聖誕節快樂,感謝你來,我們來開個禮拜,我們來唱423的歌,"快樂給世界"。
423的歌,我們來唱一首歌。
快樂給上帝,祂是愛,祂是愛。
請給我們一聲祝福,請給我們一聲祝福。
我們來唱12個歌,"聖誕節快樂"。
(唱歌)
OK,I'm butchering the lyrics.
So again thank you for coming to Shul Foundation Baptist Church once in a night Christmas Eve service. Raise your hand if you need a bulletin and I shall bring one to you.
Let's look at the verse of the week. Of course this is a Christmas verse,Matthew chapter 1 verse 23, the Bible says,
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son; and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us."
Today we celebrate Christmas and of course I preached a Christmas sermon this coming, this past Sunday.
Hopefully you now know more about how to worship God, how to worship our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course Christmas is a holiday, but we celebrate the coming of Christ and the message is really the message of the gospel.
Not about the gift giving and food, you know, obviously we should enjoy in family gatherings and good food.
We should not forget the message of Christmas, amen.
So let's look at the inside page.
We are on YouTube, Facebook, Grumble and X.
So please give us a follow.
We have service this Sunday at 11 a.m.
Sunday afternoon service at 4 p.m.
And Wednesday night Bible study at 7 p.m.
Next Wednesday we will continue going through the book of Judges.
We'll be in Judges chapter 11 talking about the Judge Jeff next Wednesday.
We have sowning time. Actually this Saturday I will talk more about it later.
But we'll have a Sunday afternoon sowning at 1.30 p.m.
Upcoming events this coming Saturday December 27th is our winter wonderland sowning marathon.
As a result of that we will not have our regular 10 o'clock sowning, 10.30 sowning.
We will meet here at 1 p.m. this Saturday.
We'll group people passing out invites and so on and so forth.
And then we'll go out for sowning and then we'll meet for dinner at 5.30 p.m. at a restaurant.
And the address for the restaurant will be disclosed during the 1 p.m. meet up time.
So dinner will be provided by the church.
So this Saturday we are looking at 50 degree weather so please join us.
You cannot ask for better weather to have a sowning marathon to finish the year strong.
Also stay tuned for the events in 2026.
Namely the second year anniversary that would like to take place during the first weekend of February.
Again, still trying to nail down the details.
Chicago, Detroit, Gary, Evansville, they are all planned so again stay tuned for these dates.
Also this is now on the bulletin.
There's a New Testament challenge for the month of January.
So if you don't have a handout, just grab a handout at the front table.
Also feel free to get your own plans.
The goal is to read through the New Testament, no matter how you do it.
If you finish it, just email the church by that due date, so we can give you a small gift.
And make sure you read the instructions, no audio Bible allowed, and no starting early allowed.
No double speed audio Bible.
So you have to physically read the Bible, or read the physical Bible, or just read it on the phone.
So there's that.
Titan Offering is for you to see, please stay faithful in your Titan Offering.
And we don't have any birthdays coming up.
So there's that.
That's all the announcement.
Let's sing one more song, and then we'll take up the offering.
Go to song number 431.
Song 431, Silent Night, Holy Night.
The first, Silent Night, Holy Night. For the offering, please, Father Mac, would you pray for the offering?
Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum,
And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die.
And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews,
Beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this.
For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
Then Jesus went with them, and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him,
Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.
Wherefore, neither though, I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers.
And I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh.
And to my servant, do this; and he doeth it."
When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him,
I say unto you, I have not found so great faith.No, not in Israel.
And then, and they that were sent returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
And it came to pass the day after that he went into a city called Nayan, and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
And much people of the city was with her, and when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came and touched the buyer, and they that bare him stood still, and he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
And he that was dead sat up and began to speak, and he delivered him to his mother, and there came a fear on all.
And they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us, and that God hath visited his people.
And this rumor of him went forth throughout all of Judea, and throughout all the region round about, and the disciples of John showed him of 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 come unto him, they said, John 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.
