Part 3 John 4

[0:00] Good morning. Good morning. And a warm welcome to the service this morning. Good to see everyone here and good to see especially some who are visiting with us.

[0:12] Tea and coffee are served at the end of the service. Please stay behind for a time of fellowship if you're able to. The intimations you have received on the way into the church and they're on the screen.

[0:25] One or two to highlight. First of all that there will be no evening service here tonight. The Leverborough communion have been ongoing over the last few days. And so we join together with the Leverborough congregation at half past six in Leverborough tonight.

[0:41] If anybody requires transport, if he doesn't have transport, please speak to one of the office graders and we'll see if we can get something organised. In the course of the week things are scheduled as usual.

[0:55] So, ladies Bible study on Monday, Road to Recovery on Tuesday. First Fruit Fellowship also on Tuesday. And the prayer meeting on Wednesday at half past seven.

[1:05] All usual places and the usual times. I mentioned last week that we hope to some of us meet together to have a prayer time for the work in Iran that Adam, the missionary, shared with us.

[1:21] We didn't manage that this week. But if I could propose seven to eight on Tuesday in the manse. Those who spoke to me, please take note of that.

[1:31] If that's a problem, come and speak to me. And if there's enough who've got difficulty, we'll reschedule. But seven to eight on Tuesday in the manse as a proposed time.

[1:42] So hopefully that will be acceptable. The communion services over this next weekend, God willing, will be from Thursday through till Monday. You have the sheet which details the times and the preachers for the different services.

[1:59] Rory Morrison, John Murdo, Jodo Davidson and James McKeever will be sharing God's word with us over the course of the weekend. The session will be open, obviously, over that weekend.

[2:11] And encouragement I would give to those who know the Lord and who have not yet come and professed that openly. Those who would want to come and take the communion for the first time.

[2:26] If anybody wants to speak about that in advance of coming to the session, please know the door is always open. And you would be encouraged to come and speak to myself or any of the elders.

[2:39] One thing to note, actually, what's not on the sheet here is that on Saturday evening, as usual, there will be a fellowship, an informal fellowship in the community centre here.

[2:53] And that will be at eight o'clock. So the prayer meeting is not on this list, but the prayer meeting will be at six as usual. And then there will be an informal English fellowship at eight on the Saturday.

[3:09] On the Friday night after the service, the demands will be open. It's always open, but in particular on the Friday night. And please, anybody who would like to come and just have a very brief, not a very brief, but a very informal time of fellowship, the door will be open and we encourage you to do that.

[3:27] So the rest of the intimations I'm going to leave you to read at your own leisure. So let us begin and worship God as we sing to his praise.

[3:41] The words on the screen and the words in the psalm book, psalm eight is how we begin. We begin by lifting up the excellent name of our Lord.

[3:53] How excellent in all the earth, Lord, our Lord is thy name. Who has thy glory far advanced above the starry thing. Psalm eight, we'll sing the whole psalm to God's praise.

[4:05] From him, we'll sing the whole psalm to God's praise.

[4:35] But the Son from sophomore time, thou didest fendor gave. For life was caused and so the flight the avenging�� someplace.

[4:55] say. For when I look up unto the heavens which thy own fingers lay, unto the moon, unto the stars which whereby thee ordained, then say.

[5:25] I want his man that he remembered his mighty. For what the son of man that thou so kind to him should be.

[5:48] For thou a little know and hast in manly in your pain, with glory and with dignity, thou crowned hast his hand.

[6:13] Of thy hands warst thou wisdom Lord, all under speed did stay, all sheep and oxen, yea, and beast, that in the field do stray.

[6:38] Bout all the fish of the sea, all that passed through the sea, how excellent in all the air, Lord, thou ordained thy name.

[7:02] Let's thank our hearts in prayer together. Let's pray. Eternal God, our loving heavenly father, we thank you for this your day, this new day that you have given to us, and we thank you for the life and the health and the strength and the interest that you have given to us that causes us to be here in this place where we can expect that you will meet with us.

