The Bible is a book of miracles. In fact, the very existence of the Bible itself is a miracle. So, why is the subject of miracles so controversial?
In April, 1995, Time magazine reported that 69% of Americans said they believed in miracles. It articles goes on to say, “Yet when the faithful are so eager to embrace the possibility of miracles in every day life, prominent American theologians are working furiously to disprove the miracles of the Bible.” This just proves one thing: The people in the pews are smarter than most of those in the pulpit.

We must begin by understanding the providence of God.
…the continuing action of God by which he is actively involved in preserving, sustaining, caring for, guiding and governing everything in creation, causing all things to achieve the purpose for which they were created.
Ephesians 1:11, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.
Romans 8:28, We know that in all things God works together for good.
Two aspects of divine providence: Ordinary acts of divine providence Extraordinary acts of divine providence.
A miracle is an extraordinary act of God’s providence that is contrary to the normal course of events.

A miracle is a “billboard for God.” The most common term in the Bible for a miracle is sign. Acts 2:42, Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
Mark 16:17, And these signs will accompany those who believe.
Miracles serve as a sign to… …to attract people to the message of Christ.
Acts 8:6, When the crowds saw the miraculous signs Philip did, they paid close attention to what he said. …to accredit the mission of Christ.
Acts 2:22, Jesus was a man accredited by God to you through miracles, wonders and signs. …to demonstrate the authority of Christ.
Luke 10:9, Heal the sick and tell them ‘The Kingdom of God is near you. …to reveal the character of Christ.
Acts 10:38, Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him.
The point of miracles is not theological discussion, but wonder which leads to worship.

I believe in miracles because I believe in God.

Psalm 77:13, 14, What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.
I believe in miracles because I believe God’s promises are true.
Romans 4:21, God has the power to do what he had promised.
I believe in miracles because I believe Jesus hasn’t changed.
Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
I believe in miracles because I believe in prayer.
James 5:16, Pray for each other that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
I believe in miracles because I believe faith works.

Hebrews 6:1, Let us go on to maturity. The Stats in America
Only 11% of church members have shared the Gospel even once in the last year.
33% of church members have never shared the Gospel with anyone.
The average evangelical church wins 1.67 (less than 2) persons to Christ each year for every 100 persons who attend that church.
In this message, we move to the outer circle of spiritual maturity. Spiritually mature believers are outward focused. This includes three characteristics: evangelistically bold, intentionally serving, and socially responsible. Today we will look at the first of these three.

To follow Jesus’ model we must first adopt his values. John 4:34, The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. (Mess)
Three Parables on Lost-ness (Luke 15) The Lost Sheep The Lost Coin The Lost Son PRINCIPLE: Lost people matter to God.
2 Peter 3:9, God doesn’t want anyone lost. (Mess) Jesus and the Tax-Collector (Luke 19:1-9) PRINCIPLE: God doesn’t wait for the lost to come to him; he seeks them. Luke 19:10, The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

PRINCIPLE: People are drawn to a relationship not to ideology or theology.
79% of people who come to Christ and to the church do so through the influence of family and friends.
Jesus and a Woman of Poor Reputation (John 4:4-38)

PRINCIPLE: It’s worth crossing social barriers to share the Gospel.
John 4:27, The disciples were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were thinking but their faces showed it.

To be Real
Philippians 2:14, Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry this life-giving Message into the night. (Mess)

To be Ready
1 Peter 3:15, Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. (Mess)

To be Radical
Mark 1:16, Jesus and his disciples were having supper with a collection of disreputable guests…More than a few of them had become his followers. The religious scholars and Pharisees…lit into his disciples, “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with all this riff-raft?” (Mess)

To be Resourceful
John 4:35, Open your eyes and take a good look of what is in front of you.

Evangelism is helping one person move one step closer to Christ.

 Hebrews 6:1, Let us go on to maturity.
If your Christian faith is not real at home, it’s not real anywhere. There is no such thing as spiritual maturity that does not impact the way we live in our families.
Joshua, the second leader of the Israelites, demonstrated the essence of family commitment when he said, “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

The Family was God’s idea. Genesis 24:18, God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him. (NLT)
Genesis 2:24, This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. (NLT)
The Family is the basic foundation of society’s stability.
As the family goes, so goes the nation…the schools…the church.
Edward Gibbons in his classic work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, identified five key factors in Rome’s demise:

God uses the family to help us understand divine-human relationships.

The family is to be a shelter in storms. Proverbs 14:26, Reverence for the Lord gives a man deep strength; his children have a place of refuge and security. (LB) Your home should be a place where everyone can be heard, hugged, and helped. The family is to be a learning center for life.

