Introduction

Miracle:  an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.  Miracle: a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.  Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in the power of God and are you ready for your miracle?

The way many of us think about miracles is very interesting to me.  For example, when I was little, I didn’t believe much was impossible.  Compared to the older and “wiser” me, it seems like just about everything is impossible.  I remember one Christmas, my dad really fooled me and my brother big time with a Christmas gift we badly wanted – the Nintendo 64.

Me and my brother had both been seeing the news story about how impossible it was to purchase the game console; they were selling out so fast.  My dad and mom had gone out and gotten one very early in the holiday season and hid it away from us.  So, my dad concocted a story that they were unable to find the console and that it would be impossible for us to get it by Christmas.  A very long story cut short, me and my brother went through some stress that we laugh about now because a “miracle” had happened by Christmas morning. 

Of course, this “miracle” is not our idea for a miracle nor is it the type of miracle that I will preach about today.  That said, I do believe that there are two different types of people living in our world today. There is a type of person that when they hear the word miracle, they consider that to be utter nonsense and preposterous because “they are not real”.  Then, there is a type of person that totally believes in miracles! This person faithfully believes in the Lord and understand that God is still performing miracles in our world today.  In today’s sermon, I want to focus on the Lord still performing miracles in our world today and how we go about getting our miracle.

What history teaches us

In order for us to see who it is the Lord performs a miracle for in our world today, we must look back at history to see how and for who they were performed for.  The miracle I want to bring into focus today is the miracle of the woman with an issue (flow) of blood (Mark 5:21-34; Matthew 9:18-22; Luke 8:40-48). From what we read about this woman, she was in terrible need of a miracle.

We are told that this woman had a flow of blood (bleeding issue) for twelve years (Mark 5:25).  This woman, we are told, went to many physicians, spent all she had but only managed to get worse (Mark 5:26).  Now imagine dealing with a health issue for a dozen years. I’m sure all of us have gone through some things health wise, so we should be able to relate to this woman.

This woman is in a situation to where she has probably reflected on everything, looked towards the future, and has probably given up hope.  She probably believes this is just her life and she has to accept that being cured of this bleeding is impossible.  I don’t know how many of you have ever been in a situation to where it seems impossible for you to get out.  In those situations, it would be easy to completely lose hope and give up the faith.

Turning to God in impossible situations

Yet, I tell you, it is in these situations that we should not ever give up our faith and our hope.  It is in these situations that we, the genuine believer, must learn how to act and move as this woman did.  Scripture tells us that she had heard about Jesus – the miracle worker (Mark 5:27). By this point in time Jesus had done turned water into wine, cast out unclean and demon-possessed spirits, healed the sick and the paralyzed.

To me, it is very fascinating what this woman does next and I will explain to you why in a moment.  We are told that this woman had joined the throng of people following Jesus and that she came from behind to lay hold onto Him.  She said (Mark 5:28), “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall (will) be made well.”  I love this insight that we get because we are shown that this woman clearly had faith in the miraculous power of Jesus!

As I said last Sunday, if we were there to see and hear of Jesus, there’s a really good chance we would think He was running a scam!  You know how you get when you’re flipping through the channels and you see a televangelist laying hands on people? I’m sure all of us have had the same thoughts when we see people fall out and suddenly be “healed”.  There’s a good chance that’s how we would have thought of Jesus.

Faith can restore and heal you

What is most fascinating to me about this woman is the fact that she actually had faith that the impossible could be done.  The reason why I say this is because she had literally tried everything to get better to only be let down time and time again.  (There are only so many times we can be let down before we start to give up and lose hope, right?) Even after being let down repeatedly, this woman had not given up hope!

We see her say, full of faith, “I will be made well!”  She does not say, “maybe this will work for me.”  You see, maybe is a faith that is filled with doubt.  This woman was looking for a miracle and from what she had heard of Jesus, she had faith that He would deliver a miracle to her! 