[7:41] We expect that because we meet together in the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name, the name that is excellent, the name that is praiseworthy.

[7:53] And we thank you that all that the psalmist wrote of in that psalm is fulfilled in Christ. We thank you for the revelation of God in that psalm and in all of scripture.

[8:09] And as we have sung, we would bow before you to acknowledge that you are the God who is glorious, you are the God whose name is excellent and whose name is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess and every tongue will confess that he is Lord.

[8:31] Lord, we look around us in the world and we are all too aware that there are so many tongues that are not confessing Christ as Lord and King.

[8:44] We are too aware that there are so many knees that are not bowed before you as the God of all creation, the God who gives life and health the God who is over all.

[8:59] And Lord, we thank you that every day that we are given in time is another reminder of your grace and your mercy and your patience with us. And yet, Lord, we know that one day either we will be called from the scene of time into eternity or eternity will break into this world as Christ returns as judge and king.

[9:27] And we pray that before that day we would be found as those who are bowed before you and who are professing that Christ is our Saviour and our Lord.

[9:41] We thank you that you give us that opportunity to do so publicly even as we consider the fact that we will be meeting together around the Lord's table if we are spared to see this time next week.

[9:56] We thank you that that's a table that is set in order that your people would be enabled to come and profess that their faith is in Christ as Saviour their Saviour and their Lord.

[10:09] We thank you that although you are the God of all creation the God of heaven and earth we are not forgotten but we are remembered by you we thank you for your kindness to us we thank you for your grace we thank you for all that we will remember over these days of the death of Jesus the death that brings life to all who look in faith to him and so Lord we pray that we would be found looking in faith to Christ whilst there is time we pray that you would touch our souls that are dead those who are sleeping we pray that you would revive souls that may be lukewarm because we know how we are prone to wander and Lord we ask that you would draw near to us and that you would meet with us and that you would draw us close to yourself we pray for any who are wrestling even this morning with the question of whether or not they should come to the table and we ask that by your spirit you would move in them giving that assurance of faith in

[11:24] Christ we pray for those who meet just a little later on this morning to gather around the Lord's table in Leaverborough and we ask that you would bless them and that you would bless the Reverend Duncan Macleod who will bring your word to them minister in that place this morning and this evening also we pray as we seek to gather with them and we ask Lord for the work of your kingdom over these next few weeks as people but there's other things as well it might be up in a wee second well we'll look at these things just now it's popped up now first of all don't you ask don't you answer first of all but the adults who knows who that is not a clue who

[15:27] knows who that is it's Moana and who's on the front of this pencil case who's on the front of that notebook and who's in the boat who's in the cup who's everywhere that I looked just now you haven't heard about Moana but if you had children under the age of 10 you would have heard all about Moana tell us a wee bit who is Moana and what's the story of Moana and let's see if we can piece together something coherent enough for me to make sense of it Katie you tell me first of all tell me a wee bit about Moana and the story pardon there's a bit of that yeah

[16:31] John Roddy less than a thousand words Moana Moana is king or queen of the sea kind of so she's got some power yeah got some power yeah John what else can you tell me about Moana and the story of Moana she's her friend right okay Katrina she's chief she's got power yeah Caitlin that's a handy thing isn't it yeah Lois she heard her throat okay right okay let me ask you a few more pointed questions so in the story of Moana yes there's

[17:32] Moana here but we'll come to Moana in a second but tell me there's this island now the island in the film that we see is the island is it a happy island or is it a sad island it's a sad island because there's a lava monster on that island now how did that island become sad was it always sad wasn't always sad so how did it become sad Tiffany okay so you tell me the heart was stolen out of the island and when the heart was stolen out of the island we won't look at the technical details of all this it started to go bad and people who were happy started to get sad and the island that was full of light started to turn black and the people living on the island who once were so happy got sad and they got scared so the island was in danger and so the island needed someone to come and save it so who came to try and save the island

