Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down with my good friend Isaiah Saldivar to discuss a topic that has been weighing heavily on my heart – the lack of true miracles and the move of the Holy Spirit in many modern churches today. As pastors and leaders, Isaiah and I have witnessed firsthand how entertainment and gimmicks have too often replaced the authentic power and presence of God. In this candid conversation, we unpacked the root issues and cast a prophetic vision for the desperately needed revival of miracles in the Church.
The Crisis of Entertainment Over Miracles
One of the first things Isaiah powerfully articulated was how “entertainment is the devil’s substitute for miracles.” So many churches have fallen into the trap of trying to attract people through flashy programming, dramas, and constant novelties rather than cultivating an atmosphere of supernatural power through prayer, preaching the uncompromised Word, and contending for authentic moves of the Holy Spirit.
As Isaiah stated, “If the power of the Holy Spirit isn’t moving, church is boring without the Holy Spirit. So if you keep people from being bored rather than taking the time in prayer, fasting, and repentance, we have to bring in entertainment.”
This stance struck a deep chord within me. How many times have we as leaders been guilty of prioritizing keeping people entertained over doing the hard, spiritually-demanding work of travailing in prayer for revival and breakthrough? Have we exchanged our birthright as Spirit-empowered believers for a bowl of “seeker-sensitive” soup?
The Consequences of a Powerless Church
As Isaiah aptly warned, the ramifications of a powerless, entertainment-driven church are dire. We are actively fueling the growth of the New Age movement as people, dissatisfied with the lack of the authentic supernatural, seek to fill that God-given void through unbiblical and demonic counterfeits.
“So many of them were raised in the church,” Isaiah shared about many New Age influencers. “They got saved, and they didn’t see the power and the presence of God. So they said, ‘I’m going to go look for somewhere where I could fill this void.'”
Ouch. Those words stung because I know they ring true. We cannot afford to raise up another generation of church kids who never witness real miracles, signs, and wonders. If all they see is a watered-down, impotent gospel, can we be surprised when they slip into spiritual deception and apostasy?
Cultivating a Miracle Atmosphere
The solution, as Isaiah and I explored, is to get radical and intentional about creating an atmosphere conducive for miracles – in our churches, homes, and lives. We must return to the Acts model of being a people completely surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s power and devoted to prayer, the Word, and believing God for the supernatural.
Part of this is simply changing the current spiritual conversation. As I shared, “I felt the Lord saying that too many of my people are using conversations to complain…But I heard the Lord say when you change the conversation, I’ll change the atmosphere.” We need to become violent proclaimers of what God has done, is doing, and will do, creating a prophetic atmosphere that invites His miracle-working power.
Another key is being willing to step out in raw faith and obedience. I recounted the testimony of my wife Julie praying for a Muslim woman in a burqa who had an incurable skin disease. This woman gave us permission because she figured, “If your God can heal me, then pray for me.” We cannot let fear, doubt, or man’s limitations constrain us from obeying the Great Commission and daring to believe God for the impossible.
A Personal Commission
As our conversation came to a climax, I felt strongly impressed by the Lord to personally commission and ordain every listener to the work of being His miracle workers and revival harbingers. Too many sincere believers are waiting around for some future prophecy conference or impartation service to finally “get it” and start operating in power.
But as I decreed, “Consider yourself commissioned. You are ordained…You already know more than they knew in the first century. You knew more than the 72 knew that Jesus sent out…Today is the day.”
We don’t need any more head knowledge or hype to get started. We already have the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the Name that is above every name. The only thing left is for us to start ruthlessly exercising the authority we’ve been given and putting the supernatural on display everywhere we go.
A Call to Miracles at the Movies
With this mandate burning in our hearts, Isaiah and I gladly made a faith proclamation about the theatrical premiere of my film “Miracles at the Movies” and its Holy Spirit outpouring potential.
We left viewers with this rallying cry: “If you’ve already seen the movie, we still need you to go as a worker, bring a friend and family, but also be ready to pray for people…Go with the mentality that I’m here to work. I’m going to enjoy the movie, but I’m also here to work and to labor and to pray for people and to see deliverances and healings.”
Our aim is to see not just inspired movie-watchers, but tangible miracles manifesting in theaters across America as the ecclesia shows up filled with the Spirit and boldness to minister the Kingdom. No longer will powerless preferences and lukewarm Christianity be acceptable – it’s time to see the miracle-exploits of the Book of Acts realized before our very eyes!
Conclusion
I don’t know about you, but after this powerful dialogue, I am ruined for anything less than the full, radical, miracle-laden gospel of Jesus Christ. Entertainment, gimmicks, and religious games must be abandoned. We were created to walk in ceaseless intimacy with our heavenly Father and put His unlimited might on display.
So my earnest appeal to you is this – don’t be satisfied with anything less than God’s immediate, tangible presence and a lifestyle of consistent supernatural manifestation. Uncompromisingly contend for the biblical norms of healing, deliverance, prophecy, and every spiritual gift to operate freely through your life.
The world is watching, either to be impacted by the transforming power of the Kingdom or to be further inoculated by our man-made religion. The choice is ours – but I pray we would corporately make the only logical decision as sons and daughters who carry the very Spirit of the Living God.
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