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Believing is Seeing
16 Plays13 days ago
John 4:27-54
Recommended
Transcript
A Distressing Call and Hospital Visit
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We received a call, Kim and I,
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many years ago, and it was a frantic call from our second oldest daughter, the kind of call you never want to get in the middle of the night from from one of your kids.
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She was out with some friends. They were driving on a golf cart. come The person who was driving the golf cart was intoxicated, and they flipped the golf cart.
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And she had no shoes on. She was wearing a tank top and shorts. And the call was a immediately get in the car, she's in the hospital.
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It's one of those those type of situations. I can still vividly remember it, I was quite shaken. So I just put a note to myself this morning in the introduction to start today's survey, believe or not, is have you ever been in one of those type of waiting rooms where you rush to the ER and your loved one is waiting in there, and the doctors rush them off for surgery.
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And if you've ever been in one of those waiting rooms, it's apropos that name, because that's all you do is wait there. It's the most uncomfortable room you could ever be in.
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The TV is on, but nobody's watching it. The coffee is made, but nobody's drinking it. Everybody's talking and whispers, and every time the door opens up, every head turns, and they're looking to see if it's the doctor, their doctor, to come out.
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And eventually when that doctor does come, he simply just says this, they're going to be okay. Just those simple words put you at ease.
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Now technically nothing has changed visibly, right? This doctor has simply come out and he said, your loved one is going to be okay. You don't know anything for certain, yet everything changes because of that
Faith Before Knowing Outcomes
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one thing. You've trusted the word of someone you know to be trustworthy.
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Before you ever saw the outcome, you believed that promise of that doctor that everything was going to be okay. Brothers sisters, this one of the hardest realities of the Christian life, believing the promise before we know the outcome.
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If we're honest with ourselves, most of us would prefer just the opposite. We want to see first and then believe.
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We want to but obey after the outcome is already guaranteed. We want to trust after everything is worked out for our benefit. But all throughout John's Gospel, Jesus keeps inviting us to a different type of faith.
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It's not a faith after sight, but a faith before sight. And today's passage is two seemingly strange and separate stories, but they teach the exact same message, the exact same lesson.
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The first story involves the Samaritan village. and the second involves a desperate father. One comes to faith gradually, and the other's faith is stretched, if I can use that, beyond its breaking point.
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Yet both stories you'll see today answer this one important question, what does genuine faith look like? That's a question you and I as as brothers and sisters in Christ must struggle with.
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Will you trust God before you see his work in your life? Will you believe first and see later?
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If you'll remember, Kim reminded me, it's been three weeks, not two, that we've been in the book of John. We last left this story with the Samaritan woman at the well. Do you all remember this story?
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If you do, shake your heads. Yeah.
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
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Jesus comes to this lady and says, if you'd only know who who I am. And by the end of that conversation, he says, I am the Messiah.
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The first revelation of Jesus to anyone that he is the Messiah is to a Samaritan woman. Isn't that interesting?
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Let's pick up this story, interesting enough, here in verse chapter 4.
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Verse 26 says, Then Jesus told her, I am the Messiah. 27 says, And just then the disciples came back. And they were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, What do you want with her? Or why are you talking to her?
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And the woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone. Verse 29, If she only had a t-shirt.
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Come and see a man who has told me everything I've ever did. Could he possibly be the Messiah? And so the people came streaming from the village to see him.
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It's an interesting turn of events at the end of this story. John tells us just then the disciples come back and they are shocked. Remember we talked at the early part of chapter four.
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She's a Samaritan, she's a woman, she's got this sketchy moral background. Every cultural barrier said this conversation should never have taken place, but yet Jesus goes out of his way to break down those barriers, to meet this woman, to cross those paths, to say to her, look at who I am.
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She's in disbelief. Could this possibly be the Messiah? So much so, Mark gives us this little detail. You may look right over verse 28 if you want underline it.
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The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village. It's an interesting little detail that the author gives us here. Why mention the jar? Well, it symbolizes why she originally came to the well.
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She came looking for water, yet she left with something infinitely greater.
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That jar had been so important just moments later, she was taking it to get water, but yet after she had this encounter with Jesus, suddenly that jar became significantly insignificant.
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You ever gone to the grocery store before for one item? Milk, eggs, something like that. And in the middle of your shopping, you get that call.
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Family member, car accident. A diagnosis from the doctor. And suddenly, you care less about that milk for those eggs.
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That grocery list has become irrelevant. I'll but get that word out. Irrelevant. because something far more important has captured your attention.
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This is what's happening at Jacob's well. She came carrying this empty jar, but she left carrying living hope, and says she ran back to tell the village.
