This past week during some devotional reading, I read an excerpt from one of Fredrick Buechner’s books entitled, Peculiar Treasures: A Biblical Who’s Who and one of the passages that he addresses in the book is our main passage of this morning.
"Quantitatively speaking, you don’t find all that much laughter in the Bible,” he says, “but qualitatively, there’s nothing quite like it to be found anywhere else. There are a couple of chapters in the book of Genesis that positively shake with it.”
“Sarah was never going to see ninety again, and Abraham had already hit one hundred, and when the angel told them that the stork was on its way at last, they almost collapsed. Abraham laughed "till he fell on his face," and Sarah stood cackling behind the tent door so the angel wouldn’t think that she was being rude as the tears streamed down her cheeks. When the baby finally came, they even called him Laughter-which is what Isaac means in Hebrew-because obviously no other name would do."
He concludes, "Sarah and her husband had plenty of hard knocks in their time, and there were plenty more of them still to come, but at that moment when the angel told them they’d better start dipping into their old age pensions for cash to build a nursery, the reason they laughed was that it suddenly dawned on them that the wildest dreams they’d ever had hadn’t been half wild enough." (Italics mine).
The laughter of Abraham and Sarah was the laughter of disbelief. What was, maybe still is, your wildest dream? Is it one that is still very personal to you and you share it very rarely because . . . people might laugh?
24 years have gone by since Abram and Sarai, now known as Abraham and Sarah, were directed by God to move to a place where their descendants would become as numerous as the stars. 24 years of travel and hard work and frustration and fear and discouragement have come and gone since they heard the word from God, "you are going to become parents of a great nation." 24 years have come and gone and still no kid.
So when they hear, "this time next year I will return and Sarah will have a son," they laugh a laugh of disbelief. "Yeah right, I have heard that one before."
But, one statement from these heavenly visitors, and personally I think it was the Lord Himself, one statement is made that points to a deeper truth that not just Abraham and Sarah but all of us often like to believe but often have trouble trusting that it is true, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
One Christmas several years ago, my nephew received two remote control cars for Christmas. Both happen to run on the same frequency. So Uncle Jim thought that he would have a little fun with Alex.
Very carefully I took the second remote and placed it behind my back and stood behind Alex. And when he stopped controlling the one item that was turned on, I pushed the button on the second controller and the object began to move again.
Alex’s eyes about popped out of his head. "What’s going on Alex?" someone asked. "I don’t know," was his stunned reply, "it must be my imagination."
After 24 years perhaps Abraham and Sarah were thinking that children were nothing more than imaginative or wishful thinking. "But, nothing is too hard for the Lord."
A popular song of the 1960’s asked the question, "Do You Believe In Magic?" Many people do. But this morning we have sung "It Took A Miracle" and will sing in a few moments, "I Believe In Miracles."
Our text says, "Sarah was long past the age of having children." She asks herself out loud, "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?"
It would not be magic or imagination that would bring Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. It would be a miracle - an act of God!
Miracles. What comes to mind when you hear the word "miracles?" What kind of emotions well up within you?
It is an emotional word. It creates emotional intensity because when we speak of miracles we often touch on very sensitive areas of hopes and dreams and desires that grow out of the hard and painful areas of our lives just like Abraham and Sarah.
In a recent sermon, Dr Maxine Dunham, President of Asbury Theological Seminary quoted the late Dr Julian McPheeters, the first president of ATS in regard to five miracles of healing. Because other kinds of miracles take place I choose to call them five kinds of miracles. I am only mentioning three types this morning, however. (From the sermon, Some Healing is Up to You Dr. Maxie D. Dunnam and published in Volumes 112 and 113, Numbers 4 and 1 of the Asbury Herald).
We see all five expressed in Jesus’ Ministry. In His healings we see people who were desperate for a change in their circumstances and condition. There were no medicines or medical treatment available for these people like there would be today. Dr. McPheeters called these miracles the miracle of an instant cure.
