Series Intro

• This year we have a guiding phrase “Believing for a Miracle”.
• We are going to teach for 4 weeks on how to believe for a miracle. This series will end on Easter Sunday, when we believe for a miracle of salvation. 

Sermon Intro

• Where this all starts is building your faith that miracles are real, and you can believe for one. 
• The word miracle comes from the Latin word Miraculum, which means wonder, or something to wonder and awe about. 
• I want to define a miracle so we know what we need to believe in: A supernatural interruption or intervention in the natural flow of life
• If you have a river of water flowing, it will take its course, unless something interrupts it and causes it to go another direction. 

John 20:24–31 (NLT) — 24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” 26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” 30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Part 1: Types of people that don’t believe in miracles

1. Naturalist - Only the natural world which can be observed is responsible for all things. 
2. Deist - God created the world, but like a watchmaker that’s finished crafting, He sits back and lets it operate on its own and never intervenes. 
3. Cessasionist - The age of miracles has ended with the last apostles
   1. The age of miracles ceased with the early church because their purpose was only to authenticate the gospel. Once the Bible was finished, God no longer needed to do signs and wonders, so signs ceased to exist. 
4. Disappointed Skeptic - Asked God for something, and really desired it, but was disappointed
   1. Focus on Mary and Martha in their disappointment about Lazarus.
   1. The point of this is to help people see within themselves the doubter that is present. 

Part 2: Types of miracles God does throughout the Bible

1. Miracles of Healing - 
   1. 26 specific healings of individuals by Jesus
   2. 10 in which Jesus healed ALL present
   3. 14 healings by Jesus’ disciples
   4. Watching the miracle of my dad
2. Miracles of Provision - 
   1. 8 times throughout the gospels
   2. 5 times in Acts
   3. From 660 to 990
3. Miracles of Protection - 
   1. Jesus in the storm, God guarding Paul on the ship
   2. My daughters in a car wreck
4. Miracles of Deliverance
   1. 7 times Jesus sets people free from demons
5. Miracles of Rescue
   1. Peter in the Prison

Pause right here and just say: If you need one of these miracles, God will do them for you! 

Part 3: Why God does Miracles

1. He loves people 
   1. Matthew 14:14 (NLT) — 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
2. He cares deeply
   1. Luke 7:13–15 (NLT) — 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
3. He confirms his word
   1. Mark 16:20 (NLT) And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.
4. He receives glory
   1. John 11:4 (NLT) — 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

Part 4: Confessions of a BELIEVER

1. God does miracles
2. God delights in doing miracles
3. God will do a miracle for me