1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,320 Now, please open your Bibles with me to Acts 2 and verse 22. 2 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:22,480 As we come now to the study of the Word of God, Acts 2 and verse 22, we are preaching 3 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:31,720 on the day of Pentecost. Peter the apostle says, Men of Israel, listen to these words. 4 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:41,320 Jesus the Nazarene was a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs, 5 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:49,320 which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. 6 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:55,160 Let us pray. Now, Lord, I pray that the Holy Spirit would be our teacher as we think about 7 00:00:55,160 --> 00:01:01,040 the miracles of our Savior. Father, grant that we will go away from here loving and 8 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:12,120 adoring Jesus all the more. We pray this in his name, amen. 9 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:21,440 A young lady, let's just say for sake of illustration, she goes to Career 1 at Grace Church, answers 10 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:28,080 the telephone, and on the other end of the line is a young man. And just for sake of 11 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:35,160 illustration, let's say he's from Career 1 at Grace Church. And the young man asks 12 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:42,520 the young lady out for a date the next week. She hangs up the telephone and she says, It's 13 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:52,240 a miracle. Now, actually, there are two miracles there. One is the invitation. The other is 14 00:01:52,240 --> 00:02:01,640 that she didn't faint. It's a miracle. The wife looks at the corner of the kitchen where 15 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:08,600 the garbage is usually stacked up in the sack waiting to go out. And her husband has remembered 16 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:17,920 to take it out. And she says, It's a miracle. On the other hand, a young couple experience 17 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:25,180 the birth of their first child. And with tears in their eyes and trembling voices, they say, 18 00:02:25,180 --> 00:02:33,000 It's a miracle. For a family, we read about escapes from a burning house and no one is 19 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:42,820 killed. And we say, That is miraculous. The term miracle is used so generally in our day 20 00:02:42,820 --> 00:02:48,840 that it has largely lost its true meaning. All of these things that I've described may 21 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:57,000 be rather astonishing or mysterious, but they aren't really miraculous in the biblical 22 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:06,200 sense of that word. Miracles are more narrowly defined and are actually quite rare when considered 23 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:14,260 against the full backdrop of human history and events. The Christian faith is a faith 24 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:21,560 that rests upon the miraculous, even the very life of our Lord Jesus Christ. He came into 25 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:29,720 the world by means of a miracle and he left the world in a miraculous manner too. We cannot 26 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:39,240 separate the historical Christ from the miracles which characterized his earthly experience 27 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:48,920 and ministry. Someone has said, Christ's life and doctrine form one series of pillars, 28 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:57,120 his miracles another, upon which the dome of the Christian church is lifted toward heaven. 29 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:06,440 In other words, without a miraculous Christ, there is no Christian church. The miracles 30 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:14,960 of Jesus are an essential part of the Bible's presentation of him as both Lord and Christ. 31 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:23,600 One dare not deny the miracles and then claim to be a follower of the Christ of the Bible. 32 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,640 As we think about the miracles of Jesus today, the first thing I'd like to do is to consider 33 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:38,920 with you a definition of miracles. Webster's dictionary defines miracles this way, in theology, 34 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:47,640 an event or effect that apparently contradicts known scientific laws and is hence thought 35 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:56,520 to be due to supernatural causes, especially an act of God." Well, I think we can do a 36 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:02,760 little better than Webster, frankly. So let's turn to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 37 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:10,840 which defines miracles this way, wonderful phenomena which accompanied the Jewish and 38 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:20,320 Christian revelation, especially at critical moments. An extraordinary work of God, general 39 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:27,200 though not invariably transcending the ordinary powers of nature, wrought in connection with 40 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:34,560 the ends of revelation. Now here is the point that we're getting to as we try to define 41 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:45,560 miracles in its best sense. A miracle is a supernatural event or effect in conjunction 42 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:54,880 with God's revelation of Himself. But that last part is important. Miracles seem to contradict, 43 00:05:54,880 --> 00:06:03,840 suspend or supersede the natural laws of God's creation. And when they occur, they are in 44 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:12,280 conjunction with God's revelation of Himself to us. There are several words in the New 45 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:18,960 Testament to describe miracles. Three of them are before us in the text that we