Sunday Service | Mt. Zion Church | 1 July 2018

We can read lot of miracles recorded in the Bible. All of those miracles were written not as an old and dead history, but as a living and powerful Word of God, so we can build our faith on! God made lot of miracles for His people, even more than we can read in the Bible! Apostle John wrote: And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name John.20:31-31. Miracles were recorded so we can have a sturdy faith in God! Miracles are not just a good luck. Miracles are the works of God for us, in us, even through us! We can receive the miracle of God, and we also can be the miracle of God for others! And the best thing that we must know is this: God who made thousands of miracles in the Bible is the same God whom we believe now, and He still remain the same, yesterday, today, and forever Heb.13:8. And God more than happy to perform that miracles, signs, and wonders in our days, so our witness could be effective and powerful! Following our teaching series last months about reaching out, now we will continue in the new series about signs and wonders!

Therefore, they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. Acts 14:3 NKJV

God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Hebrews 2:4 NIV

LET’S BELIEVE IN GOD’S MIRACLES

¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” ¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!” Genesis 18:12-15 NKJV

We must have a good faith in God’s words and promises! Our God is more than able to make any miracles! There is anything too hard for the Lord! But how many times people of God like to laugh within themselves just like Sarah! Sometimes God let His people live in some limited circumstances, just like what happened with Sarah, so He can do His miracle through them. God let Sarah lived in a condition that she would never able to fix it by herself, even until she grew too old, so she can put her trust in God only. When the promise came to her life maybe she already too old physically and too weak in faith to receive it, so she laughed within herself and gave a very bad response for it at first! Later, Sarah corrected her attitude, so the miracles could be done in her life and she really appreciate her son as the biggest gift from God in her family.

⁵ Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” ⁷ She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.” Genesis 21:5-7 NKJV

Sometimes God let us go through all of difficult situations, so we can learn to acknowledge that we are UNABLE to help ourselves! God wants us to learn how weak we are without Him. God wants us to understand that we are powerless unless the power of God helps us.

²¹ And Moses said, “The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ ²² Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?” ²³ And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” Numbers 11:21-23 NKJV

Even Moses was happened to underestimate the power of God! Moses was a brilliant and smart soldier, maybe Moses already try to calculate all flocks and herds, also all fish, and he realized that all of it will not enough for about two million people in the wilderness. Unfortunately, Moses forgot that God is able to do something beyond his understanding! How many times we like to place a limit on God and keep God’s work within our boundaries! Honestly, we will only receive what we are believing Mark.11:24. So, if we can’t believe then we will never receive it!

Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. Thus, says the Lord: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’” 2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 2Kings 7:1-2 NKJV

As a prophet of God, Elisha spoke out the blessing which will relieve the famine in Israel. Unfortunately, the officer of the king was not believed in it and said something rough. At last, he saw the miracles happened, but he remained hungry and then perished away! A good faith will receive miracles, but the bad one will receive nothing!

⁵³ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. ⁵⁴ When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸ Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:53-58 NKJV

When Jesus did His ministry upon the earth, not all cities in Israel receive the same miracles! Some of them receive more and some of them receive nothing. When Jesus arrived at Nazareth, his own country and his own house, shamefully they rejected Jesus only because they underestimated Him as a carpenter’s son. They knew exactly about the background of Jesus’ family and they just rejected Him and didn’t want to believe in Him. In fact, God can use anyone to perform His miracle. We MUST NOT underestimate anyone! People who like to underestimate someone while overestimate others actually is arrogant, boastful, and they will not receive God’s miracle unless they want to submit their life in God’s hand!

Miracle is real, miracle is always ready and available for those who need it! However, miracle is not a magic wand that we can use according to our own will. Miracle belongs to God and is happened to magnify and glorify His name, so people can be drawn closer to Him!

LORD, HELP MY UNBELIEF!

²³ Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24 NKJV

A father came to Jesus, asking Him to release his son from the evil spirit. Actually, not only the son who need help from Jesus, but also his father, and also the disciples. The son was having problem with the devil spirit while the father and the disciples were having problem with their unbelief! Jesus said: If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. It already happens for long time when this father was not belief in the power of Jesus until that point of time in his life when he cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” It was good thing that this father realized his unbelief and asked Jesus to help him, while maybe another people have the same unbelief but keep silent and never cry for any help from Jesus! We must destroy the wall of unbelief, so the blessing and miracle of God can happen in our life! While someone still unbelief in God, they will try anything for help just like what happened with a woman with 12 years of bleeding problem. Gospel of Mark recorded how this woman had suffered many things from many physicians, she had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. But when she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment, saying, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Mark5:26-28. The problem in this woman grew from medical to financial. Our unbelief will lead to another problem and will make everything become worse.

In the other hand, the disciples also having problem with unbelief. Later in that story, the disciples came to Jesus asking why they could not cast the devil, and Jesus answered: Because of your unbelief Mat.17:20 and also because that kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting Mat.17:21. Our faith is built together with prayer and fasting! Asking for miracle is not only mention it in our mouth but more about the quality of faith within us!

⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:6-8 NKJV

Apostle James taught us to ask in faith, with no doubting, otherwise we will receive nothing from the Lord. Let’s believe that miracle is real. Let’s believe that God remains the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Let’s believe that God is more than able to help us. Let’s start to believe and throw away our unbelief! Let’s have our life defined by the Word of God and not by the fact of this world because we have God who created this world even the universe. Let’s not place a limit on God anymore as we have limitless God. Let’s believe that God is able to change our limited circumstances with His limitless works. AMEN.