Faith and Obedience - John 4:43-54

[0:00] Hey guys, thanks for listening to our Calvary Chapel Charlotte podcast. I will walk by faith and not by sight.

[0:48] Good morning, everybody. Turn to John chapter 4. As we continue on this journey through the book of John, we're averaging about a chapter a month.

[1:00] We started in January and it's April. So, praise God. I thought I'd get through this in a year. That's probably not going to happen. But if you notice, as John is walking us through his narrative of Jesus' life, what do we start with?

[1:14] We had John the Baptist, a man. We had Nicodemus, one guy. We had this woman at the well, one woman. And now we're going to have this nobleman. Jesus is taking the time with individual people.

[1:25] Just person after person after person. And I think we think of Jesus and his ministry and automatically we think, well, the first thing we think is, well, what was the purpose of his coming, right? To give himself for the redemption of the world.

[1:36] But then we think of the crowds and the feeding of the 5,000 or of all the apostles and there and Jesus teaching them. But we're focusing on a person, a person, a person. And we're seeing the work that grows from that.

[1:48] Imagine if there's no Nicodemus. How many millions of people, their lives have been changed because Nicodemus went to Jesus and Jesus said, for God so loved the world. He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

[2:02] Nicodemus never went and did that. You think of John the Baptist, his calling to go before. And the people, all the way through Acts, Paul will meet these disciples and he's like, they're like, yeah, we believe in Jesus.

[2:14] He's like, well, how did you come to believe in Jesus? Through John the Baptist's ministry, it's still going on. All the people that have been influenced by him. And then this woman at the well, one woman and the whole city changed.

[2:25] And then a whole region by the time Philip comes up. There's that revival in Samaria. And then today, one man, we're going to look at this noble man, this one Jew coming to Jesus and Jesus taking the time for this one person.

[2:39] I was thinking of that because we are so numbers focused in everything we do. All of our business, all of our work is numbers focused, which is valid. You don't usually make too much money when you just, you know, have one client or something like that, right?

[2:54] You know, it's numbers focused. You want to be prepared. You know, I got enough for one meal today. Well, usually we like enough for like the meals for the next month or at least the next week. But Jesus is focusing on one person, person after person after person to show us what.

[3:10] That's how he's focusing on us. He focuses on people. And so last week, as we finished the section in Samaria there, where Jesus was two days with the Samaritans. And he said to the disciples in John chapter four, verses 35 through 36, do not say there are yet four months and then comes harvest.

[3:27] Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest. And he that reaps receives wages and gathers fruit unto life eternal, that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together.

[3:42] Beautiful benefits package of the harvest. We get divine wages. The results are everlasting. And there's joy and fellowship in the midst of this. You know, Jesus said in the world, you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer.

[3:58] I've overcome the world. Yes, there's a harvest. Yes, there's work to do. But in the midst of that, there should be joy and fellowship. We should be recognizing that what we are doing is not just temporal.

[4:10] Even in the fields, the different fields God calls us to, our different fields of employment or in different fields of focus, that there is an eternal harvest behind all of that.

[4:20] We are sent with this purpose, with this provision and this power. And what was our most effective tool in the harvest? The word of God. God's word is the most effective tool that we have as we go into the harvest.

[4:32] But how do we use that? We just take it out and start randomly swinging. I hope I lop off the right thing. You know, Peter tried that with his sword. And what happened? Cut off an ear. The next time you see a sword in the hand of anyone, where is it?

[4:46] Jesus. Jesus, when he's returning at the end of this tribulation, he has a sword and it's coming out of his mouth. The only sword given to the church after Peter chops off the ear, Jesus said, here's the sword of the Spirit. Take the word of God, the sword of the Spirit.

[4:58] How do we go? We go in the power of the Spirit. We go in the equipping that we have been given. We don't go at our own call, at our own direction. But we also go in faith and obedience.

[5:09] That's the emphasis as we finish out chapter four today. There's this emphasis of faith and obedience that Jesus is putting before us with this next picture, as you were, what John is putting before us with this next picture of Jesus's ministry.

[5:25] So our spiritual experiences. We have spiritual experiences. Remember, Jesus said regarding worshiping the Father. He said, they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

[5:37] For the Father, he is this God, is a spirit, and he seeks such to worship him. So our worship with God, our relationship with God is spiritual. Right? We accept that.

[5:48] We desire that. God, I want to get to know you. But if you say to someone, man, I want a spiritual experience. Most likely in each of our minds, it's like, oh, okay. Whoa, we're getting off the rails a little there.

[5:59] We don't go by experience. But man, our whole lives should be experiencing spiritual experience. We should be experiencing a spiritual God who's given us his spirit. That it's not Father, Son, and Holy Word.

[6:12] And I think sometimes within Calvary Chapel, we can think that. I think it's one of the emphasis of why the Lord's like, hey, we're going to look at the Holy Spirit. We're going to go through that. What does the Bible say about it?

[6:22] Our spiritual experiences, they must be anchored in the Word of God, not in someone else's experience, and not in someone else's interpretation of the Word. And very often they are. Why do I want that spiritual experience?

[6:34] You know what happened to that person? Well, maybe it wasn't a real spiritual experience. Maybe they're just attributing it to God and it wasn't. Well, you know what this person says this scripture means?

[6:45] What does it actually say? I tell you, as I've, even just getting outside of where we are studying and just reading through some other sections of scripture that you think you, oh, I know what this means because I've been told it means this.

[6:56] And then you read the words for what they say. You're like, well, that doesn't mean that at all. Not at all. Like the person's teaching heresy, but like, well, there's other nuances to this that I haven't seen before.

[7:07] I have a quote here by Pastor Chuck, who was the founder of Calvary Chapel. He says, I'm not interested in new truth, but I desire new experiences in the old truth.

[7:20] Man, I liked that. I just, I was listening to him this week is from 1981, Massachusetts. If you listen to the older stuff, he talks a little faster. Then we put it on double speed. It almost sounds really normal.

[7:31] So, but he stopped. I paused it and skipped back. And I wrote that down. Man, I like that. I'm not interested in new truth, but I desire new experiences in the old truth. As we approach this text today, the guy's going to come and he's going to be like, I need a healing for my son.

[7:47] I need this. We don't want to marginalize the things that are put in front of us in scripture because they're outside of our comfortability or our realm of familiarity.

[8:00] I want to see that term today too, as well. But as we jump into the text here in verse 43, Jesus has just spent two days in Samaria in the village of Sychar with the woman at the well and then all the city there.

