June 7, 2009
Morning Worship
Text: Joshua 3:5-17
Subject: Miracles
Title: Seven Steps to Receiving God’s Miracles
Today I want to begin a series on receiving God’s miracles. Today and then for the next seven sermons we will touch on the seven steps to receive a miracle in your life.
Do you believe in miracles? I hope so, be cause it is our faith in a supernatural God that causes Christians to believe that unexplainable events outside the natural realm do occur from time to time. Mirriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “miracle” as, “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs”.
Back in 2000 Newsweek took a poll in 2000 concerning the topic of miracles and here are some of the results.
· 84% believe God performs miracles.
· 79% believe the miracles in the Bible actually took place.
· 63% know someone who claims to have experienced a miracle.
· 48% say they have experienced or witnessed one.
· 90% of Christians believe in miracles.
· 46% of non-Christians do.
· 98% of Evangelical Protestants believe in them.
· 87% agree miracles can happen to religious faiths different than their own.
· 67% of Americans have prayed for a miracle.
· 77% believe miracles can cure people given no chance by medical doctors.
Now this should be an encouragement to all of you to share your faith because you know that not every one of those who believe in miracles is born again. But, if they believe there is a God who works miracles then they must be open to the greatest supernatural work of all – salvation.
The problem we see in America then is not with God working miracles, but with the question, “Can we expect God to work miracles on our behalf when we pray?” And the answer is a resounding “YES!” Even though some Christians don’t believe that God works miracles on our behalf, the bible is very clear on what God desires to do for those who trust Him.
I want to look at a passage from the book of Joshua today and look at the steps that lead to a great miracle on behalf of the nation of Israel.
Lord, open my eyes to see, and my ears to hear, what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Seven steps to receiving God’s miracles.
1. CONSECRATE YOURSELF. (5) Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” The word “consecrate” means “to be made clean or holy”. It is presumptuous of us to think that just because we have been saved by God’s grace through our faith in Jesus that we can live our lives in any fashion we desire and expect God to respond to our prayers. Deuteronomy 23:14, 14For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. We’re not talking about being legalistic. You can tie your hair up in a bun, wear long sleeved shirts or long dresses, not go to movies and be in church every time the doors are opened, but that doesn’t mean your heart is right before the Lord. Consecration comes from a personal relationship with the Risen Savior. Consecration comes from separating yourself from the lies of the world and from crucifying the flesh. You see, the generation before this generation of Israelites who were about to go into the land of promise, even though they had left Egypt, they never really separated themselves from Egypt. They were not consecrated or set apart. That’s why they all died in the desert. Did you ever wonder what God must have thought as His presence was in the middle of the camp day and night, in sight of all of Israel, and all He heard from them was grumbling and complaining about the food and the conditions? They want quail – I’ll give them quail… And as they stood and danced around the fire that had somehow miraculously produced a golden calf and they worshipped the calf while calling on the name of the Lord? Even though they had been removed from the sin of Egypt, they never consecrated themselves to God. Once we are saved consecrating yourself means crucifying the flesh. You don’t get saved and keep on doing the same things you always did. Ephesians 2:10, 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. What do you think would have happened if Israel had not consecrated themselves? Would God have done amazing things among them? You want to see a miracle in your life? Then let the fruit of a life consecrated to God flow out of you.
2. STAND IN THE RIVER (8) 8Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’” There are two things about standing in the river. 1) The river was what was keeping Israel from getting into the Promised Land. The Jordan River at flood stage can be as much as one mile wide. You want to see God work miracles in your life? Then confront the obstruction head on. Are you having a hard time finding time to spend in the word and in prayer? Confront the problem and reevaluate your priorities. Is the image of who God is clouded in your mind? Get a new picture and hold on to it. Step out into the river. 2) In John 7:37-38, 37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Are you having a difficult time believing that God has a miracle just for you? You need to step out into the river of the Holy Spirit and allow the third person of the holy trinity speak to your heart and minister the truth into your life. One of the signs of a maturing Christian is that even when it doesn’t feel like it you still know that you are in the river. Your emotions aren’t being stirred, the Holy Ghost goose bumps aren’t there, you may even feel like there is a barrier between you and the Lord, but you have that internal confidence that He is still right there with you, guiding and teaching, and that in the end you will be refreshed by the river of the Spirit.
