No Miracles For Today?
About ten years ago there was a conference that took place in Southern California, a collection of speakers, theologians and pastors came together in what was called the ‘Strange Fire’ conference. At the time ‘Strange Fire’ was the hottest ticket around, I remember that as it was going on, ‘Strange Fire’ was the most trending topic on Twitter. Not bad for a preaching conference. I heard the entire thing, live in most cases. Sadly, the conference would impact me in negative ways, though I would realize it for more than a decade.
The name of ‘Strange Fire’ came from the book of Leviticus, where the sons of Aaron offered ‘strange fire’ before God and were consumed by heavenly fire. The point of the conference was that signs and miracles today are the same as offering ‘strange fire’. I can still distinctly remember many moments from the conference. Joni Erickson Tada’s emotional testimony of being crippled and waiting in line to see faith healer Benny Hinn, yet being turned away was especially memorable. I came away from that conference a staunch believer that there were absolutely zero miracles, no healings, no prophecies or visions that took place today. Furthermore, anyone who claimed such were clearly deceivers.
Respectfully Disagreeing With Dr. MacArthur
Before I continue, allow me a moment to clarify something important. This is in no way meant to bash anyone or condemn anyone’s ministry. Especially the ministry of Dr. John MacArthur. He is my spiritual elder and I respect him as such. I also don’t hold him personally responsible for the negative effects of his conference. I truly believe he meant well, and I do agree with his criticisms of false healers who deceive innocent believers. My disagreement comes from his position of saying that all who make such claims are either deceiving or deceived.
The Aftermath of ‘Strange Fire’
As I was saying, ten years after the conference I was burned out, cynical and deeply pharisaical. I’ve been suffering from a terrible case of spiritual arrogance and pride. I have family members who believe in the power of God at work in our lives today. In my hubris I thought of myself smarter than they were. I wasn’t so easily fooled, no on would pull the wool over my eyes. Oh no.
Never mind the fact that my spiritual life was draining. I began praying less and less. I would eventually read the Bible less and less. In my mind God was impersonal and distant from us. God didn’t deal with us personally today. I don’t care how orthodox you are, you can’t worship an ideal.
The Power of God Works Today
Which brings me to now. I’m in the process of re-orienting my life towards God. I shared in my last post about how I had to pray and repent of my pride, my arrogance, my lukewarm faith. A major part of my repentance is rejecting cessationism. I no longer believe that God is impersonal or distant. Through a series of conversations I’ve had with my family, I’ve come to believe that God absolutely works amongst believers today. Any claim of ‘cessationism’ is simply wrong.
This is such a complex topic to go over and one article isn’t enough to cover everything. I truly mean this all out of humility. I would go over the book of Acts and think it was just a quaint book that really doesn’t have any relevance for today. I got to the point where I thought that the answer to Christian living was believing the right doctrines, and that was it. Never experiencing the power of God in my life, and ultimately living a shallow faith.
Worshiping The Living God
As I said you can’t worship an ideal. Not for very long anyway. This was the seed of doubt that eventually lead me away from God. I became a spiritual wanderer of sorts. There was a deep confusion in my head. I couldn’t make the connection within my mind.
It’s been ten years since the conference. I have so much more to say on this topic (so stick around), I have come to believe that God is very much active in our lives today. I believe that He works among us and that He can be experienced today. I am grateful to be where I am, yet I am also ashamed it took me this long to get to where I am. ‘Strange Fire’ may have served a purpose for some, but for me all it did was destroy my faith in a God who interacts with us today. I came away from that conference believing in a God who is distant and cold.
This has been a large part of my repentance. I believe in the power and might of God. I believe that He speaks, He heals and does mighty things in the lives of believers today. Most importantly of all, I believe in the power of God to transform lives. I wake up every day with fresh hop and expectations. I am always eager to see what God may have in store for this new day. It’s been a radical change in my life.
