Seven Lessons From a Day of Miracles

Q: What does the Bible say about the authority of Jesus' miracles?

The Bible affirms that Jesus' miracles were undeniable demonstrations of His divine authority and identity as the Messiah. The miracles of Jesus recorded in the Gospels serve as unequivocal validations of His claim to be the Christ, the Messiah promised by the prophets. The people of His time did not dispute His genealogy or the authenticity of His miracles. For instance, when John the Baptist sought confirmation of Christ's identity, Jesus referenced His miracles as evidence, stating that they fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah (Matthew 11:4-5). These acts were not merely wonders; they were profound affirmations of His sovereignty and grace, showcasing His power to heal, cleanse, and bring salvation.

Q: How do we know faith in Jesus is essential for salvation?

Faith in Jesus is essential for salvation as it reflects a trust in Him as Lord and Savior, aligning with the teachings of Scripture. Faith, as demonstrated by the centurion in Matthew 8, is a profound recognition of Christ’s authority and ability to save. The centurion exemplified true faith by acknowledging his unworthiness and trusting solely in Jesus' command to heal his servant (Matthew 8:8-10). This illustrates that genuine faith is not merely believing in a set of doctrines; it is a trust-filled relationship with Christ, recognizing Him as the sole means of grace. Scripture emphasizes that by grace through faith we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9), which underscores the necessity of this faith in effecting our reconciliation with God.

Q: Why is genuine repentance important for Christians?

Genuine repentance is crucial for Christians as it reflects a humble acknowledgment of sin and a desire for God's mercy. The account of the leper in Matthew 8 illustrates the essence of true repentance. The leper approached Jesus in humility, recognizing his need for mercy despite his unworthiness (Matthew 8:2-3). This act of coming as he was, without pretense or merit, exemplifies the Christian understanding of repentance—turning from self-reliance to complete dependence on God's grace. Genuine repentance is about more than feeling sorry for sin; it is an earnest turning away from sin with a heartfelt desire to seek God's forgiveness and acceptance. It acknowledges that salvation is a work of divine grace, not human achievement.

Q: What do the miracles of Jesus teach us about His compassion?

The miracles of Jesus reveal His deep compassion for the suffering and His willingness to intervene in their lives. Throughout His ministry, the miracles performed by Jesus exemplify His profound compassion for humanity. For instance, in Matthew 8, He heals Peter’s mother-in-law and many who were sick or possessed (Matthew 8:14-16). Each healing indicates Christ's intimate connection and sympathy with human suffering. His actions testify that He is not detached but is deeply concerned for His creation. More than mere displays of divine power, these acts illustrate God's willingness to intervene in our plight, offering hope and healing. Jesus' miracles serve as tangible expressions of His love and commitment to restore and redeem, pointing to the greater spiritual healing available through Him.

Q: Why should Christians bring others to Jesus?

Christians should bring others to Jesus because it is the highest service we can provide, exemplifying our love and faith. The act of bringing others to Jesus is emphasized throughout the Gospels, highlighting it as one of the greatest services we can offer to others. In Matthew 8, many brought sick individuals to Jesus for healing (Matthew 8:16). This illustrates a fundamental aspect of Christian duty: sharing the hope found in Christ. Our role as believers is not just to seek salvation for ourselves but also to be instrumental in pointing others to the Savior. As we engage in sharing the Gospel and inviting others to witness the transformative power of Christ, we fulfill our mandate to love our neighbor. God honors true faith by using us as instruments in the salvific work, leading others to experience the mercy and grace we have received.

The great miracles which our Lord performed while he was upon this earth were without question supernatural works. They were indisputably miraculous works. In fact, the Jews who quibbled about everything, who raised objections to almost everything our Lord said and taught, who constantly slandered his name, character, and reputation, never questioned two things.

