Finding Christ: The Search for Authentic Faith
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
John gave his reason for writing this account of the good news of Jesus. Does anyone remember what the reason is?
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John writes this account of Jesus because he is concerned for his audience, then and now. He is concerned that we might miss Authentic Faith. We might miss who Jesus is. We might miss what Jesus’ said. We might miss that continuing, growing faith in Christ, and hence, miss out on true life. John does not want us to miss true life, so He writes this account so we can Find Jesus, and authentic faith in Him.
Let’s pray.
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.
And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
After the two days he left for Galilee.
(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)
When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
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.
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.
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.
When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.
This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
Big Question: What is faith? Authentic faith?
Big Question: What is faith? Authentic faith?
There is a word that is repeated in this passage of John. Did anyone catch them as we went through it?
Believe/Believers - 39, 41, 42, 48, 50, 53
This passage is about those who believe, and those who did not.
When contrasting those who believe and those who do not, oddly enough it is a contrast primarily between...
The contrast: Samaritans and Jews
The contrast: Samaritans and Jews
The Samaritans who did not truly follow God, and have the full revelation of scripture believed, and the Jews who had the word of God did not generally believe.
But what do we mean by believe, or faith? What is it to have authentic faith?
I believe this passage shows us four things about authentic faith.
Authentic faith takes Jesus at his word.
Authentic faith accepts who Christ is.
Authentic faith acts on Jesus’ word.
Authentic faith continues and grows in Christ.
Where do we see that in this passage. Let’s go back through it.
Authentic Faith takes Jesus at His word.
Authentic Faith takes Jesus at His word.
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
This woman heard what Jesus said, and believed him. She believed what he had to say!
When He said, “I am,” she accepted what He said, and accepted Him as the Christ, the savior of the world!
Authentic Faith accepts who Christ is.
Authentic Faith accepts who Christ is.
Christ means annointed one. It is the one that God chose to be the one to save the world. It is the one that came to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament.
This woman heard what Jesus said and accepted Him for who He is, the Christ, or Messiah.
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
This woman truly believed Jesus was the Messiah.
And because she knew she had found the Christ, she had to share this wonderful news with everyone back home. She went running back to the village, and told everyone there!
Authentic Faith acts on Jesus’ word.
Authentic Faith acts on Jesus’ word.
She didn’t just think, “Okay, now I have the living water. Now I have found the Savior. I am safe. I will be saved from sin and enter into His kingdom,” and then do nothing. She acted on this faith! If he really is the savior of the world, then the world ought to know! She had to tell everyone!
And because she told everyone, others believed!
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
Did these Samaritans have authentic faith?
Authentic Faith takes Jesus at his word
Authentic Faith takes Jesus at his word
They heard it second hand, but they were still hearing Jesus’ word through this woman. They likely heard as she recounted,
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
They also heard her declare that this is the Messiah.
Authentic Faith accepts who Christ is.
Authentic Faith accepts who Christ is.
They heard this, and even though it was secondhand, they still took him at his word. This is the Messiah! The one who will explain all things to us. The one who will make it possible for us to truly worship God! The one who will draw us near to God! The one who will give us true life!
But did they just say, “Oh, now we can have living water and eternal life,” and just go on about their business of living? No, and they came to get the living water for themselves. They came to hear more from Jesus!
Authentic Faith acts on Jesus’ word.
Authentic Faith acts on Jesus’ word.
So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.
Then, after Jesus stayed with them for two days, notice what they had to say...
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
They took Jesus at His word, they accepted who Christ is, the Savior of the world, they acted on His word, and
Authentic Faith continues and grows.
Authentic Faith continues and grows.
They believed when the woman told them about Jesus. But then they took two days to spend time with Jesus, and their faith grew. Now they believed because they heard his words for themselves. They spent time with Jesus themselves, and their faith grew!
They did not just rest in the fact that they believed back when the woman told them. They went and spent time with Jesus. They grew in their faith.
These Samaritans had authentic faith.
Now for the contrast. John tells us that Jesus left for Galilee, and then mentions how Jesus pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country. When did that happen? Luke records it for us in Luke 4.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.
He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”
“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.
And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.
They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.
But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Authentic faith takes Jesus at his word.
Authentic faith accepts who Christ is.
Authentic faith acts on Jesus’ word.
Authentic faith continues and grows in Christ.
The Jews, particularly those in his hometown, did not primarily have authentic faith. They heard what Jesus said, and did not believe. At first they just thought things like, “how nice. What sweet words.” They did not take him at his word.
They did not accept him for who he is. Instead they thought isn’t this Joseph and Mary’s boy?
They did not act on his words and repent. Instead, they didn’t like it, and tried to stone him for claiming to be a prophet.
