My Dear Friend,

Deeply disappointed by many years of not seeing God's direct intervention in Israel's behalf, Gideon cried plaintively to “the angel of the Lord” - a preincarnate manifestation of Christ - who had visited him. His complaint was simple and blunt: "If the Lord is with us, . . . where are all His miracles?" (Judges 6:12-13). It was a fair question, even if his spirit, at the time, was more rebellious than reverend.

The Lord would have been fully justified in rebuking his offended servant. But in His wise and powerful love He just ignored, for the moment, Gideon's depression. Why? He would very soon show His miracles - through Gideon! Yes, surprising as this was, God's pouting servant was soon to be a powerful servant! The lesson for Christians?

Simply this: just where we are, just as we are, whatever our circumstances, however severely tried we may be, and however discouraged, we are Gideons! If we will be willing and obedient, God is about to transform us, His offended Gideons and doubting Thomases, into honorable vessels ministering His miraculous power. The parallels to Gideon's situation are clear.

Judges 6:1-10 tells the story. "The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord" (Judges 6:1). So, God, according to His unfailingly sure Word, and occasionally tough holy love, sent corrective chastening. "The Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian" (Judges 6:1). And this captivity was not for a day or a month but for "seven years." During those long puzzling years of unrelieved trouble, the Midianites invaded Israel's land each year just when its crops were topping out and systematically "destroyed the increase" (Judges 6:4), forcing the Jews, in virtual famine conditions, to have to buy food from other peoples. Or starve! It was frustrating. It was discouraging. It was life-threatening. It was faith-killing. It provoked offense toward God. All this made the chosen people a cursed people, desolate and hopeless.

So, God sent an anonymous prophet to explain their plight. A true seer, he told them the truth: their Midianite captivity was the direct result of their idol worship - a most offensive sin to God! So, if they felt offended with God, the prophet had come to inform them that God felt much more offended with them. How does this speak to us?

For far too long far too many American Christians have been serving far too many "gods." Not those of the Egyptians or Amorites, as in Gideon's period, but those most revered and served in our postmodern world: sex, wealth, leisure, possessions, professional success, educational accolades, political power, sports, movie stars, popular musicians, even Christian worship leaders, and a thousand and one other idols of our lukewarm hearts.

What is an idol? It is anything or anyone that we trust more than God or love more than God, tangible or intangible. And God, sensing our rejection of Him, has been deeply grieved and hurt by our illicit spiritual love affairs. As a result, He has withdrawn His hand of power and generally left us to ourselves. For a long, long time, we have rarely, if ever, witnessed "His miracles." So, spiritually speaking, we are in just the condition Gideon was in. But, as with Gideon, God is not finished with us.

We will soon see His miracles, signs, and wonders again. Do we even know what they are? A divine miracle is any act of God that is supernatural and therefore cannot be understood or explained naturally by human reason or science. A divine sign is a miracle that attests to the authenticity of His messengers and their messages, ministries, or missions. A divine wonder is a miracle that is so stunning, so beyond our natural understanding, so science-defying, that it leaves all who witness it in a state of breathless wonder, silently awestruck at the awesomeness of God.

For American Christians this return of the miraculous will seem very new, a sudden earthly explosion of unlooked-for heavenly blessings. But it really won't be new. Many powerful miracle ministries dotted the American ecclesiastical landscape during the mid to late 20th century. "They were fakes," some cynics may claim. Pardon me, but try making that claim to the hundreds of thousands of ordinary people whose lives were radically saved and set on fire by extraordinary New Testament miracles, signs, and wonders. And whose families, churches, and cities were permanently transformed as a result. Your negative disbelief ads, however slick and well packaged in high-sounding false doctrine or atheism, won't sell among these religious consumers who have had, or closely witnessed, genuine divine miracles.

"Miracles were needed in the first century, but not now," some theologians and pastors claim. This rationalization also will not stand when all the facts are presented. Revivals and awakenings have often seen a resurgence of God's miraculous acts down the centuries. If not physical, then spiritual miracles. After all, isn't a stubborn sinner's or deluded heretic's conversion to faith in Christ and his (or her) consequent New Birth by the power of God's Word and Spirit the greatest miracle? But there's more.

Didn't Jesus prophesy that "greater works" than even His astounding miracles would occur among His followers (John 14:12-14). For your information, God has been working tremendous miracles all around the world over the last decades - in Africa, Asia, South America, India, and in many other places. And He has been working miracles in America, too, but they are not being reported by the secular media or conservative Christian journalists. Surely these will increase, and Jesus' aforementioned "greater works" will also be seen, as we near the end of this age. Why do I claim this?

My claim is biblical: End-Times prophecy reveals the miraculous acts of God, signs and wonders worked by His anointed servants, will be greatest in the Tribulation. If we believe the world is soon to see the phenomenal supernatural events unleashed by the Trumpet and Bowl judgments (Revelation 8-9, 16), including Jesus' personal intervention in stupendously miraculous power at Armageddon (Zechariah 14:3-7, 12-15; Revelation 19:11-21), how much more should we believe in the miracles, signs, and wonders that will accompany the Gospel preached by divinely called evangelists, missionaries, and grace-gifted believers in these last days before the Tribulation?

Why will these Book-of-Acts-type events reappear now in these last days of the church age? They are coming:

• To show the church and the world Jesus is the same wondrous Miracle Worker He was in the first century

• To compassionately heal countless sufferers and draw them, convicted and humbled by God's mercies, to the Healer's feet to receive salvation

• To convert entire families, tribes, and cities by the compelling evidence of hopelessly afflicted people being undeniably healed and delivered

• To revive dry, dead churches previously deceived and spiritually bound by discouraging, faith-crippling, unbiblical Cessationist doctrine

• To validate the Gospel, biblical messages, and God's messengers, so people will recognize them as God's very Word and spokesmen

• To demonstrate that, wonderful and benevolent as medical science is, divine healing is far more wonderful and benevolent - and still needed

• To inspire those converted by receiving or witnessing miracles to abandon their lives to their Healer and become His "disciples indeed" (John 8:31-32) - deeply serious, irrevocably committed, self-disciplined, student-followers

• To announce the Healer's soon-coming appearing as a "thief in the night" to take His healed ones, and all bride Christians, to be with Him forever

• To announce His intention to return to earth in glorious power 7 years later fulfilling the famous prophecy, "Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings [light beams]" (Malachi 4:2)

Many early church scholars acknowledge the church would never have been launched without miracles. It should be obvious, then, that it will not be brought to its glorious maturity without them either. Just as the miracles, signs, and wonders Moses brought powered the Hebrews through their very challenging Exodus period, so miracles will supercharge us in the impending final awakening God will send to prepare us for our dramatic "exodus" - the most amazing miracle of all the ages, the rapture!

Let us now pray: "Rise, Lord Jesus, Sun of Righteousness, and radiate your powerful healing rays upon and through believers all over the world. Let your sweet compassion surprise and draw us. Let your grace-given gifts of healings and miracles flow. May the sight of this light an unquenchable fire of devotion in our cold, lukewarm hearts to power us through all the trials and temptations that are sure to come when your mighty church awakes and rises to fulfill its glorious destiny. Then, at the appointed time, take us home. Amen. So be it!"

And so it shall be,

Dr. Greg Hinnant

GREG HINNANT MINISTRIES