They never raised the slightest hint of a question about two things. They never questioned our Lord's genealogy, by which he had a rightful claim to the throne of David, by which he had a proven demonstration of him being David's son, and thus capable of being the Messiah, the Christ, the Redeemer, the King of Israel. And they never disputed one of his miracles. They never called it into question.

These two things were matters of public record which no one could refute. Matters of public record which everyone who cared to even investigate slightly knew were certainly true demonstrations of facts that could not be refuted. And so the Jews never questioned our Lord's miracles. Now these miracles were performed basically for two purposes. First, they proved Jesus Christ to be who he claimed to be, the Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel.

If you want to look at Matthew chapter 9, or chapter 11 rather, for just a second, John the Baptist was in prison and he sent two of his disciples to the Lord Jesus saying, Art thou the Christ, or do we look for another? And the Lord Jesus answered in verse 4 and said unto them, go and show John again those things which you do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the dead hear. The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them. And so our Lord Jesus points back to the prophets, and he says, these things that you see and hear demonstrate that I am indeed that one of whom the prophets spoke, that one who would come, the Messiah of Israel.

Now these miracles, like all the supernatural works of God in delivering Israel in the Old Testament from their various troubles, For example, the deliverance of Noah and his family through the flood and the building of an ark. The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, into the land of Thomas. The deliverance of Dane's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the burning and fiery furnace. The deliverance of Daniel from the lion's den.

All of those things like the miracles of our Lord, were designed and intended by God to demonstrate clearly pictures of his redeeming, saving grace exercised toward us. So that the carnal miracles, the physical things beheld with the natural eye, became pictures, object lessons, types, of what God would do for us by his grace in Jesus Christ. And they are all full of spiritual instructions and lessons for us.

Now tonight, I want us to look briefly at the miracles performed by our Lord in one day, in Matthew, the eighth chapter. In these 34 verses, the sermon on the mount, which was preached by him who spoke as never a man spoke, was enforced and demonstrated, or rather it was enforced and it was demonstrated that the one who preached it was himself the Christ of God, the very Son of God. For he who spoke as never a man spoke, in Matthew chapter 8, did things that no man had ever done before. In this chapter, we have no less than five miracles that were performed by the Lord Jesus Christ and recorded here by Matthew.

Now, my subject this evening is these miracles. I want to show you seven lessons from a day of miracles. And we will look at these verses very briefly, but I want you to follow along. So just hold your Bibles open in Matthew chapter 8. Our Lord's miracles are both pictures of his grace and object lessons, full of spiritual instruction for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see and hearts to believe what is here revealed. First, look at verses one through four.

Here we're given a lesson about genuine repentance. If you're interested in obtaining mercy from God, if you're interested in obtaining God's favor, if you're interested in being found accepted of God, and you want to know, how can I come to God? How can I, a sinner, approach the holy Lord God? Here's a picture of how you do it.

When he was come down from the mountains, great multitudes followed him, throngs about him. And behold, there came a leper, a leper, came out of the crowd, a man who was a lawful, legal outcast, who had no right to come to the master. He came just exactly as he was, in his recklessness, unclean, helpless, he came to the Savior. He didn't have any right to come, but he knew that nobody could help him except that man who stood before him, whom he recognized to be his God. He came to Him just exactly as He was, and that's the way sinners must come to Christ. That's the way we must come to Him continually as we approach God for mercy. Come to Him as empty-handed beggars. Never, never, never outgrow coming to Christ as a leper sinner needing to be made clean by Him. Don't ever outgrow it.

This leper came to the Lord Jesus, and we're told that he worshiped Him. In humility, he bowed down and worshipped him, acknowledging him to be the Lord. He said, Lord, Lord. He acknowledges him to be one supreme over him, one to have dominion over him, as his rightful and only Lord God. This leper worshipped the Lord Jesus, acknowledging his Lordship as he came to it. And I'm telling you, you can't come to Him any other way. You can't come to Him any other way. The star of Phoenician woman came and called Him Lord. The dying thief said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Saul, the apostle, said, what will you have me to do, Lord? Who art thou, Lord? I'm telling you, you can only come to Christ in mercy and in true faith when you acknowledge Him as your Lord, as the one who has the right to do with you what He will. And this leper freely acknowledged that Jesus Christ, as Lord, has the sovereign right to give or withhold grace according to his own sovereign pleasure.

