 You may be seated our sermon title this morning is faith in progress faith in progress and we are in John chapter 4 Verses 43 through 54 and this is a glorious chapter of Scripture from the beginning of John until now We've just seen so many truths expanded to us and explained to us from the Scripture And it's just been a blessing studying this and now we come to the end of chapter 4 And we have another account here of the Lord Jesus Christ now with the nobleman from Capernaum whose son is sick as we Examine the account of Scripture through John's Gospel. John's Gospel is about believing John's Gospel is about revealing the Lord Jesus Christ for who he is and then presenting to us a Pathway if you will to faith. How is it that we are to believe? What art to we believe? How are we to believe? How do we come to Christ in faith with each passing account with each passing? Conversation we are to learn more and more and more about what that looks like How we are to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the Christ as the Son of God and how in believing in his name We're to have eternal life We're to believe that he is the Christ the Son of God and that believing we might have life in his name That's John's purpose for writing the Gospel So now today as we come to this account of Jesus Christ and the nobleman with a sick son from Capernaum Again, we look at what it means to believe today We see in the heart of a desperate father a desperate father who has come to the end of his rope over his sick son and Now in coming to Christ for his son to be healed comes face to face with his own Desperate need of a savior and we're gonna see this work of faith and this man's heart in progress as the Lord Graciously leads him to salvation and we're gonna see that in several ways as we walk through this passage point one on your notes We're gonna see first that we must honor him. We must honor him honor the Lord Jesus Christ We see that in verses 43 through 45 Not just for what you can get from him Not just for what can be obtained through him, but for who he is and all that he has done for us We must honor him the Lord Jesus Christ Secondly, we're gonna believe in him verses 46 through 48 believe in him our faith is not in works our Faith is not in heaven Our faith is not in health wealth and prosperity Our faith is not in some genie in a bottle our faith is not even in our own believing It is though in the one in whom we are to believe our faith is to be in Christ in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but thirdly we're to trust in him. We see that in verses 49 and 50 Might be better to be said we need to entrust ourselves to him We trust him for all that he is and all that he's done and we entrust ourselves Fully to him everything that we are to all that he is We're to place our future our destiny our lives in his hands in his lap so to speak And then fourthly we're to live for him verses 51 through 54 while trusting While believing we simply devote ourselves to him Commit ourselves to him and we'll see this in the progress of faith in this nobleman from Capernaum let's take point one on your notes were to honor him We see that in verses 43 through 45 where the Bible says now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee for Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country So when he came to Galilee the Galileans received him having seen all the things he did in Jerusalem at the feast For they had also gone to the feast Now if we remember from our last week's study of Jesus Christ and the explanation of his encounter with a woman at the well in John chapter 4 verses 27 through 42 Jesus evangelizes witnesses to the woman at the well He announces to her who he is and he opens her eyes This is a wonderful account and that woman of Samaria becomes a wonderful very compelling Witness to the other Samaritans who lived in the village of Sychar and they said to the woman in verse 42 After having come out and heard Jesus speak they said now we believe not because of what you said For we ourselves have heard him and we know that this is indeed the Christ the savior of the world Think about it for a moment now. He performed no miracle. He did no signs and wonders He simply preached to the people of Samaria. He taught them for two days and After hearing him they believe because of his word They believe because of his word This would have been now a joyful time if you can imagine the Lord Jesus Christ his disciples the woman at the well Witnessing the people of the village coming out being saved. We see the Samaritans coming to faith in the Lord This would have been a joyful time. They were being forgiven, right? They were being pardoned from their sin made right with God after having been outcast Samaritans so there would have been a lot of rejoicing together in the work of the Lord seeing people saved and Seeing Christ Honored in the eyes of the Samaritans as the Messiah This is Jesus the Christ the Son of God and he was honored in the eyes of the Samaritans as the savior of the world Now Jesus after those two days Continues his original journey. He was headed out for Galilee so he continues his original journey toward his country of Galilee and After the honor that he received in Samaria Jesus makes a very interesting statement in verse 44. He says a prophet has no honor in his own country That saying is not unlike a saying that we have today the saying is familiarity breeds contempt Have you heard that before? It's a it carries the same kind of sense that familiarity breeds contempt here a prophet has no honor in his own country When he says his own country many look at this passage and believe that he's speaking about Jerusalem or Judea Did he get any honor in Jerusalem when he was there? No, he went there were many who plotted to kill him But he was performing miracles performing signs at the week of Passover the week of the festival in Jerusalem He didn't get any honor