Become a Receiver: Your Miracle Is Already in Motion

Sermon outline

God is always working miracles and they are already in motion, looking for a receiver, so put God first, pass your stewardship test and stay expectant in faith.

1. Giving is God's way

   People have brought him schemes to raise money for the church, but his conviction has always been that giving is God's way. God gives a vision to one person, as He did with Mary, and then adds people of like heart to carry it, so no one is more or less important. He will never bring multi-level marketing or pyramid schemes into the church, because it is God's house and not a house of merchandise.

   Illustration: He had to step out in faith with his family to start the church; had he not, there would be no church there today.

   “As much as you need me, I need you.”

   • John 6:5-9
   • Luke 1:28-31
   • Matthew 1:21
   • John 2:16

2. The boy gave, Jesus gave, the disciples gave

   The need is always bigger than the seed, but what is placed in God's hands becomes abundance. A small boy's lunch fed a crowd that may have numbered 25,000, and twelve baskets were left over. Through simple acts of giving, the meal multiplied.

   Illustration: He imagines doubting Thomas handing out a scrap of fish and bread, only to find himself holding a snapper in a French roll, then a barracuda and an Italian loaf with garlic butter, and finally dragging a swordfish behind him.

   “If you take the size of the need, it always is bigger than the size of the seed.”

   • John 6:10-13
   • Proverbs 10:22

3. Miracles are in motion, looking for a receiver

   God is a miracle-working God and His miracles are always in motion, looking for a recipient. Your only job is to become a receiver. God stretches and challenges us so we keep growing, and you can start growing your miracle garden from whatever level you are on.

   Illustration: An Irish proverb that reminds him of his tall maternal grandfather: you've got to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.

   “Life is lived in levels, but you arrive in stages.”

4. What a miracle is

   Drawing on Baker's Dictionary of the Bible and a standard dictionary, he explains that a miracle interrupts fixed natural laws: God's super over your natural. A miracle is a sign that points to God, so He gets the glory through your testimony. Everyone lives in a different world, whether a carpenter, a mechanic or a teacher, and a miracle can come into any of them.

   Illustration: He tells the church to bump their neighbour and stay alert, because the seats are comfortable and the air conditioning is cool, but the atmosphere is charged.

   “A miracle is an interference with nature by supernatural power. Something outside our world coming into our world.”

5. Spiritual renewal is always followed by economic revitalisation

   He restates Matthew 6:33: when you put God and His kingdom first, the blessings of the Lord follow and even overtake you. It may come in dribbles and drops at first, but persistence and perseverance in faith make it come faster.

   “Spiritual renewal is always followed by economic revitalization.”

   • Matthew 6:33
   • Deuteronomy 28:2

6. Pass your stewardship test

   God tests each of us at our present level, and if we pass He gives us more. Don't compare yourself with your neighbour, because you will give account only for your own stewardship. Refuse complacency and stay hungry for God, as Enoch walked with God.

   “When you're comfortable, there's no room for growth.”

   • Genesis 5:24
   • Matthew 25:14-30

7. Faith is the catalyst

   Expectant people always experience a miracle, while others watch and wonder what they are excited about. Faith is the catalyst that draws God into your world, so keep pressing in and believing, because God can connect the giver and the receiver.

   Illustration: He comes to every service not knowing what God will do, but always with expectation.

   “The catalyst that draws God to your situation is faith.”