1 Corinthians 12:9-10 - Part C

So when God enacts a miracle. That's all he's doing is taking and superseding his laws by his power with another law known only to him. It's humanly impossible to find Lisa the gifts of the spirit can be difficult to comprehend just need to be open and willing spirit to use us today on connect with Skip Heitzigs, Skip examines how God works through miracles encouraging to trust the Holy Spirit with the spiritual gifts he gives. Right now we want to tell you about a resource that will encourage her to be a part of cultivating a more loving church than ever before. The United States got the devastating civil to overcome a deeply defining issue was of Jesus and people who represent his left.

We can help one another deal with this topic today. Skip Heitzigs against Tony Clark speak to white evangelical pastors about how churches we can create spaces for black and brown voices to be heard in a loving atmosphere concerning the atmosphere. The turkeys find this moment because he racism is a safe is a sin in the life now is our job began to die down to have a biblical mindset and also happen sympathy and empathy for those who are trend about this Christianity and their skin may be a little bit darker than yours cultivate the entity that comes from gaining a biblical perspective on racism your copy of this conversation between Pastor Skip and Tony when you get $20 or more today will also send you Pastor Skip's booklet the church and racism, call 819 to 1888, or get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer chapter 12 joints good height.

Jesus promise that miracles of healing would follow as signs the ministry of the disciple right, he said, going all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs will follow those who believe they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. So Jesus promise that signs and wonders and signs of healing miracles of healing would follow the disciples and they did we go to the book of acts is about 30 miracles in the book of acts again.

Acts chapter 6, I mentioned Stephen signs and wonders were done among the people, by Stephen in acts chapter 9 Peter the apostle preaches the gospel of woman named Tabatha Dorcas dies.

Peter goes to her bedside praise for her.

She gets raised up so it's up resurrection, but healing miracle you could say.

Then Paul the apostle. Another one other several instances ability just tell you about emphasis in acts chapter 19 it says while Paul was in Ephesus that I'm usual miracles happen through the life of Paul the apostle so that they could take handkerchiefs or sweat bands or cloaks that he had that touched his body and they could be taken from him and laid on sick people and they would recover in evil spirits would leave them so signs and wonders were following the believers gifts of healing in acts chapter 1. I know I'm kind of bouncing all over the place, but this might help the book of acts begins by saying the former account which I wrote to you, O Theophilus, of all the cheeses began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up right. That's how it begins, as those are Luke's words. So I wrote he's saying the gospel of Luke to show you what Jesus began both to do and to teach.

Then he begins acts, the former account that I made the authors of all that Jesus began to do to teach until the day he was taken up through which he promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples, then now that the Jesus is ascended into heaven, the disciples take on that mantle. Sharing the truth and when they share the truth, validating that with certain miraculous signs and especially healing. So Jesus began to do it.

He continued to do it in the book of acts, and I would say that he continues to do it today because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever.

Several years ago when I was doing radiology and I was looking at things very critically. I was in an accident that was in a car accident was how I all all confess it was a skateboard accident. There were skate parks in those days so we look for swimming pools and swimming pools can be treacherous can be dangerous.

I discovered that I wasn't a great skateboarder so that only prove that I wasn't a great skateboarder and I remember dropping down into the pool and taking a bad slip and I I hurt my shoulder. I did know what it was.

I went into my friends in the x-ray department had a doctor look at it in the he said you have in a chrome Io clavicular separation and and he showed me my shoulder on one side which was closed and the one on that bad side which was cellblocks was pulled apart as you see the difference you have in the Congo clavicular problem so you just have to put a sling on and let it heal so I went home that day and I was living in a garage. I know this sounds really weird but I was that time living in a garage for five bucks a month in Orange County, California and saving money so I could get a real house and the guy that I was renting from he and his wife lived in the apartment. His name was Jack Jack Stevens.

She's now in heaven, but I remember Jack sit back and I'm telling him the story and I'm in my sling and he goes let's pray for whatever and I said you can pray for me but I know I what I have ever Clark Romeo AC separation rivaling that God can do anything but I'm thinking probably will do so. I didn't have any faith, trust me, but I did receive the gift of healing and and when Jack pray for me. It wasn't some even hyperventilate. He didn't raise his voice and now God, before you another that just real quiet.

Linda said Laura would just pray that you touch Skip's shoulder and heal them. And I gotta tell you, I've never experienced anything like this. I felt instant relief and I took my took the sling off. I move my shoulder around and and I thought we could just be a fluke. Maybe I don't know maybe it is I'm feeling really good right now and it might my emotions were heightened, you know, I kind of bought into this and you know I I'm not again I'm not living with a whole lot of faith even though I feel relief, I went in to get it x-rayed again.