[8:14] And it says, they believe when they heard his word, they said to her, we believed you in your word. But now we really believe because we've heard his words. And so now he's going to continue. It says after two days, he departed into Galilee.

[8:27] So there is Sychar in the middle with our circle around it. And we're no longer in the region of Samaria. We've moved up to the region of Galilee. This is where Jesus will spend most of his ministry, but not what the gospel of John mostly covers.

[8:39] John mostly covers his ministry in Jerusalem and Judea. But this is a time where he's going to focus in on Galilee. If you remember why he's going to Galilee, on the beginning of the chapter of chapter four here in verses one through two, we read, when therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though he himself didn't baptize, his apostles did, he left Judea and departed again into Galilee.

[9:09] So there's kind of this like little friction happening where the Pharisees were feeling threatened. They're hearing that Jesus's ministry is growing. And Jesus was not yet at a point where he wanted his ministry to be focused in Jerusalem, because as soon as that happens, the Pharisees there get all stirred up and the authorities there say, hey, we got to get rid of him.

[9:30] So he moves, he's going to go to Galilee, out of sight, out of mind, in a sense, to the hick country. You know, like he's heading to North Carolina.

[9:42] I like hick country. But Jesus has just come from Samaria where, man, man, there's essentially a revival. These people are believing in ways that the Jews won't.

[9:54] If you were a Jew at the time reading John's account, this is going to be like, whoa, because we're going to see there's a couple of things we can know here. He went to Samaria and it says they believed according to his word.

[10:06] He's going to go to Galilee and he's going to say, you won't believe unless you see. And the Jews would not have liked that. The Samaritans received in what you would not. But I like here how Jesus, he seems to always have the next field of harvest in view.

[10:19] He's not, he's not like, man, we did such a good job yesterday. I can just lay back and take a break. He's got the next field in view. You know what? We did a work there. Let's go to Galilee. We're on to the next. But at the same time, you never see like these anxious or stressed out or pressed for time.

[10:33] I got to get there. I got to do the next thing. I think Paul kind of displays this in Philippians chapter three, where he says, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. I haven't got it all yet, guys.

[10:44] But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth under those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

[10:55] Paul didn't rest in yesterday's labors. Man, I was laboring in the harvest. I was in the fields. Whoa, it was good. Man, let me tell you about the work God did in my life at the last retreat last year.

[11:06] Whoa, it was good. Jesus here, he's got the next field in view. God, what's next? I want to be the same way. I want to work the work that's given me today.

[11:17] I don't want to rest in yesterday. I'm like, God, look what you're doing here. This is great. We'll just, this is good. Now, it doesn't mean we always need to shake up our lives. Like, all right, this was good. Let's go start another church somewhere else, right?

[11:29] No, but we always want to be on the forefront of faith, right? Lord, what is the next step of faith that I can take in my life? Jesus said, I must work the works of him that sent me while it's day.

[11:40] The night comes when no man can work. In other words, there's a time for rest. There's a time for work. I must work the works of him that sent me while it's day. That's what I must do. That's what I must be a part of.

[11:52] That's what I've got to be about. Is it tiring? Yeah. Are there times where it's like, man, I am wore out. Yeah, but it's full of joy. It's full of fellowship. It's full of eternal results.

[12:04] And there will be a time to rest. And so he goes into Galilee. In Isaiah chapter 9, there's a prophecy in verses 1 through 2. It says, In Galilee of the nations, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.

[12:18] They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. What appears like Jesus is just reacting to one situation in Judea, going up into Galilee. In reality, he's fulfilling prophecy from hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

[12:33] God's timing works out in ways that we could not imagine. Verse 44, For Jesus himself testified, this interesting phrase now we're going to be put before us, that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

[12:46] The idea here is he's saying he's going into Galilee because a prophet has no honor in his own country. It seems like the idea is that he purposely went to where he knew he would not have to worry about being made a celebrity.

[13:01] He purposely went where he knew people weren't going to be like, Whoa, this guy's, he's like, No, no, I don't want that. I don't want to be lifted up by man's standards and by what they think is worthy of to take note.

[13:16] And also, again, by the time he gets to Jerusalem, man, that's just going to stir up the hornet's nest so much that that's when they're going to crucify him. So, but the idea seems that Jesus is purposely saying, You know what? I don't want to be a celebrity.

[13:27] I don't want to have notoriety. I want to minister to people. So, man, I'm getting, I'm getting too well known here. Better duck out. In Matthew 13, if you want to turn there or I'll just read it to you.

[13:39] Matthew 13, 54. Jesus goes into Nazareth and he goes into synagogues there. And we get a kind of fleshed out account of what he's telling us here in John.

[13:51] Matthew 13, 54. It says, And when he was coming to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue. In so much that they were astonished. And they said, When has this man this wisdom and these mighty works?

[14:04] What do they acknowledge? He had a lot of wisdom. And he was doing a lot of mighty things. Wasn't that he didn't have wisdom? He doesn't have any wisdom. It's all fake.

[14:15] No, he's got wisdom. He has mighty works. Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas and his sisters.

[14:28] Are they not all with us? We don't know how many sisters. At least two because plural. So it seems like, you know, Joseph and Mary get together. And Mary then has Jesus. And then it seems like Joseph got busy.

[14:38] I mean, they had six kids at least here. Are they not all with us? When then has this man all these things? And they were so blessed that God was doing a work in someone like Jesus.

[14:54] No, they were offended. And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

[15:07] So back in John, where Jesus testifies and said, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country. Honor means value, worth, or deference. He's saying, hey, there's no, I'm not receiving any value, any worth, or any deference.

[15:22] The reality is they acknowledged that, hey, he has wisdom and he has mighty works. They acknowledged here that he's essentially speaking forth as a prophet. What's a prophet?

[15:33] One who speaks forth divinely inspired words. That could be forth telling or foretelling. So the one who speaks forth divinely inspired truth, Jesus says, is not considered worth listening to.

[15:46] Not because of his words. His words are wise. They contain power. But because of how familiar the listeners are with the voice that's speaking the words. So they wouldn't listen to this prophet.

[15:58] They wouldn't listen to his words simply because of how familiar the voice was. Oh, I'm too familiar with that voice. So they don't hear the words. You know, you've heard this phrase before.

[16:09] Familiarity breeds contempt. Contempt means vile, low, and worthless. You think of what honor means. Value, worth, and deference. Inverted of that.

