1. You Are A Miracle
of God—Tell Everyone
·
Think of where you were when you were invited out to church
or to study the Bible
·
Look at where you are now
·
It is only by God’s power that you are here.
·
You are a miracle!
·
I’m a miracle
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God is in the business of working miracles
·
He loves working miracles still today
·
He still wants to do miracles in your life, even now
Mark 5:1-20
1They
went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a]
2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came
from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no
one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had
often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the
irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night
and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with
stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his
knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What
do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t
torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man,
you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for
we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send
them out of the area.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The
demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He
gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs.
The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the
lake and were drowned.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town
and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When
they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of
demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those
who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed
man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to
plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been
demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him,
but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done
for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away
and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how
much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
· After being messed up you’re now in your right mind (for the
most part).—You-re a miracle
· You have scars and sensitive areas (where actions of others
trigger emotional responses inward or outward)—the demon possessed man had many
scars
· Those scars came from others that hurt him and from self
inflicted wounds--he cut himself with stones and people tried to subdue him
with chains
· Sometimes wounds even come from those trying to help us
· Jesus was what this man needed to be healed
· He told everyone he could about the miracle that had been
worked in his life
· People will be amazed when they hear the story of what Jesus
has done in your life.
2. Miracles Move
Others To Faith
·
We live in a very skeptical society
·
We gotta see it to believe it
·
When we see someone become a disciple who was an “impossible
conversion” it helps our faith, but impacts their friends and family
deeply—it’s shocking.
·
They may run them and you out of town like those in the town
where the demon possessed man lived, but the miracle will impact those seeking
God in a deep way.
·
Don’t underestimate the power of the miracles that we see
happen on a regular basis.
·
Don’t miss the opportunities they present to change families
and communities
Acts 9:32-43
32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the
Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had
been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up
and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned
to the Lord.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her
name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was
washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter
was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken
upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him
the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with
them.
40 Peter sent them all
out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the
dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter
she sat up. 41 He took her by the
hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially
the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed
in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa
for some time with a tanner named Simon.
· Liliana—Jose getting baptized tonight
· Her baptism impacted him deeply
· She is a PTA president, her change from dead to spiritually
alive will impact those around her—we need to see the need to help those around
her come to God in response to her miracle
· Jose works with hundreds of people and he is a supervisor at
his work.
· The miracle brought upon by God will no doubt cause others
to pay attention.
· These miracles move others to faith
· These miracles are huge opportunities for us to build God’s
Kingdom and help make the eternal impact in this world that God intends for us
to have
We were
once dead and became a miracle of God.
As we
help others who are being transformed let’s see the great opportunity to reach
those who are impacted by their change.
