Dean Merrill, Miracle Invasion: Amazing true stories of the Holy Spirit’s gifts at work today (Savage, MN: Broadstreet Publishing Group, 2018), 208 pages, ISBN 9781424556083.
Dean Merrill is a veteran writer. He has written books of his own, has collaborated with others to help them tell their stories, and contributed to various publications. In this his latest book he tells the stories of a number of people who have had powerful experiences with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Miracle Invasion is not a theology book per se (though there is certainly some biblical theology in it), it is really a book of testimonies. In these brief testimonies we have a collection of contemporary accounts which demonstrate that the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are mentioned in the New Testament are still very much with us today.
The book begins with the foreword which is called “Setting the Stage.” This part of the book is written by Jeff Farmer, the president of Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America. In it Farmer presents a brief explanation of each of the nine gifts of the Spirit that the apostle Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. After this brief teaching section, the book moves on to tell the stories of people who have had powerful encounters with the Holy Spirit. There are thirty-nine chapters of testimonies in this volume.
God is very much at work in North America as well.
The testimonies in the book demonstrate the contemporary operation of each of the nine gifts of the Spirit that Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. As the book points out in a section called “What Can We Conclude?” all of these powerful encounters with the Holy Spirit took place in North America. This is significant because, as the text also points out, we hear much more about miracles taking place overseas in places like Africa, Asia, and South America.
Miracle Invasion demonstrates that the power of God is not confined to the Majority World, God is very much at work in North America as well. In addition, the section “What Can We Conclude?” also points out that the testimonies show that God is not active in only one denomination or church group, the experiences recorded in the book took place in the lives of people connected to a number of different church backgrounds. The accounts also come from a number of different areas in North America.
These testimonies about God’s activity are are real stories about real people.
Some of the chapters in this book are as short as three pages, others are a bit longer. Each chapter has a unique story to tell; they are real stories about real people. At the end of some chapters there are links that the reader can go to in order to see additional accounts about the events covered in the chapter. No doubt different readers will have different favorite chapters. It is a book that clearly sets forth the reality of the supernatural power of God. However, this is not a “victory all of the time” type of book. The book makes reference to prayers that were not answered. In one chapter there is an account of two men who went to the same church, at the same time, and received ministry during the same ministry time, one of the men was healed and the other was not. That being said, this book does demonstrate in a powerful way that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still very much with us today. Stepping out in faith and sometimes persevering in faith are required in order to see Him work.
The power of the Spirit continues right down to the present day.
Miracle Invasion shows that the theology of the supernatural and the experience of the supernatural that we find in the church in the New Testament did not end there. Neither did the charismatic gifts of the Spirit end in the first few centuries of church history. The power of the Spirit continues right down to the present day. This is in accord with what the Bible itself teaches about spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7), they continue until Jesus returns. Cessationists, Christians who do not believe in the present day existence of some of the spiritual gifts, may not become continuationists as a result of reading this book. However, hopefully they will read it and prayerfully consider what they have read. This book will bring them face to face with evidence that cannot be easily denied or dismissed. God is still powerfully at work today by His Spirit!
Reviewed by John P. Lathrop
More from Dean Merrill:
Read an excerpt from Dean Merrill’s, Miracle Invasion: “A Higher Code”
Read “Holy Spirit Invasion: An Interview With Dean Merrill”
PneumaReview.com speaks with Dean Merrill, the author or co-author of almost 50 books, about his latest book, Miracle Invasion, that investigates amazing and true stories of the work of the Holy Spirit today.
Dean Merrill talking about his book Miracle Invasion. https://vimeo.com/261044615/c41a5b31be
Dean Merrill talking about his book Miracle Invasion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etuqfg_avvs&t=15s
Read Carolyn Baker’s review of Dean Merrill’s 2006 book, Damage Control: How to Stop Making Jesus Look Bad
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John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written for a number of publications and is the author of four books Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers Then and Now (Xulon Press, 2008), The Power and Practice of the Church: God, Discipleship, and Ministry (J. Timothy King, 2010), Answer the Prayer of Jesus: A Call for Biblical Unity (Wipf & Stock, 2011) and Dreams & Visions: Divine Interventions in Human Experience (J. Timothy King, 2012). He also served as co-editor of the book Creative Ways to Build Christian Community (Wipf & Stock, 2013). Amazon Author page. Facebook
