The Way Week 3 "Behind The Scenes: Miracles"

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:02

Lift your voice.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

We're gonna do that one more time, just a cappella. I want you just to, if you don't mind, lifting your hands to heaven and sing it out with all you got, come on. Come on, just close your eyes and sing it one more time. Come on. Think about it. Come on, sing it out. Just take the next thirty seconds and worship him with all your heart. Just ask him to just show up and speak to us today. Whatever you're needing, whatever storm might be in your life this morning, God is saying it is can be well with your soul if you just trust me. If you just put it in my hands. Amen. Come on, just worship him. It is well with our soul. In the middle of the storm, we can have peace, amen. In the middle of the storm, we know we have a firm foundation which is in him, Christ Jesus, amen. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Can we just sing it one more time? I'm so sorry. I'm a worship guy and I love it. And so I I just wanted us to do it again, and I want us just to sing it with the best that we can. Can we sing it? Come on. Come on, somebody needs it this morning. Somebody needs it. It's well with my soul, because I know the god Almighty, creator of the universe. We're gonna sing it again, come on. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. I am excited for today's sermon, and I want to just encourage you. Um we've made a post online and and they may already be gone, and if they are, I'll I'll get some more. But um I had ordered uh and mentioned this in my sermon as we're going through the series, The Case for Easter. If you've ever read The Case for Christ or any of Lee Strobel's other books, uh he used to be an atheist, and he used to be a very intellectual person, and and uh uh has all these degrees, and and I can't remember if you read the back of it, it'll tell you, but I don't remember off the top of my head all the different things he was in the world, and he decided to start researching Christ because he wanted to know is this Jesus guy real? And as he began to research everything the world knew about Jesus Christ, he came to the conclusion that there was a man named Jesus, and he was the Messiah, and he did die for our sins, and he was resurrected three days after he died on the cross. And so um we have 40 of these in the information booth. If you would like one, they're free. Um, if we give them all away, I'll get some more for next week. Um, but it's a small short read, and this is specifically just on Easter, and then so it's the case for Easter. And so I encourage you if you have an intellectual person in your family that likes to know all the hard facts and scientific things, grab that and and give it to them, gift it to them, and say, hey, check this out. And so I am so excited because this morning we have a privilege of a special guest to be with us, and and I told somebody if I knew he was gonna be here, I probably would have just asked him to speak. But I'm gonna ask Brother Paul Husong to come up here, and he's going to just uh give you a quick testimony. Can we put our hands together and just welcome him here?

SPEAKER_03 5:23

Take your time, no rush.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

He said, Take your time, no rush. He doesn't know what he just said, does he? Uh my pastor, after uh worship, like we had this morning, thank you, wonderful worship. He gets up and he says, God is good. And all the time, why is that? Because that's his nature. And uh when I first started going to church there, Pastor, I I really kind of made light of it, was kind of made fun of it, but it got a hold of me. And uh I began to, I've been in this a long time, and I'm gonna shut up and let you go. I'm excited about what we're gonna hear today. But uh I preached here, I've I preached all over the Southern Missouri district. I pastored in Warrensburg. Uh, I've done a little bit of everything. And in that time, in preparing for messages, getting ready and feeling the power of God, you know, I found out that I really didn't know the nature of God. And so I'm gonna put that challenge before you in this Easter season, that uh you you find the nature of God, you know the nature of God and get to know him. You get to know him by getting to know his word. And as you begin to take his word and begin to uh to just grab a hold of it and not just read it, but read him, see what he's saying to you, and he'll begin to reveal himself to you more than you've ever thought that he ever could before. That's what he's waiting on this morning, amen. Let's give our pastors a good hand this morning, amen.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Not only have I known Brother Paul for a long time, but uh his son, John Paul, was one of my best friends growing up. We went to camp together and got into all kinds of trouble together, and he was in my wedding and things like that. And so I appreciate that family, and I appreciate Brother Paul just giving us a quick testimony and saying hello to us. And being here with us, he said, I thought about going home, but he's seeing he had five or six inches in Minnesota and of snow, and so he just decided he's gonna stick around for a little bit longer. I don't blame you. So thank you so much for being here today. Uh, we're always so thankful to be able to serve with you and to be around you, get to know you every week. And I was I was able to have lunch with some of our awesome church family last week, and and man, uh I left that lunch thinking to myself, we are so blessed to have such great people in our church. Don't you just appreciate