Reasons to Believe in Jesus, Part 2

Does Jesus ask you to believe in him by just squinting hard and mustering faith? Or, did he actually provide compelling evidence that he was, in fact, who the Bible proclaims—the one and only Son of God? Today, Pastor Greg Byman continues a seven-part series entitled, “Reasons to Believe” and today’s installment focuses on Jesus healing an official’s son from a distance. Pastor Byman preached, “Seven Reasons to Believe, Part 2: Boy Healed From a Distance” on Sunday, August 8, 2018 at St Joe Community Church. 

Notes

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Transcript

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Well if you'll turn in your Bible if you have one today to the Gospel of John chapter four we're going to look at there today and if you don't have a Bible you can go your phone out right now put it on silent quickly if you would but take your phone now in you can go Google anywhere and you can find a bible if you ladies have a phone you want to use that today you're welcome to do that you version is one of my favorite versions Bible apps to use to look at the Bible and several translations and if you have a Bible app that you have the different translations I'm looking at the home and Christian Standard Bible C.S.B. are the C.S.B. is is another one that's really close to that it's the same one and so that's what I read out of and I do that and I ask that because I want everybody to kind of see where we're going because God gave us his word for a reason it's it's our that's our foundation for we're re understand truth and understanding of who he is and what he what he wants for a lives and how he came to save us from our sins and how he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for us before we get started I just want to thank everybody who participated in this morning's worship we don't always do that I want to say thank you to Jacob's well and company and then the team that does that and we just praise God for what God is doing through them and I want to let you know what's the date of that concert coming up August the eighteenth that's a Saturday night right here in the building and there are three groups or two groups and a soloist this going to be playing here on this stage and it's a time to worship God together the rescue is from the rescue mission and they have a solid team that they have built it's actually building stronger than even when they were here during our big party we had in the parking lot so they'll be here and I think the proceeds are going to help the rescue mission is that right. So toiletries toiletries So yeah the there you go and we will take cash donations if you don't bring something but it's a donation at the door to help support the rescue mission here in town which is a solid Christian organization that helps men and women carers house but but we will be be doing that here in our building and looking forward to that that concert that night and then of course Bill is one of our elders who got up and read the scripture for some my son Joel who is going to go back to college in a couple weeks so we're going to work him till he's gone and so glad for all that and we have team up here audio visual and upstairs and actually this is crazy this is Byman day my son is doing sound and my daughter's doing the powerpoint So hey this is this week there's a whole team of people that make this happen on Sunday mornings and it's also that we've got refreshments Marianne and Company and Karen oversees that team they do refreshments for us when we come in the nice hot coffee hot tea cold ice water and so it's just a privilege to be able to come here and know that we've if you came here and just showed up you've already been served in so many tiny little ways in the name of Jesus Christ and you've been prayed over and this moment is not an accident and this is no this is no Random Moment for your lives we made a purpose to to come together and we made a purpose to even as we designed and painted and took care of this property the way God wanted us to and we pray that God lead us as we did that but we made sure that what we did was on purpose so this is no accidental moment for any of us this is no accidental moment for me this is no well I just happened to throw myself into a worship service today and here I am and coach told me to come and so how many of you I want to ask you how many will coach told me to come I mean it was all voluntary I know a volunteer old No he didn't he did I don't know how he's bribing you but thanks for being here but seriously you're not here by accident and God has a purpose for your life and whatever it is and we are in the middle of a series of messages this is the second of seven. Talking about the seven signs the sevens miracles they weren't the only ones but they were specific ones that John himself had he highlights in his gospel in order for us to believe and are to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior of the world as our personal Savior and so he is trying to give us evidence of his physical life that took place while he was on earth two thousand years ago and he takes these six nip it sort of these stories and he brings them into a whole story called The Gospel of the Good News According to John and it's his writings that God inspired him to write that we have passed down through the ages and as I've studied the Greek and the New Testament Greek and the original language of which it was written and as I study the historical evidence these are use our this is a trustworthy manuscript and this is a trustworthy English translation of that this isn't something that man just decided to come up with this was something that has been entrusted to us through the ages and we have in front of us seven major stories that say OK here are some reasons