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Sunday Morning Service, 6/21/09

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Message: Expect A Miracle

Pastor Thomas

Today I wanted to share about miracles and blessings. You see everybody celebrating their graduations. This father was proud because his son was graduating and had done well. So they went out and looked for a car that the son wanted, and they found one that was absolutely perfect. On the day of the graduation, the son was opening presents, and the man came and presented his son with a box. Inside the box was a Bible. The son was expecting car-keys. He was so angry that he threw down the box and stormed out of the house. He never spoke to his father again. Later on, after he father died, his mother came to him with a package and said, "You know, your father always wanted you to receive this." Inside the package was the Bible, and inside the Bible was an envelope. And inside the envelope was a check for the exact amount of the price of the car they'd picked out.

In the world, the word "miracle" plainly means something that is spectacular. But to Christians, it means so much more. 1. An extraordinary event, unfathomable as a result of natural forces. 2. An occurence that causes the witness to assume a phenomenal personal origin. 3. An occasion which presents a proof.

When we look at miracles, they've got to fulfil one of these definitions.

In the Old Testament, miracles were global or national in nature; they weren't personal. Miracles in the New Testament became personal; they dealt with us spiritually rather than physically. In the Old Testament, miracles chiefly glorified God in is sovreignty over the physical realm. But in the New Testament, miracles chifly glorify God in his sovreignty over the natural realm.

In preparing this message, I found six purposes that miracles fulfil in the New Testament:

  1. A miracle has to prove that Christ was of God.
  2. A miracle has to prove Christ's authority.
  3. A miracle has to prove the kingdom of God has come.
  4. A miracle has to confirm Christ's message.
  5. A miracle has to fulfill a prophecy.
  6. A miracle has to show the compassion of Christ.

There were close to forty miracles reported in the New Testament, and we know that there were many more, because John said,

John 21:25
  1. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

We don't know why every miracle took place, but we know that every one was for a purpose. Why did the woman with the issue of blood had to push her way through the crowd? For me it is to illustrate that we have to push our way through obstacles to receive God's blessings in life.

Miracles have a purpose; they're not just done arbitrarily. Usually, they're for edification and revelation. They are to cause people to stop and say, "What just happened?"

John 20:31
  1. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

To get that message to the lost world, Jesus did things which were miraculous.

There is a difference between blessings and miracles. God wants to do things for us, so he blesses us. Getting a new job isn't miraculous. What would be a miracle?

  • A non-medical healing.
  • A swift recovery.

A swift recovery is a blessing, but it is not a miracle. A miracle is spontaneous; it is instantaneous, and it proves something to others. Some of you remember when I had some back problems awhile back. The doctor took some X-Rays and told me that I'd just have to live with it. I prayed to God and said, "God, I can't live this way; I need a miracle." The next day I woke up and the pain was gone; I felt fine. I went back to the doctor, and he took new X-rays. When he compared the new X-rays with the ones he'd taken a couple weeks earlier, they looked like the time had been reversed. They looked like pictures before and after the accident. The doctor couldn't explain it, but he pronounced me healed. Did God do that for me? I don't know; maybe that doctor was really struggling with a belief in God, and God allowed these things to happen for a testimony to him.

God doesn't always have to give to us that believe either a miracle or a blessing. Sometims there are reasons why things happen that we are not aware of at the time. An example is the thorn in the flesh that Paul prayed would be taken away. The answer was, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

Mark 16:17-18
  1. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
  2. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Why would those things follow the church? Because God wants everyone to know that we are his disciples.

John 13:35
  1. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

And by the fact that we say things in the name of Jesus and things happen. When John was in jail,he sent a messenger to ask a question:

Matthew 11:3-5
  1. And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
  2. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
  3. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Church, I want you to live such a life that miracles can take place. And miracles are not so that you can say "See what I've done!". Miracles are so that God can be glorified. The Bible says that we should be ambassadors, but I want you to be more than that; I want you to be conduits through which God's blessings can flow. We have had so many fakes and frauds out there doing things in the name of Jesus that have hurt the reputation of the church. But we don't have to have a miracle crusade to see miracles take place. In fact, most miracles take place outside the religious arena.

Are you, like the woman with the issue of blood, pressing your way into the kingdom? I want you to pray, "God, use me as an instrument of your glory." Are we praying for our children and our teens? We should be praying, "God, let me be a witness so that they can learn to live a life for Christ."

Many of us, like the prodigal son, left that example as soon as we could, but we later returned. Now we've got to be the conduit that delivers the father's love to them.

Are you praying for yourself all the time? Are you praying "God, gimme this -- gimme that?" We've got to stop asking for selfish things and start asking, "God, how can I be a blessing to someone?"

I want you to have a life of such faith that you are excited to do something for God. I want you to be excited to be a witness, to stand in the gap and make up the hedge. Stop complaining about what you're doing and about what somebody else isn't. Busy-ness does not constitute fulfillment. Busy-ness doesn't even make you effective.

There's a story about a young man who went to work as a lumberjack. Even though he worked hard, all day, every day, somehow the old guys cut down more trees. Every time he passed by the campsite, he'd see some of them sitting round, talking and drinking coffee and filing their axes. But even though he worked while they were taking breaks, at the end of the day, they'd always cut down more trees. Finally he went to the foreman and asked what he was doing wrong. "I've been working hard all day, every day. How can these old guys get more done in less time?" The foreman answered, "Because they stop every now and then to sharpen their axes."

To return to my original story, some of the best gifts in life come wrapped in the Bible. You've got to take tim in life to sharpen your spiritual sword with God's word. As you study more and more, God will start using you to accomplish more and more.