Miracles Happen

Communion to the radium church. Our focus is making Christ is providing worship come check us out at 3485 Oxford Rd., Anderson, or visit us online. I believe you be.org join us for this week's message by Pastor Albert on shop. People use the word miracles all the time. If there ball team stinks will say what we need a miracle if they're caught in a traffic jam in the can seem to get to their meeting on time they'll say is going to take a miracle to get out of here companies use the word miracles all the time to sell their products so it's everything from miracle whip to miracle grow to miracle pill and I talk to people who taken those pills in the tell me that the only thing you really lose is a lot of money as the only miracle as you had money in your wallet and you don't now as a pastor. I've had couples come to me and they'll say it's gonna take a miracle for us to work doesn't seem like it's working out. The point is that people use the word miracles a lot, but they seem to believe less and less and less in miracles. Today's message is the first in our series called miraculous is called miracles happen.

The gist of the message. The main point of the message is this. If you can believe in God you can believe in miracles. If you can believe in God you can believe in miracles. The real question is not, do you believe in miracles. The real question is what kind of a God do you believe in, you have your Bibles with you, turn to Luke chapter 7 let's all stand together for the reading of God's word. When the men had come to him come to who come to Jesus Christ. When the men had come to him.

This said John the Baptist has sent us to you saying are you the coming one or do we look for another during Jesus's earthly ministry. People had doubts about who he was.

He was doing miracles. He was preaching the gospel and even John the Baptist the Herald the messenger before the one to come was having doubts. Are you sure you're the one listen to what Jesus did at that very hour he cured many of infirmities, infirmities and sicknesses, afflictions, meeting pain-and-suffering and evil spirits and too many blind he gave site. You see, Jesus was making a statement to John. John, you should be spiritually alive.

You should see what others can see the guess what even the physically blind are saying are you spiritually blind and then listen to verse 22 Jesus answered and said to them, go and tell John the things you have seen and heard that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Let me ask you the question again.

Do you believe that miracles happen around talking about just water into wine and or Jeff being able to's here.

A blind being able to see the true miracle is a changed life through the death to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Has that happened in your life the greatest miracle is to be born again, you can replicate that as we walked to this message, you hear a message, different than what I typically preach, but ask yourself the question, don't ask God do a miracle get me a Ferrari God do a miracle you know.

Do this and give me $1 million. That's that's cheap. Ask yourself this question has the greatest miracle happened in my life which is that I've been born again. When I was in college on the first day of philosophy class. My professor walked in and he wrote three words on the board. Three simple words, ideas have consequences. I do know at the time of those words were the title of in 1948 book by Richard Weaver who was a an American intellectualist scholar. Ideas have consequences. I sort of understood at the time what you meant, but through the years I have come to realize how important is that statement ideas do have consequences then do shape how people believe and they do shape how people behave, ideas do have consequences, and I don't misunderstand, I use the word ideas I'm not using it like man I have an idea in a lightbulb when I'm using the word idea I'm using it as what scholars use it is a formulated idea or a partner or an opinion on various subjects ideas about life ideas about creation morality what is right from wrong, what is your principal ideas about values, ideas are critical. Ideas have consequences specially when it comes to young people in a many of us we get stuck in our ways with more time.