[18:56] Mo Moana and did she manage to save don't tell us because they'll all be going off to watch the film tomorrow morning did she save the island did she not save the island well you'll have to wait and see to find out all about that is it a good story is it a good film I wonder where the idea came from I wonder where the idea came from because we live in a place we live in a wee island planet earth planet earth it's like a big island in the middle of the galaxy and God created it and when he created it he said it's very good didn't it but then there was the devil and sin came in and it's like sin stole the true right pure godly heart of the island sin brought in sadness sin brought in death and God looked at the world that he made and he loved the world that he made and he loved all the people in the world that he made and so he knew that we needed a saviour and so he didn't send

[20:27] Moana but who came to be the saviour of the world say it together Jesus came to be the saviour of the world and he lived for us and he died for us and he rose from the dead and in doing that he saved us from our sin he took the sadness away there's still some sadness in this world isn't there lots of sadness still in this world but the bible tells us that Jesus is coming back to the world and when he comes back to the world he's going to make everything that was sad and everything that was bad he's going to make it new and in Jesus world let me tell you what it's going to be like this is the end of the bible this is how everything will end for those who are trusting Jesus listen in his new heavens and earth it says he will wipe every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away and he who was seated on the throne said

[21:56] I am making everything new and then he said write this down for these words are trustworthy words and these words are true Moana is just a story it's just made believe this is true and it's the greatest story that has ever been told and let's pray that God will give us faith to believe Lord we thank you that the greatest story that ever was told and is being told is the story of Jesus and his love and we thank you that in a world that was created good but turned bad you didn't leave us Lord to die but you sent Jesus to be the saviour of the world and we pray that all the boys and girls and all the adults here that we would put our faith in Jesus and that we would know that this story is our story because Jesus is our

[23:06] Lord so help us we pray to believe and help us to know the happiness the joy the salvation that Jesus brings and we pray this in Jesus name Amen we're going to sing now boys and girls we're going to sing the words are on the screen and they're in mission praise 628 628 in mission praise if you could turn in your bibles please to John chapter 4 the gospel of John and chapter 4 and we'll read from verse 43 to the end of the chapter and we left off last

[24:10] Sunday with Jesus having spent two days in Sumeria ministering to many who believed in him and then we pick up at verse 43 after the two days he Jesus left for Galilee now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country when he arrived in Galilee the Galileans welcomed him they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover feast for they also had been there once more he visited Cana in Galilee where he had turned the water into wine and there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum when this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son who was close to death unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders Jesus told him you will never believe the royal official said sir come down before my child dies

[25:15] Jesus replied you may go your son will live the man took Jesus at his word and departed while he was still in the way his servants met him with the news that his boy was living when he inquired as to the time when his son got better they said to him the fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him your son will live so he and all his household believed this was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed having come from Judea to Galilee Amen and may God bless that reading of his word to us Neil Cameron will now lead us in prayer in Galilee it's good to have Neil and Kate back with us after a few weeks away so Neil will lead us in prayer in Galilee a thank you

[26:18] Hello man let us pray your number and I a lovely 100 11 in what is anything that happened or it her Well Father you away in during aoz, To the 까ble, and trust.

[26:47] The baggage and reason for freedom are the sort of joy? Power over happiness or evasion of ideas and grace Time for protect the sickness.

[27:23] That's the tomb, I was your mother, die and daughters that youava it as a woman.

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[31:20] Bian Sub garde cov vhg vwkum. Fqhah waa kumbudu naanmi haas edei anew sxe aindi a East koroa xie misunderstanding.

[31:46] We had to give up a man for that christ turned away.

[31:58] As we married, we found this blueberry. chicken animal school class popped over into laughing.

[32:14] Amen. We sing now from Psalm 62, two stanzas in Galilee.