began with 46 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:32,360 in Acts 2, 22. The words are miracles, wonders and signs. The word miracles really is dunamis 47 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:40,920 in the Greek language, which simply means powers. This is a word that describes miracles 48 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:50,200 or these supernatural events as manifestations of God's power. So when you see the word 49 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:58,760 miracles as this word is usually translated in English, or powers as it is sometimes translated, 50 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:05,520 it's referring to the fact that this event or this effect, whatever it was, exposes and 51 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:17,400 manifests God's power. Then there's the word wonders. This word tells us that the supernatural 52 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:26,040 event is out of the ordinary and produces astonishment or wonder in the minds of people 53 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:32,720 who observe it or hear about it. They're called wonders because of the impact that they have 54 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:41,640 upon the people who are aware of the event. And then the word signs. This means that miracles 55 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:49,560 point not just to themselves as events, but to something beyond themselves. Miracles are 56 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:59,000 signs or proofs which authenticate Christ's claims in the case of His miracles or some 57 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:07,840 other revelation in other cases. So these events that we're talking about are powers, 58 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:16,600 wonders and signs. The Apostle John has another word that he likes to use. It's the word works. 59 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:22,380 And it is used especially by him in his gospel and indicates that the happening was only 60 00:08:22,380 --> 00:08:30,920 the natural or appropriate work of one who is supernatural. You would expect this work 61 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:37,200 out of someone like this is John's point. It is important to understand that miracles 62 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:45,480 have not commonly occurred in history. In fact, they are grouped in history at certain 63 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:54,040 critical points of revelation. I want to emphasize that again. Miracles have not occurred at 64 00:08:54,040 --> 00:09:06,520 all times equally. They have been grouped in history at certain critical points of God's 65 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:14,240 revelation of Himself to mankind. Now we could of course go all the way back to the creation, 66 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:19,920 which in a sense is a miracle. But let's go into human history and note that the first 67 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:29,320 time when we see a grouping of miracles is in the life and the ministry of Moses. It's 68 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:38,200 at the time of Israel's redemption when God was revealing Himself as the one true God 69 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:48,000 to a world population that was polytheistic. Here we have the revelation of monotheism, 70 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:54,200 that there is one true God who is to be worshiped. There are not many gods. God wanted man to 71 00:09:54,200 --> 00:10:02,760 understand that and at that point of revelation He caused great miracles to occur. And then 72 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:10,040 we see them again lumped together during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha. This is the 73 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:18,640 time in Israel's history when the nation was going apostate because of the idolatry 74 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:24,100 that they had adopted from the surrounding nations. There was a great crisis of faith 75 00:10:24,100 --> 00:10:32,280 in Israel. Therefore, God raised up certain prophets and through them did miracles as 76 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:41,400 He was again exposing Himself, manifesting Himself as the only true God worthy of worship. 77 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:48,160 And then we see another, shall we say, spurt of miracles during the time of Israel's or 78 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:56,280 Judah's captivity actually under Babylon in the lifetime of Daniel. Perhaps this time 79 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:02,480 of miracles was given in order to revive the faith of the Jews, which was flagging in their 80 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:09,440 period of captivity. A fourth great period of miracles is during the time of Christ and 81 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:17,720 His apostles. At this point in history God was fully revealing Himself to mankind. He 82 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:24,240 had nothing left to say when He was finished with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in 83 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:29,760 the writing of this book. God said everything that He wanted to say to us. Oh, He could 84 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:39,200 say more. But God said everything He wanted to say at that time. And He accompanied that 85 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:46,400 revelation with amazing miracles. But we notice that even in the writing of the New Testament 86 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:53,280 those miracles ceased with the generation of the apostles. The writer of Hebrews, 2 87 00:11:53,280 --> 00:12:00,400 verses 3 and 4 suggests that in the generation just preceding His the signs, wonders, and 88 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:07,280 miracles were still common, but does not claim that for His own generation. And then we see 89 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:13,900 in the Scripture is that there will yet come a time upon the earth called the tribulation. 