Jesus The Powerful Series

Introduction:

A. When you were a child did you dream of having super powers?

1. Maybe you watched cartoons or read comic books and dreamed of being super strong, or super fast, or being able to fly.

2. I remember experimenting as a child to see if I could move or bend objects with my mind.

3. As it turned out, I guess I didn’t have much brain power, because I couldn’t do it.

4. But I think we all dreamed of having great power of some kind, or growing up to be someone powerful.

B. As we moved out of childhood we left the superheroes behind us and dreamed of being someone powerful in the world.

1. Like being one of the Three Stooges or Lucille Ball. (That was the dream for some of you, wasn’t it? Let’s admit it.)

2. Seriously, we might have wanted to be a powerful military leader, like Alexander the Great, or General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, also known as “Stormin’ Norman.”

3. We might have wanted to be a powerful leader in government, like Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela, or Condoleezza Rice.

4. We might have wanted to be a powerful scientist who made great discoveries, like Albert Einstein or Madam Marie Curie.

5. We might have wanted to be a powerful person of literature, like William Shakespeare, or J.K. Rowling.

6. We might have wanted to be a powerful person in business, like Martha Stewart, or Bill Gates.

7. Or we might have wanted to be a powerful person in Religion, like Pope John Paul II, or Martin Luther, or Martin Luther King, Jr., or Mother Teresa.

C. But as great and powerful as all these people were or are, they do not even come close to the power of Jesus of Nazareth.

1. There has never been anyone like Him.

2. The Bible says that He was God in the flesh while on earth, and He continues to be our God in heaven.

3. Now I realize that many here in this auditorium already believe in Jesus and are devoting their lives to following His example and living their lives according to His teaching.

4. But I also realize that there are many here in this auditorium who do not yet believe in Jesus.

5. You may have your doubts for a number of reasons, and some may be justified.

6. Jesus is not afraid of your doubts nor your questions.

7. Matter of fact, Jesus would invite your investigation into the truth of His identity.

8. Frequently, Jesus would challenge the crowd with statements like these:

a. John 10:37-38, “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

b. John 14:11, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe the miracles themselves.”

9. The writers of the New Testament recorded the words and actions of Jesus so that those of us far removed from His time could also become believers in Jesus.

10. The Apostle John says this in his book, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn. 20:30-31)

D. What I would like to do with the rest of our time this morning, is to take a look at the power of Jesus displayed in some of His miracles.

1. And the outcome that I’m hoping for is the solidification of our faith in Jesus.

2. Jesus is the powerful Son of God, and the same power that He displayed while on earth, is still the power of His person in heaven and is still at work in His followers today.

I. Jesus’ Power Back Then.

A. I’ve broken down Jesus’ miracles into several categories to try to group them and show His power over every realm of existence.

B. First, Jesus Demonstrated Power over Disease.

1. In Mark’s gospel, the first physical healing performed by Jesus came at the home of Simon Peter.

2. Simon’s mother-in-law is sick in bed with a fever.

3. So the Bible says, “So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.” (Mk. 1:31)

4. We are told that later that evening, “The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.” (Mk. 1:33)

5. Throughout His ministry, Jesus got the attention of people through the miracles of healing He performed.