[16:20] Contempt is the strongest expression of a low opinion of something. Using the word contempt, it is the strongest expression you can say that describes your low opinion of something.

[16:32] This person has contempt for whatever. There's no lower opinion they could have of it. So why would we say that familiarity causes one to view someone who clearly has honor as though they had no value?

[16:45] What's that matter? There's just familiarity there. I think it's because being familiar means we're used to someone standing in their relation to us. I'm very familiar with this person.

[16:56] I'm very familiar. I'm used to their standing in relationship to me. I know how they stand with me and how I stand with them. That's what I'm used to. And the more familiar I become with that, the more used to that I am, the more I expect that.

[17:09] And expectations, expectations are like the second most dangerous thing next to sin. We become comfortable with that position in place.

[17:21] Now if that position then changes by that person obtaining honor, the problem is I don't see that as them being elevated. I see that as me being put down.

[17:32] And then I have contempt. Because I'm very familiar with this person is. Because heaven forbid my familiarity with them is they are lower and I'm higher. And then God raises them. And now I see it as I've been put down.

[17:44] No longer I've been that they are lifted. I'm not rejoicing with those that rejoice. I'm saying, whoa, whoa, what are you doing to me? If we choose to recognize our worth though is not based in people.

[17:59] If we choose to recognize our worth is not how we relate to people, but how we relate to God. Then we never need to be threatened by someone else's success. If my worth is how I relate to God, is that going to change?

[18:12] By what anybody else does? No. It never changes. So all of a sudden I'm no longer seeing someone else's success as a threat. Remember what John said? John the Baptist. He must increase.

[18:23] I must decrease. When we seek to maintain our own value and standing. If I have to maintain that. Like these people were as we read in Matthew.

[18:35] Well, wait a minute. We need to maintain our relationship and standing with Jesus. We know who he is. We know where he came from. We're not going to accept that he's something else. What happens? I put myself in a place just like those Galileans.

[18:47] where Jesus doesn't even measure up. They're essentially saying, Jesus, you don't measure up. Why? Because his words aren't true? Because he's not doing mighty works? No.

[18:58] Because I don't like the effect that you being elevated in my life is doing to me. I don't like how it makes me feel lower. Instead of rejoicing and being like, man. Jesus says if he be lifted up, he would draw all men unto him.

[19:13] And how sad that we could miss Jesus' words because of the familiar voice that speaks them. And how many times have I missed Jesus' words because it's some familiar voice.

[19:26] And I tune that voice out even when it's speaking the truth. And so Jesus comes into Galilee and he makes a strange statement. And, well, I am in Galilee specifically because a prophet has no honor in his own country.

[19:39] Because they will not see me in general as I really am. Now, the crowds and the people and essentially the poor, they will follow after Jesus.

[19:50] But the people that are there, the ones that know him, even his own family will eventually come to him. And they'll think he's crazy. And they'll be like, hey, send Jesus out. And they'll say, who are my mother and who are my brethren?

[20:02] And he says, he looks around on his disciples and he says, these that do the will of my father, which is in heaven. So then when he was coming to Galilee, verse 45, the Galileans received him.

[20:15] In what way? Because they believed his words? No. Having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast. For they also went to the feast. Remember in John 22, Jesus goes down, it says, to the Jews' Passover.

[20:29] And that's when he turns over the money tables and casts them out of the temple the first time. And it says, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did.

[20:44] They believed not in a belief in who he was, but a belief in like, whoa, this guy can do some really cool things. And so the Galileans were there and they received him because they're like, oh yeah, Jesus just really neat things.

[20:56] We like that. If you remember, like we said, the Samaritans received him based on what he said. The Galileans are receiving him based on what he saw and what they saw.

[21:07] Excuse me. Which of those responses will lead to faith? Receiving Jesus based on what you see? Receiving Jesus based on what he said? Only one of them leads to faith.

[21:18] Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. They understood that Jesus was someone who did signs and wonders. Their understanding was based off of that.

[21:30] It wasn't based off what he said. So, does sight prevent faith? No. Sight does not produce faith.

[21:42] But sight can lead to faith if it leads us to the word. How many people throughout history have decided, I'm going to research, you know, prove that Christianity is false. I'm going to, I don't believe it.

[21:54] And then all of a sudden, that idea of wanting to see leads them to the word. And they begin to read the word. And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. How many times has it been that, you know, someone wants to, I want to see something really exciting or whatever.

[22:08] I'm going to go and see what they're doing here. And before you know it, it's led them to God's word. So, sight doesn't prevent faith. Sight will lead to faith only if sight leads to the word.

[22:23] So, these people could see Jesus doing his miracles and his signs and wonders. And then they could go and hear his word. And if they respond to his word, praise God. But sight left to its own interpretation easily leads to misunderstanding.

[22:37] If we all saw the exact same thing happen, would we all say the same thing? Now, we could see, you know, oh, I was practicing too. I even hit it again.

[22:48] But if we all saw an accident out there, right? Like, well, what happened? Well, I saw this. And I said, it wouldn't be the same because it's subjective.

[22:59] But the word is not. When you read it, it's what it is. Now, what does the Bible say? That there will be those that will twist and torture the text and try and force it to say something else.

[23:10] But it doesn't change what it says. That's why we want to go to what it says and base our understanding off what it says, not on what we see. Signs and wonders can only be understood.

[23:22] Are they there? Yes, but they're only understood in light of God's word. You have to base them off God's word. So, Jesus, then he comes into Cana of Galilee at this point, where he made the water wine.

[23:34] And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. It seems like the idea here is word has gotten about about Jesus' ability to do miracles. They saw his signs down in Jerusalem during the feast.

[23:47] And the way it's mentioned here, where he made the water wine, seems like they're like, oh, it's Jesus. He's back. We remember. Now, if you remember at the time when we went through that section in John 2, it said no one knew where it came from except those servants.

[24:03] But, you know, afterwards, word got about. Now, you know, the one guy was like, hey, that was the best wedding wine I've ever had. Where'd you get that? I don't know. Let me go ask the master of the feast. Where'd you get it?

[24:13] I don't know what the servants brought it. Let's go ask the servants. Let's go ask the people who volunteered that day. Where'd you get that? You won't believe it. But I pulled it out of the water pots used for purification. Someone filled it with wine?

[24:24] No, someone filled it with water. It was turned to wine. No, I don't believe it. Go ask Joe over there. And you get all of the, you get all the different people together and all of a sudden it's like, wow, this is what happened. This is amazing.