Look at what he says in verse 2. Lord, if you will, if you will, if you will, you can make me claim that the power is in you. I know you have the ability. And I know that everything depends on your will. Here I am. Here I am. Grace is yours. Mercy is yours. Power is yours. Leprosy is mine. Uncleanness is mine. Helplessness is mine. Guilt is mine. Depravity is mine. But if you will, you can make me clean. You can make me clean.

And the Lord Jesus gave him what he wanted. This leper, coming to Christ, acknowledging him as Lord, just like he was in his corruption and in his helplessness, obtained what he sought. Jesus put forth his hand and touched him. And he said, I will be God's queen.

What power. He who could not be healed, by any application of medicine, by any multitude of physicians, by anything he might perform himself, was healed completely of his leprosy by the touch of the Master's hand. He touched it. He said, I will be thou clean.

Now, I'm going to tell you something. If you come to Christ just exactly like this leopard did, just as you are, in your uncleanness, with no merit, with no worth in yourself, acknowledge him to be Lord, him to be the rightful sovereign, seeking mercy. You'll go home in mercy tonight. You'll go home in mercy. The Lord Jesus reached out his hand, touched him. He said, I will, be thou clean.

And so it was. Now look at verses five through 13. Here we're given a lesson about faith. I'll let you read the details of the chapter later on, I hope you will, but let me give you the highlights so we can go through the message as quickly as possible.

There's this centurion who came to the Lord Jesus, this Roman soldier, this Gentile. He came to the Lord Jesus and he said in verse six, Lord, my servant, Life at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus saith unto him, I'll come down with you and I'll heal him. I'll go home with you. And what's this? The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed.

What faith. You just speak the word, it'll be done. For I am a man under authority. I know something about authority. I know something about giving orders. I know something about having folks under me. I know something about commanding folks to do things. I'm a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my servant, do this, and he does it.

When Jesus heard that, He marveled and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. This centurion, while the scribes and Pharisees and the people of Israel despised the Lord Jesus and would not believe his gospel, This unnamed centurion, we don't know where he came from, where he lived, we don't know where his servant was residing, just back under his house somewhere.

But this unnamed Gentile Roman centurion believed Jesus Christ to be himself the Lord God, who had power with just his word to give life and health and strength. He believed This centurion was a picture of all God's elect among the Gentiles who must be saved. Down in verse 11, our Lord Jesus is still pointing to him, and he says, Many shall come from the east and west, and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom, that is, the Jews, you who are of the seed of Abraham, physically shall be cast out into outer darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The centurion shows us what a great and precious gift the gift of faith is. To believe Christ. To trust him. That's what believing him is. Folks ask, do you believe in this? Do you believe in that? To believe is to trust. To believe Christ is not to believe theories and lessons and doctrines about him. It's to trust him. It's to trust him. My wife believes many things about me because she knows more about me than anybody else does. But my wife trusts me. She trusts me. Now you can read what somebody else writes about me and believe and not believe what they say, but only when you know me can you learn either to trust me or not to trust me. And to believe Christ is to trust him. This centurion believed him. He believed him. And that was a rare thing. To believe Christ is the gift of God.

And if we have that gift, we ought to give thanks continually, because very few do. Few are willing to come to Christ. as helpless lost sinners and commit their souls to him. Few will forsake their own righteousness and trust Christ alone as the Lord their righteousness. Few will come to Christ trusting him alone as their Savior, trusting him alone to give us acceptance unto God. Faith in Christ to the world appears to be a small, insignificant, trifling thing. But true faith, that faith which works by love, as the centurions did.

