How To Believe In Jesus

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….