And 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.
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see?
A reed shaken with the wind?But what went ye out for to see?A man clothed in soft raiment?Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled and live delicately are in king's courts.But what went ye out for to see?A prophet?Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thy face.
"And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God being baptized with the baptism of John."
"But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves being not baptized of him."
"And the Lord said, 'Whereunto then shall I liken the man who is baptized with the baptism of John, to the man who is baptized with the baptism of John?'"
"And to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market place, and calling one to another, and saying, 'We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not wept.'"
"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, 'He hath a devil?'"
"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and ye say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!'"
But wisdom is justified of all her children, and one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet.
And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meet in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster-box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisees which had bidden him saw it, they spake within himself, saying,
"This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is, that toucheth him, for she is a sinner."
And Jesus answering said unto him, "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee," and he saith, "Master, say on."
There was a certain creditor which had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty; and when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.
Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?"
Simon answered and said, "I suppose that he to whom he forgave most."
And he said unto him, "Thou hast rightly judged."
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, "Seest thou this woman?"
I entered into thine house; thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.And they that sat at meet with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgave sins also?
And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
Brother Wade, can you pray for the service?
Amen.You are in Luke chapter number seven.We will come back to this chapter towards the end of the sermon.
Turn to Matthew chapter nine.Matthew chapter number nine.
Now this may not be a typical Christmas Eve sermon,but I want to show you some miracles done by the Lord Jesus Christ.
And to be more specific,I want to show you five miracles as a lengthy introduction.
Then I will give you my main point towards the end.
So this is likely going to be a shorter sermon,because it is a holiday Eve.
And the first miracle I want to show you is the blind see,how the blind is able to see.
Matthew 9,look at Matthew 9 verse 27.
The Bible says this,And when Jesus departed thence,two blind men followed him,crying and saying,Thou son of David,have mercy on us.
And when he was come into the house,the blind men came to him,and Jesus said unto them,Believe ye that I am able to do this,they said unto him,Ye Lord.
So here,this story,we can learn a lesson of prayer.
Before Jesus Christ healed those blind men,he asked them,Do you believe I am able to do this?
And we need to believe that God is able to answer our prayers no matter how hard the task seems to be.
Even if the task may seem impossible to you,but you have to realize that God is able,right?
God is able to do great things,impossible things to our human mind.
You don't have to turn there,but the Bible says in Mark 11 verse 24,therefore I say unto you,
What things o'ever ye believe,when ye pray,don't miss this,believe that ye receive them,and ye shall have them.
We have to believe that Jesus Christ,he is able to do this.
He's able to whatever,you know,he's able to do whatever impossible things that you ask him to do.
But then the blind man said to Jesus,yeah Lord,look at verse 29.
Only after they said,yes Lord,I believe you are able,then Jesus Christ said in verse 29,
then touched his eyes,saying,don't miss this phrase,according to your faith be it unto you.
Because they acknowledge that Christ is able,based on their faith,Jesus Christ answered their prayer.
Look at verse 30,and their eyes were opened,and Jesus strictly charged them,saying,see that no man know it.
But they,when they were departed,spread abroad his fame in all that country.
Go to Matthew chapter 17,Matthew chapter number 17.
We see a lesson of prayer in this miracle that Christ healed the blind man,because they believe that he is able to do it.
Healing blindness,you know,that's a medical feat,isn't it?
But you know,it's a simple thing for the Lord,because he is the God of the impossible.
Matthew 17,we'll have verse number 19.
Matthew 17,verse 19 says this.
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said,why could not we cast him out?
It's talking about a,you know,a demon possession.
verse number 20.
And Jesus said unto them,because of your unbelief,for verily I say unto you,if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed,you shall say unto this mountain,remove hands to yonder place,and it shall remove,and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
And Jesus said,because of your unbelief,they do not really believe,have the faith that God is able to do this thing.And sometimes,and sometimes we lose sight on things,right?
Do you trust in God to do the impossible?I mean,do you really believe it?Then why don't you act like it?