Here's a man who comes to the master, not on behalf of his son or his daughter, like the Syrophoenician woman, not on behalf of his only child, like Jairus, but this man comes to the master on behalf of his servant. Not just a Roman soldier with a slave in his household. He says, Master, I've got a slave at home. set with a pausing grievously tormented. Will you speak the word until you're here?

That true faith which works by love is the highest privilege, the greatest gift, and the rarest jewel in this world. Our Lord speaks and says, when the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth? I know most people have got religion, About everybody's got religion, but I'm gonna tell you something. Few people have faith. Faith. Few people have learned to trust Jesus Christ. This centurion had faith.

If you had it, if I had it, we have reason to give thanks to God. Thirdly, look at verses 14 through 17 and learn a lesson about sickness. When Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils. And he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Isaias, saying, himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses. Now, there is much to be taught in these verses, much to be learned, and the lessons are so obvious that only the willfully ignorant will miss them. Let me just highlight some things you're bound to have noticed as we went through.

First, Peter obviously was a married man, so much for the papal doctrine of celibacy. He was not the first celibate pope of Rome. He was a married man, and his mother-in-law was living in the house with him. This man Peter, then, certainly does not in any way reflect the teachings of Rome with regard to this matter of celibacy, as though somehow that were a higher spiritual state, if a man could simply refrain from being married. Paul deals with that nonsense in 1 Corinthians 7.

Secondly, it is obvious to just the slightest reading of this text that holiness Faith in Christ, obedience to Christ, does not secure immunity from sickness and disease. Dear Peter, that man who with all his faults and failings was one of the noblest characters in all the Word of God.

He was a man of faith. He was a man who followed the Master through thick and thin. Though he said to all these forsakenly, I'll die for thee. When he said that, he was speaking with far too much pride, but he told the truth. He did die for the Master.

This man, Peter, walked in his house, and there's his mother-in-law, who apparently was also a believer, as you see her character described here, just slightly referred to, and she's sick with a fever. You see, sickness and disease, the forerunners of death, these results and evidences of sin and depravity, ran through Peter's house just as they did through any other man's house. And they run through your house and mine just as they do anyone else's house. Because faith in Christ does not secure us from these things. It's obvious also that those who are the objects of God's mercy ought to be most diligent in the Lord's service. When Peter's mother was raised up by the Master's hand, we read that she arose and ministered unto them.

I travel a good bit in various countries that have been influenced under the British Commonwealth at one time or another, and our cabinet positions in our government are referred to as the Secretary of this and the Secretary of that. I don't pretend that their positions are any more noble than ours, but I like the names better. They're called the minister of this or the minister of that, because they are constantly reminded by their title that they are servants to the people. They are there to serve others. And this word minister here, that's exactly what it means. It means to serve.

So Peter's mother, as soon as she was raised up off of her sickbed, she went about serving the Lord Jesus and Peter. and all the folks who were there with them, just serving them. I presume that means she did what was customary. She washed their feet, and she dried their feet, and she gave them something to eat and a little something to drink. She saw to it that they were refreshed and made comfortable. She served them.

It is also obvious here that our great Savior, our sovereign Lord, is in complete control of all sickness and disease. It takes no more than his word or the touch of his hand to heal any disease. That's all. He speaks as God spoke the Lord into beings and let there be light and there was light. So the Lord Jesus speaks to the leper and says, you're clean. And he speaks to the centurion, and his servant was healed, and he touches Peter's mother's hand, and she's made whole completely. Our Lord Jesus, our God, is the one who sends the sickness, whatever it is, whatever it is.

Now, you remember that. He may use Satan as an instrument by which he afflicts his servant, Job. He may use some drunken driver as the instrument by which he strikes down one of his children in an automobile accident. But I'm telling you, whatever the sickness is, God sends it. Not only does God send it, God controls it. He controls it. It'll do no more harm than he intends. And it'll extend no further than he has purposed. It will last no longer than he has ordained. And in his time, he removes it.

