December 5, 2004
The Morning Sermon Outline
“The Miserable and the Mighty, Miracles and Madness”
John 5:1-21
I. The Miserable
1. The obviously miserable – John 5:3
2. Yet, sin brings misery to all of us – Romans 3:23; Romans 3:16
3. The misery sin brings into the world includes:
A. Broken fellowship with God – Ephesians 2:3
B. Physical, emotional, relational miseries – Job 5:7
C. Death – Romans 6:23; Genesis 5
D. Potentially Hell’s fire – Matthew 25:41
II. The Mighty
1. Jesus is able to break the power of our misery – John 5:9
2. The power of our misery is sin, but Jesus defeats sin at the cross – 1 Corinthians 1:18
3. Christ’s might is shown in His miracles – John 5:8-9, but not limited to them – John 5:21
III. Miracles
1. They are good – Acts 10:31
2. They are marvelous – John 5:20
3. They have life giving power behind them – John 5:21
4. Yet, they are persecuted – John 5:16-18
IV. MADNESS
1. Spiritual madness is a characteristic of those far from God – Romans 1:28
2. Yet, here we see it in seeming followers of God’s law, wanting the right thing in a wrong way the persecute Christ, even want to kill Him – John 5:16 & 18
3. Sinful hatred masks itself in a cloak of ZEAL for the Sabbath – John 5:8-16
4. Mistakes in one area lead to greater mistakes in others – John 5:18
Applications drawn from this passage:
(1) Be careful in interpreting God’s word, (humble) realizing you are prone to error
(2) Note error comes with pride, with humility sits at the feet of instruction – Psalm 25:9
V. The Minister ministering to the mistaken –
Note Christ gives two arguments for His miracles:
1. It is right to do good on the Sabbath
2. God is working; I am working right with Him!
