Message 8: Miracles - Doing What Jesus Did
Review Six Words:
1. The Gift of Faith – Granted to us by God so that we can be restored to Him
2. A New Identity – As a result of Faith, I come to see that I am truly a new person in Christ
3. Coming to Believe – Taking action steps – in every area of our being – that reflect who we really are as people of faith.
4. Miracles – what God is able to do in and through the lives of true believers.
5. Miracles – the impact of God’s works on those around us preparing them to receive the gift of faith.
6. Testimony – our stories of God’s intervention that lead us to glorify Him and draw others to Him.
Paul is writing about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the local church and says:
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.”
1 Corinthians 12:7-10, NIV.
• God gives evidences of His Spirit living within – they are called SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
• They are given for the ‘common good’
• There are a variety of spiritual gifts, Paul lists some of them: ‘wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.’
• Miraculous powers is listed as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
What are miracles?
Dennis Bennett defines them this way: “Miracles are events that seem to override or contradict the so-called ‘laws of nature’.
C. Peter Wagner defines the spiritual gift of ‘miraculous powers’ this way: “The special ability to serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to perform powerful acts that are perceived by observers to have altered the ordinary course of nature.”
Intuitively we know that miracles are events that are outside the ‘normal’ course of life. They seem to be inexplicable to the human mind and understanding.
As Christians we must give the credit to God for any miracles that we see happen.
At the same time, as American-rationalistic Christians – we frankly don’t know what to do with miracles, they don’t fit our typical way of thinking and as a result we also don’t expect the miraculous to occur with any kind of frequency – and without expectation of the miraculous, we don’t ask God to do miracles too often.
Unless, of course, our back is up against the wall. When we are in trouble – it is then we ask God to do the miraculous!
• But, what if God wants to work in the realm of the miraculous for reasons beyond rescueing us when we are desparete?
• What if His purposes for working miracles is to provide convincing evidences of His Presence and Power that results in people coming to the undeniable conclusion that He loves them?
God’s word declares that in the church there will be people gifted by the Holy Spirit to be ‘workers of miracles…’
Some people say: “We don’t need miracles today. That was for then. They were a primitive people, they needed dramatic evidence. But we have science. We have reason. Two plus two equals four.”
You can say that if you want - but it goes in direct contradiction to the priorities of God for His people…
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:12-17, NIV.
• “I tell you the truth” – a declarative statement of Christ – pay attention to this when you see it – He is about to lay out a very important reality of being a part of the Kingdom of God!
• “Anyone who has faith in me…” – What is about to be said applies to all members of Christ’s church – we are invited to participate with Christ – by faith – in something truly amazing!
• “Anyone who has faith in me will do…” “Do” – means that the gift of faith that God gave you will result in new activities, new actions that demonstrate your true identity as the people of God.
• “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing…” – Apparently when we come to Christ, we get a new agenda for living – we begin to involve ourselves in His priorities, it’s no longer about living for self – we are now living for Christ! What did Jesus do?
Jesus said in Luke 4:18…
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”” Luke 4:18, 19, NIV.
These are the priorities of the Kingdom:
• Good news
• Freedom
• Recovery of sight
• Release from bondage
• Knowledge of God’s favor
And here is what Jesus did:
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Matthew 9:35, NIV
And we read the Gospels and we see that Jesus did more miracles than we can even imagine…
• Turned ordinary water into extraordinary wine – John 2:1-11
• He walked on water and enabled Peter to do the same – Matthew 14:25-33
• He miraculously increased one little boys food in order to feed 5000 people – Mark 6:34-44
• He caused a raging storm to cease – Mark 6:45-52
When Jesus is questioned about His identity, he simply says:
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” Matthew 11:4, 5, NIV.
Why did Jesus perform miracles?
• To demonstrate compassion to the suffering - healings
• To meet practical needs – feeding, walking on water
• And – to demonstrate the glory of God!
In fact, Jesus did so many miracles that is caused John to write:
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25, NIV.
