28.01.20 - Surprise! You Don't Do The Miracle.

Over the last few weeks, we have been talking about the book “You Were Born For This” by Bruce Wilkinson. Wilkinson says that God is compassionate and wants to demonstrate His love and power in people’s lives all of the time. All around us are people in need and people who don’t know Jesus but God wants to do supernatural things in their lives that make them aware of His very real love.

That is all very well, but how does God get access to those lives? What is the bridge between God and people? Generally, other people. And we can be those people. We can work with God to deliver miracles into people’s lives. In fact, Wilkinson says this is what we were born for.

He talks about 4 keys to a life of experiencing everyday miracles. We have already looked at two:
• The Master Key: Make yourself available. Eagerly ask to be used.
• The People Key: God’s agenda is people. We need God’s heart for people and a willingness to go to whomever God chooses without just following our own preferences.

Today we come to the third key. Here is a question: Would you rather have Jesus living as your next-door neighbour or have the Holy Spirit living in you?

People sometime say, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have Jesus physically with us. Imagine being able to watch Him and talk to Him. Imagine being in the presence of God. Imagine seeing those miracles.”

But Jesus said a very surprising thing. Before He died, Jesus spent a lot of time preparing the disciples for His departure. It was all about the fact that Jesus would no longer be with them. READ John 15:26-16:15.

It was all about the fact that Jesus was not going to be with them. He told them a lot of things so that they would not fall away. They were going to face hardships and persecution and Jesus wouldn’t be there. Under such pressure and without the encouragement and inspiration of Jesus’ presence, they could easily fall away. “Now I am going to the One Who sent me,” He said and they were filled with grief.

Then comes the surprising bit. Jesus said it would be better for them that He was going away. How could that possibly be? How could it be better not to have Jesus present? Let’s look again at v.7
John 16:7 It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away the Advocate will not come to you; but, if I go, I will send Him to you.

15:26 told us that the Advocate is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said we would be better off without Him because, if He went away, He could send the Holy Spirit. According to Jesus, we are better off without Him and with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God just as much as Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is not some poor substitute for Jesus. He is God. In His earthly form Jesus was limited to a physical body and to a particular location. By contrast, the Holy Spirit is living in every Christian. God is not just with us sometimes; He is in us always.

Were the disciples actually better off when they received the Holy Spirit than they had been when Jesus was present? I am sure they loved being with Jesus. There is no doubt about that. I can understand their grief when they heard He was leaving them. But what did they discover when the Holy Spirit came? They had supernatural power. They saw miracles regularly. The Holy Spirit guided them and spoke to them. They were never on their own. Jesus had said they would never be left alone like orphans. He would come to them. That was their experience. Jesus was still with them but without the limitations.

Very early in the book of Acts, soon after the disciples had received the Holy Spirit, Peter and John, on the way into the temple, came across a crippled man begging. Peter said to him, “Silver or gold I do not have but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” And he did!

An amazed crowd gathered. Peter said to them, “People of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness, we had made this man walk?”

People must have thought that Peter and John were supernatural. Peter very quickly pointed out that they were not gods. It was not by their power or godliness. It was by their faith in Jesus that the man had been healed. It was the power of Jesus that healed the man.

Jesus had said in John 16 that the Holy Spirit would guide us into truth. The disciples experienced the guiding of the Holy Spirit. We read about them being led by the Spirit or guided by the Spirit or, occasionally, prevented by the Spirit from doing something. Peter was presumably led by the Spirit in knowing how to respond to this man.

Secondly, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would speak to Christians, words that He received from Jesus Himself and tell them what was yet to come. We can hear Jesus speaking as we listen to the Holy Spirit.

Thirdly, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would glorify Jesus. Who got the glory when the lame man was healed? Jesus did. The Holy Spirit worked a miracle to bring glory to Jesus.

But as Peter said, “It wasn’t us. It was Jesus aka the Holy Spirit.” We can be in that same position – miracles happening that clearly are not us but are the Holy Spirit at work. We don’t have to do the miracle. All we have to do is deliver it. But we must be willing to partner with the Holy Spirit.

That is the third key: The Holy Spirit key: partnering with the Holy Spirit to deliver a miracle by God’s supernatural power. Pre-committing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit at every opportunity.