This is again my scientific background I got it I got a compare before-and-after pictures if it's a true healing, it will have gone back down and I got it x-rayed again and it had narrowed from previously and I got it was it was an incredible healing. I experienced a gift of healing. A little while later a friend of mine named Tony who was a Christian, but had backslidden had gotten into an accident with his shoulder and but his shoulder with his whole arm was messed up his radial nerve was pinched because he moved to shoulder with a bag of cement that was too heavy and the radial nerve pinched and so his hands was sort together like this and he could move the money was scheduled to go into surgery and so I told him to spend a couple nights with me in one night.

I didn't even pray out loud form he was going to sleep. I was going to sleep and I just said Lord I know you love Tony. This is just me in my head talking to Laura whispering to Laura. I know you love Tony I know you love them more than I do.

I know Lord that you could heal them. And wouldn't it be a marvelous thing. If you would just touch his arm right now and just show him how much he's backslidden or show him how much you love them and I'm praying this and I'm dozing off and I'm going to sleep as I'm praying this and just as I am going falling into a deep sleep. Tony starts yelling from the electrolyte turn on the light and heat takes his arm and he goes like this. He moves his hand right in front of me and I said Tony you know okay so were flipping out because it's legit and I sit till you see you been running from God and he just starts beeping and runs right back to Jesus said I better recommit my life and live for him from now on, but it was just one of those things again.

It was no healing line. I didn't have a big sheepskin that I threw over him or Joe Jesus name was spoken, a southern accent or anything. Why are just I didn't even say it out loud to Lord.

He longed for just touch so to another faith by the same spirit to another gifts of healing by the same spirit firsthand look at that. We made a verse and Rhonda rather went to another the working of miracles. Now healing is a miracle. But this just as miracles generically could be a lot of things like like acts chapter 6 Stephen did many wonders and signs were not told what those are, but some kind of miraculous signs, so talking about miracles is sort of a hard one because the whole Bible is filled with miracles from beginning to end. The Bible opens up with like the biggest miracle ever in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

That's like the biggest miracle. And if you can get past.

Genesis 11. The rest of the Bible is easy if you believe the first verse of the Bible that it actually happened. Then the rest of the Bible will be a piece of cake. The Bible opens with the miracle. The Bible closes with the miracle opens with creation closes with the creation of the present world and God creates a new heaven and a new earth, so there are miracles that run from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible and sometimes those miracles defy natural law. For instance, the Red Sea, opening up, it's not natural given the laws of physics and density, etc., that didn't happen. It defies natural law of somebody who's lame from birth suddenly walking that defies natural law are turning water into wine that defies natural law.

Sometimes, however, miracles in the Bible's cooperate or correspond with natural law.

Give an example. Eliza calls fire down from heaven now for fire falling from heaven is not unusual lightning strikes happen all the time all over the world, but for lightning or fire to fall from heaven at a specific location at a specific time. That's a miracle in the way it happened and consuming the sacrifice that Elijah had prepared for the profits of bail. At that time. As soon as he prayed was cooperating with natural law. But the miracle is how and when it happened.

Hailstones fall from the sky all the time. But Lord hailstones that fall only on the Amorite Army under Joshua's leadership at the miracle so sometimes miracles defy natural law. Sometimes miracles cooperate with natural law, what is a miracle, a miracle is something that is humanly impossible but divinely simple. We don't know what would people have faith to pray for a cold give the same faith to pray for cancer, while for you and I one seems bigger than the other, but for God is one more difficult than the other know it's humanly impossible, but it is divinely simple. So here's what a miracle is miracles prove that God is not a prisoner to his own laws. So God sets up laws in the universe and he sets up natural laws and one of those laws is the law of gravity and we believe in the law of gravity is the reason we don't jump off buildings we don't believe that we can fly.

If you do jump off of a building.

It's not because you think you can fly there's some mills going on. I think most people would agree that anything that weighs 190,000 pounds isn't going anywhere, something that weighs 190,000 pounds is bound to be stationary because of the law of gravity but we also know that we can supersede natural laws by enacting other natural law. So if we take something that weighs 190,000 pounds and configure at a certain way, say in the shape of a Boeing 767, which is what a ways and apply other laws of thrust and aerodynamics that create lift then you can have those laws superseding the law of gravity. So when God enacts a miracle that's all he's doing is taking and superseding his laws by his power with another law known only to him. It's humanly impossible, but it's divinely simple and I think that if God gives you or called you to be involved in any kind of wonders and signs like Stephen in acts chapter 6 any kind of of miraculous activity. He will probably accompany that with the gift. We just talked about the gift of faith.

You just believe it's going to happen. It's why Peter set him to take this guy and lift him up by the feet. He's gonna receive a gift to healing and I have the faith that you have two things that are operating together so God is not a prisoner of his own laws. Now a warning about this Jesus said signs and wonders will follow those who believe the problem is when those who believe start following signs and wonders and sometimes I find believers doing that.

