Miracles by Measure
Would You Like to Super-Size That for Just, .49 ?
Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. [repay]
Mete - ascertain in size by a fixed standard an average or normal requirement, quality, quantity, level habits
To the same degree......in the same way......to the same extent......with the same patience......with the same mercy....etc.,
If it is a cold action from me I will receive a cold reaction from god
If I constantly am receiving luke warm results my fixed standard may be luke warm
Our giving of our time treasure and talent should rise to the level of sacrifice - the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim
And we must begin to equate the sacrifice as a measure by which we measure gods response in giving us a miracle
Abraham Bininger. Born in Switzerland in the 17 hundreds he and his parents left their homeland and bordered a ship for America. During the journey both his father and mother died and were buried at sea. While just a boy he found himself in a strange land were he knew absolutely no one. However he never let his misfortunes hold him back. After hearing of the great misery and poverty among the slaves on the St. Thomas he sought to travel there to preach the gospel.
Upon his arrival he discovered the it was against the law for any person but a slave to preach to the slaves. It was the policy of the plantation owners to keep the slaves in ignorance and superstition.
Shortly after this the governor received a letter from the Bininger. In the letter Bininger pleaded with the governor to allow himself to be made a slave for the rest for his life. Bininger promised that he would serve as a slave faithfully, providing he could give his leisure tine to preaching to his fellow slaves.
The governor in turn sent the letter to the King of Denmark who was so touched by the willingness of Bininger to sacrifice his freedom for the gospel that he sent an order the allowed Abraham Bininger to preach the gospel whenever and where ever he choose, to black or white, to slave of freeman. And there was a move of God on St. Thomas Island
The scripture is replete w/ example of those who received form God miracle and mercy by the process of sacrifice
Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Translated - To convey from one place or person to another; to transport or remove to another place or person; as, to transfer the laws of one country to another
Heb 11:6 But without [ apart at a space] faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder [ give in return]of them that diligently seek him.
constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything
I kings 17 tells us that during a drought no rain brooks rivers lakes dried up that god sent Elijah to the city zarephath [ to purge / refine] and as he walked in to the city he said hey poor lonely hungry thirsty widon woman give me a drink of water o yeah while your at it bring me some bread
1Ki 17:12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
1Ki 17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
1Ki 17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
1Ki 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
1Ki 17:16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.
1 sam 7 at the very time Samuel was making a sacrifice israels enemies were closing in but god thundered down in them
2Sa 24:24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
2Sa 24:25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
2Ch 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Jas 5:16 …The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Effectual - having adequate power or force to produce the effect
Fervent – fiery hot boiling
Availeth-has force to be of use or value to; profit;advantage
Jeremiah 29:13,14a
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord,
You are only going to experience God to the extent that you set your heart to know Him. Knowing about God isn’t enough. You can know all the facts without really ever knowing the one of whom the words are written.
Jeremiah 24:7
Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
To know what God will do all we have to do is look at what He has done
The Law of Sowing and Reaping can be ignored, but we will still reap what we sow because the law does not change.
The Laws of Physics can be ignored but, as many have discovered too late, those laws will not fail. One of those laws says that two objects of matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time. If you bump into the corner of the bench with your knee, or if you try to put two cars into the same space on the highway you will quickly discover that ignoring those laws don’t negate their truth.
Gen 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
Gen 22:7 And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Gen 15:8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Gen 15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
Gen 15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
Gen 15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. [gospel of mark satan is the fowl trying to steal seed sown]
Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Gen 15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
Gen 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. [ revival and revelation]
Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Mar 2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
Mar 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
Mar 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, [ action = constancy loyalty belief dependence]he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
There’s an Christian author named Frank Foglio,
who tells about how his daughter was injured in a car accident.
Her brain was severely damaged, and despite hundreds of people praying for her, her condition grew steadily worse.
Finally she had to be placed in the hopeless ward of an institution for the mentally ill. 7 years after the accident, things had not improved. In fact his daughter had once clawed her way out of a straitjacket and tried to hang herself with a bedsheet.
The absolute hopelessness of the situation had started to take its toll on Frank, and his faith started to waver.
On one very difficult journey to the institution, Frank was arguing with God.
"How could You be a God of love? I wouldn’t permit such a thing to happen to my daughter if I had the power to prevent it. You could heal her. But You won’t. Don’t You love people as much as even I do? You must not."
Frank felt his anger rising against God.
"Praise Me," a Voice said to him. "What for?" Frank replied.
"Praise Me that your daughter is where she is."
"Never!" he spit out. "I would rather die than do that."
God had no right to ask him to praise Him, when God wasn’t doing His own job of showing His love for people.
The Voice said again, "Thank Me that your daughter is exactly where she is,"
Frank said, "God, I couldn’t praise You if I tried. And I’m not going to try, because I don’t believe I should."
As Frank continued toward the mental home, the Holy Spirit worked in his heart, and he felt his attitude begin to soften. He said, "Well, God, I would praise You if I could - but I just can’t."
A little further along, he confessed, "I would praise You, but You would have to help me."
After arriving at the institution. Frank went through the procedures to get clearance to get into the most restricted part of one of the buildings. It always took a long while to get into his daughter’s ward. Sometimes, he wondered why he continued to come. His daughter didn’t recognize him. She didn’t know him from a stone on the ground.
Finally, Frank was in the last waiting room, the one that separated him from the ward. One steel door remained to be opened. Standing before it, Frank Foglio heard the calm and firm voice of God one more time:
"Thank Me that your daughter is exactly where she is."
Frank, finally whispered his surrender:
"Okay, God. I thank You that my daughter is where she is. I know that You love her more than I do."
At that moment a vaguely familiar voice cried out, "I want my daddy, I want my daddy."
The attendant opened the door, and Frank raced to his daughter’s compartment. Clothed in her right mind, she threw out her arms and embraced her father. Nurses, attendants, and guards gathered around in disbelief and joy.
Goes on – Daughter was able to come home that day, after 7 years.