90 00:12:13,900 --> 00:12:20,360 It is the last days of this age which will precede the ushering in of the millennium 91 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:28,400 during that time when God will be again revealing Himself to the world in amazing ways that 92 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:34,040 miracles will be done. So as we think about a definition of miracles, understand that 93 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:39,920 we're not talking about the invitation to the date. We're not talking about the husband 94 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:45,400 who takes the garbage out. We're not talking about the family that escapes from the fire. 95 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:54,320 As amazing as those things may be. We're talking about supernatural events that occur 96 00:12:54,320 --> 00:13:02,440 in conjunction with the giving of revelation from God. That's what miracles in their narrow 97 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:11,020 definition actually are. Now let's think about the distribution of the miracles of Christ. 98 00:13:11,020 --> 00:13:17,640 And to do this, we're going to look primarily in the Gospel of John. Not because He has 99 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:23,640 the most miracles because He really doesn't, but because John records for us, and only 100 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:35,940 John, the first miracle that Jesus performed. John chapter 2. The Apocrypha, certain uninspired 101 00:13:35,940 --> 00:13:41,520 writings that have been passed down and are part of the tradition of the Catholic Church 102 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:47,880 and some others. The Apocrypha tells to us certain stories about Jesus performing miracles 103 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:55,080 as a child. On one occasion the Apocrypha says Jesus formed some doves out of mud, clapped 104 00:13:55,080 --> 00:14:01,480 His hands and the doves flew away. But we do not accept the Apocrypha as being history. 105 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:08,160 It is fanciful writing and does not deserve the same attention as the inspired Word of 106 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:17,480 God. Actually Jesus lived 30 years upon the earth and did not perform a miracle. Until 107 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:23,640 His public ministry began, after His baptism, after the temptation, it was then that He 108 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:29,720 began to do miracles. And John tells us the very first one. It occurred at a wedding in 109 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:34,560 Cana of Galilee. You know the story so I'm not going to take time to read all of it for 110 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:41,120 you except to remind you that the wine had run out. Mary went to Jesus and told Him the 111 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:47,860 situation and Jesus graciously and out of the goodness of His heart changed the water 112 00:14:47,860 --> 00:14:57,440 put into the pots into wine. And John says in verse 11 regarding this, this beginning 113 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:06,840 or this first of His signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory and His 114 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:14,480 disciples believed in Him. That's the first of the miracles. So as we think about not 115 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:21,240 the definition of miracles but now the distribution of the miracles of Jesus, remember that they 116 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:30,560 began at this point, not any earlier, now. John also records for us what I understand 117 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:39,680 as the last of the miracles of Jesus if we don't include His ascension back to heaven. 118 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:46,320 And that is the miracle that is recorded in John chapter 21 and tells us about the fish 119 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,760 that were miraculously caught. We're not going to read that by the way. Thank you for turning 120 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:57,640 there but you may want to review it as I talk. But there was a miraculous catch of fishes 121 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:07,080 and a breakfast that Jesus then prepared for His disciples. All of that was after His resurrection. 122 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:13,680 The miracles that Jesus performed began after the initiation of His public ministry and 123 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:20,440 only John records the first one and the last one for us. And then John carefully chooses 124 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:33,160 eight, only eight of at least 35 different miracles recorded for us in the gospels. Five 125 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:39,600 of these in fact are unique to John alone. Only he records them. Three others he shares 126 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:47,840 with other gospel writers. John chooses to call these on several occasions, as in verse 127 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:57,160 11 of chapter 2, signs. In other words, Jesus was not simply doing this to do it, but He 128 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:03,160 was changing the water to wine because that miracle pointed to something beyond the event. 