the family that we have here at Family Worship Center? Amen. And so God uh He is the builder of the church, He's the one who is making us into what it is He wants us to become. And as followers and as believers, as leaders, as a church family, He's the one putting it all together. How many of y'all believe that? Amen. And I want to read something to you real quick because I want I want you to know that I think that our church is a special kind of church. I want you to know that I think that you do a great job loving on guests and visitors. And so this past week I received an email from someone who had never been to our church before, and they had stepped inside of this church for the very first time last week, and this is what the email said. The moment I arrived at Family Worship Center, I knew this place was special. I was greeted with kindness, made to feel like part of the family right away. The worship was powerful, the message was engaging, I found myself fully focused from the beginning to the end, and I'm so glad I came and I can't wait to be back. Isn't that awesome? And then God, amen. So God, God is building a church here on top of such an amazing, beautiful legacy, and and I do want to just extend my heartfelt feelings and love towards Sister Brenda and the Owsleys, and and I know this weekend was one year since Pastor had had uh went to the side of glory, amen. And uh man, I my heart, our hearts are with you, and so we know it's not necessarily an easy thing, but we love you and appreciate you, and and uh if we any of us can do anything for you, you let us know. So can we can we just honor Pastor Danny and Sister Brenda? We love them so much. I'm excited to speak um this morning because we're in a series that we've been calling the way. Look at your neighbor and say the way. And we've actually done something a little crazy. We stepped out and we started this six-week series, and what we're doing is we're following the story of Jesus in the book of Matthew from the time he started his ministry all the way to the cross, all the way to Easter Sunday morning when he resurrected. And so um, this is week three. And if you haven't been able to be a part of it or follow along, we want to encourage you. You can do that on YouTube, on Facebook, on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts. You can go on there and listen to the sermons so you know where we're at. And so this is week three of that series, and we are in, we're going to be covering the territory of Matthew chapters eight through 16, okay? And so there's quite a bit there. We've been challenging you every week. If we don't cover a certain thing that happened, maybe that's a great challenge for you to go home this week and read through those chapters. How many of y'all have been doing that? Anybody been reading through as we're going along and read through that? And maybe it wasn't something we covered on Sunday morning, but God will speak to you through those scriptures, something fresh, something new, maybe something you didn't catch before. And so this week is Matthew chapter eight through Matthew chapter 16. And I mentioned this last week, but you know, with the Sermon on the Mount, the chapters five through seven, you know, Jesus put on his teacher hat. This is when they started calling him teacher or rabbi, and the way he quoted scripture and the insight that he shared about the kingdom of God, and it was so incredible and so challenging, and and they acknowledged him as this teacher, this rabbi. Even some were saying that he must be a prophet, but now we are moving from his teachings to miracles. And I wonder today how many of us are like this, where you know, maybe there's some of us, you know, God knows it takes different kinds of examples of his love and his character to reach us and to teach us. And some of us are all about the head knowledge of it. We want to understand it, we want to be able to do the math, we want to comprehend it, we want to be able to have it explained to us and taught to us. And then there's some of us, and I'll throw myself in this category, you know, maybe it's because we're a little bit country, a little bit redneck, a little bit old school. That's okay, you know. We just need God to show up and to experience him firsthand. Anyone else like that? And so God knows that we're this way and our nature is this way, and there's different ones that need different things. And so Jesus begins to show us he can be a switch hitter. If you don't know what that is, that's a term in baseball. That you know, he wasn't just a lefty, but he can switch it up and he can hit with his right hand too. He can throw with his right hand. He goes from teacher to miracle worker, he goes from rabbi to Messiah. How you may ask, by performing miracle after miracle after miracle. One commentary said he begins with a cluster of miracles, and so he goes from teaching to miracles. And so Matthew chapters eight through sixteen is like a reel of Jesus' miracles. It shows what happens when the teaching, the faith, and the knowledge and the power get put to work. And so today we're titling this message Behind the Scenes of Miracles. So we're gonna open up in a quick word of prayer. Let's bow our heads. God, I don't know why you use me, but God, I'm so thankful that you do. And I ask for you to do it again today, God. We go through your word as we go through your word, just help us learn from you as we see your power in these scriptures. Let us see your power here today in this church through miracles. Give us the faith it takes to see healings and to see miracles in our life. God, give us the faith it takes to see the lost come to know you. Give us the faith it takes to say to