there either if you flip back one page look at John chapter 2 and Remember how the people responded to him look at verse 23 Here John says now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast Listen to this many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and he had no need that anyone should testify of man For he knew what was in man Jesus knew their heart. He knew what they were like. He knew what was in their heart And he didn't commit himself to them because they didn't honor him as the Christ They believed the miracles it says there they saw the miracles they believed but they didn't honor the Lord Jesus Christ For who he was or what he came to do they didn't honor him as the Messiah They just believed because of the miracles they saw that a miracle fake superficial kind of faith That was in Jerusalem Now the Lord is headed to Galilee and the Lord Jesus is from Galilee. Where's he from? From Nazareth right a little town in Galilee So Galilee is the Lord's country and with Galilee in view as he makes his journey north Jesus makes this statement that a prophet has no honor in his own country Jesus makes a similar statement in other places right think about it Luke chapter 4 Jesus was being rejected in Nazareth when in verse 24 He says that a prophet is not accepted in his home country in Mark chapter 6 He was in Nazareth in Galilee When he said a prophet is not without honor except in his own country among his own relatives and in his own house And many of you can say amen to that right when you came to Christ you may have thought to yourself man A Christian is without honor around his family around his friends around his co-workers They're going to feel like nobody will listen to you Many of you have experienced that very thing This same statement recorded by Jesus in Matthew chapter 13 verse 57 when the Lord there was very clearly speaking about Galilee So clearly here in verse 44 John chapter 4 the Lord has Galilee in mind He's thinking Galilee when he says a prophet has no honor in his own country now that presents some difficulties in Observing and interpreting the text if you look at verse 45 Where it sounds like the Galileans here honor him verse 45 says so when he came to Galilee The Galilee Galileans received him they welcomed him They welcomed him but listen to this Having seen all the things he did in Jerusalem at the feast for they also had gone to the feast So when you consider the Lord statement and put these together when you consider the Lord statement in verse 44 And then you consider our context revealed here by the Lord in verse 48 That the Galileans won't believe without seeing signs and wonders Here's the issue those in Jerusalem Here the Galileans won't believe unless they see signs and wonders. It's the same Form of rejection all over again. They will not honor Jesus as the Christ the Son of God They simply believe because of the miracles Now, how are we to understand this? This miracle seeking Sign-seeking superficial kind of acceptance is Dishonoring to the Lord Jesus Christ a Prophet is without honor in his own country when they do not accept him for who he is But only because of the miracles that he performs So to have a miracle seeking sign-seeking experience seeking kind of superficial faith is Dishonoring to the Lord Jesus Christ The Lord of glory Here was nothing more than a circus show to them just a side show a curiosity He was like those and just like those in Jerusalem who saw the signs and believed in John chapter 2 They believed the miracles, but did not honor Jesus as the Christ the Son of God that word honor Means they're to reverence to respect. It is to be worthy of Respect it is to be valued to be treasured to be in a state of being respected They didn't value Christ they simply saw him as a curiosity Saw him for what he could do right? Odd by the miracles, but he himself wasn't treasured as the Messiah I contrast this with the few days before with the Samaritans. How did the Samaritans react to him the Samaritan? Samaritans highly honored him the two days that he was there He simply gave them his word and they soaked it in loved his word urged him to stay with them They believed him at his word although he performed no miracles and did no signs and they Trusted his word trusting him alone as the savior of the world. That is honoring to the Lord. Amen So here the Galileans welcomed him, but it was only a shallow superficial even conditional Kind of honor kind of welcome kind of acceptance. They weren't really interested in him now in that listen in That is a brazen Rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ They drew near to him with their mouths, right? They honored him with their lips But their hearts were far from him This is still if you think about it another example of the prologue John chapter 1 verse 11 where he says he came to his own These Galileans and his own received him not. This is just another Rejection here in his own country Another rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ Those Galileans and others like those in Jerusalem in John chapter 2 were consumers. They weren't worshipers They were Onlookers they were not followers in chapter 6 We're gonna see that they follow him because of the signs that he did and because of the food The bread that he provided when he himself is the bread of life They don't value him for who he is They don't follow him out of Gratefulness for the salvation that he offers for the salvation that he brings they simply follow him. They're devoted to him Because of the works that he's doing The miracles that he's performing They're not devoted to him who alone is able to meet our greatest need, right? the height of Dishonor the height of dishonor is to reject who he is By only accepting him for what he can do for you The height of dishonor is to reject who he is by only accepting him for what he can do for you for what you can get out Of it, you know, what's in it for