A Father’s Faith!
John 4:46-54
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy said that he was placing before this country the goal of putting a man on the Moon before the decade was over.
Video.
If it had not been for the faith of John F. Kennedy, in America's ability to do the impossible,
Neil Armstrongs footprints would not be on the Moon today!
As Christians, we have faith in God, and in His Son who died for us, so that we could experience eternal life.
But just how great is our faith in God, in Jesus?
In Matthew 19:26, Jesus tells His disciples that “with God all things are possible.”
Do we really believe that?
Do we really believe that we serve a God that can do the impossible?
This morning we will be looking at a man, a father, whose faith in Jesus was put to the test.
Who was asked by Jesus to believe the impossible.
We need more men, more father’s who have the faith of this man.
Who believe that God can do all things.
That in Jesus we can do all things.
Who convey that message to their children by the way they live their life.
I. A Father’s Concern!
Here is a father who is very concerned about his dying son.
Here is a father who is doing all he can to save the life of his son.
He had called doctor after doctor to come and save his son.
But none was able to help.
The Nobleman, in the mean time, heard that Jesus was in the area.
This was the man who it was said could heal the sick.
So he decided to find Jesus and see if he could somehow help his dying son.
We can’t help but notice, the real concern that this man expressed, for the physical welfare of his family.
And that is as it should be.
Every father and mother should have a natural concern for the physical and financial welfare of their family
We hear often hear parent saying how they want their children to have all the things they never had.
And there is really nothing wrong with wanting your children to have the good things in life.
But what about the spiritual things?
Now many times have you heard a parent say,
“I want my child to have all the spiritual advantages that I never had?”
Or, “I want my child to have a closer walk with the Lord than I have had.”
Probably never!
But Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:4, that we are to bring up our children
“in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
How concerned are we about the spiritual needs of our Children?
Jesus asks the question:What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:25
Like the Nobleman, we need to be concerned about the needs of our family.
However, we need to make sure that our greatest desire, is for their spiritual welfare,
and not their physical and financial welfare.
II. A Father’s Solution!
Now the Nobleman comes to Jesus, for there was no one else to turn to.
You know, it’s really to bad that there are so many people who never think about God,
about Jesus or the Bible, until they are in trouble, with no one to turn to.
People who never darken the door of the church, who don’t even try to be a Christian.
But when things go wrong, when tragedy strikes, they call upon God to help them.
The Nobleman was in need of Jesus help.
He traveled about twenty miles from Capernaum to Cana to find Him.
The Nobleman made an effort to find Jesus that He might heal his son.
If we are to expect Jesus to help us then we must put forth some effort.
And the effort we are to put forth, is to be in the form of,
our obedience to His Word and His Will.
As Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
It’s through our loving obedience to God:
in faith, repentance, confession and baptism that we find salvation.
And it’s through our daily obedience to His will,
that we continue to receive His blessing in this life.
We have to put forth an effort, just as the Nobleman did, if Jesus is to be a part of our life.
Our faith must produce action.
Or as James says, our faith will die.
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” James 2:26
This Nobleman was under the impression, that the only way Jesus could heal his son, was to come and lay his hands on him.
This Nobleman is doing the same thing, that we do so often with Jesus.
He is putting limitations upon the power of Jesus.
When in fact, there are no limit to the power of Jesus.
In Luke 18:25 Jesus in talking to the rich young ruler said that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When he was questioned about his statement, Jesus said in verse 27,
“What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
We must not put limitations on the power of God.
How often do we use the word “can’t” as a Christian?
I can’t teach a class;
I can’t talk to someone about Christ;
I can’t pray in public;
I can’t be a youth worker;
I can’t give more money to the church; etc.
When we say these things, we are limiting the power of God.
For what we are really saying is,
“I don’t believe that God has the power to help me or to help us to do it.”
But the real problem is not that God doesn’t have the power.
The problem is, our lack of faith in God’s power.
Paul said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13)
To many individual Christians, and to many churches, for far to long,
have only done those things, that they can clearly see their way to do before they begin.
All to often we refuse to do anything that takes any real step of faith.
Now they don’t come right out and say they don’t believe that God can’t do it,
or that their faith is to small.
But that is exactly what is mean when we say things like,
“We don’t have enough money” or
“We don’t have enough people to do it” or
“We have never done it that way before.”