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I put a note to myself. Notice Jesus never says, now here's your evangelism training course I'd like for you to practice on your community.
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Here's how want you to win souls and influence people. That's not what he says. He simply has this encounter with her and she has changed so radically that she has to go back and tell her community.
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Reminds us of what Paul writes to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 5, 17. He says, anyone who belongs to Christ has now become this new person.
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What's important about that transformation? Well, once you become new, you never go back to being the old. And you can't wait to tell somebody about that transformation.
Nourishment in Obedience
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Look at the one who made me new.
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This is what this lady goes back and tells the rest of her community. And I put to myself, if we think about our community for a second, how many of us know here in Cameron who goes to what churches?
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We all have friends that go to different churches and you know which neighbors of yours don't go to church. You know what family members you have that don't go to church. I put to myself as a point of quick application, what if we simply put all of that aside and said, Monday, day I'm gonna start reaching out to those people, sharing with them who Jesus is.
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It's not some big, huge testimony you have to give. It's simply, I met Jesus who radically changed my life. Let me give you a suggestion. Wear this shirt.
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Come and see.
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necessarily come and see First Baptist Church Cameron. Come and see Jesus who radically changed my life. Friends, the greatest witness you'll ever have is simply telling somebody how Jesus changed your life.
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It's not fancy. Now it says, while the woman is running back into town, John intentionally shifts our attention now from this conversation
Spiritual Readiness and Sharing Testimonies
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to the disciples. It can seem like kind of a weird interlude, if you will.
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Look here with me. It says, meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, Rabbi, eat something. But Jesus replied, I have a kind of food you know nothing about.
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I like the disciples here. Did someone bring him food while we were gone?
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Then Jesus explained, My nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me and from finishing his work. You know the saying, four months have been planning the harvest.
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But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life.
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What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike? You know the saying, one plants and another harvest, and it's true. I sent you to harvest where you did not plant. Others had already done the work, and now you will get to harvest.
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You will get to gather that harvest.
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Jesus saying, as this lady is running back to tell her community, look what Jesus has done. We're going to see the result of that testimony here just a second, but this little excerpt is inserted right here by John.
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And he says, my nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me and from finishing his work. This word will is thelema in the Greek, right? It comes from this meaning of a deep desire or a predetermined plan by God.
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Jesus' deepest satisfaction here is not found in food or water, but through obedience. You'll remember back in verse 6, it says Jesus was tired and he got there. He was thirsty. He was weary from his travel. He was hungry.
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But yet this inner woven story of this lady here, he takes a pause and he says, I want to talk to this broken woman. My exhaustion can give way for a moment.
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have a greater refreshment that's going on as long as I'm obedient to the will of God.
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I put as a note to myself, Christ often strengthens us when we comfort other people.
Superficial Belief vs. Genuine Faith in Galilee
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When you're tired and exhausted and you go out of your way to comfort somebody else, God, I believe, double blesses you.
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We see this result of this Samaritan woman going back to her community where the fields are ripe. Jesus says, look, verse 35, look around, these fields are already ripe.
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These people are ready to go. you simply have to share your testimony with them. God's already prepared their hearts. Disciples simply had to notice. But if you're the disciple, the last person you want to go share the good news with is the Samaritans.
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They saw them as spiritually barren, unworthy. But yet Jesus saw a mission field ripe for the taking. When everybody else is overlooked, Jesus is recognized.
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These people are ready for a harvest. You simply need to go out and share the gospel. Go out and share the good news.
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Go to Rockdale.
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That's Samaritan. That's Samaria for you people here in Cameron.
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How many folks do we know at different churches that are really struggling right now at that church? be Wouldn't it be a great invitation if you simply said, hey, come and see what's going on over here at First Baptist Church.
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I don't believe anybody is set at any particular church here. I don't believe, you just because they're Methodist or whatever here. Brothers sisters, reach out to these folks.
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We're doing something different here at First Baptist Church. We're actually sticking real close to the Bible. People are hungry for that.
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What if we began praying, Lord, show me these people in our lives here in Cameron that you've already prepared, that you've already been working in their hearts, Would you show me those people so I can have a simple conversation with them this week?
A Government Official's Test of Faith
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Show me who's ripe for the harvest. Maybe it's somebody in my own family.
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I don't need some elaborate testimony. I simply need to invite them to church. Look what Jesus has done. He too can do the same thing for you. That's why this shirt, I think, is so profound.
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Come and see. Come and see what First Baptist is doing. No, come and see what Jesus is doing.
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He told me everything I ever did. And the result of that testimony, look, it says verse 39, many Samaritans from that village believed in Jesus because the woman had said.
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Notice that progression, right? She gave her testimony. The testimony sparked curiosity. That curiosity drove them to go see Jesus. They listened to Jesus. They encountered Jesus personally.
