Opening illustration: You might not see the literal ‘Red Sea’ miracle in today’s context but will surely see one parallel to it. The issue is, as the Israelites waited before the ‘Red Sea,’ they didn’t contemplate or pursue to build a bridge across it. They waited on God for His Salvation. Apparently God defied all the natural laws and did what was not possible and comprehendible by man. They saw God doing the impossible. Did they have self-reliance and not look to God for a miracle? OR Did they learn to be patient to wait on Him and not build the bridge with their abased, intellectual minds to over-rule God by stepping on His toes?
Let us check out a contemporary story about what we have become when it comes to experiencing His miracles …
A man was putting tin roof on his barn when all the sudden he slipped and began to slide down the roof. He cried out to God to save him when no sooner he got the words out of his mouth a nail caught his pants and stopped him. When he stopped he said, “never mind God I took care of it”. The problem isn’t that God doesn’t perform miracles anymore the problem is we’re not looking for God to perform miracles. We want to do stuff on our own so that we can give credit to ourselves (hungry for self-recognition) and absolutely no glory to God.
Jesus never said that you all have seen God’s power in the OT times but hereafter ‘NO.’ Apparently He said the opposite - that you all will do greater things than what He would be doing. Let us turn to John and to the Acts of the Apostles to understand how Christ was empowered for Miracle Ministry.
Introduction: The miracles of Jesus range from changing water into wine to healing the lame, the blind, delivering the demonically possessed and raising the dead which apparently triggered His own death on the cross and His ascension three days later. How do we know He did these things? We have the eyewitness testimony of four gospel writers, who record at least 35 miracles of Jesus. While there are many explanations for what a miracle is, we can probably all agree that the word "miracle" describes an event that occurs outside the bounds of natural law, and which is beneficial in its result. During the course of His three-year public ministry, Jesus performed miracles that demonstrated His ability to heal, to master the elements, to affect the outcome of our endeavors, and even to raise the dead. Every one of His miracles occurred outside the bounds of natural law, and all of them had beneficial results.
How did the miracle ministry of Christ shape out?
1. Unfair Advantage
Apparently Jesus did not have an ‘unfair advantage’ during his earthy miracle-ministry. Jesus shared the very nature of God – He was ‘God with skin on.’ But we are merely human, so …
• His command to obey ‘everything’ – which includes healing and driving out evil spirits – sounds impossible.
• His promise that believers would do ‘even greater things’ seems mind-boggling and unbelievable.
We need to take seriously the fact that, when Jesus the Eternal Word of God became incarnate, there was sacrifice involved as He surrendered any ‘unfair advantage:’
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2: 5-7)
He made the sacrifice of:
• Changing from the ‘very nature’ of God to ‘very nature’ of man.
• Relinquishing, not clinging to, equality with God.
• Making Himself nothing (literally ‘emptying’ Himself)
2. Advent of the Holy Spirit
Mary’s pregnancy was not due to sexual relationships with her fiancé, but due to the activity of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1: 35).
The shaping of Jesus’ character (Hebrews 5: 8-10) and His awareness of His relationship with the Father (Luke 2: 48-52) are the fruit of the ‘internal’ work of the Spirit in His life.
The Holy Spirit existed from time infinity as a third person of the ‘Triune God.’
Jesus had no sin, wrong thinking, or impure motives that gave Satan legal access to His life. Satan could find nothing in Jesus - not even one square inch of territory - to which he could lay claim and thus gain access to Jesus’s heart. The enemy continually seeks occasions where he can obtain a legal entry point in our lives. Sin and spiritual ignorance open the door and invite his hold over us. This is the reason why there was prominence and profound manifestation of the Holy Spirit and His works through the life of Christ. This is one of the major essentials of power ministry.
Illustration: In 1953 in Grimes Iowa, Violet Cross was getting sicker by the day. Finally her eldest son Frank insisted she go to the doctor. Eventually they ended up at the large teaching hospital in Iowa City. The diagnosis was devastating. Though Violet had never smoked she was dying of Lung cancer. One lung was already gone the other was rapidly being devoured by the malignancy. The doctors sent her home offering no real hope, six months of pain would ultimately lead to her death.
That Sunday violet went down to kneel at the altar at the tiny church pastored by her son-in-law, Clarence Lautt. There in Grimes Gospel Center she begged God for one thing. Her two youngest daughters, Kay and Linda were still in high school. "Please God," she prayed, "Let me see my girls finish high school."