this mountain, move and it be moved. God, we're believing it today, and we're asking it in Jesus' precious name, and we pray in the church said, Amen. So we're gonna get right into scripture here, and Matthew intentionally shows us in these chapters, 8 through 16, what the authority and the power of Jesus can actually do. Because what happens next is more than words, it's proof that Jesus is and was the Messiah. He begins to show us that his authority is more than just teaching. Matthew chapter 7, verse 28 and 29, it says the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority. Matthew 8, Jesus begins showing his authority through action and specifically through miracles. And what we see behind the scenes is this where Jesus shows up, miracles follow. Can I tell you he's here today and that the atmosphere is primed and ready for a miracle to happen at Family Worship Center? And sometimes it's the miracle of salvation. Come on, somebody. Sometimes it's the miracle of salvation, sometimes it's the miracle of restoration, sometimes it's the miracle of delivery and of deliverance from maybe spiritual oppression or spiritual possession, but it's also the miracle of healing. And it's safe to say whatever kind of miracle you may need, Jesus is that miracle worker. Amen. And so before we get into our first point, I want to read Matthew 8 verses 1 through 4. And it's picking up right where we left off last week from the Sermon on the Mount and all the things he taught us on that mountainside. And so it says, large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him and said, Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean. And Jesus reached out and touched him. I am willing, he said, Be healed. And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus said to him, Don't tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest, let him examine you, take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. And this will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed. The leper did not question Jesus' ability. He questioned Jesus' willingness. And honestly, can we be honest this morning? A lot of people, a lot of us still do that today. So this leads us to the first point. Jesus is able and he is willing. Amen. You see, questioning if the God of the universe has time to bother with us, it's reasonable coming from, you know, the human kind of level. A lot of people admit they believe there is a God or some sort of higher intelligence. They believe that there's more to this life than what we just see physically. But when it comes to the idea of this deity, this higher power, this God that people talk about, people say, Well, I don't know if they have time for someone like me. For the religious or fans of Jesus. They know Jesus is real, they believe he exists, they believe that God can heal, God can restore, God can forgive, but they wonder, is he willing to do it for me? I know this has been a question for several families in our church over the last year and even, you know, recently this past week, dealing with tough things and and and knowing that this thought that God can heal, but is he willing to do it for us? Is he willing to do it for me? The man with leprosy knew Jesus was special. Think about this. He probably heard the echoes from the mountainside of his teaching. He probably heard the gossip and heard people talking about Jesus and who he said he was and how he taught and the miracles and things that were happening. He heard the whispers. Maybe he was in such a desperate state that he was close listening in to on the teachings of Jesus because he starts off asking with the words, Lord. Did you catch that? The first thing he said was Lord. And it's important we start there because if we don't realize who we are talking to, come on, somebody. How can we ever have enough faith to see a miracle? And so the question comes: if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean. And Jesus immediately answers that question, and he's answering that question for someone here today at Family Worship Center. He said, I am willing. See, Jesus is revealing the heart of God. And somebody needs to hear this today on the sound of my voice. God is for you, and he is not against you. God is willing to do what is needed. His will is always working, and God is not reluctant to heal. God is not hesitant to restore. God is still in the healing business. God is not stingy with mercy, and God has a plan. It's important to know that God's plan outweighs our plan. Sometimes God heals in ways we do not approve of. Let me remind someone today that God heals. If it's not on this side of heaven, I can guarantee you it will be on the other side of heaven. Hallelujah. And in Psalms chapter 103, verse 2 through 3, it says this: Praise the Lord who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. As a parent, if my six-year-old daughter is hurting, if she's crying, if she's screaming, if she is needing something, then she calls out to me, I'm gonna run, I'm going to race, I'm going to move as fast as I can and do whatever I have to do to get to her. I'm not going to say to her, hey, I hear you. Let me think about it, and I'll be in there when I can be in there. No, I'm going to move as fast as I can to get to her, and you better not be in the way. Listen, God's heart moves like that for us. He moves that way towards broken people. He cares for you. He is willing. God doesn't just promise to always give us everything we want, but He will do what is best for us. He is capable and He is willing. And sometimes the miracle begins when you realize Jesus isn't reluctant to help you. God's not holding something back from you. In today's society, we have a lot