Miracles--Part 1

As we start our series on miracles, it is good to have a working definition of what a miracle is. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a miracle as “1: An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs,” and “2: An extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment.”
These definitions are good, but rather wordy. So allow me to simplify things by saying that a miracle occurs any time God does what only God can do. And when you think about it, everything God does is something only God can do. Therefore, everything God does is, technically, a miracle.
A miracle can include anything from healing leprosy, or even cerebral palsy, to making trees and flowers grow, to saving people from their sins. These are all things that God does and only God can do.
On Sunday, PJ told us that we’re meant to experience the supernatural on a daily basis, and I agree. However, we must be careful about how we define that which is supernatural or what we expect it to look like. For example, even though I’m meant to experience the supernatural in my life, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I should go through life expecting God to heal my cerebral palsy, and then being disappointed if He doesn’t.
One thing we must qualify any discussion about miracles with is the Sovereignty of God. God does what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, and for His purposes; not ours. There may be times when we ask God to perform a certain miracle in our lives, and He says no.
This may cause us to ask, when does God perform a miracle (such as physical healing) and when doesn’t He? Many factors may come into play. However, we must remember that God always does that which brings Him the greatest glory. Therefore, if God is going to receive more glory through my life as the result of Him not healing my handicap, then He won’t do it. If healing me will bring Him the greater glory, then He will. However, from our vantage point, not knowing the future, we cannot know what will result in the maximum glory given to God. Therefore, we must trust that God does know these things and will act accordingly.
Another general principle we learned was that miracles start with us doing something about a situation. As we saw in II Kings 5, Naaman had to go see the prophet, Elisha, and then he had to bathe in the Jordan River seven times. In Matthew 9, we find that the paralytic man had to actually get up and walk. For it has been said that the healing did not come until he actually tried to get up and walk. The healing came as he did what Jesus told him to.
Ironically, many evangelicals say that there isn’t anything we have to do in order to receive salvation from God. They are correct insofar as there are no good works on our part which are required for salvation. However, there is in fact something we must do in order to receive salvation. We must believe that Jesus died for our sins and was raised back to life. We must trust that He will forgive our sins when we ask Him to. And of course, we must take that step of trusting Him to forgive us by asking Him to save us. Then and only then will we receive the miracle of salvation.
In any given situation, what must be done in order to receive a miracle from God can vary. As I just stated, the only thing we have to do to receive salvation is ask for it. the woman with the issue of blood had to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. Naaman had to bathe seven times in the muddy Jordan River. But one element is common in all these situations—faith. If we’re ever going to be able to expect to receive a miracle from God, we must believe at least that He is capable of doing what we ask.
Matthew 21 tells us of an occasion in which Jesus cursed a fig tree, which then immediately withered and died. When the disciples marveled at it, Jesus told them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matt. 21:21-22).
The antithesis of this is just as true. If we do not have faith—if we do not believe that God can do what we are asking Him to do—then we will not see Him work in our lives.


QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION

1. What miracle do I need to have God perform in my life?


2. Do I believe that God can perform this miracle, or do I have a defeatist mentality that says, “Yes, God probably could do this, but He probably won’t”?


3. What action(s) do I need to take in order to facilitate receiving a miracle from God?


4. Read Ephesians 3:20-21. In your e-group discuss how this verse relates to our topic of miracles.