You don’t have to do the miracle! Like Peter, it is important we believe, and we make sure others understand, “It wasn’t us! It wasn’t our power!” But this key is about cooperating with the Holy Spirit so that God’s power can flow through us. By the power of God we can do what we can’t do.

Here’s another story from the book. Bruce Wilkinson was ministering one summer on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. The small local church, which was built on stilts to catch the ocean breeze, came up with the plan of showing a Billy Graham feature film one night. They publicised it and each night leading up to it church members gathered to pray. Each night one of the newest converts, a teenager named Radha, told them that his father would never come. His father was the village drunk and known to despise followers of Jesus. Radha kept saying, “Jesus is not strong enough to bring my father.”

The night arrived and people filed into the church until it was almost full. Then they heard Radha’s father down below swearing and yelling abuse. A 14-year old girl stood to pray and begged God to help Radha’s father get through the door. No sooner had she finished praying that they heard someone noisily climbing the stairs and Radha’s father came in, scowled at everyone and took a back row seat.

Bruce Wilkinson smiled at Radha, introduced the film and then flipped the projector switch. Nothing happened. Only minutes before the projector had been working perfectly.

Wilkinson began sweating profusely and praying to God for help. Several people gathered around to try to fix the projector. As they fiddled with it, Radha’s father stood, swore profusely and stomped into the night. Soon, his distraught son left too.

Wilkinson was caught between continuing with the projector for the sake of all the other people gathered and going after Radha. The Holy Spirit’s nudge was to go and see Radha. He left others fiddling with the projector and went outside.

Underneath the church he found Radha leaning against a stilt, sobbing. “I knew it! I knew my father would never find out the truth about Jesus. Now he’s gone forever!”

Wilkinson’s mind was in a turmoil but he felt the Holy Spirit’s leading to take a bold step. He said, “Radha, God was powerful enough to bring your father to the church the first time. He is powerful enough to bring him back. We are going to pray right now and ask the God of the universe to bring your father back, not only to watch the movie, but to meet Jesus tonight.”

His throat tightened with emotion as he prayed a simple prayer of faith for Radha’s father, then they both went back into the church. It was obvious the projector was still dead and people were preparing to leave.

Wilkinson walked to the front and apologised for the disappointment. He then felt God nudge him again – to pray one more time. “God, it’s your turn. We can’t fix the projector but you can!” Then feeling foolish and afraid, he reached for the On switch. The projector whirred into life. Everyone raised a shout. God had demonstrated His power in a way people wouldn’t forget.

But God hadn’t finished. A few minutes into the film, Radha’s father returned and without a word took his seat again. When the movie finished an hour later, Wilkinson gave an invitation for anyone who wanted to put their faith in Jesus, as Billy Graham had explained, to stand and come forward.

Radha’s father was the first to move. With tears streaming down his face, he walked into the outstretched arms of his son. People that night witnessed God at work in the projector but, more, in the heart of an angry man bringing him to new life on Christ. People watched as they saw God show His love and power to a doubting young man named Radha.

People couldn’t have persuaded Radha’s father to attend. It was the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit who nudged Bruce Wilkinson to follow Radha outside and to pray for the miracles of his father’s return and his conversion. It was the Holy Spirit who nudged Wilkinson to pray one more time for the projector and to flick the switch again. It was the Holy Spirit who made the projector go. It was the Holy Spirit who brought Radha’s father back and who brought him to faith.

It was all God but God used Bruce Wilkinson to bring about those miracles. We are not supernatural but we can partner with the supernatural. We can’t do miracles but God can and He can use us. As I have said before, it is not about good works. It is about partnering with God for the miraculous. Wilkinson had to take the risk of praying that Radha’s father would return. He had to risk flicking that switch one more time. If God hadn’t turned up, he would have looked very silly. But he risked it.

We might not know the other person and almost certainly won’t know what they are thinking and what has been happening in their lives and what troubles them. But the Holy Spirit knows that person perfectly and knows how to best meet their need.

The Holy Spirit also knows us perfectly – our strengths and weaknesses, fears and limitations. He knows everything about us, loves us perfectly and can perfectly match us with the right person at the right time to deliver the right message.

The Holy Spirit guides just as Jesus said. All those nudges.

The Holy Spirit speaks words that come directly from Jesus. He can give us understanding or He can say the perfect thing, through us, that will speak to the other person’s need. Wilkinson says, “One of the most thrilling moments of a miracle delivery is when you look into the face of a person and realise, “God is here! He is at work. I am witnessing His work before my eyes!”

