[0:00] Will you turn with me now to John's Gospel and chapter 4. Gospel according to John, chapter 4, on page 1072, and reading at verse 46.
[0:18] John 4, verse 46.
[0:48] When this man heard that Jesus had come down from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
[1:04] So Jesus said to him, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. The official said to him, sir, come down before my child dies.
[1:18] Jesus said to him, go, your son will live. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
[1:29] As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better.
[1:41] And they said to him, yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him. The father knew that this, that the father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, your son will live.
[1:58] And he himself believed, and he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
[2:13] The one to look at this evening is, the heading on this is, Jesus heals an official's son. But it also could well be headed, the faith of an official.
[2:31] The faith of an official. This official came to be a believer in Jesus. And we heard this morning that the purpose, John's purpose in writing this gospel, writing this book, was that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
[2:53] And that in believing you might have life in his name. That you might have life. The purpose of this gospel is that all who come to it and who read it might have life.
[3:10] That they might be transferred, as we heard this morning, from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light.
[3:22] The kingdom of God's dear Son. This chapter, chapter 4, is all about people coming to be believers.
[3:33] There's, and they're all very different people. There's the woman who met Jesus at the well. And then through her, and also through the ministry of Jesus himself, many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony.
[3:52] And then they said, We believe, we have heard for ourselves, we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. There's this woman who would be probably the last person that anyone would think of in this town to become a believer in Jesus, given her lifestyle.
[4:12] And then there is the people of the town. And then there is this official, this royal official.
[4:23] Again, a very different kind of person. So, this is telling us that many different people, that people different and different backgrounds and all kinds of different people come to find life through faith in Jesus Christ.
[4:48] They're all examples for us. And this official is also an example for us here of what it means to come to believe in Jesus.
[5:02] It is, of course, imperative to believe in Jesus. John 3, 16, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him, whoever believes in him, should not perish but have everlasting life.
[5:24] And God says, I set before you life and death. I set before you life and perishing. Choose life. And what you have to do is to believe in my Son.
[5:41] Faith is imperative. It is imperative for us not to perish, for us to have everlasting life.
[5:51] It is imperative for us if we are going to please God and be pleasing to God. Hebrews 1, 11, verse 6 says, Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
[6:07] No matter what we may try to do or think about in terms of pleasing God, God's word is very clear that without faith it is impossible to please God.
[6:20] For the one who comes to God must believe that he exists. And that's very basic. He must believe that he exists, but not just that he exists. But that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
[6:33] And that seeking God, God rewards those who seek him. And that's what this royal official discovered as he came to Jesus.
[6:44] You see, his faith is described in very simple and clear terms. In verse 50, Faith is believing the word that Jesus speaks.
[7:14] And in believing that word, believe that word going on our way. It is a very simple and I found a very helpful description of faith.
[7:31] In other translations, it is translated, The man took Jesus at his word and went on his way.
[7:43] And that is how without faith it is impossible to please God. It is impossible to be in any relationship, in any meaningful relationship, Without there being trust.
[7:55] And it is impossible to please God, To be in a meaningful relationship with God without trust. Because if it's just like our own relationships, Our own personal relationships, There can't be a meaningful relationship without trust.
[8:15] And it is terrible if you want to be in a relationship with someone, And you don't take them at their word.
[8:25] And it's a terrible thing not to take God at his word. So then we're going to look at faith, Being, taking God as at his word.
[8:40] And the first thing that we find here, In the beginning of the faith of this official, Is that it's what I would call Christ's faith.
[8:52] He has got a real crisis in his life. His child is at the point of death. There's no greater crisis can come into the life of any father than this.
[9:05] A greater crisis than coming to the point of his own death, Is the crisis situation of his child being at the point of death.
[9:18] And he has heard about Jesus. And having heard about Jesus, He goes to Jesus.
[9:30] Because he is looking for relief, And he is looking for an answer. In this crisis situation that has come into his life, It is a situation of life or death.
[9:43] And he comes to Jesus with this life or death crisis. And he comes and he went to Jesus, And he asked him to come down and heal his son, For he was at the point of death.
[10:00] And there's this great urgency. There's no one more earnest, There's no more earnest seeker of God, And seeker of God's help than this man at this point in his life.
[10:16] And the first response that he receives from Jesus, Is the truth about himself. And that is always how it is.
[10:29] We come to Jesus, I don't know how many of you here are believers, Or perhaps all of you are believers, But like me perhaps, There was a crisis, A time of crisis.
[10:43] And often that's the way it is, Not always the way it is. But he comes to Jesus, And the first response that he receives from Jesus, Is the truth about himself.
[10:54] Jesus said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, You will not believe. Now that was true of me, And I wonder if it's true of anyone here tonight, That you're saying to God, You're bargaining with God, God has given us his word, And you're not taking him at his word, Because you want proof, Before you'll take him at his word.
[11:22] Just think of how displeasing that would be, To anyone, In who was asking you, To take them at their word, And you're saying, I won't take you at your word, Unless I see signs and wonders, First they will convince me.
