WEBVTT 00:00:00.940 --> 00:00:05.839 I invite you to turn once again to the gospel 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:14.839 according to John. John chapter 4 verses 46 through 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:18.920 54. We are continuing in our new sermon series 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:23.460 on the miracles of Jesus. We started this last 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:27.539 Sunday looking at John chapter 2, seeing the 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:32.780 water turned to wine. As we look at this text, 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:36.859 again, John 4, 46 -54, note, I hope you will 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:40.240 note some of the similarities there. The biggest 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.939 similarity is what we said last week, that when 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:49.520 Jesus performs signs or miracles, they are called 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:53.939 signs in the book of John, and all of these signs 00:00:53.939 --> 00:00:59.439 are significant. they all point to something 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:03.579 beyond themselves matter of fact the book of 00:01:03.579 --> 00:01:06.980 John gives us a bit of a purpose statement for 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:10.659 the miracles the signs that Jesus performs before 00:01:10.659 --> 00:01:15.000 I read our text for today that we're going to 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.799 elaborate upon I want to read to you John 20 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:23.340 verses 30 through 31 so keep your finger in John 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:30.420 4 But listen to John 20 33 31 for a purpose statement 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:34.920 For the miracles and a purpose statement really 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:42.200 for the entire book of John It says now Jesus 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:47.640 Did many other signs in the presence of the disciples 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:51.799 which are not written in this book? But these 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:56.030 are written So that you may believe that Jesus 00:01:56.030 --> 00:02:00.890 is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing 00:02:00.890 --> 00:02:05.010 You may have life in his name. So once again 00:02:05.010 --> 00:02:08.169 you see this is the purpose for the miracles 00:02:08.169 --> 00:02:12.590 this is the purpose for the book of John and 00:02:12.590 --> 00:02:16.830 So, let's see this sign that Jesus performs reading 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:22.169 now from John 4 46 through 54 So he came again 00:02:22.839 --> 00:02:27.419 to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:30.960 wine. And at Capernaum, there was an official 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:35.800 whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:39.439 had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:43.199 and asked him to come down and heal his son, 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:47.139 for he was at the point of death. And so Jesus 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:50.419 said to him, unless you see signs and wonders, 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:54.090 you will not believe. The official said to him, 00:02:54.110 --> 00:02:58.030 sir, come down before my child dies. Jesus said 00:02:58.030 --> 00:03:02.370 to him, go, your son will live. The man believed 00:03:02.370 --> 00:03:05.590 the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on 00:03:05.590 --> 00:03:08.389 his way. And as he was going down, his servants 00:03:08.389 --> 00:03:13.050 met him and told him that his son was recovering. 00:03:14.530 --> 00:03:17.810 And so he asked them the hour when he began to 00:03:17.810 --> 00:03:20.550 get better. And they said to him, yesterday at 00:03:20.550 --> 00:03:24.509 the seventh hour the fever left him. The father 00:03:24.509 --> 00:03:27.669 knew this was the hour when Jesus had said to 00:03:27.669 --> 00:03:32.069 him, your son will live. And he himself believed 00:03:32.069 --> 00:03:36.830 in all his household. This was now the second 00:03:36.830 --> 00:03:42.050 sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea 00:03:42.050 --> 00:03:46.789 to Galilee. This is God's holy word. Let's pray. 00:03:49.029 --> 00:03:52.509 Father in heaven we bless you and we thank you 00:03:52.509 --> 00:03:58.110 and we praise you for this word and Ask that 00:03:58.110 --> 00:04:01.430 as we study this text as we look at this incredible 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:04.889 sign this wonder that Jesus does That you would 00:04:04.889 --> 00:04:10.150 help us to know that Jesus He is the miracle 00:04:10.150 --> 00:04:15.159 worker the Jesus he is the Christ That Jesus 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:19.040 is at work now as Jesus is at your right hand. 