to believe in Jesus will you trust Him Will you put your life in his hands will you put your life in his hands today will you will you trust in him completely John didn't write just for us to hear good stories that we could tell that story time in Sunday school or a night time when kids go to bed or for us to just have nice little pithy stories of goodness he wrote them for us to trust in who Jesus was and so for those of you here for the first time those of you who are have been attending or maybe you dropped in and now that summer is kind of coming to a close and you're back again with us we are on a journey through the book of John and this is the second one and they'll be others to follow until we get to the end of the of the Gospel seven reasons to believe. And my hope and prayer is that we who are believers will be strengthened in our belief that people who are curious about God will start thinking more about who God is and for those of you to know him personally that you will come to faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord not because I'm making you do something or because I'm trying to talk you into it but because you have on Asli considered what God has said in his word and you've made an evaluation as to whether or not you believe it or not because I believe that truth prevails in the end you know pocky will teach fundamentals of again of the game of soccer and some of you are coming from systems that you're going to hear something new that you haven't been told by a previous coach and he's going to say well this is the tech way of doing it this is the way of doing it and and he's not you know Jesus when Jesus says this perfect pocky is a human being but yet he has a system that through time has proven itself to be effective and you're going to say I don't know I don't know if I trust set or not said but you've signed on the dotted line to say you're a team member and so you will say well I trusted in Word that it's true and then as you go through the season and you see how the system works and how your place coming together and how it does build you as a team you're going to say wow I I'm committed to this this is I do believe in this and hopefully by the end of the season those trusted tried and true ways of doing team work those ways of of building a good season. You're going to go wow I'm all in and some day as coaches some day as and structure some day as you have your own children if the Lord wills that you will actually probably instill some of those in those kids because you're if. You really believe it and that's kind of the way it is with faith in Jesus Jesus gives us himself to look at to know to hear to see he's you see the testimony of people around you you see the curiosity you're well maybe there's something to this their lives look a little different than the lives of people that don't follow Jesus you get in so you know what these things these principles actually work of your neighbor as yourself that's kind of that kind of works like I get along with my roommate better when I think more of them that I think of myself and then you go you know what I really believe Jesus is the savior of the world it's a progression and I get that and I believe that's true and I think all of us whatever stage of our life we ought to reasonably consider what God has to say not let someone talk us into something but to see say God show me what you want me to know so that I can know how to live a life of purpose and meaning because we only go around once in this world in this world go but spends around so many times for us and the DAs between our life birth and our death the dash is very short and I pray and hope that you live it to the max and that you'll find the designer of this world to be your Lord and Savior as you trust in Jesus so seven messages from the Gospel of John last week we talked about Jesus turning the water into wine. You can by the way find audio links to any of the things that we. Preach on every all the messages are online and you go to our website which is in the Bulletin and you can go to the Facebook page and if you like that it'll start showing up and you'll get posted that a new messages online for you to review and so you can actually go on after Usually after a day or two. Those are uploaded and you can be listening to those and hear so so if you were here last week say want to hear what he had to say about that you can do that and if I go off on a rabbit trail which some of you would testify I do often you can fast forward through the rabbit trail to the next point OK Anyway OK. Some of your laughing too hard OK so. These are online you can get those anytime at this morning I want to read the story from John chapter four starting in verse forty six and we're going to read together this passage. Then he went again to Kaina of Galilee and Jesus Himself. Into can of Galilee where he had turned the water into wine there was a certain royal official whose son was ill Capernaum when this man heard that Jesus had come from Judah Judea to into Galilee he went to him and pleaded with him to come down and heal his son for he was about to die. Forty eight Jesus told him unless you people see signs and wonders you will not believe serve the official said to him come down before my boy dies go Jesus told him Your son will live the man believed what Jesus said to him and departed while he was still going down his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive he asked them at what time he got better yesterday at seven in the morning the fever left him they answered the father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him Your son will live and the end then he himself believed along with his whole household This is therefore the second sign Jesus performed after he came from June day to Galilee. So what is going on here