The Holy Spirit empowers. The New Testament Christians are often described as being bold, yet they had been timid.

The Holy Spirit does the miracle. But we must do the work. We must follow those nudges. We must speak out even when we are not quite sure what God is doing. While everyone watches, we must flick that switch again. Do you want to work in partnership with the Holy Spirit?

21.02.10 - Anyone. Anytime.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been talking about a book that our daughter, Kirsten, gave me for Christmas. The book is “You Were Born For This” by Bruce Wilkinson. It is about being used by God to deliver His miracles into people’s lives. The basic premise is that God is compassionate and wants to do miraculous things in people’s lives – miraculous things that reveal His love and concern. There are needy people all around us and God wants to miraculously meet needs. The question is: Who will deliver those miracles? Who will go between God and those in need?

Bruce Wilkinson talks about four keys. The first one, that we looked at last week, is the key of making ourselves available. More than that, it is the key of eagerly asking God to use us. “Lord, send me to do your work.”

I did suggest that we might pray that this week and see what God does. Has anyone got a story to tell about making yourself available and God using you?

Bruce Wilkinson was flying once and planned to use the flight time to proofread a book he was writing. This was God’s work. This book might potentially influence thousands of people for God. And there was a deadline. He needed this time to do this job. He asked God to help him get this job finished (which secretly meant, “Please don’t ask me to help anyone in the next three hours.”)

As he boarded, he discovered that he was in a window seat with an empty seat on the other side. He thanked God for hearing his prayer.

Just before the doors closed he heard a loud, obviously drunk man enter the plane and his heart sank. He quickly reminded God of the work he had to get done. The man had hair dyed several colours and his body had been pierced in numerous interesting places. He stopped at Wilkinson’s row and the smell of alcohol seemed to fill the cabin. He sat down in the vacant seat, accepted a drink from the flight attendant and started to talk to Wilkinson. They exchanged chit-chat then Wilkinson deliberately turned away and focused on his work.

Rainbow Metal Man (as Wilkinson refers to him) ordered another drink. Wilkinson worked and kept asking God to protect him from further interruptions so he could finish this job. Rainbow Metal Man kept drinking until the flight attendant suggested he had had enough.

However, the words Wilkinson was reading convicted him until he prayed “All right, Lord, send me to serve You, even to this man. But let him start the conversation.”

No sooner had he prayed those words than Rainbow Metal Man said, “That’s a beep, beep good book!”

“Uh, you think so?” Wilkinson replied, trying not to get tipsy from the fumes, “How do you know?”

“Beeep, I’ve been reading it over your shoulder. But I have an important question. Are you a priest?”

“Where did that come from?” Wilkinson wondered. He wasn’t wearing black or a dog collar or a cross. Then a verse flashed through his mind.
1 Peter 2:9 You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.

Wilkinson stammered, “Yes, I guess you could say that I am a priest. But what makes you ask?”

They introduced themselves. Rainbow Metal Man’s name was Gary. As he talked, Bruce Wilkinson realised why God had sat Gary next to him. Gary explained that his best friend in the world had been killed in an accident the previous day.

Wilkinson said he was sorry. Gary sat in silence for a moment then said, “You know, when I went over and saw him dead, I couldn’t help thinking, If that was me, I don’t know where I’d go after I die. I couldn’t sleep all night. On the way to the airport, I said to God, ‘If You are there, God, please send me a priest!”

Wilkinson put his work aside and asked, “How can I help you, Gary?” He and Gary then had a conversation about friends and death and heaven and hell.

Was God involved in that? Who caused Gary to wonder where he would go if he died? Who planned for them to sit together on that flight? Had God planned that conversation? What happened in Gary’s heart?

Was talking to Gary more important than getting the proofreading finished? Wilkinson tells that story to illustrate Key 2. We can make ourselves available but God might have a task for us that we don’t find convenient or that involves people we don’t like. Key 2 is the People Key. The People Key is how you make God’s agenda and heart for people your own. You prepare for the inevitable collision between your preferences and God’s by yielding your rights in advance. That way he can deliver a miracle through you to anyone at any time.

