A (36:10)
You can be seated. You know, I'm reminded, I'm so grateful for a statement that brother Richard Roberts made when he came to our church, quoting his dad, Oral Roberts. And Oral Roberts would say, every day, miracles are coming to you or going past you. So the variable is us. What are we doing with what is being made available every day to us? And one of the things I would have to say is of us Learning to recognize miracles in our lives. Because so much of the time I believe people think of something spectacular because this word miracle conjures up and draws up a very spectacular, almost magical type image in most people's thinking. But any dad Hagin gave us the definition of a miracle. It's the divine intervention into the ordinary course of things, the ordinary course of nature. So it's not ordinary that when people pray, a lot of people pray in the earth and they don't hear anything, they don't receive anything. Answered prayer is God intervening into the ordinary course of something. And so many times people are receiving miracles and not even recognizing them. I was listening to something that was being read about George Mueller's testimony. Now, George Mueller was English preacher in Bristol, England in the 1800s. And when he moved into Bristol, England, there were 250,000 children estimated living as orphans on the streets. Quarter of a million children just in that city. The parents had died through plagues and different extreme conditions. And God began dealing with him about starting an orphanage. And he ended up having an orphanage that housed around 2,500 kids. And he just. He just believed God. And he. He said. And he took incredible accounts of his. Of his prayer life, of the answers. And he said, I have documented 50,000 answers to prayer in my life. That's 50,000 miracles. And he said 30,000 of those prayers were answered within 24 hours. And he said, the reason I get miracles, he said, one reason I get miracles is because I acknowledge the movement of God in my life. That's why he took note of those. And I think sometimes because we don't acknowledge, we don't receive as much as we could have. And you say, well, what do you mean by that? Well, and we won't take time to turn there. But in Psalm 78, it said, it is a command that you tell the dealings of God to the next generation to come. Why? Because what we rehearse, God repeats. In the 70s, my husband had a miracle that happened in regard to his building. And I won't take time to tell that in detail. But two angels came into his room. And God said, they said, we've been sent from the throne room of heaven to straighten out your finances. And within two months, they were in the process of needing money for a building. And God paid off their building. A miracle. And about six months, now, this was in the 70s that happened. And about six months before he went home to be with the Lord, God said to him, if you will talk more about that event of the angels paying off the building. He said they will do more of it. Notice this. What you talk about is what will be manifested when you recognize the miracles and the movement of God in your life and you talk about it. You give prayer permission to God to work more of that which you're talking about now. See, if you talk doubt and unbelief, you're giving permission to the enemy to work more of that which you're talking about. But on the positive side, we need to begin to recognize miracles in our life and talk about them. And there will be a working of more of them. And even if they don't look spectacular, they are still worthy of recognition and acknowledgement and glorifying God and magnifying God. Because you don't even know what he kept you from because he intervened. God said to me years ago, he said, by the Spirit. He said, there are three primary ways that my people opened the door to sickness and disease, but it would also be to any kind of defeat. And he says, number one, he said they lose their peace. They let fear, doubt and worry. In number two, he said they veer from the plan of God. Now, the third thing he told me, which was quite interesting to me, he said through lack of gratitude, that showing or having a lack of gratitude opens the door to the enemy. So knowing this, if. If lack of gratitude opens the door, what's the flip side? Gratitude closes the door. Having a lifestyle. Father, I'm so grateful. Father, I'm so thankful for what you've done in my home and my family. Family in my business, in my body, in my mind, in my children, in my church. Father, I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful. You just sealed tight places where the devil would love to find an entrance. When I go to bed at night, I go around and I check the doors. I know I locked them. I just double checked. Gratitude is a double check. You're sealing it tight. Amen. And miracles are a flow that belongs to this era. And we're going to have to become more skillful, not just in flowing with miracles, but recognizing the movement of God and not diminishing what doesn't look spectacular. Because there's a time in everyone's life you're going to need miracles. And if you're going to follow God, he's going to lead you to a place where you need miracles. Don't think that you just got on the edge of ruin and that's why you need a miracle. God will lead you to where you need miracle after miracle after miracle. Why? Because he wants to participate and demonstrate and illustrate his ability in every place he leads you. And he leads you to what you can't fulfill. Because he intends to fulfill. Amen. But there are