TL;DR

I believe the powers of the Holy Spirit are alive and active; yet, much of the supernatural evidence is curtailed in light of our pride, obsession with power, and lack of faith.

American Simons

The Bible is full of miraculous events from God’s revelations and Jesus’ resurrection to the miracles of disciples and prophets. It’s captivating to read and imagine. Why don’t we see those pieces of evidence as often today? With so many churches dotting the American landscape, shouldn’t the same God be working in the same way with similar miracles so obviously that it is undeniable?

Our existence is much more supernatural than we regularly admit.

We are created by an omniscient, omnipresent deity and we are surrounded by dark forces that make our skin crawl and inspire us to do things we actually don’t want to do.

The very story of Creation starts with our God outside of space & time, essentially on an astral plane. All this to say, the Bible cannot and is not entirely metaphoric (it has plenty of metaphors, but the references to the supernatural simply cannot be anything but introductory insights of facts). So, why can we not harness the mystical more obviously, especially in America?

Jesus’ quote in Luke 10:20 gives us insight. How wonderful would it be for us to harness the power of God to smite demons?! We would be our own brand of superhero, healing and exorcizing everyone we come in contact with. All our worries would be over!…. and that’s the issue. Especially in our consumer economy today, it is obvious how such consistent miraculous power would be abused for self-glorification and profit. We see it in the claims of the prosperity gospel today and the healing televangelist. We also see it in Scripture.

In Act 8, we meet a magician named Simon who was performing signs masked as “the Great Power of God” (v10). Yet, it was merely a ploy. When Simon saw the Holy Spirit filling people and giving them healing, tongues and much more, Simon also wanted in on the action.

Whether Simon’s intentions were good or bad, his motivation was selfish. This is clearly our general American disposition today. We argue over stripping the world of its resources for our profit. We play zero-sum games of commerce and trade. We battle over land and kill innocents for trade routes and supplies. We have done this since the fall. It would be no different now.

In a country more blessed and more prosperous than any before it, we are falling away from the hand that delivered and protected our fragile beginnings to see us through where we are today. Our ignorance and lack of faith are to blame for the restriction of the spirit.

Apply It.

Pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit

This condemnation is certainly applicable in a general sense but does not have to be in an individual one. Pray for an indwelling of the Holy Spirit day after day. Fast for it. Be counterintuitive to the folly of man. Pursue God with an undivided heart through inconvenience and persecution and He will be faithful to bless you above measure.

Farewell

There are many books that testify to wonderous and miraculous workings going on in our times, but they are often set in much more oppressive places like Cold War eastern Europe or China. We much trust God knows what is best for us and it is by His grace that He has withheld large public displays of miraculous power so that we can receive the blessing of faith without sight.