Healing the blind,I mean,that's a huge task,but if you believe that Christ is able,he can do it,and that's according to your faith.
Do you trust God to fix your marriage even if it seems impossible to fix?Remember,God is the God of the impossible.
I saw a person online taunting his wife to send him a divorce paper.That is wicked.Even if the wife is wrong for leaving that guy,but do you think this guy is justified for asking for a divorce?
The Bible says you are causing her to commit adultery.Do you really trust God to do the impossible things?Do you trust God to reconcile your relationship with your children even if it seems like it's impossible to fix?
Do you trust God to give you victory over a certain sin that you failed to overcome again and again?Do you believe that God is able?
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.Do you trust that God is able to open doors where every door seems to be shut?Do you trust God to bring peace in a situation where all you see is chaos?Do you trust God to do the impossible or only what seems reasonable to you?
See Jesus asked the blind man if they believed he was able.Do you believe that God is able?You know there's a famous hymn.He is able.He is able.I know he is able.I know my Lord is able to carry me through.Don't miss the next phrase.
He healed the broken hearted and set the captive free.He made the lame to walk again and closed the blind to see.He is able.He is able.I know he is able.I know my Lord is able to carry me through.
Do you know God is able to heal the broken hearted?God is able to make the lame to walk again and to cause the blind to see.
You may ask how does this relate to Christmas.Christmas is light coming into darkness.Man is blind to sin.Man is blind to righteousness and judgment.But Christ is the key to heal us of our spiritual blindness.
The Bible says this, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world, that's talking about Satan, hath blinded the minds of them which believe not."
These are the unsaved.The only way for them to not be blind is, "lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
See, salvation is when God opens your eyes to the truth.Salvation is Christ healing your spiritual blindness, because God is able.
Go to Acts chapter 3, Acts chapter 3.So the first miracle we saw is the blind see.Let me show you the second miracle.The lame walk, the lame walk, Acts chapter 3.
看著第1個詞
第3個詞說
「現在, 彼得和約翰在祈禱的時間裡走進寺廟裡,
在九個小時內, 某人從祂母親的房間裡被帶走。
這位男人從祂的生命裡走進寺廟裡。
這位男人走進寺廟裡, 已經很久沒有走過。
他們每天都在寺廟門口裡, 叫做"美麗"的地方,
去向寺廟裡的那些人問,
"你去寺廟裡,要求什麼?"
這位男人並不是問求療癒, 這位男人是要求"肩膀"。
肩膀是什麼?肩膀是贊助, 錢和食物,對嗎?
看第四章: "And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, upon this lame man with giants, said, 'Look on us.' And he, this lame man, gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them."
"So this lame man thought, this lame man thought in his heart that Peter and John, they were going to give him arms, they were going to give him money or food or some kind of donation, clothing. But notice what Peter said."
"Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold have I known, but such as I have give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, and he leaping up stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God, and all the people saw him walking and praising God.'"
"So in this miracle, down by the apostle Peter to the power of God, this taught us a lesson of what do you really want."
"Because this lame man, he was asking for the wrong thing. This lame man, he was asking for money. But what did he really want?"
"What he really needed to ask for was God to make him be able to walk again."
"That's why Peter said, 'Silver and gold have I now, but such as I have given I thee in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.'"
What can we learn from this? Many of us like this lame man, when we ask God for things, we ask for the wrong things.
What do you really want? This lame man, he should have asked for what really could benefit him, right?
He should have asked for God to heal him of his lameness, but instead he asked for money.
You know, many of us, again, we ask for the wrong thing. What do you really want? Do you want money or do you want to have your life changed?
Are you asking God for some temporary help when he wants to give you permanent change, like to heal you of your lameness?
Are you asking God for comfort when God wants to give you courage?
Are you asking God to make your life easier instead of making you stronger?
Are you asking for peace without repentance or are you asking for blessings without obedience?
Go to Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5.
I feel like we need to ask ourselves this question.