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:23.459 Oh father interceding for us We ask Lord that 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:26.720 you'll grant us understanding this we do ask 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:35.720 in Christ's name amen When is the last time that 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:41.519 you walked through our cemetery When's the last 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:46.850 time Some of you know our cemetery next door 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:51.829 all too well. For your closest loved ones are 00:04:51.829 --> 00:04:56.089 buried there. You walk within those stone walls 00:04:56.089 --> 00:05:01.089 and you experience pain. And you experience comfort. 00:05:02.310 --> 00:05:06.850 But prayerfully, you also experience just incredible 00:05:06.850 --> 00:05:12.170 hope. When you're in the cemetery, do you ever 00:05:12.170 --> 00:05:17.459 stop? at the smallest of tombstones. Do you ever 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:22.319 look at those? Maybe you know those too. Maybe 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:27.939 you knew what happened with that child. Is there 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:33.899 anything worse than the loss of a child? I cannot 00:05:33.899 --> 00:05:40.199 imagine. Today's sermon, this text, teeters on 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:44.620 the edge of such a loss. You see within this 00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:50.220 story, the Father is desperate, and He goes to 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:58.000 the only one who can truly help Him. This text 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:03.680 here illustrates how we need Jesus, but sometimes 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:07.259 we don't even realize the extent to which we 00:06:07.259 --> 00:06:12.040 need Him. Two statements that are true of every 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:17.519 person within this sanctuary one Trouble is coming 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:24.399 and two We need to be saved from our sin These 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:27.639 truths are illustrated in this text. We need 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:32.500 Jesus because we live in a fallen world And because 00:06:32.500 --> 00:06:36.120 we have a fallen nature we live in a fallen world 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:39.800 And we have a fallen nature. Let's focus on fallen 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:44.199 world first. If you were reading all of John, 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.279 you would see this, even as we're skipping around 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:51.899 a little bit. And by the way, we are studying 00:06:51.899 --> 00:06:54.620 John in the fellowship Sunday school class. You 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:57.819 should come to that. But if you were reading 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:00.279 all through John, you would see that Jesus is 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:04.009 for everybody. You would see in the beginning 00:07:04.009 --> 00:07:06.350 towards the beginning of John and end of chapter 00:07:06.350 --> 00:07:10.829 1 into chapter 2 Jesus comes and he selects Disciples 00:07:10.829 --> 00:07:14.370 for himself and these disciples are not people 00:07:14.370 --> 00:07:17.329 that you and I would probably have selected They 00:07:17.329 --> 00:07:20.670 weren't making the a team on the sports team. 00:07:20.689 --> 00:07:24.629 They're mostly riding the bench But Jesus selects 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:29.639 them anyway But Jesus also meets with people 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:33.040 of incredible influence and authority, like when 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:36.160 Jesus met with Nicodemus, right? A religious 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:42.139 ruler. Again, a man of authority. And then Jesus 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:45.920 meets with a Samaritan woman at a well. And we 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:48.420 know the Jews and the Samaritans didn't get along, 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:52.920 and that doesn't stop Jesus. And then we get 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:55.980 to this text, and we see Jesus meeting with this 00:07:55.980 --> 00:08:00.769 nobleman. some sort of a like a royal official 00:08:00.769 --> 00:08:05.310 inherits court. This nobleman would have had 00:08:05.310 --> 00:08:08.189 influence. He would have been similar to Nicodemus 00:08:08.189 --> 00:08:10.949 in that way. He would have had authority. He 00:08:10.949 --> 00:08:15.110 probably had plenty of money. But his influence, 00:08:15.569 --> 00:08:21.089 his wealth can't save his son. And so the official 00:08:21.089 --> 00:08:24.370 goes looking for a miracle working carpenter 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:29.040 named Jesus. and you see by this point the news 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:33.840 