Yes, we use physicians and medicines wisely because we're not fools, and God gave us heads and gave us good sense to exercise good judgment, but we don't trust physicians and medicines. We don't trust the hospitals and the doctors. We trust the living God. And God removes the disease by one of two ways. Either he restores our physical health for a time, only that we may get sick and die later, or he takes us to glory, and either way is all right. Either way is all right.

Our Savior here demonstrates that he so completely identifies himself with us that he takes our infirmities and sicknesses to be his own. Just as surely as he bore our sins in his body on the tree, He bears our infirmities and our sicknesses. Look at verse 17. That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, himself took our infirmities and bear our sicknesses. Now, the Pentecostal nuts like to jump on that and say, there, you see, there's healing in the atonement. Well, that's not what the text says.

The intent of Matthew in giving us this verse of Scripture, quoting from Isaiah, from Isaiah 53, is by the Spirit of God to teach us that our Lord Jesus is in complete sympathy with all of his children. He who sins, sickness and death, or healing and life, sees fit to do so because of his love for his people.

He bears our infirmities. What touches Bob Pontcher touches him. He's as really one with you, Bob, as when you prick your finger, your whole body feels it. That's how really one he is. He really cares for us. He's touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

And Matthew, by the Spirit of God, here instructs us that the Lord Jesus is genuinely one with us, so much so that what affects us affects him. Now look at verse 16 again. Here is a lesson about usefulness. When the heathen was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick. I am constantly amazed by the fact that the Holy Spirit has seen fit throughout the four Gospels, throughout the four Gospels, he's seen fit to constantly remind us and call attention to the fact that men, when the Lord Jesus was present, they brought sick and demon-possessed and needy people to where the Master was so that they might be healed of whatever it was that they were afflicted with by the touch of the Master's hand. or by the word of his mouth. God the Holy Spirit has done that with good reason.

Now some may think, well, God doesn't need men, so we'll not talk any about this. I could not agree more fully. God does not need men. He does not need men. But our Lord takes great care to commend those who brought others to him. We recognize that God doesn't need us, but oh, what a joyful privilege that God has chosen and ordained to use saved sinners in the saving of other sinners. Now, I want you to see just two things in this verse. We'll move on.

First, understand this, the highest, greatest, most useful service we can perform to the souls of men is to bring them to the Master. That's the highest, greatest, most useful service we can perform for anyone. So how do I do that? Obviously, we can't bring folks savingly to Christ. We can't do that. But we can take these tapes, these tracts, books, literature, take them to folks. And we can use the opportunities that God gives us to invite, encourage, and bring folks to this place where the Lord Jesus is declared and where he makes himself known. We can do that. And we can do no greater service than that.

No greater service. Fathers and mothers, who neglect the worship of God, many women who neglect the worship of God, by their example, no matter what comes out our lips, no matter what we say, folks who neglect the worship of God by example, take son and daughter and all who are under their influence and lead them to hell. Just lead them to hell.

That may sound awful hard. It's anything but hard. I'm telling you the truth. I'm just telling you the truth. Let us, as God's servants, lead those under our influence in the worship of the living God. Bring them to the Savior. I want with all my heart ever to bring folks under my influence to the Savior, don't you? Oh God, don't let me say or do anything to keep folks from Him. Secondly, I want you to understand this too. Maybe it'll kindly inspire us. I've read this book a few times.

And you will find, if you'll read it carefully, that no one, no one, recorded in this book, ever brought a needy friend to the Lord Jesus, who didn't get what he was looking for. That's right, isn't it, Lindsay? Nobody, nobody ever brought son or daughter, neighbor, none of them, neighbor, nobody ever brought a needy soul to the master who took that man or that woman home in that same needy condition. God, what are you trying to say? I'm not trying to say anything. I'm telling you, God honors that faith that brings sinners to Christ.