of people who think God's mad at them. Can I tell somebody this this morning? Maybe somebody who's watching online today, maybe someone who's gonna watch or listen to it later in the week. God's not mad at you. You might not be living the way he needs you to. May have made some poor choices. You may have some things in the way blocking his will from your life. You may have made some poor decisions in your life, but God loves you and he's willing and he's able. And someone here today needs to hear this. God is and he was willing to move heaven and earth for you. And I can say that because he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Can we give him some praise today? I want to remind someone today that sometimes the answer to your prayer is found in the asking. And Matthew 7, verses 7 through 11, it says, keep on asking. Don't get tired. Don't get tired of asking for that miracle. Don't get tired of praying for that lost son or daughter. Keep on asking. You will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be open. Verse 9 says this, you parents, if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him? The man with leprosy asks, if you are willing, sometimes the miracle is waiting for you to ask. And we're going to be looking at Matthew chapter 8, verses 5 through 13, where the centurion, the Roman officer, approaches Jesus. This is the next miracle that's recorded there in Matthew. Because his young servant lies in bed paralyzed in terrible pain, and Jesus agrees to go and to heal him. But the Roman officer says to Jesus, No, don't come to my house. You don't even need to do that. He says, Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. And Jesus responds, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. The centurion understood something powerful that Jesus' authority travels further than physical presence. You see, Jesus didn't even have to go to the house, he spoke the word and a miracle happened. Matthew 9, 29 says, Because of your faith, it will happen. Faith is not magic, faith is trust in who Jesus is. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He was there in the beginning because he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Come on, somebody. John chapter 1, verse 1 through 3 says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him, nothing was made that was made. Come on, help this preacher out this morning. Come on. Colossians chapter 1, verse 16 through 17 says, For by him all things were created that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible. All things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. In Revelations, Jesus says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. What's my point? Jesus is able, and he is willing. And trusting in who he is. Somebody needs to catch that. You missed it. Trusting in who he is. That's where miracles begin. So that leads us to our next point. Our faith unlocks the door for miracles. The centurion says something incredible, something full of faith. If Jesus will just say the words, it will be done. I want us to think about a light switch. That electricity is already running through the house, but when you flip on that light switch, the power is released and the light comes on. Faith is a light switch that releases the miracle-working power of God. In Hebrews 11, 6, it says, without faith, it is impossible to please God. I like what A.W. Tozer said. He said, faith is seeing the invisible, but not the impossible. Makes me think about the woman with the issue of blood. She had faith if she could just get through that crowd, if she could just crawl on her hands and knees and somehow get to the bottom, get to the hem, get to the bottom of Jesus' robe, the hem of his garment. If she could just touch a little bit of it, she knew that Jesus and his power and his authority would heal her. This is important because faith unlocks miracles. You don't have miracles without faith. We've learned that Jesus is willing and able, but we have to have that trust, we have to have that faith that he can do what he is willing and capable of doing. Have you ever had someone give something to you or you know um gift you with something? And they told you, hey, have this, take this, this is yours, and then later they changed their mind and wanted it back. Anybody ever been there before? God doesn't operate like that. He doesn't operate like that. He wants only good things for his children, for his people. So when we have enough faith that God can do God-sized things like miracles and healings and deliverance and restoration, and the list goes on and on, when we trust and have faith that he can do it, it doesn't matter if we're at church, it doesn't matter if we're at our home, it doesn't matter if we're at our workplace. Come on, somebody. It doesn't matter if we're in Walmart, it doesn't matter if we're at a family reunion, it doesn't matter if you're in a hospital room, it doesn't matter if you're in a funeral home. If the faith is there, the miracle can be there. Why? Because our faith unlocks the door for miracles. Point number three is this Jesus is the writer, he is the producer, and he is the director behind the scenes. Matthew 8, 23 through 27. The disciples are panicking in the storm. Lord, save us, we're going to drown. And they wake Jesus up, and Jesus responds, You of little faith, why are you so afraid? Then he rebukes the wind and the waves, and everyone becomes calm. The disciples ask, What kind of man is this? Even the winds and waves obey him. Because Jesus is not just a teacher of the kingdom. Listen to this. He is not just a miracle worker, he is the king of the kingdom. The storm that terrifies you listens to him. Your worst nightmare