Focus: Ten Principles for the Making of a Miracle
Read 2 Kings 4:1-7.
We can learn to see the sufficiency of God in each life situation. Using the story of the widow with a little jar of oil, this chapter has identified ten principles which can revolutionize the believer’s life. They can become the ten ingredients for the making of a miracle.
Principle 1: Know Where to Go When You Don’t Know What to Do.
Principle 2: Don’t Seek an Earthly Messiah.
Principle 3: Find Out What’s in the House.
Principle 4: Don’t Be Blinded by Negativism, but Pass on to the Positive.
Principle 5: Faith Is Not Faith Until You Do Something — Action Is Required.
Principle 6: Don’t Put Limitations on God’s Ability to Provide.
Principle 7: Shut the Door on Doubt.
Principle 8: Pour Until There Is No More.
Principle 9: Move Beyond the Miracle.
Principle 10: Remember: There Will Always Be Enough.
1. Elisha asked the widow who needed a miracle, “What
do you have in the house?” Take time to ask God what
you have in the house that might be the beginning of your miracle. It may be as simple as the widow’s little jar of oil. Does the church you attend have a “little jar of oil” that could become a mighty miracle?
2. Some problems are so big that the only hope or option is trusting God for a miracle. Other problems seem more manageable — and can be worked out by human effort. Which is more difficult for you: trusting God with the big problems or trusting God with the little problems? Why?
3. Rehearsing our problems mentally keeps us focused on the problem rather than on the Problem-Solver. What is the difference between thinking about a problem and praying about a problem?
4. How does running to one person after another to discuss our problems hinder us from recognizing the solution?
5. When Elisha sent the widow to her neighbors he told her to get more jars, thus enabling the neighbors to become a part of her miracle. Rather than talking about her problem, they worked with her on a solution. Who has become a part of a miracle in your life? Who could be a part of a miracle you need right now?
“Like the needy widow we get so caught up in what we don't have that we do not see the possibilities in what we already have...
She did not need a new vision of her need...
What she needed was to recognize that God had already given her the beginnings for her miracle, even though what she had seemed so small."
Chapter 3
Being Led to Your Next Miracle
Focus: Learn to Recognize God’s Miracle Game Plan
Read 1 Kings 17:1-16.
A wadded-up letter in a trash can was part of God’s strategy for a miracle, but Tommy Barnett almost failed to recognize it. Ravens and a dried-up brook were included in God’s game plan for Elijah. God’s process of miracle making is accompanied by a never-ending series of unusual and unexpected things.
1. Elijah thought a brook was the solution to his problem, but it dried up just before he was led to his next miracle. Have you ever grieved over something that dried up or ended only to discover that God was preparing something new for you?
2. Instead of receiving “heavenly” food from the hands of angels, Elijah was fed by dirty birds. What surprising providers has God used to bring about a miracle in your life?
3. Tommy Barnett says, “One of the hardest lessons in life is to learn that God calls us to a place for a reason and for a season.” Think of the following “surprise moments” in your life. Choose one of them and relate the reason and the season for it:
• A surprising place in which you’ve ended up?
• A surprising problem?
• A surprising provision?
• A surprising directive?
4. At times, our response to God in the moment just before a miracle comes can determine if that miracle occurs. For example, what if the widow had refused to prepare the little cake for Elijah? Do you think the miracle would have taken place? Can you recall a time when your response to God either hindered or allowed a miracle in your life?
5. A flashlight only shines a short distance in front. As you continue to walk, more of the path is lighted. That’s what it’s sometimes like to follow God’s leading. You see one step at a time.
What would you say to encourage someone concerning God’s step-by-step guidance? Do you have a personal story?
“God can and will provide from unusual sources by surprising means...
The answer to a desperate need came from a *miracle in the house/
Miracles are not magic — but multiplication. Obedience to His Word and faith in His promise put what we have into the Lord's hands so it can be multiplied.”
Chapter 4
What’S That in Your Hand?
Focus: The Seed for Your Miracle Is in Your Hand
Read Exodus 4:1-5.
