You asked, Now What?

John 4:49-50

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

(1) prayer and corporate prayer, for that matter, is on par with preaching and teaching as the FOUNDATION of a healthy church, (2) Praying together is vital to experiencing God’s presence in unique ways, and (3) The tendency among believers, even those who occupy leadership positions in the church, to think of prayer gatherings not as FOUNDATIONAL but as an extra-curricular activity in their lives and the life of the church. Let us fall ON OUR KNEES in symbolic terms and seek the God of heaven who will lead us forward in a new and fresh way.

Three persons in the text. We have Jesus, a desperate father and a deathly ill child. Jesus came again to Galilee, where he had turned the water to wine. And at Capernaum, there was an official whose son was ill. This official is probably a Roman centurion who was the commander of a Centuria, the smallest unit of a Roman legion. They formed the backbone of the legion and were responsible for enforcing discipline. Centurions received much higher pay and a greater share of the spoils than did other soldiers. With him being very prominent, his family would certainly have had access to the best medical care, doctors, and nurses. He would have had the financial means to do whatever needed to be done, but now with his son on the verge of death, apparently his status has not helped him. He seeks out Jesus.

How do we take this passage, and how can we apply it to our lives? When we examine the flow of events in the story, we see some concrete things unfold. We look at what has happened in the Roman official’s life and what transpires when he encounters Jesus. The first thing we see is that the man is desperate. His son is deathly ill. A man of his stature would not have come to Jesus as his first choice. We often run to prayer when we are shaken. The verse suggests that this official knew that Jesus had returned from Judea to Galilee. What Jesus had done in Jerusalem had sent shock waves throughout the region. When Jesus returned to Galilee, this very desperate official approached Jesus for his son’s healing. The official has given up hope on everything available to him. This official was high up on the food chain when it came to prominence in the Roman world. But he realizes that his son is close to death and that this is a desperate situation. For those of us who know the Lord, prayer has to be our fuel, not our spare tire. The reality of our lives is that there are times when we have desperate needs. We might have a health crisis, a financial crisis; a family crisis; or a child that has gone wayward. If you are desperate today, as this Roman official is, turn to Jesus. Psalm 9:9 “The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The second thing we see is that the man asks Jesus to come and heal his son. He hears that Jesus has come back from Judea to Galilee, and he must have heard of the miracles that Jesus did in Jerusalem, and he thinks that maybe this man can heal his son. I can picture him running desperately, as any father would, to find Jesus. As his child is taking his last breath, Jesus has an interesting response. He confronts the man and tells him what you could almost see as unkind and unsympathetic. He says unless you see signs and wonders, you won’t believe. He gives a very blunt response. We see this attitude from the people following him at the beginning of his ministry. John 6:2 “Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.” John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Undeterred by what seems like a rebuke from Jesus, this official continues to plead for Jesus to heal his son. We see an interesting exchange here. The man has no prior history with Jesus as far as we know. He has only heard of what Jesus did in Jerusalem, and he has the boldness to ask him for something as massive as healing his son. That’s pretty bold depending. This man who is desperate for his son’s health to restore and is probably not accustomed to asking people for help. Still, now he’s at his lowest point, and he knows that Jesus is the only way his son will be healed, and he continues to plead for Jesus to heal him. Sometimes we might think, am I allowed to be so bold to come to a holy God with my request, or do I need to accept the circumstances that happen in my life? The bible say 1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We see here that not only are we allowed to approach a holy God, but we are also encouraged to. We know from living here on earth that not all our prayers are answered specifically the way we would like; however, we have confidence that he hears us and welcomes us to come to him with our requests. The third thing that we see here from the Roman official is similar to the second point, but he’s very persistent. He doesn’t take no for an answer, and he’s begging Jesus to heal his son. He says to Jesus if you don’t heal him, it’s game over, and I will lose my son. You can feel the emotion in his voice as he pleads with Jesus. As my nephew was growing up in our home. He would often ask for things. I found myself listening to persistent requests, and he didn’t like no an answer. All parents in human history can attest that children can be very persistent. They often won’t take no for an answer and drive their parents crazy. Are we allowed to be persistent with God as the roman official is with Jesus? Is that okay to be begging God, or if the answer is no from him, when we go from our initial request, we move on, or are we allowed to plead with the holy? Luke 18:1-8 says. We see here the widow pleads with the judge giving us a picture of how much we can plead with God and know he hears us. Ephesians 6:18 “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”James 5:17-18 “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” Let your prayers be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency that will not be denied, and a courage that never fails. So, not only is it okay to be persistent in prayer, but it seems as though it is normal. Story of Stone Hammer. Finally we see from this man is that he trusts Jesus’ words. He asked him for healing his son, and in verse 50 Jesus says to the man, go, your son will live, and that was it; nothing else from Jesus. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke and went on his way. The man did not wait around and ask Jesus if he was healed. Do I need to give you anything for it? He doesn’t ask whether you are sure, Jesus. No, he trusts Jesus to heal the son, and he hurries home, where they have a great celebration that the son has been healed. I know that I often can struggle with trusting Jesus, and this struggle is real for probably all of us. At times we see throughout the gospels that this is not an uncommon condition for many people. Throughout scripture, from the beginning in the old testament, right through the new testament, many people in the bible had trouble trusting God. But when Jesus says go, your son will live, he leaves immediately, seemingly fully trusting that his son had been healed. It’s interesting how often our trust level in Jesus is higher when we first believe than what it is later on in our walk with God. Maybe it’s the disappointments, the hurts, the possibility that other Christians might have let us down, the possibility of what seems like years and years of unanswered prayer. Story of Airplane student! But I leave you with these passages to encourage you to trust Jesus confidently. You asked, Now What?

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” Psalm 62:8 “Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” First John 5:11-12 “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life.” The confidence of what we have is in what Jesus did on the cross. Your sin required death. It required sacrifice; instead of you dying; instead of me dying, Christ took that on himself. He paid for your sins.

You asked, Now What? Trust him to bring it to pass. You asked, Now What? Lean on his everlasting arms. You asked, Now What? Submit your wants to the will of God. I’m hemmed in with prayer so that I don’t come unraveled.

Just talk to the One who is able to answer any prayer.

 Prayer will heal the sick.

 Prayer will cause the sinner to be forgiven.

 Prayer can restore your faith.

 Prayer can deliver you from addictions.

 Prayer will give you peace.

 Prayer will give you joy.

I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more, But the master of the sea, Heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me, Now safe am I.

The Devil thought he had me, but safe am I.