I don’t about you, but I am grateful for the miracles of modern medicine and the fact that God built into our bodies the capability for some self-healing. Dr McPheeters called them the miracles of God’s undertaking. Granted however, there some situations in which modern medicine cannot deliver a miracle, only God can, should He choose to do so. And sometimes He doesn’t choose to do so. And that’s a hard thing to accept sometimes.
And when He does not it begins to raise all sorts of questions in our minds and our hearts. Questions that are deep questions. Questions that question what we believe is right and true and fair. Questions that cause us to question not just God but sometimes the whole existence of God.
What are miracles for? What is their purpose? Why does God do miracles?
It’s hunting season and two friends were out hunting. One was always bragging about what a good shot he was. About that time a duck flew over. He took aim and fired . . . . the duck flew on unscathed.
He paused a minute and said, "My friend, you are now witnessing a miracle. There files a dead duck."
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a miracle as both "an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs" and "an unusual event, thing, or accomplishment."
Dufour’s New Testament Dictionary gives us some interesting information regarding the word "miracle." It comes from the Greek work dynamis that generally means "powers." However, as noted in the entry, only three times does the word "miracles" come from Jesus’ lips’ - Matthew 7:22, Matthew 11:21 and 23, and Mark 9:39. But, notes Dufour, it is used more by the gospel writers and those who observed the miracles than by Christ Himself.
But, what then is the purpose of miracles? Why does God do them? These are questions that get personal to us because miracles touch on matters of life and death.
Does God still do miracles? Absolutely! But, why?
Dufour suggests that miracles occur to "show forth God’s power at work and to overcome Satan by the finger of God." He also suggests "Jesus allowed them to be drawn out of himself according to the measure of faith which earnestly requested them."
Halley says of miracles "they imply an exercise of creative power and that "his miracles were the natural expression of his sympathy for suffering humanity."
The question from the Lord to Abraham underlines the possibilities with God. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Nothing.
But, what we often find challenging to our belief that nothing is too hard for God are the challenging circumstances of life.
For example, there is Jon and Mary. Both are gainfully employed and doing well. But, then Jon looses his job. Months go by and Jon looks and looks and looks for new employment. As time goes on they become more financially strapped, not because of careless spending, but because of the needs of life. Their credit cards are almost maxxed out, and their savings are almost gone. Jon and Mary strongly believe that God is with them although they certainly don’t feel his presence. What do we say to Jon and Mary?
And what about Marv and Maria? They are close to retirement. They are looking forward to some travel and a new place to live and serve God. Then Marv gets a call from his sister in another state. "I can’t take care of mom anymore. She needs continual care. I need your help." Marv and Maria begin considering having Marv’s mom come to live with them. What do you say to them?
These are situations that all to familiar aren’t they? Either we, or someone close to us, have experienced such things. What do we say, what do we do?
If we are honest, we often don’t know what to say or do. But, we can listen, we love, we can pray, and if we have the resources we can sometimes share. Which is descriptive of what Dr. McPheeters third way of miracles the miracle of God’s guidance to a remedy.
What’s that?
I think of the parable Jesus told about persistent faith in Luke 11:5 – 8 touches on this kind of a miracle. Luke includes this story between two very popular passages of scripture, the Lord’s Prayer and the often-quoted passage on “asking, seeking, and knocking.”
A person was in need of food because of an unannounced late night guest. There was nothing in the house to eat and the person was hungry. And beside you feed people who were guests in your house. What to do, what to do, what to do! GOD HELP ME! “Go next door and ask your neighbor!”
Knock, knock, knock. “Hey Joshua, it’s me Aaron! Hey, uh, can I borrow three loaves of bread? My friend Mark from Jericho just arrived.”
“You have got to be kidding me. Do you know what time it is? We’re all in bed and the door’s locked. Come back tomorrow.”
“I really would prefer to Josh, but Mark got beat up on the way from Jericho and spent a couple of days at an inn recuperating. He’s been slowed down by the injuries and so it took him longer to get here. That’s why the late night conversation.”
“Aaron, I’m glad to know he is safe. I like Mark and he is a great guy. I know that you were worried about him. But, I am dogged tired. It’s only a few hours till daybreak, so get some sleep. Hannah will bring the bread over in the morning.”