what's the story let's let's look at this this morning first of all the seven signs when we look at these signs we know that these are seven real historical testimonies they are fanciful stories that were made up and I and I would say I can go into a long conversation and I'd love to have coffee with anybody that says well I don't know if I understand or agree with your believe in you I love to chat with you more about this but suffice it to say this morning that when John wrote this people were alive during the time in which Jesus had performed these miracles and they could have said John you're full of baloney they could have said John you're crazy these things didn't happen but they didn't through the ages John John's writing probably as an old man is writing about thirty years or so after the events that took place and he wrote after the three other gospels Matthew Mark and Luke were written and so he's kind of writing at a summary but he's not writing a chronological story of Jesus in fact these signs don't necessarily happen in the sequence historically as John writes them he's writing them to prove a point just like some of your papers that you write in school you don't you're driving home a point more than you're trying to home a historical timeline because you're trying to prove something and draw a reader to a conclusion at the end of your paper and it's the same thing John is doing in this gospel and he's writing this story out as a real historical testimony and John and many others are the witnesses of this testimony and he says this is the second sign that Jesus performed these signs are demanding a response you see John is wanting us to decide whether we believe that Jesus is either that is either the Savior of all or he is no savior at all no in-between he's not one of many options he's the only option or he's no option he puts it all on the table it's all or nothing you're all in or you're not in it all and so this is kind of this is where we go with this story it's with that context that we need to look at the story this morning first of all we see here that Jesus is a miracle worker we see Jesus as a miracle worker. Now he's been seen in the temple complex as he's been seen during certain festivals and we're not sure exactly what festival that was but in verse forty three and forty four and forty five it says that he testified when the gala enter galleons the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen everything he did in Jerusalem during the festival and they had also gone to the festival now he was being rejected by certain regions and he was being more accepted by other regions now I want to bring that up because I want you to know that God doesn't not down the door of your life and say you better trust me or else now now indeed there's a consequence for not trusting in God and we know that the Bible says that whether we believe it or not we know the Bible at least says it but he wants to come to receptive hearts he wants to come towards people that are interested in pursuing or thinking about him now I will say that there are some people that are fighting against God and he does break into their lives in a major way and we know that one big example in the Bible was a man named Saul who was breathing threats against the Christian faith and he was right ready to go put people in prison and he had overseen the death of Stephen who was being stoned to death for his faith and this man was was blood thirsty against Jesus Christ and Jesus met him on what they call he was on the road leading to Damascus and a bright light shined out and and he basically fell to his knees and God just basically they rang his bell and got his attention he said you're done stop what you're doing and he was blind for three days his coach said Set him down on the bench and said You're out for three games until you figure out that this is how we play the game here. And he said OK. Guys attention but generally speaking what we see here is that the wife of Jesus when He lived on worked on this earth he went to regions where people actually wanted to receive him and in Galilee this other region of of Israel the nation at that time in the boundaries at that time they actually wanted to see Jesus and they actually accepted who he was and they actually wanted to receive him into their lives but he was seen more as a miracle worker than he was seen anybody in particular they were curious about who he was but they really weren't fully convinced that he was the Messiah the Savior of the world the one who was born of a Virgin Mary and came in to save us from our sins they really didn't get it all but they did see that he was a miracle worker in fact Jesus Himself says this in verse forty eight unless you people see signs and wonders you will not believe he kind of made a judge mental statement about a bunch of people on the path he said you guys you're all looking for signs and wonders you're just looking for quick fixes you're not looking for solid answers and he kind of get a judgment on him but this man was not deterred in fact we see here that this man it didn't stop him he just he just he just kept saying but my son is dying you've got to go and save him you got to go and heal him come with me to the house my son's about to die you know there's people in this room that have have prayed over children that are about to die children that are in dire straits children that are struggling I remember growing up that my mom and dad my second born sibling five years after my birth was born into this world with asthma problems she had pneumonia so bad and the and she stayed in an incubator and she was in in intensive care new NATO for so long and we weren't sure if she was going to live and there was a moment in my sister's life who is now a healthy adult teacher down in the Bloomington area she