of Jesus is spreading and so the man hears of 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.960 Jesus he hears that Jesus who has just turned 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:40.720 the water into wine he hears of this Jesus and 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:45.200 he goes to him the man within our text goes from 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:48.539 Capernaum to Cana which is probably something 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:52.759 like 20 miles and we don't know how the man got 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:55.750 to Jesus but that's not the point the man would 00:08:55.750 --> 00:08:58.970 have gone much, much further than 20 miles for 00:08:58.970 --> 00:09:04.330 the sake of his son. Why? Because look at verse 00:09:04.330 --> 00:09:14.350 47. The son of this man was at the point of death. 00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:21.409 This is the sad fact of our fallen world, that 00:09:21.409 --> 00:09:25.509 there is death. It's a product of the fall. Perhaps 00:09:25.509 --> 00:09:29.029 you remember Romans 6 23 for the wages of sin 00:09:29.029 --> 00:09:34.990 is death because of sin we have sickness Because 00:09:34.990 --> 00:09:40.090 of sin we have death And so this man goes looking 00:09:40.090 --> 00:09:43.370 for Jesus the great physician he goes to Cana 00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:47.169 now we don't know All that was going on in the 00:09:47.169 --> 00:09:49.870 man's mind. We don't know what he thought of 00:09:49.870 --> 00:09:54.340 Jesus, but he gets to Jesus and he has this request 00:09:54.340 --> 00:10:00.879 for him. Come to my house. The way this is written 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.980 makes it sound as though the man is persistent, 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:06.940 that he's begging Jesus, come to my house and 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:13.200 heal my son. But Jesus has an interesting reply, 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:19.080 doesn't he? Look in verse 48. Jesus says, unless 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:23.259 you see signs and wonders, You will not believe. 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:31.000 What a thing to say to a man whose son is desperately 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:34.440 ill on his perhaps death bed. Why does Jesus 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:39.279 talk in this way to this man who is so sad and 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:46.000 desperate? Why would Jesus say this? Jesus is 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:51.120 addressing a heart issue with this man. but not 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:55.080 only this man. Jesus is addressing a heart issue 00:10:55.080 --> 00:11:00.220 with all kinds of people in Cana. If you look 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:06.580 carefully in verse 48, the ESV says, unless you. 00:11:07.259 --> 00:11:10.080 If you're using an ESV, English Standard Version, 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:14.080 you might see a footnote there. If you're using 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:18.629 the NASB, the NIV, or the New King James, you 00:11:18.629 --> 00:11:20.629 might see something that's I think a little more 00:11:20.629 --> 00:11:24.629 helpful it says you people within the English 00:11:24.629 --> 00:11:29.049 language we don't have a second -person plural 00:11:29.049 --> 00:11:32.830 form of you maybe we do now maybe it's in the 00:11:32.830 --> 00:11:34.450 dictionary haven't looked at the dictionary in 00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:38.230 a long time but in the south we would just say 00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:45.129 y 'all right so don't be mistaken here Jesus 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:49.480 is talking not just to this man Jesus is talking 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:54.659 to this crowd. And he's calling people to believe, 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:58.980 not to be entranced with yet another sign. It 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:02.100 is true, obviously, as we will see, Jesus performs 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:05.659 these signs, but Jesus, there's always purpose 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:12.019 behind these signs. One commentator says, his 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:15.639 complaint, Jesus' complaint was the people did 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:19.980 not worship him as Savior and Lord, but merely 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:24.519 sought to employ him as a useful wonder worker. 