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And after spending two days, verse 42 says, They now declared, we believe not because of what you've told us, meaning this lady, but because we've heard for ourselves.
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And now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world. The Samaritan wo woman says he's Messiah. The Samaritan village comes back and says he's the Savior of the world.
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John loves these kind of reversals, by the way. Those expected to recognize who Jesus was often reject him. Those who are least expected become examples of genuine faith.
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And now for our second story. We shift the scene from galut from st Samaria to Galilee to a second story which seems unrelated, but John puts this intentionally side by side
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because it once wants us to ask this question and answer this question, what happens when faith is no longer easy?
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It's one thing to believe after hearing Jesus teach for two days. It's another thing to trust him when your child is dying. This is where John takes this look. Verse 43. It says, want pause real quick.
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that he did there want to pause real quick Seems almost like two contradictory things. Jesus says first, a prophet is because Galilee is his hometown.
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But then again it says the Galileans welcomed him. So which is it? Is he not honored or is he welcomed? Well, he is welcomed but all for all the wrong reasons here. It's because he's been doing all these miracles.
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He's been doing all these signs. And they are there largely in part to be impressed, to be fascinated, to see what he's going to do next.
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They believe in his miracles, but they haven't surrendered to his lordship. This is the difference of admiring Jesus and following Jesus. Verse 46 says, And as he traveled through Galilee, he came to Canaan.
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where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official nearby Capernaum, whose son was very sick. And when he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum and heal his son, who was about to die.
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This word... Translated here, begged Jesus to come, is really a one of desperation. It's a plea of desperation.
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Here's a official, royal official, someone who is connected to the king's household. Most likely this guy served under herd He was a man of influence. He was a man of wealth. He was a man accustomed to giving orders and having those orders carried out.
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And yet none of those things matter now because his son was dying. says he begged Jesus. In desperation, he pleaded.
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just put a note to myself this week. Nothing strips away pride like suffering.
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You ever notice that pain has a way of just leveling out the playing field? There's no social distinction. Doesn't matter if you're a doctor or a plumber. Doesn't matter if you're a CEO or if you're a teacher.
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Cancer doesn't care how much money you make. Heart disease ignores your resume. Grief pays no attention to these things. It's equal opportunist.
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This man of high prominence basically throws himself at the feet of Jesus. Jesus, will you please save son? I hope many people come to Christ the same way today.
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Not because life is easy, but because life seems almost impossible. This man can do nothing for his son. He realizes his son is on the deathbed. Maybe you're here today because of a diagnosis. Maybe you're here because of a broken marriage. Maybe you're here because of the death of a loved one or a wayward child.
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God never delights in our pain, but he often uses that suffering to bring us where comfort never could.
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This official comes to Jesus, comes to Capernaum, and he's already decided, God should solve my problem this way. Now listen to how Jesus responds in verse 48.
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He responds, Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?
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When I read this for many, many years, I thought Jesus was specifically talking to this this official here. But what he's really doing is he's speaking to the official but also to the crowd that's around him, this unbelieving crowd in Capernaum.
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And he's saying, well, you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders.
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He's speaking to the crowd here. You people keep demanding signs from me before you will believe.
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He uses this word miraculous signs or or miracle. of He doesn't use just miracles. He uses signs. Something pointing to something greater. This group in Capernaum, they wanted the sign, but they didn't want the Savior.
00:21:11
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They wanted to see his power on display, but they didn't want to submit to his authority. They loved all the gifts, but they wanted nothing to do with the gift giver.
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The same could be said for true for us today.
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If God answers my prayer this way, then I'll trust him. ever prayed prayer like that? I have.
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If he just simply fixes my marriage, then I will believe.
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It's this mentality that says, if I can see it, then I'll obey. But Jesus gently and firmly challenges that mindset.
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Biblical faith is built upon God's character and his promises. We saw that in the Bible study lesson today, right?
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45 years. Who waited? We were talking about that Bible study today. 45 years for that promise to come to fruition. But it did. And we can rely on that because of God's promises and His character.
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We don't necessarily have to see it first. We just simply have to believe first.
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I thought of an illustration, growing up, I was the youngest of four, and I was significantly younger than my brothers and sisters. 12 years between me and my oldest sister, 10 years between me and my second sister, seven years between me and my brother, and then came me, the surprise, right, which my mom to this day will so will say was not a surprise, it was planned.
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was like seven years, really? All my brothers and sisters could do everything before me. They all rode bikes, they all did everything. I was the last to learn everything. I remember my dad teaching me how to ride a bicycle on my sister's bike with the big banana seat, you know, which I'm talking about, these ones, and he would hold it on the back and he would run beside you.
