IGNORE THE VOICE OF UNBELIEF AND RIDICULE!

Many Christians fail to receive their miracles because they refuse to ignore the voice of unbelief in their hearts.

What is the voice of unbelief? This is that voice that says anything that is contrary to the Word of God in your heart.

Here is the truth: To receive your miracle, you must ignore the voice of unbelief in your heart and focus on the promises of God which never ever fails.

So today, we want to look at the third step to receiving your miracles - “IGNORE THE VOICE OF UNBELIEF AND RIDICULE!”

As you take your eyes off your circumstances, you must also know how to deal with the negative forces of unbelief. The moment you begin to see God as He is, and take your eyes off your predicaments, and begin to expect a miracle in your life, you will be surrounded by those who will make fun of you and even criticize you.

Therefore, for you to receive your miracle from God, you MUST ignore the criticisms and ridicules on the way to your miracle. That was the attitude of some people in the Scriptures:

1. Prophet Elisha: 2 Kings 6:24-7:2 says, “And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.

26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

27 And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? Out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?

28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.

30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?

33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

2 Kings 7:1-2 says, “Then Elisha said, Hear ye the Word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.”

Remember that the king of Israel, and his messenger were on the doorstep of Elisha’s house to kill him (2 Ki. 6:33). Elisha had just met his circumstances head on with a Word from the LORD. He told them that the very next day flour and barley would be sold at the gate of the city of Samaria at an unbelievably affordable prize.

The Word of the Lord came to Elisha. He stood up facing his predicaments, facing those that accused God, and prophesied a blessing. He told them that within 24 hours God was going to supernaturally intervene in their circumstances (2 Ki. 7:1). It was time for a miracle!

The Bible says, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper” (2 Chron. 20:20).

What was their reaction to this prophetic announcement? This very Word that would bring a miracle to the people of Samaria was met with the two giants (i) unbelief and (ii) ridicule.

The king’s messenger answered Elisha saying, “Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof” (2 Ki. 7:2).

This man mocked Elisha. How could this possibly happen, he asked? The city of Samaria had been besieged by Syria for a long time. So, there was no way humanly possible for this to happen. Elisha was not moved by this man’s ridicule. He didn’t argue with him. He simply said, “All right, you are going to see it with your eyes, but you are not going to partake of it. What I spoke will surely come to pass. God will receive the glory, but you will never partake of it.”

Just put yourself in Elisha’s place. Let’s say the predicament you are facing right now is a great financial need. Right now you have no income and you hardly have enough money to put food on the table for your family. Your children ought to have gone back to school but you have no money to settle their school fees. And that is why they are still at home.

But one day, during prayer, God quickened the Word in your spirit-man, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

 As you received this Word, you began to visualize the unlimited riches of Christ in glory, and that Christ applies them to meet to your need. As you continued to meditate on this Rhema Word, you realized that the same God Who provided for the needs of the children of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years has not changed (Heb 13:8). He will do the same for you and your family.

God suddenly filled your heart with the spirit of expectancy and you cannot wait to share with your family what God has spoken to your heart.

As you gathered around the dining table that night to share your small ration of food, you excitedly told your family how God has promised that He will miraculously put food on your table. What do you expect their reactions to be?

They may tell you that what you said sounds great, but we must be realistic; there is no food in the food store. We don’t have money anywhere to buy food stuff, and there is no one we know that can lend us some money. Besides, the University is on an indefinite strike. I am not trying to discourage you but these are the cold hard facts.

The next day went by and you are still holding unto the promise of God to you that He will supply all your needs. Your empty stomach and your children that have not gone back to school are constant reminders of your predicament.

Your children have been coming to you throughout the day asking you for something to eat. Your wife watches you as you set the table for dinner wondering if you have gone crazy. And she asks, “Why are you setting the table? Aren’t you being a little silly? Aren’t you carrying this a little too far?”

Suddenly, the doorbell rings and there is someone whom you have not seen in a very long while, who is unaware of your financial situation. And he hands over a fat envelope that God instructed him to bring to you. How would you feel now, brother?

When you refuse to listen to the negative forces that surround you and keep keeping your eyes on God (Heb. 12:2) and His ability, God will open up the windows of Heaven if necessary, to meet to your need.

Always remember that when you step out in faith to receive a miracle, there are going to be those who will try to persuade you that you are acting foolishly and that what you are doing does not make sense. But you must be persistent because God cannot fail. Just know that on your way to your miracle, you are going to hear many voices of unbelief.

2. Other examples include the blind beggar by name, Bartimaeus, who heard that Jesus was passing by and so he cried out in a loud voice saying, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” His faith and perseverance were rewarded as Jesus touched him and opened his blind eyes (Mk. 10:46-52). Blind Bartimaeus did not listen to the negative voices - criticisms, and ridicules from the crowd. That was why he received his miracle.

In Mark 10:46-52 the Bible says, “Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." 50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 51 So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you whole." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.”

3. What about Jesus Himself? How did He react to the negative voices He faced? One day, a ruler of the Synagogue by name, Jairus (Mk. 5:36ff) came to Jesus and told Him that his daughter was dying. Jesus responded to this need by agreeing to come to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter. But on His way, Jesus was delayed by the woman with the issue of blood (Mk. 5:24-35). So, by the time Jesus arrived at Jairus’ house, the little girl was already dead. When they walked through the yard, all the professional mourners were there.

They stopped crying and started criticizing as Jesus and Jairus walked through the gate. They said, “Jairus, are you not a ruler of the Synagogue? If you had any love for your daughter, you would not have left her. Now look at what has happened. You have brought disgrace to your whole family. While you were out chasing the miracle worker, your daughter died.” They said to Jesus, “There is no point, You came too late. She is already dead.” And they laughed Him to scorn.

Jesus did not say a word. He simply ignored them. He turned His back on their unbelief. He said to Jairus, “Let’s not forget what I came here for. Come on, Jairus. Let’s be going.” They went into the room where the girl was laying, and behold, she was stone dead. Jesus looked at Jairus and said, “Only believe.” Turning to the dead body of the girl He said, “Damsel, arise,” and in one split second, her spirit re-entered her body, and she jumped to her feet. Jairus received a miracle because he turned his back on unbelief.

Another example is the case where you need a male child. The scan has shown that the baby is a female. In spite of that you went on to buy the dresses for a male child, not even a unisex because you are fully persuaded or convinced that God will give you the miracle you need. You simply remove your eyes from the scan result and fix them on the God with whom nothing shall be impossible. Such was the attitude of Pastor Henry Akporeha.

When others think you are foolish and try to discourage you from stepping out in faith to believe God for a miracle, turn your back on their unbelief, take your eyes off your circumstances and keep right on walking. Each step will be a miracle!

 

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

·         Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor, HOG).                           10.02.2019

Promise of God for the week: “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (Ps. 121:6-8).