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Catching Miracles--Part 2

CONNIE: Just when the storm was so bad they thought it couldn't get worse, they spotted the ghost headed their way. Was it the Grim Reaper? Or were the disciples about to catch a miracle?

Giving God's trumpet a Certain Sound for more than 70 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.
CONNIE: Hello, I'm Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I'm Lonnie Melashenko. Connie, today we're continuing on with a topic we began in our program two weeks ago called "Catching Miracles," so we'll be digging deeper into a story that's found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. In the first program we talked about how the disciples who were with Jesus when He miraculously fed 5000 men plus women and children just didn't "get" it. They somehow failed to recognize and appreciate the miracle they had participated in.

CONNIE: They were too concerned about other things--they felt that their lives were threatened--it was right after John the Baptist had been executed by Herod-- and they didn't appreciate having the crowd around them, attracting the attention of Herod's henchmen.

LONNIE: That's right. But later that same day, they witnessed another miracle and this time they couldn't miss it.

CONNIE: What made the difference?

LONNIE: In the second story, which I'll share in my message later in the program, they were in a life-threatening situation. They were terrified and crying out in fear. And when they were delivered from that near-death experience, they all of a sudden recognized and appreciated the way God's power had worked in their lives.

CONNIE: You know, I don't think that's too unusual--do you? I mean, isn't it pretty typical of human nature to just kind of cruise merrily through life, running on our own steam, until we encounter some big obstacle? Maybe a life-threatening illness, or a marital crisis, or a tragedy that gives us a good fright--and then suddenly we realize we need divine help. Maybe we even need a miracle to get us through. And that's when we start looking to God to do something big for us.

LONNIE: That's true, and it's those big miracles--those big answers to prayer--that really get our attention. When we were taping the first program in this series, we got to talking in between takes about the time that your father's life was miraculously spared when he was attacked and nearly stabbed to death--about all the little circumstances that wouldn't normally have happened, but that all worked together to take an almost certain tragedy and turn it into a miraculous deliverance.

CONNIE: It is a fantastic story. And it's something that's given me courage, and strengthened my faith through the years, to know that God is still able and willing to do great things for us.

LONNIE: He is. And one of our staff members who we don't often hear on the program is with us today. Kurt Johnson, director of our Discover Bible School, not only directs the school, he's one of our evangelists, and we love it when he returns from a trip and shares stories of how the Lord is working in people's lives. Kurt, join us here in the studio and tell us what's been happening recently?

KURT: It's good to be home.

CONNIE: You know, Kurt, you just got off of a plane from Caracas, Venezuela, and you've just come into the studio. Tell us some really exciting things that are happening in maybe other parts of the world?

KURT: I'd be glad to do that. You know when Jesus said, "Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature." He also said that signs and miracles were going to follow His people, and He talked about the fact, and He said, "In my name they will cast out demons." Recently, when I was in India, I had just finished preaching a sermon on "Who is Jesus"? And at the end of that sermon a number of people came up to the front of the auditorium and knelt down, because they wanted me to pray for them. There was a young lady and she was twenty years old. She had been demon possessed since she was five, and as we were praying Satan began manifest himself in her life, and there for the next hour and a half she was either lying prostate on the ground, almost comatose, or she was sometimes even on her feet almost defiant. As we prayed and laid hands upon her it was a real struggle…

LONNIE: Just like you read in the gospels.

KURT: Yes, it is…and I had never had an experience like that before. But after an hour and a half the demons left, and she was freed. But during that week she would come back to the meetings, and Satan would continue to harass and manifest himself in her life. Than on a Friday morning we all stood in a church and we filled the baptistery tank, and the young lady was baptized, and she came up a new creature in Jesus Christ.
CONNIE: Amen

LONNIE: A miracle right there.

KURT: In fact it was really interesting. I took my Bible and gave it to her and I asked her to read a verse, and I can still see the look on her face. A changed life, someone changed by Jesus, and she read these words, "He who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life". And by the look on her face, you knew that she had a special life in Jesus Christ.

CONNIE: Oh, amen.

