Preparing For A Miracle!

I don’t think Namaan ever expected to walk away from a dirty river a changed man. Not only was his leprosy healed and his skin restored, but he was healed of a far greater disease, his prideful spirit was dealt with. God changed him from the inside out. That wasn’t really what he bargained for, he brought with him a fortune, Namaan would have gladly paid out the bucks to get a mere healing. Some scholars say, that Namaan had the equivalent of 1.5 million in gold and silver with him, and he was willing to give it all. But God was not interested in the money, you can’t buy a miracle. Who knows, perhaps Namaan thought he could. God worked it out in a totally different way, and it didn’t even cost him a dime.

You see, the greatest miracle of is changed lives. You can read the miraculous accounts of God moving in scripture and you’ll find in every case that it resulted in someone’s life being changed. In the Bible there is a litany of miracles from beginning to end, Jesus performed 39 of them that we know of that got recorded, who knows there could have been hundreds upon hundreds more, in every case there’s the miracle and then there’s the miracle behind it. The real miracle is not walking on water, or feeding a hungry crowd or healing a terrible disease. The miracle behind the miracle is the life change that results from it. God can juggle lightening bolts all day and give us a real showing if he wants to. But real miracles from God have a different agenda, it brings about dramatic life change, and attitude change. You’ll never be the same after a God given miracle. That’s God’s agenda. When God performs miracles, unexpected changes in your life may occur. Look for the unexpected.

Now let me wrap this up with an illustration. You know what my job is here today, besides teaching the Bible. My objective tis morning is to prepare you to receive a miracle in course of you lifetime. I can’t guarantee them, I won’t give you a formula, I don’t have any magic. My job is to prepare you and equip you. I see it this way. God wants me to move people into miracle territory, some people are moving in that direction and some are not. And to get into the miracle zone, you have to prepare. That’s my job.

You remember that game you used to play when you were kid, or maybe you played it with your kids. It’s the hot & cold game.

In case you’ve forgotten, let’s play it. The object is my Bible. I’m going to put it here and you tell me if I’m hot or cold.

SIMULATION: (At this point play the "hot & cold" game with the audience)

Closing Invitation:

Some of you are hot, you’re real hot. You’ve been walking humbly with God and praying like crazy. You’re in what we call, the ‘miracle zone.’ Don’t give up. Keep waiting on God to move. They that wait on the Lord shall be renewed in strength and mount up like Eagles. Stay in the hot zone.

Now, some of you are cold. You’re out there in the desert somewhere, wandering around thinking God is never going to come. Maybe you’re in the cold zone, because you’ve let pride get in the way. Can you imagine how this story might have ended if Namaan would have held onto his pride and stayed angry? My guess: no miracle! The good news is this: You can go from cold to hot real quick, when you lay down your pride, humble yourself and get in the river. Pride is not for God to take away, it’s for you to give up. The remedy for pride is humility. Humble yourself like a child and come to God holding nothing back. Put yourself on the altar today, become a living sacrifice. The real miracle that God wants to perform in YOU!

OFFER CLOSING PRAYER & INVITATION.