Now – go back to John 14…
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:12-17, NIV.
• He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father
– Do you get this? Do you see the implications of what Jesus is declaring?
We – God’s people of faith – given a new identity as people of His kingdom – will take action steps of believing faith – that will result in ‘greater things’ than even Jesus did! We get to be a part of God’s miraculous activity in the world:
- We get to demonstrate compassion to the suffering!
- We get to meet practical needs through the miraculous!
- We get to show the glory of God to an unbelieving world!
I know that you minds are saying: “How can this be?” – but – let’s demonstrate a little Holy Spirit-control right now and say instead: “Lord, let it be!” Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to fill our unbelieving intellect and begin even now to make faith statements of agreement with Christ:
“I believe! I believe that you’ll use me to do the miraculous! I don’t know how – but I believe you at your word! Lord, let it be!”
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6, NIV.
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8, NIV.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV.
• Participating with Christ in the miraculous isn’t about you – it’s about allowing His power to flow through you.
• As we become increasing God-dependant – and decreasingly self-dependant – He will make His grace abound!
• As we become increasing Spirit-empowered and decreasingly soulish – He will do ‘immeasurably more’ than we can even imagine!
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17
The key to participating with Christ in the miraculous stems from our relationship with the Indwelling Holy Spirit! As we become increasingly aware of His Presence in our lives – as we move further and further away from self-centered, soulish living and increasingly allow Him to direct our lives – we come to know Him personally. And then, we are able to pray and act accordingly!
When you know God’s priorities in the moment, you can take the action steps that He will bless!
This is what Paul was getting at in Galatians 5:24…
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:24-25
When I am in step with the Spirit – I will experience His power like never before! And He will do great things in and around me!
CONCLUSION:
• Are we believers?
• Do we believe God at His Word?
• Are we willing to submit our finite intellect to the authority of an infinite God?
• Do we want to participate in the miraculous work of Holy Spirit in drawing people to Christ?
• Will we seek Him to show us the way?
Let’s cry out to God – right now – asking for Him to work in power in our midst.
1. The Gift of Faith – Granted to us by God so that we can be restored to Him
2. A New Identity – As a result of Faith, I come to see that I am truly a new person in Christ
3. Coming to Believe – Taking action steps – in every area of our being – that reflect who we really are as people of faith.
4. Miracles – what God is able to do in and through the lives of true believers.
5. Miracles – the impact of God’s works on those around us preparing them to receive the gift of faith.
6. Testimony – our stories of God’s intervention that lead us to glorify Him and draw others to Him.
Paul is writing about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the local church and says:
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.”
1 Corinthians 12:7-10, NIV.
• God gives evidences of His Spirit living within – they are called SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
• They are given for the ‘common good’
• There are a variety of spiritual gifts, Paul lists some of them: ‘wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.’
• Miraculous powers is listed as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
What are miracles?
Dennis Bennett defines them this way: “Miracles are events that seem to override or contradict the so-called ‘laws of nature’.
C. Peter Wagner defines the spiritual gift of ‘miraculous powers’ this way: “The special ability to serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to perform powerful acts that are perceived by observers to have altered the ordinary course of nature.”
Intuitively we know that miracles are events that are outside the ‘normal’ course of life. They seem to be inexplicable to the human mind and understanding.
As Christians we must give the credit to God for any miracles that we see happen.
At the same time, as American-rationalistic Christians – we frankly don’t know what to do with miracles, they don’t fit our typical way of thinking and as a result we also don’t expect the miraculous to occur with any kind of frequency – and without expectation of the miraculous, we don’t ask God to do miracles too often.
Unless, of course, our back is up against the wall. When we are in trouble – it is then we ask God to do the miraculous!
• But, what if God wants to work in the realm of the miraculous for reasons beyond rescueing us when we are desparete?
• What if His purposes for working miracles is to provide convincing evidences of His Presence and Power that results in people coming to the undeniable conclusion that He loves them?
