A question I have been asked periodically over the past few months that I believe requires answering is, "What are Miracles?" The simple answer for that is that miracles are anything which supernaturally exceeds the established limitations or boundaries of our world, or changes the course of situations, events, or other things in ways that are not physically or humanly possible. In short it's an infinite God stepping into our finite world to make possible the things which we cannot. So what is the purpose of miracles? Why do they occur and what is their intended result? Miracles, according to the bible, serve three basic purposes. The first is edification of the believer or the church as a whole.

1 Corinthians 14:4-5 (KJV) - "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying."

The second is for the reaching of the lost, and bringing them to salvation. Jesus was a great example of this. He went around healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, multiplying fishes and loaves of bread, and for what purpose? Edification certainly, of those who believed in Him, but also as a means to provide proof and evidences to those who did not believe that He was the Son of God with the end goal of saving them, even before He went to the cross. Paul and the apostles did the same things even afterward Jesus had gone back to Heaven. Just look at some of what Peter did.

Acts 14:8-10 (KJV) - "And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked."

This is just one of many great examples in which miracles were used to witness to the lost. Admittedly the audience in this case didn't get the message and ultimately stoned Paul. But that doesn't go against the fact that it was used for a witness to the lost. Miracles were used by the believers on Pentecost which resulted in the salvation of some 3000 people. They were again used in many other places, according to the book of Acts, to bring still others to salvation. This theme was repeated over and over and over again throughout the New Testament. Miracle, witness, salvation. Over and over again this pattern repeated itself. So why does God need such a thing?

Perhaps it's because of our thick headed nature. We're so dense at times that it takes something so far outside our realm of "Normal" that there is no other way we can rationalize it other than to say, "There really is a God, and this man/woman comes from Him, so we'd better listen." I know, it's really sad that God has to go that far to get our attention. But wouldn't you rather He went too far than not enough? I sure am.

Now, as for the third purpose of miracles, that is the one purpose we all hate: Judgment. Praise God though, this is a purpose used almost exclusively against the lost. If it's unfolded against believers it's considered chastisement, for we are not set apart for wrath, meaning we won't feel God's judgment, but we WILL feel His chastisement, and trust me, it can smart a LOT when it falls. But for the unbeliever it's flat out judgment. The differences are, chastisement is to your benefit. Judgment is to your destruction. Hence why it's only chastisement for a believer. One good example of miracles being used for the purpose of judgment comes from the book of Acts where Paul summons a miraculous judgment against Elymas the sorcerer.

Acts 13:8-11 (KJV) - "But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand."

And judgment miracles aren't just a New Testament thing. In the Old Testament you have all the plagues of Moses against Egypt, as well as countless others recorded throughout those great books. So in summary, miracles serve three basic purposes, edification (lifting up of the believer), salvation of the believing lost, and judgment against the unbelieving lost. To clarify, the "believing" lost are those who, upon hearing the gospel, and sometimes after seeing miracles, become saved, or will become saved. The "unbelieving" lost are those who, no matter what you do, what you say, or what they see, WILL NOT believe under any circumstances. They are the ones reserved for judgment. On rare occasions judgment has been known to even fall on the believing lost only because it is the only thing that will finally break their pride and bring them to Christ.

So, the next question we have to ask is, are miracles for today, and if so, how are they distributed? Well, first off I want to say that miracles ARE for today, just as they have been throughout the entire present church age. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and the same God of the 1st Century church is the same God of today, which means He'll do the same things today that He did then and will do so as well in the future. The ones who disbelieve in modern miracles are the same ones who want a small, pocket sized God that fits with and condones their sinful life. Those who deny modern miracles also don't want a spirit filled life because "they don't want a God who interferes with their sexual morays" as Julian Huxley once said. And I'm not knocking those who don't know that sign gifts are real. Ignorance of the truth is one thing. Willfully denying it is another. It's the latter group whom I am referring.

So how do we know that miracles are for today? Well, if one wants proofs that miracles are alive and in use today, one only needs study their history, both church and secular, as there are countless testimonies and proofs that miracles have been ongoing since the first century all the way up to today. There are also periods of lesser miracles, where not many great acts of the Lord occur, and periods of greater miracles like the first and second great awakenings, Azuza street, the six day war, the war of Israeli independence, the American Revolution, and countless others. In each of these periods of time there were witnessed countless, and I mean countless miracles. Even modern day hospital records record the existence of miracles in startling detail. So that then brings up another question. How are they distributed? Well, there are two basic ways. The first is by the hand of God.

