Miracles Are Not Enough: Eyes Opened to Believe

Summary

The message opens with the Great Commission in Mark 16, where Jesus sends His disciples to preach the gospel and promises that signs will follow those who believe. The preacher admits how much we all long to see such power in the church, and he shares the honest desire he once had, while working among the sick, to receive a gift of healing.

Yet turning to the man born blind in John 9, the raising of Lazarus in John 11, and the feeding of the multitude, he shows that crowds and religious leaders witnessed undeniable miracles and still refused to believe. Quoting John 12 and the prophet Isaiah, he explains that signs alone cannot create faith; the word takes root only when God opens a person's eyes and heart. Notice the order in Mark 16 - first the gospel is preached, and only then do the signs follow.

Through personal testimonies, including his wife's recovery from what doctors had called cancer and a quiet prompting to walk an elderly neighbor's dog that opened the door to her salvation, he urges believers to stay sensitive to God's voice, to obey even the smallest prompting, and to pray that the Lord would open the eyes of those they witness to.

Key Points

• Jesus' command comes first - preach the gospel - and the confirming signs follow those who believe (Mark 16:15-18).
• Miracles by themselves do not produce faith; crowds saw Lazarus raised and a blind man healed yet still rejected Christ.
• Real faith begins when God opens blind eyes and softens hard hearts, just as Isaiah foretold (John 12:37-41).
• The preached word matters even more than the visible wonder; a sign without an open heart leaves a person unchanged.
• God deals with each of us personally - He heals one and calls another home, and both are His good will.
• Stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit's quiet voice; obeying a small prompting can open a door to someone's salvation.
• When we share Christ, pray first that God would open the listener's eyes to see and believe.