Moses implored God to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Yet when God replied, “Why don’t you deliver them, Moses,” he vacillated in his willingness to do as God suggested. Many times our lack of complete trust in God (and in our own abilities) keeps us from recognizing that the seed for the miracle we need is within our own grasp.
1. Read 2 Corinthians 12:9, a verse about power being perfected in weakness. How do we tap into God’s power in our moments of weakness?
2. What character qualities do you possess into which you would most like to see God pour His power? Are these your strongest or weakest qualities? With God’s power your weakest character trait can become your strongest gift.
3. Just as a diamond is created from the pressure and stress placed upon it, we often develop our strongest and most gifted character traits from the pressures and stresses life brings to us. Recall a very stressful period of your life. What character traits developed as a result of that experience?
4. Although God creates each of us with unique abilities and character qualities, people around us often attempt to force us into prescribed roles. This happened to Tommy Barnett’s mother, Joy, who couldn’t play the guitar or sing. Have you ever felt boxed in by people’s expectations? If so, how did you feel? Did it hinder or help you to take steps to become the unique person God created you to be?
5. You need a miracle when: 1) troubles are forced upon you; 2) you accept the challenge to meet a need. Are you in either of these situations? Describe it.
“When faced with desperate needs and overwhelming challenges, look to God and ask Him to help you see if the seed of your miracle is already in your hand. When you recognize it, offer it to God in faith that the works of God would be displayed through you.”
Chapter 5
Finding the Miracle Within
Focus: Planting the Seed to a Miracle
Read Ephesians 4:7-8,11 and Romans 12:6-8.
The author states, “Inside every human being is a miracle waiting to be discovered and released.” The Scripture passages above tell us God has given each of us different gifts according to His grace. But just as a diamond in a diamond mine is useless until it is discovered, so our unique gifts and abilities lie dormant until we release them into service.
1. Tommy Barnett made a distinction between a burden (something you don’t want to do) and calling (something you want to do). Whether or not we release our gifts into service may depend on whether we consider them burdens or callings. What gifts do you feel burdened to use? (“I know I should teach a Sunday school class.” “I guess I had better witness to that person.” “I really ought to sing in the choir.”)
What gifts do you feel called to use? (“I would love to use my ability to teach.” “I want that person to know what Jesus did for me.” “I want to use my voice to praise God.”)
Notice how your outlook determines whether you have a burden or a calling.
2. At times, what motivates us to serve is not the fear of judgment if we don’t use our gifts, but the desire to feel the grace of God working through us. Which gifts do you use because you fear God’s judgment if you don’t? Which gifts give you great pleasure to use because of God’s grace? Why?
3. Tommy Barnett says, “Even when a person shows no outward signs of potential at all, I just believe it’s there. Each person has a special grace and calling.” Do you know someone who seems to have no potential? What will you do to show that you believe in them?
4. How does sin make it harder for us to know God’s plan for our lives?
“I am convinced that every Christian has the innate desire to do something great for God, to lay down at the foot of the cross the biggest gift he or she possibly can...
I believe in people.”
Chapter 6
How Many Loaves Do You Have?
Focus: We Plant, But God Brings the Harvest
Read Mark 6:37-44.
We may open our hands to expose the seed of a miracle with great apprehension. But if we release it, God will miraculously bring a great harvest beyond our comprehension. Perhaps that is the greatest miracle — being willing to release the seed.
1. a. “Some look at the growing critical needs [in our world] and conclude that they are more than the church can handle.”
b. “The church has all the resources it needs to show the love of Christ to the world, and those resources are already sitting in the pews.”
Do you agree with the first or second statement. Why?
2. The people who attended that first Thanksgiving dinner at First Assembly made the congregation uncomfortable. The church people had to confront their willingness to accept whoever responded in spite of any perceived differences. Are there areas of ministry at your church which have created the same opportunity for you to grow spiritually — for example, ministry to the divorced, AIDS victims, the homeless and so on?
3. The author relates that each year the church members bring so much food to the Thanksgiving dinner that they are able to give leftovers to community soup kitchens. Thus their miracle is expanded to become the miracle for many others also. Have you ever watched God expand your miracle to others? How did this happen?
