RECEIVING YOUR MIRACLE
1 SAMUEL 1:17
For several weeks we've been looking at the subject of miracles...and I had planned on wrapping it up last week. And the reason I wanted to finish up was simply because I felt it was going nowhere and that I might even have been mistaken to even approach such a subject. It seemed like you were not ready for any miracles...because after all, miracles are what happen to other people...not us...right? RIGHT?
This past week someone in a position to know about such things said he could tell a lot about what is going on in the life of a pastor by the messages he preaches. And that caused me to do a lot of thinking...and to examine the focus of my messages over the past several months...and even back to when I first came here.
I try very hard to be sensitive to the Lord when it comes to my preaching. I want to bring you a word that is in line with God's Word and also in line with what God wants to do in this church. And I think that for the most part I've been able to do that.
But why all the focus on miracles? What does that have to do with my life? Now, realize that I am your pastor. I've been given the responsibility of addressing spiritual needs and of teaching and training you and helping you as individuals and as a group to mature in the faith.
I have a good deal of life experience as a Christian...I've gone to seminary and have been trained in the fine arts of homiletics...hermeneutics...apologetics...ethics... psychology and counseling...witnessing and evangelism. So I guess I really have it all together, right?
With all that education and training I've surely got all the answers...and since I have all the answers I must never have any problems. I never get plagued by doubt and fears. I never get hurt or discouraged. I have a perfect family and a perfect marriage. I have such great wisdom that I always make the right decisions in my life and ministry. Right?
I found out that the statement that a preacher's messages often reflect his life was pretty much right-on. And maybe I'm preaching on miracles because I desperately need God to work a miracle in my life...in fact several miracles. But realizing that could bring a great deal of guilt, because I'm here to address your spiritual needs.
But after a great deal of reflection and prayer I discovered that the basic needs of this church are just a reflection of the needs in my life and those of my family. God has assured me that my preaching is not selfish or self-motivated because many of you need a miracle every bit as much as I do.
I guess that's why we tolerate each other...and maybe that's why God brought me here...so that together we can grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord...that together we can experience the presence and the power of Almighty God. I believe I have much to offer you, and that you have much to offer me in my walk & service for God.
I guess what I'm saying is that many of you are in great need...and in some cases desperate need of a miracle. I am also in need of a miracle. My family and I have been through the fire in many ways, and the flames are not quenched yet by any means. And many of your families have been through the fire too.
As a church we've seen the forces of the enemy rise up and try to tear us apart. And the Satanic attacks are evident in so many areas...so many ways. There's sickness and disease...marital problems...financial problems...relational separation...and also a definite lack of Holy Spirit power and anointing.
But I've found some interesting truths this week that have helped me to realize that we may also be right on the brink of a miracle. I'm convinced more than ever that God has been leading us to the place where we'll see and experience His power.
And that is a very good place to be. It's an exciting place to be. At least it is for me, because I'm determined to stand firm and stay focused until that deepest desire of my heart...that need that burns deep inside me becomes a reality...until I receive my miracle.
And it's that deep longing in my heart for God's touch that drives me when I feel like giving up...when I feel that God is a million miles away and too busy to meet my inconsequential needs. That longing and desire never goes away, it just gets more desperate.
As I look through Scripture, I've found that few people in history were in touch with their heart's desires...with that burning need inside...any more than Hannah was. You know the story of Hannah? It's found in 1 Samuel 1....(turn there.)
Hannah was a woman who was married to a man who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. And her husband loved her very much...but the rascal had another wife and this was not a good situation. And what really drove Hannah to desperation was the fact that this other wife had children...but she was barren.
You see, in those days not to have children was considered a curse from God...and so not only did Hannah have a great void because of the inability to bear a child...she faced constant ridicule from her rival who had borne children to her husband.
Here in 1 Samuel we find a woman who cried out to God in complete desperation for just one thing and one thing only...she wanted to be a mother. But she couldn't have children. And the strange thing about this whole situation is that it actually was God who prevented her from having children. READ 1 Sam. 1:4-6
Now why would God do such a thing? Doesn't it seem just plain cruel for Him to do that to someone who has no obvious sin or shows any reason for her disfavor from God? What did she do to deserve all this? Does that sound like a loving God?
We need to look a little deeper. Because it was her time with a closed womb that deepened and intensified her heart's desire. And that is an important truth we need to learn. God creates and intensifies desires of the heart. Some of the greatest frustrations of your life have been allowed...even orchestrated by God..to deepen a craving in your heart.
These desperate longings of our heart are a very essential part of you...and they have the power to produce a cry from your soul that will reach right to the heart of God. And that is a great gift...because your deep, heartfelt cry impacts God like few others things ever could.
