Can you think of a time when you were part of an unbelievable moment? Can you think of a time when you saw a miracle?
Throughout my time as pastor here at SEBC I have experienced many miracles. One that immediately comes to mind occurred a few years ago. I received a call from a man's family that they were going to pull the plug on him and they would like me to come and pray with them. Linda and I went to the hospital and met with the family in the ICU. The medical staff and doctors had declared this man to have no brain activity. So, the machines were the only thing keeping him alive. When the time came for them to take him off all the machines, we gathered with the family in the room around the patient. We prayed and we placed him in God's hands and asked for His will to be done. The family was very saddened and crying and holding on to each other. The staff came in and looked at all of the vitals on the machines. When they came to the moment of disconnecting this man from the life support, they noticed his eyes moved. The technician asked the patient, can you hear me? The patient's eyes moved again. The technician asked, “If you can hear me can you squeeze my hand?” The man lightly squeezed the technician's hand. Within 10 minutes the man had his eyes open and was communicating with the family. God's will was done and that man is still alive today. That is a miracle.
Have you ever wondered why miracles occur? I believe that miracles happen to point us to Jesus and bring God the glory. I believe that miracles can open people's minds and hearts to be receptive to Jesus Christ. Prayer.
Jesus was a powerful speaker. Many people believed in Him because He spoke and taught with authority. It wasn't just His words that got people's attention, He often performed amazing miracles in their presence. But just like today, a lot of people seem to have a limited capacity to retain what happened when a miracle occurred. Somehow some people can ignore what's right in front of their faces if it doesn't correspond to what they already believe. Let's get into our story.
John 10:22-24 – “Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the festival of dedication. We know it as Hanukkah or the festival of lights. As Jesus walked down Solomon's colonnade, he was approached and asked if he was the promised Messiah they had been waiting for. Jesus reminded them of the things He had already taught them. He went on to explain that the miracles he had performed gave witness to who He is. They had heard His teachings and had seen His miracles, but they didn't believe or consider those things as a testimony of who Jesus is. What else do they need to know to be assured of who Jesus is? He didn't hide His identity.
Years back at a fall festival here at the church I dressed as an old man with a mask that kept my identity hidden. When people tried to get me to talk, I disguised my voice as well. So, I looked like an old man in overalls and a cane. The whole evening went by. I finally revealed my true identity at the end. Everyone was surprised to see that it was me.
Have you ever doubted someone's identity? That's what the Jews were doing in our passage here as they questioned if Jesus was really who He said He was. Many of them had heard his teachings, seen Him heal, witnessed several of His miracles, and yet they still asked for proof that it was Him. They were obsessed with knowing if He was the promised Messiah, and they were focused on asking Him about that. They just couldn't bring themselves to believe what He was teaching. The reason they were having a difficult time believing Him was because He wasn't giving them an answer that corresponded to their concept of the Messiah. Even though many of these people had actually seen Jesus perform miracles, or at least heard about them, they still weren't sure.
Hindsight is 20/20. If we met Jesus on the street today, would we ask Him who He was? What would we expect Him to say? Would we believe Him if Jesus came through these doors now and told us who He was? He probably wouldn’t look like the Jesus we have pictured in our minds.
John 10:25-26 – “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.”
We have some in our congregation that are from Missouri. Is it really true that those from Missouri must see it to believe it? Here is Jesus standing in front of the people and telling them who He is yet they still didn't believe.
You have probably heard the phrase, your reputation precedes you. This is usually said when you finally meet a person that you have read and heard about. This could be said of Jesus. After He had been questioned, the people still wanted Jesus to verbalize to them who He was. So, Jesus tells them, I did tell you and you didn't believe.
Jesus' reputation was known throughout the region, and these men wouldn't have been exempt from knowing about Him. People had given up everything to follow Jesus because they believed He was the Promised Messiah, but these Jewish officials only saw Jesus as a threat to them and their way of life.
In the first 18 verses of John 10, Jesus explained how he was the good shepherd. So, he refers back to that when he tells these officials in verse 26, you don't believe because you are not of my sheep.
We read and study this passage and we wonder how can the people be so dense as not to believe who Jesus was? But the truth of the matter is, Jesus is rejected today for the same reason those in His day rejected Him. They don't believe the message or the miracles He performed. To a non-believer, even when they see something that can only be described as a miracle, they write it off as circumstantial.
Even though Jesus is still in the business of performing miracles by changing people's lives, healing people in various ways, and even guiding the events in the world to accomplish His purposes, those who don't see it for themselves reject the message of the Gospel when it is shared with them. Different scene.