These "direct" miracles are sometimes referred to as "prayer" miracles as they play out by the direct intervention of God, without any human involvement, save only for prayer. That's one big thing about miracles is that they MUST, by necessity, be preceded by prayer. God won't move unless we pray. Even a simple prayer of "God help us" is often enough to justify God intervening on our behalf. Admittedly He often wants more, but in many cases a simple prayer and a truckload of faith is all that's required. Then, if it be His will, He will gladly and miraculously move on behalf of His children, the saved, redeemed believer. However, God doesn't always have to move on our behalf, either with miracles, or common every day situations.

Take Paul for example. He prayed three times and God DID NOT heal him. Why? Clearly God had another purpose for that, and such, given that his infirmities served a greater good than his healing, Paul was allowed to remain infirmed. That is one of the conundrums of miracles. They're almost always the weapon of last resort. In other words, if the situation can't be resolved in a better way through some other means, such as requiring Paul to retain his thorn in the flesh for the purpose of keeping him humble, THEN God will release His wonders. But if, for example, the death of a loved one is more beneficial to God's plan for our world than their being healed, no miracle will be forthcoming.

But if their miraculous healing, or even resurrection, better serves God's plans, then it's guaranteed that a miracle will unfold. Just remember, while miracles do happen, they're more often than not of lesser value to God's plan than something else. We don't understand why God decides that one person should have a miracle and another should not. All we have to remember is, God is way bigger than we are, and He knows WAY more than we do. So if He's looked at a situation and knows that it's better for everyone that your uncle dies than lives, especially if it ultimately leads to someone's salvation, then who are we to question God for why no miracle was forthcoming? Which is better? That the death of one bring eternal life to another, or that one live and countless thousands of others die because of it.

Remember, God sees the bigger picture and we don't. We have no idea who will be touched by that passing, and who will be saved. Nor do we know which of those who are there will reach out to another, perhaps even thousands, and save them from eternal punishment in Hell by sharing the gospel with them, which perhaps may never have happened had the individual not died. It's like what the High Priest said about Jesus, that "...it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." In the same way the withholding of a miracle for one may bring about the blessing of salvation to thousands. So just because a miracle didn't happen doesn't mean that they don't, or that it was the better solution.

Now getting back to the subject of how miracles are employed, there is a second, albeit lesser used method known as "sign gifts". These are one of the two types of spiritual gifts given to every believer. To further understand this we need to break down spiritual gifts into two general categories: The "everyday" gifts and the "miraculous" gifts. The everyday gifts, ie. those used by believers in every day service to God and those around us, are: Helps, Giving, Leadership, Mercy, Words of Wisdom, Words of Knowledge, Faith and Discernment. These are the workhorse gifts that are used by believers all day every day to serve God and His kingdom. The "sign" or miracle gifts, are: Prophecy, Exhortation, Healing, Miraculous Powers, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues. These are the "big iron" gifts and work in much the same manner as the other miracles described above. (for a full explanation of each gift, go check out my spiritual gifts article)

One way to understand the difference between these two classifications of gifts is to think of them in the context of war. In that sense one could envision the everyday gifts as sort of an infantry rifle, or a bow, a shield and sword, if viewed in the context of the "whole armor of God". In other words, they're weapons for the regular, ordinary battles you face every day. The sign gifts on the other hand are like the gigantic 16 inch cannons of the Battleship Iowa. IE, they're the "big iron" weapons you haul out only when nothing else will work. And given their incredible power, they're by necessity a weapon of last resort. IE, the "Samson Option" as the Israelis like to say. It's also the same reason we don't see them used regularly or just thrown around willy nilly. Second, were miracles prevalent and wide spread, they'd stop being miracles and would become "ordinaries".

Something has to be rare and special, beyond our normal ability or control to be considered a miracle. So that simple fact alone greatly limits their usage and immediately kills dead the argument of some that, were the sign gifts alive and well today, those who had the gift should "carpet bomb" any place with the sick, dead and dying and clear the places out. Sorry, it doesn't work that way and it goes right back to my argument about miracles becoming "ordinaries" should something like that happen. So if someone has a sign gift, they WILL NOT, by necessity, be "carpet bombing" anywhere that is filled with the sick, dead and dying. The third reason miracles are rare is due to a lack of faith, either on the part of the receiver, or sometimes, but much more rarely, on the one unto which the gift was given. If you don't believe me, consider the fact that even Jesus was limited at times in what He could do simply because of the lack of faith of those around Him.