In Luke chapter 4, when those four men carried their friend to the Lord Jesus. And they couldn't get into the place where the Lord Jesus was because of the great crowd. Then they went up on the roof and started carrying away the tiles and let down their friend in the midst of the crowd, right in front of the Savior. This is what the Lord Jesus did.

He looked at that man and looked at those four friends. And seeing their faith, Rob, He said to that man, Your sins are forgiven you. Explain that. I'm not going to try to explain it. You try to explain it away. That's what it says. Seeing their faith, their faith in bringing the man to Him, He said to that man, Your sins are forgiven you. Your sins are forgiven you.

Fifthly, in verses 18 through 22, Our Lord Jesus teaches us a lesson about discipleship. Our master was not one of these modern, slick, polished, crooked-in-a-dog's-hind-leg soul winners. He didn't deal with men deceitfully, using every trick imaginable to get somebody to say, I believe in Jesus and follow him. But rather he dealt honestly with men.

When a scribe came and said, I will follow you, and one of his professed followers said, I'll follow you just as soon as I've buried my father. Our master replied with solemn words to both of them. Look what he said in verse 20. Jesus saith unto him, that is to the scribe, who said, I'll follow you wherever you go. The Lord Jesus said, the foxes have holes.

And the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." Now, you can just put this between the lines, but this is what he's saying. Now, you gonna follow me? Are you prepared for that kind of life? The foxes have their holes, the birds have their nests. I don't have a place to lay my head. Are you prepared to follow me? There's a man who came and said to the Lord Jesus, I'll follow you. Just let me go bury my father first. In verse 22, Jesus said to him, follow me and let the dead bury their dead.

When we're dealing with men and women, we must keep back nothing from them. We must never enlist souls in the cause of Christ under false pretenses. God's servants are not trying to win contests, they're not recruiting sergeants, and they pay no attention to numbers. Numbers do not necessarily make for strength. Go ask Gideon about it. So let all who would follow Christ sit down first and count the cost. Before any can wear the crown of glory, he must take up his cost daily and follow the master. There's no other way.

What does that mean? Well, it may mean giving up earthly comfort. It may do it. Walter Gruber's oldest son, Toto, last time I was in Houston, talked to me at some length. He's convinced that God would have him to go to Mexico where he was raised engage in the work that his father's been doing for a quarter of a century or more, what's he going to do?

Well, that means you sell your house. That means you quit your job. That means you throw away your retirement. That means your wife quits her job, throws away her retirement, and you take those three kids and you take off to a country where there's no comfort for you, where the foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the followers of the Son of God have no place to lay their heads. That's exactly what it means. Following Christ sometimes requires that. It may mean neglecting ordinary but unnecessary duties in life.

This man came and said, oh yes, I'll follow you, just let me bury my father first. Well, if that's nice, it's a good thing. It's a good thing. Go bury your father, pay your last respects, but believe me, believe me, If I die tonight and something more important comes up where you can be more useful, you don't have to worry about burying me. I guarantee you, give it a few days. Somebody will stick me in the grave.

Somebody do it. It's not a necessary thing. And our Lord is here saying to his disciples, don't, don't, don't imagine following me as long as you allow unnecessary things to interfere with following me. Don't do it. You see, discipleship means Christ first, Christ only, and Christ always. That's exactly what it means.

Sixthly, in verses 23 through 27, we see the disciples with the Lord Jesus crossing over the Sea of Galilee, and a storm arises. And we learn a lesson about fear. They were going across the sea in a little ship, a little fishing boat, and a hurricane whipped up in the sea, a tornado, some kind of a harsh, harsh storm out on that huge Sea of Galilee. And the boat was tossed to and fro, and the waves began to overwhelm the boat, and the master was asleep. And the disciples were scared to death. And they woke the Lord Jesus in verse 25 saying, Lord, save us, we perish. In Luke's gospel, it's translated like this. Master, carest thou not that we perish? Don't you care? Don't you care?