They did not continue and grow in Christ. Even of those who did ‘believe’ in Him and like his message, when it got hard, fell away.
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Why did they turn away? Because they were just following him for the cool things he could do. They were not believing His word, His message.
It says that in our passage for today.
When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
They saw, and liked what He could do. They liked when He cleared the temple. They liked seeing those rip-off’s get what was coming to them. They saw the miracles Jesus did, and wanted to see more. That is why Jesus said,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
But there was this one man… A certain royal official. Did he have authentic faith?
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.
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.
This man knew Jesus could do miracles, so he came for Jesus to come and do something for his son. At this point, I don’t think he had authentic faith to take Jesus at his word, to accept who Christ is, to act on Jesus’ word, to continue and grow. But he was getting there.
Jesus took this man from where he was, and worked with him.
Jesus did not go to heal his son. Instead, Jesus simply said to the man,
“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
Jesus was requiring this man to have authentic faith. To take him at his word. And, thankfully, that is what this man did.
Authentic Faith takes Jesus at His word.
Authentic Faith acts on Jesus’ word. Did he do that?
Yes! He departed. And while he was on the way we see how his faith grows.
While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.
When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.
This man did not start with Authentic Faith. Instead like others around him, he was just looking at Jesus as someone that could do really cool things. He was looking at Jesus for what he could get from him to make this life better. In this case, make his life in this world better by seeing his son get better. He did not take Jesus’ word or teaching as truth. He did not act on Jesus’ word or teaching. He did not accept Jesus as the Christ, God who came to save the world from sin and death so they could obey Him once again. He did not have a continuing and growing faith. He simply wanted a miracle for his son.
But as Jesus worked with him, I believe he had authentic faith.
Authentic faith takes Jesus at his word.
Authentic faith accepts who Christ is.
Authentic faith acts on Jesus’ word.
Authentic faith continues and grows in Christ.
He took Jesus at his word.
He in the end accepted who Christ is.
He acted on Jesus’ word and went home.
And, though we are not told anything more about him, I believe he continued and grew in Christ. There is only one mention of someone who was a member of Herod’s court and a follower of Jesus, that is Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household in Luke 8:3. Is this Chuza the certain royal official? I don’t know, but I wonder if it might be.
The point is, this man came to have authentic faith.
What about me? What about you?
Do you and I have authentic faith?
Authentic faith takes Jesus at his word.
Authentic faith accepts who Christ is.
Authentic faith acts on Jesus’ word.
Authentic faith continues and grows in Christ.
Do I take Jesus at his word?
Authentic Faith takes Jesus at His word. Do I truly believe Jesus is with me? Do I really believe he will provide all I need? Or, do I live in fear and doubt? Am I anxious? Why? What does Jesus say about the things that make me anxious? If I am anxious, do that indicate taking him at his word?
Authentic Faith accepts who Christ is. Do I really accept who He is? Yes, I like the savior part… but do I accept who He is, my God and my Savior. Do I accept him as God who knows more than I ever will, or do I question him and treat him as if he doesn’t understand or know as well as I do? Do I accept him as Lord, the one who has authority over my life, and the lives of those around me? Do I accept him as the teacher from whom I need to learn? Do I accept Him as the one who wants to cleanse me of my sin and guilt?
John 1:1, 29, 34, 36, 38, 41, 49, 4:42
Authentic Faith acts on Jesus’ word. Do I obey? Really? All the time, or just when others are looking? Do I live intentionally as His witness? Do I love?
Authentic Faith continues and grows. Marriage example...
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Homework
The homework this week is to read John 1-4 at least three times. Ask God to reveal His word to you, teach you, and grow you in authentic faith.
Read John 1-4 this week. Authentic Faith takes Jesus at His word, whether received from Jesus directly, or through at witness. What does Jesus say? What does He offer? What does He say he will do? List out these things from John chapters 1-4. Do you take Him at his word? Do you really believe He has done those things? Do you really believe He gives you what He says?
Authentic Faith accepts who Christ is. Make a list from John 1-4 of who/what Jesus is. Then, next to each item, ask Him to reveal to you what accepting who He is would look like. For example, He is God. What would accepting Him as God look like in your life? He is Creator. What would accepting Him as Creator look like in your life? He is full of Grace and Truth. What would accepting that look like? Etc.
Authentic Faith acts on Jesus’ Word. What is He calling you to be and do in John 1-4? How will you live that out today? Tomorrow?
Authentic Faith continues and grows. If someone asks you how you know you are saved, do you only go on some past event? Do you only rely on some moment in time when you believed? Or, do you currently, continue to believe that Jesus is the God who loved you, died for your sins and rose again? How does that effect your life today? Are you growing in your relationship with Him? Are you taking time, and intentionally living with Him throughout each day? How will you intentionally live with Him today? Tomorrow?