Sermon Cloud

IS SEEING REALLY BELIEVING?

Introduction:  As people, we have a tendency to form our beliefs based upon what we read and / or what we see.  I often recall people saying that “Seeing is believing.”  In many respects, the statement is true.  Many people run out of the path of a moving car in order to avoid being hit.  They see the car coming at the last moment and realize the truth that if they don’t move quickly to get out of the way, they will be experiencing a lot of pain or, maybe even die.  The reality for most people is that they will only believe what you tell them only if they can see with their own eyes.  The problem with this way of thinking, especially for believers in Christ, is that we often times doubt that God is at work in our lives because we cannot see any evidence.  Such thinking brings doubt into the mind of the believer, and for nonbelievers, if they don’t see some unusual event to persuade them of God’s existence, they refuse to believe.  Jesus certainly provided some insight for us when He confronted one of His disciples, Thomas, concerning his desire to touch Jesus’ hands and thrust his hand into the side of Jesus before believing Jesus had risen from the dead.  Jesus said “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."  After Thomas’ confession of Jesus as his Lord and God, Jesus went on to say “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  (John 20:27-29) (NIV).  So, how can we wrestle this issue to the ground, or better yet, how can we better understand what it means to believe?  As always, God’s Word, the Bible, provides the valid answer to such questioning.  If you have your Bibles, turn with me to John 4.  Our focus for today will be on verses 43 through 54.

Background thought:  One of the strongest testimonies we have, in regards to the life of Christ, is the Gospel of John.  It is believed to be the last of the Gospels to be written, and presents a wonderful effort in providing a clear understanding of what it means to believe in Christ.  We have seen, up to this point, how Jesus ministered in Jerusalem, Judea, and had just ministered to the village of Sychar in Samaria, resulting in many believing in Him as the Messiah.  Our text for today provides us a crucial understanding of what it means to believe in Christ.  The title of our message today is “Is Seeing Really Believing?”  Look with me at verse 43.

Reading of the text:  John 4:43-54

Prayer

CTS:  Today I want to share with you three ways to clarify what it means to believe in Christ as your Savior.  The first way people believe in Christ is through a naturalistic way.  Look with me at verses 43-45.

THE NATURALISTIC WAY OF BELIEVING IN CHRIST

            Verse 43 identifies Jesus’ paying a visit to His homeland, after staying with the Samaritans in Sychar for two days.  I find it interesting that Jesus departs a land where social outcasts placed their trust in His words and warmly received Him to a land where He would not be received in the same way.  You see, Galilee was the place where Jesus grew up, and the reason for His forthcoming reception would not be the same as for the Samaritans.  John tells us why the reason would be different.

            Verse 44 identifies that Jesus, Himself, identified that a prophet was / is not honored or received in the same way in his homeland as he is in other places.  Why not?!  As for Jesus, his people had observed Him growing up from childhood, knowing that he was the Son of Joseph and Mary.  How could this ordinary man, in their eyes, be the Savior of the world?

Illustration: 

            Matthew 12:46-49 reveals a moment where Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, desiring to talk with Jesus.  The crowd (Galileans) told Jesus that His earthly family was seeking Him.  Jesus’ gave them the proper perspective, relating that only those who followed Him were His relatives.  Looking at these statements within the context of Matthew 12, it was another effort to disprove Jesus’ deity through an earthly genealogy.  Such testimony is a display of His people, the Jews, believing in Jesus in a naturalistic way.

Application:

            If we are not careful, we can allow the world, in its numerous attempts, to persuade us that Jesus was less than the Bible reports Him to be.  From a naturalistic view, Jesus is reported to be the son of Joseph and Mary.  Many say that he was a good man, or even a prophet.  Our application from this point is to willfully choose to believe that Jesus was more than just a man.  Not only were there those who would not believe in Jesus because of His natural upbringing, but there were those who believed in Jesus based upon the signs that He performed.  This leads us to our second point, the observational view.

THE OBSERVATIONAL WAY OF BELIEVING IN CHRIST

            Look with me at verse 45.  The first part of the verse provides clarity as to where Jesus went in Galilee, Cana, where He had earlier turned water into wine at a wedding.  The verse reveals that Jesus was well received by His Galilean friends.  However, it was not for the same reason as the Samaritans received Him, but because of the signs he had performed at the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem.  In other words, Jesus was only valuable to them not for anything of eternal value, but because of the signs He performed.  People pursued Jesus for the signs He would perform for them, not for salvation.

            Verse 46-47 identifies one of those people, a nobleman, who came to Jesus, requesting Jesus to come to his home and heal his son before the son dies.  Based upon who Jesus is, and what the man was asking, its apparent that the man failed to recognize the deity of Christ (speak and it would be done) and the power Christ exercised over death.  This man had some faith in what Christ could do, but was not totally convinced of the life changing experience Christ could give not only to the man’s son, but to his entire household.

