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Miracle Worker |
Dear Brethren,
Why did Jesus Christ work the miracles that He did? None of the people
that He healed were converted, because God's Spirit was not sent until Pentecost
after Jesus was raised to Life. What kind of Faith did those healed people
possess? If we have enough faith, should we expect to see the same kinds of
miracles today? In the Church of God, some people are saying that God is no
longer working miracles. Some say that there are no miracles because they lack
faith; they do not understand the working and the power of God, and they do not
know what a miracle is.
Why then did Jesus work so many miracles among so many people who were not being
called to a life of Christianity? What was the purpose of those miracles worked
by Jesus? We get a good clue to the answer to this question at the end of John
the Baptist's life. John the Baptist got to thinking that perhaps he had been
wrong about Jesus. Watching Jesus from afar, John the Baptist did not see the
powerful and dynamic leader that he thought the Messiah would be - and he was
offended. After he was imprisoned, John the Baptist wondered and even doubted if
Jesus were the prophesied Messiah because things were not shaping up as he had
expected them to. John the Baptist knew that his work would decrease as the work
of the Messiah would increase. John the Baptist said, "He that comes after me is
preferred before me."...He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 1:15 ,
3:30)
When John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was not gaining national prominence,
he was upset and sent messengers to inquire of Jesus. Jesus' response tells us
why it was that He was working miracles - the miracles were a witness that
Jesus
was the Messiah as prophesied by Isaiah: "When John [the Baptist] had heard in
the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him,
Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said
unto them, Go and shew John [the Baptist] again those things which ye do hear
and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the
gospel preached to them." (Matthew 11:2-5)
John the Baptist was very familiar with the prophecies of Isaiah. In fact, it
was the prophecies of Isaiah about John the Baptist that had established him as
the forerunner of Jesus. "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the
wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand. For this is He [Jesus Christ] that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah,
saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight." (Matthew 3:1-3, Isaiah 40:3) John the Baptist
had made a great effort to pave the way and highlight that Jesus was indeed the
Messiah, but he didn't understand Jesus' two fold coming - first in apparent
weakness, then in strength, to judge the nations. Jesus directed John the
Baptist to look at the miracles that only the Messiah, the Son of God, could
perform.
That is the reason for the miracles that Jesus worked. "Jesus... healed all that
were sick that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,
saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matthew
8:13-17)
The work of God today is that we believe in Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent.
We can ask for a sign or a miracle, but the answer lies in the fact that Jesus
is the Bread of Life (John 6:29-30). "The bread of God is He which cometh down
from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:33, 40) For
those who truly live as Jesus taught, that is the promise of ultimate and total
healing - eternal Life!
Brethren, beware of miracle workers in the end time - we must be warned. There
are those who wish for signs, wonders and miracles so much so that they get
their minds off the Christian lives we must be living. Are some going to follow
the first man that supposedly comes along in "christ's" name working great
miracles? Some pray for the gift of immediate healings and miracles. Yes, those
are gifts of the Spirit that were given to some in the early Church (1
Corinthians 12:9-10). But, those gifts are for the glory of God, not so that man
should receive the praise. Jesus warned us that in our day it would be miracles
that get many into very serious trouble. "There shall arise false christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24)
Let's understand that anytime that God intervenes, even in the slightest way, it
is a miracle. Our calling into God's Truth is a miracle in itself. God
supernaturally circumvents the laws of physics and nature to bring about His
Will anytime He wants - and He does work miracles, frequently, in a Christian's
life. The language is a little difficult to understand in this next Scripture
because the King James translators were confused about how God miraculously
brings about His Will in our lives through the working of His Spirit in ways
that are beyond us. "The Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
(Romans 8:26-28)
Brethren, let's understand that God is bringing many sons to glory in a
miraculous way (Hebrews 2:14). God's everyday intervention in our lives is a
miracle in itself. God is actively and miraculously working in us, while the
Godless world learns a bitter lesson of going it alone. "Being confident of this
very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) So we can see that our very lives
are daily being guided, directed, sustained and supported in a supernatural way
by God as He miraculously works His Will in us.
Brethren, have our eyes been opened to see God's hand in our lives - or, are we
yet blind? Count the miracles: He lives in us and we in Him; He has given us of
His Life and promised us Life eternal; We are His sons and daughters, called by
His Will; His Truth is open to us; He heals our infirmities. Do we demand that
He also work signs and wonders that can be seen by all the world for their
pleasure and entertainment? Yes, Jesus once did just that in a magnificent way,
so that He might establish his New Testament Church, and prove His Messiahship
to a doubtful people. "When He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the Feast
day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which he did." (John
2:23)
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Sermon: "Miracle Worker"
This is #7 in the series: A Blending of the Gospel Accounts.
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