[24:36] And so Jesus comes again into Cana of Galilee. And there's this nobleman down in Capernaum who hears that Jesus is there. Nobleman. In the Greek, it just means officer of the king or one attached to the king.

[24:49] So who's the king at this time? It doesn't mean Caesar. Remember, we had Herod the Great, who was a vassal king of Rome that ruled over all of the region of Israel. He dies and he leaves these, he had three or four sons, three sons.

[25:05] And he leaves the region split up among them. Herod Antipas is the king that's being referred to here. He ruled over Galilee at the time. And he would have been someone, this nobleman, who most likely was well known.

[25:18] He had standing. He was, you know, working for the king. Probably not super loved by the Jews. They didn't love the Herods. The Herod that ruled over, I can't remember his name, the brother, that ruled over Judea, he will eventually be taken out by Rome because he was so cruel and so ridiculous to deal with.

[25:38] Rome will eventually remove him and put a governorship in there. They're like, we're done with kings. So that by the time Jesus, three years from now, goes back to Jerusalem and he goes and he's crucified, the man who's there is Pilate.

[25:50] The governor at that time of Judea. It's not one of the Herods. But when we read the account where he will send him to Herod, it says Pilate goes, oh, you're from Galilee. You're in Herod's jurisdiction.

[26:02] He sends him to Herod Antipas, who is in Jerusalem for the season as well. So he goes to Herod and then he goes back and forth. And that's where you get all of that kind of moving back and forth between those two political entities.

[26:13] But anyway, this man appears to be attached to Herod Antipas. Now, Capernaum would eventually become Jesus's base of operation. I want to put this one up so you can see the topography.

[26:25] Starting from left to right, the first circle is Nazareth. So that's where Jesus would have grown up. And then he comes back into Galilee and he goes to Cana. So you see those two cities aren't that far apart when they get invited to the wedding feast at Cana.

[26:38] You can see that they knew people from the adjoining towns. Capernaum is all the way down there by the Sea of Galilee. And that's where Jesus eventually will have his base of operation. It's where Peter's house is.

[26:49] But this isn't just like, oh, I'm just going to go from, you know, here and walk to Gastonia. It's not like that. It's 23 miles. Cana is 1,000 feet above sea level.

[27:02] Capernaum is 700 feet below. So that's 23 miles and a 1,700 foot elevation change. It's extremely hilly terrain. And that's a picture of the Galilee region. Beautiful region.

[27:14] I've been there once. My wife was there twice. But I won't hold that against her. But this is not just a quick journey.

[27:25] This is a multiple day journey. I mean, if you walk 23 miles, the average pace that people walk, you're looking at seven to eight hours straight if you just walk that. So we see that this man, he's pretty desperate.

[27:37] And it says his son was sick at Capernaum. Sick means weak, feeble, and powerless. And for all of his connections, I think he must have felt pretty sick, feeble, and powerless at this moment because of his son.

[27:52] This word for son here just means male offspring. But later on, this word for son that's used is like small child or baby. So it's just this little boy who's sick. And for all this man's connections, he was powerless to do the one thing or the only thing that he needed that only God could do, which is heal.

[28:10] Only God could heal. But he did a very noble thing, this noble man, and he sought Jesus. I think sickness brings us face to face with the reality of our frailty and lack of power.

[28:23] Like, man, we can be working out. I'm like, I'm so healthy. And you get sick, and it doesn't matter. Man, it brings you face to face with the fact that we are frail and we have no power. And as much as man likes to think that he can heal, all he's really capable of doing is working within God's created order.

[28:42] Right? We think we can heal. But we're working within God's created order. Nobody's healing anybody. God is a God who heals, and his healing attribute has been built into his creation.

[28:53] He didn't have to do that. He could have made Adam and said, you know what, Adam and Eve, you're perfect. And then they sin. Oops. Don't get sick. You're going to die. But he didn't.

[29:04] That healing attribute of God is built into his creation. It's funny how people will say, well, God doesn't heal. Really? I hope he heals. We harm people to heal them.

[29:15] Right? We cut them open, rearrange their parts, and then expect healing. Well, that's just nature. No, that's God. That's God's creation, and that's God's order.

[29:27] And we work inside of that order. God has given many gifts of healing. Even in our fallen state, we still expect our bodies to possess a certain ability to heal.

[29:39] But our natural ability to heal cannot ultimately overcome the effects of the fall. Ultimately, they can't. And what this man needed, he needed to find someone who could overcome those effects.

[29:52] My son is at the point of death. Man is powerless. Our natural abilities are powerless. I need someone who can take that next step, one who can overcome the effects of the fall. We can't.

[30:03] We can't. Even in our fallen state, as remarkable as it is that our bodies heal, ultimately, they will subject themselves to the fall. And when he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him.

[30:16] As we saw, he didn't just go to him. That's a journey. That's a hike. That's a choice. It wasn't like Jesus is next door. All right. He went 23 miles and 1,700 feet in multiple days' journey to see Jesus, and he besought him.

[30:32] That word besought is the same one the disciples used when they said to Jesus, please eat something. They besought him to eat. They begged. They pleaded. They implored. Lord, won't you eat something? He's like, no, no, no, guys.

[30:42] The Samaritans are about to come. The same thing here. He's imploring him. He's pleading with him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. We see this father's love for his son.

[30:56] He set aside all of his plans. I mean, he's a nobleman. He was busy. He had something to do, and he set aside all his plans. He set aside his dignity and reputation. What would this cost him to be associated with Jesus?

[31:08] I don't know. What would this cost him to, you know, on the way? Somebody said, oh, hey, where are you? I'm going to see Jesus. Oh, the carpenter's son. And he sought help personally.

[31:20] He didn't send one of his servants. Go find Jesus. Go tell him that we have this need. He also didn't wait for Jesus to come to him. Oh, Jesus is in the region? I bet he'll come and make his home in Capernaum eventually.

[31:32] Peter lives down here. I'll just wait till he gets here. I'm sure that'll work out. And he sought Jesus despite all obstacles, despite the journey, despite what it cost him.

[31:42] He sought Jesus. What was he acting on? We're seeing the same picture we did with the woman at the well. A limited understanding of Jesus. She had a very limited understanding of Jesus that she acted upon when she ran back into town to tell the men there.

[31:56] And this man has a very limited understanding of Jesus. His understanding of Jesus is currently constrained by his natural perceptions. It's being limited by natural constraints.

