Lessons from the Miracles of Christ

Join Mr. Russell Kemp as he discusses the lessons that can be learned from the miracles of Christ. Russell starts by looking at the first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana, emphasizing the importance of taking problems to Jesus and following his guidance. Mr. Kemp also mentions that Christ always keeps the best for last. The second miracle discussed is the healing of a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. Russell highlights Jesus' compassion and the Pharisees' opposition to his actions. Lastly, Russell concludes by emphasizing the importance of recognizing and responding to the needs of others. He gave you the title, Lessons from the Miracles of Christ. And we're told in 2 Timothy 3 and in verse 16, we're told that all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, for conviction, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. And don't the fact that it mentions all Scripture, all Scripture. And so it is with the miracles of Christ. So today I want to take a look at some of those miracles and see just what kind of lessons we can learn from them. So I'm going to start with the marriage, the marriage. The first miracle of Christ is found in John chapter 2, second chapter. As Christ begins his public ministry, he begins to fulfill the promises that he made to Nathanael in John 1. Let's go just for just a second, turn to John 1 and begin in verse 49. This is where Nathanael asks the question, how did you know me? And Jesus answered and he said to him, he said, before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Because of this response, Nathanael answered and he said to him, he said, Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel. You know, the fact alone that Christ knew about Nathanael surprised him. And then Christ gave him this response in verse 51. Jesus answered and he said to him, because I saw you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? He said, greater things than these shall you see. And truly, as Christ begins his miracles, we shall see the things that he does. Now let's go ahead and turn to John chapter 2, John chapter 2, and we'll begin in verse 1, beginning in verse 1, John chapter 2. Now on the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. You know, as this miracle unfolds, we will see that apparently Mary was there for some very important capacity. We don't know what it was, but she was there for some very important capacity. In verse 2, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the feast. So Jesus and his disciples were also invited, which certainly indicates there that they had some important status involved in this marriage. Now there's some things that we certainly don't know about this marriage. First of all, we have no idea who's getting married, it doesn't tell us. Secondly, we don't know any of the details about whoever it is that's getting married. However, we can certainly make a few speculations concerning this marriage when you think about it. The party he's getting married were probably some relative of Mary or Joseph, and obviously Mary's prominence at this wedding indicates some kind of family wedding, some kind of family wedding. Notice the close association that Jesus had with his disciples. His invitation to the wedding included the disciples. Perhaps we should learn a lesson here that where we go, Christ goes with us also. We're not alone, we're not alone. There's also some good advice we can glean from the wedding. Notice verse 3, notice in verse 3, and when there was a shortage of the wine, Jesus' mother said to him, this is very interesting, they have no more wine. A problem arises, there is no wine. It seems that weddings are always a great place to have problems. I could go into that, I remember one of our daughter's weddings in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and her husband, who's actually, they're divorced now, but her husband's family still was drinking and wanted to drink more at midnight, so I had to buy a whole other keg of wine, I mean a whole keg of beer, and then they all left shortly thereafter. Doesn't matter, but weddings always have problems. However, Mary does handle the problem. Notice what she does, she takes the problem to Jesus, and this should be a good example for us, when we have problems crop up, we should take them to Jesus. Then comes Mary's good advice in verse 5, then his mother said to the servants, whatever he says to you, do. You know, we should always be ready to do what Christ tells us to do, I don't care what it is. As quoted earlier in 2 Timothy 2, the Bible's full of wisdom and knowledge on what we should be doing. Some advice for us here, notice verse 4, notice verse 4, he says, woman, what do you desire to have me do? Christ is ready, he's willing, and he's waiting for us to ask for his help. Continuing in verse 6, it says, now there were six water vessels of stone standing there, and like this problem, we will have to face our problems, beginning as they are, now let's deal with what we have at hand, what do you have at hand? Then in verse 7, Jesus said to them, fill the water vessels with water. Notice this, solving the problems may require some label on our part as well, not totally relying on Jesus. And they filled them, and he filled them to the brim, and like them, we need to do the same, we need to act on faith, and notice how faith affects others. Verse 9, now when the master of the feast tasted the water that had become wine, not knowing where it had come from, but notice who did know, notice who did know, but the serpents who had drawn the water, they knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom. What an inspiration that must have been to