UNEXPECTED #6: Are You Ready For a Miracle?

1. Understand…

1. Understand the purpose of biblical miracles.

Acts 2:22 NIV

Acts 2:43 NIV

Why Don’t We See Miracles?

Justin Holcomb, "Why Don’t We See Miracles Like the Apostles Did?" The Gospel Coalition, May 27, 2014.

http://bit.ly/2iXFC3s

For reflection/discussion

Have you personally experienced or witnessed a miracle? In what ways was it similar to the miracles that are described in the New Testament? In what ways was it different? What seems to be the purpose behind Jesus' miracles? What seems to be the purpose behind the miracles performed by the apostles?

2. Expect…

2. Expect God to care deeply and to act in your life.

1 Peter 5:7 NIV

Counsel Concerning Our Cares

J. Hampton Keathley III, "Counsel Concerning Our Cares"

http://bit.ly/2pUD5fn

For reflection/discussion

What are you worried or anxious about today? What is your typical way of dealing with the things that worry? Does worrying help? In what ways, if any, does knowing that God cares for you address the things that concern you?

3. Be willing…

3. Be willing to act while you wait for God's moving.

Psalms 77:14 NIV

Mark 2:1-12 NIV

James Tissot ). The Palsied Man Let Down through the Roof (detail). Brooklyn Museum

John 6:5-14 NIV

James Tissot . The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, 1886-1896. Brooklyn Museum

Mark 10:46-52 NIV

Mark 9:21-24 NIV

Be willing to act while you wait for God's moving.

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For reflection/discussion

While God is sovereign over all things, God seems to invite and to delight in our acting in concert with him. What part do people play in the miracles above? What part does God play? Which, in your judgment, is more important? What part can you play in addressing a problem you are facing? How might your action prepare the way for your welcoming a miracle from God?

4. Focus…

4. Focus on Jesus Christ, not on his miracles.

John 20:30-31 NIV

Miracles are awesome, but…

Miracles are awesome, but miracles can't save us from sin.

"We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order, but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the natural order." (emphases added)—Timothy Keller, The Reason For God, pp. 95-96.

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Luke 7:20-22 NIV

Revelation 21:1-5 NIV

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

For reflection/discussion

Timothy Keller writes in The Reason For God, "We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order, but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the natural order." What are your thoughts on his observation? How do Jesus' miracles point to God's plan for the future restoration of the natural order? The Apostle John does not use the word miracle to describe Jesus' mighty works; he uses instead the word sign. What do Jesus' miracles point to or signify?

7 Days

Psalms 77:14 NIV