Sermon nugget Mon. March 17, 2008
Verses John 4:39-44 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."
40 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.
42 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."
43 After the two days he left for Galilee.
44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)
Theme - Faith
Beginning to Believe.
Last week we discussed the importance of a testimony, letting our own God story. This week we will devote our attention to elements of faith.
What happens when someone is told they can have “living water”? What happens when, through story, testimony, Bible reading, or any other form of hearing the gospel, people become aware of the person of Jesus Christ and the work He does in changing lives? They can ignore it, reject it, investigate it further, or believe it.
The first step to faith is believing the story. It is believing Jesus is who he says he is. It is believing that Jesus did what He said he did (or the Bible’s account). It is believing He will do what He says He will do.
The Samaritans decided to investigate further. They went to ask questions and see for themselves if Jesus is who He says he is. That might be called begining to believe. But after visiting with Him they came to this conclusion. He was. They did not just believe the story of the woman at the well. They believed Him because they heard Him themselves.
We can believe the stories, but faith begins by believing in Him.
One evangelist told the story of a Muslim woman in Africa heard the message about Jesus being the Son of God and can save us from sin. She believed. The more she discovered about Jesus the stronger her faith and commitment grew. Unfortunately, this alienated her from her husband and he despised her faith in Christ. Finally his anger and bitterness reached their climax when he decided to kill his wife, their two children and himself, but he needed a motive. He decided that he would accuse her of stealing his precious keys, to the bank, house and car.
Early one afternoon he left his band and headed for the tavern. His route took him across a footbridge extended over the headwaters of the Nile River. He dropped the keys into them and spent all afternoon drinking and carousing. Later that afternoon, his wife went to a fish market to buy the evening meal. She purchased a large Nile perch. As she was gutting the fish, to her astonishment, in its belly were her husband’s keys. She had no idea how they got there, but she cleaned them and hung them on the hook.
Sufficiently drunk the young banker came home that night and pounded on the front door shouting “Woman, woman, where are my keys?” Already in bed she got up, picked them off the hook in the bedroom and handed them to her husband. When he saw the keys, by his own testimony, he immediately became sober and was instantly converted. He fell on his knees sobbing, asked for forgiveness, and confessed Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
His belief came in a dramatic, and miraculous manner. That is not the case for everyone, but as we read more of the story at the end of John 4 we see many who believe because of the miracles God does.
How did you come to believe? What did God do that prompted you to respond in faith? Thank Him for it.
Pastor Dale