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.659 They were consumers, not worshipers. They were 00:12:28.659 --> 00:12:37.179 admirers, not followers. But friends, this rebuke 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:39.860 is not just for this man, and it's not just for 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:45.190 the crowd. This rebuke is for us, too. Because 00:12:45.190 --> 00:12:50.889 people come to church for a whole variety of 00:12:50.889 --> 00:12:54.309 reasons. Some of them are good, some of them 00:12:54.309 --> 00:12:56.649 are not so good, and some of them are not the 00:12:56.649 --> 00:13:01.629 greatest good. People come to church because 00:13:01.629 --> 00:13:05.350 I hear you guys have really good food during 00:13:05.350 --> 00:13:09.230 your fellowship meals. I hear you've got a really 00:13:09.230 --> 00:13:12.529 great choir. I hear you've got a great youth 00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:15.429 group. I hear you've got a beautiful sanctuary. 00:13:17.370 --> 00:13:20.149 I love what you guys do with outreach or VBS. 00:13:20.289 --> 00:13:22.850 People might say these things and they all sound 00:13:22.850 --> 00:13:27.490 very, very good. But what is our chief reason 00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:35.090 for being here? It's Jesus. It's Jesus. You remember 00:13:35.090 --> 00:13:39.070 the shorter catechism number one? What is man's 00:13:39.070 --> 00:13:43.529 chief end? It's to glorify God and to enjoy him 00:13:43.529 --> 00:13:48.950 forever. All those other things are good. But 00:13:48.950 --> 00:13:53.909 they all point. They should all point. To our 00:13:53.909 --> 00:13:59.669 Savior Jesus. Our primary goal, the primary thing 00:13:59.669 --> 00:14:06.509 that we do. Is worship. It's worship. I saw someone 00:14:06.509 --> 00:14:15.000 this week. We all love fireworks, don't we? We 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:17.559 love them. They go off. They're really bright. 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:20.360 They're really loud. They're really fun. But 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:23.440 think about it. When people shoot off fireworks, 00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:26.720 there's usually a very good reason for that. 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:30.340 We celebrate holidays with fireworks. We celebrate 00:14:30.340 --> 00:14:32.860 the victory of the home team at the baseball 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:37.009 game with fireworks. There's usually... a purpose 00:14:37.009 --> 00:14:39.509 behind the firework, except for where I live. 00:14:39.570 --> 00:14:42.029 Some people shoot them off on random Tuesdays. 00:14:42.230 --> 00:14:49.149 But we need to look beyond the firework. Not 00:14:49.149 --> 00:14:51.830 be so caught up in all the lights and the sounds, 00:14:52.529 --> 00:14:56.590 but be caught up in the one behind it all. Perhaps 00:14:56.590 --> 00:14:59.529 think of it like Thanksgiving. Many of you, if 00:14:59.529 --> 00:15:02.269 not all of you, will have Thanksgiving this week. 00:15:03.110 --> 00:15:06.919 And there will be a table. And on it, you might 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:10.580 have some good turkey to eat. You might have 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:14.679 stuffing. You might have, I hope you have macaroni 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:17.799 and cheese and mashed potatoes and warm buttery 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:23.059 rolls. And cap it all off with pumpkin pie. But 00:15:23.059 --> 00:15:24.960 let's say that you've got all that before you 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:29.679 on the table. But before the meal is ever served. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:31.940 Before you ever get your plate. Before you have 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:34.059 to wait in that long line behind everybody else. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:39.299 you fill up on cheese and crackers. Sometimes 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:42.279 that's the way we treat Jesus. We get caught 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:45.679 up with all this stuff on the periphery. We don't 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:47.940 focus on the very fact that Jesus is the meal, 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:51.700 that Jesus is the firework, that Jesus is the 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:54.899 reason for everything that we do. And so what 00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:57.500 does Jesus say? He says, don't get caught up 00:15:57.500 --> 00:16:01.980 in the signs, get caught up in me. He calls the 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:11.980 man here to believe. Look in verse 50. Sometimes 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:21.100 we see Jesus touching the sick, which others 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:24.279 wouldn't do. Sometimes we see Jesus touching 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:28.759 the dead, which others definitely would not do. 00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:32.850 Think of Jesus touching and healing Jairus's 00:16:32.850 --> 00:16:36.009 daughter. Think of the woman with the issue of 00:16:36.009 --> 00:16:39.110 the blood flow who actually touches him, but 00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:44.169 sometimes Jesus heals from afar. The nobleman 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:47.830 here is called to believe without sight to see 00:16:47.830 --> 00:16:53.549 it happen. And isn't that, isn't that what faith 00:16:53.549 --> 00:16:58.720 is? You might remember Hebrews chapter 11 verse 00:16:58.720 --> 00:17:02.740 1. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:07.660 the conviction of things not seen. Right now 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:12.980 in this life we need faith because we do go through 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:16.500 those times of trouble. We need to trust in Jesus 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:20.400 that one day our faith shall be turned to sight, 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:23.720 but that tells us something else. that there 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:28.180 is substance to our faith, right? That there 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:31.059 is something to see. We do not have blind faith. 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:35.259 Scripture gives us historical testimony and other 00:17:35.259 --> 00:17:38.980 evidence of the unseen. He gives us miracles, 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:43.559 but we are called to exercise our faith as we 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:50.180 look at these miracles. We are called to believe. 00:17:50.829 --> 00:17:54.309 This man here this nobleman did not have the 00:17:54.309 --> 00:17:57.730 benefit the luxury if you will of seeing his 00:17:57.730 --> 00:18:01.490 son get better in his presence He had to really 00:18:01.490 --> 00:18:07.109 trust Jesus here If he had not trusted Jesus 00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:09.529 he probably would have clung to Jesus and said 00:18:09.529 --> 00:18:13.710 I'm not letting you go until you come to my house 00:18:13.710 --> 00:18:19.200 But you see what he does in verse 50 The man 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:22.839 believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:29.000 went on his way. The man believed. In a lot of 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:32.579 ways, this scripture is very similar to another 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:37.299 miracle that Jesus performs. They're similar, 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:40.099 but they're different. You might remember the 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:43.980 Centurion's sick servant from Matthew chapter 00:18:43.980 --> 00:18:46.099 eight. Let me read Matthew eight, five through 00:18:46.099 --> 00:18:52.059 eight. It says, When he had entered Capernaum, 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:55.920 a centurion came forward to him, appealing to 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:00.720 him, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:05.480 suffering terribly. And he said to him, I will 00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:10.579 come and heal him. And this is amazing. The centurion 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:15.660 replied, Lord, I am not worthy to have you come 00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:20.769 under my roof. But only say the word and my servant 00:19:20.769 --> 00:19:26.769 will be healed Just say the word That highlights 00:19:26.769 --> 00:19:29.450 a bit of difference between that story and this 00:19:29.450 --> 00:19:32.569 one from John 4 the centurion when he came to 00:19:32.569 --> 00:19:37.789 Jesus He already had faith in Jesus but the nobleman 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:40.509 He comes to Jesus and perhaps he has faith that 00:19:40.509 --> 00:19:43.849 Jesus can do something But I think we can definitely 00:19:43.849 --> 00:19:46.470 say when the nobleman comes to Jesus, he doesn't 00:19:46.470 --> 00:19:51.130 quite know who Jesus is. But he comes to faith 00:19:51.130 --> 00:19:55.089 quickly because the Holy Spirit moves in his 00:19:55.089 --> 00:19:59.410 heart to believe. And so he comes to Jesus and 00:19:59.410 --> 00:20:02.750 he doesn't quite know what he's in for. He needed 00:20:02.750 --> 00:20:05.369 more than to be healed. He needed more than for 00:20:05.369 --> 00:20:10.200 his son to be healed. He needed to believe. and 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:14.099 his household needed to believe. And this takes 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:19.339 us to our second point, our fallen nature. This 00:20:19.339 --> 00:20:23.140 man comes to Jesus needing help, but when he 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:27.920 leaves, he goes in faith in Jesus Christ. Friends, 00:20:28.099 --> 00:20:31.920 the condition for salvation for people who are 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:36.279 dead and are trespasses, the condition is faith, 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:41.430 right? We are made alive in Christ remember the 00:20:41.430 --> 00:20:44.809 purpose For the signs within the book of John 00:20:44.809 --> 00:20:48.789 that you may believe in Jesus and in him have 00:20:48.789 --> 00:20:51.650 eternal