Greetings and blessings to you in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Happy New Year!
I want to share with you some keys that will enable you to unlock the miracles of God in 2021.
Unlocking the Miraculous
Our Scripture is from John 2:1-11, where Jesus performs His first miracle at the wedding in Cana:
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there. Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Six water pots made of stone were sitting there, used for ceremonial cleansing by the Jews, containing twenty to thirty gallons each.
Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
Then He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the master of the feast.”
And they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water that had been turned into wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who drew the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and after men have drunk freely, then the poor wine is served. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
This, the first of His signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
This Scripture records a turning point in history. Jesus, the son of God, had been born and had grown into a man, but until this moment, He had not shown His miraculous power to the world. Across the body of Christ today, in 2021, there are people crying out to see His miracles again.
There are people for whom it feels like the wine has run out and for whom their experience of God is drying up. They may sing and worship, but they need more. As I prayed before the Lord to understand His mind and heart for 2021, He opened this Scripture to me and told me to tell His people that there are certain components that need to come together before they can get the miracles they are looking for.
The Third Day
The movements taking place now in the body of Christ are to unlock the miraculous, but miracles do not just come out of nowhere or for no reason. There are structures and components that need to be in place before the miracles are seen. We need to take the Word of God seriously for us to see it happen, and we must pay attention to the detail.
In verse 1, it begins by saying “On the third day”. This means that there is a first day and a second day that we need to consider.
These are recorded in John 1. There we read that in the beginning was the Word, and that the Word became flesh. Then, a day comes where John bears witness to Jesus, and He begins to call His disciples to Him (see John 1:35-42). On the following day Jesus speaks to Nathanael who recognizes Him as the Son of God (see John 1:43-51). The story then moves to John 2, and the third day, when the wedding at Cana takes place. Jesus is at the wedding with His newly called disciples when the miracle takes place.
The significance of three days cannot be lost on us in this hour, as components come together. The initiator frames the heavens and enters through the humility of the manger, then calls, beckons and woos us on the first day. There must be a response if we’re to get to a resurrection, new wine moment. As Jesus did with the apostles, He says to us, “Come.” His merciful invitation is for all. This means we need to close our ears to hear His voice amidst the noise. Let’s be still long enough to hear.
The second day of recognition has Nathaniel declare after his initial disbelief and dismissal, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” There must be recognition of who has come to us and who has invited us to His banquet. In that place, we lay transparent and bare, withholding nothing, so He may, without any disturbance, fix the dysfunction we all come to Him bearing. There has to be an acknowledgment of our utter inadequacy exclusive of the Holy Spirit. There must be a confession of where we are and are not. Only in this place of unravelling and emptying will precious Holy Spirit have full control and room to move and bring about the miracles of God.
Restructuring for the Miraculous
Before the third day miracle can take place, there has to be a restructuring. The right people have to be brought together. For you to unlock the miraculous in 2021, you need to know who to do life with. In this present season, the Lord is restructuring His church and bringing together true disciples and relationships built around kingdom purpose.
In Jesus’ day, there were Pharisees and Sadducees who knew the Scriptures but were not the right company for Him because their hearts were compromised. Rather than going to them, He sought the Father diligently to understand who He needed to call. Then he obeyed and brought them alongside Him.
For the miraculous to come, you need to have the right company and the right relationships around you. People of the right heart and character, and of the right callings and capabilities, have to be brought together. Many people are stuck in companies where, although the people around them can quote Scripture, their hearts are compromised, and there is no alignment around a kingdom purpose. In many environments, even the sense of the sacred and the holy is gone, and there is no fear of God. Stories, scandals and mistrust have devoured the spiritual atmosphere; things are done for appearances rather than for truth, and the wine is dried up. People are connected but corrupted. In these places, the issues of last year and even of ten years ago are also today’s issues because there is no movement and no change.
Without restructuring, you will continually return to God with the same prayer points, year in and year out. Now is a time to take stock of your environment and see whether it is producing its fruit in its proper season, as Jesus did with the fig tree. What fruit has come from your relationships of many years? Has God been able to move through them?
You must be intentional and fierce in 2021 to engage with your relationships with a demand that they bear fruit for Him. Stand on your prophetic promises, and take proper account of your relationships. Are you fighting with the people close to you over the same things as you fought over years ago? Why? What have you each brought to the table to bring His will to pass? Evaluate what you need to improve.
