I want to tell you a story about a missionary named Heidi. In the early 90s, Heidi was completely worn out, exhausted, plagued with Pneumonia, and was on the verge of giving up entirely. See, Heidi was attempting to spread the Gospel to the nation of Mozambique which had a majority Muslim population. Her ministry up to this point had not been effective but rather draining and deleterious to her health to the point where she was just ready to go meet her Maker. But Heidi managed to drag herself to Canada where revival had supposedly broken out at a Vineyard church, the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship.

As Heidi fell on her face before the Lord, a preacher, Dr. Randy Clark, called out, prophesying: “Heidi, God wants to know, do you want the nation of Mozambique?”

“YES!”, she replied.

Randy Clark continued:

“God is going to give you the nation of Mozambique. You are going to see the dumb speak, the lame walk, the blind see, and the dead be raised!”

At that moment she saw the fiery eyes of Jesus and the glory of the Lord fell upon her; warm electricity shooting down her body, filling her with the power of the Holy Spirit. It was so overwhelming that she couldn’t help but laugh and cry for seven days.

Today, Heidi Baker’s ministry has transformed that Muslim majority of Northern Mozambique into a Christian majority. Still today, she boldly proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ and demonstrates the power of God, proving the message of repentance unto salvation by the blood of Jesus. The blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, the lame walk, and the dead are raised.

She has even welcomed crews of scientists to test the people’s sight and hearing before and after she prays for them, proving the hand of the Lord on those people and on Heidi’s ministry.

The Gospel that Heidi Baker preaches is a Gospel of power. So why do we not see this all the time and it seems to be rare nowadays? Should this be more common in the Church? Should it even be common in your life? Why do we need miracles, and why should we desire them?

What Does The Bible Say?

We live by the Word, not by experience or the lack thereof. We have no right to come to a conclusion in contradiction with the Bible simply because we have not experienced what the Bible claims to be true. That would not be a life of walking in faith.

“You live by chapter and verse not by feeling and experience.”

— Dr Roberts Liardon

It’s interesting to me: Cessationists tend to accuse Charismatics like myself of emotionalism and reasoning based solely on experience. What I find however is that the Cessationist conclusion is at its core one of experience, or rather, the lack of experience.

I’ve had long conversations with Cessationist brothers who acknowledge the fact that, simply reading the Bible, you will never come to the conclusion that miracles are temporary and died out with the early Apostles. That’s not in the Bible.

To come to that way of thinking you either must first have been taught that miracles are no more, or you have never experienced a miracle and then came to the conclusion that they don’t exist, despite what the Bible says. But what does the Bible say?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Now that’s quite the statement. I hope you do believe that every word that came out of Jesus’ mouth is absolutely true.

Now, I myself have no personal problem believing in miracles, having experienced countless of them on a somewhat regular basis. But not everyone has had that luxury and I do completely understand why it is hard for some to believe miracle testimonies when they themselves have yet to experience these things.

But I want to encourage you to take God at His Word. When He says that we will do the same works as Jesus and even greater works, He means it. That’s a wild statement. We can’t really get over that.

But why is that so important? Why is it necessary that the Gospel is accompanied by miracles, signs, and wonders?

A Gospel of Power

The good news of Jesus Christ is a Gospel of power.

When Smith Wigglesworth prayed while walking through hospitals, EVERY person in those hospital rooms was healed. There are so many incredible miracle stories, especially in the life of Smith Wigglesworth, but one stands out above them all. Ask the high schoolers at RiverStone Church how many times I bring up Wigglesworth…

My favorite story about Smith Wigglesworth is this:

Wigglesworth was so focused on holiness unto the Lord that He made every possible effort to live His life in accordance with God’s heart. He would even refuse to read the newspaper because it was better to spend that time reading the Bible. The effect that this had on him was that the presence of the Lord was so real upon him wherever he went.

Once, Smith Wigglesworth was sitting in a train and as it came to a stop a man climbed in, took a look at him and cried out “YOU CONVICT ME OF SIN!” Wigglesworth had not said a word, but the Holy Spirit’s presence was enough to grab that man’s heart as he quickly rushed off the train.

It reminds me of the Apostle Peter and how, as he would walk by, his shadow would bring healing to those it passed over. (Acts 5:15)

The power of the Gospel is demonstrated through those who walk in accordance with the heart of God.

This has even happened with ministers who claimed to not believe in miracles such as Charles Spurgeon.

Spurgeon, though a confessing Cessationist, would operate in the gift of the word of knowledge, listed in 1 Corinthians 12.

He would often call out things in the lives of others that the Lord had revealed to him about them, and the result was that they would enter into full surrender to Jesus.

See, the fruit of true Holy Spirit power is repentance and surrender to Jesus. A primary reason we are to walk in power is because it brings people closer to God.

