Your Miracle Is In Your Mouth (3 page)

And if God has given you heaven’s best, will He then withhold from you blessings such as complete healing, a good job or a healthy relationship with your wife or husband? Of course not! If He did withhold these blessings from you, then these things would appear to be of more value than Jesus! The Bible says,
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
(Romans 8:32)

Today, we can be blessed because of the cross. And it is because of His obedience and His beating that rivers of blessing can now flow to us.

A Picture Of The Crucified Christ

Some of you may still not be convinced that the smiting of the rock in Exodus 17 is a picture of Jesus on the cross. So let me show you how beautifully God has hidden signs in this incident that point to His Son’s crucifixion. God’s Word is so amazing! There are no superfluous details in His Word!

In Exodus 17:5, the Lord told Moses,
“Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel.”
Then, in the next verse, it says that Moses did as commanded and struck the rock
“in the sight of the elders of Israel”
.

So we see that the rock was struck in front of the
“elders of Israel”
. We see in Matthew 26 and 27 that Jesus was also judged, condemned and crucified in the presence of the elders of Israel! Caiaphas the high priest interrogated Jesus in the company of the chief priests, scribes and elders. He also tore his high-priestly garment in front of Jesus, not knowing that he was fulfilling prophecy — that the old priesthood held by man was to give way to the heavenly priesthood of Jesus! Later, when Jesus hung on the cross at Calvary, the elders of Israel were also there and they mocked Him.

Another clue is the rod which Moses used to strike the rock. Again, in Exodus 17:5, the Lord told Moses to
“take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go”
. Do you remember what river was struck by Moses’ rod? It was the Nile river in Egypt. Moses smote the Nile with his rod, turning its water into blood. (Exodus 7:20–21)

So what is Moses’ rod a picture of? It’s a picture of judgment! When Moses struck the Nile with that rod, the water was turned into blood. Blood here means death. The fish in the river died, the river stank and the Egyptians could not drink the water. It was bad news for them. And if God had continued the plague, they would have died too.

So Moses’ rod is a rod of judgment. In fact, from the very first supernatural must be in the manifestation of the rod, you can tell that his rod was meant to deliver curses. When God told Moses from within the burning bush to throw his rod on the ground, Moses did so and the rod became a snake (Exodus 4:2–3), which is a symbol of the curse.

Our trust must be in the finished work of Christ, not in our obedience or good works.

When God’s rod of judgment fell on Jesus at the cross, it was His blood that flowed for us. We deserved the judgment. And we deserved the punishment. But Jesus took our place so that we can receive the blessings. Isn’t that beautiful? That is the love of our Father!

Trust In The Finished Work

The smiting of the rock in Exodus 17 is a beautiful picture of the cross. It points us to the perfect work of the Son. Today, you and I are blessed because of the cross, not because we did something good to deserve God’s blessings. It is not our works, but Jesus’ perfect work on the cross that brings every blessing.

It’s important to note that our trust must be in the finished work of Christ, not in our obedience or good works. Neither should our trust be in the environment we are in. What do I mean by this? Well, some people think that if only they were in a better school, a bigger company or a prospering country, they would be blessed. In the meantime, they murmur and complain. Sometimes, God will lead us to a place in which initially there seems to be no provision.

If you read the story in Exodus carefully, you will find that it was the Lord who told Moses to bring the children of Israel to Rephidim. And yet, even though they were still in the will of God, there was no water for them there. Did the Lord know that there was no water at Rephidim? Of course He did! But He wanted His people to trust Him and call upon Him. After all, He had cared for them and brought them this far. He had made the bitter waters of Marah sweet for them. He had rained bread from heaven and given them quail meat to eat. And before all that, He had led them out of Egypt with great signs and wonders.

But, like so many of us, the children of Israel were slow to learn to trust in God completely. Instead of trusting in the goodness of the Lord, they continued to complain. Do you know that it’s not good to complain? Here is a great saying: “Complain and you will remain plain, praise and He will give you a raise!”

Don’t Complain —Trust God In Every Situation

Don’t have a complaining attitude. Even if you don’t understand why you are in your current circumstance and you can’t see a way out of it, trust the Lord to supply the waters you need because He has been smitten for your blessings. Look to the cross and rest in the finished work of Christ.

The Bible also tells us that
“all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”
. (Romans 8:28) So don’t grumble if you have a flat tyre. Don’t grumble if you are stuck in a traffic jam. God may be delaying you because He sees a fatal accident or disaster up ahead!

A sister in our church named Barbara loves to scuba dive. She usually scuba dives in Phuket between the months of December and January. She has done that at least four times now. In December 2004, she and a colleague were planning another liveaboard scuba diving trip to the Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea northwest of Phuket. She planned to be there between 22 and 27 December. However, she didn’t feel perfectly at peace during the preparations. Her plan was eventually abandoned because her colleague’s leave application was not approved.

Today, she believes that God intervened for their good. He spared them a lot of trouble indeed. You see, had they gone ahead with their dive trip, they would have been sailing from the Similan Islands back to Patong Beach on Phuket island in Thailand on the morning of 26 December 2004 when the Asian tsunami struck! God was so good that He kept them out of harm’s way and out of the country altogether!