And those same people, and those same churches, wonder why they are not growing.
Why God is not using them, to do great things for the kingdom of heaven.
Why God is not blessing their efforts.
The reason is simply a problem of faith.
The writer of Hebrews states in 11:6 that “without faith it is impossible to please God.”
And then he gives examples of the kind of faith he is talking about.
And it’s a faith, that dares to trust God, to help man to do the impossible.
It’s only when we begin to attempt the impossible.
It’s only when we begin to trust God to make the impossible a reality.
That God will bless our efforts and make the impossible happen.
One man said,
“If we can see our way clear to do it, then I don’t want to have any part of it. For if it doesn’t demand our faith in God to help us to accomplish it, then it most likely isn’t worth doing.”
Lets be sure, that we are not guilty of limiting the power of God.
That we are not teaching our children, by our actions, to limit the power of God.
Instead, lets be an example of faith, especially to our children.
By placing our faith and trust in God, to do the impossible,
in our individual lives, and in the life of the church.
III. A Father’s Faith!
This Nobleman showed tremendous faith in Jesus,
as he trusted Jesus to heal his son, even though he was 20 miles away.
And as he was returning home, his faith in the words of Jesus were confirmed.
For he was met by some of his servants, who told him that his sons was well again.
Like this Nobleman, when we put our total faith and trust in the words of Jesus,
our faith is many times, immediately rewarded,
as we see the power of Jesus begin to work in our life, and in the lives of others.
Jesus has told us, that He will give us
wisdom,
understanding,
strength,
courage,
love,
forgiveness,
salvation,
joy,
peace,
self-control,
eternal life, etc.
He has told us that
He will always be with us,
He will help us to overcome temptation,
He will answer our prayers.
For these things to become a reality in our life.
all we have to do, is simply take Jesus at His word, as the Nobleman did.
If we simply believe that Jesus will do what He says He will do.
If we will put our total faith in Him, then He will do it.
But like the Nobleman, we must do more than just say that we believe.
We must act on that belief.
We must be ready to say “yes”, when God places in front of us what appear to be impossible tasks.
Knowing that as we place our faith in His power to help us,
and as we step out and begin to accomplish the task before us,
that God will see us through!
Conclusion:
Many many years ago, a man had a dream.
He dreamed that one day there would be a place where people, of all ages,
could once again become children, in a fantasy world of fun and excitement.
A place where story book characters would come to life.
Where cartoon characters walked the streets.
Where wonderful rides would take you to places of unbelievable beauty.
A place where you are only limited by your imagination.
But, he was only laughed at.
People said,
“It will cost to much!”
“No one will come!”
“It’s never been done before!”
“It’s a crazy, hair-brained idea!”
But the man believed in his dream.
He worked hard to make it become a reality.
He began to convince others, that his dream would work, and one day it became a reality.
Disneyland was born.
And he dared to dream again.
And Disney World became a reality.
All because a man dared to dream the impossible.
And was willing to put out the effort, to make that dream a reality.
And how many thousands upon thousands of young lives, has he encouraged,
to go out and make their dreams come true?
Oh, how we need to dream great things for the Church of Jesus Christ!
We need to ask God to reveal to us,
the wonderful things that He would have us to do, for His Kingdom,
both as individuals and as the Church.
And we need to ask Him for courage.
Courage to begin to make those dreams a reality.
Knowing that if we put forth our best effort.
Even though we don’t know at the time, how we will ever get the job done.
That God will provide a way to get it done!
We need men!
We need father’s, who will by their own example,
inspire their children, and others, to dream great dreams for the Kingdom of God.
We need men!
Father’s who trust God to help them make those dreams a reality.
We need to inspire the next generation to do great things for God.
By stepping out in faith, and doing great things for God ourselves!
Knowing that if God gives us the dream,
that He will give us whatever it takes,
to make that dream come true, for the Kingdom of God!
God has fantastic dreams and plans for us and for His Church.
But they will never become a reality, unless we ask God to reveal them to us.
And then ask for the courage, to begin to make them a reality, today!
Jesus Christ, because of His great love for us,
was willing to make God’s wonderful plan of salvation, a reality for you and for me.
We invite you to accept the salvation that Christ offers today.
Become a part of the body of Christ.
That you might know His salvation.
That you might begin to dream and to do great things for God!