We don't change whatever we used to believe, 20, 30 years ago we get set in our ways, but young people they are easily molded and shaped by the ideas around them in my ministry as a pastor, parents and grandparents have come to me's. Many times in the usually begin by asking me, do you have book that I can give to my son to my daughter to my nephew to my knees grandson because they came back to call from college and and they told me that they don't believe in God anymore that they come back and they are very condescending in the make fun of miracles in the Bible about Jesus walking on the water and and Moses parting the Red Sea and all the stuff is just myths and fables in fiction is grandma's faith is get good for barbarians and an ignorant people, but sophisticated scientific educated people do not believe in miracles because they have ideas and I don't usually tell the people this I want to hurt their feelings anymore, but they will often tell me this would we raise them in church. We don't understand. How can they be like this. We raise them to believe like we do and I want to tell them this just because you raise them in church does not mean that you gave them the skills and the tools and the weapons to battle cons, ideas you gave them faith, but you did not give them the tools to stand firm in their faith. The first couple of messages in the series I want to dive in and start talking about how Jesus raise the dead to life and how Jesus turned water into wine was the purpose and was the meaning to get to that for the first couple of messages I want to answer the question, do miracles happen to make a statement here which may shock some of you, but I think if you stop and contemplate. You would agree with me. The biggest doubters are not out there there in church either some trial has happened in their life or either some loss has come into their life and they prayed for a miracle miracle didn't come and now they may not say it, but they have stopped believing only come to church. They even give the even serve. They just don't believe I'm praying today's message and the message coming up next week would open your heart that you may ask the question, do miracles happen, and be able to say with confidence. Yes, I know why miracles happen throughout history people have opposed anything miraculous.

Not all people, but many people and the opposition has come from three different angles. Three different angles of ideas.

The first angle is philosophy. The second angle is theology the current angle is science. These three angles have sent ideas that this credit miracles that tell us that miracles don't happen. Educated why modern people do not believe in miracles and their coming from three angles. Let's look at them one at a time. The first one is philosophy ideas from philosophy. I have chosen one representative of each of these angles for philosophy have chosen a man by the name of David Hume, David Hume was a Scottish skeptic. He was a philosopher. He was a historian. He came out of the Enlightenment. Where people began to question everything began to question the meaning of life.

The reason for life. Does the Bible truly is actually the word of God.

Do miracles really happen is the 18th and the 19th. I'm sorry the 17th and 18th century. He pushed reason to the limits just to prove that reason has limits. He made argument upon argument just to prove that arguments don't prove anything. He was a charming fellow.

If you were ever to sit down with him for a cup of tea and talk to him about life and theology in God and miracles he would enjoy the conversation by the end of the conversation you walk away going. I used to believe, but come to think of it, I really don't have any solid reasons to believe when it came to miracles. This was his argument. I want to pay attention. Miracle goes against the laws of nature. Laws of nature have been established by experiences that do not change.

A wise person bases his or her belief on evidence.

Therefore, miracles don't happen. Illustration Jesus walking on water. David Hume would say, when was the last time you saw someone walking on water.

Have you walked on water, no okay you haven't seen anybody walk on water you can walk on water what is right now. We had a test.

Could you get out of the boat and walk on water would happen to you.

Well, based on everything we know because think okay miracles don't happen. If you are a wise person who wants to look like a fool around and I am a wise person than you believe should be based on evidence. That's what David Hume would say some of you argumentative types you know what I'm talking about you love to argue you love to be the devils advocate ever been to anybody redundant, he would be a great devils advocate images argue noggin you finally back us up against the wall is a lot for really honestly I don't know what I believe to listen when the young people come home in the tell you it's a good book.

Jesus was a good man.

These are the kind of arguments their coming from what answer that in just a few moments. The first angle is the angle of philosophy the ideas from philosophy.

The second ideas from theology what is theology, the study of God. The study of spiritual things.

The representative that I have chosen was a German New Testament scholar theologian by the name of Rudolph Bultmann. Maybe some of you may have heard that name before many if you do not know. He and his father was a Lutheran pastor and his grandfather was a missionary, he was influenced by what we know as existential philosophy under this way of thinking. Bultmann considered the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the resurrection of Christ the future resurrection to come. The blood atonement for our sins eternal life and name all the miracles special. The miracles of Jesus as nothing but misleading.

What he would tell you is get the water and want to know what the Bible say but but only understand what really happened that what is really being communicated. The believe in miracles. Bultmann would say come on the live in an era of electricity and power and generators. We don't believe in miracles something else. He did, he was influenced by another scholar by the name of Johannes Weiss who belonged to the history of religion school Obama giving all this information because sometimes some of your watch television program and you hear scholar you see a scholar and you see a degree or you see a famed reputable university and we immediately think they must be right. So I give you some information that would help you rethink.