If God answered your prayer exactly the way you asked it, would it actually fix the real problem?
Because this lame man, he was asking for money, but what he really needed was God to make him able to walk again, right?
So if God really answered your prayer exactly the way you asked it, would it actually fix the real problem?
What do you really need?What do you really want?
See, the Psalmist said in Psalm 4, verse number 7, "Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased."
So the Psalmist is saying that gladness, the joy of the Lord is more important than food.
The joy of the Lord, the gladness that God gave him is more important than possession.
So we learned in our lesson of prayer, what do you really want?
You may ask, how does this relate to Christmas?
Lameness, lameness pictures powerlessness, right?
Romans chapter 5, look at verse number 6.
Romans 5-6 says this.
For when we were yet without strength, that is before salvation, you were without strength.
In due time Christ died for the ungodly, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet per venture for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commended his love toward us, in that while yet sinners Christ died for us, much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
See, without salvation you are powerless, you are without strength.
Without salvation you are not able to, don't miss this, walk with the Lord, just like a lame man.
But when you are saved, you get to walk, praise the Lord.
When you are saved you get to walk with the Lord, even after you are saved you get to walk with the Lord in your daily life.
See, without salvation you are without strength, you cannot walk with the Lord, but when you are saved you get to walk.
So my question to you is, are you lame in your heart? Are you a lame person in your heart?
Are you lame in your heart that hinders you from walking with the Lord?
Good evening, Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8.
So the first miracle I showed you is the blind seed.The second miracle, the lame walk.
Let me show you the third miracle, Matthew chapter 8.The leper is cleansed.
The leper is cleansed. Matthew chapter 8.
Look at verse number 1. Matthew 8.1 says this.
When he was calmed down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean."
So here we learn another lesson of prayer. Notice the prayer of this leper.
Let me translate what he asked the Lord.
If this is your will, Lord, you can heal me of this leprosy.
Notice what he said. Lord, if thou wilt, if this is your will, thou canst make me clean.
You are able to make me clean, if this is your will.
Look at verse number 3.
And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, "I will."
This is my will, be thou clean, and immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
So in this story, it is God's will to heal this leper.
But this also teaches us a lesson that we need to pray for God's will to be done and not our own will.
Notice, if it's God's will, God is able to heal him of this leprosy, of any sickness, but sometimes it is not God's will.
Go to Matthew chapter 6. You are in Matthew chapter 8. Go to Matthew chapter 6.
Look at verse number 9. This is the famous pattern of the Lord's Prayer. Matthew 6.9 says this.
"After this manner, therefore pray, our Father which are in heaven, hallow be thy name."
Don't miss this. "Thy kingdom come, my will be done."
No, that's not what I was saying, right? "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
See, we need to pray for God's will. If it is God's will, God is able to do the impossible.
But sometimes it is not God's will to heal someone.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12.
Sometimes it may not be God's will to deliver you from certain problems, because his ways are higher than our ways.
2 Corinthians 12, look at verse number 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse number 6.
The Bible says, for though I, that is the apostle Paul speaking, for though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool.
For I will say the truth, but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations that was given to me a thorn in the flesh, that some sort of sickness or problem that Paul had.
The messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
So verse 6 and 7 is telling us that the reason Paul had some sort of sickness, some people think that Paul had an eye problem.
But Paul had some kind of sickness, the Bible says that's a thorn in the flesh, some physical problem, some sort of illness.
And the reason that God allowed it is so that Paul could be humble, because Paul had seen a lot of revelations from the Lord.
So God is keeping Paul humble by allowing this thorn in the flesh, some sort of sickness.
Look at verse 8, "For this thing, for this thorn, for this problem, for this thing, I bestow the Lord's prize, the almighty power from me."
So Paul prayed to God three times for God to deliver him from this illness.
Look at verse number 9, "And he, the Lord, said unto me, 'Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee.'"
See, that's another way to say no, right?
"My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly, therefore, will I write of glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong."
So in this case, God told Paul, "No."
