Do Miracles Happen Today?

For several weeks we have been exploring the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. One of the questions that always comes up is, "Do you believe God still does miracles today?" The short is answer is "yes", but it's complex. The reason that it is complex is because the Bible teaches that we actually live between the times--between "kingdom come" and "kingdom coming", between Jesus' resurrection and our resurrection, between "the already" and the "not yet", between "the groan" and "the glory."

So the large question is how do you live in amazement of God's ordinary work in the world through creation (last week's message), providence (God's weaving of ordinary circumstances), regeneration (bringing us to new spiritual live in Christ) and yet be on tiptoe for his extraordinary work (the miraculous)? Some churches lean too far to the left (expecting a miracle all the time). Some churches move too far to the right (not expecting a miracle at all). What we want to do is to find a Biblical balance that leaves us in awe and expectancy and yet always hopeful when we or people we love go through suffering and no miracle or healing comes.

I've been reading David Watson's "Fear No Evil" which is the story of his battle with colon cancer and eventual death. He was one of the most beloved Anglican pastors of the 1960's through 1980's. He was also charismatic and believed in miracles. This is a wonderful testimony of God's presence and grace in the midst of one of the greatest trials a human being could experience. This Sunday as we complete the five messages on the Holy Spirit, we will try to answer some of these questions. Pray that it will be helpful and that I will have wisdom and Biblical balance to both encourage and challenge.