 After wondering who had touched Him, Jesus turns to see the woman.  We are told that the bleeding had dried up and that in her body she felt healed (Mark 5:29).  She was trembling (Mark 5:32) when Jesus turned to her and said (Mark 5:34), “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”  Faith in the miracle worker has the power to restore you and make you whole again.

Faith is required for your miracle

So, what can we learn from history that we need to know for the miracle work of today?  Let me ask this question: Have you ever noticed that in most of the miracles that Jesus performed, the people either went to meet Jesus, were brought to Him, or they were crying out for His help?  

The demon-possessed man of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1-20) was crying out for help and when Jesus came to the country, he ran to meet Jesus.  A leper came to Jesus, worshiped Him, and said (Matt. 8:2), “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”  Two blind men, as recorded in Matthew’s gospel (Matt. 9:27-31), followed and cried after Jesus immediately following the healings within our context of scripture for today.  Jesus asked them (Matt. 9:28), “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

You see, in order for these people to be healed, faith in what the Lord could do was a requirement!  When we think of miracles, we instantly think about the healing miracles, but I tell you today that the Lord works miracles in more than the afflictions of our bodies!  Whatever you are going through, and it seems impossible for you to make it through, I tell you that God can work a miracle for you! Sadly, many of us are in need of a miracle today, but not all of us want to go meet Jesus so that He can perform the miracle we desire.

God still performing miracles today

I tell you once again that the Lord, my God, is still a miracle worker in the world today.  Scripture proclaims (Heb. 13:8), “Jesus Christ [God] is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  In other words, what He was doing in ancient times, He can easily do today!  In our Sunday school lessons for last quarter, we ended by seeing what the Lord did for Israel at the Red Sea.

I tell you today that if you’re at the Red Sea right now in your life, God can part that sea for you and allow you to go through troubled times on dry ground!  I want you to understand what I mean by this because someone would literally look to see if the Red Sea is parting right now. No, all of us are on completely different journeys in our life.  

Some of us are on top of the mountain, while others are standing in the plains or in a valley.  Some of us are out in the wilderness, all by ourselves, while others are trapped at the Red Sea with the enemy nearby.  All of us are in need of completely different miracles. The question is, however, do you believe God is able to perform the miracle you need?

Go to God

What history teaches us is that we cannot doubt what the Lord is able to do.  Not only can we not doubt what the Lord is able to do, we must not be afraid to go to Him!  Somebody will say, “It was easier for them back then to go to Jesus because He was right there.”  This is an excuse!

The reason why I tell you that this is an excuse is because Jesus is still right here today.  In ancient times, when they would physically go to Jesus, I want you to understand that it is representative of how we should go to Him in prayer today.  Yes, Jesus is not physically here.  No, we certainly cannot walk down the street and physically touch Jesus’ clothes.  However, we have a line of communication directly to Him that is more than capable of delivering the miracle you need.

Prayer is key to our miracle

Jesus said to us (John 14:14), “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”  Prayer is the key to showing when you are ready for the Lord to step in and work the impossible in your life.  Somebody will hear this and say, “Oh, preacher! I thought you were going to give me the real secret to getting my miracle.”  Not all of us believe in prayer.

We want a miracle, but we don’t want to believe in the tool that could lead to the miracle.  Not only do we not want to have faith in the tool that can lead to the miracle, but we don’t want to have faith in the One that can perform the miracle.  How do you expect a miracle to happen for you without any faith at all?  If you’re thinking this way, I will tell you that you’re not ready for your miracle today.

If you are ready for your miracle today, I will tell you that the prayer of faith in God can do absolutely anything for you.  I say this because I know the miracles that God has worked for and in me.  Yes, I am a miracle!  I truly believe that all of God’s children are walking miracles today.  We must learn to testify of the miracles that God has performed for us, just like all of those who would go run and tell.

Miracles are very real.  God is still performing miracles in our world today.  You must be able to answer the question, “do you believe [God] is able to do this thing?”