We can want to deliver miracles into people’s lives but we come with assumptions and expectations and preferences about what that will look like; how it will happen. The problem is that God might have a different idea. In fact, Wilkinson says that in his experience, God’s miracle agenda rarely matches Wilkinson’s assumptions and expectations. We don’t have to choose between something bad and something good. We have to choose between something good and something miraculous.

Wilkinson’s plan was proofreading the book – something good and even spiritual. It was easy to argue for the need to get that done – something that might influence thousands versus talking to one drunk, foul-mouthed metal-man. No contest! It was already clear what God’s agenda for that flight was. Except that that wasn’t God’s agenda.

God’s miracle agenda is summed up in one word: people. It is not about our preferences. It is about serving people. Jesus said, “I am among you as the One who serves” and “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

It is not up to us to decide what we will do. It is up to God. We are called to serve Him and to serve His people. We need to surrender our perspective, our agenda, our wisdom to God’s agenda which will mean that God chooses who and when and where and how a miracle is to be delivered – and what miracle. It will always involve a person, or persons, in need but it might not even look like an opportunity to us.

Jesus went to some unexpected people: the unpopular (such as Nicodemus), social outcasts (such as the Samaritan woman at the well), people who interrupted what was going on (such as the paralysed man lowered through the roof), a late night visitor (Nicodemus), a ritually unclean person clutching at Him (the haemorrhaging woman). These things might happen at the time we least prefer, and involve someone we don’t like.

Last year we spent some time looking at Jonah. Jonah was a prophet. Presumably that means that he had already made himself available to God. But when God said, “Go to the Ninevites” Jonah just refused. Not the Ninevites! They were Assyrians. They were a notoriously violent nation that worshiped false gods. They were age-old enemies of Israel. Jonah wanted them destroyed. He didn’t want them repenting. God’s agenda was definitely not Jonah’s agenda, so Jonah ran away in the opposite direction.

Then there was the whole episode with the boat and the storm and the whale and eventually being vomited up. Then God said again, “Jonah, go to Ninevah.” Obviously, Jonah had been radically changed by his experience and he was now repentant, because this time he went.

He did go, but he hadn’t repented. He still wanted the 120,000 people in Ninevah to suffer God’s judgement. The fact that they repented and God spared them only made Jonah angry.

God is about people. Jonah did not have God’s compassion for the people of Ninevah. Jonah had not surrendered his own agenda. He was not willing to make it anyone, any time, any how.

The book of Jonah ends with a question. God asked, “Should I not have concern for these people?” We never find out Jonah’s answer. That is the heart of God: to have concern for people – people who will otherwise perish. We never find out whether Jonah came to that same understanding.

Maybe that is left an open question because we are meant to ask if we have come to God’s view about people. Do we care about people who are suffering? Do we care about people facing God’s judgement? We might be wide open to being used whenever, wherever, with whomever God wants, or we might be selective and we decide when it suits us.

Of course, if we are willing to be used whenever God wants, that will mean a much greater range of miracles that we can be involved in. If we select only certain types, we will experience God far less. Or maybe not much at all. Maybe God won’t choose to use us if we insist on it being on our terms.

Working with people, there will always be disappointments. People will let us down or not appreciate what we do for them. If we were simply serving people, it wouldn’t be worth it. But God calls us to serve people as a way of serving Him. You might remember these words from when we looked at Colossians last year.

Col 3:23-24 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
“It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Jesus said that whatever we do for one of the least of His brothers or sisters, we do for Him. When we remember that we are serving Jesus that helps us get our priorities and motives right.

Again, I find this challenging to the point of being scary. I can easily think that I am doing the Lord’s work and be blind to an opportunity to serve someone. Wasn’t that the problem with the priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan? Who is my neighbour? So preoccupied with doing the Lord’s work that I miss the Lord’s work. I can easily avoid certain people or certain types of people. But I can’t argue with the rightness of letting God decide. I can’t argue with the rightness of being available for anyone, any time. I can’t argue with God’s compassion for hurting people whoever they are.

I might find it scary but equally, I don’t want to miss out on the privilege of encounters like the one with Gary. I want to see needy people experience God’s miracles.

Those of us who find it exciting but scary at the same time might need to talk to God about it. “Lord, I want to be part of what you are doing. I want to see people experience your goodness miraculously. But, at the same time, I am reluctant to approach certain people. I like to be in control. Please help me to be more usable; more pliable in Your hands; more ready to say “yes” whenever You show me an opportunity.”