Hannah's deep desire for a child gave her a very focused prayer. And notice that she didn't get all religious about it. She didn't pray for revival...she didn't pray for a great move of God...she just wanted children. That was the cry of her heart.
Let me ask you...What is it that you want? There may be many superficial things you'd like...but I'm talking about the things that center deep in your heart. It may be the salvation of a spouse or a child...the healing of your body...the restoration of your marriage...maybe a fulfilling job that will provide for your needs. Whatever it may be...God is intimately acquainted with all of your desires.
But God only meets the needs that are "spiritual," right? Look at this again...when Hannah entered God's presence she didn't pray for revival in Israel...she didn't come to promote the cause of righteousness. She had just one unending cry...and that was for motherhood. All she wanted was children.
But here is the secret...God was the One growing that heart cry in Hannah. First He closed her womb, and then He allowed her rival to harass her. Hannah got to the point where she couldn't even eat...all she did was cry until she collapsed at the door of the tabernacle.
Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk because the cry of her heart went beyond words. Finally she explained that she wasn't drunk but was simply a woman with a broken spirit...someone who simply came to pour out their heart to God. And that was the key...she knew right where to go. She went right to the altar!
We need to see that it's our deep longings that bring us into a position in which God can create a miracle. And in verse 17 she found the assurance that she longed for.
READ 17-18
Eli spoke under the anointing of God...and she accepted the promise of a miracle. She went to the altar and prayed...then she trusted God to meet that deepest desire of her heart. And she went away a different person. The miracle didn't take place right at that moment...but she knew God had spoken to her heart. And her belief and trust in God put her in the position to receive that miracle.
But we can also see that this miracle meets a need in the heart of God. You see, God had no prophet in Israel...and she had no son. And I believe this was all in God's perfect timing. Their mutual desires resulted in a double provision. Because of Hannah, the prophet Samuel was born.
As we've looked to God's word on this subject I imagine that at least some of you have recognized deep desires in your life that would require the miracle-working power of God. Well, it's time to bring those needs to God. It's time to come to the altar of God just like Hannah did, and lay those needs before a loving, caring God.
And I don't mean to lay them down on the altar in some act of self-humiliation....but give them to Jesus asking Him to fulfill them....believing that He will!
We need to remember that Jesus loves us. He loves our friends & families...our unsaved loved ones more than we do. He wants to heal and deliver even more than we want these miracles. We don't need to persuade God to work...we need to stop interfering. God is on a mission in our area. And it's our job to line up with the work He's doing.
It's God's job to do the miracles...but we are to facilitate them. The key is to expect an aggressive God to do something that we are prepared for! We need to release the power of God in our lives so He can do what we so desperately want to see take place.
He wants to show His mighty power and meet the deepest desires of our heart...but not just to bless us. When He answered Hannah's prayer it also fulfilled a desire in God's heart...that of a spokesman who would proclaim His word and His will.
And God will do the miraculous in our lives so that we can also be a voice testifying to the truth and wonders of God...so we can stand in the middle of a secular society and boldly declare to the outsider just exactly what God has done.
READ Acts 4:13-14
We live in a world today that is desperate for something real...something that is available to ordinary people just like me and you. Peter and John stood before the most skeptical, anti-Christian crowd possible...are those people recognized them as ordinary, unschooled men....unschooled meaning no theological training.
And yet the man who had been healed was standing right there...living proof of the power of God that works through ordinary men...and there was nothing they could say. Nothing except..."These men had been with Jesus."
I honestly believe God has been preparing us for just this moment. We know God is capable of doing miracles...even 2011. And God has been speaking to many of you. He's put a deep and desperate longing in your heart. It's time for you to take it to the altar, just as Hannah did...and receive your miracle.
I'm not going to stand up here and plead and beg for anyone to come down here to this altar...that's a choice you need to make. But I know that there are several who need a healing touch from God. The doctors say they can't do anything...but Jesus said by His stripes we are healed.
I also know for certain that there are many here this morning who have been crying out for peace. But there is a great deal of unforgiveness holding you back. God wants to take away the anger...the frustration...and the root of bitterness that is slowly but surely destroying you inside. God wants to set you free today! He wants to heal your mind and your emotions.
I also believe God wants to heal families and marriages. He's here this morning to bring restoration...to renew and to anoint and to bless.
I believe God wants to perform the greatest miracle of all..and that is to change the human heart...some have never accepted Christ as Savior...others need to rededicate their lives to Him...and then serve Him with all your heart.
Would you come and receive a touch from the hand of the Master?...I pray that you'll be obedient to the Holy Spirit and allow God to work a miracle in your life today.