me kind of thinking many won't submit to him to live for him as Lord But they'll use him as a get out of hell free card Right, we know people like that Christ isn't precious to them. Isn't there a treasure? They're just in it in Christianity so to speak for only what they can get out of the deal You think about it that is the fundamental basis the foundation for the health wealth and prosperity gospel Which is a wicked false Garbage gospel it is no gospel The word of faith Nonsense that treats the Lord Jesus Christ is a genie out in a bottle you rub the bottle you get Jesus to do what you want to What don't want you want him to do for you? And so you say you believe it's a bunch of garbage It is not the gospel Many are not compelled to live in a way that is pleasing to him because to them the Lord Jesus Christ is simply a License to sin and a free pass to get into heaven Maybe you remember when you were lost. Maybe you heard the gospel and Being lost hearing the gospel you thought to yourself. I don't want to go to hell when I die I want to go to heaven. I want to have heaven But you have no thought or no concern for whether or not Jesus Christ is gonna be there when you get there, right? Because Jesus Christ isn't precious to you. You're simply viewing the Lord as a get out of hell free card The Lord Jesus Christ Does not cater to the self-indulgent whims of Self-righteous hypocrites who will not give him the honor that he is worthy of the honor that is due to him And we see examples of that throughout scripture. Remember the example of Eli, right with his two sons I want you to see that with me go with me to 1st Samuel chapter 2 1st Samuel chapter 2 and let's look at the example of Eli and his two sons. How did God? Define his honor To Eli if you remember the story of Eli Eli had two wicked sons chapter 2 verse 1 Calls his sons corrupt or worthless in some translations the actual word there means sons of Belial I mean sons of the devil Eli's sons were so wicked. They were called sons of the devil and By Eli's neglect in dealing with their wickedness Eli was shown to have honored his sons More than honoring the Lord God, right? I want you to see this his sons were committing immorality with the women who came to worship at the tabernacle of meeting He was sleeping with them when they came to worship the Lord his sons were stealing Taking for themselves From the sacrifices that people were bringing to the temple to worship the Lord They were skimming off the top if you will taking what they weren't entitled to Taking because they weren't satisfied with the provision that God had given them as priests So look at what the Lord says in chapter 2 verse 29 God says why do you kick at my sacrifice in my offering which I have commanded in my dwelling place and Honor your sons more than me to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people Therefore the Lord God of Israel says I said indeed that your house in the house of your father would walk before me forever But now the Lord says far be it from me for those who honor me I will honor and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed now He describes those who do not honor him as those who despise him That's the truth if you're not honoring the Lord Jesus Christ you're despising him You're despising him, but look at how the Lord defines Lightly esteemed. He's going to lightly esteem here the house of Eli verse 31 Behold God says the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house So there will not be an old man in your house You will see an enemy in my dwelling place despite all the good which God does for Israel and there shall not be an Old man in your house forever But any of your men whom I do not cut off from my altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart and All the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age now. This shall be a sign that to you This is lightly esteemed right this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons on Haphne and Phineas in one day. They shall die both of them Now you think to yourself How then does the Lord define honor when the Lord says honor me here Eli is to honor the Lord by upholding righteousness and in that honoring the Lord more than he's honoring his sons by Condoning their wickedness and look at how the Lord defines those who honor him verse 35 He says then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. They're faithful I'll raise up for myself a faithful priest and listen to this Who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind there it is if you want to honor God above all honor God above your job honor God above your family with your commanded to do Honor God among your sons and daughters honor honor God among anything you've got going on in any other part of your life Here's how you do it. You shall do according to what is in his heart and in his mind That's honoring the Lord God to honor the Lord is to devote yourself Heart soul mind and strength to him is to devote yourself to him to do according to what is in his heart and in his mind Listen to the words of the Lord in Isaiah chapter 58 and again defining What is the Lord's honor Isaiah chapter 58 verse 13 and here regarding the Sabbath? He says you are to call the Sabbath a delight The holy day of the Lord Honorable and you shall honor him it says now. How how do we honor him? Listen by not doing your own ways Nor finding your own pleasure nor speaking your own words Then he says you shall delight yourself in the Lord This is not just drawing near to the Lord with our mouths, right? This is not just honoring him with our lips. This is honoring him with our hearts This is doing what is in his heart and in his mind Delighting ourselves in him speaking his words and all of that reflects a heart that's near to him Reflects his heart his mind and that's what honors the Lord if you've come to faith in Christ You're to honor the Lord with your life You're to honor him