[32:09] But he still, he goes to Jesus. We see that he did not fully understand Jesus. He did not fully know Jesus. He does not fully believe in Jesus.

[32:22] And yet, he still goes. But he knew enough to seek Jesus in his greatest need. You know, I understand more of Jesus than this guy did at this time.

[32:34] I know Jesus better than this guy did. And I believe in Jesus. And sometimes I don't seek him in my greatest needs or my littlest needs. His son was about to die.

[32:45] And this man knew he needed to find one who was greater than death. And a desperate father, a distraught father, but a determined father, set off to find help for his son.

[32:56] He had nothing to lose at this point. But he had much to gain. Very much to gain. For you and I, no matter how desperate or distraught we are, seeking Jesus always results in gain.

[33:07] Always. You might be desperate. You might be distraught. But it always results in gain. There is no loss in seeking Christ. It may cost us, but we never lose. There is no loss when we seek Christ.

[33:20] Now, for this man, it could have cost him his position. It could have cost him respect. It cost him time. It cost him effort. It cost a lot, but there's no loss. There's no loss when we seek Christ.

[33:31] What does it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lose his soul? Let's flip it around. What does it profit a man if he lose the world and gain his soul?

[33:42] Is there loss there? Is there really loss? There's no loss there to lose the world and gain your soul. And Jesus said unto him now. So he says he's pleading with him. Come and heal my son.

[33:53] And Jesus said, he didn't say yes. He didn't say no. He said, except you see signs and wonders. You will not believe. You don't believe I can do this, except you see it.

[34:04] Two words here. Sign means a token or mark of unusual events, except you see something unusual. Wonder, something out of the ordinary, out of the ordinary course of nature.

[34:16] So we put that in those terms. Essentially, he's saying, Jesus says, unless you see with your own eyes a token of unusual events out of the ordinary course of nature, you will not be persuaded to believe in my authenticity of who I am.

[34:32] You won't believe who I am unless you see something. You see, by all outward appearances, this man believed in Jesus. He went to Jesus. He sought his help. He knew he needed Jesus.

[34:43] By all outward appearances, this man, you'd be like, wow, look at his faith. He got the 12 apostles there. I don't know if anyone else is around. And this guy just breaks into the scene and says, Lord, come heal my son.

[34:54] They think, wow, what faith. And Jesus said, except you see signs and wonders, you won't even believe. He believed Jesus' capabilities based upon signs and wonders, but he didn't believe who he was and who was he?

[35:09] The Logos, the word made flesh. To his limited understanding, what did he limited Jesus to? Just a man. Now, a miracle man, but just a man.

[35:23] This man believed Jesus could heal his son if he saw him do it, if he did it within his little box. Jesus, I know you can do it if I can just get you there. This is how this works.

[35:35] The doctor's got to be there. And how often do I limit Jesus to only what I see him do? Oh, Lord, I know you can do this. I know you can do it, but I haven't seen you do it.

[35:46] So it's probably not going to happen unless I see you do it. Thomas, because you've seen me, you've believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet they've believed.

[35:59] So what do we do with signs and wonders? Where do we put them? Well, signs and wonders can never sustain our faith. If your faith is based upon what you have to see Jesus do, it won't sustain it. But it can help support it.

[36:12] We base our faith in God's word, not on what we see. But man, when I see God's word working out in my life, when I see that my faith is having a result in my life, boy, that supports, that strengthens that faith.

[36:28] Is it based on what I see? Absolutely not. James 2.18 says, Oh man, you say you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works.

[36:42] Now, obviously, that's not saying that we have to work. We know that faith and works are opposite, mutually exclusive for righteousness, works for righteousness. We believe under righteousness. He's simply saying here, you're saying you have faith, but there's no result in your life.

[36:56] It's not working out in your life. There's nothing happening in your life at all. Well, I need signs and wonders in my life. No, you need a reality where you're trusting God to work in your life in a way that is real and visible and true.

[37:11] If he's not doing anything in your life, what good is your faith? What good is a faith that has no result whatsoever? I'm trusting Jesus for my salvation, but I can't trust him for my day.

[37:21] But I can't trust him for my healing. But I can't trust him with this desperate relation, family member, familiar person. And so Jesus says to him, man, except you see signs and wonders, you won't believe.

[37:37] He didn't say it in a condemning way. Jesus says it with love. Looks at this man. He said, you're not going to believe. Man, I could go and heal your son, but you're still not going to believe, buddy.

[37:48] You're going to face that then in that sign and wonder. What happens if your son gets sick again? It didn't work. Jesus isn't who I thought he was. The nobleman, look what he says unto him.

[37:59] Remember this word with the woman at the well? Sir. Sir. Before he comes, he's the big shot. He's the one with the authority. He's the nobleman.

[38:10] And he beseeches him, please come and heal my son. Do you know who I am? And I said, sir. Lord, master, the one with the power of decision. Jesus, you're the one with the power of decision.

[38:22] It's not me. I'm not the one deciding here. Lord, sir, come down or my child will die. Was Jesus discouraging him from asking?

[38:32] No. He was encouraging him to ask in a way where he would see more than just the physical need. Remember John 20, 31, the reason John writes the book.

[38:43] But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. Why? Why all of these things?

[38:54] So that you might have life. Jesus wanted this man to see something past just the physical need. He's like, I need you to understand that I have so much more. Because if I heal your son, there's going to be another thing and another and another and another.

[39:07] And you need to know that I'm not just here to satisfy your needs, but I'm here to give you life. His understanding of Jesus' capabilities, it was still limited.

[39:19] He's still saying, Jesus, come down. It's still limited. But his understanding of who Jesus is has just grown. Just like the woman at the well. Come down means to descend.

[39:30] Go from the upper region to the lower region. And we saw that literally the type of topography is to descend. But I wonder, did this man, and no, he did not know. He did not know how far Jesus had already descended to overcome death on his behalf, did he?

[39:48] Philippians 2, 7 and 8. But he made himself of no reputation. He took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man. Bad enough that God would constrain himself to be a puny, pathetic man.

[40:02] He then humbles himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So he says to Jesus, please come down or my son will die. Little did he know how far Jesus was willing to go to prevent death.

[40:16] And Jesus says unto him, go your way. Your son lives. And the man believed the word. Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

[40:29] Jesus says, go your way. You got it now. You know who I am. Enough to know who I am. That'll grow. You see, our crisis of faith, the crisis of faith in my life, is not over what Jesus can do.

