Subtle But Significant Difference

Tags

Character, dispose, expose, kingdom of God, miracles, motives, spiritual growth, Spiritual Maturity

Jesus did not do miracles, signs and wonders to be validated by people, He was not seeking to have a large ministry or become popular/famous. He actually did the miracles, signs and wonders to be obedient. John 5:19 says, “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

One of the lessons I have learned is the importance of asking questions of the Holy Spirit while reading my Bible if there is something I do not understand. For many years I would just read my Bible like any other book, just one story after the other. But the longer I am in this, the slower I read in order to hear more about what a story is saying. So, while reading this week, I noticed on more than one occasion Jesus would do a miracle and then tell the person healed to not tell anyone. At first I just took it at face value, but today I asked the Holy Spirit why Jesus said that. The answer I got has changed my life forever.

Jesus knew His Father validated Him as a Son, so He was not doing ministry or miracles to be validated. The miracles were not a source of validation for Jesus, they were a sign that He was already validated. If the ministry ended, the miracles ceased, the money ran out, it would not change Jesus’ understanding that He is validated by His Father in heaven.

I was convicted today about some prayers I have been praying, for they came out of a need to be validated. The Lord revealed to me the subtle deception of wanting something for validation vs. receiving something from validation. They can sound and look strikingly similar, but the difference is worlds apart.

The Lord is going to do jaw dropping miracles on earth, we are going to see debt cancellation, we will hear the voice of the mature sons and daughters of God, and the kingdom of God will be preached in truth. However, the Lord is going to expose faslse motives in order to dispose of them, so we do not make the miracles our source of validation, but rather they will be signs of our validation. It is a subtle but significant difference.