According to this history of religion school. Bultmann looked at non-Christian and rabbinic stories as sources of the miracles specially of Jesus. Use what is known as form criticism and he did. What is known as demythologizing the Bible.

He said the Bible is full of mythology myths and mythologies.

They have to be broken down. You have to get to the source and once you get to the source you really see that there are really miracles at all, but they have a purpose to bring you closer to God. If you were to ask Bultmann. Are you trying to destroy people's faith, he would say absolutely not. I'm just trying to get them to grow in the real faith.

Unfortunately, he did destroy the faith of a lot of people.

For example, water into wine. What Bultmann would say is this, there is no miracle there. What is really happening is that the early church, the early Christians have taken a Dionysian called story is legend of the time and have applied it to Jesus. Something about water into wine proves that Jesus is the great revealer's is not about the miracle. Nothing changed.

The real purpose is to get you to see that Jesus reveals God to us get to the source of what he is what he would say to us get to the heart in the process, he took away the credibility of miracles. Now what you say to someone like him regular see in the days ahead in the series. Why that doesn't stand limits laid very quickly like this argument. Illustration sometimes illustrations get to the point faster if I were to take this watch apart. I did that as a little boy, if I were to lay all those parts down the glass I were this glass came from just like the stained glass window I bit it came from the stained-glass window motors inside the wheels.

They remind me of my little boys Tonka trucks. I bet those wheels came from the Tonka truck, they look just aligned around and they have little notches and grew stake. They seem to be from that in the minute and the hour hand. I know they look just like my windshield wipers amended look just like it.

I bet they came from there.

Stained-glass windows Tonka trucks and windshield wipers are the source of my watch how many of you would agree with me. There is some similarity but that's not where it's coming from and yet an entire theological system has been built on this and after Bultmann's that many scholars came around in this that that is really stretching, but guess what his shadow is still falling upon the church and the Academy people don't believe in miracles.

Because of these arguments heard angle from which ideas have come against miracles is science.

No scientific man would ever believe in miracles. What they say.

It was hard for me to pick one person, but if I had to pick one it would be this man, Dr. Steven Weinberg who was a theoretical and still is a theoretical physicist, winner of the Nobel prize.

I believe that the University of Texas is where he was teaching and back in 1999 at the conference on cosmic design of the American Association for the advancement of science. He gave a talk do miracles happen and listen to what he said to listen carefully you gets a little wordy but he says it used to be obvious that the world was designed by some sort of intelligent. What else could account for fire and rain and lightning and earthquake, above all the wonderful abilities of living things seem to point to a creator who had his special interest in life. What he saying is this years ago when we were primitive when we didn't have the understanding and when we saw the sun rising. We thought man look that the sun is rising. But now we know better is nothing but a big ball of gas and the sun is not rising, the earth is revolving around the sun, so there's nothing about God.

There he made such arguments. What he saying is primitive man believed in God and miracles are not primitive anymore. We don't have to believe in miracles, the listener what else he said today we understand most of these things in terms of physical forces acting under impersonal law why we have rain God is not sending water to water the grass in the fields in the flowers and the trees. Now is this moisture that is locked up. There, under the right circumstances, it breaks it comes down. He says we don't yet know the most fundamental laws and we can work out all the consequences of the laws we do know he says, for example, the human mind remains extraordinarily difficult to understand. So is the weather is out can understand them on how exactly do you think and why do you think the way you think is for that matter you can understand whether one mother works the way it does what you say is this with enough time with enough understanding. We'll figure that out to about miracles.

Listen to what he says there do not seem to be any exceptions to this natural order any miracles. The evidence for all these miracles seems to me he says to be considerably weaker than the evidence for ColdFusion is that I don't believe in ColdFusion. What is really saying is there is no evidence for miracles. Miracles don't happen above all, today we understand that even human beings are the result of natural selection acting over millions of years of breeding and eating. He's talking about the E word.