those serpents, what an inspiration. Finally notice in verse 10, and they said to him, every man serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then he serves the inferior wine, that you have kept the good wine until now. You know, the lesson of the wine, Christ always keeps the best for last, always keeps the best for last. For those who believe the best is yet to come, the marriage to Christ, the best yet to come, we're going to go through that wedding ceremony. We know what comes with the kingdom of God, and every day with Christ is better than the day before. So there are a few lessons from the miracle of the wine. The first one I want to look at, the man with the weathered hand. So the second miracle I want to take a look at is in Mark 3, it's in Mark 3. However let me first begin in Mark 2 to establish the precedence for this miracle. Let's go to chapter 2, let's begin in Mark 2 and verse 23. Now it came to pass that he went through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples made their way through the fields. They were picking and they were eating the grain. Now also notice here the response of the Pharisees in verse 24. Then the Pharisees said to him, look at them. Why are they doing that which is not lawful on the Sabbath? Apparently they were not aware of who they were dealing with that created the Sabbath. They had already polluted the Sabbath with man-made rituals and lulls anyway, but Jesus continued in verse 25, and he said to them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry and in need of food, he and those with him? Now in the days of Abathur, the high priest, he entered into the house of God and he ate shewbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and he gave it to those who were with him. Notice how he uses the scripture, which was common knowledge obviously to the Pharisees. They were familiar with this, to make his point. In other words, here was a similar situation. Then in verse 27, he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Here Christ makes it very clear that the Sabbath was established as a blessing for man and not a burden. And finally in verse 28, he tells them, he says, therefore the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. I'm sure that created quite a stir. Wow, what a shock that that comment must have been to the Pharisees. Now all of this led up to the miracle in chapter 3. Here he had just finished criticizing the Pharisees and making it clear that he was the Lord of the Sabbath. Then he moves on to the synagogue to make his message clear. Here he meets and he heals a troubled man on the Sabbath in spite of the consequences to himself. It didn't make any difference. Let's begin in Mark 3 and in verse 1. Mark 3 and verse 1, and again he went into the synagogue and a man who had a weathered hand was there. And again, lessons learned. What did this weathered hand do for this man physically? What did it do for this man physically? He was obviously handicapped as a worker. How much more difficult is it to work with just one hand? And it probably caused him to be dependent on others. Anyway, also, how did this affect the man emotionally, thinking about that when you have a handicap? You know, he probably felt self-conscious. It probably made him feel inferior to others. And he probably envied those that had normal bodies. But what did this affliction do for him spiritually? He obviously knew Christ and came to him believing he could help him. He was apparently in the synagogue there to pray. You know, sometimes we look at the blessings of the afflictions that actually bring us closer to God. It seems at times it does take sicknesses and injuries and other problems to bring us closer to God. Now let's notice the compassion of Jesus toward this man, the compassion of Jesus, but also see how his enemies, the Pharisees, were aware of his compassion and they knew he would stop to heal this hurting man. They knew it. You see, Jesus was always moved by the needs of the people. And understand, that's true for you and me as well today. And they were watching him to see if he would heal on the Sabbath in order that they might accuse him. Now remember what he had just told them in chapter 2 when he told them that the Sabbath was made for man and that he, Christ, was Lord of the Sabbath. Think about that. Then in verse 3, he said to the man who had the weathered ham, stand up here in the center. Notice that. He wanted them to see what he was about to do. He wasn't going to hide the fact. He was not about to back away from the challenge before him. He knew what he told the man to stand in the center that he would bring him criticism. He knew that. He knew that these words would require the faith of the man, and he also knew that the words would unite his enemies. So in verse 4, Christ asked them, he says, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil? Take your pick. To save a life or to kill? But they were all silent. These cowards wouldn't even answer his question. They wouldn't even answer his question. So in verse 5, he says, after looking around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, stretch out your hand. Christ told the man, show me your weakness, and he wants us to show him our weaknesses and our sins so he can heal us as well. He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as sound as the other. Christ has care, compassion, love, and concern for all of us. He wants to heal our weaknesses. You know, we may have a weathered hand that we're trying to hide, who knows? Perhaps it's something that makes you feel inferior. Could our weathered hand be fear, an untamed temper, tantrums that we have, or even an uncontrolled tongue that hurts others? Sometimes we need to stretch