Sometimes I meet Christians who tell me that they do not believe in miracles, and that baffles me. I can understand a person who is an atheist saying that they do not believe that miracles occur. Of course they don't, because they don't believe God exists. It's a closed universe. And since there is no God, there is no supernatural. So of course they don't believe miracles happen. That's airtight logic. But for a Christian to say they believe Jesus is God, but that miracles don't happen, that's self-contradictory. It makes no sense whatsoever, because God is almighty, and nothing is impossible for God to do. Jesus is the miracle worker. I'm starting this series, "Jesus: Who Is He?" The first thing to say is Jesus is the miracle worker, because He is God, and nothing is impossible for God. That's just logical. That's not a Kierkegaardian leap of faith. It's just logical. Today is Palm Sunday. Our Scripture reading described that first Palm Sunday in Jerusalem as a massive parade that Jesus led down the Mount of Olives to the temple. People were waving palm branches. That's why we call it Palm Sunday. And as I said in the Scripture reading, they were waving palm branches because that was the emblem of the Maccabeans 250 years earlier, who threw the Egyptian oppressors out of the country, and they wanted Jesus to do that with Rome. The day before, in Bethany, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. That's an important fact. You can bet that Lazarus was in that parade, rejoicing that Jesus is the miracle worker, and He'd done a miracle in his life. As the Scripture said, it was full of people who had witnessed Jesus do miracles, or He had done them on them. Lazarus was in the parade, and so was the blind man, and the demon-possessed man from the Decapolis, and the other one from Capernaum, and the paralyzed man. Remember him? For 38 years he lay paralyzed by the pool of Bethesda, because he could not walk, until Jesus came along and did a miracle. You can bet he's walking in this parade, celebrating that Jesus is the miracle worker. That parade was filled with people who would tell us that Jesus is the miracle worker. They would tell us, "Pray for miracles, because He does miracles." They would tell us to believe Jesus when He says, "Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened." And they would ask us this morning, "Are you knocking on Jesus's door and asking for a miracle? If not, why not?" Why don't we knock on the door of Jesus and believe He can do miracles? They would tell us to build up our faith by reading the promises of God, like Ephesians 3:20, which I read over and over again, often in hard times when I need a miracle. It says, "Now unto Jesus, who is able to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine." Do you grasp that? It says, "Imagine the biggest miracle God could do in your life, and Jesus can do an even bigger one." You can't imagine something too impossible for Jesus to do. That's the promise. And so when your faith is leaking out, you need to read that promise. You need to have that on your bathroom mirror, to encourage you that even when sometimes life is bad, God is still good. And if you knock on the door and pray, you might get a miracle. The Bible is saying that Jesus is willing to do good things in our lives that really are beyond our imagination. Jesus is the miracle worker. Now, miracles often take time, don't they? They're usually not overnight. You need to remember that, because just because a miracle that you're praying for hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it's not going to happen. It just means it takes time. Like to recover a prodigal son or daughter. Like to put back together a marriage that has been broken. Those things take time. So we need to persevere. We need to keep on praying. And we need to keep believing and knocking on Jesus's door. Remember this: sometimes the biggest miracle is not what happens, but what didn't happen to you. Have you thought about that? It's only going to be when you get to heaven that you find out how many times Jesus invisibly interfered in your life to prevent something bad from happening to you. Like a near miss with a car. Several times in my life, I can't believe that there wasn't a crash. It was almost like there was supernatural intervention that spared my car, with my wife and children in it. When you think about the things that could have happened that have not happened, you may be looking at an intervention of God. This morning, I want to describe to you the greatest miracle of all. It's a miracle everyone needs. You need it. I need it. You need it. You need it. You need it. Everyone needs this miracle. And not just once. I need this miracle repeatedly in my life, and so do you. And here's the good news: if you'll pray for this miracle, I guarantee Jesus will give this miracle to you. He will never deny this miracle to you, if you'll knock on His door and pray for it. What do you think this miracle is? Well, before I tell you, I want you to notice a few things about this parade. And the first is: notice that Jesus wept. Everyone else in this parade was deliriously happy. They were singing praise songs and joyful. Only Jesus was weeping amidst all these happy people. The Greek word that is used for "He wept" is the strongest word in the Greek language for weeping. It literally means a cloudburst. It means a waterfall coming out of the sky. It means that you sob and the tears just flood. It's not a sprinkle. And the word carries pain. There are so many tears because of the pain behind it. On the screen, you see a picture of old Jerusalem. I know Jerusalem better than I know Salinas. I spent three summers there studying, and then made many trips leading groups. And one of my favorite things is to go down the Mount of Olives to the Kidron Valley and up to the temple. And the entrance to this path down the Mount of Olives is right at the top. And it's steep going down. It's a steep path, and it's narrow. And when you're walking that path, you are, without doubt, walking where Jesus walked on Palm Sunday. And what's really interesting about it is you walk up this path, and here's where the temple sat. Now, the Islamic Dome of the Rock sits there, but that's exactly where the temple was. They built their Dome of the Rock over