the anatomy of a miracle

 (C. Church  07/28/2015)

Whenever the name of 'Jesus Christ of Nazareth' is mentioned,
one thing that comes to mind is: miracles!  During the three years
of His public ministry, he performed miracles wherever He went.

John recorded that Jesus said,
"Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works
that I do shall he do also; because I go unto my Father."
"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son."  ~ John 14:12-13

I believe in Jesus. I believe that He is the only begotten Son of God.
In fact, I believe everything that the Bible says about Him.
And yet...
Sometimes, even though I am praying fervently, I do not always see
the results that I was seeking.  But, Jesus said that "whatsoever we ask
in His name..."

And that got me to thinking...asking, "What are we doing wrong, Lord?"

When we are having difficulty understanding a set of circumstances, I
have discovered that the answer is ALWAYS in God's Word. 

The Word of God is eternal. It is a nail-in-a-sure-place.  It is never wrong.
It never fails.  In fact, we are assured that,
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
` Matthew 24:35

That reminds me of a saying spoken by the great evangelist, Smith Wigglesworth,
He said, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it!"
He believed so strongly in the authority of God's Word, that as far as he was
concerned, there was nothing else that could be considered in an argument.
Needless to say, his belief was so strong that actual, documented miracles
followed his ministry, everywhere he went.  Now that was about one hundred
years ago.

I often read about and hear reports from field missionaries concerning miracles
in their meetings.  I have to ask myself why we aren't seeing those things here,
in our own country.  We could debate that subject until Jesus returns, but I
wanted to know if there was something I was missing.  So, I went to the Word.

And what better place to begin than with the first recorded miracle in Jesus' life?

And that is where I discovered...the anatomy of a miracle.  It actually has parts.
I began to dissect and study each of the separate parts, and seeing how all were
necessary for the 'whole' to be strongest.  In other words, one or even two of
the parts was not enough, we need all of them, working together to reach the
desired outcome.

The story is commonly known as the Marriage at Cana, and I'm studying the
account found in:

John 2:1-11 (KJV)

1  "And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee;
   and the mother of Jesus was there:

2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
  They have no wine.

4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?
   mine hour is not yet come.

5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the
   purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water.
  And they filled them up to the brim.

8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor
  of the feast. And they bare it.

9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine,
   and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;)
   the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine;
    and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast
    kept the good wine until now.

11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth
    his glory; and his disciples believed on him."

We know the story well.  We've heard it many times.  Perhaps it is time to take
a closer look at it.

First, we see that Mary is in attendance at a wedding in Cana.  Cana is probably
only about 10-12 miles north of Nazareth, so it is likely that the bride and groom
were family members or very close friends.  Did you notice that Jesus and his friends
(his disciples) were also there, as invited guests.  They were 'called' to the wedding.
This means that they were invited beforehand, not merely summoned because there
was a problem.  Keep that in mind:  Jesus was already in the house!  No one had
to run out and find Him; He was there all the time.

Then, a problem arises.  The host has run out of wine.  We don't need to know how
Mary found out about this, but she did, and look what happens next.  She tells Jesus,
her son, "They have no wine."  Now, from His response to her flat statement, we can
rightfully discern that she intended for Him to do something about it.  Because, He
said to her, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come."
Basically, He said, "What's that to me, Mom? What do you expect me to do about it?
I didn't come here to show off."

So, the second part of a miracle in the making is that there is a need, a genuine need!

As a mother myself, I know that look.  I recognize the authority in her tone of voice.
She never hesitated, even when he mildly rebuked her.  She simply spoke the need,
and she spoke with the certainty that He would respond to her wishes.  It probably
never even occurred to her that He might not do what she asked of Him.

Her sincerity is unmistakable. There was a problem and she believed that He could
fix it.  So, the third part that we need is: a holy boldness!

And look what happened!  Her faith was so secure that she didn't even reply to His
response. Instead, she looked at the servants, and said, "Do whatever He tells you to do!"

And that's the fourth part...she activated her faith.  She believed that she would receive
what she had asked for, so she went right ahead, expecting things to change...and they did!