The compassionate God who cares about people is looking for people who care about people. Is that you?

So we have two keys now. Are you ready to experiment with both and see what God does?
1. Send me to do your work,
2. Irrespective of my preferences, I will go to any person, anytime, anywhere, to do whatever You ask?

What opportunities might that availability and that submitted willingness open up?

14.02.10 - Please send me.

Does God want us to change the world? Of course, He does. He has commissioned us to make disciples of all nations. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” All the world; all creation.

Acts 1:8 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Clearly, God intends us to change the world. That should be how we think. When some asks what you do, tell him you change the world! When he has recovered he will say, “Oh really? How?”

That is when you mention your job or your lifestyle or whatever. Your mission is to change the world. Everything else is simply the how. Some people change the world by being politicians; some people by being doctors; some by being teachers; some by being parents; some by dealing with rubbish.

Last week I talked about the book You Were Born For This, which says that every day, every Christian has the opportunity to be used by God to deliver a miracle (or maybe more than one miracle) into the life of someone else – and change the world. We possibly doubt that. Maybe we think that miracles are only very rare events and completely God’s responsibility. But Bruce Wilkinson, in this book, says that God is compassionate and caring and wants people to know that He loves them. He wants to intervene supernaturally in people’s lives frequently, not occasionally. God wants to perform miracles daily.

On the one hand, there are many, many needy people. There is no lack of need. There are hurting people or struggling people all around. On the other hand, God is keen for those people to experience His love and His provision. So what is going to bring those two together? There is limitless need. There is a compassionate God. There are opportunities every day. But generally God chooses to work though people. What is missing so often is a person willing to be used by God to meet that need.

Here is another story from the book. We could use our own stories and it would be good to do that. If you have got a story that fits what I am talking about today, it would be good to share that at the end. Anyway, in this story as Bruce Wilkinson was driving one swelteringly hot evening he prayed, as he often does. He imagined himself walking into the courts of heaven, and standing before the throne of God. He prayed “Please, Lord, send me to do your work. I want to serve You this evening.”

Just minutes later he came upon an older model van pulled off to the side of the road and a man in a turban motioning for help. He pulled up and the man came to his window.

“What’s the problem, Sir,” Wilkinson asked.

“My van is broken down. I called for a tow truck but they only take cash at night. I don’t have any. I have been here for hours.” He was soaked with perspiration and visibly traumatised.

Wilkinson invited him to sit in his car where it was cooler. He gave him a bottle of water and they talked about what to do.

“You’ve really been out here for hours?”

“Yes, and I have small children waiting for me at home.” He paused then said, “But what people have been shouting at me – that is the worst.”

“Shouting?”

“Yes, as they drive by. I’ve never heard such filth. Racial slurs. Profanities. Curses upon my mother. They throw things...”

Wilkinson says that he knew then that this was no coincidence. This was God’s answer to his prayer only minutes earlier and now God was nudging him to do something.

He said, “I am sorry, Sir. Hours of that would be extremely painful. If you will allow me, I want to apologise for every disrespectful thing those people said.”

The turbaned man looked at him in disbelief.

‘Please forgive us,” Wilkinson continued, “That’s not who you are. And that’s not who everybody out there is either.”

He then told him he wanted to pay for the tow truck and he reached for some money saying, “Here’s something for the tow truck and a little more to get your van fixed. It’s money I have been carrying for someone else. I have reason to believe he would want you to have it.”

At first the man was speechless. Then he thanked Wilkinson profusely and asked for his address so that he could pay the money back. Wilkinson said there was no need to pay it back. The man got out of the car and started towards his van. Then he paused, turned and came back to the car window. “Sir,” he asked, “are you an angel?”

“Well, I was sent you but I am not an angel.”

“It was God who sent you, wasn’t it?”

“Yes” Wilkinson replied.

In the book, Wilkinson talks about seven keys to being involved in miracles. The first key – what he calls The Master Key – is to pray urgently to be sent to do God’s work. His prayer that night in his car was answered within minutes.

Praying to be used is the first step to being involved in God’s miracles. By praying we make ourselves available. There are other keys about how to be effective but the first step is making ourselves available.