[40:42] Don't you be here not know what Jesus can do? We know what Jesus can do. Or who he is. If you don't know who Jesus is, he's the one who would bring himself to the lowest place to elevate you out of death and into life.

[40:57] We know who Jesus is. The crisis of faith is over what he says. That's the crisis of faith in my life. It's not over who he is and what he can do. It's over what he says.

[41:08] How will I respond to Jesus when he's not responding as I expected? That's not what I expected, Lord. I thought you were going to come down. I mean, I had this whole thing worked out. You're supposed to come and do this, right?

[41:20] We've been in this whole conversation. My faith of you has grown. I'm understanding who you are. How will I respond to Jesus when he is not responding as I expected? When his words are not the words that I wanted to hear at that moment?

[41:33] You see, this man believed that signs and wonders were needed to prevent death. Jesus needed him to believe that the word had overcome death. Jesus, I need you to perform a sign and wonder to prevent death.

[41:47] And Jesus is saying, no, you need to know that my word is enough to overcome death. The word has overcome death. For you and I, the application is, it's the same faith by which we stand.

[42:00] It's his word by which we've overcome death. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you've received and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved.

[42:13] It wasn't a sign or wonder. It was his word. How did I respond to his word? I need to know that his words already overcome death. It's already overcome the need I have.

[42:24] It's already overcome whatever that situation of desperation is, where I'm coming to Jesus and saying, please, Lord. He's like, my words already overcome that. You need now to respond to the word that I'll speak to you.

[42:35] What did this man need? He needed his reality to be shaped by God's word, not by what he experienced. And so Jesus will not go down with him. He says, go your way. Your son lives.

[42:46] You need a reality shaped by God's word, not a reality shaped by your experience. Now the reality was in this moment, what happened? His son lived.

[42:58] Reality was what? Based on God's word, not his experience. The reality was he lived. But he would only experience that reality. How?

[43:09] As he acted in faith and obedience upon God's word. Now, if this man, let's imagine he just never went his way. Jesus says, go your way. Imagine if he never went his way. No, Jesus, I need you to go with me.

[43:21] I'm going to stay with you until I convince you to go. Then he would never experience the reality of what God's word has just declared. In this moment, Jesus says, your son lives. He's healed. Has this man experienced it yet?

[43:34] No. Has his situation changed by any means that he can identify? No. All he has is God's word. That reality would only be experienced by him as he acted in faith and obedience upon those words.

[43:51] It's one thing to come to Jesus with our needs. It's one thing to lay him at his feet. It's one thing to receive his word, to know what he can do, to know who he is. It's a totally other thing to go our way in faith and obedience when we have no evidence that his word has come to pass.

[44:10] If this man had clung to his own expectations regarding Jesus, he never would have experienced the miracle of life that took place in his son. Never would have experienced that. We act upon Jesus' words not because we see evidence, but because we believe his testimony.

[44:28] We believe it. Why do you believe his testimony? Because of his spirit. Because of the witness that he's given us of that truth. That the words that he speaks, they're spirit and they are life.

[44:40] So this man, he came alone. And how did he leave? Alone. Jesus didn't go with him. He came desperate. And how did he leave? Desperate. Desperate to see his son still healed.

[44:51] Believing, but not yet seeing. But he did not leave in despair. Desperate, but not in despair. Desperate. He came determined to bring Jesus back.

[45:01] And how did he leave? He left determined to act in faith and obedience upon his words. He came alone and left alone.

[45:11] He came desperate. He left desperate, but not in despair. He was determined to bring Jesus. And he left determined to obey Jesus. And verse 51, as he was now going down, down that path back down, 1700 feet, his servants met him and told him, saying, your son lives.

[45:29] It's essentially like, no need to bother Jesus. What a wonderful coincidence. The fever broke and he's better. The time it all worked. You know, it's all good. I mean, we prayed, but it must have been a 24-hour bug.

[45:41] And now he's all better. How do you know it's only a 24-hour bug because you prayed? How do you know it wasn't that God's like, oh, yes, I'm going to heal him. And we want the sign in wonder to know that our prayer was answered.

[45:54] Like, Lord, I just pray that you would just help them feel better. Boom, I'm all better. And like they bounce up or something. And I was just a 24-hour bug because you prayed. No need to bother Jesus.

[46:07] Everything's all better now. Hebrews 10, 36 says, for you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.

[46:19] It was as he was going on his way in faith and obedience that he received the news. Yes, you've received the promise. And we're going to find out in the next verse that they're going to reference yesterday.

[46:35] So as he's journeying, it's the next day. And I'm assuming going down is quicker than going up just because of gravity. Maybe he was running. Maybe he was excited to get home. I can't wait to see this.

[46:46] My son is healed. Or maybe he was taking his time. And just in faith, like, man, God, you did it. I know everything's going to be okay. Either way, he gets to this point.

[46:59] It wasn't instantaneous. He said, yes, Jesus, I'm going to obey you. I believe you. I'm going to go on my way in faith and obedience, however long it took. Because we're going to hear it was yesterday when he was talking with Jesus.

[47:09] Only then does he receive the promise. The question is not what Jesus said. Is it true? But would this man, excuse me, would this man continue in his way until he experienced that truth?

[47:24] The question isn't if what Jesus said is true. It's the same for our lives. What Jesus speaks to us, is it true? That's not the question. The question is, am I going to continue on my way in faith and obedience until I experience that reality?

[47:36] Until I experience the reality of what Jesus has spoken into my life is true. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, I've confessed.

[47:46] I don't feel very clean. I don't feel very righteous. I'm going to go find some other source to make me feel better. Instead of continuing on my way in faith and obedience.

[47:59] Lord, I know you said take no anxious thought for tomorrow, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things will be added unto you, but I don't see them. In fact, I've got this bill due. I don't know what to do. I'm going to go seek some other source.

[48:12] Lord, I've left you from Cana. I've been walking now for a whole day. I haven't seen any source yet. I'm going to turn aside into Nazareth and I'm going to go see if I can find a doctor there because my son needs some help.

[48:23] And then he would have missed the evidence that God had coming for him if he did not continue on his way. How often I turn aside when God is like, it's just around the corner.

[48:35] It's just over the next hill. Here they come with the good news. No. You know how much longer it's going to take now to reroute them into Nazareth and get you to connect? Okay. I got it lined up again. Oh, now you've gone a different direction.

[48:47] The Lord's pursuing us. You know, in Psalm 23, it says, Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The wording there is surely goodness and mercy will hunt me down all my days.