John 14:8-11 – “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
**********10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.”
“Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip?” that's how Jesus answered Philip, whose question was an honest one. Yes, Philip had been following Jesus for the past 3 years. Yes, Philip had seen Jesus do some incredible miracles. But somewhere along the line, Philip had missed the fact that Jesus and His Father are one. Philip wanted some concrete evidence when it came to God the Father.
Jesus was quick to respond to Philip that if he had seen Jesus, he had also seen the Father. Everything Jesus said and all the miracles He performed weren't from Him but from the Father. So, Jesus wraps up the conversation by telling Philip, “Believe me that I am in the father and the father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.”
People today ask the same thing. If they could just see the physical evidence that there is a God, they would believe. Yet, they see a miracle happen, and they write it off as happenstance.
Today, even though we may not see Jesus perform miracles first hand like Philip and the other disciples, it doesn't take much evidence to see Jesus. God's handiwork is everywhere. If we would just stop and look, it's impossible to miss the evidence that there is a God. Just spend some time walking through nature. Look around. Sit down in a quiet area. Close your eyes and listen to the sounds. God is everywhere.
John 14:12-14 – “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Do you ever remember playing follow the leader or Simon says like I did with the children this morning? Both games require you to do what the leader does or asks you to do. Jesus makes it clear that if we're His followers, we will do the works He did. The entire focus of Jesus's ministry was to make His Father known, as well as the salvation that was made possible through Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection.
When Jesus says that those who believe in Him will do even greater works than these, He wasn't saying that we're going to do even better miracles than Jesus did. He meant that by continuing the work He started, our sharing of the Gospel would have a far greater reach into the world. Jesus's earthly ministry was limited to the region around Galilee. He said that we will do even greater works.
Now think about Billy Graham. During his lifetime, he shared the Gospel with thousands of people who made the decision to follow Jesus. Was he greater than Jesus? No, but the message he preached was heard around the world. When believers are doing the work of Jesus, their prayers will be answered when those prayers align with the will of the Father. “In my name” isn't some magical phrase we add to our prayers to guarantee the outcome that we want. The intention of any prayer prayed in Jesus's name is to simply bring glory to God.
So when Jesus told Hs disciples that they would do even greater works than what He had done, He wasn't telling His disciples they would feed thousands of people with a small amount of food, or raise people from the dead. His main point in sharing this teaching with His disciples was to explain that He was about to leave them, but His ministry would continue through them.
Then Jesus states, “if you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” Let me clarify what he says here. Jesus told His disciples that He would give them anything they asked when they asked based on His name (by his authority.) Jesus is assuming here that they would not ask for things that didn't bring glory to the Father. Jesus wants to work through us today in ways that point people to who He really is. So, we usually end our prayers with, “in Jesus name we pray.” We do that to bring all the glory to God as He answers those prayers.
Let me encourage you to acknowledge the reality of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. God still works miracles today. Miracles are all around us. Have you ever truly looked at a sunrise? Have you ever sat on the beach and just looked out over the sea and listen to the waves? Have you ever held a snowflake? Have you ever been in a room when a baby took its first breath? These are just a few examples of the way God reveals Himself to us. Don't miss God's miracle.
So where do we fit in to this picture? God is telling us that we can do above and beyond because of the power of God in us. A slogan used by army recruiters for many years was, “be all that you can be.” Paul used a similar phrase for us as followers of Jesus.
Ephesians 3:20-21 – “Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Be all you can be in Jesus Christ. Paul wanted us to believe that we have the power given to us by God to go above and beyond because Christ went above and beyond. The power of Christ is beyond what our human minds can understand and measure, but that power is given to each of us as we live and serve Jesus every day. When we allow His power to push us beyond what we think we can accomplish, it brings glory and honor to the church and to God for all eternity. That's some pretty amazing power for us to tap into.
Year before last I remodeled our bathroom. I put new floor and new lavatories and painted. When I was doing the plumbing to the sink I accidentally crossed the pipes of the hot and cold. When I went to brush my teeth, what I thought was the cold water turned out to be hot. I learned how important it is to make the proper connection.
The same thing is true when it comes to tapping into God's power. That power is only available when we make the connection to the Holy Spirit and the power that comes from Him.
Maybe you have gotten some wires crossed in your own life. I encourage you to spend some time evaluating the work that you do for the kingdom of God. Are you utilizing the power that is available to you for the kingdom?
If you have never done that, you can always start today. Maybe that's why God brought you here today to hear about the power that you can have through His Holy Spirit. But you need to know Christ as your own personal Savior before you can tap into that power.
Do you know him? Have you ever asked Jesus to be your very own? It's as easy as ABC.
A- admit to God that you know that you have sinned.
B- B- believe in Jesus Christ and that He can forgive you of all of those sins.
C- C-confess your short fallings to God and then come to Jesus. He's waiting for you to make a decision.
