© 03 Colin Melbourne
Without miracles, we have just another religion. With miracles, we have proof Christ is alive and Lord of Heaven and Earth.
Jesus said,
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Holy Bible, Mark 16:15-20 KJV
Miracles Convince Chinese Gangsters
Crime flourishes in Mainland China despite the brutality of the Communist Chinese government. (Graphically illustrated in dealing with the Tiananmen Square uprising of 1989.) Criminal gangs run rackets of all kinds, contraband, drugs, prostitution, extortion, and people smuggling. They also link with the worldwide Triad network, as well as with corrupt local State officials.
Following the visit of a small evangelistic team, Christ began to work in one rural village. So Satan incited a group of gangsters to disrupt the meeting. Notice, he doesn’t bother to disrupt the State-approved, Three-Self ‘Church’ gatherings because they have already compromised the Gospel, and bowed to the Devil’s dominion. But Satan knew these believers had the Real Thing, and had to be stopped.
Whilst those in the house meeting listened to the Gospel teaching, the trouble-makers entered and stood intimidating the speaker. Realizing that this challenge could only be met by the power of God in demonstration, the main Evangelist boldly declared that Jesus Christ is alive, the only true God, and able to perform miracles today as in Bible days. Every eye was fixed on him as he prayed for the Lord to show His miracle power. Then he asked the congregation if there was anyone present who was deaf.
Do you bring deaf people to your meetings? Some scoffers question the point of it, wondering how they can hear the Gospel message, or worship, since they are deaf. But, God is not limited by man’s disabilities, He’s only limited by unbelief. Jesus could do only a few miracles in Nazareth, because of their unbelief. Encourage the blind, crippled, deaf, and dumb, to come to your healing meetings, and believe God will work wonders. If there are no healing meetings or miracles in your fellowship, then get away from the make-believers, and find some real believers to worship with. If there aren’t any in your town, start meetings in your home. That’s the Bible way.
One Chinese believer had brought a deaf woman to this meeting, and drew her to the Evangelist for prayer. Deafness is usually the result of a deaf demon, which when cast out in Jesus’ Name, allows the person to hear normally. Immediately the woman was prayed for she could hear perfectly, which caused faith to surge through the assembly, and more deaf people were brought forward. Each one was healed just the same.
The thugs were stunned by the miracles. Other believers went home and carried their sick to the meeting. Six paralyzed people were prayed for in Jesus’ Name, and completely healed at once. Not only the gangsters, but the whole Chinese village believed in Jesus following this powerful demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1 Co. 2:4-5 KJV
Blind Teenager Healed
It’s a shocking indictment of Western Christian fellowships that I’d been an enthusiastic Spirit-filled believer for two years before I’d met anyone who’d actually seen a blind person healed. I recall thinking, ‘Wow that must be amazing!’ The truth is that Heaven is amazed at the lack of faith in the Body of Christ, so that such miracles are rare in the West. Not so where believers believe, Praise God! When you see Christ open blind eyes right in front of you, you can believe for anything. It’s wonderful! God is opening blind eyes every single day, wherever believers exercise real faith. Here’s another example.
Eight hundred Chinese people crammed into a rural house church, and listened intently as the Evangelist taught for three hours on healing by Christ. Three hours of Bible teaching on the Atonement, and God’s healing covenant, emphasizing the Gospel fact that salvation includes bodily healing for all.
Paul preached in Lystra with a man crippled from birth hanging on every word. Why not just lay hands on him right away? Because the man had no faith for healing until he’d heard and understood the message of Christ. Faith comes by hearing the message of Christ. Proclaiming the true Gospel allowed God to create faith in the cripple’s heart for healing. Then Paul,
…perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
Ac. 14:9-10 KJV
So often people in the West want a quick-fix without waiting to obtain heart faith, and go away disappointed. As somebody commented, often it’s a case of empty hands laid on empty heads.
The power of the Lord was present to heal in this Chinese house meeting, so after his teaching, the believer began to pray for the sick to be healed. Noticing an old woman praying in tears, he enquired what it was she wanted. She was asking the Lord to heal her 19 year old daughter who had been blind from birth.
