God Of Miracles

God of Miracles

Focus Verses: Psalms 77:14 “You are the God who performs miracles. You have made your strength known among the nations.” Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?”

God of Miracles

In this introductory study on miracles, we will lay the foundation of the “What & Why” of miracles. We will cover the benefit of miracles, the reason for them, the issues with them, and when miracles fail to produce their desired outcomes. To say the least, miracles are problematic- despite all the blessings in receiving them. It is not a cut and dry issue, as nothing concerning the human response is consistent. That being said, I have often said the reason why we don’t see many miracles these day are twofold: One- no real faith, and Two- people refuse to allow themselves to be placed into a position by God to need one. I could add another layer. Galatians 6:7 “Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” So through rebellion, lack of faith, and unwillingness to yield to the control of God, miracles do not happen as often as they should. Fear not, miracles still happen and you can still experience them today. First we must educate ourselves to better prepare for them, and the pitfalls of receiving them. Ask yourself, are you prepared to receive a miracle today?

God of Miracles

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God of Miracles

Who Actually Performed Miracles: God Or Jesus?

God of Miracles

 Acts 2:22  “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know”

John 14:10-11 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds.  (11)  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, believe because of the miraculous deeds themselves.”

John 8:28  “Then Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak just what the Father taught me.”

Jesus clearly tells us that He did no miracles of His own accord. He declares that it was God in Him that did these things, and He gives all glory and credit to YHWH, His Father God.

God of Miracles

Why Did God Through Jesus Perform These Miracles?

God of Miracles

• –For Glory.

John 11:4 “But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”

John 2:11 “Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.”

• –Revelation Of God To The People.

John 9:3 “Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him.”

• –Proof Of Him Being Sent By God.

John 5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me.”

Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.”

• –To Validate The Ministry Of Jesus.

John 3:2 “came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Matthew 11:1-6 “When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns.  (2)  Now when John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question:  (3)  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”  (4)  Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see:  (5)  The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them  (6)  – and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me!”

• –Referring To The Prophecy Of Isaiah.

Isaiah 35:4-6  “Tell those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge! With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.”  (5)  Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear.  (6)  Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will burst forth in the wilderness, streams in the arid rift valley.”

God of Miracles

People Need Faith Boosters.

God of Miracles

• –Jesus Knew The People Lacked Faith And Would Only Believe Signs.

John 4:48 “So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe!”

John 2:23 “Now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing.”

John 20:30-31 “Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  (31)  But these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

• –The Intent Was To Increase Their Faith And Lead Them To Repentance.

Matthew 11:20  “Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.”

God of Miracles

People Are Meant To Be Inspired To Obedience By Miracles.

God of Miracles

• –Miracles Are Performed To Bring Obedience To God.

Deuteronomy 11:1-9 “You must love the LORD your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments at all times.  (2)  Bear in mind today that I am not speaking to your children who have not personally experienced the judgments of the LORD your God, which revealed his greatness, strength, and power.  (3)  They did not see the awesome deeds he performed in the midst of Egypt against Pharaoh king of Egypt and his whole land,  (4)  or what he did to the army of Egypt, including their horses and chariots, when he made the waters of the Red Sea overwhelm them while they were pursuing you and he annihilated them.  (5)  They did not see what he did to you in the wilderness before you reached this place,  (6)  or what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth in the middle of the Israelite camp and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and all the property they brought with them.  (7)  I am speaking to you because you are the ones who saw all the great deeds of the LORD!  (8)  Now pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed,  (9)  and that you may enjoy long life in the land the LORD promised to give to your ancestors and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Romans 15:18-19  “For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,  (19)  in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

• –Many Believed!

John 7:31 “Yet many of the crowd believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?”

• –Though Many Followed, Just To Receive A Miracle.

Matthew 4:23-25 “Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness among the people.  (24)  So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, paralytics, and those possessed by demons, and he healed them.  (25)  And large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan River.”

John 6:2 “A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick.”

God of Miracles

People Often Interpret Miracles For Their Own Failed Purposes.

God of Miracles

• –Many Misunderstood The Purpose Of His Intent And Power.

John 6:14-15 “Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”  (15)  Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone.”

Psalms 106:6-7 “We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.  (7)  Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.”

• –Even The Children Of God Can Often Misunderstand.

Mark 6:50-52 “for they all saw him, and were troubled. But he immediately spoke with them, and said to them, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”  (51)  He got into the boat with them; and the wind ceased, and they were very amazed among themselves, and marveled;  (52)  for they hadn’t understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”

• –People Will Actually Use Miracles To Mock The Godly.

Matthew 27:42-43 “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.  (43)  He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.”

• –Failure To Accurately Apply The Intent Of The Miracles Of God Can Lead To Your Destruction.

Numbers 14:20-23  “Yahweh said, “I have pardoned according to your word:  (21)  but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with Yahweh’s glory;  (22)  because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice;  (23)  surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who despised me see it.”

John 15:20-25 “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.  (21)  But they will do all these things to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me.  (22)  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.  (23)  He who hates me, hates my Father also.  (24)  If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father.  (25)  But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.”

God of Miracles

Jesus Grew Frustrated With Miracles.

God of Miracles

• –The Conclusion Was Declared That Miracles Are Not Enough To Save.

Luke 11:29-30 “When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet.  (30)  For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will also the Son of Man be to this generation.”

John 4:48 “So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe!”

Luke 16:31 “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.”

John 20:29 “Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.”

• –When They Did Not Increase In Faith Or Repentance, Bringing Their Hearts Back To God, He Stopped Doing Such Great Works.

