Fourth Charismatic Wave (of the Spirit)?

Hi Evmur.

Are you talking about the book of Acts primarily? Acts describes a time of signs and wonders to be sure. But it describes something that happened in church history. It doesn't prescribe those same things for all believers in all times.

The closer we are to the very end of this age the disproportionately greater will be the number of those who have chosen evil over good for there is anumber, finite, to be reached of those who die for the message of the cross.

This said, sadly what I have posted is true, yuet at the sasme time glorious. All glory to God, amen.

FYI Billy Graham said that he would be delighted if 4% of the people who went out the front were genuinely born again.

Well ... the critics call them megachurch in derogatory terms ... when people displease themselves with what God is doing they will just be displeased. I have always been opposed to altar calls and "decisions" while admitting many do get saved thereby.

If it were true that they soon fall away their churches would not be getting bigger and bigger in numerical terms, then they split up into church planting and each church plant grows into full blown assemblies.

God is doing great things.

... what more could any christian desire more than what we see in Acts?

Then presto, seemingly out of nowhere, a new wave of the Spirit is upon us.

Signs and wonders aren't to be desired.

I think I replied to the wrong post butut it was to you so I figure you figured out what I did.

In speaking of the cyber generation, I remember when calculators were forgidden in classrooms. After a very short time, they came into common usage.

One day at my work one of my fellows came in while I was working out the books. He was probably in his very early 20s. He said something the piqued my curiosity about his math prowess. I asked him, "B, what is three time 7? His prompt reply, I don't know.
I could have been pushed over with a feather.. I asked him if he ever learned his multiplcation tables,s and no was the reply. He could use a calculator. Now can you imagine justhow gone those are who rely strictly on the PC and the Internet? Not to mention their work chores.

I had other experiences with specifically math situations. When I came back to the US for medical consulataqtion, I worked briely at.. Anyways at emplyee meetings the boss would speak of something to do with figures asking the group what the solution to it would be. I would come back with the reply out of just plain old ciphering... Everyone in the meeting looked at me with their mouths hanging open. How did he do that? Gee by lultiply, dividing, addin and subtrcting the appropriate figures.

After this, when there was a meeting, the boss would just ask me in front of everyone. Kind off embarraqssing. Once I actually made an error, wow.. But never using a calculator.

Since Christendom has been progressively moving away from Bible truth, while false teachers and false apostles have been on the rise, it is not likely that there will be any such phenomenon. Those who make these predictions should take everything into account.

Signs and wonders were to address the unbelief of the Jews. And in spite of the hundreds of thousands of miracles of Christ, Israel still did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was their true Messiah.

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."—Matthew 7:13-14

It is a sinful and evil generation that seeks a sign. They will get no sign except the sign of Johna.

All who believe have and do experience signs and wonders beginning with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to all those events causing one to come to our Savior, Jesus Yeshua.

No, we do not seek signs and wonders yet they occur commonly for those with the faith of Abraham.

There's a lot in Acts to desire, and a lot. . .not so much. I assume you mean the signs and wonders are the things most to be desired. I'll tell you what a Christian should desire more than signs and wonders. . .belief.

In John 4:8 Jesus said: "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe." He's voicing His frustration with the Galileans because they refused to believe without first seeing a miraculous sign. Unlike the Samaritans, who, earlier in the chapter, had believed simply because of Jesus' word.

Signs and wonders aren't to be desired. This is where the charismatic movement has seriously gone off the rails. Signs and wonders are given at different times by God for various reasons but nowhere does the Bible imply that signs and wonders are to be a continuous thing. Jesus didn't have many good things to say to those who depended on signs:

"An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. "

He didn't give them a sign but instructed them to look more closely into the scriptures.

I don't doubt a lot of them keep going to church; but, what I'm wondering out loud is: Are these churches equipping these people to become disciples of the Lord, following Him wherever He goes? Or are they feeding them junk food designed to satisfy their emotions?

The charismatic churches I've attended recently and watched online are little more than self-help centers with the preacher serving as motivational speaker. Not much teaching on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

..they had just seen Him feed the 5, 000, they had seen the miracles which He did so quite obviously they were asking for something different, probably they were asking for Him to bring fire down and burn the people up [something alot of evangelicals would like]

Jesus said if you don't believe Me then believe the works that I do which no other man did.

The scriptures are all about the miracle working power of the Living God, it is how He made His name.

When the Baptizer sent messengers asking Jesus if He was the One or should we look for another Jesus replied go tell John what you see, the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the dead are raised and the poor have good news preached to them.

Again He said woe to you Chorazin and Chicago for if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah those cities would have remained to this day.

The religious folk increase their guilt because they SEE and yet reject what they see.

To believe the scriptures, the word of God is to believe in miracles.

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."—Matthew 7:13-14

Well you go to these places and watch these people on telly, I don't. I go where I know Jesus will be lifted up and glorified and the people will be blest. There is good stuff on telly too.