was old enough to talk old enough to know the struggle and if you've ever had pneumonia or asthma you know it's like a elephant is on your chest and you can't breathe and you can't get air in the oxygen that you need and it's painful and it's suffocating and it's and it's and it's it's scary and in her little crib that she was still in she looked up at my mom and my mom was like old Jesus we're just praying that Jesus so get make it better and we're just praying that you'll get better and my sister and this is my mom's testimony looked up at my mom and said maybe it just be better if I went to heaven. And fighting back tears my mother said Well I don't know that I'm ready to let you go there yet to for you to go there yet and she stepped away from the crib and wept profusely and just begged God for a miracle Well this little girl that they said would never amount to much mentally because she'd lost some less oxygen and she wouldn't have very good physical activities in her life she wouldn't do very well athletically went on to beat a record school record in track that to this day stands in my small school she went on to be class president in her senior year of high school went on to college graduated with great grades and is now teaching students as a special ed teacher and has a heart has a real passion for the underdogs in the world because she was an underdog and God answered my mother's prayer and I know I can I WAS IN THE enough to really know what all was going on I was probably seven or eight years old at the time that mom's begging God for a miracle but I just can't imagine I can just imagine my mother's passion pleading for God She knew that God could do whatever he wanted to do but she wanted God to heal her child and praise God he did guys that's the kind of passion that was going on this man knew his son had a fever had a struggle that he wasn't going to live if Jesus didn't come down in hail and having care about the miracle worker at this point he wasn't looking for signs and wonders he just wanted answers to the problem at hand this man was desperate this man was desperate he wasn't deterred by the rebuke that Jesus gave the crowd he simply repeated his plea for Jesus to come and heal a son and then the Bible says he believed his word. He believed him when Jesus said Go Your son will live he had nothing to go on but the Word of God He was curious when he first came he's looking for Jesus to help but now he's in crisis he's in super crisis mode and he says got Jesus help me heal my son and he goes believing that Jesus said Your son will live he says OK I know you can do this I believe you can do this I have no other choice because you're not going to come to my house so I'll just believe what you say and he was believing in crisis but then in verse fifty three it shows here that when he saw all that the man that that the miracle took place at the very hour that Jesus said it would take place the power of God was so revealed and his household that he truly put his faith in Jesus Christ this word believe and the verse fifty three is different than the word believe in the first verse fifty where it was first mentioned but he believed this verse in verse fifty three is the word believe that is not surrounded by any other kind of action other than he truly believed in who Jesus was not what Jesus could do for him it was a progression of belief in his life he believed and what was the sign what was his reasoning for believing what was the sign the sign was a supernatural healing the sign was that this was not an illusion as I mentioned last week at the magic show or the illusion show that I went to down and up and over in Delaware. During vacation two weeks ago the man was very theatrical and the way he did sleight of hand he had this mind reading thing where he took this suction cup very very embarrassing. On my head and it stuck some of you that will never happen but I have a little extra skin up there and I think that's why he picked me out in the crowd. And the other guy was similarly built and Summerlee head had a tall forehead and and he put these suction cups on our heads plungers and he had a wire between them and he was going to make me read that guy's mind so that I would know what card that man picked without ever talking to the man that was back against me and I will tell you all the details but he kind of got me to say a card that he ended up picking and I say able to say it's the three of hearts and he said that's right it's the three parts and we never talked about it you know it was cool but it was a trick there was no use I did not get this wire thing that came through in this static electricity and all of a sudden I knew oh my goodness I know what he's thinking he wants pumpkin pie to mind I didn't see anything about his life I didn't know there was nothing magical about the plungers it was an illusion it was a way for us to be fascinated and he even said at the beginning my job here is to kind of do something that you think I'm a mind reader and I'm a special person like this is what the reality is for some a good time and I'm going to do some things and you're going to be amazed and we were amazed and he did some things and we went away royally appreciative of the fact that we've been in that theater that day to see this man but they were illusions they were tricks they got us to think that he was magical but he was an illusionist there was nothing magical about it there was nothing miraculous about what he did but Jesus said Go Your son will live that's always said. He didn't go to the sun and do some doctoral ministry to him with some medicine he didn't secretly get a disciple to get on a horse and or a camel I don't know what they used back then and ran over and do something really quick and really quick get this child back to health again he didn't