4. At a communion service, Tommy Barnett asked if everyone in the congregation had been served. He had prearranged to have several members of the congregation speak out about groups that the church could serve better, such as the handicapped and the homeless. Then, to his surprise, others in the congregation stood and mentioned other groups that needed to be served. Which groups would you have mentioned that day?
5. The seeds for miracles within our communities and churches are often already in place within the talents, skills and gifts of the people in the congregation. As a group, brainstorm for a list of resources your church has which have yet to be utilized as seeds for miracles.
“In the next ten years there is going to he an abundance of needy people in our society — and not just with financial needs.
There will be divorce; broken homes; incurable diseases like AIDS; all kinds of abuse, addictions and emotional problems; a growing number of older people who need help; and many with a general emptiness from not knowing Jesus Christ as their Savior.
What a great time and a great opportunity for the church.
That's our mission — to show the love, grace and power of Jesus to a hurting world
Chapter 7
Miracles on My Doorstep
Focus: Miracles in Shoes — Focusing on People
Read Luke 14:15-24.
Tommy Barnett refers to needy people as “miracles in waiting.” He contributed much of his success in ministry in Phoenix to a time when he visited India. He was impacted by the eyes of the poor of Calcutta, “boring silently into me, pleading for help...What I had witnessed would haunt me forever.”
1. Have you experienced a time when you were gripped by the needs of others around you? Was it a lifechanging moment? How were you changed?
2. If you had an unlimited amount of time at your disposal, to what group of people would you like to reach out? What would you do for them?
3. Although we may be touched by the needs of others, our empathy alone will never be a solution to their problem. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, had a son named Bramwell. Bramwell once told his father about the men who were sleeping under the bridges of London. His father replied simply, “Why don’t you do something about it?”
Has God ever said to you, “Why don’t you do some
Questions for Discussion or Reflection thing about it?” Tell about the experience.
4. It’s a challenge to think of needy people as assets instead of burdens. Can you think of a person who was an “outcast” and became a “mighty man of valor”?
5. Tommy Barnett confronts the issue of class consciousness among believers. He states: “When we care for the poor and powerless God blesses us with the prominent and powerful.” In the New Testament Paul stated, “I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). Have you struggled with class consciousness? How have you overcome it?
“The greatest revival is always among empty vessels. Those who consider themselves to be filled don't thirst for more.
In most churches Christians spend too much time filling themselves.
We must be careful not to become addicted to the self-gratification of our senses when there are so many empty vessels waiting to be filled. ,>
Chapter 8
Don’t Let Troubles Keep You From the Making of a Miracle
Focus: Encountering Adversity and Trouble
Read Isaiah 43:1-3.
There’s a miracle to be found in every situation. But you have to be careful not to let your troubles cause you to miss it. Believers will no doubt encounter just as many troubles as they will miracles — indeed, more! When disaster strikes and the miracle seems out of reach, we must learn to trust God and wait patiently for Him to work.
1. Tommy Barnett describes how he reacted to a situation where he was unjustly attacked. First, he felt hurt; then he wanted to fight; finally, he sought God’s will. How do you react when you’re falsely accused?
2. The author says, “When you’re trying to fight the battle with your own strength...you are tempted to manufacture your own miracles.” Have you ever tried to fight your own battles or manufacture your own miracles? What happened?
3. What looks like a bad situation can be made much worse by our attempts to make a miracle happen. A good example is when Abraham tried to produce an heir through Hagar. He brought pain and suffering not only to himself but also to his family. He even
hindered Ishmael and all his descendants from readily experiencing the blessing of God.
Have you ever hindered someone else from receiving a miracle by trying to manufacture your own miracle — for example, unforgiveness toward another, manipulating for a position someone else deserved or taking credit for someone else’s work? What effect did it have on your relationship with that person?
4. In this chapter, the community protested the church’s plans to build a prayer chapel on a mountain. How should a church respond when there is public disapproval for something it does?
5. Sometimes we let past failures interfere with receiving our miracles today. Are you being held back by past failures? What are they? Ask God to transform your failure into a stepping stone for a miracle.
