MESSAGES
The Church’s Grand Strategy (John 4:48)
Once, a distressed man sought Jesus to heal his son who was terribly ill and on the verge of death. The man asked Jesus to go to his house, but the Lord simply assured him that the boy would live and told him to return.
John 4:
48 So Jesus said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.
49 The official said to him, Sir, come down before my child dies.
50 Jesus said to him, Go; your son will live. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
On his way back, the man's servants met him with the wonderful news that the child was healed. When he asked the exact time of the recovery, the father realized it had been at the exact moment Jesus released His word. That extraordinary miracle not only brought life to the boy but definitively strengthened the faith of that father and his whole household.
However, Jesus' statement in verse 48 brings us a profound warning: many people will only surrender to the Lord when they witness His signs and wonders.
It is fundamental that we are attentive to this reality, because the work of God is made of power! It manifests itself through the power of the Word, the moving of the Holy Spirit, and the authority that Jesus delegated to His Church to deal with the realities of this world.
Jesus Himself guaranteed us that our journey would be provided with this wonderful power:
Mark 16:17-18 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Everything that Jesus left us as an inheritance and promises are spiritual empowerments necessary for the world to see and believe that He is the Lord.
The Word of God, in its essence, is pure power.
Recently, I heard a conversion testimony from a famous artist, where her experience started out of curiosity about spiritual life, after hearing some friends talk about the church they attended. Moved by the Holy Spirit, she started listening to worship songs. The worship moved her heart, because in it there is adoration, exaltation to the Lord, the Word of God. Then, she started listening to sermons.
That was when she experienced the reality of what is written in Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
The Word broke down the resistance. She started attending church, gave her life to Christ, and today, she dedicates herself to theological studies, diving into the waters of the Spirit exactly as the prophet Ezekiel saw the river of God (Ezekiel 47) — going deeper and deeper, in the time determined by the Lord.
The truth is that the Word of God does not return empty, but always fulfills the purpose for which it was sent.
Isaiah 55:
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Therefore, you who are a servant of God, never lose sight of the importance of the manifestation of God's power. Signs and wonders — too difficult for human comprehension — must be a reality in our daily lives, emerging as a natural response to our prayers, intercessions, and ministrations.
Do not allow the stagnation, coldness, and superficiality that have unfortunately affected part of the evangelical circle to dominate your spiritual life.
The genuine and profound conversions we see today are the fruit of the same works that Jesus Christ performed while He walked on this earth.
And Jesus' great strategy was always clear: preach the Word and perform miracles. May this also be your practice.
Speak of the deeds of Jesus, pray boldly, and minister the power that comes from on high so that the name of the Lord may be glorified through the Word you proclaim and the miracles that will accompany you!
