Miracles (3)
Notes
Transcript
Joke:
Before takeoff, a flight attendant made a general announcement to all passengers. “Please let me know if any of you would like some gum before takeoff. It will prevent your ears from popping as we climb.”
After the flight, everyone left except one man.
“Do you need some assistance?” she asked.
“Can you speak up?” he yelled. “I can’t hear you with this gum in my ears.”
It’s a terrible joke, but it reminds me that we all have choices of what we listen too. It’s important to listen to things that build our faith. I’m a firm believer in reading books, listening to the Bible being preached, and filling my mind with all sorts of faith building thoughts. Plus, I don’t have the best long term memory, I have to constantly refill my memory of all the good things that grow faith.
I was listening to John Maxwell preach a sermon and he gave an illustration that I want to share with you.
He was telling about a mountain climber. This mountain climber had scaled some of the worlds largest and most difficult mountains. In his life he had experienced many hardships because of his passion, even to the point almost losing his life. He may have cheated death, but sadly some of his closest friends died trying to reach that next summit.
He was asked one time, “Why do you keep climbing?” to which he answered, “You’ll never understand it because you’ve never been to the top”.
We’ve been talking about miracles.
Miracles are events which unmistakably involve an immediate and powerful action of God designed to reveal His character or purposes.
Miracles are events which unmistakably involve an immediate and powerful action of God designed to reveal His character or purposes.
They still happen today! In fact, you and I are walking miracles. We were once lost, but now we’ve been found.
Remember miracles don’t just happen to get us OUT of difficult situations. God knows best. That’s the exact lesson given to Job: that even in the difficulties of life, God is still in control.
Here’s a quick peek at something God asked Job:
2 Why do you talk so much when you know so little?
3 Now get ready to face me! Can you answer the questions I ask?
4 How did I lay the foundation for the earth? Were you there?
You see, we all talk too much sometimes, when we should really just trust the Lord. He knows best. We can and should pray, but above everything we desire, we should desire His will for our lives.
I want to remind you that you and I are mountain climbers! Just like the guy in the story I told you, we climb because we know what’s at the top!
What I need you to know is that you are on the brink of a miracle, God working to reveal His character or purpose, in your life. You’ve just got to keep climbing. The summit is near.
In the scripture we find out that Jesus was a mountain climber, and those people committed to Him climbed WITH Him.
1 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down
2 and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
Crowds Want Miracles; Followers Want Jesus
Crowds Want Miracles; Followers Want Jesus
23 From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives.
24 Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all.
25 More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the “Ten Towns” across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan.
I can’t believe I’m going to bring up Taylor Swift, but I am…She is so incredibly popular.
From a music perspective, Swift has broken a lot of records. Did you know that she is the first female artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners.
Swift has achieved 12 number one albums on Billboard, the most by a woman artist, overtaking Barbra Streisand earlier this year.
She’s the first and only woman solo artist to win the Album Of The Year Grammy three times.
And now…She’s dating Travis Kelce. Watching the KC Chiefs now includes knowing if she is in the audience.
IT’S ANNOYING.
People want to see the spectacle. They like to make people famous. Really, they are demonstrating the fact that humans want to worship something. The problem is that they are worshiping the idea of a person. They don’t know Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce. They only have an idea of who they are. I’d guess that when you really got to know them, you’d see all the flaws, and maybe find that they wouldn’t deserve so much of our attention.
In this scripture, I want us to focus on two groups of people. The people who wanted the spectacle, and the people who wanted to know the man.
I want to ask you the question: Which group are you in today? The crowd or the committed.
Is Jesus just someone you want hanging around because you need a miracle or are you with Him because you believe He’s your only hope and salvation?
It’s easy to find out - it goes back to the mountain. Are you willing to climb with Jesus?
Here’s a view of the area that Jesus taught from that day:
Mt. Eremos
Jesus was so popular because of the miracles he was performing. Just in the three verses we read we see him healing the sick, casting demons, making lame people walk, and it says Jesus “healed them all” which tells us so many things where happening that Matthew couldn’t record them all.
It had to be an incredible time! An exciting time. People needed healing. It had to be overwhelming to have so many thousands of people trying to get to the healer.