129 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:12,720 It was a sign of who He was. And He says, He manifested His glory. Now that's the same 130 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:18,240 glory that is mentioned back in chapter 1 in verse 14 where it says, and the Word became 131 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:26,260 flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, says John. The glory as of the only 132 00:17:26,260 --> 00:17:35,640 begotten from the Father. So the glory that John says we saw began to be exposed at this 133 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:41,800 very first of the miracles. And then John records for us the healing of the royal official's 134 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:48,200 son at Capernaum in the fourth chapter. He records for us in the fifth chapter the healing 135 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:56,240 of the crippled man in Jerusalem. In chapter 6, the feeding of at least 5,000 people. There 136 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:04,400 were 5,000 men numbered plus women and children. So many thousands were fed miraculously by 137 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:12,640 our Lord. In that same chapter, He records Jesus walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee. 138 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:17,920 In chapters 8 and 9, referred to earlier in our worship service, Jesus healed a blind 139 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:25,040 man who had never seen the light of day. From His birth, He was blind. And Jesus gave him 140 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:33,440 sight. And then in chapter 11, we have the resurrection of Lazarus. The resurrection 141 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:39,960 of His dear friend from the dead for the glory of God. Now I'm not including in this list 142 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:45,800 Jesus' own resurrection, which is a miracle. And then He concludes, John concludes his 143 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:54,560 gospel with the catch of fish that we've already mentioned. The reason that John included 144 00:18:54,560 --> 00:19:02,360 all of these signs or these miracles in his gospel was so that we might believe who Jesus 145 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:08,400 is and have life through His name. I want you to turn later into the gospel of John 146 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:23,000 with me to the 20th chapter and the 30th verse. Notice what John admits. Many other signs. 147 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:28,280 Therefore, Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in 148 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:37,280 this book. But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, 149 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:46,600 the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John chose to record 150 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:54,960 for us the miracles that He did so that we might understand the miraculous person He 151 00:19:54,960 --> 00:20:01,760 was writing about. That Jesus was different than any other person who's ever lived. He 152 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:12,840 was the Christ, the very Son of the living God. That we might believe on Him in a saving 153 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:22,120 sense and have life in His name. Jesus made an amazing prediction that John 154 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:27,400 also records for us in the 14th chapter. You might just want to turn back there and look 155 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:35,200 at these words of our Savior on the night before He was crucified. He says in verse 156 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:50,320 12, truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes in Me, the works that I do, shall He do also, 157 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:58,880 and greater works than these shall He do, because I go to the Father. That's an amazing 158 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:05,440 statement that our Lord makes. What did He mean by that? How is it possible that anyone 159 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:12,740 who believes on Him could do something greater than raising the dead? 160 00:21:12,740 --> 00:21:19,920 We understand Jesus' comment, His statement, to mean this. Those who believe on Him would 161 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:29,680 not do greater works in degree, but in extent. You can't do something greater than raising 162 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:35,380 the dead in degree. That's the greatest of miracles. But those who believe on Him would 163 00:21:35,380 --> 00:21:45,040 do greater works in their extent. Jesus reached a few thousand people, one area of the world. 164 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:50,840 But Jesus is here saying that those who believe on Him would take His word throughout the 165 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:59,840 world and in that sense do greater works. The apostles did that. Their preaching was 166 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:05,880 accompanied by the signs, the wonders, and the miracles such as those the Savior Himself 167 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:06,880 performed. 168 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:13,560 I'd like for us to think thirdly about the design of Christ's miracles. First the definition, 169 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:18,680 then the distribution. The first, the last, those in between, why they were done. Now 170 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:25,120 we want to look at the design of the miracles. The purpose of the miracles was to manifest 171 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:31,600 something about the person, the authority, and the work of Jesus Christ. As we saw in 172 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:38,180 the second chapter of John and verse 11, at the very first of miracles Jesus manifested 173 00:22:38,180 --> 00:22:48,320 His glory, His deity. And every miracle that He did had a purpose to it. Jesus did not 174 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:59,420 use His power to serve Himself or to secure some benefit for Himself, but Jesus used His 175 00:22:59,420 --> 00:23:11,320 power to aid the helpless, to show compassion, and to expose His glory as God. 176 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:19,520 Notice that He turned the water to wine, but He asked for a cup of water Himself at the 177 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:28,680 well in Samaria. Why didn't He just speak and create a cup of water? His miracles were 178 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:36,120 not to serve Himself, but others. He provided bread for thousands, but He would not turn 179 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:44,220 a stone to bread for Himself at the behest of Satan. He raised several people from the 180 00:23:44,220 --> 00:23:56,000 dead in His ministry, but submitted Himself to death on the cross, not delivering Himself. 