Invariably, when someone is talking about the ministry of another person, they will try to explain why you should listen to them. In charismatic/pentagonal circles, this will likely include listing off miracles the person has seen in their ministry or meetings. I get it: Talking about miracles builds faith in the room (which is not a bad thing at all, assuming the miracles are real) and can sometimes help you gauge where or how the speaker is gifted if you’ve never heard from them before. There’s nothing wrong with this. The problem comes when we take those miracles and decide God must be blessing their ministry, approve of them, etc., just because they have seen miracles or healings.
Here’s the thing: Miracles don’t validate someone’s ministry, nor does lack of miracles mean someone is not anointed by God. Even Judas Iscariot performed miracles by casting out demons and healing the sick (Luke 9:1, 6). Jesus gave him authority to do so, even though He knew Judas would betray him (Matthew 10:1, John 13:11). The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign – not because He hadn’t done miracles but because he didn’t do the miracles they expected of him (Matthew 16:1).
In short, healings and miracles are proof of God’s love – His compassion on His people, His faithfulness, His justice, and His power. It’s proof that the Kingdom of God is here (Luke 11:20, 10:9). It’s God touching earth in a way that gets our attention.
So how can we judge the validity of a person’s ministry or anointing? Fruit is one of the more accurate measures, especially over time (Matthew 7:15-16). Are they demonstrating the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in their relationships and their dealings within the ministry? Are they displaying any of the signs of the people Paul and John spoke about not being part of the kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:10; Revelation 21:8)? (Note that having money is not an indication one way or the other – God has blessed many people with finances, and many people know how to make money in the name of God, and only God can accurately judge the difference.)
God uses flawed people – which is good because if He didn’t, He wouldn’t use any of us. But there comes a time when maturity is required of us. When this happens, it’s not uncommon for the things that worked before – even signs, wonders, and miracles – to stop working. This is a true test for anyone who has been enjoying the fruit of their ministry and seeing God work. Either we’ll turn to the Lord and mature, or else we will do it in our strength – and invariably crash.
This isn’t God being mean, or that He is “taking away” our ministry. It’s actually quite helpful, because it reveals our hearts and our relationship with God – how serious sin appears to us, how much we love people vs. love our ministry, and whether we can still trust in the waiting. (I didn’t say it was fun all the time.) If we can mature, we can be trusted to carry greater amounts of God and have a deeper relationship with Him because we have grown in maturity to not only see miracles happen but also allow God to do His miracles through us.