by doing what is in his heart and in his mind speaking his words Delighting yourself in all that he is and all that he's done If you're here today, and you've never turned from your own way You are rejecting the Lord in dishonor You're here today, and you've never turned from your own ways to follow Christ in faith Listen, there is nothing more dishonorable to the Lord than unbelief There's nothing more dishonorable to the Lord than unbelief and following your own ways Those Samaritans think about those Samaritans for a moment. They honored the Lord They honored the Lord by believing his word by bowing to his authority by trusting themselves to him and by trusting him that he was all in all trusting him for his promises his promises to forgive them Whatever their sin to make them right with God to clothe them in his righteousness that they might inherit heaven They just trusted him and in that they lived for him, and they honored him They honor the Lord Jesus Christ were to honor the Lord secondly on your notes We're to believe in him and notice the progress here. We're to honor the Lord We honor the Lord through believing him believing in him verses 46 through 48 back in John chapter 4 listen to verse 46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee Where he had made the water wine? There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum And when he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee He went to him and implored him to come down and heal his son for he was at the point of death Then Jesus said to him unless you people see signs and wonders you will by no means believe The thing about this nobleman for a minute in many ways this nobleman from Capernaum Came to Jesus in the same dishonorable way that many others had come to him In fact in verse 48 Jesus says before him and the other Galilean standing around He says unless you people and he uses the plural there unless you people this man and the other Galileans Unless you people see signs and wonders you'll by no means believe However, there's something different about the circumstances of this nobleman and we're gonna see that his life Was about to change and he's described here as a nobleman and the word there means someone who is in the service of a king So we know that this person this nobleman was probably in the service of Herod Antipas who is a tetrarch of that area a tetrarch was a governor But in the area in which he ruled he was often called a king So here the word is used for one who is in the service of a king Now being in the service of a king would have come with perks He was a nobleman. He's described as a nobleman and the perks He would have been reasonably wealthy in the service of the king We know from verse 51 that he had servants so that shows that he was reasonably wealthy in The service of the king he would have been used to getting what he wanted, right? He would have been used to being an authority Commanding those around him telling someone to jump and then answering how high right? He was used to getting his way Here though his life is turned upside down We know from verse 47 that his son wasn't only sick But that his son 14 miles away in Capernaum was about to die Was at the point of death and can you imagine? Think about that for a moment if you don't have kids think about that person You love more than anyone else in this life and think about that person at the point of death think about your child Laying in a hospital bed at the point of dying His life was becoming unraveled around him Think about this wealthy man doing everything he can to save his son Using every possible resource that was at his disposal by this point He's probably already gone to Heron. Maybe you've even used or consulted Heron's physicians to try to heal him Mom and dad are at the end of their rope. It is becoming frantic. They are in desperation and His son is at the point of death The whole household would have been going under losing hope beginning to despair He's used to being in control and now his entire life is out of control There's nothing that he can do. There's a sense of hopelessness a sense of helplessness His world is falling apart and his son is gonna die But then He hears the rumors People from Galilee begin to come back from Jerusalem and he hears the rumors of this miracle worker who showed up at Passover Performing miracles and healing people and in desperation at the end of his rope. He thinks Maybe this miracle work. This is Jesus And save my son And so now he's come to Galilee even now to Cana To plead with the Lord to save his son at this point. He doesn't dare send a servant This is way too desperate a situation way to dire a circumstance. He goes himself And in despair for his son's life. He pleads with the Lord He left at sunrise that morning the crack of dawn and at the seventh hour of the day He came to Cana, which would have been about one o'clock and he pleaded with Jesus to come back with him The word there literally means that he began asking which he meant meant he continued to ask He asked and asked and asked begging the Lord to come to Capernaum to heal his son now at this point in The heart of this grieving father in his heart and mind his only concern his only thought Was for his sick son From the reports that he heard From the testimony of those who had come back from Jerusalem. He chose to believe that the Lord Jesus could heal his son He trusted in the news of his power in a sense. He trusted he had faith in the miracle, right? Wasn't yet saving faith in the Son of God Now at first you consider that circumstance and how his heart must have been broken how grieved he was At first the Lord's response in verse 48 seems Strident maybe even harsh Considering the man's circumstances Jesus says to the man and to everyone else standing there He says unless you people see signs and wonders you will by no means believe Now this was certainly certainly a rebuke of the people a rebuke