How To Believe In Jesus
John 4:46-54
There are many things that we believe to be true about Jesus.
We believe that He is the Christ.
We believe that He is the Son of the Living God.
We believe that He was made flesh and dwelt among us as the Incarnation of God.
We believe that He was born of the Virgin; conceived by the Holy Spirit.
We believe that He died on the cross to pay the debt of our sin.
We believe that he was buried and raised the third day by the power of God.
We believe that He ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father.
We believe that He is coming again!
So, knowing what we believe…..the question is not what.
The question is how do we believe!
This passage of scripture tells us how to believe in Jesus.
It is the story of a man who was unlike you and me….
…..yet, at the same time he was just like us.
He was a nobleman; a high ranking government official.
He was a man of power and influence.
He was a man of authority, and possibly he was a man of great wealth.
But, aside from whom others saw him to be…
….he was a loving, caring, father.
This nobleman’s son was sick at home, and near death.
As a man of authority, he could have demanded that the doctors do something for his son.
As a man of wealth, he could have afforded to pay for their service.
He may have even called on the doctors. We are not told.
But we do know that because of what he had heard….
….he called upon Jesus.
He could have sent his servants to go and find Jesus, and ask Him to come to his house.
As a man of authority, he could have demanded that Jesus come.
But the task was too important, so he made the journey himself.
The journey from Capernaum to Galilee was 21 miles.
It would be a full days travel.
As he went, perhaps he began to ask himself….
….”Can Jesus really heal my son?”
Maybe He cannot heal him!
Maybe I won’t find Him!
Maybe He won’t return with me to my house!
But still he made the journey.
When he arrived in Cana of Galilee, he walked through the streets.
He pushed through the crowds of people.
Finally he found Jesus.
He laid aside all of his pride and humbled himself.
He did not give thought to who he was, or what he was.
He knelt down before Jesus and asked him to come to his house and heal his son….
….or else his son would die.
He took the first step that he need to believe in Jesus.
I. He believed without shame!
I am often amazed at people, today.
We are so proud of many things.
We are proud of our possessions.
We are proud of our passions.
We are proud of our politics
But all too often people are ashamed of the one thing that really matters in this world.
They are ashamed to confess Jesus as Savior and Lord!
To be ashamed of Jesus is to never receive Him.
To never receive Jesus is to die in sin…….
…….and spend eternity in a sinner’s hell.
Jesus said: “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words….
….in this sinful world……
….of him the Son of Man will be ashamed….
….when He comes in the glory of His father with the Holy angels.”
We have no need to be ashamed of Jesus.
He is the Son of God!
He is the Lord God Almighty!
He is all that He claims to be.
He forgives us of sin.
He gives us hope of a new and better life.
And the Bible says that hope makes us not ashamed….
….because God has placed His love within our hearts.
The apostle Paul told young Timothy…
….”Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…”
We must openly confess Him before men if we really believe on Him!
II. The second step that one must take to believe in Jesus….
….is to believe without proof.
The man said: “Come down to my house unless my son should die.”
He believed that Jesus could heal his son.
But he did not believe that Jesus could heal his son at a distance.
He wanted to see Jesus heal his son with his own eyes before he could believe it was true.
Jesus rebuked the man….
He said: “Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
The man asked again: “Come down to my house.”
Many people today look for signs and wonders.
Unless they see miracles, they will not believe.
They wait until there is some desperate situation….
Then they look for God to perform some miracle before they will believe.
God is God!
Jesus is Lord.
He does not have to prove anything to any man!
Our believe must not be based upon what we see with our eyes….
….it must be based upon faith from the heart.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please Him.
The man that comes to God must believe that He is.
Man must believe that God rewards those who seek Him with their whole heart.
Jesus told His followers of a rich man who went to hell because he would not believe.
In the torments of hell he asked for relief; but there was none.
He asked for Abraham to send Lazarus back from the grave to speak to his brothers.