[11:42] Unless you people see signs and wonders, You will not believe. And that is true of so many. When I was in Dornoch, There was a man that, He was retired and, In advancing years, And he wasn't really able to come to church, And I used to visit him.
[12:07] And he had been a fireman in London, For most of his work in life, And his lungs had been damaged, There wasn't the same sort of health and safety, In these days, Well it's an occupational hazard anyway, In the fire service.
[12:22] And so he didn't enjoy particularly good health, And he was in and out of hospitals, And generally it would be Ward 11, And Rakemore. But on this occasion, I'd heard that he'd been taken into hospital, And he was taken up to the hospital in Wick, And I didn't go up to Wick, To see him, Because I was just hearing of him, And within a few weeks, A couple of weeks, He was back home again.
[12:46] I went to visit him, And he said, Oh, he said, I'm glad to see you. He said, I've an experience, He said, That I want to share with you, And that I want some help with.
[12:58] And he began to tell me, About an experience that he had in the hospital. And he said, I was taken to Wick to the hospital, In the room, He said, And I don't know whether I was asleep or awake, But he said, I had this amazing experience.
[13:14] I don't know if you know Embo, There's a holiday park there, And there's a lovely big beach there. And he said, There was, What I saw, He said, Was a man standing in a boat, Just off the shore.
[13:28] And he seemed to be addressing a crowd, That was on the shore. And he says, I knew, He says, That that picture, Was in the Bible of Jesus. And I said, Who is this?
[13:40] And he said, The name Jesus came up, And he said, There was the most amazing sense of power, And peace. And he says, I didn't want it to go away.
[13:51] And he says, That remained for a while, And then, It just went away. And I said, Did he say anything to you? Was there any words? And he said, No. And I really need to pray here now, Because I'm totally out of my depth, And I don't know what to say to this man.
[14:09] And I said, Lord, Help me to help this man. And I said to him, Did he say anything to you? He said, No, I believe. I said, He has something to say to you. And I said, I believe that he speaks through his word, Through the scriptures, Through the Bible.
[14:22] So I said, I'll tell you what we'll do. I said, If you start reading John's gospel, And I said, Read a chapter, Every day, Pray before you read, That you'll hear what he has to say to you.
[14:37] And he said, And I said, I'll do likewise. I said, I'll pray every day, That you will hear what Jesus wants you to hear. I went back maybe a fortnight later, And I said to him, Remember, I said, What we spoke of.
[14:54] Now this man had been attending church, Free church, For most of his life. And I said, Remember, I said, Yes, He said, And he says, I didn't have long to wait.
[15:07] He said, On the fourth day, He said, It came very powerfully to me, What Jesus wanted me to hear.
[15:18] John chapter 4, He said, Verse 48, So Jesus said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, You will not believe. And he says, That's how it's been with me all these years.
[15:31] And I said to him, What have you got to do? He says, I've just got to do like this man. He says, I've got to take him at his word. And I believe that he did, And that he was saved.
[15:46] He took him at his word. Now, This man's faith began with Christ's faith, And a Christ's faith.
[16:01] Now, Many people of Christ's faith, Where they'll cry out to God in a time of crisis, In their lives. But it doesn't go any further than that. But this man became a believer.
[16:15] He became a man who took God at his word, Who took Jesus at his word. And taking Jesus at his word, He went on his way. There was an amazing change in this man.
[16:28] He came to Jesus with Christ's faith, And he left Jesus to go home with confident faith. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, And went on his way.
[16:44] You see, He went on his way, And he had come to Jesus, Pleading with Jesus to come with him to heal his son. Now he goes on his way. Jesus isn't going physically with him, But his word and his promise is going with him.
[16:58] And so there is this difference between Christ's faith, And confident faith. And this is such an important difference, For us all to remember and recognize.
[17:10] And that is, That Christ's faith, Is faith in possibilities. This man came to Jesus, And there was all these possibilities, That he had, That Jesus would come with him, To where his son was lying at the point of death.
[17:27] That Jesus would come, And perhaps pray over him, Or lay his hands on him, Or do something. And he had all these possibilities. But it wasn't like that at all.
[17:38] What Jesus did, Was give him a promise. And this man's faith, Is not now in possibilities, Which is Christ's faith.
[17:49] This man's faith, Is in a person, A person who has made him a promise. And that promise, Is the promise of life.
[18:03] And that's the faith, That we are called to have. Faith in Jesus, And his promise of life.
[18:15] Taking him at his word. God so loved the world, That he gave his one and only son, So that whoever believes in him, Should not perish, But have everlasting life.
[18:27] What a promise. The promise of Jesus, I am come that you might have life, And that you might have it, In all its fullness. The purpose of this book, That you may believe, That Jesus is the son of God, And believing, Have life in his name.
[18:44] He says to his disciples, And his promise is this, This amazing promise, Because I live, You shall live also.
[18:58] And because he lives, I can face tomorrow, I can face every tomorrow, Because he lives.
[19:12] Confident faith, Faith in a person, And in a promise. Confident faith, And his promise, Is a promise of life. But then, There's a further stage, In his faith.
