…precedes miraculous results.
Scriptures: 2 Kings 4:1-7, John 2:1-11
Read it on Bible Gateway here.
As we bridge the gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament today, we are looking at how God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and… how miracles come through some ridiculous preparation.
The two passages this morning have more than just miracles in common. In 2 Kings, we see a desperate woman asking for help for her household. She is told to gather jars. And so you find a desperate woman gathering jars with her sons. That’s… ridiculous.
If you stopped the story there, it’s absolutely insane. She took a huge step toward crazy loco! She believed that the jars would be filled with oil, so she and her sons gathered empty jars. And if you can just imagine these people carrying the empty jars home… it’s just plain ridiculous.
Then, in the New Testament, we find Jesus at a wedding and his mom totally nagging Him to do something about the wine situation. The wedding was out of wine, ladies and gentlemen, and the mother of God was not going to stand by and let that fly. That a girl! Jesus, then, tells the servants to fill up SIX jars that each contain 20-30 gallons. I’m sure this took some heavy lifting, cranking, pumping… and how’s this for a visual: if you can imagine a gallon of milk, think 120 to 180 of those. With WATER. These servants were doing their job, but probably thinking that this was the most pointless arm workout they’d ever had. Ridiculous.
And yet… we find that in each of the stories above, it wasn’t for nothing that these people took ILLOGICAL ACTION in the direction God instructed. The oil poured and filled each jar for the widow, until there was more than enough to pay her debts and sustain her family. The water turned to wine, gallons and gallons of strong wine, and the party didn’t stop.
The measure of ridiculousness was the parameter for the miracle. As many jars gathered were as many jars filled. As many jars filled with water were as many jars of wine. Our faith in preparation is in proportion to the ability to receive!
This morning you might be wondering how much you should risk in the direction the Lord has given you. Maybe you just want to risk a little bit, just in case it doesn’t work out. Maybe you wanna wait it out. Maybe you’re afraid to commit, or to hope.
Take these two examples and notice that the ridiculous steps preceded the miraculous results, in exact proportion. Go big or go home. Gather up the jars. Fill up the gallons and gallons, to the brim. It’s more than okay to look crazy in the middle of your story, because it doesn’t end there. There’s a miracle waiting to be your punchline.
What does it look like to prepare for your miracle? Do it big and watch Him fill.