of the Galileans There's also in this isn't there a criticism of the nobleman Listen the last we think that the Lord Jesus Christ is strident or harsh here something that is Far more important than the miracle that Jesus Christ is about to do is the soul of this man And the Lord Jesus Christ isn't gonna leave him half way to saving faith He or his household and he's gonna bring him all the way to saving faith But Jesus says to the man everyone else standing there unless you people see signs and wonders you'll by no means believe As far as this nobleman is concerned This criticism and what the Lord is going to do next is meant to press him beyond faith in a miracle to faith in the miracle worker himself meant to press him beyond the miracle to faith in Christ Listen the criticism of the nobleman is this right think about it all That moved him to come to the Lord Jesus Christ was his miracles He's not interested at this point in the Lord Jesus Christ himself, but only in what he can get from him Jesus is basically saying listen if I didn't perform miracles you wouldn't be standing here before me asking me to heal your son It's his weak misplaced so-called faith That engenders the criticism from the Lord and that faith needs to be moved on it needs to make Progress toward genuine saving faith in Christ himself from believing in miracles to believing in the Lord right from in a sense here think about it from honoring his son more than honoring Christ I May seem harsh in the circumstances, but that's the truth of the matter He's not honoring the Lord in this he is honoring his son by seeking a miracle And it's got to move beyond that to honoring the Lord for who he is and all that he's done and the salvation that Christ offers That's going to take progress in faith. It's gonna take the progress of his faith. I Think about this for a moment and look at the contrast the contrast between the nobleman here and The other Galileans, okay the people the Galileans generally those in Jerusalem and Judea even Ask the Lord for a sign ask the Lord for a miracle for Jesus to prove himself to them That's why they're asking for it Do you see the difference there between what the man is doing and what they're doing? The reason the man is asking for the miracle and the reason that they are seeking the miracle right in Mark chapter 8 verse 11 Describes the Pharisees coming out and beginning to dispute with Christ seeking from him a sign from heaven Listen testing him, but Jesus sighed deeply in his spirit It says there in verse 12 and said why does this generation seek a sign assuredly? I say to you no sign shall be given to this generation As Jesus reluctant to do miracles No, Jesus is not reluctant that he does miracles all over the place It's the reason for which he does it that is the point make the connection here Jesus said that he would perform miracles But that performance of miracles is for the purpose of a testing to the people of Who he was and to point them to believe that he was the Christ the son of God the Messiah Jesus was not reluctant to give evidence of who he was through miracles. However The miracles that these people wanted Were thought by them simply to prop up their superficial Self-indulgent hypocritical and misplaced so-called faith Their request of a miracle here. It's extremely Dishonorable to the Lord. It's like give me a show Perform for me so that I'll believe you Extremely dishonorable and Jesus knows what's in their heart. He knows what's in their heart People today are absolutely no different People today absolutely no different think about it one They're looking for anything besides Christ to put their faith in They look for anything besides Christ to put their faith in a miracle makes no demand on your life a Miracle doesn't convict you over sin and demand that you change Many trust that they are saved because they speak in tongues Many trust that they are saved because of some quote-unquote miraculous experience that they've had I remember Witnessing to a man at the door. I'm talking to him his live-in girlfriend walks behind him. I said is that your wife? He says no, that's my girlfriend She's in her underwear. She's walking behind him and yet that man in Unrepentant sin hardened in his heart living in his sin Thought that he was saved because he once spoke in tongues in a prayer circle and believed that he saw the Lord release him from a demon They seek signs and wonders to put their faith in but they won't put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Who will change their heart? Who will grant them repentance to turn from their sin? They would rather live in their sin many think they're saved because God speaks to them, right? They have a sense of God's presence. I know he's been with me all the while They're living completely in their sin living like a devil at home Yet they believe that they're saved because they feel him or they sense him They put their faith in a miracle or faith in an experience because they can live however. They want to live with no change Think about this Many people will not take the Lord Jesus Christ at his word. They will believe just about anything besides the word of God The word of God brings conviction over their sin the word of God brings a life transformation and People will believe just about anything but that to ease their guilty conscience and allow them to live However, they want to live and keep their sin Most people listen no exaggeration Most people believe today that they are saved Because they have put their faith put their belief put their trust in some silly Ritualistic little prayer that is nowhere in the word of God And they will believe that thing more than they will believe the word of God when it says turn from your sin and trust Christ alone It's just not in there. There are about 15 million people Who will believe choose to believe that some? serial polygamist Stuck his head in a hat Translated some plates that no