God’s word declares that in the church there will be people gifted by the Holy Spirit to be ‘workers of miracles…’
Some people say: “We don’t need miracles today. That was for then. They were a primitive people, they needed dramatic evidence. But we have science. We have reason. Two plus two equals four.”
You can say that if you want - but it goes in direct contradiction to the priorities of God for His people…
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:12-17, NIV.
• “I tell you the truth” – a declarative statement of Christ – pay attention to this when you see it – He is about to lay out a very important reality of being a part of the Kingdom of God!
• “Anyone who has faith in me…” – What is about to be said applies to all members of Christ’s church – we are invited to participate with Christ – by faith – in something truly amazing!
• “Anyone who has faith in me will do…” “Do” – means that the gift of faith that God gave you will result in new activities, new actions that demonstrate your true identity as the people of God.
• “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing…” – Apparently when we come to Christ, we get a new agenda for living – we begin to involve ourselves in His priorities, it’s no longer about living for self – we are now living for Christ! What did Jesus do?
Jesus said in Luke 4:18…
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”” Luke 4:18, 19, NIV.
These are the priorities of the Kingdom:
• Good news
• Freedom
• Recovery of sight
• Release from bondage
• Knowledge of God’s favor
And here is what Jesus did:
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Matthew 9:35, NIV
And we read the Gospels and we see that Jesus did more miracles than we can even imagine…
• Turned ordinary water into extraordinary wine – John 2:1-11
• He walked on water and enabled Peter to do the same – Matthew 14:25-33
• He miraculously increased one little boys food in order to feed 5000 people – Mark 6:34-44
• He caused a raging storm to cease – Mark 6:45-52
When Jesus is questioned about His identity, he simply says:
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” Matthew 11:4, 5, NIV.
Why did Jesus perform miracles?
• To demonstrate compassion to the suffering - healings
• To meet practical needs – feeding, walking on water
• And – to demonstrate the glory of God!
In fact, Jesus did so many miracles that is caused John to write:
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25, NIV.
Now – go back to John 14…
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:12-17, NIV.
• He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father
– Do you get this? Do you see the implications of what Jesus is declaring?
We – God’s people of faith – given a new identity as people of His kingdom – will take action steps of believing faith – that will result in ‘greater things’ than even Jesus did! We get to be a part of God’s miraculous activity in the world:
- We get to demonstrate compassion to the suffering!
- We get to meet practical needs through the miraculous!
- We get to show the glory of God to an unbelieving world!
I know that you minds are saying: “How can this be?” – but – let’s demonstrate a little Holy Spirit-control right now and say instead: “Lord, let it be!” Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to fill our unbelieving intellect and begin even now to make faith statements of agreement with Christ:
“I believe! I believe that you’ll use me to do the miraculous! I don’t know how – but I believe you at your word! Lord, let it be!”
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6, NIV.
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8, NIV.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV.
• Participating with Christ in the miraculous isn’t about you – it’s about allowing His power to flow through you.
• As we become increasing God-dependant – and decreasingly self-dependant – He will make His grace abound!
• As we become increasing Spirit-empowered and decreasingly soulish – He will do ‘immeasurably more’ than we can even imagine!
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17
The key to participating with Christ in the miraculous stems from our relationship with the Indwelling Holy Spirit! As we become increasingly aware of His Presence in our lives – as we move further and further away from self-centered, soulish living and increasingly allow Him to direct our lives – we come to know Him personally. And then, we are able to pray and act accordingly!
When you know God’s priorities in the moment, you can take the action steps that He will bless!
This is what Paul was getting at in Galatians 5:24…
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:24-25
When I am in step with the Spirit – I will experience His power like never before! And He will do great things in and around me!
CONCLUSION:
• Are we believers?
• Do we believe God at His Word?
• Are we willing to submit our finite intellect to the authority of an infinite God?
• Do we want to participate in the miraculous work of Holy Spirit in drawing people to Christ?
• Will we seek Him to show us the way?
Let’s cry out to God – right now – asking for Him to work in power in our midst.
posted by Doug Love at 9:28 AM
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