Jesus needed to get away. So He climbed the mountain so he could TEACH about the kingdom of God. Not everyone climbed that mountain with Him. The scripture tells us that the committed made the climb.
People seeking a miracle aren’t always willing have a relationship with Jesus; they just want a healing so they can move on with their lives.
Climb the Mountain
Climb the Mountain
I need to encourage you with a truth. A quick healing isn’t the answer to your problems. A relationship with Jesus is the only answer to your problems.
We need to seek Him. Follow Him. Climb with Him.
The scripture tells us that they climbed until they found a quiet place.
There are so many things in life competing for our attention. So many issues and problems that want our focus. These things can be so loud that we don’t hear the voice of Jesus calling us to a quiet place with him.
You see, His presence is what brings peace.
11 The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.
When you know the Lord because you spend time with Him, you’ll know peace. But if you just know of Jesus and what he can do, you won’t have peace because you’re just looking for a solution for your problems.
Living in peace means that even through the problems we have peace because we know that Jesus is working through those problems to bring people to Him.
Peace is not the absence of problems, it’s a knowing that Jesus is with you.
How do you find that peace? You find Jesus in the quiet places.
The scripture tells us that Jesus was seeking a quiet place to sit with his committed followers to teach them. What a great privilege and blessing with have that Jesus wants to spend time with his followers.
How do you find that quiet place? You’ve got to climb. Get away from the crowds. Get alone with Jesus. Open the Bible and read His words.
Even in chapter 5 listen to the first thing he told his followers when they were in that quiet place away from the crowds:
3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
Don’t you need to hear those words? Jesus is more than just a miracle worker. We need to seek him for the truth that He speaks to our hearts, not just for the things he can DO for us.
Climb the mountain EVERY day. Spend time with the Lord. Worship Him. Read His words.
It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Are you a mountain climber or just a miracle seeker? How many times did you climb to the quiet place with Jesus this week?
Let me tell you something else about miracles:
Every miracle begins with a PROBLEM
Every miracle begins with a PROBLEM
If you want to see God work through miracles in your life then you better be full of faith because you’ve got a load of problems coming your way.
Being a Pastor is an interesting business. I don’t know what you think it’s all about, but in my early years I saw my Pastor as a pretty cool guy. He liked to tell jokes.
He basically had the same joke for everyone. He’d ask, “Hey, do you want to see my pride and joy?” of course the other person would say yes, and he’d pull a picture out of his wallet. It looking like this
Picture
It was a terrible joke, but it made people laugh and feel comfortable. He was a good pastor and I wanted to be just like him.
You know what I never heard him talk about? The burden of ministry. You see, when you love people, you care about the problems they are facing. You carry part of their burden.
When we follow Christ, we see all the hurting people. Our hearts can break because we desire healing and help for these people.
We pray for miracles, not for ourselves, but for others. We want them to know the Lord.
It would be easier to ignore the problems of other people, after all, we have our own problems.
But, if we are committed to Christ, we see others as He sees them. In need. Lost. Without hope.
We need to spend time with the Lord to help us get our focus on what matters the most in life. People.
Miracles can only happen if we are willing to be exposed to problems. Are you willing to step out in faith to trust the Lord to provide the solution to these problems.
I think about Moses at the Red Sea. He saw the burden of an enslaved people. He trusted the Lord to lead him as he was leading the people out of Egypt. He exposed himself to all sorts of problems.
Opportunities for miracles. Exposure to problems equals opportunities for God to reveal his character and purposes.
So, the most powerful army has the people trapped.
But remember Moses had spent time with God at the burning bush at Mt. Sinai. He wasn’t just a spectator he had a relationship with God. The word of God was on His lips when he said to the children of Israel:
13 Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.
14 God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!”
You see, the problem was so great, but Moses had a relationship with God that moved HIM in faith, and led other people to faith. The problem set them up for one of the greatest miracles ever recorded.
16 Then hold your walking stick over the sea. The water will open up and make a road where they can walk through on dry ground.
And just like that, the problem was met with a miracle to reveal God’s character and purpose!
This is SO important for you and me today.
Jesus is wanting to work his will in this world today.
The question is whether or not you’re in the crowd or you’re at his feet in the quiet places.
Praying for a miracle means that you understand He is greater than the problems. It means we aren’t afraid of the problems.
We are ready because we are with Him.
Where are you today?