Don’t imagine that things will just drop from heaven while you are living in disagreement and disunity. When relationships are not built around purpose, the small and petty things come into play, and insecurity, jealousy, fear and competition take over. And when these come, good spiritual fruit does not. Rather, God is looking for unity and shared purpose, and He can command the blessings there.
If you are stuck with the wrong company right now, there is still time, but commit to moving quickly. This is because in 2021 there will be times where you will need divine intervention, where only God can come through. Jesus brought in new relationships, put His disciples together and on the third day they began to see miracles.
Filling up for Fulfilment
When Jesus called Simon Peter, he named him Cephas which means “stone” (see John 1:40-42). It was a name signifying someone strong and resolute. When it was time for the miracle to be performed at Cana, Jesus told them to use the six water pots that were used for purification and made of stone. The vessels that God wants to pour into for the miraculous are people of strong character. He is looking for solid structures that don’t leak, crumble or spill what they contain. He is looking for vessels that have been prepared in the ways of purity and purification.
In 2020, you will have been through testing and purification, and you will have been poured into. You will also have poured into others. Evaluate what needs to be strengthened so that what is to be poured out in 2021 will not leak or spill this time around. This means establishing true discipleship, through which people are made solid and ready to carry God’s anointing.
The water pots were already filled with twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus then told the servants to fill them completely, which they did, to the brim. Although you have been poured into in 2020 and have a measure of the Spirit in you, you may still feel somewhat empty, having something but not all of what you need.
For the miraculous, you need to be filled to the brim. This means not stopping halfway, but getting the whole job done. Don’t stop pressing in when things begin to go your way, but see the job through until the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed. There are too many broken vessels in the church today due to things being done halfway. Others can only drink wine from you after you have been filled to the brim and changed.
Also make sure that you pay attention to the details and fulfil the specifics that come with your process. John noted how many water pots there were and how many gallons they contained. He knew what was what and took note. As you go through the process of purification, don’t short change God, be it in fasting, prayer, sacrifice or sanctification.
There are certain cycles which need to be broken, and Jesus has said that He will set you free—but obedience is needed. Finish what you start. If you are called to a three day fast, do all three days. If you are called to 40, do all 40. For the miracles to come, the specifics have to be met. Don’t compromise, because when you talk yourself out of obedience, you also talk yourself out of breakthrough.
Whatever it is that you need to do, make sure that you have the right people around you to encourage you and push you on. Be surrounded with people who recognize your value and what you need to do. Bring together people who will pour into you and fill you to the brim, not those who will empty you out and put holes in your structures or have nothing with which to fill you.
And don’t let your old relationships keep you from the voice of God. In this season, it’s not about simply being around people who you like or choose for yourself, but it’s about recognizing those who God chooses for you because He knows that miracles will come about when you come into unity with them.
Love the Church
In John 2, Mary represents the church, the body through which Jesus comes. A corporate body can activate a miracle, and a group of people in unity can command a blessing. Some of you may have been hurt in the past or discouraged by things you have seen or heard, but you must not let this bring you to a place where you curse the church. No one sees a miracle while they are cursing the church.
Not every church is hurtful or corrupt. Just as you need mercy and help, so do others. Settle and listen to the voice of God again. Find a way to connect with others and be built up again in love and trust. Be determined to change your life at all costs and to free yourself from any relationships where the conversations have become about discrediting the church and people in it. If not, then how will you be filled to the brim?
It was Mary’s identity that activated the miracle at the wedding despite Jesus saying that His time had not yet come. The power of the church is her identity before God, giving her the influence to act as an intercessor and bring about the miraculous in a time of need. Mary and Jesus’ transaction was not from an unfamiliar place, being built on a solid relationship as mother and son, and yet, in this moment, the dynamics of the relationship shifted to bring about the supernatural for a community. Every miracle requires human interaction.
Together the body is strong, and together the body will unlock the miraculous. Let 2021 be your year to be restructured, filled and to come together in unity for the miraculous to happen. {eoa}
Rev. Betty King is a world-renowned speaker and prophetess. She is a true embodiment of the Father’s love and compassion. Her passion to fulfill God’s call has seen her travel to all the continents, moving in the prophetic, touching and transforming many lives and rekindling hope. She is a woman full of love, wisdom, kindness, hope, compassion and grace.