But Wilkinson talks about “urgent prayer”. He says it is not just a case of making ourselves available if God ever wants to use us some time in the future. “Lord, I want you to know that I am here if you ever need me.” It is more like jumping up and down saying, “Please send me. Pick me! Pick me! I want to deliver miracles today.”

Jesus has already said “Go.” Most Christians know that and agree with it. But few go. God is hungering for people who will say, “Please send me.” We can be part of God miraculously working in people’s lives. If God is really keen and if there is need all around us, is it possible that we could be involved in God’s miracles every day – if we were asking to be sent?

Last week we talked about the prophet Micaiah getting a glimpse into heaven. The prophet Isaiah also saw into heaven. It is a very familiar passage. READ Is 6:1-7.

It must have been an awesome experience. Heaven was bustling with activity and full of God train, full of smoke. God was seated on His throne. It is no wonder that Isaiah felt his uncleanness. God cleansed him, then, v.8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

God asked, firstly, “Whom shall I send?” and, secondly, “Who will go?” It is one thing for Him to send someone but who will actually go. Jonah was sent but didn’t go. Isaiah doesn’t say “Well, maybe I could.” He tells God what to do: “Send me!”

The passage goes on then to talk about the ministry that God had for him – what God planned to do in the life of Israel through this servant, Isaiah.

What would happen if we prayed with some fervour, “God, please use me in your work today”? He will put us in a situation tailor-made for us where we can help someone and be the delivery person of a miracle. He has situations for which we are the right person. God is looking for willing people.

Wilkinson suggests four steps in praying this prayer
1. Consciously enter the throne room of heaven.
He suggests we imagine being in that room with God on the throne and Jesus at His right hand and we think of our prayer as an actual event that happens in the courts of heaven rather than just words we pray.

2. Volunteer with the words, “Here am I. Send me!”
Imagine yourself saying to God “Pick me! Pick me! I want to go.” God just needs to hear you volunteer and He’ll use you.

3. Pre-commit to act when you are nudged
Part of praying the prayer is committing to God that no matter where, no matter when, no matter how God signals to you that there is an opportunity in front of you, you will take it. The temptation might be to rationalise and come up with excuses or doubt God, but part of praying to be used is being willing to act when God says to.

4. Actively put your faith in God to deliver His miracle through you
Trust that God will perform the miracle. You don’t have to perform the miracle. You just have to deliver it like a pizza delivery person. The miracle comes from God. We have to trust Him to come through.

Is that frightening? Being willing to act whenever God directs. Trusting God to perform a miracle. I find that challenging. And that could very easily stop me right there.

But that is why I said last week that I started this book somewhat cynical about its sub-title of “7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles”. I thought it sounded superficial and unrealistic and as if miracles were easy. But it is this sort of thing that made me realise that it is actually very realistic and challenging. It is about us believing that God wants to work in people’s lives and us being willing to be part of it even when we have no guarantee of success – only a belief that God wants to act. It isn’t glib stuff about how easy miracles are. It is serious stuff about what we need to do before God to be used by Him.

It is true, isn’t it, that if we are to be part of a miracle, we have to be ready to act when God says so and we need to trust God for the miracle. In other words, the first key is prayer. Linked to that are obedience and faith.

We might feel not ready. But, if we are willing to pray “Please send me” God won’t put us in a situation we can’t handle. He won’t set us up for failure. He wants to encourage us. He wants us to grow, so He will put us in a situation that is right for us. It might stretch us but God knows we can, with His help, meet the challenge. He wants to encourage us with this step so that we want to take another step.

Do you believe in a miracle-working God? Are you willing to be used to deliver some of those miracles? Can you trust God to not let you down? Even if there is fear in your heart, pray “Please send me to do your work” and see what God does.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could encourage each other next week with stories of what happened when we prayed that prayer? There might be stories already. Can you tell of a time when you prayed to be used and God put you in a situation where a miracle happened and you delivered that miracles?

07.02.10 - Can We Expect Miracles?

Last week I introduced the theme of “Changing the World.” I want to pursue that some more.

I suggested last week that we might be cynical about the idea of changing the world but that is exactly what Jesus and the disciples were accused of doing. The Pharisees feared that the whole world was following Jesus. The disciples of Jesus were accused of causing trouble all over the world.

Maybe God’s wants us change the world. Certainly our task is to make disciples of all nations; to preach the gospel in all the world.