forth our weathered hand asking for healing. The next miracle, free at last, very interesting. The third miracle I want to cover is located in Mark again, and once again, we have a prelude to this encounter as well. Let's turn a page or two over to Mark 4. Let's start in Mark 4 and begin in verse 35. This is where we have the story of him crossing of the Sea of Galilee. It says, now on the same day, when evening came, he said to them, let's go over to the other side. And after dismissing the multitude, they took him with them, and he was already in the ship, and there were many other small ships along with him, people following along. And a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were crashing into the ship so forcefully that it was rapidly filling up. Now he was at the stern, sleeping on a cushion, and they accused him and said to him, Master, do you not care that we are perishing? Now, I can truly tell you, as a sailor in many years, and when we were leaving Vietnam after delivering some stuff, and I was on a fleet, ocean-going tug, not a very big ship. And when we were off the coast of Guam on the way back, we had a horrendous storm. And this was back in the days, we didn't have all the satellite communications and all that, and I'm telling you, it was a horrible. This ship was in dire straits, and the captain came to me, I was in communications, and the captain said, he said, Kemp, we have got to have weather data to get out of this mess that we're in. And I said, with the atmosphere the way it is, we're not getting the normal high-frequency communications we use to communicate. And he said, can you not do anything? And I remember telling him, the only thing I can do, we also have a small 100-watt transmitter down here, and I could go out and send an SOS and see if somebody would respond. He said, do whatever you got to do. Well, I did. I went out, and believe it or not, someone in Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam responded, and I said, and I gave him our coordinates and where we were at, and I said, please send us weather data. And, of course, I'm typing it up because it's all in Morse code. This wasn't talking to somebody, it was all in Morse code. But anyway, we eventually did get out of that bad weather. We did have some problems that actually cracked the hull a little bit on that ship. Anyway, again, we're going back to them. They're in the severe weather. They wondered why Christ was sleeping. However, then in verse 39 it says, and after being awakened, he rebuked the wind and he said to the sea, silent, be still. And the wind died, and there was a great calm, and he said to them, why are you so fearful? Do you know all the time they've been with him, by the way? Why do you not have faith? But they were afraid, and they said to one another in great fear, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? You know, it's amazing how quick we move from peace to problems. In this world that we live in today, perhaps this incident in sea actually prepared them for the next encounter, the man who makes his home in the cemetery. In verse 1 of chapter 5, it says, and they came to the other side of the sea, to the county of Gadara, and as soon as he left the ship, there met him from out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one had the power to restrain him, even with chains. Had some demons. It said, for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains had been torn to pieces by him, and the fetters had been shattered, and no one had the strength to subdue him. And continually, night and day, in the mountains and in the tombs, he was screaming and cutting himself with stones. Boy, what a frightening encounter, you know, experience to encounter with a man after crossing the sea. Everything in that cemetery speaks of the past. Everything in the cemetery speaks of the past, but Christ would give this man a new future. This man had an unclean spirit. He had unclean thoughts, unclean words, unclean deeds. He was an outcast from society, and obviously, from what we just read, a very violent man. And the demons had made their home with this man. Then in verse 6, in verse 6 we're told, but when he sold Jesus from afar, he ran and he worshipped him. Now the demons recognized Jesus immediately. They knew who he was. So in verse 7, it says, and crying out with a loud voice, he said, what have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of God, the Most High? I adjure you by God, do not torment me. You know, Christ had the authority over these demons, and they knew it. And in verse 8, in verse 8, he commands them, unclean spirit, come out of the man. Then in verse 9, he asked it, he said, what is your name? And it answered. He said, my name is Legion, because we are many. And a legion in Rome at that time was about 6,000 people. And in verse 10, it begged him again and again that he would not send them out of the country. Now near the mountain, there was a large herd of swine feeding, and all the demons pleaded with him saying, send us to the swine so that we may enter into them. Then Jesus immediately permitted them to go, and the unclean spirits went out of the man, entered into the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep slope into the sea. Apparently, there was about 2,000, and they all drowned in the sea. Christ destroyed the now demon-possessed swines. Then in verse 15, we see where the man was healed. Amazing. Healed. And they came to Jesus and saw the man who had been possessed by demons, the one who had the legion, and he was sitting and clothed and of a sound mind, and they were afraid. You know, what a strange and yet not so strange reaction from the demons, who did not want Jesus to make his home with them. The