[19:29] It begins with Christ's faith, Then, It becomes confident faith, And confident faith, Always becomes confirmed faith.
[19:41] He goes, As he was going, His servants met him, And told him, That his son was recovering. In actual fact, In the original language, The words that his servant, That the servants bring him, Are the exact words, Of the promise of Jesus, Your son will live.
[20:04] And he is going with this promise, Your son will live, Your son will live, And the confirmation, Is coming to meet him. And that's the principle, Of faith.
[20:15] We go, Taking God at his word, And the confirmation, Is coming to meet us. He, Knew then, He asked them, What hour he began to get better, And they told him, They said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour, The fever left, And the father knew, That was the hour, When Jesus, Said to him, Your son, Will live.
[20:45] What is confirmed, Is the word. We take God at his word, We take these promises, Of life, And these promises, Are confirmed.
[21:01] And we need, These promises, To be confirmed, To us, Over and over again. And that is, One of the, Reasons, One of the primary, Reasons, Why we gather, As we do here tonight, We gather with a prayer, That we have sung, Psalm 119, Confirm to me, Thy gracious word, Which I did gladly hear, I gladly hear, The word of your grace, I gladly hear, Of the person of Jesus, And his promise, Of life, And I need that word, Confirmed to me, Over and over again, And God knows, How we need, That word, Confirmed, And how we need, Our faith to be, Confirmed, Because, There's another stage, And the final stage, Is this, That confirmed faith,
[22:02] Becomes, Compelling faith, And it is, Compelling faith, That our families, And that our communities, And that our nation, And this whole world, Needs, To see, And to hear, This man, Goes home, And his faith, Is now compelling faith, And, He himself, Believed, There's, His faith, Confirmed, And, All, His, Household, And his father's faith, Is now compelling, As he shares it, With, His, Family, As he shares with them, The person, And the promise, Of, Jesus, Fathers,
[23:03] And mothers, There's nothing, More, Important, For your families, Than compelling faith, In Jesus Christ, And your families, To see, Your faith, Which is confirmed, And compelling, I wonder, What was in this man's mind, In his crisis, When he came, To Jesus, I don't know how old, His son, Was, But, He's spoken of as a child, So perhaps, He might not, Have been more than, Ten years old, But he was at the point, Of death, His life about to end, At the age of ten, And the father, Goes to Jesus, And he gets that promise, Your son will live, On his way to Jesus, I wonder, What would have been in his mind, If only Jesus,
[24:04] Will, Give my son, Some more life, If only, He'll outlive me, If he'll live longer than me, If he would, Live till he was eighty, Wouldn't that, Be a wonderful, Wouldn't that be, Just something, Wonderful, To receive, Life, For my son, Until he's eighty, But what does he receive, He receives, From God, He receives, From Jesus, Immeasurably, In the words of Ephesians, Immeasurably more, Than he can ask, Or imagine, All because, That day, Having heard about Jesus, He came to him, For life, And in the words of Psalm 21, That we sang together, When he desired, Life of thee, Thou life, To him didst give, Even such a length of days, That he, Forevermore, Should live,
[25:05] And you know, The wonderful reality, Tonight is, That this man, Who came to Jesus, Two thousand years ago, For life, For his son, And probably measured it, In tens of years, Maybe measured it, Up to eighty years of age, Now he, This man, And his whole family, Are enjoying, The endless, Life, That is the blessing of God, For they are the blessing God commands, Life, That shall never end, And this man, And his family, And his son, Who was at the point of death, Two thousand years ago, On that day, Now live, And they live, Forever, And they will never die, Because Jesus says to him, Your son will live, And he says, Because I live, You too, Will live, And what did he do?
[26:08] He came to Jesus, And he came as he was, And he received, A person and a promise, And he went, Taking him at his word, May God grant, That we do likewise, Tonight, May God bless his word, To us, Let's pray, Lord, We thank you for, The word of life, And we thank you, For the promise of life, In and through Jesus Christ, And we thank you, That he, That he, Assured that, The blessing that he had come to give, At the cost of giving his life, Was life, More abundantly, Life that would never end, And we thank you,
[27:10] Lord, That that blessing of life, That will never end, Is yours to command, And we pray, Lord, That you would command, That blessing tonight, To come down, On every soul, Here, And that we may know, That we have life, And that we may have, That blessed assurance, Of Jesus, Is ours, And that we have, That life, Divine, Because of life, The fountain pure, Remains alone, With thee, And in that purest light, Of thine, We clearly light, Shall see, So bless us, Lord, As we go from here, Cause your light, To shine, In the heart, Of each, And every one of us, The light, Of the knowledge, Of your glory, In the face, Of Jesus Christ, That we might,
[28:10] Live, And live, To your glory, For that is the purpose, Of our creation, May your new creation, Be formed, In each one of us, And may we, By your grace, Be enabled, To communicate that, To others, For the advancement, Of your kingdom, And the salvation, Of souls, We ask these things, In Jesus name, And for his sake, Amen.