Her husband Eddie bought her the engagement ring that he hadn’t had the money to buy 30 years earlier, expecting that to be one of his final acts of love toward her. But Violet started feeling better. Kay graduated from high school, and her mom was back on the farm doing chores again. Linda graduated from high-school. Both girls married. Grandchildren were born. In fact 18 grandchildren were there to help celebrate Violet and Eddie’s 50th wedding anniversary.
In 1976 Violet came to live at my house after my grandfather Eddie passed away. When I was 12 years old, 38 years after the doctors had given her 6 months to live; Grandma Cross’s two healthy lungs breathed their last.
3. Power Ministry begins
At His baptism by John in the Jordan River: ‘And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.’ (Mark 1: 10-12)
‘Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age …’ (Luke 3: 23)
• The Spirit had already been at work in Jesus’ life.
• Now the Spirit comes upon Him.
• It is only after this event that Jesus is involved in healings, deliverances and other miraculous events.
Jesus understands that His ‘power ministry’ is due to the dynamic activity of the Holy Spirit of God, not His own power.
‘But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.’ (Matthew 12: 28)
Peter echoes this:
‘how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.’ (Acts 10: 38)
Illustration: Early in ministry experiencing the manifested miraculous power of God during an underground worship service in Nizwa, Oman. The shaking of the pulpit and men with a leg and groin problem healed.
4. Culmination of OT Threads
In Jesus 2 key threads of the Holy Spirit’s activity are woven together:
a) The ‘empowering-for-ministry’ presence of the Holy Spirit.
I. THE GENERAL CREATIVE LIVE-GIVING WORK
• Work at creation
Genesis 1:2, Psalm 33:6
• Life-giving and sustaining
Job 34:14-15, Psalm 104:30, Ezekiel 47:9, 12
II. THE SPECIFIC WORK IN THE PEOPLE OF GOD
• The Spirit falling upon a person giving power and authority for active service and mighty works for God’s people. This is the case of the judges, the charismatic kings of Israel and some of the prophets like Elijah.
• The Spirit falling upon a person, or anointing the person to speak God’s word as a prophet. This is the case of the early prophets and the major writing prophets.
• The Spirit falling upon a person, moving him or her to ecstatic praise of God. This was the experience of King Saul, perhaps of King David, and of the Sons of the Prophets.
• The Spirit within or filling a person, neither for power nor sanctification, but to give special skill or wisdom to accomplish God’s appointed work. Some examples are Bezalel the Ark Builder, and Joseph the interpreter of dreams.
There is a general pattern to the Spirit’s work in people’s lives as described in the OT:
The Spirit of God
Fell upon / came upon / moved
Name of the person
And he / she
Empowered act / speech / sight
Samson was not a ‘strong man,’ but was given strength by the Spirit ~
‘… Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.’ (Judges 14: 5-6)
• The situation is similar in Judges 15: 14-17
• This power was episodic – it was present for a particular episode of his life, then lifted until he needed empowering afresh.
• The Spirit of God falls upon people and empowers them for dynamic action; normally this is to equip that person for some special service.
So …
• This empowering was in no way a reward for being a godly man. He took a prostitute, and was empowered shortly afterwards (Judges 16: 1)
• But the Spirit of God eventually stopped falling when was disobedient to his Nazirite vows (Judges 16: 17-21)
• The Spirit was anointing him for empowered action, but not transforming him for character formation.
b) The ‘character-transforming’ work of the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus has the Spirit upon him to be empowered for his own mission.
Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 42:1-7, Isaiah 61:1-3, Luke 3:21-22 Luke 4:18-21,
• Jesus has come to baptize his people with the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 11:16
• Jesus Christ, through pouring out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost has raised up a "Spirit Filled" community of faith.
Isaiah 43:18-21, Ezekiel 37:14, Acts 2: 1-13, Acts 2:42-47
• The law of God is written upon our hearts, we shall know the Lord. The Holy Spirit teaches us the things of Jesus.
Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 14:26, John 16:13-15
• We shall be cleansed of sin and given a new heart.
Ezekiel 36:25-27, John 1:12-13, John 3:1-5, John 3:16
Application: Have you been searching everywhere for truth, but putting off Christ for last? Why wait? Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Have you thought that being a Christian is to live a dull, boring life? Jesus wants you to believe as His disciples did, and the experience promises to be dynamic, exciting and life-changing.
Does Jesus still perform miracles today? After all, we don’t see Him physically walking in our midst - or do we? Do you know someone who has been healed or whose life has been transformed by a relationship with Christ? Then you have seen a modern-day miracle of Jesus. You, too, can be an eyewitness to a miracle of Christ. Like Mary, you can ask Him, believing He will do what is best for you. Let a miracle of Jesus begin in your heart right now.