181 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:05,200 Why? That He might serve us and not Himself. By the giving of His life on the cross, He 182 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:12,440 makes it possible for us to have life, because His death on the cross provides for our forgiveness, 183 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:19,240 the judgment, the wrath of God that our sins deserve was taken out upon Him, and He paid 184 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:27,840 the price for us. Three days later, He did raise Himself from the grave, victoriously, 185 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:34,580 that He might secure for us not only forgiveness of sins, but eternal life that we might be 186 00:24:34,580 --> 00:24:42,680 with Him forever in heaven. The design of Christ's miracles was for others, to reveal 187 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:49,600 God to mankind, that men might understand who He was and believe on Him and be saved 188 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:56,280 from their lostness. That's the design of the miracles. 189 00:24:56,280 --> 00:25:01,960 You may be one of those who's heard the miracles of Jesus all your life. You grew up in Sunday 190 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:08,040 school learning about Jesus walking on the waters, feeding the thousands, changing the 191 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:14,480 water to wine. But have you understood that all of those miracles were done, that you 192 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:23,840 might understand who He is and come to Him and believe in Him and have life? That's 193 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:30,840 the design of them for you. As we bring the message to a close, I'd like 194 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:42,560 for us to think along some practical lines. The first one is this. Our faith rests upon 195 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:52,600 the Word of God and not miracles. Our faith rests upon the Word of God and not miracles. 196 00:25:52,600 --> 00:26:01,320 Beware of those claiming miracles in their ministries and needing them to authenticate 197 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:14,160 their faith. Beware of them. Truth gives its own demonstration as truth. 198 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:20,240 Faith that rests upon Christ's words has more value than faith that rests upon some 199 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:29,040 experience, even a so-called miracle. Do you recall that when Jesus appeared to Thomas 200 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:37,260 a week after His resurrection, Thomas was invited to touch Him. He fell at His feet 201 00:26:37,260 --> 00:26:43,040 and worshiped Him, calling Him Lord and God. Jesus said to Him, because you've seen, you 202 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:52,320 believe, but blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed. Our faith does 203 00:26:52,320 --> 00:27:02,560 not rest upon what we see. It rests upon the Word of God, what God has said. 204 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,600 Please understand that miracles have never been the norm for the Christian church or 205 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:15,080 at any other point in history as far as that goes. And yet there are movements today that 206 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:22,280 are trying to tell us that miracles should be the norm in ministry. One of them was founded 207 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:28,480 several years ago by a man named John Wimber in California called the Vineyard Movement, 208 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:35,640 and it has now reached here to the Twin Cities. His concept is called power evangelism, and 209 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:46,360 what he teaches is that miracles prove and support and proclaim the gospel, and therefore 210 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:51,960 we should be having miracles in our services as we preach the gospel, that that is the 211 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:59,280 norm. I would not say this gentleman is an unbeliever. I don't know him at all, but 212 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:06,560 I do know that what he's saying with regard to miracles is not biblical. There's a man 213 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:12,440 who left one of the major seminaries, evangelical seminaries here in the United States, got 214 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:19,000 involved in this movement, made the statement recently that he now has power to heal the 215 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:29,640 blind and soon will have power to raise the dead. That should be very interesting. I want 216 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:37,340 to encourage you to watch out for liars. Watch out for false teachers and deceptive miracle 217 00:28:37,340 --> 00:28:43,760 workers. How do you know what is true and what is false? Well, I think there are two 218 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:54,400 tests. One is the character of the agent, and the second is the purpose of the event. 219 00:28:54,400 --> 00:29:02,480 Isn't it interesting that most miracle workers, most faith healers, most of these people who 220 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:09,680 purport to have the signs, the wonders, and the miracles cannot testify with the apostles, 221 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:19,920 silver and gold have I none? That is not their testimony. 