Gtcotr/ss102421
Throughout
history the Bible shows God working in the lives of men and women to accomplish
incredible feats, miracles of such great magnitude. For example:
·
Noah
and his sons who built a boat big enough to hold their family and all those
animals plus the provisions needed for a whole year.
·
Then
there was Abraham and Sarah. They had a child when they were well past that
season of life.
·
And
the little shepherd boy named David who defeated the Philistine giant warrior
Goliath with a rock.
·
How
about Adino the Eznite? He killed 800 enemy soldiers one afternoon with just
his spear.
·
The
poor widow who fed the prophet Elijah for over a year with just a handful of
cornmeal and an ounce of oil.
·
Peter
when he escaped being executed by sleepily following an angel through a gate
that opened by itself.
·
Paul
and Silas who opened prison doors with just a prayer and a few worship songs.
·
Mary
when she told those servants to bring Jesus some large containers of water
which He then turned into the best tasting wine at the party.
· Or those four men who tore off the roof of a house and lowered their paralyzed friend down in front of Jesus and Jesus healed him.
Miracle after miracle has taken place because God found someone who would work with Him. God is still looking for people who will provoke the miraculous today.
In each of the accounts we read, we easily see that people were up against difficult challenges; Noah, Abraham, Israel’s army, the widow of Zarephath, her son, the prophet Elijah, Peter, Paul, Silas, the jailer and his family, the paralyzed man … none of them would have made it without God’s willingness to work with them and their willingness to work with God.
It
is evident that:
· God demands we participate in our miracle.
When the natural and the supernatural meet together, something powerful happens. God has always intended man to work with Him.
· God marries what we can do with what He can do … that’s a miracle.
God working with man … man working with God. Personally, I think it is a miracle God even wants to include mankind in His plans for the future. We have not been the most supportive or loving as a race of people. I’m speaking of the human race. You do know there is really only one race, right? There are different ethnicities, cultures, customs, language groups, clans, tribes, nationalities, color variations, and so forth but the notion there are more races than one is an original doctrine of devils.
The devil has long promoted the heresy that some people groups are sub-human or perhaps that they themselves are super-human and therefore not everyone has the same value or voice. What a bunch of nasty divisive demonic lies … but … back to our word for today.
I
am amazed God is still willing to work with us to accomplish His plan for
mankind. I know I have not always been easy to work with. However:
·
When what we are willing to do touches what God is willing to do,
miracles happen!
·
God
marries what we can do with what He can do. That’s how God gets things done.
· From the Garden to the grave … God works with mankind.
Have you noticed that God seems to always be searching for someone who is willing to let Him use them in a miraculous way? God joins the supernatural, which only He can do, with the natural, which only we can do. Our challenge is often no more difficult than giving God something to work with and a little time to work.
All four of the Gospels: Matthew; Mark; Luke; and John, record the miracle of Jesus multiplying the fish and loaves and the disciples feeding the 5000 men plus the women and children on a hillside belonging to the town of Bethsaida in the Galilee. Let’s read a portion of the account found in the Gospel of John, chapter 6.
John 6 NKJV
9 “There is a lad here who
has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
10 Then Jesus said, “Make the
people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down,
in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
The harmony of the Gospels tell us that when Jesus saw the multitude of people were hungry, He instructed His 12 followers to give them something to eat. Jesus did this to show His disciples the makeup of a miracle. The makeup of a miracle is God working with man and man working with God. Jesus knew He was going to perform a miracle and he wanted His followers to make the most of it.
In every account, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the disciples did not believe they could do what Jesus asked them to do. They did not believe they were able to buy food for or feed that many people. However, they were wrong. In each case Jesus first asked them to give the people something to eat and in each case the disciples ended up feeding every one of those present all they wanted to eat and more. How did this happen?
The disciples found a young lad who had something natural God could use in a super-natural way to meet the need. God demands we participate in our miracles. A miracle is where what we are willing to do touches what God is willing to do. God marries what we can do with what He can do. When we won’t offer what we have, God may not offer what He has. Our faith walk is a partnership, and nothing less will do.
The miracle of salvation happens in an instant at the moment an individual’s willingness touches God’s willingness. And God is always willing to forgive, save, and deliver. The only hold back is the individual and their willingness to be a part of God’s great plan.
There is some small way you can partner with God right now for the miracle you and others around you desperately need. Something you can do, something you can offer, something you can contribute in a natural way that God will use in a supernatural way to make the miracle happen.
It may look like it won’t meet the need or like it is insignificant however, nothing is too small or insignificant for God to use when it is placed in His hands.
What
have we discussed today?
1.
When what we are willing to do touches what God is willing to do,
miracles happen.
2.
We need to give God something to work with.
a. God marries the
natural and the supernatural to make miracles.
b. God demands we participate in our miracle.
And
– Two things we did not discuss today but I feel I should say them anyway:
·
Don’t take a temporary situation and create a permanent problem.
·
Even though you didn’t break it, God may still need you to help Him
fix it.