They're always chasing the miracles, always chasing the signs and the wonder of the miracle service where they have a miracle thing going on and are always chasing signs and wonders.

Let the signs and wonders if it's in the purview and will of God follow you.

And don't think that you have to have a miracle. Every day I used to hear these guys on TV say pray for your daily miracle will if it's a daily miracle.

It's not a miracle it would be called a miracle be called a regular a miracle is something that violates supersedes differentiates from natural order.

Natural law walking on water. That's a miracle, a resurrection that's a miracle of physical healing. That's a miracle finding a parking place at the mall is not a miracle. Oh, I found it daily miracle know you did you find a parking space idiot so that the signs and wonders follow you.

Don't you follow the signs and wonders. Listen, you can go to the book of acts in a relatively short period of time. If you read through the book of acts you can start thinking Henderson miracle on every page.

But here's what you need to see there's about 30 miracles in the book of acts. The book of acts covers a 30 year period that averages out to be about a miracle per year, and I would say from what I see in the body of Christ, we see that. I hear of that so we have to be careful that we balance it out and that's that's for that warning comes in so faith healings working in miracles, to another look at this were worker were on the fourth gift in one night to another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits.

Another gift of prophecy is going to be given a lot of detail in chapter 14 prophecy versus tongues and interpretation will be given but the gift of prophecy is one of those guess that happens to show up on all three lists in the New Testament of the gifts of the spirit. So whether you're reading first Corinthians chapter 12 or Romans chapter 12 or Ephesians chapter 4. Those are the three New Testament passages, the detail or name the different gifts of the spirit, the gift of prophecy happens to show up in all of those places in the second chapter of the book of acts on the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and when the people of Jerusalem said, what is this Peter said this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel who said in the last days, says the Lord. I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will see visions.

Young men will see dreams that was predicted from the book of Joel acts chapter 2 says you're seeing a partial fulfillment of that but we know that prophecy was a gift that was exercised in the Old Testament there were prophets in the Old Testament. There's a number of the Moses I think is considered the first prophet because he set up another prophet is in the calm alike to me.

In chapter 18 and chapters out of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 13 and 18 Moses speaks about the gift of a prophet to the nation of Israel.

Now a prophet is somebody who speaks to the people on behalf of God. The role of a priest is a priest is somebody who represents the people before God is representing that the children of Israel to God. Where is a prophet is representing God to the people he speaking for God. Moses called a prophet. There's Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel is the minor prophet there's a lot of prophets. Now the prophets in the Old Testament did two things. Sometimes they would foretell the future right they would predict the future and that's typically what we think a prophet does a somebody just predicts the future, but they didn't always foretell the future. Sometimes they just for fourth told the word of God telling fourth proclaiming the will or the work of God, saying, this is God.

This is what God wants, he would speak in political situations they would speak in times of great sin or uprising they would just speak a word on behalf of God to the people. It wasn't a prepared sermon or a message and and and I'm bringing this up because the more the more conservative branches of Christendom. Today, those who would I would say our cessation is don't believe in in the gift of prophecy. As such would say that the gift of prophecy is associated with teaching and preaching it something you prepare. I don't see the gift of prophecy that way I see it as foretelling or for telling the word of God in a specific situation that is not necessarily prepared in advance.

But you know this is something God wants to say and I'm looking at the time to see if I really want to give you many instances of that before we close tonight so I probably won't give you many instances, but I'll tell you this enough. First Thessalonians chapter 5 were told quench not the spirit in you notices right after that despise not prophesied prophesy more prophecies, despise prophecies now. I don't know why Paul wrote that except perhaps there were some in the church, even in churches that were despising words of prophecy that were given to go that's made out.

This is really is and from the Lord. But there were instances in the New Testament where words of God were given by this spirit spontaneously for the people for a very particular reason and that's Roman to leave it I'm in a tell you what those reasons were and what those instances are next time we're together or I'll finish because we just didn't even talk about the gift of prophecy, but will finish a prophecy and next time will go through different kinds of tongues and interpretation in this is what will do next conclude Skip a text message from the series expound first Corinthians 2 Skip to share. You can keep this broadcast going strong connecting you and many others to the Lord whatever past experience of faith, you may have had our desire is to see listeners like you walking with God today. And learning to apply his transforming word to your everyday life.

With your help we can see more and more people do exactly that. Here's how you can partner in that work today.

Visit connectwithskip.com/donate to give a gift that's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1888, 800-922-1888.

Thank you for your generosity and come back tomorrow as Skip Heitzigs of shares how God works in your life beyond salvation and through the Holy Spirit.

So I think our highest capacity isn't just to be up cool collecting the refreshing waters of salvation to be a portal where those waters flow into the lives of others and I begin with that because a question that has been argued throughout history is concerning the word of their work of God in the life of the believer beyond