So we should be like the leper.
When we pray, think about, you know, saying to God, "Hey, if it is your will to heal me, I believe you are able.
But if you choose not to heal me, I will submit to your will anyway."
Because God told Paul no, because he is trying to keep him humble, because his ways are higher than our ways.
Go to Daniel chapter 3, Daniel chapter number 3.
The Bible says in 1st John chapter 5 verse 14, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
And if we know that he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him."
Now Daniel chapter 3 is a story of the golden image that we have the three Hebrew children.
They refused to bow down to this idol, Daniel 3, look at verse number 16, Daniel 3, 16.
Sherak, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer the anus matter."
So these three Hebrew children, they were questioned for not bowing down to this golden image.
Look at verse number 17, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fire furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king."
So as a result of their refusal to bow down to this idol, Nebuchadnezzar threatened to put them to the burning fire furnace, basically to kill them.
But in verse number 17, they said something that's really powerful, because God is able to deliver them from this persecution, from this trial, right?
God is able to do the impossible, but look at verse number 18, "But if not, if God chooses not to deliver us, but if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
See, because sometimes it's not God's will to deliver you from certain persecutions, from certain trials, but even when that takes place, we need to make up our mind, we will not compromise.
Because if this is God's will, God is able to deliver us from any trial, any problem, but if not, don't compromise.
Go to Matthew chapter 9.
Matthew chapter 9.
So how does this relate to Christmas?
Celebracy in the Bible pictures sin, and Jesus did not come for the clean.
Jesus came to cleanse sinners.
Matthew chapter 9.
Look at verse number 12.
Matthew 9-12 says this, "But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole, these people who are clean, need not a physician, but they that are sick."
See, the holiness crowd, they don't need a physician, but they that are sinners, and we are all sinners, right?
"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
See, Jesus Christ did not come for the claim, he came to cleanse you of your sins and for all have sinned.
We all have this sin problem, we all have this leprosy problem, spiritual leprosy.
1 John 17 says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Go to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7.
So the first miracle I showed you is the blind see. The second miracle, the lame walk.
The third miracle, the leprosy cleansed. Let me show you the fourth miracle.
The deaf hear. The deaf hear. Matthew chapter 7. Look at verse 31. Matthew 7, 31.
The Bible says, "And again, departing from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coast of Decapolis.
And they, a group of people, and they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech.
And they beseech him to put his hand upon him, and he, Jesus, took him, this deaf man, aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears.
And he spit and touched his tongue, and looking up to heaven, he sighed and said unto him, If father, that is, be open, and straightway his ears were open, and the string of his tongue was loose, and he spake again.
What can we learn from this miracle?
See, God is all-powerful. He can heal the blind, he can heal the lame, he can heal the leper.
In the story, we can see that Christ made the death here.
What can we learn from this?
Notice verse number 32.
People, they bring unto him one.
A group of people, plural, they brought this man, singular, to Jesus.
And then Jesus took him, singular.
This one person, aside from the multitude, spat on his eyes and healed him.
I think it's important to realize that we can bring other people to God in prayer.
And God will deal with the people that we are praying for alone.
Because in the story, they, a group of people, took this one man to Jesus, asking Jesus Christ to help him with something.
But then Jesus Christ took him aside and healed him.
So when we pray for other people, God will deal with the people that we are praying for alone.
So are you praying for other people?
Are you praying through the prayer requests in our prayer group?
Do you have a prayer life?
Do you even realize that your prayers for others can potentially have huge impact on their lives?
Because in the story, we see a group of people bring this one man to Jesus Christ, and he took him aside and healed him.
Now you may ask, how does this relate to Christmas?
Deafness pictures the refusal to hear God's Word or the Gospel.
Romans 10.17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."
See, salvation happens when the heart finally listens to the Gospel.
That's how we can hear, that's how we get saved, right?
By hearing the Word of God.
Do Luke chapter number 8, Luke chapter 8.
So we see the blind is able to see.