If your note with the E word is evolution. How did this all come about evolution using science can tell us the what, but it cannot tell us the why folks science cannot disprove miracles no more than I can disprove you in this series I'm just laying out the foundation in these first couple of messages because if you don't believe in believe in miracles I can talk all day long about water into wine and eyes of the blind and deaf can hear and Lamb can walk but you can still walk away going last out right message preacher you still don't believe the purpose in these two messages is to lay out certain foundational principles that will help you realize why miracles happen, so I am operating on these eight principles principle number one is that I believe that God exists. That is my starting point. God exists know some people say well know it all happen through natural selection is all the random processes of evolution. I disbelieve that I believe there is so much intelligent design that points to an intelligent designer you agree with that and I believe the designer is God. Second thing that I will emphasize is that there is only one God.

Sometimes what people do is and what Hume did is that he said every religion has its miracles. What makes the miracles of Christianity different.

Hume was a smart man, but I disagree with because every miracle of other religions are not the same as the miracles found in the Bible is a how do you know I've studied them. There is no comparison. There is only one God, the miracles are coming through his book number three God created the world and continues to rule over it, which means this inverter number four since this is God's world. The natural law is his law and he can do miracles.

If he chooses people talk about the natural laws there. God's laws. This is not mother Earth. This is God's creation with these philosophers and certain theologians and scientists have done is they have taken what belongs to God and they have tried to copy God disprove God, I know, but many subjects with one subject that I'm very incapable and is construction. But what if they after day I walk watching these guys were I see how the poured the concrete. I see how they laid out the the timber I see how they are going to put the frame of and I'm watching all that's happening.

I'm learning a little bits and pieces here and there every day before I leave for home. I take one item from this workplace when there take a hammer with me whether they are take a box of nails that sick some two by fours with me.

I see a mesh around and I cut a piece of that mission. I take it home and I built me. It chicken coop. I build it.

I've seen them work and I got the materials and I build it but unfortunately, no self-respecting chicken would ever stay in a chicken coop like that. But just imagine for a moment I build that and I invite you over the house and I say look you see this, you see how amazing it is.

Anybody can do what these construction workers can do, what would you say to me on that leg at you throw that away. There is no comparison with this beautiful edifice. There is no comparison to the Empire State building. There is no comparison to the Parthenon.

This is exactly what these philosophers, theologians and scientists have done to have taken and they have taken God's materials. God's wisdom God's knowledge God's natural laws and they have tried to re-create their own system of leaves to discredit God. Years ago I heard a story from a pastor is that one time God in this manner were having an argument and this man said God I can do everything that you can do your heard of before you, you can create the earth. You can make life I can make life God said okay. By the way the system is a no go out there saying there's really happen. He said okay let's listen. Let's do it right now, is it alright I'm ready God to go. He reached down to pick up a cloud of dirt.

That's what get you under folks we can do anything without what God is already supplied and yet human beings are trying to say God doesn't exist or he is not powerful enough to interfere in his own creation. Number five.

God does miracles when he wants to further his purposes. Number six, Jesus the son of God, did miracles and they are truthfully recorded in the gospel.

This is where comparison with other religions and their miracles comes in.

There's a big difference. Number seven God made you miracles in response to the prayers of people. We will learn that as well and number eight were called to believe in miracles, but trust in Jesus, believe in miracles believe that God did what he said he did in times past and he still does, but don't rely on miracles alone. Trust in Jesus because sometimes God may not answer your prayers, but he still God this morning. The believe in miracles or have you stop believing have experienced the greatest miracle of all change life through Jesus Christ and we sang that song just a few minutes ago. John letters I believe in miracles. He's talking about the greatest miracle is life flowing through us sins forgiven our hearts transformed our destiny secure our names written in the Lamb's book of life, those miracles are greater in feeding the 5000, healing the sick and raising the has the thank you so much for joining us for this message. Throughout history people try to disprove the existence of God.

But as believers we can have confidence that not only does God exist. We can and does work miracles in our world today. For more information visit us online at Clearview B's. He.org for this week's sermon notes check out Pastor John's blog and shop.com