has to listen to Almighty God. Matthew 8, 28 through 32, when Jesus encounters the demon-possessed men, the demons cry out, What do you want with us, Son of God? Even the demons know who he is and what he is. James 2, verse 19 says, even the demons believe and shudder. Here's something so powerful. All of hell, the devil and his demons know who is calling the shots. They know who is in charge. The last few years, if you're a sports person and maybe you like baseball, maybe you like football, basketball, whatever, it's kind of become a popular thing that people joke around about in sports because um, and I'll just be honest, because some teams have been caught cheating, or players or coaches were caught cheating to win or to get an advantage, or maybe they were trying to, you know, make bets and do all these different things. And so there's been this idea and this joke, and maybe some of it's true, you never know. Because, and it came from some teams winning so much, and some players winning so much, but that there was a script that somebody was writing, and that's why they keep winning, that's why this thing keeps happening, or that's why they were allowed to do what they can do. Can I tell you this morning? There is a script, and there is an author and finisher of our faith, and his name is Jesus because he and yes, come on, give him some praise. He is the author and finisher, he is writing your story, he knows the beginning and the end because he's already there. He's outside of time and space and matter, he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. The book of Malachi says, I am the Lord and I do not change. And 1 John, one of my favorite scriptures in the whole word of God, 1 John 4 and 4 says, Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. So as we continue to follow the scripture, we continue to follow Jesus in these miracles, we get into chapter 9, and more miracles are happening. It's almost as if the word got out. This Jesus guy, he's given everybody everything they need. If you have faith, your miracle can happen. And so the men tear off the roof to lower their paralyzed friend to Jesus, and they fight through the crowd and they lower him, and because of their faith, the scripture says, he is healed. The lady with the issue of blood crawls through the crowd and touches just the hem of his garment, and she is healed. The leader of the synagogue, his daughter, dies, and Jesus brings her back to life. Jesus heals two blind men, and Jesus casts out a demon from a man that was possessed. And then we get to Matthew chapter 10, where Jesus officially delegates and empowers and names his 12 disciples. He sends them out on their first mission to preach and to teach the kingdom of God is at hand, to heal, to cast out demons, to do all these things they've seen Jesus do. He empowers them that they can do the same things. And can I challenge you this week to read chapter 10? Because as followers of Christ, he's also calling all of us to do the same. What do you mean? We've been saying this more and more around here lately, but the same power, the Holy Spirit, the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. And the same power that healed these people over 2,000 years ago, the same power that cast out demons in the scriptures, the same power that lives inside of us here in 2026 as disciples of Christ. What does that mean? He is expecting us to work and do miracles in his name. Maybe you won't raise the dead, but you can help heal the brokenhearted. Maybe you won't cast out a legion of demons out of someone, but you can help someone find restoration and forgiveness and hope. Maybe we won't see a biblical level of healings, but we can be the miracle that helps the homeless get off the street. We can be the miracle that feeds the hungry. We can be the miracle that helps bring family and love to orphans. Notice how Jesus doesn't call his disciples to build churches and to build programs and to build buildings. God is about relationship, not religion. He can say these things, he can do these things. He heals on the Sabbath, which was against their customs and laws. And because Jesus makes the rules, like I said, He's the writer, He's the producer, He's the director behind the scenes. And the miracles continue as you read along. We're gonna kind of make a jump here to get where we want to be, but I want to remind you to read those chapters this week as we as all these miracles are unfolding. Matthew 14 through 16 continues the miracles. Jesus feeds 5,000 people, Jesus walks on water, Jesus heals the blind, Jesus heals the mute, Jesus multiplies bread and fish. But then Matthew 16 gives the purpose of all of it. Matthew 16, verses 15 through 16, Jesus says to Peter and the disciples, Who do you say I am? I don't know if you see this theme today, but a lot of what God is trying to speak to us in our faith is do we really trust and understand who He is? Do we have the faith that when we get on our hands and knees or when we say that prayer while we're driving to work? When we're considering all the things of the world and we're we're trying to reach out to God, do we really trust him and think of him as who he is? And in this scripture, Jesus says, Who do you say that I am? And Peter answers, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. The miracles were never just about fixing problems. Catch this this morning. They were also about revealing Jesus' identity. Because if they didn't believe who he was, they didn't see what he could do, they didn't deal with this problem of, okay, maybe he's just a teacher, maybe he's just a rabbi, maybe he's just, you know, this miracle worker, this prophet. We don't understand everything about