[32:49] Psalm 62 and verses 5 and 6. My soul, wait thou with patience upon thy God alone. On him dependeth all my hope and expectation.

[33:00] He only my salvation is, and my strong rock is he. He only is my sure defence, I shall not move to be. These two stanzas in Galilee. To God's praise.

[33:14] Oh man, see the top of the globe, is his sin on the throne. Oh man, say your son, Oh man, Perfectly, I will turn the spoke, Thank you.

[34:10] Thank you.

[34:40] Thank you.

[35:10] Thank you.

[35:40] Thank you.

[36:10] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[36:24] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[37:00] Thank you. Thank you.

[37:58] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[38:10] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[38:22] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[38:34] Thank you. We can sing that line.

[39:05] But from our hearts, with our lives, with John 4 open and the teaching that is here. How can I honour Jesus?

[39:18] And in order to think this one through, I want to consider, first of all, the crowd that we find surrounding Jesus in Galilee at the end of chapter 4.

[39:31] And then I want to consider also with you the certain royal official from Capernaum. So first we look at the crowd.

[39:43] The crowd are actually given to us as an example of what it looks like not to honour Christ. And then we look at the certain royal official who is given to us as an example of what it looks like and what it sounds like truly to honour Christ.

[39:57] So first of all, the crowd from Galilee. And just picking up from where we were last week, we can track Jesus' movements as he goes through this chapter. He's just been to Samaria.

[40:10] He had to go, verse 4, to Samaria because he had an appointment that he needed to keep with a woman at a well. Who would come to faith and who would immediately go out into the town that she was from and share her faith.

[40:29] And the people listened to this woman who would have been such a surprising testimony. And the people respond to her testimony by seeking out Christ and listening to Jesus.

[40:40] And for two days, Jesus stays in Samaria ministering to those who were new believers. Verse 42 tells us they believed truly that Jesus was the saviour of the world.

[40:54] And then in verse 43, where we picked up, we learned that Jesus leaves Sychar, he leaves Samaria, and he heads for Galilee.

[41:08] He heads back to familiar territory. He heads back to the place where he grew up. And he makes clear that he knows that that place was a place where he wouldn't be honoured.

[41:26] And so with that declaration that Jesus has made in verse 43, he pointed out that a prophet has no honour in his own country.

[41:37] So as Jesus approaches his own country, then the question I think that naturally comes to our minds is, how will he be received? If he's not going to be honoured, how will he be received?

[41:53] Will he be received at all? Or will he be received with a coldness or a reluctance? Will there be antagonism?

[42:04] Will there be violence even? As Jesus heads back to his own country? Well, the surprising thing is what follows in verse 45.

[42:20] Because it says in verse 45 that Jesus was welcomed. After what he said, he wouldn't be honoured. We learn that he was welcomed.

[42:31] When he arrived in Galilee, verse 45, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, for they also had been there.

[42:43] So it's a bit of a puzzle. But as we think about that puzzle, I think there's a word in application for us.

[42:54] And the word is this. It is possible for us to welcome Jesus into our lives for a short time. And to welcome Jesus into the fabric of our culture, as traditionally in this nation we did.

[43:12] It's possible to welcome Jesus and embrace him within our traditions. And yet not give him the honour that he's due.

[43:24] Over the last few weeks, the FA Cup has been playing out. Those who follow football will know that.

[43:36] And as the competition gets to the climax of it, then we tend to see, and we have seen, we've seen small, remote, unlikely teams come to a place of eminence within the competition.

[43:55] Tiny non-league sides beating giants televised on our screens. And then we see them on match of the day, the coach and maybe one of the players, looking highly uncomfortable in front of the cameras, as they answer questions about this amazing victory.

[44:13] And then sometimes we see them going back to their home towns, and the double-decker bus is out, and the crowds are on the street, and everybody's cheering and welcoming them, because of all that they did, this great performance that they put in.