He knew if they saw one come back from the dead, they would believe.
Abraham told him that they have the testimony of Moses and the prophets…..
….if they will not believe them, they will not believe one who comes back from the dead.
Jesus arose from the dead!
He proved Himself to be alive many times.
He appeared to the women, and to the apostles.
He appeared to five hundred people at once.
We already have all the proof that we need, and all the proof we will ever receive.
Now it is a matter of faith!
We either accept Him as the Son of God; the Savior of men….
….or we don’t!.
III. The third step we must take to believe in Jesus is to believe without question.
Jesus told the man to go home because his son had been made well.
The man got up and left for Capernaum.
He did not even asked Jesus if it were true.
He did not ask, “How can I be sure that my son is healed.”
He just got up, and began to make the journey home.
Jesus had spoken with authority.
He had spoken with sincerity.
The nobleman took Jesus at His word.
Jesus always spoke with authority!
The people knew that He was different from the scribes and Pharisees.
His doctrine was different.
He taught them as no other man had ever taught them before.
The people knew that Jesus had come from God.
If we would believe on Jesus, we must be like the nobleman….
….we must believe without question.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life….
….no man comes to the Father but by Me.”
Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world,…
….whoever believes in Me will not walk in darkness….
….but in the light of life everlasting.”
Jesus said, “I am the Living water….
…who ever drinks of Me will never thirst again.”
We must take Jesus at His word, by faith!
IV. The fourth step that we must take to believe in Jesus…
…is the believe without doubt.
When the man walked on the road to his house, his servants came to meet him.
They said, Master, “Your son is alive.”
The man had already believed that his son was well….
….but he asked his servants, “What time was he made well?”
They said, “Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him.”
The man knew that it was at that very hour….
….. that Jesus spoke the word and his son was healed.
The man had not doubted that Jesus had the power to heal.
He did not doubt that it was Jesus who had healed his son.
There are so many people today whose hearts are filled with doubt.
They doubt if Jesus is really the Son of God.
They doubt if He really died on the cross, and has the power to save us from sin.
They doubt if Jesus was really raised from the dead….
….and they doubt if Jesus is really coming again.
Many have heart that are filled with doubt concerning their salvation.
“Am I truly saved simply because I believe on Jesus?”
“Have I lost my salvation because of some sinful act I have committed?”
There is no need to doubt because Jesus said:
“Whoever comes to Me, I will not cast out.”
“Whosoever believes in Me will have everlasting life.”
“Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
V. The fifth and final step to believe in Jesus is to believe without delay.
When the man heard that his son was made well…..
….immediately, he and his whole house believed.
He did not say to himself, “I must think about this for a while.”
He did not say, “I have to investigate this matter further.”
He did not say, “I must talk this matter over with someone else.”
He simply believed!
And he shared the testimony with his family, who also believed.
Beloved, there is no time for delay!
One day soon, Jesus is coming again!
He will come for all those who have believed on Him….
….and those who have received Him into their hearts by faith.
If you have not believed on Jesus when He comes again….
….you will die in sin and be separated from God for all eternity.
The Bible says, “Now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation.”
You cannot be saved when you decide to be saved.
You are saved when God decides to save you!
No man can come to the Son except he is drawn of the Father.
If you feel a stirring in your heart tonight it is because God is drawing you.
He is convicting your heart….He is convincing you of your need for Jesus.
Won’t you open your heart and let Him come in?
He will cleanse you from sin, and will give you eternal life.
It is with the heart that a man believes unto righteousness….
It is with the mouth that confession is made unto salvation.
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus….
….and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead……
….you will be saved.
To believe in Jesus is not just to believe with your head….
….but to receive Him into your heart.
Will you do it tonight?
With every head bowed, and every eye closed…..
Perhaps there is someone here tonight who has never received Jesus unto salvation.
You are lost…and confused…your not certain that if you died tonight that you would go to heaven.
You can be certain before you leave this place….if you would just believe on Jesus.