With Holy Ghost boldness, the evangelist asked the young blind girl to arise, and he prayed for her in front of all the people. When he asked her to count his fingers, and follow them as he moved them she could see for the first time in her life. The assembly spontaneously broke into praise, singing Psalm 150. That evening many blind and paralyzed people were also healed, which caused the whole village to turn from sin to Christ.
Dead Child Raised
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 1 Co. 1:31 KJV
Those who know their God will do exploits and shout it from the roof-tops. Christ has put us on boasting ground that Heaven delights to confirm. Every genuine believer has the authority of Christ to raise the dead, He told us to do it in His Name. That means you, if you are a believer. Be ready to meet the need.
One young Chinese evangelist visited a province renowned for its idolatry and superstition. He challenged those idolaters with the splendid Gospel boast.
‘Our God is a great God. He is the one who created the universe. He is able to cause the blind to see, the deaf to hear, even the dead to rise again, but what can your god do for you?’
One of his hearers listened to the Gospel for the first time, and here’s what he did. He ran to the local hospital to tell the parents of a dead boy that, and this is how he put it,
‘There’s a Jesus from Henan who said he can raise the dead.’
That’s good news for parents grieving over a dead child isn’t it?
They responded in faith by taking the corpse to the Evangelist and asked,
‘Jesus from Henan, please raise my son from the dead.’
Remember that precious commission,
as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. Jn. 20:21 KJV
Oh the power in those words spoken by Christ, even so send I you. You understand that don’t you? If not, seek the Lord with all your heart until you do.
Are you in your God-given Office? He said, as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Take it, believe it, live it, and you too will be ready to raise the dead in Jesus’ Name.
Naturally, the Christian was shocked, but began to call on God to bring the child back to life. In his heart he was concerned that the idolaters would call him a liar and reject Jesus if he failed.
Nothing happened.
Again he prayed, but with the same result, the child was stone dead.
Finally, he prayed, ‘Lord, I don’t mind losing face, but I really don’t want this to cause the people to mock your Name, and not believe in you. Please show your glory in this place.’
At that same moment the child’s mother exclaimed,
‘Look, my child is alive again!‘
The son stood up and ran around the house like any normal Chinese kid.
Following this miracle many idol worshippers destroyed their gods and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Demon Cast Out
The Holy Spirit Baptism is offered to all believers so that they can be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Have you been endued with that power yet? When you have, you will speak in tongues, as God’s word makes clear. Over 80% of Chinese Christians speak in tongues, and can prove Christ’s resurrection: Can you?
A forty year old lady who was demon possessed came into a house meeting in China. She screamed and shouted at the preacher, as demon possessed people do when God’s anointed servants are in action. She disturbed the whole meeting so he had to stop preaching. He asked the whole congregation to kneel down and pray. As they prayed, she came to the front and simply laughed at them. The preacher got up and rebuked the demon, ‘In the Name of Jesus, shut up!’ But instead of obeying, the demon replied, ‘In the Name of Jesus you shut up!’
It got more embarrassing for the poor preacher. He next said, ‘In the Name of Jesus kneel down!’ but she repeated the same thing back. Whatever he said, she would repeat it. He’d never experienced this before, and didn’t know what to do but call on God in desperation.
If this sort of thing has not yet happened to you, it will. It happened to the Twelve in the beginning, and it happens today to anyone who dares confront the devil’s work in Jesus’ Name. You have to learn to use the authority we’ve been given over demons.
The Christian prayed, ‘I don’t want to be defeated by the power of the devil.’ and resolved that no matter how long it took, or how hard it was, he was going to continue until the demon was cast out.
Then he realised that the demon couldn’t understand when he prayed in tongues, and couldn’t repeat each word. So he placed his hands on her, and began to pray in tongues.
As he prayed she became silent and calmed down. She became weaker, he became stronger in the Spirit. Then the lady clasped her hands together, put her head down to the floor, and cried out, ‘Please don’t pray anymore!’
That was still the demon of course, so he continued in tongues. After a while, she fell prostrate like a dead person. Within a few minutes, she woke up, and was back to her normal self.
Following this miracle, many people believed on Christ in that village.
You have Chinese people near you, reach them for Christ using these anointed Chick Tracts.
Chinese Love Story
English version
Tract Image © Chick Publications Inc. Used by permission
© 03 Colin Melbourne