[44:29] They're given honour. In inverted commas. But it's not true of the honour. Because we know that that kind of a welcome for a non-league side, or a player who's a star in one of these matches, is short-lived.

[44:45] Because the same crowds who line the street, waving their banners and their flags, three weeks down the line, are standing at some small, modest crowd shouting insults at the same players.

[44:58] And if we want any evidence of that, we just have to look at Claudia Ranieri. She's the hero of last season. Took this unlikely side, Leicester, all the way to the premiership victory.

[45:15] The whole of the footballing world said, what an amazing guy. What a welcome, what approval he enjoyed. And yet nine months later, he's fired.

[45:27] He's probably not at the job centre, but he doesn't know what he's doing yet. There's a very fickle welcome that we see so often, especially in things like football, in this world.

[45:42] And there's something of that, I believe, going on with the crowd here. Jesus was being welcomed back to his homeland after a good performance in Jerusalem over the Passover season.

[45:58] There was a buzz around Jesus. His name was being spoken about. The crowds were gathering to welcome him, but they didn't really honour him. Because the same crowd, who extended such an enthusiastic welcome on this occasion, would soon enough be calling for his execution.

[46:21] And it's a sobering thought to consider that so many of those in Jesus' homeland who got so close to him and who saw him so regularly, they didn't honour him.

[46:42] They didn't trust him. They didn't find salvation in him. Now watch the documentary. I think it was on Alaba some time back.

[46:54] And it was about a revival preacher called Jock Troop. He was a fisherman turned preacher. And as this man's life was being considered, what came across to the man's life in the testimony of the fishermen who worked with him and the preachers who were alongside him and the family members who were closest to him was the man was just consistent.

[47:18] He was real. He was true. He had integrity. And that was the lasting impression of the man. He was a great preacher. But he had that deep integrity.

[47:31] But think about Jesus. I mean, Jock Troop may have been real and had integrity and trustworthy, but he was a sinner.

[47:45] So he wasn't always trustworthy. He wasn't sinless. And yet there was such an evidence of Christ within him that it was remarked upon by so many people.

[47:59] But think about Jesus. In his homeland. Think about the fact that for 30 years, he lived in that place without sinning.

[48:12] For 30 years, there was this perfect, sinless, unblemished man rubbing shoulders with these people. In 1 Peter 2.2, it says, he committed no sin.

[48:28] No deceit was found in his mouth. And so in his home, amongst his brothers and sisters, he didn't sin.

[48:41] No deceit. In the temple, he didn't sin. In the workshop, with the tradesmen, he didn't sin.

[48:54] Not in thought, not in word, not in action. What a striking, different life that must have been.

[49:07] And what an impression you would think that would make upon people and then at the age of 30, Jesus leaves the carpenter's workshop. He downs tools.

[49:19] He begins to speak. He begins to minister. He begins to reveal his identity. And don't you think that for the people who were closest to him, the penny would then drop?

[49:30] Don't you think that whilst they were in Jerusalem and they saw what he was doing and they heard the accounts of all the things that he was saying and doing, don't you think the pieces of the jigsaw would start to come together and they would say, that's Jesus.

[49:45] That's Joseph's son. That's the one we thought was Joseph's son. That's, there was always something special about him. We knew it. I mean, there had to be.

[50:00] Because he never sinned. But that wasn't a response. They didn't honor him. They didn't trust him.

[50:13] They didn't receive him in any meaningful, deep way. And, we might find the unbelief and the resistance of the Galileans staggering.

[50:33] And we may be sitting here thinking this morning, they should have known so much better. But before we condemn the people of that country, let's think about this country.

[50:45] because very few countries in the world, historically, have been so familiar with the things of God as this country, Scotland.

[50:59] And we don't have to turn the clock back too long to remember that we were known across the world as the land of the book. And yet today, you watch the TV, you read the newspapers, you listen in to Parliament, this book is treated with such contempt.