I asked what it would take to change the world. On the way out of church one person said “a random act of kindness.” Someone since has said his family watched the film “Paying It Forward”. The theme of that was doing something that would change the world and it is about acts of kindness. We have the DVD if anyone wants to watch it. Someone else said it takes vision and passion to change the world.

There were probably other things said too which have slipped my mind. What else would it take?

Are we too small to change the world. Mother Teresa said, 'I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.' Can you cast a stone across the waters?

Our daughter, Kirsten, gave me a book for Christmas called “You Were Born For This” by Bruce Wilkinson who wrote “The Prayer of Jabez”. The sub-title is “7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles”. That made me a little sceptical. Are miracles that simple that they can be achieved with seven steps? What about “predictable miracles”? It sounded to me as if miracles were something we could turn on and off. I suspected the book was going to be a lot of motivational talk that wasn’t really grounded in real life.

But, as I read it, I became more and more convinced and challenged by it. It wasn’t just ra-ra-ra stuff. Wilkinson has a high level of expectation about miracles happening but seems to me to be realistic about what we need to do to be used by God.

Can we expect miracles? Can miracles be predictable? People often say, “You can’t expect miracles.” But can you expect miracles? Should we expect miracles? Should we expect to deliver miracles into other people’s lives? Can we expect everyday miracles? Or is that all just Christian hype and unrealistic?

I am sure we all understand miracles to include very dramatic things such as walking on water, raising the dead, people being healed... We have lots of people here who can tell stories of God’s healing and maybe some instances of being raised from the dead. People here have stories of God being there for them when they were at their wits end. All sorts of things. If you questions whether miracles can really happen, that is an honest question but many people here can tell stories of what they certainly believe to be miracles.

But if, one day, you felt that God was asking you to visit a particular person and you had coffee together and you said, “I want you to know that I pray for you often. I know that life is pretty tough at the moment. You must be desperately concerned for your daughter. I just want you to know that I’m praying.”

If that person responded, “You don’t know how much that means to me. I got up this morning feeling desperately lonely and feeling that no one really understood. In fact, feeling like giving up. Thank you for saying what you just said.”

And you said, “Well, you know, I just felt God wanted me to say that to you today.”

If that happened, would that be a miracle? No one was raised from the dead. No one was healed – in a way. But God was involved, you were obedient and somebody knew that God cared enough to speak and encourage him or her. Would that have been a miracle?

Bruce Wilkinson talks about everyday miracles. He says that on the one side you have Christians who are into signs and wonders – the big spectacular miracles – and that’s great but somehow it seems to be restricted to a fairly limited group of particularly gifted people. On the other hand, you have Christians who are into lots of good works and serving but don’t expect to see the supernatural –believe in miracles but don’t expect to see miracles. But he says, in the middle is the territory of everyday miracles.

What would it be like to be part of miracles like that every day? Is that possible? Should we expect that God wants us to be part of a miracle each day? In other words, does God want to intervene supernaturally in human affairs frequently? Or only rarely? And does God want to use you as part of those miracles?

A miracle like I described doesn’t require any special powers. It doesn’t require any particular spiritual gift. Some people do have a spiritual gift of miracles and God uses them in the area of signs and wonders. But miracles like the one I described require only an expectation that God wants to do something powerful and a desire to be part of it. It requires a love for people and a sensitivity to people’s needs. It requires a willingness to partner with the Holy Spirit. Those are the sorts of “keys” that Bruce Wilkinson is talking about, but they are possible – maybe not easy, but possible – for any of us.

How many of us have felt a nudge to help someone and done nothing about it? Is it possible that God has wanted to do something supernatural but we have not been ready to deliver that miracle?

I am not talking here about simply being encouraging or simply being caring. I am talking about partnering with the Holy Spirit. I am talking about the supernatural – about things we cannot do by ourselves but simply have to be God. I am not talking about good works. I am talking about miracles.

Can we expect miracles? Brue Wilkinson says, “God is keen. He is just looking for volunteers.”

On what basis does he say that? First some questions. “What do you think is happening in heaven right now?” Do you imagine God on His throne and lots of praise and worship? What do you think God is doing? Nothing? Just listening to the worship? What about committee meetings? What about strategy meetings? Let’s look at 1Kings 22. The background is that Ahab, the corrupt and evil king of Israel, planned to go to war against Ramoth Gilead but he wanted to hear from God first. He asked all his prophets – false prophets who worshipped false gods – and they said, “Go. The Lord will give you victory.” But Ahab was not sure so He asked Micaiah, a true prophets. READ 1 Kings 22:19-23.

