Draw Near - Believe in His miracles

What do you do when you believe God can do miracles, but you’re still waiting to see one? In this message from our Draw Near series, we explore the tension between faith and unanswered prayer, celebrating a God who still works powerfully while acknowledging the realities of waiting and uncertainty.

Through real-life story, Scripture, and honest reflection, this episode invites listeners to look beyond the miracle itself and fix their eyes on Jesus — the One every sign and wonder points to. Whether you’re full of faith, full of questions, or somewhere in between, this conversation will encourage you to keep showing up, keep drawing near, and keep trusting that God is still at work.

Transcript

So today, draw near believe in his miracles. I remember it quite vividly. I received a phone call at our previous church from a member of our church family to say he was in hospital. He'd had an accident in the garden involving a hedge trimmer. And they're the kind of calls where you go, okay, I need to go.

So I jumped in the car, went to Basildon Hospital. And like every other hospital in our nation, you walk in and you're confronted by signs and you go, well, I knew where he was, so I followed the signs to find my friend. And I followed, went down this corridor, corridor, upstairs corridor, corridor, corridor, and eventually got to him. What had happened? He'd done the job he did every single year.

He went into his garden, he was cutting his hedge, and this year it had gone a bit out of control. So there was a bit that was just out of reach. Instead of getting a ladder, there was a pile of logs, and he climbed onto the pile of logs to get trim his head, and the logs went from under him. He fell onto his back and he'd broken his back. He was in the hospital and he was heavily sedated with pain relief.

At that point, we were able to have some conversation, which was interesting, and we prayed together and I left.

A few weeks later, he was discharged. He was in this back brace and he was really struggling. He was in an excruciating pain. He'd been told by the doctors, what they tend to tell you when you've got back problems is like, try and move it, but don't overdo it. So he was trying to get out every day for a walk, but he was in.

You know, when you can see someone's in physical pain in their face. He was in pain, but also he was struggling mentally as well. And then one day I was in the office and I saw his face appear at the door. His wife had driven him to the road where our church was on, and he. This was his daily exercise.

He was going to walk the less than 100 meters to our church. And I could see he was in pain. So we talked briefly and then a few of us just got around him and said, let's pray. And I can tell you it wasn't the most eloquent prayer. There wasn't a formula that we prayed.

We just said, God, you can see his pain. And I pray you'd touch and you'd heal him. Do what only you can do, God. In that instant, he said immediately he believed that his pain had gone. And he asked me, should I Take off my back brace.

I was like, I'm not sure that's a great idea. And he said, it's gone. He went home that afternoon, he walked over a mile pain free.

And I tell you that story because I don't know why God healed him that day. He went through scans to the doctors and his back was now not broken. I don't know how it happened or why it happened, but I can tell you that I saw God do something that only God can do. A miracle. Immeasurably more than we can ask or even imagine.

Yet I wonder if we water down this language of miracles. It's a miracle. The train's on time or at work. This new manager is working miracles with this team. Or in sport.

Man United need a miracle in the second half against this fantastic Leeds United team. Or in health. Someone said this to me the other day, first sign of a cold, use first defence, it works. A.

Or in parenting, your room's tidy, it's a miracle.

Or in advertising, when you see that mop go across a filthy floor. Miracle cleaner. You know, we use this term in everyday language, a miracle. But in all of those scenarios and situations, we use it because something has taken place that is unexpected, not normal. And I think this is part of the reason why.

Miracles, when we. The talk of miracles is amazing, fantastic, wow, mind blowing, but can also be a bit problematic because we like to understand.

Let's dig into that tension a bit more. You see, for me, the Christian faith is inescapably miraculous. Now, if you've been around church and faith for some years, I pray this next little bit will encourage you and inspire you and faith might start to grow in you. If you've not been around and you're exploring faith and church and God, this might be more of an introduction to you, but our faith is something we should celebrate, is inescapably miraculous. Let me take you right back to the very beginning of time.

God breathed something into nothing. Creation of our world that we live in, that we can see is miraculous. And you know, science, ever since then has been trying to explain and put frame to a miracle. Johannes Kepler, the famous mathematician and astronomer, said these words quite famously. He said, I am merely thinking God's thoughts and after him.

In other words, he's saying, I'm trying to put meaning to the miracle. If you're doing the Bible in a year, some of us in church are. You'll have read recently the stories of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, and in and through their lives, we see the miraculous Miraculous provision of God, Miraculous circumstances. Then fast forward to the book of Exodus. And the people of Israel, God's people are in captivity under the hands of the Egyptians.

And God says, I'm going to free my people. And he sends plagues. You can read about it in Exodus 7 through 11. And these plagues come, and Pharaoh frees the people of Israel. And so they're free, and they come to the red Sea.

Exodus 14. And God performs another miracle, because the sea splits and they go through on dry land into the promise. And then they're wandering around the wilderness for 40 years. And there's more miraculous signs. Even in their disobedience, God literally sends what's called manna from heaven, actual, real, literal food, to sustain them in their wanderings.