swine meant more to them and their sanity. Pigs meant more to them than peace. Hogs meant more to them than happiness in God's kingdom. Now Jesus gathered their request and departed. In other words, Jesus doesn't stay where he's not wanted. He's not going to stay. This man wanted to stay with Jesus, however. And notice in verse 18, you know, he says, now when he boarded the ship, the one who had been possessed by the demons begged him that he might be with him. I would certainly feel that way and understand. The man's finally been healed. But Jesus denied that request. But he sent the man home with a message. The message was, Selah. Now you think on this. Verse 19, Jesus tells the man, go to your house and to your own. And you tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has pitied you. Then he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all were amazed. All were amazed. What a homecoming that must have been. What a miracle. You know, we've been given the same commission today. We've been told, do we tell our family and our friends what a blessing that Christ has been for us? And do we show our faith by putting our trust in Christ as this man did? Next miracle I want to talk about. And this one really hits home with me sometimes. I don't know why. But be clean. Be clean. The next miracle is in Matthew 8. And once again, let's go back to the previous chapter as a prelude to this miracle. Okay? So in chapter 7, Jesus had just completed his Sermon on the Mount. And the people were astonished by his teaching. Astonished. And in verse 28, it says, Now it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at his teaching. And they were also amazed at the authority he had showed in revealing the truth. Verse 29, For he taught them as one who had authority, not as one of the scribes. So this sets the setting. As he comes down off the Mount for his next miracle, he comes down from the mountain to minister to the sick, and the multitude followed him, and they were met by a leper. Now, amazing. You don't want to come in close contact with lepers. But now this multitude would have been in no mood to be confronted by this leper. Because leprosy is an infectious disease. And back then, many were actually required to wear special clothing or walk around ringing a bell to warn the people to stay away. And leprosy is spread by direct contact. So this leper, it was an outcast from society, and no one wanted to come near him. Yet, this people should have been on a spiritual high after the Sermon on the Mount. And great sermons as this was, should have inspired them to care and to serve. To care and to serve. You know, leprosy, in a way, pictures what sin has done for you and I. Similar. And like this leper, we were all unclean without Christ. We were all unclean. Let's turn to Romans 3 and beginning in verse 10. Romans 3. Romans 3 and in verse 10. Where it says, Exactly as it is written, for there is not a righteous one, no, not even one. Not even one. There is not one who understands. There is not one who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the way. Together they have all become depraved. All. Notice that word, all. There is not even one who is practicing kindness. No, there is not so much as one. Their throats are like an open grave with their tongues they have used to seek. The venom of asps is under their lips. Whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swept to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace. They have not known. And there is no fear of God before their eyes. And then in verse 23, he makes it exceptionally clear when he said for all, not one or two. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All. That includes you, that includes me. And like this unclean leper, our sins have earned us a death penalty. And in Romans 6 and in verse 23, it does tell us that the wages of sin is death. Do we have the compassion, the love and the concern that Christ had for the sick and for the unclean? Do we? This leper came to worship Christ. Back in Matthew 8 and in verse 2. Back in Matthew 8 and in verse 2. It says, and behold, a leper came and he worshipped him. Saying, Lord, if you will, you have the power to cleanse me. Faith. You have the power to cleanse me. I believe it. Notice the fact that this leper called him Lord and apparently had the faith that Christ could and would heal him. Do you know the thief on the cross called Jesus Lord in Luke 23, 42? And the woman taken in adultery or the woman taken in adultery called the Lord in Luke 8, 11. The leper believed that Jesus could do anything. And Jesus was moved with compassion for this leper. There's no doubt about it. In Luke 1. In Luke 1. In verse 41. We are told. Then Jesus moved with compassion and he stretched out his hand and he touched him. Who wants to touch a leper? And he said to him, I will be cleansed. You know, compassion is to feel what another person feels. Do you ever put yourself in that position? Jesus identifies with the pain of this dying man. He also identifies with our pain when we reach out to him. And we all deal with pain at some time or another in different ways. We all deal with pain. Jesus was not afraid to touch the untouchable. Is this our attitude as well? We are like our older brother Christ. Do we feel the compassion for the unclean? You know, back to Matthew 8 in verse 3. Back to Matthew 8 in verse 3. Then Jesus stretched out his hand and he touched him saying, I will be cleansed. And immediately he was cleansed from his leprosy. Faith. You know, we're so fortunate. We are so fortunate that we have been touched by Christ. Who have you and I touched lately? Who have you and I touched? Another miracle. And again, very important. I'll get into it first. Touch