3. FOLLOW THE LORD’S PRESENCE (11) See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. You need to have the attitude that Moses had in Exodus 33:15, Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. Lord, I’m not going anywhere that You won’t go. I know that You will never lead me into anything that isn’t good and nurturing and wholesome because You have my best interest in mind. So where you go I will follow. Why do you think that Paul’s ministry was so successful? In his own mind it seemed more cost effective and less time consuming to go into Asia and Bythinia to preach the gospel. But when the Lord spoke to him in a dream about going to Macedonia he went. Because of his obedience he then founded a church that would provide financial support for his ministry for years to come. Look at what happens in God’s presence. Leviticus 9:23-24, 23Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
4. TRUST GOD’S WORD (13) And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” There is absolutely no way under natural law that this was going to happen. Ask Gene Harlan about the power of a river at when it floods. How would you have responded if you had been one of the priests carrying the Ark? “I don’t think so Joshua. You go on ahead and test the waters. If it’s OK then we’ll come!” That is one of the problems with the world today. We are so pragmatic. We won’t believe anything we can’t see. We have been so influenced by the world. The world says that the word cancer is a death sentence so we don’t trust God for healing. The world says that people are the products of their own doing so we don’t offer help. The world says that people will never change so we keep the gospel to ourselves. Even though God’s word says that healing is ours, we become new creations after we are saved and that God so loved the world – everyone. Even when it does not make sense to us His word is the compass that the church must follow to lead us to the promises God has given. You can ask and keep on asking just like Jesus said we are to do but when it comes right down to it are you really trusting God to do what His word says He will do? Luke 8:19-21, 19Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” That leads us to our next point
5. STEP OUT IN FAITH (15) Turn over to Luke 18 and verse 8. …when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” What do you think that Jesus was talking about? He’s not talking about saving faith because when He returns He will take the church back to heaven for a marriage supper. He is talking about the faith that it takes to know God’s word, believe God’s word, stand on God’s word and step out in God’s word in order to transform your surroundings. If the church were doing that we would be in the midst of the greatest revival the world has ever known. And maybe we are. We tend to look at everything from an American perspective when around the world the Holy Spirit is moving as never before. Churches are being built in unprecedented numbers. People are being saved at astronomical rates. They are receiving the Holy Ghost baptism with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance by the thousands daily. In China in any given 24 hour period 30,000 people are coming to Christ. In Sub-Saharan Africa 20,000 and in Central and South America 10,000. Why is that? Because God’s people are penetrating the world with His word that is being confirmed by signs and wonders on a daily basis. Even when it doesn’t make any sense to take the Gospel into Muslim countries churches are being established. Even though it looks as if the enemy has established control over Africa people are being healed and delivered from disease and false religion. 15Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) was completely cut off. God is waiting for you to step out in that kind of faith to receive your miracle.
6. CROSS OVER TO THE PROMISE (16) So the people crossed over opposite Jericho… I heard a great illustration about this very thing the other day and it refers to how the closer you get to your miracle the harder the enemy will work to defend his territory. In football the hardest yards to cover are the last twenty yards before the goal line. It’s called the Red Zone. You see the closer you get to reaching the goal the more stubborn the enemy gets to keep you from getting it. There are far more touchdowns that are scored from grinding it out on the ground on one yard plunges than 50 yard passes. How many of you, by faith, know that you have received your miracle but you just haven’t seen the manifestation of it yet? You know God’s Word. You stand on the Word. You act on the Word, but you just haven’t realized the fullness of the promise yet. Why? Football players give up because they haven’t totally bought into the head coach’s offensive scheme. We’ve tried this before and it didn’t work. Or they have become so tired from grinding out 3-4 yards at a time that they just don’t have the strength to finish. So they just give up and give out before the end zone. Or, they lose sight of the goal because they consider it a hopeless situation. Or, the enemy wants to keep them out more than they want to receive the promise. Hebrews 12:1-3, 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
7. STAND FIRM (17) The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. As the priests stood there waiting for Israel to cross on a dry riverbed don’t you know that they were aware of what was happening upstream from them. The waters were piling up higher and higher. You could see it from where they were. Yet they never wavered. They knew that the One who had promised was able to see it through to the end. I have heard testimonies of people who received complete healing only to be fooled again by the father of all lies who told them that nothing had changed. People have lost their healing, their blessing, and even their testimony because they failed to stand firm in the Lord. Ephesians 6:10-13, 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. In Joshua 3:17 and in Ephesians 6:13 the words that are translated “stood firm” (Hebrew) and “stand” (Greek) both have the same alternate translation. Both words mean, “to abide”. So once you have received your promise, your healing, your miracle, don’t just see it but abide in it; live in it. Take possession of it and stay there. Don’t let the devil force you out. He cannot unless you allow it.
1. Consecrate yourself
2. Stand in the river
3. Follow God’s presence
4. Trust God’s word
5. Step out in faith
6. Cross over into the promise
7. Stand firm.
Mark 5:25-34,
25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
This woman did everything she needed to do in order to receive her miracle and Jesus told her to Go in peace…
Is that what you need in your life today?