And then even as they're wandering around in the wilderness in Exodus 13 and 14, his people were led by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Our God is miraculous. Then fast forward to the time of the prophets, and you've got just to name two Elijah and Elisha. And in Elijah's life, he caused the rain to cease for three and a half years. Years.

God miraculously fed him by the mouths of ravens in 1 Kings 17. And then he calls fire down from heaven in 1 Kings 18. To show the prophets of Baal that his God is the one true God, he hands over the prophetic mantle to Elisha. And Elisha parts the Jordan. 2 Kings 2 Elisha sees these vessels of oil being poured and poured and overflow and overflow.

And the oil still keeps pouring, pouring. 2 Kings 4 and even the resurrection of the son of the Humanite woman in 2 Kings 4 as well. Our faith is inescapably miraculous. It's something to be celebrated. And that's before we even get to Jesus.

One month ago, today was Christmas Day. We celebrated the birth of Jesus. What was it? A miracle. Born of a virgin.

And then that same Jesus lives a miraculous life. The ultimate miracle of God's love made visible his ministry, his life, his teaching was filled with signs and wonders that revealed God. Water was turned into wine. John 2. The blind received sight.

The lame walked, the dead raised. John 11:43. Every miracle pointing to that this man was not just a normal man, but this was God in human form. And then we come to the cross of Jesus Christ. And this God, man is crucified for the sins of the world, for the forgiveness of sin, not just death, but through death, life.

That's a miracle. And three days later, the tomb in which he was laid is Empty. He is no longer there. The stone has been rolled away. He is defeated.

And the power of sin and death, that's a miracle. And through his life, through his ministry, the promise of eternal life is for us today, that's a miracle. You see, the miracle of salvation is the greatest miracle. All because when we put our trust in Jesus, he makes us new creations. 2 Corinthians 5.

He adopts us as sons and daughters. Romans 8, 15, 16. He fills us with his spirit. Acts 2. That same spirit that raised Christ from the dead now lives in us.

Romans 8, empowering us to live courageously and boldly and to carry his presence and his power into this world. The Christian faith is inescapably miraculous.

Yet I wonder some of us may be in a place where we go. I believe that when we're talking about biblical history. But what does that mean for my personal reality?

I'd like to explore that. I believe that that happened. But does that happen?

One of my favorite miraculous stories is in Acts chapter three. And after Jesus death, resurrection, he ascends miraculously to heaven, fills the believers with the Holy Spirit, and the first churches form Acts. The book of Acts is written by Luke. Luke also writes a gospel about Jesus life. And Luke was a doctor.

He's known for detail in how he retells his account and stories. And Dr. Luke gives us this insight into a miraculous healing of a lame man. Acts chapter three. I'm going to read it now. Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour, and a man, lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I have no silver or gold, but what I do have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk. And he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had just happened. Let me just set the scene briefly Peter and John are going to the temple, as they did probably every single day for the hour of prayer. At the same time, this man was doing what he did every single day. He was carried by his friends to the temple courts to ask for alms, essentially asking for mercy and pity, begging. He was asking for money.

And this scene probably unfolded every single day. And it always strikes me how amazing this story is, because this one day, this man is healed. And it makes me wonder, why this day? Like, why not any of the other days across the last 40 years of his life? Why this day?

And I don't really have a great answer to that, other than if miracles were expected, they'd be ordinary. And even beyond that, what strikes me is this. This man wasn't even looking for a miracle of healing. He was going, asking for money. He was begging because that was how he could survive.

So he's there in the temple courts and he sees Peter and John. I imagine he sees them in a crowd.

Now, I hope I'm not overextending this bit, but something jumped out to me. Verse 3 says he saw Peter and John. Verse 4, Peter and John stop. And they say this, look at us. Now, that interested me, because he sees them, but he's obviously not looking at them.

And the picture I had in my head was that you see it now, don't you? In London, or even Milton Keynes, when someone is begging and asking for mercy and pity, you sometimes get the sense they're seeing, looking at a crowd and just waiting for someone to stop. And when someone stops, I imagine their expectation starts to rise. Why? Because they're going to fulfill my need and my needs.

Money. They're going to give me something. So when Peter and John stop, even though he'd seen them, they say, look at us. And he fixes his gaze upon them. And I imagine his expectation starts to rise.

And he's going, yes, this is the time. I'm going to get something today. I might be able to eat something today. Yes. And Peter says, I've got no silver and gold.

Imagine his shoulders dropped and he was disappointed at the fact that they can't fulfill his need.

But Peter says, and maybe his expectation starts to rise again. What I do have, I give to you the word alms. Some commentators would say it wasn't just money, it was other ways of giving mercy and pity. Maybe buying him a Mac. No, they didn't have McDonald's.

What I do have, I give to you. And he goes, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and Walk. Huh? Impossible. I'm lame.