the hem of his garment. You know, there's so many miracles performed by Christ that he gave us inspiration, hope, and courage. But this one in Luke 8. This one in Luke 8 and in verse 43 through 48 should touch us all. You know, there have been songs and poems and multiple sermons on this scripture. This is the story of a woman in trouble. It talks about her desperation, her determination, and then her miraculous delivery. And more importantly, her experience relates to us today. I want you to think on that. This is the story of a woman's desperation and her problem is revealed in one verse 43. Verse 43. As I'm going back, Luke 8, verse 43. It says, and a woman who had been afflicted with a flow of blood for 12 years, 12 years, and had spent her whole living, everything she owned, on physicians but could not be cured by anyone. Pretty desperate. This woman had a tremendous incurable disease. She had spent all the money that she had on physicians. And she was certainly considered ceremonially unclean. And she, in some ways, was much like the leper that we just talked about. How did this sickness affect her? Several ways. Number one, physically, she was desperate. Her health was gone. Financially, she was desperate. Her money was gone. Her health was gone. Her money was gone. And third, spiritually, she was desperate. She couldn't even enter the temple because she was unclean. You know, this woman, in many ways, pictures all people, all people, that are separated from Christ. All people that are separated from Christ. Number one, physically, as humans, we are ever, every day, moving, we're moving toward death. Financially, money can't buy what we really need. Solomon says, everything is vanity, unlike chasing after a handful of women. And he had plenty of money. And finally, spiritually, our sins separate us from God. Yet we can all learn a lesson from this woman's determination. In verse 44, verse 44, speaking of she, this poor woman we're talking about, she came up behind him and she touched the border of his garment. And immediately, the flow of blood stopped, was gone. There's so many conditions that could have stopped this woman from pressing on toward Christ. Think about this. There was a great crowd surrounding him. And it must have been difficult for her to try and press through that crowd. Have you ever been to a major sporting event, or, you know, a football stadium, or a concert, or even maybe shopping, or, you know, one of the big shopping seasons like Christmas, or something like that? Then you have some idea of what the problems she faced trying to just get through the crowd. Christ was so popular, everyone wanted to get to him. He was an important figure. Then there was the fact of her physical condition. She was pale, she was poor, she was pitiful, she was weak. Still, her faith in his power to heal kept her pressing toward the goal of touching him. I almost get touched thinking about this kind of faith. And it tells us in Mark 5, Mark 5 and verse 28, that this woman said, this woman said, if I can only touch his garment, I shall be cured. And this woman's deliverance came through faith and her contact with Jesus. In verse 45. And Jesus said, who touched me? And everyone began to deny it. It wasn't me, Lord, it wasn't me. Peter said, Master, the multitudes are thronging and pressing you, and you ask? Who touched me? But Jesus said, someone touched me, because I know that power went out from me. Her deliverance came from her contact with Jesus. This was indeed a touch of faith. She exercised greater faith than those that were healthy around her. This woman made her declaration to Christ in verse 47, which she finally said, then the woman, seeing that her act was not concealed, she came trembling, came trembling, and after falling down in front of him, before all the people, she declared for what cause she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. Immediately healed. This is touching. This woman came trembling to Christ for testimony. She confessed why she touched him and declared to the crowd what had happened. And because of her faith, one in a multitude of people, you know, her words are still known today. In touching Jesus, she was able to touch others. Now, I don't know if this touches you, brethren, but it touches me. Do we have the faith to press through the crowd? And to become part of God's family? Notice how Jesus answered her in verse 48. And he said to her, be of good courage, daughter, be of good courage, daughter. Your faith has healed you. Now go in peace. There are so many miracles described in the Bible that have meanings and lessons for us today. So what do we take home from what we just read? What application do these miracles have for our lives? By now, a pretty clear picture should be emerging about the lessons of these miracles. But to drive home the picture, let's just look at one more miracle. I'm going to look at one more. Please turn to Matthew 14. In this chapter, we read about John the Baptist being beheaded. Oh man, and I've got to, can you imagine, even imagine how that affected Jesus when John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod. And after hearing of this, Christ departed into the wilderness. Don't doubt that at all. But he was followed, again, followed by a huge multitude. But once again, once again, the compassion of Jesus healed the sick, says in verse 14. And then we see the miracle of feeding the multitude in verses 15 through 21. Even in the state of condition, he must have felt about John the Baptist. And this Jesus sent the disciples out to sea. This is after this, of course. And he dismissed the multitude that was following him. And in verse 22, and at this point, it appears that Jesus needed time alone to pray. Have you ever had needed time alone to pray? Verse 23. And then once again, we see the situation where the disciples were faced with another storm at sea. In verse 24. But the ship was now in the middle of the sea being tossed by the waves because the wind was contrary. And once again, Christ was there where they needed him. Verse 25. Verse 25. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. Can you imagine that? Can you even imagine that? You know, I joke sometimes, and I did tell a story about walking on the sea. I was somewhere in one of the Caribbean islands that our ship had been in. And I was probably waist deep in water. And all of a sudden, the guys on shore, because I was facing the shore, and their faces were white, and they turned around and pointed behind me, and there was a shark fin sticking up out of the water. And trust me, I walked on the water to get out of that water. But anyway, again, him walking on the water. And now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. An obvious lesson here is that Christ is always there when you need him. He's always there. And then Jesus encouraged them in verse 26. He said, And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled. And they said, It is an aspiration. And they cried out in fear. Verse 27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good courage. It is high. Do not be afraid. And now comes Peter's challenge. Verse 28, Peter's challenge. Then Peter answered him, and he said, Lord, if it is you, bid me to come to you upon the waters. A challenge. And notice Christ's simple response. And he said, Come. Notice that word come. When Christ says come, it's an invitation. It invites someone to do something. And the Bible has probably 1,900 invitations. Let's consider a few of those invitations. Now I'll come back to Matthew 14, so you might want to mark your place there. I'm going to come back to it in just a second. But notice in Matthew 11. Matthew 11. And in verse 28, Christ tells us, Christ tells us, like he told Peter, come to me, all of you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Do we do that? In this world today. And I mean, what a shaky world we live in. We labor, and we are probably overburdened with what's taking place. This is an invitation for us to find real rest in Christ. Now let's turn just a few pages over to Matthew 19. Matthew 19. And in verse 14, here Jesus said, Let the children come to me, and do not forbid them, for such is the kingdom of heaven. We should come to Christ with that same attitude as a child. Now turn over to John 7. Turn over to John 7. Here at verse 37, we're told, Now in the last day, the great feast, or the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. That's a challenge. That's a promise. He's inviting us to partake of his Holy Spirit. Verses 39 says, But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, which those who believe in him would soon receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. He is now. And then one chapter back, one chapter back, in John 6, in verse 37, You know, we're told, When the Father calls, we are invited to come. We know this Scripture, All whom the Father gives me shall come to me, and the one who comes to me I will in no wise cast out. Brethren, these are all promises. We have an invitation to come to Christ with the humility of a child, casting all of our burdens on him, and to receive the Holy Spirit, which many of us have been to the baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit. Do we fully put our trust in him? Now back to Peter's situation again. Again, he was invited to come to walk on the sea. Matthew 14, back to Matthew 14. Here's verse 29. Peter truly takes a leap of faith. There's no doubt about it. Step out on the water? Anyway, and he said, Come. And after climbing down from the ship, Peter walked upon the water to go to Jesus. Amazing. Be aware here. Peter was a fisherman who had knowledge and experience with the sea, kind of like I did. I spent a lot of time on the sea. And in verse 24, we're told that the wind was contrary, causing rough seas. He knew the possibility of grounding and the other dangers of the sea. He knew what it was like. You know, it's funny, but men always seem to love adventure anyway. You ever thought about that? They go mountain climbing. I've done some of that. Skydiving. No, that one I don't do. I just can't understand why anybody would personally jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Car racing. Space travel. And we get involved in all kinds of dangerous situations. And Peter stepped out on faith, and he did. He put his trust in God. And I hope we all see the main lesson of these miracles. It's called faith. Let's recap a little bit of what we've read. We look at the marriage ceremony. Mary took her problem to Jesus with unquestionable faith. There's no doubt that Jesus could and would solve her problem. When we have a problem, do we take it to Christ unwaveringly in faith? The man with the weathered hand. He was not afraid to take his weakness or his afflictions to Christ. And his faith that Christ could and would heal him made him whole. That takes a lot of faith. Do we take our afflictions to Christ with 100% faith that Christ will do what is best for us? Or do we lose faith if we don't always get the answer that we want? The man who was possessed with demons. He came and he wanted to make his home with Christ. He must have had the faith to go to Christ in the first place because these demons obviously didn't want anything to do with Christ. His faith made him whole and he carried that message of his miraculous healing to others. And can you imagine? Can you imagine the inspiration that this man must have been to others? They