Genesis 21:1-21
Matthew 10:1-23
Miracles happen all the time, but most of them are small ones, we just
need to open our minds, hearts, souls, and spirits to see them.
When we see miracles happen it is awe inspiring, but they are commonplace
for God.
We all too often try to explain a miracle away rather than praising God and
thanking Him for allowing us to see them.
Have you ever been driving a car, and something alerts you that something is
wrong even before you see it, such as someone, including animals, about to
step or run out in front of you, and you stop in time; we believe that these
are miracles, just as much as being able to walk on water.
I’ve looked back at times in my life, and realized that God had saved me
from having something bad happen in my life, or changing my life in such a
way that everything seemed to come together years later, and they even
happened before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior; and they even happen
before we may even believe in God, for He loved us before we loved Him.
Let’s see if we can see miracles happen in the pages of our Bible beginning
with Genesis 21:1-21…
1. Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for
Sarah as He had promised.
2. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the
appointed time of which God had spoken to him.
Abraham had lost faith in the fact that the Lord had promised that Sarah would bear him a child in her old age, and to make Him a father of nations, so instead of patiently waiting for God to act, Abraham had a child by Hagar, Sarah’s maid, but God was faithful to bring about the miracle in Sarah’s and his life.
3. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
Miracles happen as we can see here.
4. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God
had commanded him.
5. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
This means that Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was nearly 90 years old; miracles happen.
6. And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will
laugh with me."
7. And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse
children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."
8. And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the
day that Isaac was weaned.
9. Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to
Abraham, mocking.
This is one of the reasons to trust in God to fulfill all His promises, for if we get impatient for God to act, our actions can cause long lasting problems, and this one is still plaguing people to this very day.
10. Therefore she said to Abraham, "Drive out this maid and her son, for the
son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac."
11. And the matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.
This is the beginning of the troubles that faced Abraham and his descendants to this very day.
12. But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the lad and
your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your
descendants shall be named.
13. And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your
descendant."
These become the Arab nations.
But don’t forget that God blessed them, too.
So all the problems between these Arab nations, Christians, and Jews are all
human caused, and God seems to have left it to humans to solve, and humans
are doing very poorly at solving the problems.
And as we have seen, violence will never solve those problems; violence only
promotes more violence.
If we want to have peace in the world, all parties to our conflicts need to
start trusting in God, for miracles happen.
14. So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
What Abraham did was really ungodly, and shows a lack of love; for to send anyone out into a wilderness on foot with only these few supplies was actually a death sentence.
15. And the water in the skin was used up, and she left the boy under one of
the bushes.
16. Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she
said, "Do not let me see the boy die." And she sat opposite him, and lifted
up her voice and wept.
17. And God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from
heaven, and said to her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear,
for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
God intervenes because of Abraham’s heartlessness, and to us it proves that
miracles happen.
Why Abraham did this isn’t important; we just need to recognize the hardness
of heart when it occurs.
18. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand; for I will make a great nation of him."
This nation becomes the Arab countries, which spreads over most of the Middle East.
19. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
See, miracles happen!
20. And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness, and became an archer.
The problem of violence remains in Ishmael, for archery is a skill of using
a weapon of violence.
Ishmael had a choice to follow the peace that came with God’s miracle, and
oppose the hardness of heart of his father, but instead he chose the path of
violence.
21. And he lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for
him from the land of Egypt.
NASB
And the problems of violence continued in the world to this very day.
Miracles happen, but most people ignore them or deliberately choose to
follow the corrupt and ungodly ways of the world.
Let’s now take a look at Matthew 10:1-23, and see how miracles happen in the
hope that we will follow the path of peace that Jesus taught us…
1. And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
And just because other human beings are given the authority to heal people,
doesn’t make those healings any less a miracle.
Miracles happen sometime because God is working through some people, as
Jesus is doing with His disciples.
2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is
called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother;
3. Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James the
son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4. Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
The names of these disciples aren’t as important as the fact that we understand that miracles happen, because people are willing to allow God to work through them, even Judas.
5. These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, "Do not go in
the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans;
6. but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
It’s not that Jesus doesn’t care for these other people; it’s that He wants to bring His message to the Jewish people through other Jews, that they might repent and return to the Lord their God.
7. "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
The Jewish people should understand this message, a lot more than the Gentiles, for if the Jews respond, they will also see the miracles happen to them, too.
8. "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.
This is being a Christian, and the people will see miracles happen and will
hopefully believe.
And then Jesus cautions the disciples…
9. "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,
10. or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff;
for the worker is worthy of his support.
Jesus wants the people to see that these miracles happen as a free gift from God, and He doesn’t want anyone thinking that they have to pay for these free gifts, so He doesn’t want any of His disciples to take any money, even as a gift.
11. "And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in
it; and abide there until you go away.
12. "And as you enter the house, give it your greeting.
13. "And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come upon it;
but if it is not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you.
We believe that this comment from Jesus is because He wants to make sure that the people don’t think that they are worthy of having these blessings and miracles.
14. "And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Note very carefully that Jesus doesn’t want any violence; He only wants the disciples to do this because it symbolically expresses His displeasure with those people.
15. "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Jesus simply wants their own evil to come back upon their own heads.
16. "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.
In other words, in anything that we do for the Lord, we still must be on the alert for evil, and spiritually defend ourselves from it, which can also mean to leave the places where overwhelming evil exists.
17. "But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and
scourge you in their synagogues;
18. and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as
a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
These are the places where evil exists, and even there Jesus wants us to
speak and live according to the peaceful ways of the Lord.
We are not to ever resort to the violence and evil ways of the world around
us, and if we do this, we will see miracles happen, even if we die in the
process.
In any event, we will be with the Lord in heaven forever and ever.
19. "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what
you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to
speak.
20. "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who
speaks in you.
And unfortunately the evil will continue, for that is the way of this corrupt world.
21. "And brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child;
and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to
death.
22. "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one
who has endured to the end who will be saved.
We are never to give up.
23. "But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for
truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel,
until the Son of Man comes.
NASB
Jesus’ second coming still has not happened, but as we look around the world
we can still see this evil in the cities both in Israel and around the
world.
But is spite of this, the word of God is still preached, and even though
most people don’t follow Jesus’ teachings and the heavenly will of God, the
truth is still presented to people who have ears to hear.
And as we said in the beginning, miracles happen, and if our mind, heart,
soul, and spirit are open to see them, we will see the glory of God in the
midst of all the evil.
Like the disciples of old, we are to carry on their work of spreading the
good news, and if we want to see miracles happen for both humans and other
animals, we will diligently carry out the Lord’s work.
Amen?
Amen.
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