metz for seed thought in this regard.