What a powerful testimony of His love for his mother!  Even though He had not planned
to reveal himself on that particular day, He could find no reason to not respond to her
heartfelt request.  That's powerful. That's how much God's heart is turned toward us.
When He sees our faith, and the boldness of our approach, He can't help himself, He
simply must respond to our needs. ("Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace [unmerited favor] in time of need."
`Hebrews 4:16

Let's review what happened to bring about the miracle.
First, Jesus was in the house!  That is so important.  When we have a serious need, we don't
have time to get 'prayed up.'  Jesus must be present, all the time, God with us!
Second, there has to be a need.  And from this story, we can realize that no need is too
frivolous to Him.  He cares about the things that we care about!  And don't worry, when
Jesus is in the house, our thoughts will be right!
Third, we must come boldly, we must believe that He is going to make things different.
Fourth, we must activate our faith...immediately!  No hesitation.  Just do whatever He
tells you to do, no matter what it sounds like. After all, there is nothing ordinary about
a miracle from God. 

I believe that the Church should be experiencing God's best, right now, just the same as
it did when Jesus departed and filled us all with His presence, His own Spirit. 
He told us that we would be doing/seeing great things happen.  And they did...for awhile.

I believe that as long as He is still with us, He expects us to do the same things that He did
for people, and that involves miracles! Look at verse 10. Did you see it?!  The governor
of the feast said to the bridegroom, "You saved the best for NOW!"  You see, he didn't say,
"you saved the best for the last."  He said, NOW!!!  And that's where we are: right here, right now!

drifting farther away

It sounds like a wonderful idea...drifting along a slow current, on a lazy day...not too hot outside, with just a gentle breeze...until you realize just how far you have drifted from the shore. That moment when it becomes clear that you've got to row all the way back, suddenly snaps you into reality.  The daydreaming is over; it wasn't so much fun after all.  There have been times in my life that I have been caught-up in this "drift-along" effect, only to be startled into the real world again.  There is one particular area that disturbs me greatly.  It's an epidemic that is sweeping Christ's universal church.  We are losing sight of the shoreline while we casually drift along, "merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily...like is but a dream."  Our focus has dimmed and our determination has clouded.

I am talking about how far we have drifted from worshiping our great God.  From the early days, thousands of years ago, when He revealed Himself to His chosen people, He has demanded worship from us.  And reasonably so, for a god ceases to be a god when he is not worshiped and revered.  To explain it another way:  Buddha is not a god to me, personally, because I choose to not worship him.  Without worship, he will never attain the status of a god figure at any level on my part.

Since I have chosen Jesus Christ, God incarnate, to be the object of my affection, it is easy to worship and adore Him.  He is my God.  I remember well, how exciting it was to go into "big" church and take part in the worship service.  Even as a young child, I knew there was something very special about what went on in the sanctuary.  But, as I got older, I also realized that we were locked into the "order of worship."  I even remember the first time that I had an occasion to actually stand in the pulpit and look out over the sea of faces in the pews.  The first thing that I noticed was that there was a big clock on the opposite wall, facing the pulpit, ticking down the minutes...hurry, hurry, hurry...you must not run over.  I have even seen the minister actually remove his own watch and set it up on the pulpit so he could monitor the time he was taking.  Mustn't run over...people are getting restless...short altar call.  The Order of Worship is more sacred than our resolve to bring a true offering of thanksgiving.  How far we are drifting away...

Think about it.  When was the last time you were invited to sing the third verse of any hymn?  It's usually the first, second, and last.  Shaving off a minute or two...keeping the order of worship on schedule.
Or, when was the last time, you were encouraged to remain still for a few moments and just allow the Holy Spirit to wash over you with His great power of regeneration?  How far we are drifting away...

Now I am not saying that we should throw caution to the wind, and become reckless with anything so holy as adoration and praise of our loving God.  I am just suggesting that maybe, because the powers that be insist on getting out on time, just maybe we should be spending a lot more time at home, in our secret place communing with God on a personal level.  Such a practice will never be time-wasted.  In fact, I have discovered that the more time I offer Him in the morning, the slower the clock runs.  It is as if time stands still for those minutes.  I am always refreshed and renewed and ready for the day.  There is a song in my heart, and even when it gets stuck in my brain and plays over and over again, all day long, I know that the Father is well-pleased, for He is jealous of my affection.

"Thou shalt worship no other God, for the Lord is a jealous God."  Exodus 20:14.