6. Tommy Barnett refused to let unforgiveness get a grip on him when the Wall Street Journal printed an unfair article. His letter of forgiveness to the reporter, Rob Johnson, allowed him to move forward.
WTiat act of forgiveness have you extended to another person, thus freeing you from bitterness and unforgiveness over an unfair circumstance or situation?
“You will get offtrack if you think you know for sure exactly what kind of miracle God wants to give you.
Remember that miracles come from surprising places in unexpected ways. You have to trust that God is working all things together for good according to His great plan. Do everything you can to flow with His plan rather than trying to force Him to bless yours ."
Chapter 9
Pass on to the Positive
Focus: Taking Your Thoughts Captive
Read Philippians 4:6-9 and Isaiah 26:3.
There’s nothing like a big problem to muddy up a miracle in the making or to reveal the many carnal emotions we must release to God before the miracle can take place. In his account of his experience, Tommy Barnett shares many insights to help us as we face similar situations.
1. Tommy Barnett writes, “There is one thing that meditating on...your predicament will do for you. It will create a monster inside you.” Then he asks, “Are you feeding any pet monsters in your life?” Think back to a time when you became upset because of an injustice against you. What negative feelings did you have to release before you could sincerely want God’s will to be done in the situation?
2. “The fear of losing your job can take on a more destructive aspect in your life than the actual consequences of being laid off.” What other fears can you think of that are more destructive than the thing that is feared?
3. Negative feelings and emotions are a product of the natural man. Miracles are a product of the supernatural. The two will never be compatible. But we can
replace our negative emotions and feelings with the fruit of the Spirit, thus teaming up with the Holy Spirit in the making of a miracle.
List the negative emotions you have experienced. Using Galatians 5:22-23, determine which fruit of the Spirit can be substituted for each negative emotion you listed.
4. Think about a problem or difficulty you face. Try imagining ten different ways God could work things out for you.
5. In Jeremiah 25:9, the evil King Nebuchadnezzar, who was tormenting Israel, was called God’s servant. That introduces an interesting concept: Trouble can become your servant. Have troubles become your master or your servant? How have you learned to make them your servant?
“God can solve a problem in a thousand ways ...
Don't consider your problems until you have the faith to see them from God’s perspective...Don’t grow a thought monster inside that you will have to feed forever.”
Chapter 10
The More You’re Spilled, the More You’re Filled
Focus: The Holy Spirit in Our Lives
Read 1 John 4:7-21.
One of the remarkable concepts the book highlights is that the more we pour ourselves out into the lives of others, the more we can anticipate being filled and refilled by the Holy Spirit. This is contrary to our human way of thinking. We know that if we have a full glass of water but spill half of it, we only have half a glass of water left. Yet as Spirit-filled believers, we stay Spiritfilled by spilling out to others. The miracle continues as long as we are “Spirit-spilled.”
1. The idea of “spilling for a filling” causes us to consider the pattern of being refilled with God’s Spirit in our own lives. Often we feel that we must be on a spiritual mountaintop, completely filled with the Spirit, before we count ourselves ready to spill out in service to others. Yet it is as we empty ourselves out in service to others that a refilling often occurs. Think back to a time when you gave freely of yourself to help someone else. Did the Holy Spirit refill you immediately after the experience? Relate how you were renewed by the Spirit.
2. Have there been times when you felt unprepared spiritually to minister to others? Describe your response to these feelings.
3. Tommy Barnett likens the kingdom of God to the moisture in our air. He says believers are like the droplets of water that become visible when the air reaches the dew point. What are some of the ways you have helped the invisible kingdom of God to be seen in your world?
4. The author says that there are two ways to live: as a giver or as a taker. As you think about the gifts and abilities that God has given to you, list areas where you would like to find ways to use your gifts and abilities to help others. Are there any areas where you have been withholding your gifts and abilities?
5. Share about a time when someone poured themselves into your life at a moment of need. How did their example inspire you to become a giver?
“For the apostles, being filled with the Holy Spirit was not something that happened only once. It was an ongoing occurrence that always resulted in a demonstration of love and service to others.
