BETHESDA CATHEDRAL – WORD EDIFICATION (Oikos on 21st Feb 2014)
Announcements
1. Prayer & Praise: Every Wed, 8pm, Chapel
2. Saturday Worship Service: 5pm, Daniel Hall, 2nd Floor
Word Released: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Ps 27:14
Word Edification: Miracles of God
Spkr: Ps Steve Cioccolanti
1) The solar eclipses, the blood moons, and the time when they appear speaks of
the significant time we are living in. We should be awakened from our slumber
and indifference to the things of God. Therefore we must “watch and pray” so
as to know the timing of the unfolding of the prophecies written in the Bible
(Lk 21:36).
2) God often perform miracles in our lives by arranging things to happen to us at a
certain time and for us to meet the right people by divine appointment. We
need to understand this in order that we do not to miss the miracles of God.
3) The Miracle of Mordecai (Esther 5:9 – 6:12)
The king’s official Haman hated Mordecai and built a gallows in order to hang
him. He planned to see the king the next day for this. But it so happened that
the king could not sleep that night and the recording of chronicles was read to
him. The king realized that Mordecai had saved his life but was not rewarded
for his bravery. Hence the next day, the king ordered Haman to lead a
procession and parade Mordecai around the city. The miracle was in the timing
of the king’s insomnia which finally brought about the deliverance of Mordecai
from his enemy who wanted to kill him.
4) The Miracle of Shunammite Woman (2 Kings 8:1-6)
After seven years of famine, the Shunammite woman returned to her house
which she had left. She wanted to go to the king to make an appeal to get
back her house. It happened that when she went to see the king, Gehazi was
there describing to the king all the miracles that Elisha had done. Gehazi
proclaimed that she was the mother of the boy whom Elisha had raised from the
dead. The king was so pleased to see her there that he ordered her property to
be restored back to her. This miracle happened because the Shunammite
woman appeared at the right time while Gehazi was speaking about Elisha’s
miracles with the king.
5) The Miracle of Ruth (Ruth 1:16-18; 2:1-20; 4:1-13)
Ruth was a Moabite woman who married to a Jew. When her husband died,
she decided to follow her mother-in-law Naomi back to the Promised Land. As
a poverty stricken young widow, she gleaned the grains in the field of Boaz.
By divine timing Boaz came back from Bethlehem and saw Ruth in his field.
Later Boaz became her kinsman redeemer and married her. Even though Ruth
was a foreigner, God made her the great grandmother of King David, and she
also became a part of the family tree of Jesus. The miracle for Ruth was that
she met Boaz at the place and time by divine appointment.
6) The Miracle of Rebecca (Gen 24:1-20)
When Abraham was old, he sent his servant to go back to his home country to
find a bride for Isaac among his relatives. The servant asked God for a sign,
that the young woman who would give him and his camels a drink would be
Isaac’s bride. At the moment that he prayed, Rebecca came out to the well
and did exactly the thing that he had asked God. The miracle was that
Abraham’s servant had arrived at a well in a distant land at the time when
Rebecca came out to draw water. Thus he was able to find a wife for Isaac.
7) However, it is also possible for us to miss our miracles through unbelief, grumbling
and complaining. Jacob lived with the loss of his son Joseph for 22 years. Just
when God was about to reunite Jacob with his son Joseph, Jacob said these
words, “All these things are against me!” (Gen 42:36). This was because Jacob
thought he had lost Simeon (who was detained by Joseph in Egypt) and he
would soon lose Benjamin as well (Gen 42:34).
Therefore when we are discouraged, we must not think that everything is
against us. God is in control and we can trust in Him and confess, “And we
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have
been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28, NIV).
Application
1) Share one of the miracles that God has done in your life.
2) How can we encourage ourselves to trust in God when we are faced with trials
and difficulties?
3) Pray for all who need a miracle and believe God to intervene in their situation.