Micaiah had seen into heaven. In heaven there was a committee meeting going on. God had called all the hosts of heaven – angels – together and they were not singing. They were planning. God asked how Ahab might be enticed to attack Ramoth Gilead. God’s plan was that Ahab should go to war but how might he be persuaded to do that? God asked for ideas. Various angels made suggestions. Then one suggested that he would go to earth and be a lying spirit in the mouths of the false prophets. God said, “Go and do it.”

It worked! Even though Micaiah told Ahab that it was God’s strategy to mislead him through the false prophets, Ahab still chose to believe the false prophets. He went to war and was killed.

While things were unfolding on earth, strategy meetings were held in heaven. God planned to intervene in what was happening on earth and He looked for a partner. In that instance, it was an angel but might it be true that when God has plans for things on earth, He looks for one of us to partner with Him?

When Jesus was persecuted for healing on the Sabbath, He said, “My Father is always at His work to this very day.” (Jn 5:17) God isn’t just sitting on His throne listening to worship. He is working. He is intervening in people’s lives – healing, for example. A couple of verses later, Jesus said, "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. (John 5:19-20)

When Jesus was on earth, He partnered with God. He didn’t just do His own thing. He said He could do only what He saw the Father doing. He submitted Himself to God. But they worked in complete unity. Whatever the Father did the Son also did. And God was keen to reveal what He wanted done. The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does.

How could God get something done on earth today? He could do it Himself. He could get an angel to do it. Or, He could use a person. The fact is that He generally uses people.

Can we expect miracles? Can miracles be “every day”? You will have to answer that for yourself but the first reason for believing so is that God is keen to be active in the world and He is looking for volunteers. God is keen because He cares about people. He cares about people in need. He is compassionate. He wants to help people who are suffering. And He is looking for volunteers to deliver those miracles.

Delivering miracles is not just an exciting optional extra for those who are interested. It is what we are meant to do. That is why Wilkinson calls his book “You Were Born For This?”

May I finish with a story from the book?

Jimmy was a very clever, practical guy who could make anything or fix anything but don’t ask him to sit down and talk about relationships or contemplate the meaning of the universe. When he heard that he could partner with God to deliver supernatural events on a regular basis, he didn’t believe it. H worked in the construction industry, not ministry. He couldn’t think of one time from the last 10 years when he could say for certain that God had shown up.

But he more he heard about it, the more he wanted to partner with God to do God’s work on earth and he decided to risk it.

The next morning, as he dropped windows off at a construction site, he got into a conversation with Nick. Nick let it be known that his marriage was on the rocks and he didn’t hold out much hope for it.

Normally, jimmy would have expressed sympathy and quickly steered the conversation to something safer. This time, he listened. Then he said, “Nick I really want to help you. What can I do for you?”

Without hesitating, Nick said, “You could tell me what to do next. I’m tied up in knots but I really want this marriage to work.”

Jimmy panicked! He wasn’t going to tell another guy how to fix a relationship. But he took a deep breath and took an outrageous step of faith. He suggested Nick get something to write with and when he came back, Jimmy would tell him how to save his marriage. In fact, he had no idea what he was going to tell Nick. He was simply buying time but maybe God was doing something here and Jimmy was determined to be part of it.

When Nick returned, Jimmy heard himself saying, “You need to go home and make your bed.” He didn’t know where that had come from or what use it was. “That’s all I have to say,” he apologised, “I guess you don’t even need to write it down.”

Nick stared at Jimmy with his mouth open. “How did you know?” he gasped. “That is a giant source of conflict for us! I’m the last one up and I never make the bed. My wife says it a sign of everything that’s wrong with the marriage. I don’t get it. But you know what? I’m going to drive back at lunch time and make the bed before my wife gets home.”

God wanted to be involved supernaturally in Nick’s life and God wanted to heal that marriage. God cares about the personal struggles of individuals and He wants them to know that. God cared enough to show Nick a practical thing that might help heal that relationship.

All he needed was a Jimmy to deliver it. Can we expect miracles? Can they be every day events?