[51:23] And is it not true, both in the national scene, and even as we think through the village perhaps, and people that we have known, is it not true that some of the people who know the Bible best, and can answer all the detailed questions of Scripture, those who have heard the Gospel so many times, some of these people are the most hardened people to it.

[51:52] It's very true sometimes that familiarity breeds contempt. And so before we criticise the crowd, we have to ask the question, is there anything of the crowd in me and you?

[52:14] Is there something of the attitude that was going through that crowd in our hearts? Are we those who sometimes welcome Jesus into our lives but refuse to honour him?

[52:32] Because there are all kinds of reasons for wanting to welcome Christ into our lives for a period. Sometimes we welcome his strength when we know our own weakness.

[52:45] We're facing a task that seems just beyond us. Sometimes we welcome his comfort when we are most sore. Sometimes we welcome his supernatural touch when we're desperate and at an end of ourselves in relation to some situation.

[53:04] But if all we want are signs and miracles and all we want is what Jesus can do for us and not Jesus himself, we don't savingly trust him.

[53:17] And we don't give him the honour that he's due. So the crowd teach us what it looks like not to trust and honour Christ.

[53:34] But a certain royal official is now presented by John as an example of what it does look like to trust and honour Christ. So let's move on to thinking about him.

[53:46] Verse 46 Once more Jesus visited Cana in Galilee where he had turned the water into wine and there was a certain royal official who suddenly lay sick at Capernaum.

[54:01] When this man heard that Jesus arrived in Galilee from Judea he went to him and begged him to come and heal a son who was close to death. Now let's think first of all why did this man come to Jesus?

[54:19] Well the likelihood is that the man came to Jesus for much the same reason that many of the crowd gathered around Jesus.

[54:31] Initially the man came to Christ for what Jesus could do for him and what he could do in particular for his son.

[54:42] He had come to hear likely that Jesus was a healer. That's the word that was on the street and so this man whose son is in such desperate need of healing he rushes all the way from Capernaum a 20 mile walk all uphill an exhausting journey the commentators tell us and he makes a beeline for Christ.

[55:04] and I want to make that point because very often the reason that we first come to Jesus it is out of necessity and it is out of even desperation that's not wrong it's just wrong when we stop there and then we leave this man is desperate and there is nothing more devastating than your child you know I know a little of that there's nothing more painful than thinking you may lose your son or your daughter and that's what this man was facing and that's where faith begins for him his faith begins at the point of physical need but it evolves into a spiritual interest and sense of a deeper need his initial desire is a desire for physical life for his son just as the initial desire of the woman at the well is a desire for physical satisfaction but it develops into a sense of need of eternal life there's many people who think that they can't come to Jesus when they're in need

[56:36] I remember being at a hospital bedside before I came here and there was somebody who was very very sick in hospital and I remember sitting with this woman who wasn't a believer and encouraging her to seek the Lord she knew the fact that she was very very ill and she knew that she was unsaved and it was bothering her as it should I remember encouraging her to seek the Lord and to call upon the name of the Lord and what she said to me was I didn't seek him when things were fine with my life so I can't seek him when I'm in such dire need and yet that's untrue and I told her that because very often that's the point where Jesus meets us at a well thirsty or at a hospital bed side desperate or at a grave side sometimes that's the only place and time that will heed him it's often the terrifying closeness of death or the reality of death in a loved one that awakens our souls to a need of

[58:15] Christ J.C. Ryle says this he that is wise will never reckon confidently on long life we never know what a day may bring forth the only true wisdom is to be always prepared to meet God to put nothing off which concerns eternity and to live like people ready to depart at any moment so living it matters little whether we die young or old joined to the Lord Jesus we are safe in any event and so here's a man a royal official and his son and a wider family who become to use Ryle's words joined to Jesus through trauma and in doing so they find safety for living and they find safety for dying and the royal official he stands apart from the crowd because he shows us what it looks like and what it sounds like to trust and to honour