222 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:26,820 As a matter of fact, miracles do not persuade people to believe. After our Lord Himself 223 00:29:26,820 --> 00:29:32,760 performed many miracles, there were those who were turned away, who did turn away rather, 224 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:39,120 even after eating the bread that Jesus had miraculously provided for them. Miracles do 225 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:47,000 not persuade people to believe. Truth does. The Word of God. Our faith rests upon the 226 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:54,160 Word of God, not upon miracles. But having said that, I want to say something else. Secondly, 227 00:29:54,160 --> 00:30:05,280 our faith is nothing if it is not supernatural. Otherwise, it is only a creed of beliefs or 228 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:14,040 a code of conduct. And in the end, it is deception and it is a fraud if it is not rooted in the 229 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:20,720 supernatural. For our faith rests upon the greatest miracle of all time, and that is 230 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:28,200 the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. God deliver us from a faith that can 231 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:36,960 be explained apart from Him and apart from the supernatural. 232 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:42,320 You will notice that I am differentiating between the supernatural intervention of God, 233 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:52,080 the supernatural provision of God, and answers to prayer, etc., and miracles. For miracles 234 00:30:52,080 --> 00:31:00,400 have to do with authenticating revelation. They come in connection with revelation, signs, 235 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:12,720 wonders, and miracles. But I repeat, our faith is nothing if it is not supernatural. I believe 236 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:21,000 that the church of Jesus Christ today, in this existential, scientific age, needs to 237 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:30,560 reaffirm its true belief in a supernatural Christ who is able to do even impossible things. 238 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:35,800 I remind all of us that at Nazareth, Jesus could not do many mighty works because of 239 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:50,480 the unbelief of the people. A church must be a supernatural organism. What are the indications 240 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:57,600 of the supernatural in a church like Grace Church, for example? We talked about this 241 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:05,480 recently in our Acts Bible study, our elders and other leaders. What are the evidences 242 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:11,200 of the supernatural? These are some of the ones that we listed as we thought about this. 243 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:20,440 First of all, changed lives. The kind of transformation that occurs beyond natural human effort, the 244 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:27,480 turning over of a new leaf, the following of 12 laws, the kind of change that can be 245 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:36,760 explained only in terms of a new person inside. That's supernatural. We sometimes say it's 246 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:42,520 a miracle, as John Peterson does in this hymn. I'm not going to fight with him about it, 247 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:49,120 but technically I don't see that as a miracle, but it is supernatural. Then the timely promptings 248 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:54,200 of the Holy Spirit. The putting together of the service, as was mentioned earlier this 249 00:32:54,200 --> 00:33:01,160 morning. How God does things like that. You've had that happen too. When things just fell 250 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:08,760 into place and had to be designed that way, you just cannot attribute all of that to chance. 251 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:14,320 I wish I could illustrate that, but I have to go on. I believe that supernatural is seen 252 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:20,000 in the church like ours through the sovereign preparation of hearts by God for the implantation 253 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:27,040 of His Word. How God brings circumstances about, supernaturally, so that people are 254 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:36,920 ready for the giving of the Word of God to them. That Word begins to do a work. I think 255 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:46,760 the supernatural is sensed in a worship service when we sense the presence of God there. It's 256 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:54,920 more than an emotional thing. It is emotional, but it's more than that. It's God. It's spiritual. 257 00:33:54,920 --> 00:34:00,560 I believe we see the supernatural in the spiritual gifts that God gives all of us, and which 258 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:06,840 are then utilized in building up the church to unity and to maturity in the power of the 259 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:13,040 Holy Spirit. We see the supernatural in answers to prayer, including answers to prayer for 260 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,600 healing. I see Ron Tanel back there, and we have seen marvelous answers to prayer on his 261 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:27,280 behalf in his battle against a brain tumor. God answers prayer. The supernatural. Our 262 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:35,600 faith is nothing if it is not supernatural. A third application I'd like to make is this, 263 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:44,640 that our faith unites us to Jesus Christ, to whom all authority is given. Jesus Christ 264 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:54,120 is the miracle worker. He is not small. He is not impotent and powerless. He has proved 265 00:34:54,120 --> 00:35:00,120 in His ministry on the earth His authority over death, over demons, over disease, over 266 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:09,240 nature, over mankind. This supernatural Jesus Christ has the authority to forgive sins and 267 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:20,000 to grant eternal life. Any so-called faith that comes short of that union with Him is 268 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:30,160 not capable of saving anyone. John in his gospel talks about those who believed, but 269 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:37,000 then who turned away from Jesus. John tells us it's possible to believe and to not be 270 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:48,400 saved, because it is not a saving faith. It is an intellectual understanding perhaps, 271 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:58,400 and it does not involve repentance and saving faith. Our faith unites us, brings us together 272 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:03,000 in a vital union with Jesus Christ to whom all authority is given. 