KURT: It was just a fantastic experience.
LONNIE: You know, Kurt that reminds me of my experience witnessing a miracle. Over in the former Soviet Union, when we were over there and I baptized a submarine officer in the USSR fleet. I mean talk about the "Search for Red October." Here he was, he had been off the coast of Miami, Florida watching with a periscope, playing cat and mouse with the United States submarine fleet. And there he was now in the waters, covered with the blood of Christ. He came up a new person. My brother, I can still see that moment in his eyes as we clutched each other, what a miracle.
KURT: That's fantastic, Lonnie. That reminds me of a story that took place in Russia a few years ago. I was conducting a training meeting, and I was sharing with the people, through their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, how they could share their love of Jesus Christ with other people. At a break a young man came up to me, and said, I have a story I want to tell you about how I found Jesus. And he said the story involves the shirt that I'm wearing. He said, as I tell you the story I want you to notice in my pocket a hole, in my shirt pocket. So I looked, and sure enough there was a hole in his pocket, and he began to tell me this story. He said, about a year pervious to our meeting he was walking down the street one night on the way home, and a group of young men surrounded him, and they began to beat him up. They took his shoes off his feet. They took his shirt from him, and his coat off his back. Than they stood there, and they discussed among themselves what they should do with him. And one of the young men said, "Well, maybe we should kill him." Another one said, "No lets don't kill him, lets just beat him up and we'll leave, and just leave him laying here." But the discussion as they were talking back and fourth. One of the young men in that little group or that little gang, that had surrounded him, and was beating up on him, and taking his clothing. Reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife, and stabbed this young man right in the chest. He told me, where you see this hole in my pocket, that's where the knife blade penetrated, and he went on to say. He said, I had in my pocket a wooden cross, and he said, I did not believe in God as my savior, I believed in a God but not as a Christian would that Jesus saves them. But he said, I carried it for a good luck charm, and he said that knife went into that cross. He said, it penetrated the cross and even drew blood. And he said I fell to the ground, and he said the young men took off running. And he said, after that experience I was literally, the cross of Jesus Christ physically saved me in my pocket. So I decided to get to know the Jesus of that cross.
CONNIE: Unbelievable.
KURT: And he said just a few day's later, he was walking down the street and saw an advertisement for a meeting where someone was going to preach about Jesus Christ. He went, and he said that he gave his life to Jesus, and he said now I'm going to go out and I'm going to tell people about that savior. About that one who has made a difference in my life, and change me fully and completely.
CONNIE: Amen!

LONNIE: Thanks, Kurt. We really appreciate what you're doing, not only with the Bible school, but also with evangelism.

CONNIE: It's great to hear stories that remind us that God still hears prayers and loves to be involved in changing people's lives for the better.

LONNIE: When you need a change, He's the one to turn to, as Christian Edition reminds us in the song "I go to the Rock."

CONNIE: That was Christian Edition singing "I Go to the Rock."

LONNIE: And if you listened very carefully to that song, you heard the voice of one of our crew whose name may be familiar to you, but who usually doesn't get on this side of the microphone.
CONNIE: That's right, our studio engineer, Armando Cordero, is a longtime member of the men's group Christian Edition. If you enjoy their music and would like to know more about it, or about any of the music you hear on our program, stop by our web page at VOP.COM and check out the link to musicians heard on the broadcast. You'll find information about how to contact the musicians and purchase their products.
LONNIE: Our web page has a lot of other resources too, including transcripts and streaming audio--in fact if you logged on to VOP.COM right now, you could read a transcript of this program right while you're listening to us!
CONNIE: Or, you could listen to the program over again, or listen to last week's program, or one from last month.
LONNIE: In fact--remember that talk you're supposed to give at church next week? We hear from church leaders all the time who thank us for making our materials available for their use. We even heard from a pastor recently who confessed that many of his sermons come right off our web page!
CONNIE: And we don't mind a bit. That's why we have all that material out there--for people to use!
LONNIE: Here's something else you can use: It's a book called Unshakable Faith. It's full of stories about people who remained steadfast in their faith in God in spite of many trials. These stories are really inspiring, and we'd like to share this book with you free of charge.
CONNIE: Just call our toll-free number 1-800-872-0055, and ask for Unshakable Faith, and we'll put one in the mail to you.
And speaking of unshakable faith, in Lonnie's message today, he takes us back to a Bible story about a time when Jesus' disciples' faith wasn't exactly unshakable. Let's listen to "Catching Miracles, Part 2.

Catching Miracles--Part 2

If you go where God tells you to go, and do what He tells you to do, you can always count on smooth sailing, right? Wrong.

Consider the story found in Mark 6:45-52. The events recorded there happened just after Jesus had miraculously fed 5000 men, plus women and children, beside the Sea of Galilee.

There was a fantastic lesson for Jesus' disciples to learn that day as they participated in the miracle. They themselves handled the bread that He multiplied--just imagine it: Watching Jesus take five loaves of bread and begin breaking them into pieces, giving you a basketful to distribute. Then one of your brother disciples steps up, and Jesus fills his basket too. And this goes on all afternoon, until you're perfectly exhausted from the effort of carrying food to such a multitude.

And then Jesus instructs you to pick up the leftovers. And all 12 of you go out with your baskets, and each of you comes back with a full load.
Jesus didn't have to make all that extra bread, did He? I mean, why wouldn't He have made just enough to meet the needs of the hungry crowd? Why 12 basketfuls left over?
I think there's a good reason.

You see, the disciples and Jesus had come to the place where the miracle was worked because they needed a break. It was supposed to be their vacation spot--a place to get a little rest and relaxation after weeks of hard work.

