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.
6. Jesus cured people with leprosy. He made paralyzed people walk. He gave blind people the ability to see, and deaf people the ability to hear.
7. Can you imagine being one of those individuals suffering from these terrible diseases or handicaps, and the joy of receiving complete and instantaneous healing from Jesus.
8. You talk about having your life changed and restored!
9. Jesus had so much power that even merely touching Jesus could bring your healing.
a. On one occasion a lady who was subject to continuous bleeding and who had spent all her money on doctors, but without relief, came to Jesus. (The story is in Luke 8)
b. She reached through a crowd of people and touched the edge of Jesus’ cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
c. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” and his disciples said the people are crowding and pressing against you, so lots of people have touched you.
d. But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” (Lk. 8:46)
e. The woman came trembling and fell at His feet and told why she had touched Him.
f. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (8:48)
10. So we see that Jesus had incredible power to heal all kinds of diseases.
C. Second, Jesus Demonstrated Power over Nature.
1. We have already had read for us as the Scripture Reading this incident from Mark 4.
2. Jesus left the crowd and decided to cross the Sea of Galilee in a small boat with His disciples.
3. Just like Onieda Lake to our north, the Sea of Galilee was a shallow lake that was prone to quick storms with high winds and waves.
4. Of course they didn’t have Dopler Radar back then, so they were caught by surprise by this storm.
5. If you have ever been in a small boat during a big storm, then you know how scary it can be.
6. As the boat was being tossed about and the waves were breaking over the sides of the boat, Jesus was asleep on a cushion in the back of the boat.
7. How Jesus could sleep through all this commotion, I will never know.
8. The disciples frantically woke Jesus up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
9. I’m really not sure what they expected Him to do, because they were clearly surprised by what He did.
10. The Bible says that, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (Mk. 4:39)
11. Wouldn’t that have been amazing to see? Huge storm one minute, completely calm the next!
12. Jesus then said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (4:40)
13. The Bible says, “They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mk. 4:41)
14. This is indeed an extraordinary miracle that showed unbelievable power.
15. Who but God himself can create a storm and stop it in an instant.
16. This incident was relatively early in Jesus’ ministry, and these followers of His knew Jesus was somebody special, but this miracle truly left them in awe.
17. Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him? Answer – He is God.
18. So Jesus demonstrated power over nature.
C. Third, Jesus Demonstrated Power over Demons.
1. Back in that same incident from Peter’s house, when Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and then all the people who came from the town, he also dealt with many demons that evening.
2. Mark tells us, “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.” (Mk. 1:32-33)
3. Throughout His ministry, Jesus demonstrated His power over the demonic world.
4. My favorite story along this line is an incident that occurred right after Jesus calmed the sea.
5. After the scare at sea, Jesus and His disciples arrived at the other side of the lake, and where do they put into shore? Right at a graveyard.
6. A very scary man possessed by demons came running at Jesus and the group.
7. The man was screaming at the top of his lungs, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear that you won’t torture me.” (Mk. 5:7)
8. We are told that this man lived among the tombs and that any attempts to bind the man, hand and foot with chains, was impossible.
9. Night and day he cried out and cut himself with stones.
10. So try to picture this naked, crazed man with cuts and sores all over his body running at you, screaming at the top of his lungs.
11. I would have jumped back into the boat and paddled away, and I’m surprised that everybody didn’t jump back into the boats to escape!
12. Jesus ordered the many demons to come out of the man and go into a herd of pigs, and the 2000 pigs ran down the bank into the lake and were drowned.
13. When the townspeople heard about this they came to see what had happened.
14. The Bible says, “When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.” (Mk. 5:15)
15. They were so scared of Jesus and His power that they asked Him to leave their region.
16. The man who had been healed begged to go with Jesus.
17. Jesus told him, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mk. 5:19)
18. The Bible says, “So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis (area of 10 cities) how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.” (Mk. 5:20)
19. So far we have seen that Jesus had power over disease, nature and demons, let’s look at one more.
D. Jesus Demonstrated Power over Death.
1. There are several incidents that show Jesus’ power over death.
2. One is found in Luke 7.
a. Jesus arrives at a town called Nain, and encounters a funeral procession.
b. The dead person being carried to the cemetery is the only son of a widow.
c. Jesus’ heart was filled with compassion for this woman. She had lost both her husband and her only son.
d. The Bible says, “Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” (Lk. 7:14-15)
e. What amazing power and compassion!
f. How did the people react?
g. The Bible says, “They were all filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people.’ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.” (Lk. 7:16-17)
3. The other story I want to tell you about is even more powerful because the man who is brought back from the dead had already been buried.
a. This story is found in John 11.
b. Some of Jesus’ best friends were a family made up of two sisters and a brother – Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
c. Lazarus took ill, and Jesus both knew about it and was told about it.
d. Deliberately, Jesus did not go immediately to heal Lazarus.
e. He did not come until Lazarus was already dead and buried for four days.
f. As you might imagine, Mary and Martha were both angry and hurt that Jesus had not stopped this from happening. They knew His power and what He was capable of.
g. Both of them said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (Jn. 11:21,32)
h. Jesus had allowed this to happen so that He could come and raise Lazarus from the dead and teach them a lesson about the resurrection, and about His power.
i. Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn. 11:25-26)
j. As Jesus was going to the tomb, He saw Mary weeping, and the whole group with her weeping, the Bible says that He was deeply moved, and Jesus wept.
k. When they arrived at the tomb, Jesus ordered that the stone be taken away from the entrance.
l. The people protested saying that Lazarus had been dead four days and that there would be an odor.
m. When Jesus insisted, the stone was removed.
n. Then Jesus looked to heaven and prayed, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” (Jn. 11:41-42)
o. Then Jesus said in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (vs. 43)
p. The Bible says, “The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” (Jn. 11:44)
E. Jesus the powerful – Aren’t you amazed?!
1. He had power over disease. Power over nature. Power over demons and death.
2. Jesus also had the power to know everything about every person He met, He even knew their thoughts.
3. That was His power back then. Let’s finish up by talking about His power for us today.
II. Jesus’ Power Today
A. Jesus is alive and well today. After His resurrection from the dead, the Bible says that He sat down at the right hand of God in heaven.
1. Hebrews. 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
2. Romans 8:34, “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
B. Jesus’ great power from heaven saves our souls, and enables us to live a life that pleases God.
1. Look at what Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Eph. 1:18-23)
2. Do you understand what He was saying there? Because of Jesus we have in incredible hope, a glorious inheritance, and incomparably great power.
3. The resurrection power of Jesus is in us who believe in Him. And what does it do in us?
4. The apostle Paul talked about what Jesus’ power could do in his personal life, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13)
5. Paul talked about the power of prayer, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” (Eph. 3:20)
6. Paul talked about power for ministry, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28-29)
7. There is no way that I would be who I am or where I am today if not for the power of God.
C. Jesus the Powerful One is all we need.
1. Authentic Christianity has always been powerful.
2. Powerful to change the lives of men and women. Powerful enough to change the attitudes of whole societies and outlast political system after political system.
3. The source of that power is Jesus Christ the Son of God.
4. His power brings us hope and help whether are problems are drugs or depression, immorality or bankruptcy.
5. He gives us the strength we need to deal with family conflict and crisis.
6. When we face disease and death, He is right there to help carry us through.
D. I hope this sermon has helped each one of us to see how amazing and unique Jesus really is.
1. There has never been anyone like Him.
2. May God give us the faith to trust in Jesus completely and courageously.
3. Will each and every one of us give our lives to Jesus and allow His power to make us what we ought to be? I hope and pray that we will.