one else has ever seen and they will rest their Eternity in the hands of that wacko before they will believe what the word of God clearly says why? because they can have their sin and reject Christ They would believe garbage like that. They're gonna have their own planets one day Right, they're gonna be gods themselves They'll believe that garbage from a Serial polygamist before they'll believe the word of God and they'll entrust their eternal souls to that I've got a bunch of swamp land in Florida to sell those people so they'll all call me Don't believe anything You know, what's interesting here when you think about signs and wonders think about signs and wonders the Bible most often mentions signs and wonders in the context of Those things that deceive the foolish like the deceive the foolish Those that do not heed God's word it always goes back to God's word We must heed God's word listen to Deuteronomy chapter 13 listen to verses 1 through 5 God says this listen if there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a Wonder and the sign or wonder comes to pass listen. It happens Of which he spoke to you saying let us go after other gods which you've not known let us serve them listen to verse 3 You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams for the Lord your God is Testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul Don't listen to him the Lord's testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart All your soul listen to verse 4 You shall God says walk after the Lord your God and fear him. How do you walk after him? You take heed according to his word. That's right You fear him and listen to what he says keep his commandments we find those in the word of God and obey his voice we hear the word of God when we read the word of God out loud right You shall serve him. God says hold fast to him verse 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death Because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage to? Entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk And so you shall put away the evil from your midst Always it's going back to the word of God back to the word of God back to the word of God Taking Christ for all that he is and trusting in his word Listen to mark chapter 13, and this is regarding the end times listen in verse 19 Bible says for in those days there will be tribulation and listen. This is a Strong argument against a millennialism Listen, there's days there will be tribulation such as has not been seen since the beginning of the creation Wow, that's pretty serious tribulation because that flood thing was pretty serious, right? So it's going to be worse than that Which God created until this time Nor ever shall be many think that this is speaking of 8070 the bible clearly says there's going to be such a tribulation That has never been seen before nor shall ever be 87 70s already been seen. There's something coming that is worse than 8070 This is an argument for premillennialism, but now listen verse 20 Unless the Lord has shortened those days No flesh would be saved, but for the elect's sake whom he chose he shortened the days Then if anyone says to you look here's the christ or look he's there Do not believe it for false christs and false prophets will rise and what? Show signs and wonders to deceive if possible even the elect But he says take heed see I have told you all things beforehand It's back to the word of God right back to what he's told us Don't put your faith in signs and wonders When Someone genuinely comes to faith in christ. It's not about all that stuff It's not about the experiences. It's trust at the deepest possible level. It's not just about miracles experiences It's not at that point really even about getting out of hell, right? It is about the Lord Jesus christ You are willing to put your eternity into his hands to trust him with everything You just want christ your future your actions your reactions your destiny everything in the hands of the lord whom you now see as Precious as a treasure Not in the claims of so some wacko that stuck his head in the hat And frankly too not in the hands of some wacko who tells you to put your faith in a prayer. It's not in the bible to save you So back in john chapter 4 Jesus and john chapter 4 didn't want this nobleman to stay halfway down the road to saving faith Him or his household he wanted him to be saved So for the sake of this man's soul And in tremendous wisdom. I want you to see what the lord does here. It is just brilliant just so much with it's Just astounding wisdom from the lord listen to how jesus does this Jesus addresses his remark, you know, you people won't believe unless you see signs or wonders He addresses his remark not directly to the man Right not directly to the man. He's not going to crush this man who's grieved over his son So he doesn't crush the man. He addresses it to the people He does that to rebuke the people are they worthy of a rebuke? Yes, they want him to prove himself with a miracle. They're coming in a very dishonoring way So they earn the rebuke from the lord But what is a rebuke to the people here? Is a challenge To this man. I think about it for a moment He knows in his own heart That his motivation is not to test the lord His motivation is to see his son saved So in his heart, he is desperate to see his son saved And now this word from the lord Challenges the nobleman to press on beyond miracle faith and put his faith in the lord jesus christ Jesus christ with this statement now Inserts himself Between the man and the miracle that he came for Puts himself as a prerequisite if you will to the miracle This man is going to have to believe the lord jesus christ in order to see the lord jesus christ save his son Jesus is saying listen believe in me the lord jesus christ is not saying it's not just about a miracle Put your hope in me. Don't hope in the miracle. Put your hope in me And so far, um, we've seen how this man Like