knew this man. They saw his condition. They saw his condition. Do we make our home with Christ and inspire others with the truth of God's kingdom? Is our faith apparent to others? The untouchable man with leprosy was unclean and he came to Jesus with the faith that he would make him clean. This man had no faith and was an outcast. I'm sorry, this man had no life and was an outcast to society. Yet his faith, his faith made him whole. Do we take our sins that make us unclean to Christ? Or maybe some of you don't sin. I think all of us do. Not meaningfully after baptism, but we're going to make mistakes. Do we believe and have the faith to believe that he will make us clean? Do we examine our life for the sins that need healing? And then take them to Christ with the faith that he will actually get rid of it and make us clean? Do we ask Christ to cleanse me? As did this leper and have the faith to know that it will happen? The woman with the issue of blood and the incurable disease and nothing left to live for. And I'm telling you that this is to me one of the most inspiring of all of them. She was sick. She was pale. She was weak. She was tired. Out of money. Out of money. Yet she fought her way through a multitude of people to get to Christ. It couldn't have been easy. Her faith gave her the determination and the drive to come to Christ. Her faith was strong. She believed that just touching Christ's garment and it healed her. Is our faith as strong as this woman's? Is our faith strong enough to make us whole and part of God's family? Will we be called a son or a daughter? Peter, stepping out on faith and walking on water. But then reality stepped in. You know, Peter realized what he was doing was not humanly possible and his faith was faltering. He was in a dangerous situation away from the ship in turbulent waters. When all looked helpless, he gave a short and intense prayer to Christ. In Matthew 14 and in verse 30. Matthew 14 and verse 30. But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became afraid. And as he was beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and he took hold of him and said to him. Oh, you little faith. Why did you doubt? Why did you doubt? In our times of trouble, when all looks hopeless, do we put our trust in God and call out for help? Remember, Christ is the compassion. He is the compassionate and he wants us to come to him for help. But let's not be mistaken about faith. You know, we've just read the stories of people that have faith and were healed. Does that mean every time that we go to God with our problems, we will get what we ask for? The answer to that, brethren, is a resounding no. You know, God has a purpose in all that he does and he will always know what that purpose is or we won't always know what that purpose is. We know that Paul had an affliction that he prayed about. He was not healed. Abraham was promised a child. Then he had to wait for 25 years for it to be fulfilled. And even Christ, when his hour was approaching, he fell on his face, praying and saying, My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. That's in Matthew 26, verse 39. And yet he still had to go through his terrible pain and death. Then what is faith? Well, Webster's Dictionary defines faith as an unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence. Further, it states complete trust, confidence and reliance. You know, we need to trust God regardless of outcomes, as Christ stated to his father in Matthew 26. And in verse 29, when he finally said, Nevertheless, not as I will, but as your will. We can't lose faith because of outcomes. One last scripture, and I'm going to turn to the faith chapter, Hebrews 11. Here we get the true definition of faith. I've used this many times in sermons, because this is faith. This is the real definition. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. We're hoping for a resurrection. We're hoping to become part of God's kingdom. Things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen. We've not seen these things. For by this kind of faith, the elders obtained a good report. By faith, we understand that the worlds were created by the word of God. We truly believe that. We don't know. Were you there when he created it? Job tried to question him on that. So that the things that are seen were made from things that are invisible. We can't see them. Then in verses 4 through 35, and I'm not going to go through all that, we read of those that received the promises based on faith. He went through all that. But then beginning in verse 36, and we're told, because I want you to get, I want to take this very clear here, and the others, the others endured the trial of cruel mockings and scourging. Yes, and moreover of chains and imprisonment. Paul went through a lot of that. They were stoned to death. They were sold in two. They were brutally interrogated and slaughtered by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute, oppressed, and ill-treated. Wonderful. And then in verse 39, it tells us that these all, though they had received a good report through faith, they did not obtain the promise. Not yet. Brethren, our faith does not require proof or evidence, but complete trust in God that we will marry his son and our Lord and Savior and be part of the family of God in his soon coming kingdom. And may God bring that day soon, when I see some of the things taking place in the world today. I'm deeply touched by some of these stories. By these miracles, we see the compassion that Christ had for those in need. We have an invitation, and Christ asks us to come to him with our problems so that he can heal us of our afflictions. Will our faith make us whole? Will our faith make us whole? And with that, I will conclude.