Matthew 13:57-58 “And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.”  (58)  And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”

Matthew 11:20-24 “Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.  (21)  “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  (22)  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you!  (23)  And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day.  (24)  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!”

God of Miracles

Miracles As A Declaration Of Judgment.

God of Miracles

These Verses Also Prove That Miracles Are Not Always Performed To Create Faith, Repentance, and Belief. They Can Be Performed To Declare Judgment and Loss. A Visual Reminder By God What The People Have Forsaken.

John 12:36-43 “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.  (37)  But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,  (38)  that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”  (39)  For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again,  (40)  “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”  (41)  Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.  (42)  Nevertheless even many of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t confess it, so that they wouldn’t be put out of the synagogue,  (43)  for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.”

Isaiah 6:8-10 “I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”  (9)  He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’  (10)  Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”

• –Jesus Admonishes The People To Seek God, Not Just Signs.

John 6:25-37 “When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  (26)  Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted.  (27)  Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”  (28)  So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?”  (29)  Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires – to believe in the one whom he sent.”  (30)  So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?  (31)  Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”  (32)  Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven.  (33)  For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  (34)  So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time!”  (35)  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.  (36)  But I told you that you have seen me and still do not believe.  (37)  Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.”

God of Miracles

A Grand Overview Of The Cycle

God of Miracles

This Entire Cycle Is Not New. What Is Meant For Faith, Creation, Repentant Hearts, And Committed Belief, Often Finds Few Open Hearts That Truly Understand And Respond. Most People Are Just Interested In Getting What They Need, And Thoughtlessly Return To Life As Usual. We Find This In These Two Excellent Examples. Now I Ask You Before We Read, “Why Should God Perform Miracles For Those Who’s Hearts Will Not Turn To Him, After Receiving Their Miracles?” We Often Hear: “Where Is God? Why Won’t God Do This Or That?” We Should Really Ask: “Why Don’t His People Respond Correctly When He Does?”

• –9/10 Of A Failed Response…

Luke 17:12-19 “As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.  (13)  They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  (14)  When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.  (15)  One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.  (16)  He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.  (17)  Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?  (18)  Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?”  (19)  Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

• –The Israelites (Humanities) Death Spiral…

Psalms 78:1-66 “Pay attention, my people, to my instruction! Listen to the words I speak!  (2)  I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past.  (3)  What we have heard and learned – that which our ancestors have told us –  

• –Purpose

(4)  we will not hide from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the LORD’s praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done.  (5)  He established a rule in Jacob; he set up a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants,  (6)  so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.  

• –His Goal

(7)  Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands.  

• –Disobedience

(8)  Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God.  (9)  The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle.  (10)  They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.  (11)  They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them.  

• –Declaration

 (12)  He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.  (13)  He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap.  (14)  He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long.  (15)  He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.  (16)  He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers.  

• –Disobedience

(17)  Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the Most High in the desert.  (18)  They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.  (19)  They insulted God, saying, “Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness?  (20)  Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?”  

• –Punishment

(21)  When the LORD heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel,  (22)  because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them.  

• –Declaration

 (23)  He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky.  (24)  He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven.  (25)  Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat.  (26)  He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind.  (27)  He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.  (28)  He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes.  (29)  They ate until they were beyond full; he gave them what they desired.  

• –Punishment

(30)  They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths,  (31)  when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.  

• –His Goal

(32)  Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things.  

• –Punishment

(33)  So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror.  

• –His Goal

(34)  When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God.

• –Declaration

 (35)  They remembered that God was their protector, and that God Most High was their deliverer.  (36)  But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him.  (37)  They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant.  (38)  Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury.  (39)  He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.  

• –Disobedience

 (40)  How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the wastelands!  (41)  They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.  (42)  They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy,  (43)  when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan.  

• –Declaration

(44)  He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams.  (45)  He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land.  (46)  He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.  (47)  He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.  (48)  He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.  (49)  His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster.  (50)  He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction.  (51)  He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham.  (52)  Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock.  (53)  He guided them safely along, and they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.  (54)  He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired.  (55)  He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.

•  -Disobedience

(56)  Yet they challenged and defied God Most High, and did not obey his commands.  (57)  They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.  (58)  They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols.  

• –Punishment

(59)  God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel.  (60)  He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men.  (61)  He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy.  (62)  He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation.  (63)  Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried.  (64)  Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.  (65)  But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.  (66)  He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults.”

• –RECAP:

Nehemiah 9:16-17 “But they and our fathers behaved proudly, hardened their neck, didn’t listen to your commandments,  (17)  and refused to obey. They weren’t mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and didn’t forsake them.”

God of Miracles

Closing Consideration

God of Miracles

• –God Really Knows The Reason You Are Asking For A Miracle.

James 4:3 “You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it?  (10)  “I, Yahweh, search the mind. I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

• –Sometimes God Not Giving You A Miracle Is A Grace & Mercy, For More Would Be Required From You. He Might Just Know You Would Be Unable To Live Up To It.

Luke 12:47-48  “That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes,  (48)  but he who didn’t know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whomever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.”

• –When We Receive Or Experience A Miracle.

We Are Called To Remember

Psalms 105:5 “Remember his marvelous works that he has done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,”

1 Chronicles 16:12 “Recall the miraculous deeds he performed, his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,”

Tell Them To Your Children

Exodus 10:1-2 “Yahweh said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs among them,  (2)  and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son’s son, what things I have done to Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am Yahweh.”

God of Miracles

God of Miracles

God of Miracles