many dishonored the lord through misplaced faith in the miracle And now he's seeing that lord is worthy to be honored for who he is This nobleman is about to be asked now to trust christ in earnest without the miracle look at point three on your notes We're not just to honor him not just to believe in him We're to trust in him verses 49 and 50 trust in him Verse 49 the nobleman said to him sir sir come down before my child dies And jesus said to him go your way your son lives So the man believed the word that jesus spoke to him and went his way So the nobleman Takes the criticism right he takes the rebuke and he's he's humbled by it He's humbled by it and he calls jesus christ here sir. So word kuryas means lord He calls jesus christ lord. He's humbled He calls jesus christ lord, but his faith is still in progress here in order to heal his son Jesus still has to come down to capernaum. He's not all the way there yet But his pride is crushed and he persists He doesn't hesitate at the rebuke because this is life and death to his son. He now needs christ He now senses his real need for him think about it for a moment He's not coming any longer with a mindset that i'm going to employ christ to perform this miracle He's not sensing that he needs to employ christ anymore. He's coming And treating christ for his grace and his mercy christ comes heal my son I need grace and mercy from you. He's gone from seeing christ is nothing more than a miracle worker to now I need you christ. Please i need your grace and i need your mercy. My son's gonna die Jesus again just graciously graciously condescends to lead this nobleman onto genuine saving faith in himself christ puts himself in a position Where he's going to have to this nobleman gonna have to trust christ apart from any miracle He simply says go your way your son lives This man was in a desperate situation, but the lord jesus christ is going to save on his own terms It's not that he gave the answer. I'm going to come down with you. He simply says go your way puts the man in a position of having to trust the word of christ Without a miracle. He's simply going to have to trust christ All of his hope now is in the word of christ all of his faith In the word of christ the life of his son Wrapped up irrevocably in the word of christ Is his word enough amen it's enough Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe So how did this nobleman respond? How would you respond? How would you respond your loved one in a hospital bed? Maybe the doctor comes in the room now go your way He's gonna live. How would you respond to the lord here? This nobleman had to place all of his hope Place him himself the real life of his son In the hands of this man the christ the son of god was going to have to believe him according to his word And he trusted him Do you know that um in this at that moment The man didn't race back to capernaum. It's interesting to think about that In trusting the lord jesus christ trusting his word he could have made it one o'clock in the afternoon He could have made it back to capernaum But he didn't He trusted the word of christ and he stayed there that night In capernaum he met his servants on the road back to capernaum the next morning Imagine what that night was like for him. He trusted the word of christ And so he stayed there Got rest that night probably slept Thinking about what awaited him when he got home in other words. He lived according to christ's word And trusted himself to him to live for him point four on your notes We're to live for the lord jesus christ. We believe him We honor him. We trust him and then we live for him verse 51 says and he was going down His servants met him told him saying your son lives interesting. They use the same words that the lord jesus christ uses Verse 52 that he inquired of them the hour when he got better. They said to him yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him So the father knew that it was about the same hour in which jesus said to him your son lives And he himself believed and his whole household This again is the second sign jesus did when he had come out of judia into galley So the nobleman trusts christ and he goes about his business in light of that trust he lives for christ in this new reality Get some rest in capernaum And then he heads off for home the next morning No doubt believing christ as he is going and thinking about his son what awaits him at home when he gets there The lord knows our faith Is often weak right? Lord knows that we often struggle that we're prone to wander And As we walk and live for him We're not always going to believe as we should and believe perfectly But we are to walk in faith and live for him As we walk in faith Trusting his word as we live for him God is gracious To affirm our faith to confirm our faith to grow our faith and to mature our faith Lord is gracious to strengthen our faith. So this is what happens. Listen. He's on the road His servants meet him use the same words that jesus did he used to tell him that his son lives He inquires about the hour to remove all doubt sure enough. What a coincidence. It's a seventh hour, right Lord did that work? So on the testimony of unbiased witnesses and on the confirmation of providence This nobleman's faith is bolstered right wouldn't yours be his faith is strengthened his faith is bolstered This is the grace of god to him when your faith is grown that way when you experience the grace of god And your faith is strengthened. That's the grace of god to you to grow your faith This is the grace of god to him our faith grows through experiences of the lord's grace to us There are times when our faith may be weak, but in the lord we are to pursue a strengthened and fruitful faith Every time we trust christ Every time you trust christ in adversity We find out that his grace is sufficient for our need don't we? And in that our grace is grown. It's just like the muscles Just like your muscles, right? You