John 2:1-10
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, ‘They have no wine’. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them; Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
When this couple gave their invitation to Jesus and his mother to be one of their guests on their wedding day, little did they know that they were inviting miracle into their wedding ceremony. Things were going on perfectly until at a certain stage when the wine got finished. What a mess! They frantically looked for a way out. When Jesus’ mother got to know about the embarrassing situation, Jesus’ mother quickly ran to inform Him about the situation. Jesus told her that His time had not yet come (the time of working out this miracle). “What He tells you, do”. Shortly afterward, Jesus asked the servants to fill the water pots with water, which they quickly did. The emerging new wine was a mystery to everybody. What is the source of this good wine? The master of the feast wondered. Only those servants knew. The servants obeyed Jesus; as such they became a channel for the miraculous. When did the water turn to wine? At the time of:
- Filling the pots;
- Taking the water out;
- Carrying the water to the master of the feast.
Faith walk is a complete obedience. You don’t need to worry about how or when the result will come. Just obey. It is the responsibility of God to fulfill His word.
Luke 5:2-10
And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
They had tried hard, labouring all night but caught nothing. They were washing their nets in readiness to go home when Jesus appeared on the scene. One good turn, they say, deserves another. Jesus having made use of their boat instructed them to launch into the deep. Ridiculous! To play or to catch fish? Contrary to fishing methodology, they complied and they reaped the fruit of obedience. They may have chosen to rationalize the situation based on fishing ethics and this would have denied them of that great catch. They took the step. The fishermen did not know that that step taken would lead to a great catch of fish.
1Samuel 30:3-9
So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shall surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
David in obedience to the world of the Lord chased the Amalekites. He attacked them and gets back their families. You need to take that step to recover all. He asked God for what to do in the time of crisis. God spoke and he obeyed. God still speaks today, only if you ask Him.
Luke 17:12-15
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
These lepers simply did what He asked them to do and they were cleansed, just like that. “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land”, Isaiah 1:19 (MKJV).
The Darby Translation put it as………willing and hearken...” Hearken means hear and do. When you hear and you are willing, the next stage is doing which will bring forth result. That means, you have to go beyond the level of willingness to the level of obedience i.e. actual doing. It is not only the hearer that will be justified but the doer. Jesus bids Simon Peter to come to Him when He was walking on water. Peter in obedience took steps and he walked on water, a feat which no man had ever done before or after him. (Matthew 14:28, 29. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou; bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.)
Naaman, the highly esteemed general of Ben-hadad, was afflicted with leprosy, but was miraculously cured, on washing seven times in the direction of Elisha. He had found all his honour and power valueless, and all physicians of no avail for his cure. He was led to renounce his pride, and avail himself of the simple remedy prescribed by Prophet Elisha. Naaman was reluctant to go and both in River Jordan. If not for the timely persuasion of his maid-servant, he would have missed his healing. (2Kings 5:1-27).
The word of God can come to you in various dimensions, as you read the Bible, listen to Biblical messages, read inspired Christian books etc; you may be inspired by what He is saying to you. Also, His ministers as in the case of Naaman may deliver his message. When you pray, God can also speak to you. You need to be sensitive. God can use anybody or anything to speak to you. Be spiritually alert. Set your spiritual antenna to the right direction and frequency. You should know that you don’t have anything to lose by obeying His voice (word). It is God’s word that is at stake and also God’s integrity. He will do everything to fulfill His word. Why can’t you do what He bids you? Your miracle is on the way; only do what He tells you.
“IF YOU TAKE GOD’S WORD AS ORDINARY, YOU AUTOMATICALLY STRIP IT OF ITS POWER AND DIVINE PURPOSE” Pastor E. A. Adeboye.
