I wonder how many realize that in order to walk in the miraculous there are principals and characteristics that need to be in place, and one of those principles and characteristics is demonstrated when Christ came walking up to the disciples in the Sea of Galilee in the midst of the storm.
Matt 14:22-33
And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
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.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Do we grasp what was really taking place; they were up to their necks in water, the ship was going down,they were on the verge of drowning and Jesus walked up to them and said be of good cheer it is I, be not afraid.
Please take notice that He did not tell them that after the storm had passed,
He did not tell them that when they had passed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, He did not tell them that after he stilled the winds and the waves
He told them that in the midst of the storm, in the peak and in the fury of the storm
He told them that when the storm looked as if it was going to win,
He walked up to them and said be of good cheer
It is I.
You see there are a lot of God’s people who have trouble with this, but if you are ever going to walk in the miraculous of God, if you are ever going to get out of the boat and walk on the water, then you are going to have to come to the place where you begin to rejoice in the impossible so that the impossible becomes the possible.
2 Chr 20:11-17
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
Now get this,
Three large armies have come against Jehosophat and are threatening to destroy the entire nation of Israel,
2 Chr 20:1-2
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.
The armies of Moab, Ammon, and the Ammonites with a great multitude from Syria, have gathered together to make war and to bring destruction against Israel.
One man by the name of Jahaziel a Levite priest stood up in the midst of the congregation and said be not dismayed, be not afraid for the battle is not yours, it is the Lords.
It is not your battle the Lord will fight for you, the Lord will walk with you, be not dismayed the Lord is your refuge and your strength.
What is he saying?
He is saying Rejoice; your situation is not bigger than your God;
Rejoice you are a child of the Most High God, Rejoice He ever liveth to intercede for you.
And that is exactly what Jesus was doing when he came walking on the sea to the disciples in the midst of the storm and said,
Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, thou art mine.
I did not send you out here to drown, the battle is not yours,it is mine.
2 Chr 20:14-15 again,
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
The Lord is trying to show us something that is very powerful, we must believe that we are delivered before we are delivered.
We must believe that He is God and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
Heb 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We must believe that our steps are ordered by the Lord and that His word is a lamp unto our feet and if a lamp then a light to show the way
Ps 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet , and a light unto my path.
Not a light to show us how we will be delivered but a light to show us that He is the way.
Heb 11:3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Listen to the word of God; the things that are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Do you really believe that the promises of God are yea and amen, do you really believe that God will walk with you in the midst of the fire and that the flame shall not kindle upon you, do you really believe that when you pass through the waters and walk through the rivers that they shall not overflow and overwhelm you, do you really believe that all things work together for the good to them that love the Lord, do you really believe that he will help you bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things.
Do you really believe these things?
Then if you do, you then would be able to rejoice in the midst of your storm and you would see the miraculous in your life.
And there may be some of you right now that do not want to hear this but this is exactly what you need to hear.
It is time that you begin to see that it is not the possible that is stopping the flow in your life, it is the impossible.
And the reason that the impossible is stopping the flow in your life is because you can not see yourself delivered until after you have been delivered for if you saw your self already delivered you would be singing praises to your Deliverer.
2 Chr 20:20-21
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
This is so powerful, three armies surround the children of Israel, these Kings and their armies are determined to destroy the nation of Israel.
They are in battle dress, they are prepared for battle and Joshsaphat receives the word of the Lord.
No one would have faulted him for placing his mightiest warriors on the front lines, no one would have criticized him for getting his forces ready to fight against such tremendous odds, just to take a stand and to fight in itself was a miracle.
What does Jehosaphat do?
He places his singers on the front lines; in the place where his warriors should have been he places his singers.
2 Chr 20:21
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
Why did he place his singers on the front lines, why did they put down their weapons and become singers?
They believed that they were not going to have to fight the battle; the Lord would do their fighting.
VERSE 22
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
Hear the word of God,
When Jehosaphat had consulted with all the people and they all agreed to come together in one mind and one accord and that the battle was the Lords, they found the answer and all it took for deliverance to come was to believe that deliverance was coming and they began to sing.
What problem has come against you today, has some one disappointed you, is discouragement hanging over you like some dark luminous cloud, has a situation or circumstance threatened you and it seems like there is no way out.
There are some of you who are crying out to God and you know that it is God who needs to intervene on your behalf but your cry comes from desperation and not praise.
There are others of you who cry out to God but your cries are cries of murmuring and complaining and heavy burdens.
Here is truth but very few people grasp it,
Seeking God ought to be a place of joy, a place of rejoicing, the hearing of good news.
Ps 40:16
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
The ship is on its way down, the disciples are close to drowning and Jesus says be of good cheer
It is I.
To those who have a ear to hear and a heart to believe, place your singers out in front and believe what has been spoken by the Lord and with expectation sing
For the battle is the Lords.
Your faith level is determined by your joy level.