There are Two Kinds of People in the World

Introduction:

“There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't.”
Quote from Bob ‘Bobby’ Wiley, played by Bill Murray, in the movie “What About Bob?” (Touchstone Pictures, 1991).

It is true that there are two kinds of people in this world. There are those who believe in miracles, and there are those who deny the existence of miracles. There are those who believe in the supernatural, and those who deny it. There are those who have faith in a supernatural God who is able to work miracles, and who have experienced his miracle working power within themselves. And there are those who do not have such faith, and no nothing of God’s power.

I would turn your attention to the Bible at this time.

In fact, the Scriptures speak of there being two kinds of people in the world!
“He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” (Mt. 12:30)
“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”
(Mt. 25:32-33)
“...children of light...children of darkness” (Eph. 5:6-11)
“...children of God...children of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:10)

The Bible is a Book of Miracles from beginning to end. There are those who believe this, and those who do not.

The Miracle of Creation

It begins with the great miracle of creation. Oh, yes, this was a miracle despite was is commonly taught and proclaimed as fact in falsely so-called scientific circles, in textbooks, and is schools. We find the words, “And God said...” ten times in the first chapter of Genesis. Often this is followed by the words “...and it was so.”

Genesis 1:3 - And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
[6] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. [7] And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
[9] And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
[11] And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
[14] And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: [15] And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
[24] And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

God spoke. And it was so. His Word has the power to create, to create out of nothing, to call into existence. When we speak of creation we speak of it as a miracle sourced in His creative Word.

The Bible ends with another great miracle, that of the destruction of this world, and its replacement, its renewal into the New Heavens and the New Earth. Revelation 21:1-8. God will speak once again, and it will be so. There were no unbelievers present for the first great miracle. There will be no place for them in the last. The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who believe this, and those who do not.

The Miracle of Christ

The Bible is centered on a series of great miracles that focus on the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Just as creation itself His time on this earth began and ended with great miracles. His birth as the Son of Man is a miracle - the great miracle of the Incarnation. His victory of sin and death in the great miracle of the Resurrection brought about the end of His time as Son of Man on this earth in the Ascension. The world is divided into two groups: those who believe in Him and those who do not.

The Miracles of Christ

Throughout His life He showed Who He was and demonstrated His power as God by working many miracles. These miracles performed by the Lord Jesus Christ spanned a variety of realms and subjects. The first of these was his turning of water into wine at a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. However, if you are into grading miracles you might agree that few would characterize this miracle as His greatest. The fascination of many with this miracle seems to have more to do with the wine, than with the point of the miracle itself – that of testifying to Christ’s power over creation.

You will remember that at creation God spoke and it was so. It is always so, but it seems to be especially so at certain times in the Bible with regard to miracles.

The resuscitation of Lazarus

Read John 11:1-21

These were folks who believed in miracles. They were well aware of Christ’s miracle working power. They had seen Him show Who He was. They had experienced the supernatural, and fully expected Him to do more. They were actually very disappointed that He had not come to their home in time to perform a miracle of healing on their brother and friend before He died of His sickness.

My “trail name” or nickname on the Appalachian Trail is “Overkill”. This is due to the fact that I carry lots of extra stuff, adding up to what my daughters feel is too much weight. There are, however, those who would assert that, “Overkill is underrated.” This is actually a line from the new movie “A-Team” produced by Twentieth Century Fox. COL “Hannibal” Smith said this in that movie. I like that. What does that have to do with anything? It has to do with Jesus Christ Himself! I would like to use that line with regards to Christ Himself. Christ is underrated! Christ is underrated. He is even underrated by those who say they believe in Him, and who know that He can and does perform powerful miracles.

Read John 11:22-45

Conclusion:

There are two, and only two, kinds of people in the world today. There are those who believe that the Bible is a book of miracles from beginning to end, and those who don’t. There are those who believe in miracles, in God’s supernatural, miracle-working power, and those who don’t. There are those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and those who don’t. Which of these two groups do you fall into, and don’t say neither, because there is no gray area, no middle ground here. There is no “neither”! It is one or the other. Are you here today as one who cannot confess a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who does not believe He did miracles, who denies the miracle of creation itself? Are you someone who hears the Bible, who knows what it says, but who cannot subscribe to a belief in the Bible as a “Book of Miracles”? Are you one of the two kinds of people who denies the existence of a supernatural God, or who denies His miracle working power? If so, perhaps you need to ask yourself, “Why?” What keeps you from taking God at His Word, and believing in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and confessing Him as your Savior?

The Miracle of Regeneration, of the New Birth

2 Cor. 4:3-7 – [3] But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: [4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. [5] For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. [6] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [7] But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 1

Q.1: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A.1: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death,[1] am not my own,[2] but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ,[3] who with His precious blood [4] has fully satisfied for all my sins,[5] and redeemed me from all the power of the devil;[6] and so preserves me [7] that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head;[8] indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation.[9] Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life,[10] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him.[11]

Is this your only comfort in life and in death?

Footnotes:

1. Rom. 14:7 8
2. I Cor. 6:19
3. I Cor. 3:23
4. I Peter 1:18 19
5. I John 1:7; 2:2
6. I John 3:8
7. John 6:39
8. Matt. 10:29 30; Luke 21:18
9. Rom. 8:28
10. II Cor. 1:21 22; Eph. 1:13 14; Rom. 8:16
11. Rom. 8:1

[This sermon was preached by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery during a funeral service on January 6, 2011, and at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA on January 9, 2011.]