the rock where Abraham brought Isaac to sacrifice him to the Lord, but the Lord intervened. It used to be that non-Muslims could go in there, and I've been in there many times, but 15 years ago, they closed it off. And if you go in there, you can see how this rock was a sacrificial place, where the sacrifice was made and the blood drained down. So they have built their shrine, which is not a mosque, over that same rock, where we know for sure the temple was. This next slide is all down the Mount of Olives. There are churches that have been built over places to commemorate significant things that happened there in Jesus's ministry. And this is Dominus Flevit, which in Latin means "teardrop." And the architecture is a teardrop. And it marks the spot where Jesus wept. And you can sit inside. It's really a mystical, incredible experience to sit in there and look out the only window in the church, which overlooks the Temple Mount. And this is where Jesus wept. Why? Because He saw the consequences of their sin coming, which they were ignoring. We are free to make any choice, but we are not free to avoid the consequences of our choices. When we make choices, we really ought to consider what the possible consequences are, because you can't choose the consequences. They come automatically with the choice. In my research last week, I read about an optimist who jumped off the balcony of his hotel room on the 25th floor. And on the way down, as he passed the sixth level, with people on the balcony, he yelled out to the people, "So far, so good." And it really struck me that that is really the mentality of a lot of people. We do what we know is wrong in God's eyes, and the consequences don't come immediately, and our mentality is, "So far, so good." We ignore the crash that is coming ahead because it hasn't happened. We think it will not happen. But consequences always come. And the delay in consequences doesn't mean they're not coming. It means God is being patient, to give us a chance to back up and to repent. Our choices make our future. For 25 years, we eat poorly, and surprise, the doctor tells us we have clogged arteries and diabetes. We're surprised the consequences come. We hold grudges and resentment, and are surprised that our circle of friends shrinks. The consequences come. St. Augustine had this insight about sin. He said sin corrodes us, like a pipe that's rusting. It corrodes the inside of us. And it really does. You know, we're not born greedy. We start to make choices, wanting more and more, and we get greedier and greedier. And the greedier we become, the less satisfied and thankful we are in life. We always want more. We never have enough. And a greedy person who's just wanting more and more is not a very thankful person. And it is thankfulness that is the key to happiness in life. It corrodes us. Or a person is a judgmental, critical person of other people. They're easily jealous of other people. The consequences come. It ruins days. It steals happiness when they should be happy, thinking these negative thoughts. You can never think negatively and lead a positive life. The consequences come. Whatever we are not changing, we are choosing. Whatever we're not changing, we are choosing. Insanity is repeating the same behavior, expecting better results. Do you know any insane people? Sure you do. They repeat the same judgmental, critical, selfish, jealous attitudes and wonder why they're not happier. In my reading last week, I came across this sentence: "There is no problem so bad that some people can't make it worse." Is that true? It's true. Surely there is someone here that Jesus is weeping over today because of the choices you're making. You know these choices are wrong, but you keep doing it, whatever it is. And Jesus weeps, because the consequences are coming. Today is really your opportunity to change. To say, "Enough of that. I'm done with that." Repent and change. What is that for you? And Jesus weeps. Secondly, you have never been loved like Jesus loves you. Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than if he dies for another." And Jesus died a horrible death for you. Do you realize this? Jesus stayed away from Jerusalem for most of His ministry. He only came a couple of times, on special festivals, to Jerusalem. And the reason He made His headquarters at the Sea of Galilee, which is an 8-day walk from Jerusalem, so far away, is because He knew that the religious elite, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, would hate His message of forgiveness and grace. They were into works, righteousness, and rituals. And He knew that they would come after Him to kill Him. And He was right. So He did not come until the third year of His ministry, when it was His time to die, after He had discipled His disciples. John's biography of Jesus, in chapter 12, verse 9, says this: "A large crowd came to see Jesus, but also Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead." Why did they come to see Lazarus? Because he was the evidence that Jesus can do miracles, even raise the dead. "So they made plans to kill Lazarus as well." They're going to kill them both. Why Lazarus? "Because on account of him, many were deserting them and believing in Jesus." They wanted to get rid of the evidence. Kill Lazarus, because he was a living refutation of them. It's no coincidence that at 3:00 on the afternoon of Good Friday, 5 days later, Jesus breathes His last on the cross. And at that very moment, exactly 3:00, the high priest was killing the sacrificial lamb on the temple altar for the sins of the people. That's no coincidence. Because the real Lamb of God was the sinless Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. We've never been loved like Jesus has loved us. It's been said that integrity is like virginity: once you lose it, you can't get it back. Is that true? No, it's not true. Because the good news I have for you is Jesus rebuilds lives. He washes away our sin and puts new character within us. That's the promise of many Scriptures, but 2 Corinthians 5:17: If anyone comes to Jesus, they will become a new creation, a new person. The old will pass away, and a new you will come. Jesus is in the repair and rebuild business. He can take the ruins of your life and turn them into a palatial estate. That's the work of Jesus. Surely