him, but maybe he's just, maybe he is just human. If they don't deal with this problem of who Jesus really is when he died on the cross, maybe it wouldn't have registered in their mind or clicked. And so Jesus is trying to get them to see that he is the son of the living God. He is who he says he is, he is the Messiah. He says, Who do you say I am? And Peter, probably not even really truly comprehending everything he's declaring here. He says, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. And these miracles, part of the reason they were happening was to reveal the identity of Jesus. The miracles were signs pointing to one truth that Jesus is the Son of God. The miracles of Jesus were not just random acts of compassion, they were glimpses of the kingdom of God breaking into the world. And every healing, every storm that was calmed, every demon that was casted out, every impossible moment was showing us this truth. When Jesus is present, the impossible becomes possible. The same Jesus who worked miracles then is still working miracles now. Come on, somebody. If you've ever seen that, when they get there and they notice there's a person behind the curtain making all the magic and smoke happen, and they pull back the curtain. These scriptures are kind of revealing and it shows us who is behind the scenes, and it's Jesus. Behind every miracle is the same truth. Jesus has authority over all, He has authority over everything going on in your life today, too. If Jesus can take the time to meet the needs of all of these people in this scripture, he has time for you and for me today. If Jesus is the Messiah, if he's more than a teacher, more than a miracle worker, more than a charismatic leader who has a lot of followers, if he is the Messiah, then following him isn't optional. It's the only way. And if he is the Messiah, he doesn't just get our Sundays, he gets every day of our life. And if he is the savior of the world, then following him isn't just a good idea. It's the most important decision you'll ever make in your life. So the question today is this. Because Jesus isn't looking for a part-time follower. He's not looking for someone who will worship him on Sundays and Sundays alone. He's not looking for someone who wants to put on a mask and pretend to be holy, but when they're in when they're in public, but then in private does things that do not reflect the character of Christ. Jesus is looking for truth, sold out, ready to take up your cross daily kind of followers who are ready to surrender everything to God. So that leads us to our very last point. It's real simple. The key to your miracle is the Messiah. The key to your miracle is the Messiah. John 14, 6, our main scripture for this whole series: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. The truth is this the greatest miracle Jesus performs is not calming storms, it's not multiplying bread, not even healing disease. The greatest miracle Jesus performs is saving our souls. Because when someone realizes who Jesus really is, when someone moves from curiosity to conviction, when someone moves from believing about Jesus to surrendering to Jesus, everything changes. And that's why in Matthew 16, Jesus asked that such important question. Not what do the crowd say? What's the gossip say? What do the scholars say? What do the Pharisees say? Who do you say I am? Church, the question is still echoing to us today. Who do you say he is? You're gonna ask our worship team to come up and begin to play something softly. And I want you to begin to examine your heart. Is he just a teacher? Is he just someone you heard about growing up in church? Is he There are people here today who need the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of salvation. Maybe you've been running from God. Maybe you've been carrying guilt. Maybe you've tried to fix your life on your own. But can I tell you something? Jesus didn't just come to perform miracles, he came to rescue people. Romans 10 9 says, if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. So with your heads bowed and your eyes closed, I want to ask you the same question today. Who do you say Jesus is? If today you are ready to say, Jesus is my savior, Jesus is my Lord, Jesus is my Messiah, then today is your moment. Today is your miracle. With no heads, every head bowed and no eyes open, but everyone just focusing in on this prayer moment. If that's you and God is talking to you, and you need to just declare that he's your messiah, that you need to ask him into your heart and your life, you need to accept him as your savior. Nobody looking around, no one judging you, no one looking down on you, just between you and the Father. If that's you, would you just slip up your hand and say, Pastor, that's me. Please pray for me. Pastor, that's me. I need a relationship with Jesus. He is the answer to all my problems. Thank you for those hands. God sees you this morning. And can I just encourage you that He is the answer to your problems? Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for those hands. I just want to just pause for a moment and give you another opportunity. Maybe there's some others who are here this morning and you are needing to declare it. Maybe, maybe you've gone through the motions before, but this morning God is calling you out to just declare who He is. He is the Savior. You need to accept Him into your heart. You need to get real about this. If that's you, would you just slip up your hand so God can see you? It's not for anyone else. Thank you for that hand. It's not for anyone else, it's just between you and God. Thank you for that hand. Thank you for those hands. God sees you today. We're gonna open up this altar in just a minute. I want to encourage you. If you're standing or if you're if you need to kneel to just to come so we can pray for you, so we can encourage you. Before we get to that, I want to give a few more people an opportunity this morning. Because there are believers here. You already know who Jesus is, but you're standing in the middle of a storm. Maybe you walked in here carrying things that nobody else knows about a diagnosis, a broken relationship, a financial burden. Maybe it's a battle that you've been having in your mind. You've been asking that same question the leper asked. I know Jesus can, but is he willing? And he's declaring today that he is willing, he is able, and all you have to do is just ask. Are you gonna ask him today? If that's you, would you just slip up your hand? Whatever the storm looks like, whatever the miracle looks like that you need. God sees those hands going up all across the room. And I want to challenge the church. This message isn't just about receiving miracles or healings, it's about being followers of the Messiah. Because if Jesus truly is the Messiah, then we don't just admire him, we follow him, we trust him, we obey him, we live for him. We become the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, which means something powerful. Sometimes you are the miracle God sends to someone else. Just like he sent out his twelve, that first mission to go and do what they've been seeing Jesus do. God is trying to send you out into your neighborhood, into your family, into your community. Will you receive that challenge? That's you, church, and you're gonna receive that challenge. You're gonna do everything you can to see as many people come to know Christ. Would you just slip up your hand and say, That's me, Pastor? I'm going to receive that challenge, and I'm gonna go like God told me to go. I'm gonna do like Jesus told me to do. I'm going to be a light in the world of darkness. Thank you for those hands. I'm gonna ask for our prayer team to come up. Any any of our leaders here at this church, and if you're a leader, you know who you are. If it's a board member, if it's a prayer partner, if it's a ministry leader, a Sunday school teacher, and if we can just begin lining up across the front of the stage, I believe God is saying that the potential for a miracle is here, but what's even more important than some sort of a miracle is that you know the Messiah, that you have a connection with Jesus. And so I want you to know these people are here to pray for you. If you've been struggling with anxiety or depression or suicidal thoughts, if you're here this morning and you just need to ask Jesus into your heart, maybe you're here and you your family has been going through some things, or you you you have a loved one, maybe you're the person that's been going through the health journey that you're on. I want to encourage you to bring it before the miracle worker today. Bring it before the one who's writing the script. Bring it through to the author and the finisher of our faith. Bring it to the Messiah today. We want to encourage you, we want to pray for you. And in the presence of Jesus, nothing is impossible. Church, did you hear me? Nothing is impossible. All things are possible. And so I'm gonna begin to pray, and they're gonna begin to sing, and I'm gonna join these people down here, and I am believing whatever your need is. Maybe it is you need a healing, maybe it is you need a special touch. We have the anointing oil right here that we can bust out and begin praying for those who need a touch in their body, but whatever it is, he is a miracle worker, amen. And so let's pray. Father, I thank you for those who raise their hands. God, I'm gonna be honest with you. There's probably 40 people here today that raise their hands either to accept you as their savior or they need a miracle in their life, or they are accepting the challenge to be the hands and feet of Christ. God, whatever they raise their hands for, maybe they didn't raise their hands, but they need prayer. God, I pray that we would be bold as lions, God, that we would not be ashamed to come up here and to be prayed for, God. And I pray that right now, this would be a moment that we would start to see your presence and your spirit move in our church. Father God, this would be a moment that we begin to see something incredible happen this Easter season, Father. We welcome you into this place and we ask for you to have your way right now in Jesus' name. As they begin to sing about the way maker, if you are in need of anything this morning, a touch in your body, salvation, a miracle, whatever it is, would you come? Would you just begin to come now? Come on, church. If that's you, would you stand to your feet and just begin to come and they're gonna start to sing about the way maker? Go ahead. And as they begin to sing that, I want us to step out in faith. If you have a friend that's needing to come up here, grab them by the hand, put your arm around them, go with them, pray with them. Come on, let's step out in faith. He's the miracle worker, he's the miracle maker today. Whatever it is you need, he's here for you. All you gotta do is know who he is. He is Almighty God, he is a second part of the Trinity, He is God's only begotten Son, He is our Messiah, and as you begin to just make contact with Him, just touch the hem of His garment when we step out in faith, He's gonna meet us right there. Come on, church. Let's push in this morning. Let's allow God to move in our lives, allow Him to speak. No need is too small or too great for Him. He is here for you today, He is the miracle worker. Thank you, Jesus. You are here begin to worship Him, church. Begin to sing this song.