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Keep going, keep going, know, and trying to look back to make sure he's still holding on as you're balancing, do you know what I'm talking about, this picture. But at some point, you stop looking back. right Because he's just saying, you've got it, you've got it, I've got you, I've got you.
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You don't even realize he's no longer holding on to the bike. Brothers and sisters, this the picture of what Jesus is saying here today. I have you, I've got you. There's no reason to keep looking back.
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My word is enough. I'm trustworthy enough.
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You don't need absolute certainty.
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Now the truth is most of us want absolute certainty. We want to know the entire plan up front.
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God's pattern never works that way. He expects us to step out first. He expects us to trust first before seeing any evidence at all. And that, I believe, is where genuine faith begins.
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Everything comes down to this one sentence. Jesus decides not to travel to Capernaum. He does not touch the boy. he does not perform some visits visible miracle. He simply speaks.
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And the question is whether or not this father, who is desperate for his son to be healed, would believe, if that would be enough. Jesus says, verse 50, go back home, your son will live.
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Six words. You can count them.
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No dramatic prayer. No public spectacle. No waving of his arm and everybody in the pews falling down.
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No physical touch, no visible miracle, just a spoken word.
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It's one of the clearest demonstrations of Christ's divine authority in all of the Gospel of John. Just as in Genesis 1, God spoke and creation obeyed, now here in John, the eternal world speaks and sickness obeys.
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I put a note to myself this week as I was reviewing this. Isn't it amazing that the one who spoke all of the galaxies into existence now so simply speaks life into a boy?
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Distance means nothing to God. He simply speaks and this boy is what? Healed if you continue reading.
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Look at verse 50, the end of verse 50 with me. Maybe one of the most beautiful portions of scripture. 50 says, then Jesus told him, go back home, your son will live. And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.
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just that simple, folks. He believed first and then took action. Then he started walking home.
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Doesn't say the man believed after receiving confirmation. Doesn't say the man believed after seeing his son recover. Says he believed first and then he started to go home.
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Faith expressed in action.
Acting on Faith Without Visible Outcomes
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He simply obeyed. I put myself a note this week for me, potentially for you. Are we at this precipice where he's simply asking us to obey first and then see him work in your life?
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Maybe you've been praying for something for months, maybe years.
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And he's simply saying, I need you to take a step of obedience first, knowing that I will fulfill that prayer.
00:27:12
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Let's put a note if you want to write this down this week. Genuine faith always moves first. It's never the other way around. Genuine faith always moves first.
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It's a consistent biblical pattern. I thought back in the early parts of the Old Testament, Noah built the ark before the rain came.
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Right? The rain didn't start and then Noah was like, oh my gosh, I've got to put together a boat. Right?
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Joshua stepped into the Jordan before the water spread. Peter stepped out of the boat before discovering the water would hold him. Biblical faith has never been about blind optimism.
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It's about a confident obedience based upon a trustworthy God.
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I love how this story ends. Look at 51. says, while the man was on his way home, some of his servants met with him with the news that the son was alive and well. Can you imagine that interaction when he runs up and he sees the servants?
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He's going to be all right.
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Interesting, verse 52, he asks them, hey, when did the boy begin to get better? Right? Right?
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Well, yesterday afternoon at 1 o'clock, his fever suddenly disappeared. So then the father realized that it was the very time when Jesus had told him, Your son will live.
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And he his entire household believed in Jesus.
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See, of a Samaritan woman... who has an encounter with Jesus, who runs back to her community, tells them about Jesus, who all come and see Jesus, and all of those believe.
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And now we have an official who believes first, goes back home, says his entire household believes in Jesus.
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This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea.
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How we apply this to our lives today, this week? How do we put this into practice?
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I put the first thing we need to do is identify one promise from Scripture that speaks directly to the situation you're facing. What situation are you facing? Well, if you're having marital problems, i would suggest you write down Ephesians 4.32 or Matthew 19.6.
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matthew nineteen six Are you struggling even with anxiety? 1 Peter 5-7. Isaiah 41-10. How about just a difficult situation in general?
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Proverbs 3, 5-6. Or Romans 5, 3-4. Hopefully those are up on your screen.
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Identify one promise from Scripture that speaks directly about that situation you're in. Write it down. Write it down on a card, put it in your phone, and read that every morning.
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And pray over And then take one concrete step of obedience that reflects that you trust that promise.
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Even before you see the outcome.
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That's what Noah did. That's what Abraham did. That's what Joshua did. That's what this official did.
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He believed Jesus first and then he walked home.
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So let me ask you this one simple question. I want to close with this. what Where is Jesus asking you this morning to trust him first before you see his work?