I don't have anything to turn
to right off. Throughout the New Testament, we see a lot of
people where Christ performed miracles, where those who were
a part of those miracles benefited in some way. When you look at
all the accounts of the miracles that Jesus Christ performed,
you see many people with different issues. blindness, deafness,
lameness, issues of blood, leprosy, hunger, and others. When I look
at these issues that some had and think of myself, I have at
this time, right now, and I have had none of these things going
on with me in the past. I've never been blind, physically. I've never been deaf. I've never
been lame. I've never had leprosy. I've
never really been hungry at all. None of these things have I experienced
physically. I'm not minimizing those who
have had these things physically as a part of their life. Something
that just does not allow them to do certain things or experience
things that the rest of us do without even thinking about it.
I may have not experienced these things up until this point, but
God may be pleased that I go through one or some of these
things at the end of my life. So I'm not saying this could
not happen to me. I know Joe has said, and I agree, that Jesus
Christ has not saved anyone through a miracle done to them physically.
In fact, we have seen in scripture where Christ has performed some
miracles for some who were not at all concerned with who Jesus
Christ is. I went through some of those
before, but in John 6, 10 through 13, we read, and Jesus said,
make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the
place, so the men sat down in number about 5,000. And Jesus
took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed
to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down, and
likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were
filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that
remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them
together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five
barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that
had eaten. Jesus Christ fed about 5,000,
it says. This was a miracle, and it was
a sign. These people followed him further,
it says in John 6, 23 through 26. Howbeit there came other
boats from Tiberias nine to the place where they did eat bread,
after that the Lord had given thanks. When the people therefore
saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also
took shipping and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus. And when they
had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him,
Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye saw
the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were
filled. They were part of a miracle that
Jesus Christ performed, but they did not even pay attention to
the miracle that Jesus Christ performed. Christ said they sought
him because their bellies were filled. What was the end of them? John 6, 66 we read. From that,
that is the words that Jesus Christ just got through speaking
to them in John 6, many of his disciples went back and walked
no more with him. When he told them all that salvation
is absolutely and totally of the Lord, they left. They wanted
nothing to do with Christ from that moment. There were some
who believed on Jesus Christ when this miracle was done. but
there were many that went back and walked no more with him as
well. We even see where Christ said to those who were his apostles,
he says, then said, Jesus unto the 12, will ye also go away? One would go away eventually.
Jesus Christ doing a miracle for you is no guarantee that
you are one of his. We see there were many that walked
no more with him. Even of the 12, we know that
one did not walk with him. That was Judas Iscariot, who
betrayed our Lord. So just because Jesus Christ
performs a miracle for you physically, it does not mean you are a child
of God. Maybe you don't have this thought,
but there are times I have this type of thought. Lord, will I
betray you? I at times do works that seem
to manifest that I will betray him. But let's look at another,
and I just went through this recently, Luke 17, 12. And as
he entered into a certain village, there met him 10 men that were
lepers, which stood afar off. But what was the end of the nine
of these men? These men who cried out for mercy. Verse 17 of Luke 17, it says,
and Jesus answering said, he was talking to this one that
come back to him. Were there not 10 cleansed? But
where are the nine? There are not found that return
to give glory to God save this stranger. Those who had a miracle
performed on them to clean them of leprosy did not love Christ. They did not give glory to God
for that which God performed. What is it that we are looking
for from Jesus Christ? I've never had any of these maladies,
you might say, come upon me. What am I looking for Jesus Christ
to do? Now, if you would, turn with
me to Luke 7. Luke 7, and I want to read verses 18 through
22. And the disciples of John showed
him all these things. And John calling unto him two
of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that
should come, or look we for another? When the men were coming to him,
they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art
thou he that should come, or look we for another? And in that
same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and
of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
Then Jesus answering said unto them, go your way and tell John
what things ye have seen and heard, how that the blind see,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed
is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. John had sent his disciples to
ask Christ if he was that one spoken of in the Old Testament
scripture. They didn't call it the Old Testament
scripture, but that is all they had at the time. But the question
was asked, are you that one spoken of, or should we look for another? Notice that John did not say,
look we for more miracles or signs somewhere. He said John
was looking for a person. Once these men had told him what
John said, he then first, that's Christ, first of all performed
some of these miracles and then he tells them. Then Jesus answered,
said unto them, go your way and tell John what things ye have
seen and heard, how that the blind see, the lame walk, the
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to
the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he whosoever shall
not be offended in me. The Old Testament scripture spoke
of these very things that would happen. Isaiah 35, four through
six reads, say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong,
fear not. Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. Then
the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap
as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing, for in the wilderness
shall waters break out and streams in the desert. And then again
in Isaiah 61, one and two. The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted." And this binding up is like putting your arms
around someone and just holding them tight. That's what kind
of the meaning of the word gives. But he has sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our
God, to comfort all that mourn." This same passage in Isaiah 61,
our Lord read to them in the synagogue. It says in Luke 4,
17-19, And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet
Esaias. And when he had opened the book,
he found the place where it was written. The spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. Not all men have the same physical
ailments or physical things that prevent them from things, but
all men have the same ailments Nonetheless, some just never
come to know it. Have you ever been lost? If not,
then what need do you have of being found? Have you ever been
perishing? If not, then what need do you
have of being saved? I want to talk to those this
morning who have need of being found and who have need of being
saved. And I'm talking about all of
us, even right here today. I want to go through these miracles,
but in the negative, if you will. Christ spoke of them as he did
these things. It wasn't a positive. He actually
did these things. Blind, lame, lepers, deaf, dead,
and no gospel. Blind. We are all blind by nature. We all know this here, but does
not hurt to be reminded of it. By nature, we are absolutely,
totally blind. I can see with these eyes right
now everything that's going on. I can see everybody here. But what I cannot see by this
old Adamic nature, what I cannot understand by this old Adamic
nature is what God says to us in his word. No matter how good
these physical eyes are, they will not be able to see, or that
is, understand anything of the kingdom of God. And I'm talking
about spiritually. John 3.3, our Lord says, Jesus
answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So in
order to see, one must be born from above. Walter, it says here,
it says above, not somewhere here below. So in order for one
to see the kingdom of God, he must be born of God. Also, this
word means to be aware of or to understand. Unless God in
His purpose and by His will creates you anew, giving you spiritual
life, then you will not even be aware of the kingdom of God.
You may talk about Jesus Christ and God, but you will not truly
be aware of His kingdom unless you are born from above. Lame. We cannot move one inch toward
God unless he does something for us. Again in John three,
verses five. Jesus answered, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. So this here speaking
of the gospel and the Holy Spirit tells us that unless we are born
of these, we will not enter. Enter here means to enter. Another word for it is to arise. We read on several occasions
where our Lord healed those who were lame. What does Christ tell
them at least in two of those instances? Arise, take up thy
bed, and walk. Unless Jesus Christ comes to
you in power, you will not be able to walk spiritually. You
will not be able to enter into the kingdom of God. Lepers. I'm not sure of any of us that
have had leprosy here. I mean, there might be, I don't
know. But I've never been leprous. Then how and why would Christ
Jesus heal me of that? But we read in Isaiah 1 6, from
the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness
in it. But wounds and bruises and putrefying
sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified
with ointment. We are absolutely and totally
nothing but gangrene in sight of God. We have no man, that
is no fallen son of Adam who can make us clean. We cannot
even find anyone of fallen Adam who can even patch us up or give
us any kind of ointment that will heal us. We are lepers from
head to toe. We read of lepers in the scripture,
one example I've already given, but here's another, Luke 5, 12
and 13. And it came to pass, when he
was in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy, who seeing
Jesus, fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if
thou wilt, thou can make me clean. And he put forth his hand, that
is Christ, put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately,
the leprosy departed from him. Death. I can hear with my ears
everything that's being said. Most of us here, I think we can.