But more than rest, the disciples needed a new dose of courage. They'd gone to that place after hearing that John the Baptist had been executed for preaching. They'd gone there--maybe we should say fled there--in fear for their lives.

John's death had been a wakeup call for them--they'd suddenly realized that preaching the gospel was an occupation with no lifetime warranty. They must have been fearful and wondering whether God really had the power to spare their lives, since He hadn't spared John's.

Under those circumstances, Jesus' miraculous gift of a basketful of food for each of them should have been an adequate answer to their questions--shouldn't it?
Those baskets of bread and fish should have fairly shouted in their ears, "YES! God is still able to save your life!"

But the disciples couldn't hear. As verse 52 puts it, they didn't understand about the loaves, "because their heart was hardened." (NKJV)

So Jesus sent them--stone-hard hearts and all--on another little trip. Vacation time was over, so He sent them across the lake toward Bethsaida. Notice in Mark 6:45--He did this just as soon as He saw that they hadn't understood the message of the loaves. I'm quoting:

"Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away" (NKJV).
Soon the disciples learned--in a very physical way--that going where Jesus says to go is no guarantee of a smooth journey.

When the disciple Matthew told this story, he wrote "When evening came, [Jesus] was [on the shore] all alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them" (Matt. 14:23, 24, NRSV).
Compared to this, the adversity and opposition the disciples had encountered up to this time was little more than a figment of their imaginations. But it had been enough to harden their hearts with fear.

Now Jesus had sent them out onto the lake, and they'd found it impossible to go where He had sent them. They'd met a real obstacle, not an imaginary one.
Notice this: Jesus sent them out into the storm, knowing full well that they would have to fight contrary winds and waves. And He let them continue to struggle to carry out His commands all night--until the wee hours of the morning--somewhere between 3 and 6 AM.

And only when their strength was exhausted, and they were about to give up in despair, did He come walking across the water to meet them.
But even then, their faith wasn't instantly restored. They didn't suddenly have an "Aha" experience in which they realized that yes, indeed, Jesus would always be with them and care for their needs. Not at all. In fact, when they saw Him coming their way, their reaction was quite the opposite. Notice verses 49 and 50: "But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified" (Mark 6:49, 50 NRSV).

Can you relate to that? Have you ever been "between a rock and a hard place," wondering what to do next, when the solution to the problem came walking your way, but you were afraid of it?

There are times when it takes real courage to accept God's plan and provision for your life.

I can just picture the disciples--can't you? Crying out in fear and rowing as hard and fast as they can in the opposite direction to get away from the specter coming toward them across the water.

But then Jesus speaks to them: " 'Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.' " And they recognize His voice. . . . And they stop their frantic rowing. . . . And their voices go silent. . . . Their ears become attentive.
This is the voice they have needed to hear. Not just now. But all day and all night long.
This is the voice that speaks the very words their hearts need most to hear: " 'Do not be afraid.' "

And it is there, in the middle of the lake, in the midst of their abject terror and despair, that the disciples suddenly hear Jesus speaking. Really hear His voice for the first time that day or night.

And when they hear it, and receive Jesus into the boat, suddenly the wind that has been their all-night nemesis ceases.

Verses 51 and 52 tell us, "Then He went up into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened" (NKJ).
Now, at last, the message of the loaves and fishes strikes home. Now, at last, they see that Jesus is able to take care of them, to give them the gift of life, and to preserve that gift within them.

"Do not be afraid." Do those words have special significance to you today, my friend? Do you face contrary winds that beat and batter your little craft whichever way you turn? Are you facing an illness and treatment that make you wonder whether there is a future for you? Has a spouse, or maybe a parent, or even a child, betrayed your trust and left you unsure which way to turn? Have you, perhaps, set out on a mission that you believe God gave you, but encountered trouble along the way?
I don't say this glibly, but as one who has walked through the valley of the shadow of death with the Savior at my side more than once: Don't despair.
Don't give up hope.

Remember, when the disciples were out there on the water, they thought they were all alone, but they weren't. Jesus was with them in spirit. He cared. He was watching, just waiting for the right moment to go and get into the boat with them and calm the winds.
Waiting for the moment when they would finally be able to hear His words because all their own answers had been blown away. Waiting for them to be ready to catch a miracle. And when that moment came, He was there, ready to deliver it. He would walk on water to deliver it!

They'd missed one miracle that day. But now they caught two. Suddenly, when He saved them from the storm, they caught on to the meaning of the loaves, as well as the meaning of their rescue.

Both were miraculous provisions for their lives. Both were gifts of God to them. But only when they were ready to give up their own efforts, did they finally catch the miracles Jesus was throwing their way.

You know what? I believe we catch miracles every day--or they catch us. But we have to be ready, before we'll recognize them.

And one more thing, as we close. Remember, when the disciples caught that first miracle that day--the loaves and fishes--it was something for them to share. Let's tune in to the words of Jesus. Let's catch the miracles that come our way. And let's pass them along to bless others as well.