273 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:09,680 Let me quote to you a few sentences from A.W. Tozer regarding this important matter. He 274 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:17,720 says, to accept Christ is to form an attachment to the person of our Lord Jesus, altogether 275 00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:25,960 unique in human experience. The attachment is intellectual, volitional, and emotional. 276 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:33,120 The believer is intellectually convinced that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. He has set 277 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:41,600 His will to follow Him at any cost, and soon His heart is enjoying the exquisite sweetness 278 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:49,240 of His fellowship. He says this attachment is all-inclusive in that it joyfully accepts 279 00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:55,780 Christ for all that He is. There is no craven division of offices whereby we may acknowledge 280 00:36:55,780 --> 00:37:02,320 His Saviorhood today and withhold decision on His Lordship till tomorrow. The true believer 281 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:10,160 owns Christ as His all-in-all without reservation. He also includes all of Himself, leaving no 282 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:16,440 part of His being unaffected by the revolutionary transaction. Furthermore, His attachment to 283 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:24,160 Christ is all-exclusive. The Lord becomes to Him not one of several rival interests, 284 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:30,800 but the one exclusive attraction forever. He orbits around Christ as the earth around 285 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:39,600 the sun. In this happy state He is given other interests, it is true, but these are all determined 286 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:48,520 by His relationship to His Lord. That we accept Christ in this all-inclusive, all-exclusive 287 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:55,080 way is a divine imperative. Tozer is simply drawing out the fact that it is possible to 288 00:37:55,080 --> 00:38:03,040 believe in some simple, superficial way and not to be saved. I wonder how many people 289 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:10,040 come to churches like ours and base their eternity upon that kind of faith. It is a 290 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:15,000 little scary. We grow up with the language, we grow up with the choruses, we grow up with 291 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:22,120 the stories, and we just kind of adopt it as a way of life and as a culture that we 292 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:33,680 were born into. It is deadly if it does not include the kind of faith that saves. Is that 293 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:41,640 the kind of faith that your experience has included? Our faith results in a living, vital 294 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:48,400 union with Jesus Christ to whom all authority has been given. 295 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:57,280 You worship a Christ today who is able to do everything that He has purposed. It is 296 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:05,160 no wonder that we sing, All hail the power of Jesus' name, the authority of Jesus' 297 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:15,280 name. Let angels prostrate fall, bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all. 298 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:22,520 He is worthy of that. He is the supernatural Christ, and He is able to save anyone who 299 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:29,760 comes to Him and will. If you have not come to Him in that saving way, will you do it 300 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:37,840 today? Let us bow together. 301 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:51,080 As you look into your heart, is there a vital union with Jesus Christ? Is this one that 302 00:39:51,080 --> 00:40:02,440 we have spoken about today, the miraculous Christ living in you? That is the kind of 303 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:08,680 faith, the only kind of faith, that will deliver you, my friend, from hell and take you to 304 00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:20,360 heaven. Will you give up every other thing that you have trusted in? And as fully as 305 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:30,080 you understand what it means, will you accept Him? Make Him the sun around which you will 306 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:38,720 revolve in orbit. Sing with me. 307 00:40:38,720 --> 00:41:06,920 Come into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come into day, come 308 00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:24,160 into day, come into my heart, Lord Jesus. 309 00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:28,800 Many of us have sung that many times, and Christ has been in our lives, our hearts, 310 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:35,000 for a long time. Maybe someone sang that for the first time today, and if so, would you 311 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:39,360 give me a call or drop me a note at the church office this week? I have some things I would 312 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:45,440 like to send to you, to give to you, to help you in your new walk as a Christian. 313 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:48,680 I would hope that we would also be able to sing the other chorus that goes along with 314 00:41:48,680 --> 00:42:14,400 that one. All of my heart, all of my heart, take all of my heart, Lord Jesus. Take all 315 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:37,000 of my heart today, take all my prayer, take all of my heart, Lord Jesus. 316 00:42:37,000 --> 00:43:05,520 Amen.