[49:00] They will pursue me. Why? Because I don't stand still long enough for them to get me. The Lord's like, all right, go get them again. He needs some grace and mercy. And then he inquired of them the hour when he began to mend.

[49:14] Hey, when did he start getting better? What hour was it? And the woman at the well, she had six men. And the seventh man brought into her life was the man, Jesus.

[49:26] And here this man, he had his timing. He had how he thought this would all work out. He was going to bring Jesus down in a totally different scenario than what he expected. He finds out in just the perfect hour, they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him.

[49:44] The seventh hour. That would be 1 p.m. in the Jewish daylight calendar or clock. But the seventh hour.

[49:56] You see what may appear to us to be an act of half hazard desperation. My son is sick. I'm not going to wait any longer. I'm going to Jesus. It's just in the moment. It turns out it's a perfectly timed and orchestrated event by God.

[50:10] God timed us perfectly. What a coincidence. The seventh hour. Imagine I left one hour later or one hour sooner. Perfectly timed and orchestrated by God.

[50:21] We experience God's perfect timing when? Only when we continue forward in faith and obedience. Only when we continue in the way of faith and obedience.

[50:34] We turn out of that way. Well, you're done. No. Goodness and mercy is going to hunt you down. But she's going to take longer. For you experience the promise. You have need of patience that after you've done the will of God, you might experience the promise.

[50:47] God doesn't want to draw that out to torture you. We're going to see here he used it to do something so much greater than just heal this boy. So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said unto him, Your son lives.

[51:02] Because you know he pulled out his phone and pulled out his calendar and put on there, Jesus said my son lives at 1 p.m. on this day. And next year, bling is going to come up.

[51:13] And he's going to go, huh. A year ago, Jesus said this. What has Jesus been doing in my life since? How has he orchestrated my life since then? What perfect timing is he doing in my life? Have I continued in the way of faith and obedience?

[51:26] Am I just as desperate now to go to Jesus for my needs? Or am I just like, hey, I've got some doctors. I've got man's ability. Your son lives.

[51:38] He knew it was the same hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives. And he himself believed. And his whole house. What is the result of responding in faith and obedience to Jesus' words?

[51:52] Healing, life, and salvation. Your son lives. He's healed. Healing, life, and then the whole house believes in salvation.

[52:04] This man thought his son just needed healing. And he was going to desperately do what it took to get there. But what he needed, what he found he needed, was that his whole house needed saving. He thought, my son needs a healing.

[52:16] And Jesus is like, no, your house needs to be saved. The woman at the well, I just need a drink. I just need something to satisfy myself. No, your whole town needs to be saved. Nicodemus, I just need some information, Jesus.

[52:29] Just a little bit of knowledge. He's like, no. What you need to know is that I came for the whole world. See, no matter how small or how desperate the need, when we bring it to Jesus in faith and obedience, we don't know what wonders may result.

[52:42] What wondrous things God's going to do. We think it's just a moment of desperation. We find out, huh, the Lord lined this whole thing up. Like Jesus going into Galilee.

[52:53] It seems like he's just reacting. And in fact, he's fulfilling a prophecy from Isaiah that he would go to Galilee. This again is the second miracle that Jesus did when he was come out of Judea into Galilee.

[53:05] Not the second sign, like miracle that he's performed, something that is apart from the natural, because we know we read in John 2, he did many miracles in Jerusalem. But of the seven specific signs that John the apostle puts in front of us, this is the second one.

[53:21] The first was water into wine in John 2. This is the second one. And then in John 5, next week, we'll see the third one, the healing at the pool of Bethesda. John 6, the feeding of the 5,000.

[53:34] Again in John 6, walking on water. The healing of the man born blind in John chapter 9. And the seventh one is when he raises Lazarus from the dead in John 11.

[53:44] And then at that point, we're going to be fully on into his last months of ministry in Jerusalem. So John tells us that this sign, is that, wait, I thought we're not supposed to walk by sight.

[53:57] And it's a sign, it's something visible. Are these seven signs so that we might believe because of what they show us? No, we believe because what they speak to us, right?

[54:09] What is the danger? Jared, I've heard the feeding of 5,000 since I was a kid and, you know, in Sunday school. This is familiar to me. This is nothing remarkable or wondrous.

[54:23] And what happens then? I don't hear the voice. I don't hear the words behind the voice speaking to me. The signs don't show us something. They speak to us the truth. The signs simply display the reality of what we already know is true.

[54:37] And what will Jesus say to Martha at the tomb of Lazarus? He'll say, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

[54:48] And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. This man needed to know that there was something greater than just a physical healing. That there is life.

[54:59] That there is salvation. And there is a way that he could walk in in faith and obedience where he would continue to experience his entire life the reality of who Jesus was. As we go our way in faith and obedience to Jesus' word, we will experience many signs.

[55:24] But they will all be a result of his word and in line with his word. Right? We will experience many things in our lives that will be inexplicable.

[55:35] Many things that God will do in and through our lives. Timing. Out of the ordinary events. Whatever it is, God will do them. But it will be as a result of his word. This man did not act outside Jesus' word.

[55:47] Well, I went to Jesus. And I just said, in the name of Jesus. And then I went home and did a bunch of crazy things and we'll see what happens. No. It was a result of Jesus' words. Of Jesus' direction.

[55:58] And in line with his word. All of our spiritual experiences are anchored in the word and directed by the word. Our part is what? Simply respond in faith and obedience to that word and to that direction.

[56:16] The question put before us in this man's story then is how will we respond? How will you respond? Faith and obedience? Well, we say, well, I've heard this before. It's familiar.

[56:28] Yeah, okay. I know what Jesus can do. I know who he is. I know what he's about. Will I bring my affliction to him? James chapter 5, verses 13 through 15.

[56:41] That's too small. Feel free to turn there. James says, is any among you afflicted? Afflicted means to suffer hardship. Anybody suffering hardship? In this world, you shall have tribulation.

[56:52] In this world, you're going to have some hardships. Let him pray. Well, that's just a very familiar. I know. I know that. But do you do it? Do I do it?

[57:02] In my hardships, what do I do? I need to Google that. Right? That's the thing. What do I need? I need to call someone up. I need to figure this out. Is any among you afflicted? What should be the next thing?

[57:13] In faith and obedience, let him pray. Let him bring it to God. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Man, I'm having such a good day. Oh, good day of business.

[57:25] A good day with the family. Things are good. I think I'm just going to bust out in a worship song right here. Do we do that? Probably not. Man, that was really good. I did a good job with that.