The lame walk, the lepers cleansed.
The dead fear.
Let me show you the fifth miracle.
The dead raised.
Luke chapter 8, look at verse number 49.
Luke chapter 8, verse 49.
The Bible says, Luke 8, 49.
"While he spake, there came one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, 'Thy daughter is dead, trouble not the master.'
But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, 'Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole.'"
So humanly speaking, I think it's pretty understandable that a ruler feared because of the daughter,
because of the death of the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, because she was dead.
I think it's naturally, it is pretty understandable that people are afraid because someone is dead.
But even though it is understandable, Jesus Christ told him not to fear, but to trust in the power of God.
Look at verse number 51, "And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in,
save Peter and James and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden, and all wept and bewailed her."
So they were crying, they were weeping, they were wailing because this young lady just died, right?
But look at what Christ said, look at verse number 52 at the end.
But he said, "Weep not, she is not dead but sleeping."
So just realize the context, this girl was dead.
They were crying, they were weeping, but then Jesus Christ said, "She is not dead, do not even cry."
But she's just sleeping, right?
Notice the reaction of the people around Jesus, look at verse number 53.
"And they laughed at him to scorn, knowing that she was dead."
So Jesus Christ told them not to fear, but to believe.
And they did not really believe, because they laughed at him to scorn.
They laughed at Jesus Christ, they scorned at him.
The word scorn means to disdain that which is treated with contempt.
So they laughed at Christ, they don't believe it.
They even disdain at what Christ was saying.
They question the power of God, right?
They were faithless.
They are like you and me that sometimes we don't really believe that God can do the impossible.
We don't really believe that God can perform the miracle to even raise the dead.
That's pretty big because killing the blind is already amazing.
Making the lame walk is pretty amazing.
But to raise the dead, do you really believe that?
But notice the reaction of Jesus in light of their unbelief.
Look at verse number 54.
So we can learn a couple of lessons from this story.
Number one, when you come to God, expect that he will answer your prayers.
Don't be like those people in the story.
Believe he is the God of the impossible, he has the power to even raise the dead.
And the other lesson we can learn from this story is that we serve a merciful God.
That even with our unbelief, sometimes God still shows us mercy and answers our prayers.
That's pretty amazing, right?
Despite of their mocking, despite of them scorning at Jesus Christ, he still raised this girl from the dead.
See, we serve a merciful God.
Now keep your place in Luke, go forward to Hebrews chapter 10.
Hebrews chapter number 10.
They don't deserve this miracle.
They scorn at Jesus Christ, they laugh at him, but Christ being so merciful, despite of their unbelief, still performed this great miracle, raising the dead.
But let me tell you this, let's not abuse the mercy of God, because sometimes God will not hear you based on your unbelief.
We need to come to God with full assurance of faith.
Hebrews 10.22 says this, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering."
Don't let your faith shake, no matter how hard the task is.
Here's the reason for, because he is faithful to that promise. See, God is always faithful.
It is you and me that lack faith.
Go back to Luke chapter number seven, Luke chapter seven.
You may ask, how does this relate to Christmas? See, death pictures your inability to save yourself.
The Bible says in Ephesians chapter two, verse number one, "And you hath he quickened, who are dead in trespasses and sins."
See, dead people must be made alive, and salvation is resurrection, right?
You can't save yourself. You were dead in your sins, but Christ can make you raised from the dead again, both physically and spiritually, right?
So I've shown you five miracles from the Bible. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the dead hear, and the dead are raised.
And this is just the introduction of my sermon, okay?
So now let's go back to the chapter that we started. Turn to Luke chapter seven.
Luke chapter seven. Look at verse number eighteen. Luke chapter seven, verse number eighteen.
The Bible says, "And the disciples of John showed him of all these things, and John calling unto him, two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Are thou he that should come, or look we for another?
When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist had sent us unto thee, saying, Are 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."
So here, John the Baptist sent his disciples to inquire Jesus, verifying that if he is the Messiah.