(Pause) Knock, knock, knock. “Uh, Josh, you are a good man. You have helped people all hours of the day and night. I know that you work hard and that you are a just man. I don’t ask for much from you often, in fact, I hardly ever ask for something from you. But, I need your help tonight, not for me, but for a friend. Please?”
Pause. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“But I tell you this – though he won’t do it as a friend – if you keeping knocking enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won’t be damaged.” Or, as some versions translate the last part of verse, “because of your persistence.”
Sometimes God’s miracles in our circumstances come as the result of persistent prayer and faith. Why? For as we “ask the Lord for help, seek to discover and appropriate that help, and continue to knock on the door of God’s will, we sometimes experience a miracle. I get a weekly e-mail column called Heroic Stories. More times than not the story is really a miracle.
For example, Lisa Vetitoe recently wrote “Years ago I rented a storage unit in a small community west of Nashville to help me organize my home. Inside I put my personal artwork: etchings, silk-screen prints, and the original plates they were made from. Also inside were photos, books and miscellaneous stuff.
Five months later, when I returned to clean out my unit, I found someone had beaten me to it! The owner had known my things had disappeared and never reported it to me; instead he had simply re-rented
my unit. I tried in vain for months to find my belongings; posting flyers, searching stores, even taking the owner of the storage unit to small claims court.
I was devastated to lose my art, and especially irreplaceable memorabilia from my school years 25 years before, including my "letters" (sports team initials to be sewn onto a sweater or jacket) from Junior High basketball in the 1970s.
Four years later, I received a call from a stranger who lived 30 miles away. This woman had been to her local thrift store and found a box containing yearbooks from her son’s school. She purchased two, intending to give them to her son. However, inside she found my name and a class reunion paper with my married name. She couldn’t believe someone would just give up these things, and thought there must be more to the
story, that I might want them back. She searched for my phone number and
called me immediately.
She graciously agreed to meet me at the thrift store the very next morning. I was so impressed by her willingness to go out of her way to meet me on a Saturday morning. She even asked what would be a convenient time to meet!
When I arrived at the store the following morning, an older lady with
a sweet smile greeted me as I stepped from the car. Of course, she had my yearbook. Then we went into the thrift store, and I found the rest of my books, my diploma, letters, and a high school banner. I even found my son’s baby picture album, with newborn photos and clippings, which I had thought was still safely stored at home.
Not only did this woman refuse a reward, she wouldn’t let me repay what she’d spent on the books. The woman at the thrift store was happy as well to give me the remainder of the items she’d purchased at a nearby yard sale three months prior.
Four years later, Lisa got her things back. It was a miracle! Twenty-five years later Abraham and Sarah got the son that God said they would get. It was a miracle! Nearly 2000 years ago, we were given the chance to be forgiven of our sins and live the way that we were created by God to live. It’s a miracle!
What then is the purpose of miracles? Why does God still do them? One reason, a reason that Jesus reveals in Matthew 11:20, “Then Jesus began to denounce the cities where he had done the most miracles, because they hadn’t turned from their sins and turned to God.”
A rather negative statement but that is because the miracles were done in order that people might repent of their sins and experience the greatest miracle there is – the miracle of forgiveness. And it is this miracle that we must put in the background of Genesis 18 because as we read the record of Christ’s earthly ancestry in Luke 3, starting with Jesus and Joseph and working backward, we get to verse 34, “Judah was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham.”
Nothing is impossible with God. Cancer is cured. Finances are restored. Employment is found. Families are reconciled. Salvation is available.
We know that there are those who are crying out for a miracle. We know that there are a lot of unanswered questions and pain and heartache because there are, or there have been, circumstances in which a miracle has not materialized and is desperately sought. God has not forgotten you!
Nothing is too hard for the Lord. I do not know how God answers our need for a miracle. But, I believe that He will answer. Sometimes it will be almost instantaneous. Sometimes it will be through what God has already put in place as this world. And sometimes it will be in His remedy through His word, through prayer, and through others. My prayer for us this day is that God will give us hope and patience and that your faith and trust will increase and deepen because God has a very important purpose for all of us.
I believe in miracles because I believe in God! Amen.
