Setting The Sails
• When Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China, He went by boat
• At one point during the voyage, the wind stopped blowing and the boat drifted dangerously close to the shore of island that was inhabited by cannibals.
• Because of the lack of wind it kept slowly drifting shoreward
• and the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast.
• The captain came to Mr. Taylor and begged him to pray to God for help.
• Taylor said “I will if you set your sails to catch the breeze.”
• The captain didn’t want to look stupid for setting the sails in a dead calm
• So he refused
• But Taylor said, “I wont pray unless you will prepare the sails.”
• Reluctantly the captain agreed And it was done.
• While Taylor was praying in his cabin there was a knock at his door
• Taylor cried out “Who is it?”
• The captain’s said “Are you still praying for wind?”
• Taylor answered “Yes.”
• And the captain, said “you’d better stop praying, because we have more wind than we can handle
Today we are going to look at John 4:46-54
• It’s the story of a royal official who had a problem
• A problem that he knew only Jesus could fix
• And this story shows us that not only does God listen when we pray,
• But He answers our prayers as well
Jn 4:46 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.
Jn 4:47 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.
Jn 4:48 “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
Jn 4:49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jn 4:50 Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
Jn 4:51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.
Jn 4:52 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.”
Jn 4:53 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.
Jn 4:54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Lets start out by asking Do you believe that when you ask for things
When you pray
• Do you believe that God will help (Elab)
• Or are you just throwing prayers up in the air hoping something will happen
• That’s what we’re going to look at True belief
Jesus had returned
• He had returned to the place where He had turned water into wine
• He would have been known there
• When something happens in a small town you hear about it (Elab)
• This is what has happened here
• Because of Jesus’ reputation The crowds had begun to gather
They welcomed Him
• Not so much in the sense that He was the messiah
• They weren’t welcoming the One who could save them
• They instead saw Him as a miracle worker that would amaze them
• In the same way we watch people like Chris Angel the magician on TV
• They wanted to see the show
But there was a Certain Royal Official whose Child was sick
• If your child was sick what would you do? (Elab)
• We are spoiled with health care in the US
• We have at our disposal numerous ways to get them feeling better
• (Drugstores, call the doctors, Promt care, emergency rooms)
• But the official doesn’t have these options
• We aren’t told what his job is
• But there is no doubt that he was an officer in Herod’s service
• Normally people with a position like this expect the preferred treatment (Elab)
But he believed so much that Jesus could help him that he traveled 17 miles to see Him (Elab)
• After he got there he forgot about his standing in the community (Elab)
• He begged Jesus to help him (Elab)
• One thing I think we should remember is
• Herod at Jesus birth had wanted to kill him, and this man worked for Herod
• So this man, this official was going behind his boss’s back to see Jesus.
• Because he knew that Jesus could help him
More often than not in life
• We feel like we have to tell God ------what we think He needs to do.
• The official tells Jesus “Come before my child Dies”
• Don’t be messing around with these crowds
• We don’t have this kind of time / we gotta go / it’s 17 miles
Then Jesus tells the man -----go your child will live
• Jesus’ attitude is I don’t have to go anywhere
• People continue to condition Him
• The man felt that Jesus had to physically be there with his son to heal him
• But Jesus tells him I already took care of it
• Now go and check it out
And the man believes!
• He leaves and goes home
• He asked no questions (Elab)
• He didn’t need any further proof because Jesus Word was enough
• He had faith
• Jesus told him Your son lives
• And on the way his servants meet him
• Further proof that the man was wealthy and held position
• The man of course inquired about his son
• And he was told that his son was fine
• And when he heard this he must have been filled with joy
• And he continues talking with the servants
• Because now they would have been walking back to the man’s house together
• And he asks what time was he healed / When was he healed
• And the servants tell him
• And he realizes that it was at the exact same moment
• That Jesus told him his son had been healed.
7th hour / Jewish time vs Roman time / either way he stopped for the night
• Because he trusted Jesus
And we see the end result happens in vs 53
• So he and all his household believed
• Notice it doesn’t say that he believed / wife and he believed /
• The son that was healed his wife and him believed/
• But his whole household believed
• That would include his wife, son, the servants that had come out to meet him,
• The servants that stayed behind, and everyone else that was in the house
• We have no idea how many this could be
• But from the position that we know the man held
• We can only assume that it was many.
This man had a 4 fold sense of Faith
It began with crisis faith.
• He was about to lose his son
• And he had no other choice but Jesus
• Many people come to Jesus with their crises,
• And He doesn’t turn them away.
Then his crisis faith became confident faith:
• He believed the Word
• He believed that Jesus had healed his son
• And because of that he had peace in his heart.
Then His confident faith became confirmed faith.
• He probably believed that the healing would have taken time (Elab)
• But the healing was instantaneously
• The healing took place at the very time when Jesus spoke the Word.
• It was this fact that made a believer out of the nobleman and his household.
• He believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God;
• And he shared this faith with his family.
So his confirmed faith turned into contagious faith
• And shared his experience with others.
• His whole household became believers
Mt 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
1Jn 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
What would it take to for us to believe like this?
• What would it take / To take Jesus at His word
• What would it take / To leave and not feel like we have to drag Him home with us
• That when we witness God’s awesome power
• We believe He did it, whatever it may be
• It wasn’t you that did it
• It wasn’t your best friend that did it
• It wasn’t the doctor that did it
• Even though God could have used the doctors hands
• Bottom line It was Jesus with all His power that did it
• Because we know that He has power over all things
• And because of this he can do anything
• In any way that He chooses to do it
As I started with this morning
Do you believe when you ask for things
Do you believe that God will help
Or are you just throwing prayers up in the air hoping something will happen
• Are you like the people that were standing around
• the crowds that Jesus spoke to when he said
• Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,”
• “you will never believe.
What I want us to understand
• We don’t have to condition Him
• We don’t have to Tell Him how we want things done
• We don’t have to act Like He doesn’t understand the facts and we need to fill Him in.
• This morning are your sails set and ready for the wind?
• Or are you worried that someone will think your foolish
All we need to do is pray / believe /
And by doing this understand that God is in control