SPEAKER_02 53:37

I worship you, I worship you, you are Healing every heart, I worship you, I worship you, you are here turning lives around, I worship you, I worship you You are here bending every heart. I worship you, I worship you, oh you are you are we make miracles, promise keep light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are, oh you are we make we make ear it over Promise keep hide in the darkness, my God, that is who you are, oh you are you are we make earlier, promise keep hide in the darkness, my God, that is who you are, oh you are we make fear it for work, promise keep hide in the darkness, my God, that is who you are, you are he moving in mist, I worship you, I worship you, you are he walking in this place. I worship you, I worship you. As these are praying, would we stand to our feet and just worship miracles we're declaring who he is.

SPEAKER_01 56:11

Can you add to our faith by adding your faith with us by singing by declaring? Come on, he is the way maker.

SPEAKER_02 56:19

You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, hide in the darkness, my God. That is who you are, that is who you are. That is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are Even when I don't see it you're working, even when I don't feel it you work in, you never stop, you never stop working, you never stop, you never stop working, even when I don't see it you'll work, even when I don't feel it you work in, you never stop, you never stop working, you never stop, you never stop working, even when I don't see it show work, even when I don't feel it should work, yeah. You never stop, you never stop working, you never stop sing we make it, come on, please Way make miracle work, promise keep I in the darkness, my God, that is who you come on, sing it one more time Way Maker We make miracle work Promise keep I in the darkness my God That is who you sing it again Wayne Way Promise Keep I in the darkness My God That is who you That is who you are That is who you are That is who you are That is who you are That is who you are That is who you are That is who you are That is who you are Just our voices Way makers Let's sing that together You are Waymaker Miracle Worker Promise Keeper Light in the Darkness Light That is to You One more time Just like That You Are Waymaker Miracle Worker Promise Keeper Light In the Dark Come on Let it Get Stuck In your Head Today As You Go About Your Way As You Remember Church Come on One More Time You A Weymaker Miracle Work Promise Keeper Light In the Darkness My God Just Your Voices Can You Sing Real Loud For Me One More Then You A Weyman The Last Time And then We'll End Come On Sing It Out You Away Maker I'm Give The Lord a hand Clap of Praise I'm Gonna Say A Blessing Over Us And You Can Consider Yoursel Dismissed But if You are Still Needing Prayer, If You're Still Needing A Few Moments With God, We Don't Will Like You have to Be Rushed.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:48

But We A Go Ahead and Dismiss in Prayer. So Bow Yads with Me and We'll Pray And Church, Please know That We L. We Might Be Yoastors and I'm Sure We've Failed Along the Way So F and Andy Haven't Done Everything The Bay, But We Lurch. We are here For You. And even More, There is a Messiah, There is a Savior, There is Jesus Christ who's For You And N Against You. All We have to Do is invite Him in. He's willing and He's Able. So let's pray. And I hope to hug your neck or shake your hand as you go out the door today. So let's bow our heads and pray. Father, I thank you for this church, and I thank you for every single person that is under the sound of my voice. I know you're building a great thing here in Versailles, Missouri, God. And I thank you and I praise you. I ask you to be with us this week as we face trials and as we face the fire and as we face uh talking to doctors and talking about situations. But God, we know that you have good plans for us. You are for us and not against us. And so, God, we thank you and we praise you today. Be with your people. We love this church and ask that you just be with your people, give them a special blessing today as we go about our way. In Jesus' name we pray. And the church said, Amen. Church, we love you. We'll see you soon.