Now, how do you reconcile that with faith? Fear is inconsistent with faith. Fear is inexcusable to believers. But having said that, I've never met a man who doesn't know what fear is, including the one who's talking to you. As inconsistent as they are, fear and faith usually live together in the same heart. True saving faith is often mingled with fear and weakness and infirmity. Now, that's a humbling fact, but it is a fact nonetheless, and we need to understand it.

Many who stand upon the shore, here we stand, we read this story about the disciples. I've heard sermons from it, and I've heard preachers get up and poke fun and laugh at these fellows because of their weak faith, their weak faith. They also trusted the Master.

Well, standing here, that's easy to say. Standing here, look, my feet are dry. I'm not tossed on the ship. I'm not out there in the middle of that sea about to go down as far as I can tell in a hurricane at sea with nothing I can do about it. We can stand on the shore and we can say, you ought to be at peace. You ought to be content. You ought to exercise tranquility of mind.

But I'm going to tell you something, there are very few who would behave more confidently than these disciples did if they were in the storm themselves. The fact is, many who believe Christ and love him, who gladly and truly forsake all to follow him, are full of fear in times of danger. Many have faith enough to cry out, Lord, save us, we perish. who simply don't have faith enough to ride out a hairpin at sea in a little fishing boat with tranquility.

Now that's just fact. That's just fact. We will never know the weakness of our faith until it's really tried. But I want you to understand something. Weak faith is not false faith. Can you get a hold of that? Now, it's easy enough for us to get a hold of it with regard to ourselves. That's not the difficulty.

Whenever we're fearful, we've got a good excuse. Whenever we're being nervous, we've got a good excuse. Whenever we're pacing the floor, biting our nails, we've got a good excuse. But boy, let Rex show it. Now, you ought not do that. What we ought to do is chide ourselves and excuse him.

Weak faith is not false faith. I wrote that down this afternoon and I looked at it several times and I thought I might ought to say weak faith is not necessarily false faith. But I don't want to imply in any way that weakness implies falsehood. Many who have true faith have weak faith that's often mingled with fear. Hold your hands here and turn back to Psalm 56. I believe this fellow here was was a man of faith. I think David knew something about believing God, walking with God by faith.

He cried, be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up. He fight him daily, oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up. There are many that fight against me. O thou Most High. Now listen to what he says. And he wasn't in the midst of a storm. He was in the midst of hateful men.

He said, what time I'm afraid, I will trust in thee. What time I'm afraid, with my trembling faith, I'll still trust you. In God, I will praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. But what time I'm afraid, I'll trust in you. What time I'm afraid, If you have the mature, strong faith of Job when he said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust him, don't despise the weak, trembling, fearful faith that cries out, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Christ doesn't. Neither should we. I give thanks to God for a great high priest who has compassion and tenderness toward his children in their weakness. He knows our frame. He remembers that we're dust. He considers and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He doesn't cast us off because of our defects. Aren't you thankful? He reproves us, but he doesn't cast us off. He pities us, but he doesn't cast us off. And even the prayer of fearful little faith is never unheard or unanswered by him.

One last thing in verses 28 through 34. The Holy Spirit uses two demon-possessed men, a herd of hogs and a group of worldly businessmen, to teach us a lesson about unbelief. Now, in these last seven verses, there's so many things that need careful attention, but you just mark them and listen carefully.

I'll give them to you very quickly. Understand this, will you? The devil and the demons of hell are as real as that door right there. They're as real as that door right there. Then you're just at the right age where kids start toying with the occult and witchcraft and all the silly foolishness the kids get into. Don't be a fool. Don't be a fool. This passage here in verse 28 speaks of these Gergesenes or Gergesenes, however you pronounce it.

There were two of them possessed with devils. They lived in tombs. And they were so fierce, so frightful, that nobody passed by that way. Now, I don't pretend to know much about the subject of demonology, and frankly, I don't want to know much about the subject. But I warn you, the devil is a real adversary to our souls. Demons are real. Only a fool will deny their existence, And only a fool will investigate their operations. Just recognize it and leave it alone. Just recognize it and leave it alone. Secondly, understand this also.