divine principles in the Word that will enable us to receive a miracle and cooperate. Because religious thinking thinks, if I need a miracle, I just gotta wait and hope God gives me one. But there are definite steps to cooperate with the Word that we can always receive the miracle, the answer, the help we need definite step steps to take. We don't have to sit back and wait for our lottery number of heaven to be drawn. Amen. Because God will allow us. And I made the statement last night, the majority of what you receive from God is initiated by you, not God. And that's including miracles. Praise the Lord. Go with me to John, chapter two. John, chapter two. And we'll look at verse one. Because in this passage we see some very definite steps lined out that we can always cooperate with the Word, cooperate with God to receive what we need. And in this passage we find the first miracle worked under Jesus earthly ministry. Now, I'm certainly no Bible scholar or theologian to say this, but I've heard many say through the years and refer to the law of firsts, that if you're not clear on what a passage mean, go back to the first time there was an occurrence of something like this. And in the Word you'll see many times an establishment of a law in. What's it mean? A precedence. It sets a precedence in our field of law here in courts, judges will say, well, go back before they make a ruling. They go back and see what precedent has been set by a previous judge, a previous court. Because evidently there's the law of firsts in the legal. In the legal arena, even so, there's a law of firsts in the spirit arena. And so in this first miracle worked under Jesus earthly ministry, we see some laws laid out. So John, chapter two, verse one. Are you getting anything so far? Listen, we need to know this because you're going to need a miracle one day, if not today, you're going to need it. So I'm not just preaching a sermon, I'm stalking you for your future with the word. Verse 1. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. And the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, or basically they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him, they have no wine. And Jesus said unto her, woman, what have I to do with thee? In other words, what's this got to do with me? He's not the caterer for the wedding. She's telling him caterer issues. And so his first response is, I'm not the caterer type thing. What's this got to do with me? So he's answering her when she approaches him and he says, mine hour is not yet come. Well, she didn't like the answer she got. Mothers have a right. Mothers have a right to decide if they like the answer or not. She approached him. She gave him the opportunity to fulfill her request as his mother. And he basically said, this is not having to do with me. Mine hour's not yet come. He had just come from being a carpenter for 30 years. Was she helping him in his church transition? He's transitioning from being a carpenter to, yeah, being a miracle worker. And he says, mine hour has not yet come. I just love her in this situation. She done talking to him? She didn't say another word to him. She turned her back on him. We're done talking. I told you she initiated this miracle. He did not. She initiated it. Why? There was a need. It wasn't a need important to him, but it mattered to her. You might think your need doesn't matter to God, but if it matters to you, it matters to God. So I just love her. At this point, not another word is said to him by her. I'm done talking to you. You heard me. This is mother talk. Mine hour is not yet come. Verse 5. His mother said to the servants, I'm setting you aside. Says to the servants, whatsoever he says, meaning he gonna say something. Even though he said he wasn't, he is. He's going to say something. Now, whatever that him say is whatever he says to you, you do that. Cooperate with him. She put a demand on him to say something. How could she trust enough to tell servants whatever he tells you? She had no idea what he was going to tell them. How did she know that whatever he tells you can be acted on? Because he says later, not at this point, we hadn't heard these words. But later he said, I only say what I hear my father say. He did not start that. After he was anointed in Jordan, he practiced the way he lived. As an anointed savior, an anointed man. He practiced that before he was anointed. You get that? He did not live one whole lifestyle. Then after he's. After he's anointed and baptized in the atonement, tangible anointing comes on him. Then he starts Practicing spiritual flaws and spiritual truths. No, he was practicing all along. So she knew his manner of living was only him saying what he heard his father say. That was his manner of living. He had skill in that now because he'd practiced it so she could boldly say, whatever he says to you, do it. Can I tell you, your miracles are locked up in that phrase. Whatever. Whatsoever he says to you, do it. Well, he hasn't said anything. Yeah, he hadn't said anything until Mary said something either. Until his mama showed up and said, we got a need. Hello. So, come on. She helped him get the momentum going. So you are authorized to say, I have a need. What are you going to tell me to do about it? What are you going to. I'm going to put a demand on you to say something to me because. Because you want my need met. So it's not like. Will you say something to me? Say, I'm here listening. What do you have to say to me? What do I need to do? Well, you can't tell God what to do. He's God. God goes where faith puts you.
