NEEDING MIRACLES

A friend put me on to sermon by Jason Craft, leader of a church called Messiah's House. I don't know anything about him or the church outside of this sermon, "Don't limit God". 

Craft managed to reframe miracles for me, and it wasn't even his main point. 

He pointed out that while in the desert, the Israelites were dependent on miracles on a daily basis. Manna from heaven. Water from a rock. 

It made sense ... because they were in a stinking desert.

But God intended them to be living in "a land flowing with milk and honey". In other words, a place where that struggle for survival would be a thing of the past. Where they would "live in God's blessing". 

In the events of the Old Testament we find so many shadows of future, deeper realities. From our New Testament perspective, we understand the Israelites' slavery in Egypt to mirror humanity's deep bondage to sin. 

Though God frees the Israelites and shows them the promised land, they doubt, fear, and complain. Their entry into that promised land is delayed. 

But when they finally do cross through the waters of the Jordan, they have come into a Promised Land where they are meant to enjoy a right relationship with God, just as our baptism in the Holy Spirit moves us into a New Life. 

Back to the sermon: Craft says we assume seeing a miracle would deepen our faith but it doesn't. And the Israelites proved this. Day after day they ate and drank miracles. And day after day they grumbled and fought God. 

Craft says, "The road to maturity is not through miracles. The road to maturity goes through trials."

"Many Christians are living in the wilderness rather than the Promised Land." Living "from miracle to miracle". They are wandering about, living on their own terms, and when they bump into a struggle, they cry out to God for a miracle. 

God wants us to move beyond lives of crisis, constantly needing a miracle for our rescue. He wants us to move into a place where we know his blessing and provision as a "natural" part of our lives.

What do you think? Is this generally on target?