Some of us may have a little trouble with hearing, and some
of us may end up having that kind of trouble later on in life. But I've never had this physical
ailment of not being able to hear. But spiritually, we will
not be able to hear a thing. We are totally deaf when it comes
to hearing spiritual things. We hear Christ speaking in several
places where he says, if any man have ears to hear, let him
hear. Those who were there, I mean,
when Christ was saying this, most had ears like you and I,
and most of them could physically hear. But the kind of hearing
Christ is speaking of is a hearing you will not have unless he is
pleased to give it. Proverbs 20, 12 says, the hearing
ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. Dead. We are born into this world
dead. Dead to God, dead to his Christ,
and dead to his gospel. We have no way to get out of
this state from fallen, sinful man. Now if you would, turn with
me to Ezekiel 16. Ezekiel 16. I'm gonna read verses
one through six. Ezekiel 16, one through six. Again the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
and say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem, Thy birth
and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan. Thy father was an
Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity in the
day thou wast born, thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou
washed in water to supple thee. Thou wast not salted at all,
nor swaddled at all. None I pitied thee to do any
of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee. But thou wast cast
out in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the
day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee and
saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when
thou wast in thy blood, Live! Yea, I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thy blood, Live! No one, this says, pitied us
to do this to us. Because there is none besides
God who could do such a thing for a fallen, sinful wretch who
is dead in trespasses and in sin. Ephesians 2.1 says, and
you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins.
His people he visits in power, bringing to them spiritual life,
not bringing this old Adamic nature to life. This old Adamic
nature cannot be brought to life. We are made a new creature in
Christ, Joe. No gospel. Because we are blind,
deaf, lame, unclean, leprous sinners, dead to God so that
we will in no way be able to hear the gospel, there is nothing
working for us in this old dadamic nature. It has fallen, that is
all it will ever be. So if we never change from that
state, even if the gospel comes to us, we will not believe because
we cannot. But if Christ does these things
for us, he will also send us his gospel. Him coming to us
by his spirit, giving us the increase to the extent he is
pleased to give us an increase. We will increase as much as God
is pleased to increase us. 1 Corinthians 3 verses 5 through
7 says, who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers
by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I
have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he that it planteth
is anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth
the increase. It was absolutely to be the sign
of His coming for Jesus Christ to heal people of their physical
ailments. It was absolutely to be the sign
that when He came, He would perform miracles. But just because Jesus
Christ healed some and performed miracles for some does not mean
those things made them whole spiritually. Some were made whole
spiritually. Some were not. Not all of us
have ailments of our body. We do not all have the same sicknesses
of our body, but every one of us have the same problem spiritually.
We can do nothing without Him who has all the power to bring
a sinner to Himself. If Christ did not come to do
all these things, we would never believe. This is the confirmation
that our Lord gave to John the Baptist and to us. Then Jesus
answering said unto them, go your way and tell John what things
you have seen and heard, how that the blind see, the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
and to the poor the gospel is preached. What can we do for
God? We have need of him to do all
these miracles to us. It is Him that we look for, the
one who we read here that has come and He proved it was Him
by the miracles He did. How will we come to believe Jesus
Christ in the state we are in? We will do it by Him and Him
alone. We never stop needing the power
of Jesus Christ. He is our light in our life.
He tells us here in Luke that He came to do these things to
show that He is that Christ spoken of in the scripture. There is
no need to look to another, no need to look to ourselves, and
no need to look for another fallen sinful man. Jesus Christ is all
we need. If you have been healed of these
spiritual ailments, if Jesus Christ has proclaimed the gospel
to you, a poor, wretched, lost sinner, bound up, your broken
heart, then you are blessed. And it says in Luke 7.23, he
said, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. Are you offended in Jesus Christ? Amen. Dear Lord, bless these words
to our hearts, dear Lord. Call us to see you always. These
things we ask in Christ's name. Amen.