Psalm 144:12, May your sons in their youth be like plants that grow up strong. (GN) Ephesians 6:4, Fathers, don’t exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (NIV) Three key things we learn at home:

Ecclesiastes 9:9, Live happily with your wife, whom you love through all the meaningless days of life. (NLT)
Proverbs 5:18, Be happy with your wife and find your joy with the girl you married. (GN)
Psalm 127:3-5, Children are God’s best gifts…Oh how blessed you parents are. (Message) The family is to be a place to launch a ministry.
1 Corinthians 16:15, Stephanas and his family…were the first to become Christians in Greece, and they are spending their lives helping and serving Christians everywhere. (LB)
Romans 12:13, When God’s children are in need…help them out! Get into the habit of inviting guests for dinner, or if they need lodging for the night. (LB)

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” Think of your heart as your satisfaction. Our culture increasingly defines people by things. Material things can never define who are on the inside.

Hebrews 6:1, Let us go on to maturity.
Today, we are going to look at the fifth characteristic of spiritual maturity—financial generosity. Before we look at some principles from the Bible, let’s look at some trends in the American Church.

Giving by Christians is down 19% over the last three years. 32% of Christians claim to tithe, but only 12% actually give 10% of their income to the work of the church. Giving by Christians has been a steady decline for over 30 years, giving just over 6% of their income to the church in the 1973 down to under 3% today Personal income in America has increased 90 % in the last 40 years.

We do not have a financial problem we have a spiritual problem. Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:19-34 offers us four key principles regarding the proper view of material possessions. Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be! No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (NLT)

God is the provider of all things.
Clarity begins when we reduce life to its simplest principles.
Since God owns everything, our role is that of a trustee. A person who manages someone else’s property and keeps the owner’s best interest in mind.

Money has always been a hot button.
This is true because there is a battle for mastery going on.
Money is not a neutral issue. It is a moral issue.
What you spend your money on reflects the values you hold as a person.
Jesus calls us to invest our lives in his Kingdom not our stuff.
The Kingdom of God is God’s agenda

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” Think of your heart as your satisfaction. Our culture increasingly defines people by things. Material things can never define who are on the inside.

To seek God’s Kingdom first and to store up treasure in heaven, you must be an active giver not a collector of stuff.
Your stuff has to be subordinated to the greater purposes of the Kingdom of God. You will have to force your stuff to be less important to you than God’s agenda.

Hebrews 6:1, Let us go on to maturity. 
Last week, I talked to you about the grip that money and stuff can have on us in our culture. We talked about our need to break free from the cultural mindset that defines our worth by how much stuff we have. We focused on the idea of simplifying our lives and giving from the heart. Today, we are going to look more closely at what God says about giving.

GIVING IS NOT A MONEY ISSUE. IT IS A TRUST ISSUE

GIVING IS A MATTER OF GRACE

2 Corinthians 9:7, 8, Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (NLT)

Two principles:

When God has access to your heart, giving becomes a joy.

GIVING MUST BECOME A REGULAR HABIT,

1 Corinthians 16:2, On the Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned.This is the how, how much, where part of the sermon.

The tithing promise and challenge:
Malachi 3:10, Bring all the tithe into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you will not have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you.  (NLT)

I began this series with a prophetic urgency. God is speaking to us. He is calling us to the next level. The messages I have preached have been challenging. They have called us out of our comfort zone. God has said, “This is your set time.” A set time is a time of visitation from God. It is a time of decision. There is place for neutrality when God visits a people.

Deuteronomy 30:19, Today, I have given you the choice between life and death…I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live. (NLT)
There is urgency in Moses’ voice.
This is no small matter.
Life and death are heavy issues.
There is a compelling tone in these words.
The consequences of their decision are not insignificant.
The future is riding on their choice.

Revelation 3:1-6, Write this to Sardis…I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and life, but you’re dead, stone dead…Up on your feet and take a deep breath…Your condition is desperate…If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I’ll return when you least expect it…
This is a church in trouble. It is dead!
It died despite the fact that it had no…
Doctrinal problems
Persecution
Internal strive
Shortage of activity or resources
It died because it had become a coasting church.
A church living on its past glory and reputation
A Church in a comfort zone
A church which had lost its vision
Four stages of a church’s life:
1. The birth stage
2. The developmental stage
3. The maturity stage
4. The decaying stage

…We will embrace the vision to pastor our city.
…We are willing to pay the price in prayer, servanthood, and giving.
…We really get serious about the Great Commission.
…We will change what needs to be changed.
…We are will pour our lives into the next generation,
Now is our set time. This is the day of the Lord’s visitation.
It is time for us to choose.