life We have that fallen nature. We had 00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:56.170 that sinful nature, but in Christ We are made 00:20:56.170 --> 00:21:01.369 a new creation But you might say well if all 00:21:01.369 --> 00:21:07.369 that is so Why does verse 53 say that he himself 00:21:07.369 --> 00:21:11.589 believed? Because verse 51 has already said it. 00:21:11.589 --> 00:21:15.789 So why does 53 have to repeat this if he's already 00:21:15.789 --> 00:21:19.430 been so -called converted or something? You know 00:21:19.430 --> 00:21:22.410 this about yourselves is that belief is not a 00:21:22.410 --> 00:21:25.829 one -time thing. Belief is not just something 00:21:25.829 --> 00:21:30.950 that happens in one moment. No, we grow in our 00:21:30.950 --> 00:21:34.309 faith. We are sanctified in our faith. We trust 00:21:34.309 --> 00:21:37.809 Jesus more and more. And so the man believed, 00:21:37.970 --> 00:21:41.569 but when he meets his servants on the road, his 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:46.589 heart swells with belief. Especially when they 00:21:46.589 --> 00:21:49.849 figure out the timing of it all. They figure 00:21:49.849 --> 00:21:53.670 out the time that the son started to get better 00:21:53.670 --> 00:21:58.829 was the time at which Jesus said, go, your son 00:21:58.829 --> 00:22:04.299 will live. And so you see, Jesus did not have 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:07.640 to be in the man's house to heal. He didn't need 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.400 to see him or to touch him. Jesus simply said 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:17.039 it, and there it was. This is very similar to 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:19.680 another sign, and I won't spend too much time 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.839 on this because we'll cover it in a future sermon, 00:22:21.940 --> 00:22:24.759 Lord willing. But perhaps you remember the story 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.319 of Lazarus. You remember Jesus' friend, Lazarus, 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:33.039 right? Jesus is not near Lazarus when he dies. 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:36.740 And Jesus, if I can say it this way, takes his 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:39.940 time getting to Lazarus after his death. So Jesus 00:22:39.940 --> 00:22:44.680 gets to Lazarus on the fourth day to show us 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:47.940 that Lazarus was really dead, but then Jesus 00:22:47.940 --> 00:22:51.400 does something remarkable. He doesn't go into 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:55.440 the tomb and touch Lazarus who has died. He simply 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:01.150 says, Lazarus, come out. This should show us 00:23:01.150 --> 00:23:05.170 two things Again, the miracles are designed to 00:23:05.170 --> 00:23:08.769 show that Jesus is divine and so there is a link 00:23:08.769 --> 00:23:13.529 between what Jesus does his healing and How God 00:23:13.529 --> 00:23:17.150 created the heavens and the earth? For you remember 00:23:17.150 --> 00:23:23.430 this that God spoke it all into existence And 00:23:23.430 --> 00:23:26.349 that's what Jesus does here He speaks healing, 00:23:26.349 --> 00:23:30.609 if you will, into existence. Jesus is at least 00:23:30.609 --> 00:23:34.569 20 miles away from this dying son, but he's able 00:23:34.569 --> 00:23:39.410 to promise that the son will live. And it was 00:23:39.410 --> 00:23:45.970 so. But secondly, this miracle right here, along 00:23:45.970 --> 00:23:49.029 with Lazarus and along with this centurion servant, 00:23:49.529 --> 00:23:54.809 it foreshadows something amazing for us. All 00:23:54.809 --> 00:23:59.289 of this, these healing miracles foreshadow Jesus' 00:23:59.650 --> 00:24:03.069 death and resurrection. It shouldn't surprise 00:24:03.069 --> 00:24:06.549 us that the one capable of raising the dead is 00:24:06.549 --> 00:24:10.410 also the one who was raised, right? Jesus' death, 00:24:10.769 --> 00:24:14.609 though, goes far beyond these. Because here's 00:24:14.609 --> 00:24:17.789 something very, very special about Jesus' death 00:24:17.789 --> 00:24:24.069 and resurrection. Every person that Jesus healed 00:24:24.069 --> 00:24:29.230 and every person that Jesus raised they would 00:24:29.230 --> 00:24:35.289 all die again but not so with Jesus because Jesus 00:24:35.289 --> 00:24:41.309 is victorious over sin and death and the grave 00:24:41.309 --> 00:24:46.269 Jesus doesn't die again and in that what Jesus 00:24:46.269 --> 00:24:49.779 does is he takes away the sting of death because 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:52.720 death does not have the final say, Jesus does. 00:24:53.059 --> 00:24:56.059 And so today, if you are listening, do you believe 00:24:56.059 --> 00:24:59.519 that Jesus died on the cross for you? That's 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:02.059 really the greatest point of all of these healing 00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:05.519 and resurrection miracles. This shows us our 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:09.019 greatest need is to trust that Jesus