Mark 6:4-5 (KJV) - "But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them."

So if unbelief could put the brakes on even Jesus doing miracles, imagine what that would do for us in our modern world of unbelief. So what is the general consensus about sign gifts? What do people believe about them in our modern world? Well, when it comes to sign gifts, there are three basic camps, two of which we've already seen. The first is those that outright don't believe in them being in use or for today. IE, their usage died when the apostles did. A simple bit of historical research destroys their arguments. However, the second group which we've seen is actually made up of two smaller groups. The first of them says, "sign gifts are only for certain people, but no spiritual gift is for everyone." The second says that some gifts are for everyone, but not all, with tongues being the most often referred to among these gifts. To them, if you don't speak in tongues (or prophesy, or heal, depending on whom you talk to), and do so regularly you're either sinning, or simply lacking the faith to do what God has commanded.

And lastly we have the third and final group, individuals who believe that all gifts are for all people. Ie, if you can't manifest ALL the sign gifts and do them at will, then you're either sinning or living in sinful disbelief. I myself ascribe to the camp of "no gift is for everyone" based on the words of Paul in 1st Corinthians 12, but really I can't say that either side is right or wrong, only that the bible seems to imply that no one gift is for everyone. Again, some would counter this, and can point to verses that support their viewpoint. But since the bible isn't black and white on this subject, (it only implies this idea but never states it directly), one is permitted to settle on their own interpretation within the context of scripture. So this makes the subject of who gets what and how much of it one of those "agree to disagree" topics. Sort of a "toe-may-toe" vs "tow-mah-toh" kinda thing.

Now, continuing on and summarizing, there are two basic ways to do miracles. The first is direct divine intervention via prayer, and the second is through sign gifts given to believers. We know how the first is employed in practice. But how is the second? To say it's a gift implies that it's given to an individual to use, and thus has a means of application. You would be correct. But how? Well, where prayer based miracles are indirect interaction (ie, prayer), sign gifts are employed by two methods. The first is divine inspiration. This applies to the gifts of Prophecy, Exhortation, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues. God inspires or "injects" His will into you and you express what God is giving to you. Think of it like giving a speech. God is the speaker, but you're the PA system that's broadcasting what He's sharing to all those in attendance. In a case like that you're the middle man and God is the one administering the miracle.

The second way that sign gifts are exercised is by direct commandment. This method of deployment is seen only in the gifts of Healing and Miraculous Powers. This is something where, like Moses at the Red Sea, or the splitting of the rock that brought forth water, you say the words and the miracle happens. For example, you see a blind man and, like in Acts 14:8-10, you say "In the name of Jesus, be healed!" and immediately the miracle happens! That is doing miracles by direct commandment. A good example of this method of usage comes from not just the book of Acts, as well as several Old Testament books, but also more modern history, from the life of Smith Wigglesworth. There are documented, validated cases, both in church history and public record, of him raising the dead, healing the sick, and much more, sometimes with prayer, and sometimes with the spoken word.

He would literally walk up to a casket filled with a certified cold, dead, embalmed corpse, and with a pointed finger he would look at the corpse, and say, "In the name of Jesus Christ, Arise!" and the corpse would sit up alive and well as though they'd merely been asleep. And we're not talking about cheap 1800's parlor tricks here. These were honest to goodness dead people with full mortician's records and everything. The only place they were going in a few hours was the local cemetery. And he's only one of thousands of examples that are out there if you're willing to look. The point is, miracles are real, they're in use today, and they are done through the power of God, either directly via prayer, or through the words and belief of a single individual as a gift.

While sign gifts and miracles seem to be transitory (IE, only used and/or usable at a specific time and place of God's choosing) and not a full time 24/7 gift like the "everyday" gifts discussed above, they are still alive and well today, and are very active in our world. One only needs believe in what the bible says, and NOT in the doctrines of men, for the doctrines of men are really the doctrines of demons sent to deceive us all and strip us of the power which God has given us. To get a better understanding of what I've just taught it's best for you to read your bible and understand it fully, pray, and most importantly BELIEVE, and God will eventually open your eyes to all the incredible things He's still doing today. Trust me, I've seen miracles, both in real life and through the pages of public record, and let me tell you, if those are only a sampling of what God can do and has done, and there is more, and even greater things to come, what an amazing and incredible future lies ahead of us!? :D