Satan and the demons of hell and the powers of darkness are totally under the control of the Lord Jesus Christ. These demons cried out in verse 29, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? They know there's a set time of judgment. They've got more sense than most men do. And they said, You come now to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them, a herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, Suffer us to go away into the herd of swine." And the Lord Jesus said, all right, go to the hogs. Now we're no match for Satan, and we're no match for the demons.

But the Son of God holds the chain that binds the old serpent, and he looses him where he will. And he will allow Satan to go only where he has ordained, and to do only that which he has purposed. Powerful as he is, the devil is not omnipotent. He operates only by permission. Only by permission.

You read the first chapter of Job and the second chapter, and you'll see the devil coming and getting permission from God. As a matter of fact, the Lord God is the one who raises the issues about which he is going to use Satan to demonstrate his grace in his servant Job. Satan operates only by divine permission, and the one who gives him permission is the God-man who's touched with the feeling of our infirmities. So that Satan can go no further and can do no more than our God has purposed to do us everlasting good. Thirdly, none but the Lord Jesus Christ can deliver lost souls from the power of Satan.

I read of these men and that maniac of Gadara, these men in the scriptures whom everybody feared, everybody looked at them as lunatics. Because they were. It's what Satan does to men. And I remember when I was just like them. Possessed of Satan, under the power of darkness. People who had good sense, afraid to be around me.

But the Lord Jesus comes, and he binds the strong man, enters into his house, cast him out, dispossesses him, and sets up the kingdom of grace right here, and rules forever. Rules forever. I've been reading a biography of William Huntington. I've been looking forward to getting it ever since I found out it had been written. old man that God was pleased to show such mercy to. That's what he's describing. Satan cast out, the Lord Jesus enthroned. That's what saving grace is. But there's something else to be learned here.

Look at verse 33. These hogs, once the demons went into them, ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the waters. And in verse 33, they that kept them fled, went their ways into the city and told everything in what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.

Oh, I want to meet this fella. This man who has power to cast out demons, we want to meet him. Look here what it says. This man who took those folks out of the tombs and made sane, useful people out of them, I want to meet him. The whole city came out, and when they saw him, they begged him that he would get out of town, that he would depart from their coast. Is that astonishing? walked on their shores in human flesh. God wrote that, but they didn't believe it. Demon-possessed lunatics were retrieved from the clutches of Satan before their very eyes, but they didn't believe it. The sovereign master of heaven, earth, and hell stood before these men.

He spoke in their hearing to the demons of hell, Said, you go right there to those hogs. That's where you can go, right there. And they left the men, went into the hogs. And the hogs plunged themselves into the sea. I bet you believed. They believed. You see, the hope of their gains was gone. And that's all they were interested in. That's all.

Oh, what multitudes perish in unbelief, under the wrath of God, for the same reason as these Gergesenes. Their only concern is for money. They care nothing for Christ, Nothing for his word, nothing for their own souls, nothing for the souls of men, not even for the souls of their own sons and daughters. They have no concern for the glory of God, just for what they get in their hands.

They were infected with a terrible disease, an infectious, spreading disease, and you better be careful that you don't get it. It's destroyed many. Oh, it's destroyed so many. It's a disease called worldliness, the love of the world. Let me read one text to you now, let you go home.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God Abideth forever.

Seven Lessons From a Day of Miracles

What does the Bible say about the authority of Jesus' miracles?

How do we know faith in Jesus is essential for salvation?

Why is genuine repentance important for Christians?

What do the miracles of Jesus teach us about His compassion?

Why should Christians bring others to Jesus?

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Seven Lessons From a Day of Miracles

What does the Bible say about the authority of Jesus' miracles?

How do we know faith in Jesus is essential for salvation?

Why is genuine repentance important for Christians?

What do the miracles of Jesus teach us about His compassion?

Why should Christians bring others to Jesus?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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