[59:32] Christ and there's four statements that I want to make in conclusion that come from the royal official don't worry that wasn't all the introduction we're not moving into the sermon here four statements in the last five to ten minutes in conclusion there's four things that the man he says or he speaks forth from his behaviour the first thing he says is I can't do it he arrives in the presence of Jesus professing the fact that in relation to the problem that he has he can't do it he can't fix it he's helpless this is a royal official this is a man of great influence of great means he's a rich man what he demands he gets he's a man who can make things happen but in the face of disease and death he's helpless and so he comes to

[60:40] Jesus essentially to say I can't do it and what that man came to terms with physically we need to grasp spiritually we might have money we might have influence we might have respect within the community we might have position we might have it all in terms of the eyes of this world but we are helpless to save ourselves or anyone else and we need to realize humbly that I can't do it we need to come before the Lord and say I can't do it I can't deal with the guilt of my own soul I can't overcome death as death approaches me I can't earn I can't buy eternal life I can't book myself a place in heaven

[61:43] I can't do it and so that's the first checkpoint for this man in his statement of faith I can't do it if you will come to the table next Lord's day you will come confessing I can't do it those who come to the table are honestly saying to the Lord and to those who look in on them in relation to my sin in relation to my salvation I can't do it the second thing that we can see and hear from this man is a question he's asking Jesus can you do it here's my problem here's my son he is in such desperate need can you help he doesn't articulate that question in so many words but his very presence before

[62:52] Christ is an articulation of that question he's asking Jesus I've heard about you can you do it can you help it's a genuine question and it's a great question to come to Christ with we hear it asked even more directly from another desperate father who comes to Jesus with a son who is sick who is struggling under the weight of demon possession and he seeks out Jesus the father and he says to Jesus in Mark chapter 9 if you can do anything take pity on us help us and Jesus responds to that question by encouraging the man to have faith he says to him if you can everything is possible for him who believes and immediately the father boy's father exclaimed

[63:53] I do believe help me overcome my unbelief you know there are some people who think that they can't make an approach to Jesus until they're crystal clear on who he is but the fact is it's only as we come to him it's only as we draw near to him it's only as we look to him it's only as we listen to him that we get the answer to the question of who he is if you see me out jogging on the road and I've got no glasses on I probably won't wave at you because I can't see I'm short sighted whatever you wave at me I'll probably try to approach you in order that I can see who you are and that's an example some things of what we are to do with

[64:53] Jesus as we become aware of him as we start to question his identity and his power and what he can do for us in the matter of our souls the clarity doesn't come until we begin to draw near to him Nicodemus would tell us that the Samaritan woman would tell us that the village who responded to the Samaritan woman to the Samaritan woman's testimony and who came for themselves to see and hear Jesus they would tell us that so the man comes to Jesus saying one I can't do it to question can you do it and the third thing that we hear on his journey to faith is is him say to Jesus will you do it because in verse 47 we're told that he begs Jesus to come and he's saying to him my son my son is in need of healing my son is in need of life will you do it not just can you do it but will you do it he asks Jesus to intervene he calls upon the name of the

[66:10] Lord and we know in Acts chapter 2 and verse 21 we're given a promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved and so there's action here there's an audible calling out a crying out to Jesus and faith and faith does that faith is not some academic desktop theory it's not some generic concept that we can't grasp faith is personal and faith can be seen and faith can be heard you and I have to ask we have to ask ask that Jesus will deal with the sickness of our souls we have to ask Jesus to save us from the eternal death that our sin merits we have to ask that Jesus will give us that eternal life that he is able to give to us and having asked we have to believe and so the man comes saying one