God has us on a journey. He is speaking to us and leading us to discover what it means to be an Apostolic church.
Now is the time for such a journey. Six out of 10 Americans believe the church is irrelevant. Only 1 pastor in 3 believes that the church is making a positive impact on our culture.
God has us on a quest—a quest to courageously pursue what it means to be the type of church Jesus envisioned.
John 20:21, As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you. (NLT)
John 1:14, The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We are living in a time of tremendous change. The Western World has entered a period that is currently being called POSTMODERNISM. The Modern Era (1690-1990) Science and Reason were king. Rationalism was the means of discovering truth. Truth was considered absolute. In our efforts to present the Gospel, the church became very modern in its efforts as well.
The Post-Modern Era (1990 – ???) Truth is not absolute; it is personal. There are not absolute values. Everything is relative. Experience and personal expression are king. Spirituality is in. This is our world. “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

Here is our challenge: How are we going to reach a world that… Listens with its eyes and thinks with its heart. We must do more than just talk about the transforming power of Christ, we must live it. The world is tired of words. It wants real. Our mission is an incarnational mission. The Word must become flesh in us. The world must see a church full of grace and truth. More preaching is not the answer to today’s spiritual hunger. We do not need to be more religious. We need to be more connected. We cannot reach the world from a distance. The world is saying, “If your Christianity is real, let me see it.”

Vision: the ability to see; the act or power of seeing. As an apostolic people, we must pray for an apostolic vision. This is the ability to see with the eyes of Jesus. Let us look at two scriptures that will guide us in our thinking today.
John 4:27-38 Matthew 9:35-38
TWO REALITIES
The Harvest is ripe. The harvest is the ripest where the pain and the confusion is the greatest.
Jesus saw the people as harassed (troubled, worried, exhausted) and helpless (knocked down, mortally wounded). The Harvest is great.

We will never reap a harvest that we do not see. Spiritual blindness is one of the great maladies of the church in America.
Revelation 3:17, You say, `I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
The disciples were earth-bound in their perspective. Lift up your eyes. (KVJ)
We must pray for the eyes of Jesus. When Jesus saw When the disciples saw the crowds, he saw… the crowds, they saw…
People People Shepherd-less Sheep People
An Over-ripe Harvest People Their Pain People

The attitude of the disciples is the same as many Christians and many churches today.
1. Preoccupation with our own needs.
When asked “Why does the church exists… 89 % of church members said, “To meet my needs and the needs of my family.” 11 % of church members said, “To reach lost people.”
2. Prejudice
Building walls not bridges. The eyes of Jesus are color blind!
3. Conventional thinking
“Way we do things around here” mentality. “We never did it that way before” mentality. The refusal to think “outside the box.” “Comfort Zone Theology”

God is up to something. Let’s be a part of it! He is calling us to become an Apostolic People. In order for this to happen there must be a Spirit-inspired Apostolic ethos that captures our hearts, our wills, and our imaginations. Let’s explore this further today.

The Holy Spirit is an Apostolic Spirit. John 16:7, The Holy Spirit will come because I will send him to you. (NLT)
Apostolic people are people of the Wind. People who have caught the moving of the wind People who are so consumed by the Spirit that the only word to describe them is filled.
Acts 2:4, Everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit. (NLT)
Ephesians 5:18, Let the Holy Spirit fill you… (NLT) The Apostolic Spirit creates a movement not an institution.
Acts 1:8, When the Holy Spirit has come on you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (NLT)
Acts 8:4, Forced to leave home base, the Christians all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, the
preached the Message about Jesus Christ. (Message)

First, there is a swell on the surface. Beneath the waters, unseen forces are at work.
Genesis 1:2, The Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters. (KJV) Next, there is a concentration of energy.
This creates a unification of force and an unmistakable shape begins to occur.
Acts 2:1, They were in one accord in one place (KJV)
Acts 4:46, They continued daily in one accord. (KJV)
Acts 5:12, They were all in one accord. (KJV)
A crest is formed. A point of no return is reached. The surface tension is broken. Froth and mist begin to appear. A force is about to be released.
Third, there is an awesome crash. The pent-up energy is released and the water explodes on itself. Nothing can stop it.
Acts 2:1-4, Suddenly there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from.
It filled the whole building. Then like wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks…
Finally, there is a dynamic dispersion.
The shape of the beach is transformed by the waves. In Acts, the wave of the Spirit created an apostolic ethos.
Acts 17:6, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.

We must be receptive to what God is doing.
Hebrews 3:8, Today you must hear his voice and don’t harden your hearts against him. (NLT) We must desire what God is going.
Matthew 5:6, God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness for they will be filled. (NLT) We must be committed to what God is doing.
James 2:17, Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. (NLT)