So the Gospel must be accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit to be in line with scripture, to the end that hearts are convicted, lives are transformed, and believers are called into greater relationship with God the Father.

But sometimes God also gives us miracles simply because He cares.

God Likes To Show Up

Of course God does miracles because it fits in His divine plan and because He has promised us things such as healing in His covenant, having redeemed us from the curse of the law. (Gal. 3:13) However…

sometimes God gives us miracles simply because He cares.

“When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Here we see that the reason Jesus healed the sick was because of His compassion for them. Jesus’ heart is ALWAYS behind everything He does, and it should ALWAYS be behind everything we do in His Name.

“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The love of Jesus should be our primary motive always. If Jesus heals because He has compassion, then the power we walk in through the Holy Spirit should also be released to demonstrate Christ’s compassion and not always just to prove a point.

The Holy Spirit in our lives is here to do everything that Jesus would do were He here in person. Jesus said that it was to our benefit that He leave because He was sending the Helper. He said that the reason we would do the same and greater works is because He would send this Helper that is the Spirit of the Lord.

So again, if Jesus heals because He has compassion, we should expect that through us, His ministry of healing continues, because of His great love and kind heart.

The Gospel carries power with it. And the love of Jesus, which is at the center of the Gospel message, should be our primary driving force in everything we do.

And I have personally experienced miracles that were to demonstrate God’s compassion and His desire to remind us that He is close.

Just recently I was praying and a friend of mine was praying nearby as well. All of a sudden I had a splitsecond vision of my friend standing right in front of me. I immediately knew that I had seen him in the Spirit so I turned to him to ask him how I could pray for him. It turns out he had just been thinking that he himself needed prayer. So in that moment we had the opportunity to pray for each other, knowing that our hearts were aligned with God’s will, and it gave a sense of peace. God gave us that moment because He cares about us and wants to be close to us.

Another very small miracle happened in January of 2024 right after my sprained ankle had been miraculously healed and some people including myself climbed up a mountain to pray at the top. It was night time and very cold. We stood there and prayed and at one point we started singing the song New Wine, expressing our desire to be in full surrender to Jesus. As we were praying for a hunger and for revival, the campfire, which had been out for 8ish hours, had been drenched in water, and had faced the cold wind all that evening, started burning again. It wasn’t anything big. Just a few embers. At first only myself and one other person saw it. But maybe 5 minutes later as we were praying it happened again and it gave us a renewed confidence and joy.

As we prayed for our hearts to be filled with burning for Jesus, that fire miraculously burning again was a beautiful thing to behold. And maybe that story will impact someone in a major way and play into some big overall plan, but whatever the case, in that moment, it was an expression of God’s great love for us.

It was beautiful, simple, and peaceful. There’s a special joy that comes easily when you experience the power of God.

Impartation

And for any of you reading this who have never had that experience, I pray this over you:

“May God extend His gracious loving hand to you and your family, that a new longing would be placed in your heart, to know Jesus and to love Him forever. I pray that you would experience the power and presence of the Lord, that you would be filled with His Holy Spirit, that an endurance, boldness, and great joy would be imparted to you in the Name of Jesus. I pray that your every day would be marked by His presence and that His Name would become as honey on your lips, and your soul would long for Him as the deer longs for streams of water. I pray that you are filled with the violent peace His presence brings, and that there would be no turning back. May His angels stand guard around you, and may His favor be upon you so that your every waking moment would be filled with the joy of the Lord that is your inheritance. I end with this:

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” (Num. 6:24-26)

---

in Christ

---

Storms, S. (n.d.). When a cessationist prophesies, or, what are we to make of Charles Spurgeon?. Sam Storms: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. https://www.samstorms.org/enjoying-god-blog/post/when-a-cessationist-prophesies–or–what-are-we-to-make-of-charles-spurgeon 

Nunnally, A. (2022, July 1). I am A sinner; I am A sinner!. Enterprise. https://www.timesenterprise.com/news/faith_and_values/i-am-a-sinner-i-am-a-sinner/article_671e4fd0-f94f-11ec-bfcd-e75bb76d498b.html 

Mark Ellishttp://godreports.comMark Ellis is the founder of God Reports, Ellis, M., & Mark Ellis is the founder of God Reports. (2022, January 12). Heidi Baker: Groaning with god over America (and Mozambique). God Reports |. https://www.godreports.com/2021/10/heidi-baker-groaning-with-god-over-america-and-mozambique/ 

Global Awakening. (2024, January 18). Touched by god – the story of Rolland and Heidi Baker. https://globalawakening.com/touched-by-god-the-story-of-rolland-and-heidi-baker/ 

Stephens, E. (2021, December 14). Send proof. SEND PROOF. https://www.sendproof.com/