So don’t grumble when nothing seems to be going right. Your disappointment may turn out to be a testimony of God’s deliverance and goodness! Instead, while you are waiting for the manifestation of your blessing, bring out the timbrel, bring out the electric guitar and begin to sing a song to God. Try singing the song, “Jesus is my Rock and He rolls my blues away!” God is pleased with that kind of attitude.

Trust God — He Sees Beyond The Physical

God sees beyond the physical. He is all-knowing and all-seeing. And He wants us to see beyond the physical too. Hebrews 11:1 declares,
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
So don’t go by what you can or cannot see. Some people believe that God heals today because they see people getting healed. But when they don’t see someone else getting healed, they change their minds and say that God doesn’t heal today. These people are walking by sight, not by faith in the finished work of Christ! Don’t be like that!

Some years ago, my church held a leaders’ retreat at a resort in Genting Highlands in Malaysia. I was driving along the winding road to this mountain resort when, about a mile from the resort, I caught my first glimpse of the resort. And for the next mile, I caught sight of it about eight times. It was amusing because each time after I spotted the resort, it disappeared again from view. One moment I saw it, the next moment it was gone. Every now and then, a cloud or a small hill would block my view of the resort.

Now, was the resort jumping from one place to another? Or was it moving around on wheels? Of course not! It was always there, but my eyes told me that it was not always in the same location. So I could not base my judgment on my sight or my perspective!

My friend, don’t base your faith on your environment or your experiences. Don’t base your faith on what you can or cannot see. Put your faith in God who sees all things. His sight is better than yours!

If you are facing difficulties and challenges, and what you see tells you that there is no hope, turn your eyes instead to God and His Word. Put your faith in the finished work of the Son. Remember, it is by the smitten Rock that rivers of blessings are flowing to you.

Don’t Quit — Your Blessing Is On The Way

I want to share with you a testimony that will encourage those of you who are still waiting for your miracle to manifest. It is a wonderful testimony of God’s faithfulness towards a precious couple in our church, Pastor Mathews, one of my assistant pastors, and his wife Rachel.

This couple wanted to have a child. This was their desire from the day they were married. In fact, during their premarital counselling, they told me that they wanted to have children. They didn’t plan to wait one or two years — they wanted a child as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, doctors informed them that they were both unable to produce a child for medical reasons. So for six years, both of them believed God for a child. But despite their efforts, year after year, they were unsuccessful. Six years is a long time! I’m sure they must have shed many tears and wondered at times if God would really give them a child. The devil must have told them all sorts of lies and negative messages. The devil may have whispered to them that it was God’s will for them to be childless.

They could have easily given up in the third year or the fifth year or the sixth year. But thank God they kept holding on to His Word which says,
“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body…”
(Deuteronomy 28:4) They confessed His promises and held on to scriptures about fruitfulness.

I can tell you confidently that God is faithful! Rachel conceived their first child in the seventh year! That year, Rachel gave birth to their miracle child! But God’s grace didn’t stop there. It overflowed! Rachel was later able to give birth to another child… and then another one… and then another one!

Today, they have four healthy kids. In fact, Rachel feels like a factory! Both of them are so fruitful that they really have to be careful or they could be expecting another child again! The anointing of multiplication is so strong on them. God has richly blessed them. For six years, they sowed so many seeds of faith in God that it is reaping a harvest now.

We all have areas of weakness. We all have areas of need. And as we exercise our faith in those areas of weakness and need, God rewards us and our faith is strengthened in those areas. I have found that the very areas in which you believe God to bless you, the very areas that once were your weaknesses, begin to become areas of strength in your life as you exercise faith in those areas. When God breathed grace into this once-childless couple’s area of lack, it became their area of superabundance. That is God’s grace. That is God’s style — He doesn’t know what enough is!

Friends, don’t ever give up, don’t ever give in! This couple waited for six years! I’m not saying you have to wait that long. The point is that God will not forget your request. You may have forgotten about it, but He hasn’t! God is faithful to His promises. His Son paid for your blessings with His blood. And God is faithful to what His Son has done!

chapter
3

Speak To The Rock And Receive

chapter 3

Speak To The Rock And Receive

The River Is Flowing

I
n the last chapter, we saw how water flowed from the rock at Rephidim when Moses struck it with his rod of judgment. That rock was Christ. The whole story is a beautiful picture of Jesus on the cross.

When Jesus died, the river of blessings was unleashed for you. Whatever you need today has been released to you because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, not because of your good works. Ephesians 2:8–9 tells us,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
You should thank God that it doesn’t depend on your obedience!

If God has given us heaven’s best, why would He withhold the rest?

As long as you are a child of God, there is no reason to wonder if God wants to bless you. He has forever settled that issue at the cross! The Rock
has been
struck! The waters
are
flowing!

The Bible says that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3) It also says that He has given us everything we need for life and godliness, including His exceedingly great and precious promises. (2 Peter 1:3–4) Think about it: If God has given us heaven’s best, why would He withhold the rest?