Miracles are Evidence of Faith and God's Power: Matthew 8-9; Mark 2

Miracles Are Evidence of Faith and God’s Power

Matthew 8-9; Mark 2

 

Reference	Miracles of the Lord	Who Demonstrated Faith
Matthew 8:1-4	Healed a leper and made him clean   Video:  https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-11-41-chapter-37-the-ten-lepers?lang=eng	The Leper
Matthew 8:5-13	Healed the centurions’ servant from palsy. Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21YUtIfCqGM	The centurion
Matthew 8:14-15	Healed Peter’s wife’s mother who was sick with a fever.   Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaBYU53e0_k	Peter’s wife’s mother
Matthew 8:16	Cast out spirits video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Shp4cseFSk	The many who had the spirits cast out of them
​​  Matthew 8:23-27	Calmed the sea’s tempest   video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj0cVBYKaEg	The disciples in the ship
Matthew 8:28-34	Cast out devils video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqnE3EY3BRI	The two who asked him to cast the devils out
Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34	Woman healed from an issue with blood video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSoijT7tQlU	The woman who had the issue
Matthew 9:27-31	Made blind men see Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHBo7ka3YZQ	The blind men
Mark 2:1-12	Healed a man with palsy   Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21RhHjWrw_I	Palsy man and those that brought him

When I know that Christ is capable of healing all of these infirmities in man; infirmities that many educated medical Doctors cannot heal today, then it lets me know that in the hereafter we will not be burden with those ills including the ills I have today.  It gives me peace that there is a brighter future because God can heal anything.

When you read that he could heal a blind man or someone with palsy without scalpels or surgery tools or medicines but just by a touch then what more is he capable of?

There is a lot of debate today whether Jesus really was the Christ or just a prophet but when you read about the miracles he performed it bears testimony to you that he had to be the Savior and the Christ; who else could have done what he did?

01 Christ's early ministry

John 1:35-51; Matthew 4:17-25; Early Disciples
Name	How They Learned about Jesus Christ	What they did after they met Jesus Christ
2 Disciples (One of them was Andrew - Simon Peter's brother)	John the Baptized said to the disciples "Behold the Lamb of God"	Followed Jesus and asked where he dwellest. Then they followed him and stayed with him for the day. Andrew first findeth his own brother Simon and told him that he found the Messias then he followed.
Simon	His brother Andrew told him that they had found the Messias or Christ then brought him to Jesus.	Jesus spoke to him and said "Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."
Phillip	Jesus found him	Jesus asked him to follow him. Philip went and found Nathanael and told him that they had found "him". Then they found Jesus and went to him.
Nathanael	Phillip told him about Jesus	He went to find Jesus. Jesus saw him coming and said "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile" and Nathaneal questioned how he knew him. Nathanael said to Jesus "Rabbi, thou are the Son of God; thou are the King of Israel."
Simon called Peter	Jesus came to them	Jesus told them to follow him and become fishers of men and they left their nets and did
Andrew Simon's brother	Jesus came to them	Jesus told them to follow him and become fishers of men and they left their nets and did
James son of Zebedee	Jesus came to them	Ask them to follow him and they immediately left their ships
John James brother	Jesus came to them	Ask them to follow him and they immediately left their ships

Those that believed in Christ followed him immediately or they told someone about Christ and took them with them and followed Christ.

Andrew and Phillip both left what they were doing to follow Jesus. In John1:41 it says that Andrew first went and found his brother Simon then followed Jesus.  In John 1:45 It says that Phillip first went and got his brother Nathanael and then went to Jesus.  Once they found Jesus they wanted to share that news.  Some went straight way with Christ and others found their family members and took them with them.  Eventually all told their friends and family. It is called missionary work.

My parents joined the church when I was a girl.  My mother was the first in her family and my father the second.  My father’s sister had joined first and took the good news to her brother, my dad.  One by one each of the six siblings in my father’s family joined and eventually his own mother joined also.  My mother did not have as good of success on this earth, but she has done a lot of genealogy work for those that have died.  Through inspiration we know many have accepted the good news. 

I will have to say that my great grandmother was not so happy that we had joined the church but just 6 months before she died she took the lessons and joined.  It took several people in the font to baptize her as she was crippled at the time.  She told my mother that she would not live long enough to do her own temple work and asked her to have it done when she died.  It has been a great honor to do some of my grandparents work in the temple.

When we find the true gospel and we see how much it enriches our lives then we desire to share that message to our family and friends and to anyone in the world who will listen.  When you have a true testimony you now see the world differently and you don’t want to see any of God’s children miss out on such a great opportunity.  I know D&C 88 uses the word ‘warn’ but I like to see it as ‘share’ instead.

I feel the same way the disciples felt and my parents felt: I desire to share the message with my friends and often I look for ways to do that.  My husband and I are also preparing for a couples mission in about three years now and I have worked to help my children gain testimony of the gospel so they can share it with their friends someday.  A couple of my boys did go on a mission and all of my children seem to be willing and open to share with their friends along with raising their children in the gospel now. We are blessed, as a family, to have two grandchildren out on missions sharing the good news.