No matter what we feel or say about the signs, wonders and miracles that emanate from the Bible, they are great and practical tools in showing a dying world that the Lord is still alive. The only thing is that the miracles of the Bible must first start in our own lives…but they are not. This is why the people in the West are not as convinced by the church as the people we see in Africa.
Our Western brothers and sisters operate with a little different perspective from what we see in Africa. It is much easier to live comfortably here than it is in Africa. A typical African has to live absolutely by faith for survival. If you look around most churches in the UK, few have people who are not black, and even these believers are being recycled. I have been saying this for some years now.
Not so in the UK, for example. Here, there is good healthcare, almost-free schools, social security funding, etc. So, for God to be real to them, there has to be more than empty talk with no results or basis.
The good news is that the world order is failing and falling fast, but the sad news is that only a few carriers of God’s enriching glory abound around here. And I am not just talking about church. God’s kingdom transcends that within the church walls and reaches into workplaces, business environments, community hubs and political terrains across our cities.
John 2:11 records the beginning of Jesus’ miracles, and straightway people started to believe in the Lord. I am not convinced that staying in church will do it for us in the West. We need to take the Word to them wherever they are and start to infiltrate “the world” and its power as we go.
Mark 16:20 – “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”