go to the i've heard this i don't know from first hand experience, but you go to the gym And you lift weights you work out your muscles and your muscles grow don't they? Well your faith muscle Has to be worked out to grow You exercise faith in the gym of life using the weight of god's word And your faith is going to grow Your faith is going to grow strong So this noble nobleman now Christ to him is more than just a worker of miracles christ to him is the miracle He is the miracle How do you think he might respond the next time that the going gets tough? Now after facing this adversity and the lord confirming himself to him You think if he gets back to Capernaum and you know hered finds out he's been gone for a couple of days and so hered fires him He's like, whoa, it's me. I've lost my job. What am I gonna do? No, no not this guy His faith in the lord has been confirmed. It's been affirmed. He's gonna trust the lord jesus christ As you would expect from a man who genuine believes his whole household immediately hears about jesus and they all believe Much like the samaritans believed at the preaching of the woman had the well Then they heard themselves from christ in the same way that cornelius and his household believed Lydia and her household believed The Philippian jailer and his household believed christmas and his household believed When someone's saved others are gonna hear about it. They're gonna believe too I want you to think about something for a moment. The nobleman Was faced with the fact here that he was unacceptable He was faced with the fact from the lord that he was unacceptable that he didn't deserve anything from the lord He didn't deserve anything from the lord You and I and if you're here today, you're outside of christ You and I are in the same helpless condition We are apart from christ unacceptable We don't deserve anything from the lord What we most need we cannot do for ourselves Now if you believe that to be true If you believe that to be true Then literally all you can do Is to simply leave that which dishonors him behind And to come to christ trusting in his word That if you come john six says he will by no means cast you out That's faith Listen to it again. The nobleman here was faced with the fact that he was unacceptable He realized in short order that he deserved nothing from the lord You and I are in that same helpless condition The most The thing that we most need we cannot do for ourselves Now if you believe that to be true And the bible attests that it is Then literally all that you can do is simply to leave that which dishonors him behind and come to christ Trusting his promise that if you will come he will by no means cast you out That's faith Trust his word to you today if you're not if you're here and you're not in christ If you've never turned from all that which dishonors him Turn from that trust christ cling to his word hold to his promises Sometimes just seems hard to believe doesn't it you mean if I just believe yes if you just believe If I just trust him for yes if you will trust him the lord will forgive you and cleanse you and pardon you Make you right with god clothe you in his righteousness Place you in the heavenlies with christ make you a child of his Adopt you into his family put you in his kingdom give you an inheritance in heaven If you'll just believe him at his word trust him at his word believe him You can do that today. You can do that now And listen if anyone else told you that we wouldn't believe would we? But because it is the lord jesus christ we believe you can believe it Take him at his word We often have a Have a weak faith But praise god we have a strong savior You're putting your faith in your believing Your faith will never be more secure never be more sure than your own ability to believe And we can't believe perfectly put your faith in him You know in this section of scripture here as we get to verse 54 um John our author here is like placing book ends On this section of scripture by reminding us of the first miracle that was performed in cana There are two miracles now performed there um And those two miracles encapsulating this wonderful section of scripture think about it the first miracle remember Was a wedding at cana full of joy Rejoicing a wedding right the second here Full of sorrow grief you know the near death of a child And the lord jesus christ fully sovereign and sufficient In both circumstances right And you're gonna face that in your life You're gonna face sickness Sickness in yourself or sickness of a loved one somebody near and dear to you might die You're gonna face Trauma and adversity and difficulty As a christian you're not exempt from difficulty. You're not exempt from trials Think about it now comfort As much as a blessing as it is Difficulty is far better if it points you to christ As much of a blessing as ease is Difficulty is far better if it conforms you to christ amen And this time of trial this difficulty the difficulty for this man From capernaum Is so that The genuineness of our faith listen, which is much more precious than gold which perishes May be found to praise Honor and glory at the revelation of our lord jesus christ whom having not seen You love Though now you do not see him Yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory Receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your souls. Amen Let's put our faith in christ. Let's pray just a couple of moments in silent prayer and ask the lord to Apply these truths to your heart. Let's pray Father in heaven god, we worship you and praise you for your glorious Word your glorious promises to us Thank you lord for offering salvation Granting repentance and faith that leads to life And praise you and worship you for these things god Please lord help us to apply these truths to our hearts to our minds that we might live My faith in you according to your word for your glory and for our good. We love you lord in jesus name. Amen