give him some sort of homeopathic plan so that the fact the man that said that heard your son will live didn't even see his son and till after he learned that his son was alive and well and the moment that that son was healed was the very moment that Jesus said Your son will live and he compared notes on his timing he looked at his Rolex I don't think he had one he looked at his his sundial and he figured out what time it was that Jesus said it and he looked at the sun down there with a sundial say over you and he said well it said Well my arm was moving I don't know what time it said but the one on the ground here said it was about the seventh hour and he said he lives Jesus said He lives the same time miraculous it was amazing it was supernatural it was from a distance Jesus said over there where I'm not he lives I'm not only god in the flesh fully man but I'm God supernaturally fully God but I can say happens and it happens this is the second time this is a second miracle it gets recorded in Scripture he did this again worse and cherry another man actually believe that Jesus could do and said you don't have to go there just say it and it will happen and Jesus said Absolutely that's true and it happened at that point as well Jesus can be wherever you need him to be you see Jesus isn't just in this church he isn't just when you're around Jesus people he's everywhere he's where you are he's seeking you he's constantly looking for you he's constantly wanting you to know him and to trust in him he's wherever you need him all the time any time. There for you and it's the word of power that he gave all Jesus had to say was the word your son will live you can trust everything that God says in fact there is a way that I tell students I tell adults I tell children anybody who can read the Bible I say as to why I don't know how to read the Bible out of get started with the Bible you know what I suggest I suggest that you go to the Book of Proverbs and Proverbs has thirty one chapters in it and you say well I don't know where that is well just do a google search you'll find proverbs it's pretty easy or if you have a physical Bible go to the middle of your Bible you open up in the middle and you're about in the middle of the Old Testament and you kind of like a little more to the left of the middle and you're in proverbs or Psalms and if you're in Psalms turn right here in Proverbs stay there and look for the first chapter or by the way today is August the fifth so you could start in Chapter five go through the end of the month and then start again and Chapter One two three and four and you've read an entire Bible in one. Book in one month boom just like that and you can learn something that God has for your life that day and I but I just I would encourage fact encourage you that if you do this and you suddenly see something you read in the morning and then you see something play out for you in the daytime where that bible verse actually is affective or helpful to you I'm telling you this happens to me all the time it happens to many people that I talk to that do this on a regular basis when you read God's Word it is a timely letter and advice giver for your life that very moment and I encourage you to think about putting that. In your life and the students also at the chapel if you don't own a Bible at the chapel and offer comments on the second floor above the cafeteria there are Bibles on the shelf that are there for free anything on the shelf and there is free and if you don't have a nice Bible to carry it's got a nice little imitation leather but it's actually it's a feel good imitation is not with those cardboard things that you might have gotten in Sunday school when you're a little kid and it's actually a very comfortable Bible to carry and I would encourage you to get one of those if you don't have one in your dormitory if you don't have one to carry on a regular basis and it's yours to keep for free you say this is the word of power God is giving us his word Jesus said make it so and it is so and just as a coach says make it so and the team responds appropriately when Jesus says it is perfectly happening in moment the moment he says this to happen we can trust the sign that that John records for us in his gospel so this morning I want to just close up with with with with asking you a couple questions what's your verdict what's your verdict is he the savior or is he not a savior at all some of you you're in process you're still thinking you may have never been to church and in a long time or maybe your first time ever or maybe you've been in church in your Vinces but you're not there yet you're not ready to totally give yourself over to what this means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and first of all I want to thank you for being here I want to thank you for coming out care what your motive is with maybe you just came because you heard you're having fried chicken for for lunch and you had to pay for your light yes and that's when the resign here today no I didn't but seriously it's an option OK I get that all the way to the person says I'm hungry I really want to know spiritually hungry I really want to know something that's going on not just physically hungry for a meal I'm spiritually hungry for food that will last me more than just a physical need in my life I need to find purpose and meaning beyond playing a game beyond going to school beyond a career beyond whatever season of life you're currently in. And I just want to come back to the three ways that people believed in this story there was a curious belief there were people who believed in Jesus because they saw some things that he was doing that were pretty special and big and powerful and unusual and maybe you've seen some people in your life that are unusually different and you see that they've got a