            Jesus responds not only to the nobleman in verse 48, but to all of those who had a similar mindset, the need for a sign or a miracle.  He identifies that they won’t believe unless they receive a sign.  Its unfortunate that so many people in Jesus’ day, in spite of the fact that He stood before them, required a sign for Jesus to prove His deity or only followed Him because of the signs and miracles He performed.  Its also unfortunate to think of what they would do once Christ died on the cross.  Where would they get the signs henceforth?  It would have been much simpler for them to accept Christ for Who He was / is, the Savior of the World.

Illustration: 

            I was deceived for a number of years to think that as long as I lived my life for God, sought to honor Him in our home, bringing up our children in the admonition of the Lord, God would bless and prosper our family.  The sign of my being right with God was the blessings my family experienced.  However, when my family began experiencing difficulty in life-challenging ways, I couldn’t understand the experience.  I had been obeying God, so I thought.

Application:

            It is easy for you and me to get caught up in the observational way of believing in Christ.  Its easy to believe that if life is going well for you, your pleasurable experience should be a sign from God that He is pleased with your efforts to please Him.  This is true in many respects.  However, if this sign is accurate, what will you do when difficulty comes into your life, yet you haven’t changed your life pattern?  Living the Christian life by signs is dangerous, because it will cause you to doubt God when the signs are not present.  The applicational point is for you and I to choose not to live our lives for God based upon physical signs.  You are probably asking “Well Pastor Bob, what is my standard for believing in Christ?”  This leads us to our next point, the biblical way to believe in Christ.

THE BIBLICAL WAY TO BELIEVE IN CHRIST

            Look with me at verse 49.  Now we see a different aspect of the nobleman’s plea.  If you look at the way the man refers to his son, he now begs Jesus, in a more intimate way, to come and heal his child.  It appears that this man’s plea or belief in Christ has changed from being a sign seeker to a willingness to completely trust in Jesus or take Him at His Word.  Jesus senses the attitude of the man’s heart and tells him in verse 50 “Go, your son lives.”  The evidence of the man’s belief in Christ is that instead of pleading for Jesus to come to his son, the man believed Jesus and started to return home.  What was the result of the man’s choosing to completely believe in Jesus?  Let’s read on through the end of the chapter.

            As you can see, the moment the man confirmed that his son was healed at the same hour Jesus had spoken the words of healing to him, he became completely convinced of who Jesus is, and placed his complete trust in Christ.  The event had such an impact upon the family that everyone within the family became believers in Christ.

Illustration:

            Hebrews 11:32-40 tells us of many who had an unwavering trust and belief in God.  They were faithful to God even to the point of death.  They had such faith because they believed that God was true to His Word, and had something better than this life had to offer awaiting them in the future.

Application:

            This third way of believing in Christ brings quite a challenge to the mind of each believer.  To effect the wonderful blessings God bestows upon His children, you and I must take Jesus at His Word.  In other words, we must believe God’s Word completely.  We must believe, as John continues to assert, that Jesus is the Savior of the world (John 1:12, 3:16, 14:6).

Conclusion:

            Let’s review what we have covered in our passage today.  We must be cautioned by much of what our world is saying about Jesus today.  Many are asserting that Jesus was just a man.  He had earthly parents, lived life like you and I, and died like you and I will one day.  If we choose to accept any of this thinking as being true, we will be drawn away from following Christ as God’s Word teaches us to.  Jesus tells us to obey His commandments and He will pray the Father, who will send a Comforter to guide believers in Christ in the way they are to go.

            We can also be duped into thinking that God is working in our lives based upon the signs we see, as I had mentioned earlier.  If you believe in Christ in this way, you, need a sign, you are joining ranks with worldly thinking (If there isn’t excitement, numbers, my needs not being met) and being deceived by Satan himself, the master of deception.

            For us to have an intimate, obedient relationship with God, we must completely believe that Christ is who the Bible teaches Him to be, the Savior of the World, as well as the One who provides for your and my every need.  Have you placed your complete trust in Him for salvation?  If you have, are you living your life in the way that completely pleases God?

            If you don’t know Christ as your Savior, you can know Him today.  Salvation does not involve you physically doing anything.  It involves making some choices from your heart.  You must admit and confess that you, as I once was, are separated from God because of your sin (Romans 3:23), acknowledge what God has done about your sin (John 3:16, Romans 5:8), realize the opportunity you have to have a personal relationship with God (Romans 6:23), make the decision from the heart to believe what Christ has done for you, asking for God’s forgiveness, and confess Him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10, 13)

            If you are a believer in Christ, confess your sins to God right now (1 John 1:9)!  Ask Him for the gift of repentance, remembering that it is Christ who is working within you through His Grace to live the Christian life.  Ask Him to empower you to live for Him from this day forward, enabling you to depart from any doubt in believing His promises for you, both now and in the future!