Demons, Snakes, Tongues, and Benny Hinn
WORD:BELIEVE
Mark 16.17, 18 – “These signs will accompany those who believe: In [Jesus'] name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; they will drink deadly poison, and it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.”
Luke 8.50 – “Hearing this (that the girl was dead), Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
Believing brings about great power. Especially believing in the most Powerful One.
Reading these two passages brought up two questions in my mind:
1] why don’t we see more of this great power?
The obvious answer, if taken from the text in Mark 16, is that we do not believe…Jesus says that those who believe (which should be you and I, in most cases) will see those types of signs through out their lives. I know some people write this stuff off as, “That was only for then.”
I don’t know if it was only for then, but I do know that I don’t live as though I believe often enough. Yesterday as I was praying with our staff I reached a moment where I was praying for God to make it rain in our church’s sanctuary…ridiculous as it sounds, I was trying to prove to God that I believed. But then I felt him touch my heart and kinda say, “Silly boy, then everything would be wet and all that sound equipment and these chairs would be ruined…”
Duh. [which leads to my second question]
2] why do I scoff when I do see it? [for example: Benny Hinn]
Why do I think guys like Benny are a joke? I certainly am not praying, laying hands on people and seeing miraculous signs of healing – are you? If you are, let me know, because the truth is: I want in on that. Not because I want to be the next Benny Hinn, but because I want to see people’s lives changed…and I want to prove that I believe with the deepest part of my soul.
Don’t you?
Okay. I understand the core of what you are talking about and the fact that Faith Healing is one of the tenets of our Faith. However I do believe that healing has been placed into a caricature format due to comedians needing their “preacher man” persona and “Characters” such as Benny Hinn reinforcing not only prosperity gospel but the idea that the expression of Faith is somehow completely extroverted and needs television to be real. I would say that the enemy’s goal is to marginalize all aspects of the Way not with outsiders but from within. Therefore leading us down a path of “huh…whatever.”
Great thoughts Jason – thanks for sharing. I know altogether what you mean – it’s one of those things that can be frustrating to our walk with God…
A Pure heart motive!God can do amzing miracles through a dead man.
If Jesus said it why don’t we believe what He says?
Through out the scriptures we are told that He heals.
Exo 15:26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer, because I am the LORD, who heals you.” (God’s Word Translation)
Some of it, we don’t listen carefully and we don’t DO what is right in His eyes, we don’t pay attention to His commands and we suffer the consequences. This was spoken before the Law was given. The curse of the law in Deuteronomy 28 tells us more but we don’t believe what is said in Galatians 3:13 that we are redeemed from the curse of the law including sickness and disease.
I truly believe if we would study about healing, believe and not doubt, that God is a healer and wants people healed we would see it in our own lives and our communities.
Guys like Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth E. Hagin and others have paid heavy prices in their lives for stepping out and being different. They have done some things that are in the flesh but where is the forgiveness for a brother or sister in Christ who is on the front lines? The only difference is their sin is open for all to see and scrutinize, most of the time our sin goes unnoticed.
Gena – your first question stings me, as it has through most of my journeying through this pathway of what it means to believe…
but what you end with is what I come back to again and again – they pay a heavy price (at least in our human eyes) of ridicule and despise from their fellow man. I found an incredible passage from Job’s words yesterday:
“If I have concealed my sin as men do, by hiding my guilt in my heart because I so feared the crowd, and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent…”
I think that rings too true for most of us who think we believe. Perhaps we need to evaluate our ‘level’ of belief better to see what is truly at our heart.
Thanks for sharing!