Notice the answer of Jesus, look at verse 22, "Then Jesus answered and said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things he has seen and heard, how that the blind see."
Now you may think this is a great miracle, I mean it's amazing that Christ can make the blind see, right?
But then he said this, the lame walk, and that's a great miracle as well.
But then he also said this, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear.
Now you may think this is powerful, that Jesus Christ can literally heal leprosy and make the deaf hear,
and surely there can be no greater miracles than this.
But then he said this, the dead are raised, I mean raising the dead, that's pretty impossible to our human mind.
That is defeating death, that is defeating medical field, that is defeating science.
Surely there's no greater miracles than raising the dead.
But then he said this, don't miss this, to the poor the gospel is preached.
And I don't think this is a coincidence that preaching the gospel is listed among all these other miracles.
Because saving someone's soul from the eternal damnation of hell is the greatest miracle.
It is greater than making the blind see.
It's greater than making the lame walk.
It's greater than cleansing the lepers, healing the deaf.
It's even greater than raising the dead.
And this is the title of the sermon this evening.
The greatest miracle.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
2 Corinthians chapter 5.
Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth?
What was the purpose of his first coming?
The Bible says in Luke 19 verse 10, "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
1 Timothy 1.15 says, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
And God has given us the ministry of reconciliation to perform the greatest miracle.
2 Corinthians chapter 5.
Look at verse number 18.
2 Corinthians 5 verse 18.
The Bible says, "And all things are of God, who had reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, that is salvation, and had given to us the ministry of reconciliation to which God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and had committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
Because here's the honest truth.
When you are saved, God wants us to preach the gospel.
And blind eyes will close again, right?
Healed legs will be weakened again.
Dead bodies will die again, but the saved soul lives forever.
Go to Jeremiah 38, Jeremiah 38.
Obviously God is still performing those miracles, healing the blind, healing the lame.
But you might not see God healing the blind, but you can see your soul being saved.
You may not see God healing the deaf, but you can see souls getting saved.
You may not see God raising the dead, but you can see the greatest miracle and that's leading someone to Christ.
See, if you realize that saving someone's soul from hell is the greatest miracle, then maybe you should show up at our soul winning times.
Then maybe you should do more soul winning.
Then maybe you should join us in our soul winning marathon.
Say come show up this coming Saturday for our winter wonderland soul winning marathon.That feels like summer.
Jeremiah 38, look at verse number 7.Jeremiah 38 verse number 7.
The Bible says then when Ebed Milak, the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, which was in the king's house,
heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin,
Ebed Milak went forth out of the king's house and spake to the king, that is king Zedekiah, saying,
verse number 9, "My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet,
whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is lied to die for hunger in the place where he is,
for there is no more bread in the city."
Here we see this Ethiopian, that he realized that Jeremiah was put into this dungeon unjustly,
so he besieged king Zedekiah to rescue him.
Look at verse number 10, "Then the king commanded Ebed Milak the Ethiopian, saying,
"Take from hands thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he died."
So Ebed Milak took the men with him, and went into the house of the king and of the treasury,
and took their old cast clouds and old rotten rags, and led them down by course into the dungeon of Jeremiah.
And Ebed Milak, the Ethiopian state of Jeremiah, put out these old cast clouds and rotten rags under the arm holes under the courts,
and Jeremiah did so, so they drew up Jeremiah with courts and took him up out of the dungeon,
and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
So here we see a rescuing story that the king commanded Ebed Milak to save Jeremiah from this dungeon.
We see a typology of someone in here. Who does King Zedekiah picture? Jesus Christ.
Because in verse number 10, the Bible says, "Then the king," don't miss this, "commanded."
The king commanded this Ethiopian to save Jeremiah from this dungeon.
The king pictured Jesus Christ because he gave us the great commission to go there and teach all nations.
But also notice that not only that the king commanded the Ethiopian to save Jeremiah,
what are the instruments that he used to pull Jeremiah from the pit?
Based on verse number 11, they took old cast clouds and old rotten rags.
