“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” — Romans 8:16-17, NKJV.

If we (those who trust and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior) are heirs with Christ, then what He has is ours. We have access to the same power that Jesus operated under while He walked the Earth; we are capable of doing the same and greater things that He accomplished during His three and a half years of ministry. Jesus operated under the power and presence of the Holy Spirit; having emptied Himself of His own power, the Holy Spirit empowered His life on earth. Jesus told His disciples to “tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49) The same “power from on high” that Jesus had is available to the Church today!

Why then do churches, who would fight you and I if we suggested that they did not believe the Scriptures, why do they not accomplish the “greater things” that Jesus spoke of? Why then are they not successful in the “ordinary” things that Jesus did? Where are the least of His miraculous actions? Indeed, there are whole denominations where the miraculous is sneered at and those who truly believe are scorned. Should anyone speak of a healing or of someone raised from the dead, the nay sayer’s heads would likely explode!

Is it any wonder that we are seeing in this country record numbers of churches that are closing. Citing all manners of reasons why this is so, they refuse to see the real reason for this exodus from the denominations, there is no POWER, no faith in the promise that Jesus made to His own. We have halls full of those who are great at arguing about Scripture; without even a modest understanding of what Jesus actually intended.

The Church does not exist for those who argue and abuse God’s Holy Word. It exists for the express purpose of doing what Jesus did! We are to be about the Father’s business, and that business is to “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Jesus left His inheritance to His joint heirs, to those who would trust and obey His wishes.

Rev. Bobby Thornhill is a retired Methodist preacher.