As we begin another work-week, plunging headlong into the abyss of the rat-race, may we pause and purposefully take inventory of our personal worship habits and strategies.  Whenever we make the time to "enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, and His courts with praise..." we immediately step into a higher place...far from the madding crowd, as it were.

We are transported into His presence where the light of His holiness drives away all the darkness and shadows that are pursuing us. And that light becomes our beacon for the day. Nothing, nothing at all can separate us from His powerful love. We are born anew, refreshed and encouraged from His nearness.

Yes, as we begin a new week of work...take time to work on your personal relationship with your heavenly Father.

once is never enough

These cold days in the bleak midwinter are perfect to reflect on the Word, spend more time in prayer, and really listen to the Holy Spirit as He reveals areas that He is concerned about.

As an intercessor, I am always striving to keep my hand on the Lord's pulse, so to speak, in order to be able to detect even the slightest "disturbance in the force."

In recent weeks, there has been an avalanche of warnings in the Spirit regarding a particular area in the lives of all believers.  It is an area that we don't really want to talk about because we might have to admit that we've been missing the mark.  But, it is crucial to our own well-being to make sure, absolutely sure, that we are conducting ourselves according to God's Word and His will.

This mysterious area is: forgiveness.  The Lord has reminded me of something that I have been guilty of in the past, and the Church, in general, is in serious denial today.  Case in point: we say things like, "Well, I'll forgive them, BUT..."  My dear friends, there is no BUT in forgiveness.  It must be absolute, and completely from the heart.  Personally, I have had many occasions in my life when I needed to project forgiveness strictly by faith, because my flesh was not wanting to give up the injury so fast or so easily.  But, thank God that His Spirit will continue to strive with us until we get it right.

I have also learned, again from personal experience, that oftentimes the very same person will do the very same thing that hurt me in the first place, and I am confronted with the need to forgive yet again.  I want to scream, "That's not fair. I'm never going to put myself in this position again."  Really?!  The Father comes gently then, holds me while I rant and rave, waits patiently for me to calm down, and then He says,
"seventy-times-seven."  I realize that this expression is the hard-fast proof that sometimes I am going to be faced with the decision as to whether or not I will truly forgive AGAIN.  He reminds me that true forgiveness is not keeping a tally anyway, just like He has never kept a tally on all the times I have messed up AGAIN in the same area as before. 

Never do I ever feel more like my blessed Savior than when I am able to truly forgive, and FORGET the matter (even when I know it is bound to happen again).  Just like the way He regards my repetitious shortcomings with mercy and grace, and love that simply cannot be explained, I want to be enough like Him that I can do that, too.  Why does He take me back?   Why does He keep giving me another chance?  Why doesn't He just kick me to the curb and say, "I am so done with her!"  Why?!  Because, LOVE will not allow Him to cut me out of the herd that easily.

He paid much too dearly for my life, my very soul, and He has been faithful to prove to me that I can never remove myself from His unfailing grasp.  He would prefer that I walk along, quietly beside Him daily, but He is always prepared for the event that I won't.  His forgiveness outweighs my rebellion.  He just keeps showing me His love, over and over again.

Did you know that there is a reward for keeping a right spirit before God?  When we forgive others with the same compassion and love that He has shown us, things start going in the right direction again.  Our health improves, our finances improve, stress is reduced, and most importantly, our prayers are not hindered.

It is high-time that we call a spade a spade.  When we are wronged, there is never a lingering clause or condition that allows us to treat the offender with anything except God-given mercy and grace.  We are not even entitled to an apology.  That's how faith works...no strings attached.  One of the things that the children of God are marked with is His love. "You will know them by their love."

The Church needs to wake up and get far away from this whole notion of entitlement.  We are not entitled to withhold forgiveness for any reason, we are not entitled to make conditions on the forgiveness, we are not entitled to keep a record of wrongs...unless of course, that is how we want the Father to respond to us.

After all, didn't Jesus teach us to pray, "Father, forgive us our debts as (just the same way that) we forgive our debtors."  There is a saying that goes like this: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.  But, God says, even if it takes seventy-times-seven attempts, I will still forgive you.

When is once enough?  Maybe never, maybe seventy-times-seven is a much more realistic number!