conquered 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:13.380 sin and death on the cross, that he said it was 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:15.960 finished and then he was raised on the third 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:23.039 day. But this also all tells us what to do with 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:27.740 these things and what to make of a God who performs 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:31.220 such incredible miracles. We get to my favorite 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:36.339 part as I begin to land the plane. Look at verse 00:25:36.339 --> 00:25:46.119 52, 53, 54. All of this began with the nobleman 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:50.569 requesting help, right? But God had a greater 00:25:50.569 --> 00:25:56.690 plan than just healing this one person. This 00:25:56.690 --> 00:25:59.210 actually reminds me of our previous sermon series 00:25:59.210 --> 00:26:02.130 through Jonah. You remember how Jonah ran away 00:26:02.130 --> 00:26:04.769 from the call upon his life. He ran away from 00:26:04.769 --> 00:26:07.569 the call to go to Nineveh to go to Tarshish and 00:26:07.569 --> 00:26:10.029 he's on the boat and there's the great storm 00:26:10.029 --> 00:26:14.009 and Jonah tells the sailors about his God, right, 00:26:14.009 --> 00:26:17.789 and they believe. Here we see something very 00:26:17.789 --> 00:26:23.680 similar. We see through this miracle not just 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:27.839 the dad believing and not just the son living 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:35.180 we see the whole household believing Jesus what 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:39.160 he does within this passage is he's saving souls 00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:42.940 and Yet what we do with this is to see that the 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:46.779 nobleman did something really good this man acts 00:26:46.779 --> 00:26:51.279 on his faith This man lives out his faith, exercising 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:54.940 his faith before others. If we look back on the 00:26:54.940 --> 00:26:59.720 whole story, we see this man and his faith growing 00:26:59.720 --> 00:27:05.240 throughout. Spurgeon points out that the spark 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:09.680 of faith for this man is the hearing of the reports 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:12.900 of other people about Jesus, the fire of faith. 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:15.920 is him standing before Jesus and begging for 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.940 help. The flame of faith is him believing Jesus 00:27:19.940 --> 00:27:22.839 and departing. And then the inferno of faith 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:27.019 is the whole household believing. And so I quote 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:30.539 from Spurgeon who said, from that day forth he 00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:34.900 became a disciple of Jesus. He followed him not 00:27:34.900 --> 00:27:39.880 as a hearer only or as a prophet. or as a savior 00:27:39.880 --> 00:27:46.220 only, but as his Lord and as his God. And so 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:50.000 friends, final points of application. Like the 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.579 nobleman and his family and his servants, you 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:58.000 believe. But how are you living out your belief? 00:27:58.460 --> 00:28:01.140 How are you living out your faith? No doubt this 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:04.380 man had an incredible story to tell. Are you 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:08.670 telling your story? Are you telling your testimony 00:28:08.670 --> 00:28:13.789 of how you came to Christ? Let us be quick with 00:28:13.789 --> 00:28:16.390 our testimonies. It's like someone once said, 00:28:17.170 --> 00:28:20.910 I'm just one beggar trying to tell other beggars 00:28:20.910 --> 00:28:25.369 where to find bread. Secondly and lastly, friends, 00:28:25.589 --> 00:28:30.529 trouble is coming. Trouble is coming. We live 00:28:30.529 --> 00:28:33.869 in a fallen world. Everybody is either coming 00:28:33.869 --> 00:28:38.509 out of trouble, in trouble, or going into it, 00:28:38.670 --> 00:28:43.230 what will you do when trouble comes? Friends, 00:28:43.250 --> 00:28:45.089 if I could say it like this, don't waste the 00:28:45.089 --> 00:28:49.250 trouble. Do not waste what God brings you through. 00:28:49.710 --> 00:28:52.349 Because the way to strengthen your faith is just 00:28:52.349 --> 00:28:56.250 like exercising. It's by exercising your muscles. 00:28:56.690 --> 00:29:00.950 We must exercise our faith. Exercise your faith 00:29:00.950 --> 00:29:05.900 in times of trouble. Run to Jesus. Because he's 00:29:05.900 --> 00:29:08.819 the only one who will get you through it and 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:11.779 along the way He will strengthen your faith. 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:12.859 Let's pray