someone here needs some palace work and rebuild work done in your life. In just 5 days from this parade, the crowd will turn against Jesus, but He won't stop loving them. In five days, those closest to Him will desert Him. The disciples will all run away and leave Jesus to suffer on the cross alone, but He never stops loving them. And Judas, one of His disciples, betrays Him with a kiss. And Peter, His right-hand man in the discipleship group, betrays Him three times in one night, as He's on trial before the Sanhedrin. But Jesus never stops loving them. The best-selling Christian author Lee Strobel wrote about how the first person he wants to see when he gets to heaven is his father, to be reconciled to him. Strobel admits that he was a wild kid in high school. He was deliberately rebellious against his father and caused all kinds of problems for himself and the family. And he writes about how, on the night of his high school graduation, his father said to him, "I don't have enough love for you, Lee, to fill my little finger." I can't imagine how that hurt. But you see, his father was just fed up with his behavior. He was fed up with all that Lee had done to cause problems in the family, and it had drained the love out of him for his own son. Not even enough for his little finger. People are like that, aren't they? But not Jesus. Jesus never stops loving us. I don't care what bad things you've done in your past. I don't care what things in your past you regret and wish you could change but can't. You have not stopped Jesus from loving you this very minute. You've never been loved like Jesus loves you. But that love is the reason He's weeping over some of us this morning, because He sees the consequences that are coming to the ones that He loves so much: you and me. Maybe today is the day you will do some admitting and change. What in your life are you doing that you know is wrong, and you need to change? And third, now perhaps we can understand the biggest miracle Jesus does. The miracle we need repeatedly. The miracle that Jesus wants to do for us today, if we'll only knock on His door and ask. And what is that miracle? It's forgiveness. For a rebel to be forgiven by a holy God is a miracle of steadfast love. Yes, it is. It's a miracle. It is well known that Marilyn Monroe was so seductive, so beautiful, that other beautiful women in Hollywood didn't want their picture taken with her. Did you know that they didn't want their picture taken with her? That's why you don't see pictures of her with other women, because being next to Marilyn just showed up all your flaws. I've only met one person who said they'd never sinned. I was at a convention in Oakland, and during the coffee break we introduced ourselves to each other. And when he found out I was a pastor, he proudly proclaimed that he didn't need Christianity or this Jesus stuff, because he had never done anything bad in his life. I said, "Really? You've never lost your temper and said things that hurt other people? You've never gotten revenge? You've never been critical and let words come out of your mouth that cut the other person down? You never lost your temper? You've never shut a person out of your life? You've never done any of these things?" He said, "No, never. I've never done anything wrong." I'll never forget this. I said to him, "Can I call your wife?" He said, "Sure. But I've had three of them. Call them all. I don't care." Now, here's a man driving through the darkness of his life with his headlights off. He has no idea of his effect on other people. But three women left him. Clue phone: hello. But so many people have no idea of the effect they're having on you, do they? They have no idea. C. S. Lewis says sin is like bad breath: everybody knows you have it but you. And that is so true. But you know, the fact is, a lot of us here today know what some of our things are that are really wrong. And it's time to change. There's a fascinating new book out about Bruce Ismay, the owner of the company that built the Titanic. The book is called The Sinking of Bruce Ismay. It turns out that when the Titanic hit the iceberg and was sinking, Bruce abandoned ship and left 2,500 people, women and children, on the boat to fend for themselves. He saved himself and abandoned ship. The newspapers beat him up. They called him the coward of the Titanic. He was unmercifully shamed in public. High society would no longer talk to this very wealthy man. He was banned from golf clubs and eating clubs. He was dropped from the guest list of the best parties, where he had been a regular before. He had to move to a remote spot in Britain, to a country house, in order to get away from the shaming that had come upon him. But he could not shake it. For the rest of his life, he carried the guilt of being a coward. Surely I'm speaking to someone here who has guilt that chews on you like a Doberman. You never know when these guilty memories will start up. Something someone says, something on TV, and they start up in your head, and they chew on you like a Doberman, and you wince in shame. You wince. Do you have guilty memories? Would you change anything in your past if you could, but you can't? What's that for you? You know, people bravely say, "Forget the past. Move on." It's not that easy, is it? No, it's not that easy. The good news is that Jesus's greatest miracle is to forgive us. He forgives us in an unforgiving world. When I knock on the door of Jesus and I ask for His forgiveness, I always recite 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. The key word is "cleanse." He actually washes us white as snow. So that memory, you still have the memory, but the guilt is gone. Isn't there anyone who needs to be cleansed this morning? Wouldn't you like to be cleansed of something in your past? That's the miracle Jesus wants to do for you today. Will you knock on His door? And as we pray, ask to be cleansed. Pray with me. Every head bowed. Honestly, what in your past do you need cleansed? Not just forgiven, but cleansed from your memory. What do you need cleansed? You've got to believe Him, that if you'll confess it to Him, knock on His door, He will do the miracle of beginning to cleanse it from your memory. Do it right now. Maybe five or six things. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You. Amen.