touch of Jesus in their life and you're like well I want to know more about that because I'm curious about who Jesus is he out he must be somebody special because he's changed a lot of lives I'm curious to know more that curious belief is a good belief but it's not going to take you to where God wants you to be in your life it's a curious belief and a lot of people will die with curious belief but never find the Saviors their lord and savior and then there's crisis belief I've had this happen and this man had a crisis his son was dying I have had the privilege of being on campus for about fourteen years at Indiana tech as a chaplain and I'm actually going to slip back into that role more so then then I'm actually not going to be on staff as of the end of this coming Friday I've actually resigned from that position as faced services coordinator and I'm going to start just being a volunteer chaplain again like I started years ago on that campus my time constraints and working here more and doing things and just not allowed me to continue that job and there want to do some more things with that position so I'm not going to be there for that but I will still be there as a encourage or a spiritual encourage or in people's lives and through the years Jim has been one of those but I've had Martinu HOF I've had so many other coaches people that you've never met or seen some that were on the stage in that we've In addition you two and I've actually had the privilege of sitting down with students who are in crisis some of their in crisis like they're about ready to get kicked off the team because they've made some They've not made good choices and they're dealing with the consequences of their bad choices and I would say that there have been a few of those students that they met with me and they really wanted answers they really wanted to get their life in order because they see that they've hit a brick wall they've hit the bottom of the barrel they're ready for answers they never look for because they're in crisis and of course the the the and I called it sometimes I call it anger management class you know they just couldn't live along with people they're so angry at the world but they had to figure out why they were really angry and where's the source of that anger. And they needed to find a supernatural answer not just superficial plans but they knew that they needed help and they were in crisis some of the students actually wanted spiritual help others came to me because they wanted me to give a good report to the coach but they had no interest in the spiritual answers I had to give them they just knew that they there met with me or they left the team is pretty simple. Had to baseball coaches that did that with a couple of guys had a basketball coach of did that with a couple of guys and they met with me I had a I had a lady soccer ladies soccer softball softball team that did that two or three coaches past ago the did that and one lady shows up and she's I've never seen her so prim and proper comes to my office we sit and talk I never heard her so polite and wonderful every time I've ever seen or she was anything but polite but boy she was put on she want to make sure that I gave the coach a good report and it lasted about two weeks and then she went off her own ways and she actually ended up getting kicked off the team she was in crisis mode and she wanted a quick fix but she didn't want real answers this is years ago and you don't know OK then there are students that actually wanted to help and the crisis led them to bigger answers and to bigger life development answers that gave them real choices and I would say that some of those students actually became a committed believe I believe that was commitment they really understood that they needed to get their life right with God and by the way there's an organization that I think had a slide I forgot to give you before we got him off the stage about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that meets on campus. And last year they met Monday nights at eight o'clock I don't know when they'll meet probably the same time Gail lamb starts is an accounting professor and she and Craig Dyer is the sports management professor and they're the advisors to this group and I want to encourage you ladies to consider connecting with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as a way to further your curiosity and to to fuel your hunger that you have for God in His word and it's a great way to learn about God in a very student friendly area community area of the campus but I've seen students and I've seen individuals who they didn't just want a fix out of a crisis financially they didn't just want to get a marriage right they didn't just want to see their children get right with God They really wanted real answers I've watched people lose loved ones and that death just devastated them a parent dies a grandparent dies and it just hits them between the two eyes to say what am I doing with my life what what what's And what's what's what's this life all about and whatever I'm pursuing is empty and meaningless you're at your wits end and you don't just want an answer to the crisis you want solid answers that will give you a life time and an eternity of hope and that commitment belief is to say Jesus I trust that you are the only Savior I admit to you that I'm a sinner I believe you died on the cross for my sins to save me from myself and from the things I've done wrong and I now commit myself completely to you to do with as you please I give you my life and that's exactly what this man did in the story and that's the story that could be yours if you're not just go from curious to crisis but you actually have a commitment to put your faith in Jesus Christ he's either the savior of everything in your life or he's no savior at all in your life.