Miracle 4

 We considered how in spite of the miracles that Jesus did and the scripture that clearly pointed to Him as being the Messiah, they rejected Him ,not only rejected Him ,but they crucified Him,why did God not do something about it?.Let us consider the miracle of the cross,yes it was a miracle,for through His death on the cross in His mercy and love God was achieving for humanity a way of escape from us going to Hell.John 3 v16 spells it out for us,'For God so loved the world,yes He does love the world ,amazing,yes it is true.Out of a heart of love He thought of a plan,a way in which we  undeserving sinners could be saved, His blessed son Jesus would take the sinners place and take the punishment for their sins.He the just one would die for the unjust,He the sinless one would die for the sinner.So if they would believe in Him they will not perish but have everlasting life. Humanity cannot perform the miracle of salvation,sad to say that many do try to save themselves,but it's futile ,but they will keep trying.

                                              'My Father is all powerful and that you can't deny

                                               A  God of might and miracles it's written in the sky

                                               It took a miracle to put the stars in place

                                                It took a miracle to hang the world in space

                                                But when He saved my soul cleansed  and made me whole

                                                 It took a miracle of love and grace.

                                                                Words  Eddy  Arnold

                                              

Miracle 3

 Miracles didn't stop at the birth of Christ ,when Christ began His ministry,He performed many miracles, turning water into wine,and many more would follow,not all were recorded ,for John tells us this in CP Chap 20 v 30.Yet in spite of all these miracles He was rejected and despised as the prophet Isaiah foretold chap 53v3,we need not be surprised at this, the question is why?.Consider  the words of John in chap 1 v10-11,'He was in the world ,and though the world was made through Him,the world did not recognise Him/  He came to that which was His own,but His own did not receive Him'.Is their an answer as to why He was the in world and it did not recognise Him,and His own people did not receive Him.In  John 3 v 19 we read,'This is the verdict: light has come into the world,but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil'.That is the answer, and that is why,we must  never underestimate the darkness of the human soul.,and next time we will consider this further.

                                                          'This dark world of sin'

A miracle ( Isaiah 9 v 6 -7) 2

 I mentioned last time that two miracles took place when Jesus was born,for the child that was born,was different , how was he different?,well the answer is ,he was truly human and truly God.How was it possible ?,it was a miracle.Again let us travel back over 700yrs to the promise that Isaiah made in chapter 7 v 14 , in this verse we are told of a virgin conceiving giving birth to a son, and that he will be called Immanuel,which means God with us.Then we move forward to Isa 9 v6  when we are told of a child being born,and His name would be,'Wonderful Counsellor,Mighty God, everlasting father,Prince of Peace.I remember speaking to some Jws,when I said He was mighty God,one them replied ,yes but He was not almighty God.That was a nonsensical answer for the adjective does not change the object, that He was God.For other OT scriptures as regards Christs deity CP Isa42 v8   / Psalm 45 v6-7/ 110 v1/ Daniel 7 v 13-14/.It is Leupold who comments that Isaiah's use in 9 v6  is the same title unequivocally for God in  10v21  It was the  Collingsworth family who wrote a hymn which starts.Who is He in yonder stall, at whose feet the shepherds fall? and the answer is,'Tis the Lord!O wondrous story,Tis the Lord,the king of glory! Yes it truly was a miracle.

Miracles ( Luke 1 v26 -38) 1

 They say there are four types of miracles,healing,exorcism, nature miracles,and resurrection,well that's what they say,I believe there are more than that.Here we are in the Christmas season when we remember a miracle ,in fact two miracles happened. In Isaiah 7 v14  we read,'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son'Now that is truly a miracle,it is impossible for a virgin to bear a child,yet here we have a promise that it was going to happen. It would not happen for just over 700 yrs ,Gods word will be fulfilled no matter how long it takes .Bethlehem was to be the place it would happen. (Micah 5 v2)  The girl Mary had a visit from an angel who told her she was going to have a son who would be called Jesus,here was her reply 'How will this be,...since I am a virgin?'(Luke 1 v34) it was an obvious question ,It would take a miracle,a miracle which God performed (Luke 1 v 35)Don't let anyone rob you of this truth,and don't be blinded  by all the non-Christian  things which surrounds Christmas, it was truly a miracle.

Christmas ( John 3 v 16)

 My wife has been very busy buying and wrapping up the presents ,we have a very large family.A thought suddenly came to me about Christmas,I have never,I mean never, known anyone who has been saved at Christmas,I have been following the Lord for 61yrs,that's a long time, when I was a minister, I always sought to present the gospel to people.Im sure that many are going to sing the carols,enjoy the mince pies,and look at the nativity with baby Jesus ,Mary,Joseph,shepherds,and the animals.But they never go beyond that,so another Christmas passes into oblivion, My dear wife asked me, what do I want for Christmas,I really don't need anything,but I will appreciate any present I am given.As I was driving home recently,I said  to the Lord,let me see someone being saved,and then I added,let me lead someone to Christ,that would be the most wonderful gift of all.

                                                      'O teach me what it meaneth,

                                                       That cross uplifted high,

                                                       With one , the man of sorrows,

                                                       Condemned to bleed and die,               

                                                       O teach me what it cost Thee

                                                       To make a sinner whole;

                                                        And teach me,Saviour,teach me

                                                        The value of a soul'  (Words Lucy A.Bennett)

                                                         

Weakness (2 Timothy 4 v 16-17) 1

 The book  of Judges is about Israels failure to follow God, followed by God punishing them, then rescuing them when they called on Him. One writer  describes their turning to Him as mere remorse,not repentance.He nevertheless did rescue them, until the next time. He raised up individuals who were called Judges who would rescue them,one of the Judges was called Gideon (Chap 6 -7),for seven years they were being oppressed by two nations,they were in dire straits ,and then they called on God to rescue them, imagine it took seven years of oppression before they turned to God,he is very patient with his people,and with you and me. Now let's think about Gideon,he was to learn a number of lessons , one ,being weak is not a disadvantage, in v15 he says ,how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. The Lord answered,''I will be with you'' God does not leave us in our weakness no,He will be with us,today and all our tomorrows, when we go to work,when we go shopping or whatever,He will be with us, simply because He dwells within us,by His Spirit.

Don't be like Ephraim ( Deuteronomy 8 v 1 -5)

 I have just watched an old movie about people considered a coward,in the end he proved he wasn't ,and he succeeded ,and he showed that he was a very brave man. In the movie, the man had received four white feathers from four different people, indicating they believed he was a coward.There is stigma attached to being coward,the army take a very dim view as regards a soldier being a coward.There was a time when those acted cowardly would be shot. There are cowards mentioned in the Bible  ,we read the following in Psalm 78 v 9-12 it reads ,'The men of Ephraim,though armed  with bows,turned back on the day of the battle; the reason,' They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by the law,They forgot what He had done, and the wonders He had shown them'.These people were armed,yes they had the means to win,but alas they turned back, The English archers defeated the French in the battle of Agincourt so bows an arrows were very effective weapons. Reason why they ran away,'They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by the law',Ephraim the leading tribe in Israel,had forsaken God,if we forsake God  there are sad consequences .They had forgot what God had done,the wonders that He had performed for them.. Spurgeon writes,'Ere we condemn them,let us repent of our own wicked  forgetfulness,and confess the many occasions upon which we also  have been unmindful of past favours'.