FRIGHTENING MIRACLES
MEMORISE: For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: Luke 5:9
READ: Luke 5:1 -9
1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
MESSAGE
There are miracles and there are miracles. There are miracles that people hear about and just shout 'halleluyah' for shouting sake; they are not moved. There are some other miracles by which the recipients are rendered almost speechless because they are enjoying joy unspeakable (I Peter 1:8). There are yet some other miracles that are so wonderous that the recipient would find it hard to believe and thus conclude that he or she must have been dreaming. Finally, there are frightening miracles. These are those where the recipient becomes so frightened that he or she may even attempt to run away.
Many years ago, God provided a Mercedes Benz car for one of our elderly pastors in The Redeemed Christian Church of God. This is somebody who never completed elementary education and never dreamt that he would own any kind of vehicle, not to mention a Mercedes Benz. When my driver took the car to him and said, "Sir, this is a car for you and you will have your own driver, fully paid for" he asked, "What kind of joke is this?" "I'm not joking, this is coming from the General Overseer". He turned from my driver and began to walk away. My driver followed him, saying "Sir please take the keys" but he increased speed. He had gotten a miracle that frightened him. This month, God will give you a miracle that will frighten you, in Jesus' name.
In our Bible Reading for today, we see the template for getting frightened miracles. Peter had just fished all night and caught nothing. Of course, he must have been very tired and frustrated, but someone came to him, asking to use his boat and he said, "Yes" without charging Him rent to at least make up for the fruitless night he just had. Peter gave a sacrificial offering that day and Jesus in return gave him a miracle that frightened him so much that he told the Lord to stay away from him . In 2 Chronicles 1:6-7, Solomon gave a sacrificial offering and God made him the richest and wisest king that ever lived.
If you can do what no man has ever done for God, He will in return give you what He has never given any man.
KEY POINT
If you can do what no man has ever done for God, He will in return give you what He has never given to any man.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 17-18
HYMN 17: O LORD MY GOD, WHEN I IN AWESOME WONDER
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art, how great thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:
Then sings my soul…
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die – I scarce can take it in
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin:
Then sings my soul…
When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation
and take me home – what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim, ‘my God, how great thou art!’
Then sings my soul…