It may have even been insulting. But Peter reaches down, takes him up, picks him up, and at that moment, the man is miraculously healed. And he doesn't just get up and walk, he leaps and praises God. And everyone saw it. This is the thing.

Everyone saw it. Wow. Can you imagine that scene if you were there, you're going, what is happening? And Peter sees that it's gathering a crowd, that it's causing a commotion. And so he starts not just talking to the man, but talking to the onlookers.

Verse 11. While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. So this man's at the beautiful gate on the eastern wall of Jerusalem, and there's this area, like a covered walkway gathering area called Solomon's Colonnade. And people are rushing and coming to see what's happening. And Peter looks at them and says, fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you?

Why do you stare at us as if by our own power and godliness we have made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed. You disowned him before Pilate, though he decided to let him go. You disowned the holy and righteous one and asked that a murderer be released to you.

You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. And by faith in the name of Jesus, this man who you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus name and faith that comes through him, that has completely healed him. As you can all see the last verse.

It is by faith in the name of Jesus that he is healed. I was wrestling with that this week because I was going, he didn't have any faith, though. He went for money. He wasn't asking for healing. And I felt God just say, no, don't put the emphasis there.

Put the emphasis on Jesus name, not on faith, but Jesus name. And this is the point, because Peter and John were saying, don't look at us. Don't even look at the miracle. Look at the one it points to. You see, the word miracle in both the Hebrew and Greek is probably more accurately translated to signs and wonders.

And depending what translation of the Bible you have, it may even use that terminology. Just like when I visited that hospital and I saw all those signs, they pointed me to something or someone.

And that is the point of the miraculous. Peter is Saying the miraculous sign you see before you today is not to point you to the miracle or the person who's the conduit for the miracle. It's to point you to the miracle worker, God. And it's been the same throughout all the history that we've talked about today. And I believe the future.

Those Old Testament miracles we started with, yes, they were amazing, but they were to signpost to a powerful God, the God who will protect you, the God who will free you, the God who will sustain you, the God who will guide you, the God who will vindicate you, the God who is more powerful than any other God. God. And then Jesus comes in human form to earth, God in human flesh. And the signs show that he has power. God has power over infirmity and disease, over nature.

He has power over every other power that we see in our world, but also that we don't see in the unseen world. He has power over sin and he has power over death. Our God is truly miraculous. And then in acts, these signs and wonders show that God still moves miraculously, still powerful, and has not changed. And in all of these times, the call is, don't worship the sign.

Worship the one who the sign points to. And so we fast forward to today, and I believe that our God has not changed. I believe our faith is inescapably miraculous. I don't believe it takes a special person or prayer or formula for God to kind of twist God's arm to do a miracle. I believe it takes us to draw near to the one who the signs always point to, to trust in his timing, to rely on his promises, to wait on his answers, to believe in his miracles and to enjoy his goodness, just like that miracle on that day.

The talk of the miraculous is amazing, but it does prompt some questions. And it prompted questions in the crowd gathered today. It might prompt questions for you. And my prayer is, as we've just dwelt briefly on the miraculous of God, that faith may start to rise in you, faith in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And something would stir in you today that goes, God, I'm going to keep drawing near because I believe that you are the one true miracle worker.

For some of us, this might be a bit problematic because you're going, I believe God works miracles, but I haven't seen them. And I've been praying. I've been turning up at the beautiful gate every day, and I've been asking, and I can't see anything. Why then? Why them?

Why not me? God, do you listen? God can you answer, and if that's you, I'd encourage you with this. Miracles aren't distributed based on your worthiness or whether you've prayed the right prayer. Faith isn't a vending machine.

But also, the absence of a miracle doesn't mean the absence of God. You see, God was still God the day before the lame man was healed. God was still God after the lame man was healed. And on the day he was healed, the sign really did show that he was God. And sometimes faith just looks like turning up at the gate again.

What was that gate called? Beautiful.

Just very quickly. One day there will be no need for miracles because the promise of the Christian faith is eternity with the perfect one with God, where every tear is wiped away, whereas there will be no sickness or disease. Where we dwell in the presence of God Almighty for eternity, singing holy, holy, holy. But yet we live in the now and the not yet of the kingdom of God. And so we understand that there is sickness and disease and sin and weakness and struggle.

And God by his goodness kind of shows his face and we get glimpses of that eternal glory in the now. And so if you're wrestling with this, I would ask you today, come forward for prayer. There'll be people to my right and my left who would love to pray with you. Pray for a miracle. Pray for the miraculous power of God to break out in your life.

And let's be believing that he is still the same God who works miracles. I'm looking forward to hear the testimonies as we do. Let me pray. God, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word.

And I pray, Lord, for every person here today, however we respond to your miraculous power, I pray we would grow, I pray you'd grow expectation and faith in your name, in us. God, if we're struggling today, we lay it before you. We draw near to you, knowing that all the signs are there to point to you in Jesus name, Amen. Thanks so much for being with us today, people to pray right and left. And we look forward to seeing, seeing you next week.

God bless.