That's how Jeremiah was getting pulled up.
What do old cast clouds and old rotten rags picture? They picture sinners.
What is a cloud? A cloud is just a piece of cloth and a rag is any cloth torn from the fabric.
And the Bible says in Isaiah 64, verse number 6,
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags."
So God used filthy rags to save Jeremiah from the dungeon.
And, you know, obviously the dungeon pictures hell, right?
So what's my point? It takes a sinner, saved by grace, to pull another sinner out of the dungeon.
It takes a filthy rag to pull another filthy rag out of the dungeon of hell.
Think about this.
It takes a blind person who has been healed to tell another blind person where to find light.
It takes a poor person who has found heavenly riches to tell another poor person where to get true riches.
It takes a blind person who has been made whole by God to tell another blind person where to get divine healing.
And it takes a dead person who has been made alive by the blood of Christ to tell another dead person where to find everlasting life.
Go to Matthew chapter 1.
I still remember when I went to Los Angeles, I went to Seoul with Pastor Bruce Mejia. I mean he was before Pastor then.
And we were out in Los Angeles, Seoul, and I preached the gospel to a young lady and she got saved.
And then we went to some apartment and preached the gospel.
And as we were about to leave, the lady that I led to the Lord waved at us and told us, "Hey, can you save my mom?"
So Pastor Bruce from here preached the gospel to her and she got saved.
And as we were about to leave, the lady waved at us again and she told us, "Thank you for saving me. We'll see you guys in heaven."
That's pretty amazing, right?
I still remember when I was living in my old apartment, I knocked on a door and the lady named Megan opened the door.
She did not have time like many people, so I just told her, "Can I just leave you with one verse?"
So after the one verse, I asked her, "Hey, do you want to hear more?" And then she said yes, so I prayed the gospel to her and she got saved.
And since she's super, super receptive, and I start talking more about the Bible, and I realized that she was living in fornication, she was living an ungodly lifestyle.
So I just told her fornication is wrong, and she ended up breaking up with her boyfriend. Hey, praise the Lord.
And Matt and I, we went to Chicago, where Matt preached the gospel to a tattooed guy with all the whatever symbols, right?
And he got saved. And then he rode on his bike on the streets in the ghetto, yelling, "Those guys who are the real deal, I just got saved."
Pretty amazing. You know, several weeks ago, I was in Evansville, and I preached the gospel to a boy named Levi.
You know, after he got saved, he was walking in front of me, and I was wondering, "What is he trying to do?"
But he just wanted to give me a hug, because he just got saved.
See, here's my point. We as soul winners, we witnessed the greatest miracle performed over and over and over again.
See, the whole point of the sermon is, we may not see the blind getting healed. We may not see the lame able to walk again.
After this, you know, these miracles still happen. You may not see the lepers getting cleansed and the dead raised, but we can see the greatest miracle.
Sinners saved and lives changed.
In Matthew chapter 1, look at verse 21. Matthew 1.21 says this.
And she shall bring forth a son, and I shall call his name Jesus, for that's the purpose of his coming, for he shall save his people from their sins.
That's the purpose of Christmas, right?
So I hope you will realize that the main purpose of Christmas is preaching the gospel, is to perform the greatest miracle.
The miracle of Christmas is not about a manger. The miracle of Christmas is God's mercy to save the lost, and that's the greatest miracle.
Let's pray. Thank you Lord for sending your son Jesus Christ to die for us, so we can witness the greatest miracle over and over again.
Well, I pray that you'll empower us to do more for you, but I pray that we'll have a great Christmas, that we enjoy the fellowship and the food, and I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
在每个人的心中,都传出新闻,而在波浪中,也传出哀悼。
耶稣说,耶稣说,在波浪中哭了。
耶稣说,耶稣说,向那些诸子,在海洋上唱歌。
耶稣说,耶稣说,在海洋上唱歌。
在海洋上哭了。
耶稣说,耶稣说,在那些诸子,在海洋上唱歌。