No one has any need to be filled unless he or she intends to be poured.
And the more you are poured, the more you are refilled.”
Chapter 11
The Miracle’s in the Bush
Focus: Worship the Miracle-Worker — Not the Miracle
Read Numbers 21:4-9 and 2 Kings 18:1-4.
God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son, Isaac, and Abraham worshipped God for His provision. But when God healed the Israelites through means of a bronze serpent, they began to worship the serpent. We must not forget that the source of our miracles is God. We must worship Him and give Him first place in our lives — not the miracles He brings.
1. Five hundred years after Moses made the bronze serpent, Hezekiah broke it into pieces because the Israelites had given it a name and were burning incense to it as to a god. Discuss how the bronze serpent represents worshipping the miracle instead of the MiracleWorker.
2. It is fairly easy to recognize when things or possessions become more important to us than God is. However it is harder to recognize when our goals, visions and dreams have become the focus of our worship. Discuss how the following could become too important to a believer:
• Becoming a successful businessman
• Moving into a bigger house
Questions for Discussion or Reflection
• Sending your children to a great university
• Building a successful outreach to one segment of society’s needy people
• Dreaming of one day pastoring a large church
3. Tommy Barnett states: “One of the greatest feelings is to know that what you are doing is God’s idea and not your own. If you’re doing God’s thing, then you have even more assurance that He is going to be with you to help you bring it to pass.” Name something God gave you the idea to do. How did you recognize that it was God’s idea for you? How did He work to bring it to pass? What did you have to do to help make it happen?
4. We must learn to become purpose-driven persons, not goal-driven people. The purpose is more important than the goal. For example, your goal may be to bring fifty people in wheelchairs to church, and your purpose is for them to receive salvation. You may only bring five people to church, but in the course of your visitation you lead fifty people to salvation. You missed your goal, but you’re still on purpose. Can you think of a time when your goals changed but your purpose remained the same?
“If God has truly given you a promise, a vision, a gift or a ministry, you don’t have to grasp for it.
It is in His hands to bring it to pass.
If you hold it too tightly, the gift can eventually become more precious to you than God who gave it.”
Chapter 12
The Interval Between Promise and Miracle
Focus: Waiting for the Miracle to Happen
Read James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:6-7,
When a person receives a promise from God, there is usually an interval of time between the promise and the manifestation or fulfillment of that promise. We must learn to respond properly to God in the interval between promise and miracle.
1. Waiting is not something we do easily. Even Abram grew impatient in the period of time between the promise of a son and the time when Isaac was born. After twenty-four years God reaffirmed to him, “At the appointed time...Sarah shall have a son” (Gen. 18:14). God’s “appointed times” are not known by His people. Discuss the following:
• What promises have you received from God for which you are waiting to see the miracle take place?
• Abraham tried to hurry his miracle by having a child with Hagar, but it created problems for all concerned. How have you tried to hurry a miracle only to create distress or trouble?
• Describe a time when you have had to wait for a promise to be fulfilled in your life. What did
you do while you waited? How much time elapsed between the promise and the fulfillment?
2. Read Deuteronomy 29:29. How can you apply this verse to the interval between God’s promise and God’s miracle. What are the secret things? What has God revealed that can help you as you wait for your miracle?
3. Tommy Barnett had a promise from God that he would be a preacher. He prepared himself for the promise by preaching to his friends, to empty church pews and at the city mission. How can you prepare yourself for the promise?
4. Tammy Barnett asks the following questions: ‘Why does God make it so difficult? Why doesn’t He make things happen sooner?” How would you answer these questions? One of the answers the author gives is that God does it to perfect our faith and to make it enduring. How have you learned endurance through waiting?
5. How can the believer keep from becoming discouraged and disappointed during the waiting? What portion of God’s Word has been important for you when you were waiting for the fulfillment of a promise?
“Many people are waiting for a promise but not preparing for it to come to pass...The interval between the promise and the manifestation can be a difficult struggle. But remember that God has His appointed time, and if He has said it, it will surely come to pass. In this interval of time let God do His perfect work in your faith.”
Chapter 13