[67:34] I can't do it two can you do it three will you do it and four finally he says to Jesus I believe you have done because he says to to Jesus your word is enough the man verse 50 took Jesus at his word before we get to verse 50 verse 48 is one that's actually difficult to listen to because we have this picture here of the man having gone through this difficult journey with such grief in his heart such pain as he considers his son's predicament he's exhausted he comes before Jesus he's desperate he's begging he asks Jesus for help and then Jesus says in verse 48 unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe it just sounds harsh for a man at such a low ebb sounds harsh and if we think that Jesus is making eye contact with that royal official and looking at nobody else and addressing him and him alone it would be harsh but he's not as Jesus speaks out verse 48 he's not fixing his gaze on this man and no one else the you in verse 48 is the plural you this is both a rebuke to the crowds who do not and who will not believe and it's an encouragement to the official who clearly does believe see the Galilean crowd they saw so many miraculous signs already but they still didn't believe whereas the official the royal official he believes before he sees and that's faith faith is believing what Jesus says before we see it with our eyes in verse 49

[70:04] Jesus is summoned by the man the man says to Jesus come my son consider him come come with me to Capernaum and do whatever it is you have to do lay your healing hands upon him come but Jesus power is so great that he doesn't need to come and he wants not only the healing of this man's son but he wants the eternal healing of this entire family so he says to the man I'm not going to come you go and your son will live and there's no flashing lights there's no magic dust there's no high drama Jesus speaks the word and it's enough for this man and the man believes he believes that Jesus has in that moment done everything that was necessary for his son to be saved and as we apply this and as we think about the healing that we need for our souls

[71:25] Psalm 22 comes to mind he has done it John 20 comes to mind for Jesus on the cross cries out it is finished the healing that our souls need the salvation that we desperately need he's done it and he has told us through all of scripture he has done it on the cross he has done it and you and I today we don't have the physical Jesus present with us for us to speak with we may not get signs and miracles but we have the word Christ in a way that is even more robust than that man had the word of Christ we have the written word of

[72:34] Christ and it's enough it's enough for our salvation it can be trusted you can put your faith in it you can put your weight on it you can be assured I can be assured that Jesus makes good on all his promises again I think it's Ryle that says this the sinner who has really reposed his soul on the word of the Lord Jesus is safe for all eternity the sinner who has really reposed his soul on the word of the Lord Jesus is safe for all eternity he could not be safer if he saw the book of life and his own name written in it if Christ has said him that cometh to me I will in no eyes cast out and our hearts can testify

[73:37] I have come we need not doubt that we are saved in the things of this world we may say that seeing is believing but in the things of the gospel believing is as good as seeing and so we see and hear the developing faith of the certain royal official who comes to Jesus to say I can't do it can you do it will you do it and I believe now you have done your word is enough and as he goes off towards his hometown with the thought of his son in his mind you notice that there's that wonderful little touch he doesn't have to reach to

[74:44] Pern before he's given assurance because the lord arranges it in such a way that his people come to him and meet him halfway and he learns on the road that everything that Jesus said was true and his son was safe so are we safe in the matters of our souls have we come to Christ acknowledging the fact that we cannot save ourselves and asking him can you will you save him and having asked have we taken him at his word and will we show that we have taken him at his word by coming to the table to say that our faith is in him and his word and not in ourselves we'll pray our heavenly father we thank you for this testimony of the royal official and we thank you for his encounter with Christ and both the wonder of what we read and the joy that would have filled his heart and his household heart as they saw their son brought back to health but more than that as they realised that now because they were secure in Christ that there was nothing not even death that would be separating them but they were eternally united with

[76:41] Jesus for forever thank you that that's the hope of the gospel and we pray that we wouldn't observe this certain royal official from a distance but that we would be able to say what he has said that we would have assurance that we are saved and that we are Christ's ones and that having received assurance we would come to show that we are Christ's ones and we ask all these things in Jesus name amen we finish with mission praise 755 755 is the place where we see where Jesus has done everything for us to be saved when I and I we pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit would be with us all both now and forever more amen where we and amen 11 to the to Th diameter