Thank you for joining me for another edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am glad to be able to post today. We had a very busy week at work. I am tired, but I am very grateful to have a job.
Many of you have been praying about my financial problems and the situation with my house. I am happy to report an answer to prayer. I have worked out a solution to my house situation. I want to thank the Lord Jesus for His help, and I want to thank all of you who have prayed for me about this situation.
For the past few weeks, I have asked you to pray for one country each week where there aren't a large number of Christians. This week, let us pray for the the nation of Yemen. Let us pray that the Gospel will reach many people in this part of the world.
Today, we continue with our series of messages on the miracles of Jesus. While He was here during His earthly ministry, Jesus often taught in the local synagogues. One day, Jesus entered the synagogue to teach, and He encountered a man who had a withered hand. The religious leaders wanted to see if Jesus would heal the man even though it was the Sabbath day. These religious leaders believed that healing was work, and all work was prohibited on the Sabbath.
Jesus told the man with the withered hand to come forward. Then, Jesus asked the religious leaders if it was right to do good on the Sabbath day. They all remained silent. None of the religious leaders would answer Jesus' question.
This made Jesus angry. The Bible also says that Jesus was grieved at the religious leader's hardness of heart.
Jesus turned to the man with the withered hand, and Jesus told him to stretch out his hand. The man did as he was instructed, and his hand was made completely whole.
Jesus' action of healing infuriated the religious leaders. They immediately began plotting out a means to destroy Jesus.
This is an interesting account, but what does it have to teach us today. One of the questions we need to address is the idea of the Sabbath day. Jesus taught that it was right to do what was good on the Sabbath day. Working to make the world a better place or working to help someone in need is not a violation of the Sabbath day principle. This is part of what we are called to do as Jesus' followers. The world is filled with many hurting people who need our help. We need to be available to help others every day of the week at every hour of the day.
Another thing that strikes me in this story is that Jesus was angry and grieved at the religious leaders lack of compassion for others. They didn't seem to care about another person's suffering. Too often, Christian people look down on those who are suffering, and they fail to reach out a helping hand to others. We often worry about our rules and regulations, and we fail to show love and compassion to those who need to see a demonstration of the love of Jesus in action.
I believe that if Christian people would be less condemning and more loving, we could see more people come to a knowledge of Jesus. I think that many people in the world today don't follow Jesus because they have been turned off by the meanness and hardheartedness of those who claim to be Christ's followers.
I hope that all of us can find some way to put the love of Jesus into action to help others. What a better place the world would be.
I hope to be able to publish a book review on Wednesday. We will continue with our series of messages on the miracles of Jesus next weekend. May God bless you. Amen.
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