[57:36] How wonderful. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Let him praise God for the joy that's in his life. Is any among you sick?

[57:47] Any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick.

[58:01] And the Lord shall raise him up. And if he committed sins, he shall be forgiven. There's a lot there. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders.

[58:12] Let him pray over him. Why? Because those elders, they got some power. No. What is it that saves? The prayer of faith.

[58:22] Faith must have an object. Faith doesn't exist by itself. The prayer of faith in God's word. What does his word say? Man, God wants to do this.

[58:33] Why do we take communion? Well, because there's power in the blood. There is. But there's no power in the cracker and no power in the juice. We take it in faith and obedience to God. Why do we baptize?

[58:45] Because we do it in faith and obedience to God. Why do I continue daily, steadfastly, in the apostles' doctrine? Because I do it in faith and obedience to God.

[58:56] And what do I find? A reality working in my life. It says here, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick. Save means to rescue or deliver.

[59:09] And the Lord shall raise them up. That's the same word used for like to arise from the dead. To awake, to arise, to recall to life. And then he links this strange thing here. If he committed sins, they shall be forgiven. I'm like, oh, everybody's sick because of sin in their life.

[59:21] I need to cast out the demon of sickness or whatever. No, no, no, no. We will see many times throughout the Gospels that there is, there is a physical infirmity attached to a spiritual malady.

[59:34] We know even Proverbs says, laughter does good as medicine. I think what he's saying is, how many times do I not seek prayer? Because I think, oh, I can't go to Jesus right now.

[59:48] I've got sin. I've committed sin. Or maybe I know, you know the reason I'm in this situation? Because of my hard heart. Because of my sin. Man, if only I'd gone to Jesus first.

[60:00] But it's been so long and I've tried on my own. I can't come to him now for prayer. I don't know how it's going to work. I don't either. But if we respond in faith and obedience, what do we find?

[60:14] That the crisis is not over what Jesus can do or who he is, but over what he says. What he says. Are you in affliction? Man, pray.

[60:26] If you have joy in your heart, sing psalms. Do you need prayer? It doesn't say, and the elders of the church will go and find them. They go to Jesus.

[60:36] Not to the elders. It's going to Jesus in faith and obedience to his word. Will I respond in faith and obedience to the word of God?

[60:47] This noble man, he asked, he believed, and then he received. Exactly like he thought he was gonna? No, totally different. But so much better. John 14, 13 says, And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

[61:06] We ask in his name, it's in his nature, in his character, and according to his word. The Father may be glorified in his Son. We're gonna close. We're gonna do a worship song. I just encourage you.

[61:18] Do what the word says. Are you afflicted? Are you distressed? Are you suffering hardship? Pray. Man, do you have joy you need to express to the Lord and you've not been?

[61:29] Sing songs. Do you need prayer? Does God want to touch your life and heal you? Walk in faith and obedience to his word. There's one other thing we didn't kind of bring out of the text.

[61:42] Maybe you're not the man. Maybe you're not the guy who's in need yourself or going and seeking need for someone else. Maybe you're the kid. Maybe you're like, I can't even get out of the bed.

[61:54] I'm stuck here. How am I gonna get to Jesus? I'm the one who has need. And the person in my life who should be going for me, they're not. I'm all alone here. What do I do?

[62:08] Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do. That the Father may be glorified in the Son. You see, God did not withhold. Your Heavenly Father didn't withhold His Son from suffering.

[62:19] He sent Him to death so that you can live, so that I can live. Our hardships, our sicknesses, what we need to be rescued from. If it's someone else who needs rescuing, man, this is the place to see miracles and wonders happen.

[62:36] Not like fireworks and crazy things, but the reality of God working through our lives according to His Word. Amen? Father, thank You so much, Lord.

[62:47] As we praise You now, Lord, as we sing songs, Lord, maybe from a heavy heart, maybe from a happy heart, we choose to turn our eyes to You.

[62:59] You are a mighty God. We know that. We believe that. We know who You are. We know what You can do. We know what You've done.

[63:10] Oh, Lord, help us in faith, in obedience, to believe what You said. To believe that if we ask anything in Your name, You will do it.

[63:21] Look at this beautiful picture. This man came. He had the wrong expectations, the wrong understanding, totally didn't view this right. You didn't worry about that. You didn't say, Nope, you're not asking right. Get out of here.

[63:31] You helped him. You corrected that. You gave him the right perspective. You gave him faith, and you sent him back. And he got to experience the reality of Your Word working out in his life.

[63:42] Lord, You know we are so much like that. We're so misunderstood, Lord. We're misunderstood, Lord, by people, and we misunderstand You, and we just kind of get caught between this place of I don't know how to go to Jesus, and I don't know how to go to people.

[64:04] Thank You, Father, that You didn't wait for us to come to You. You sent Your Son. Thank You that He came for us, and we can respond this morning in faith and obedience to the Word.

[64:17] And in Jesus' name, Amen. I don't have any new truth for you, but I do have an old truth that God's Word, if followed in faith and obedience, it will have a wonderful result in your lives.

[64:34] I think some of you have mountains in your lives that God wants to remove. And I think sometimes we think that just by continuing forward and everything will just kind of work out. But it's when we respond in faith and obedience that God will perfectly orchestrate things in our lives, and He will remove those mountains.

[64:55] So I'd encourage you, man, if God wants to remove something from your life, let's do it. Look, I'm not a name it and claim it guy, but I want to claim everything that God names in His Word.

[65:08] That He says is mine. I have one more quote for you from Chuck Smith, from Pastor Chuck. He says, I'm not the least bit afraid of anything that God may have for me or want for me. I'm not concerned that God is going to make some kind of fool out of me.

[65:22] I'm perfectly capable of doing that for myself. What I am fearful of is that I might have closed a door somewhere to God and that He cannot do for me what He is wanting to do for me because of my limited faith or my preset positional ideas that have limited the work that God is desiring to accomplish in my life.

[65:44] I want to be totally open. I want everything God has for me. I want everything God has for you. Continue in faith and obedience. Let's go next door, have some fellowship.

[65:55] I'm going to hang around up front here. Aaron and I are going to hang around up front. If you want prayer, respond in faith and obedience. My prayer is not going to save you, but the one we're praying to will. And now may the Lord bless you and keep you.

[66:07] The Lord make His face to shine upon you. The Lord be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace. Go in faith and obedience and enjoy some fellowship.