From His Heart

Dr. Jeff Schreve: In our world today, everybody's saying, "Well, we need to do this for the poor and do that for the poor." I'm all for helping the poor, but if all you do is give people soup and soap and you don't tell them about salvation, all you do is make this world a better place to go to hell from.

It's all about Jesus and knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all about true faith. You have to trust Jesus with all your heart, and that's what this nobleman is doing. He had true faith, and his faith saved him. If you have faith, true saving faith, you're going to meet this nobleman one day in heaven.

Larry Nobles: This is From His Heart with pastor, teacher, and author Dr. Jeff Schreve. Listen, if you were asked about your faith in Christ today, would you be like many people who might say, "Oh, yes, of course I believe in God"? Or would you respond with, "Oh, yes, I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior, that He died for my sins and I'm a child of God eternally with Him," or something definitive like that?

In other words, do you have a head knowledge of Jesus so you can fit in with your family, friends, or neighbors, or others? Or do you have an assurance of faith in your heart designed to help the culture around you see Jesus? Is it head knowledge or heart trust?

If it's the former, listen closely to Pastor Jeff today to find out what the Scripture really says about true saving faith. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it act like? And does anybody know you've got it? Open your heart and your mind now and your Bible and turn to John chapter 4 as Pastor Jeff describes the irrefutable evidence of true faith.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Did you know that there are people who have faith, but they don't have saving faith? They have a knowledge of God, but they don't trust God. They don't have true faith. So let's look at how true saving faith actually comes into being. There are four steps. Step number one: true faith begins with a need.

Look in verse 46. Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine, and there was a certain royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. He had a need that was greater than anything he could do, and he took that initial step toward the Lord. True faith begins with a need. Do you have a need today? Is there a problem in your life today? That's a good thing because God uses those things like an on-ramp that leads us to the Savior and true saving faith.

True faith begins with a need. Second step: true faith moves to an investigation. Verse 47 says when he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him. Now, news about Jesus was traveling fast because Jesus was doing miracles. And so this nobleman, he's heard about Jesus, and so this guy is going to investigate. So he takes another step, and he made the 20-mile trek. True faith begins with a need, it moves to an investigation.

Step number three: true faith advances to a request. Look at verse 47. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was requesting Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. He was requesting, he was pleading, he was begging, he was asking. And he humbles himself, and he's asking Him to help him and to come to Capernaum and help him. Think about that for a minute when people come to the Lord with their requests.

Many people come and they want the Lord to prove Himself to them. Do you have a sign-demanding faith? It calls God a liar. Jesus said, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." Many not only want the Lord to prove Himself, but they want the Lord to do things their way. When they come, you see this little bit of faith? I have a need, and then I investigate, and now I'm moving over here and I bring my request to the Lord, and I want a sign, and I want Him to do what I want Him to do, and I want Him to do things my way.

Look at what the official said in verse 49. The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down now before my child dies." "This is what I need You to do, Jesus. I need You to drop everything You're doing, and I need You to come down right now with me because my child is at the point of death. Time is of the essence, so You come right now with me, and we're going to make a 20-mile trek, and we're going to go to Capernaum, and in Capernaum You're going to heal my son. And that's what I want You to do, and Lord, that's my request, and that's the way to do it."

A lot of people come to the Lord that way. They think prayer is that. You just tell God what you need. You tell God this is the way it needs to be done. A lot of people have this idea of prayer. Prayer is like whining in God's ear. It's like twisting God's arm to get Him to do something He doesn't really want to do. "Please!" Have you ever had that with your kids? They want to go eat ice cream. "Please!" "No, I said no." "Please!" "Alright, alright!"

People think, well, that's what prayer is. Prayer is just going before God and whining in God's ear. That's not prayer. Prayer is not getting God to do something He doesn't want to do. You're never going to get God to do something He doesn't want to do. Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it's entering into God's willingness.

It's important to remember that. Did the Lord want to heal this nobleman's son? Yes, He did. And God wants to do something great in your life today because God is a great and awesome and wonderful God. He says, "Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know." But we want so often the Lord to do things our way.

Now, such a contrast with what this guy was asking versus the first miracle with Mary bringing the need to Jesus. "Jesus, they have no wine." And then saying to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." She didn't tell Jesus what to do. She didn't try and figure it out. She didn't say, "Jesus, come with me, let's go to the wine store." She didn't do that. She just left the problem with Him.

But this guy is telling the Lord what to do, and people do that all the time. They want the Lord to do things their way. But miracles come when you do it His way. Miracles come when you do it His way. Now, he says to the Lord, "Come down before my child dies," and Jesus said to him, "Go your way, your son lives." His way was, "Come with me, Jesus." Jesus's way was, "Go your way, your child lives." It wasn't "come," it was "go." I'm not coming, you go. That's My way.

Now, that blew the guy's mind because it was like, "Well, don't You need to be there?" I mean, for a healing to take place, don't You need to be there, Lord? I think there's something in there about laying on hands and stuff like that. Aren't we supposed to do that, Lord? Did You not read the Old Testament? He's got all that floating around in his head, probably. Your presence there is going to make the difference. Your prayer for my son, Your laying on hands on my son, anointing my son with oil, that's what's going to do it. Jesus just said, "Go." That was His way.

And amazingly, the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off. We see a little bit of faith. This is the evolution of faith. I've got a need, and I heard about Jesus, and now I'm investigating, and I went 20 miles to get to Jesus, and now I'm asking Him to help me. And He gives me a word. He wasn't going to do it my way, and He didn't let me see anything. He just spoke a word, and now I am believing His word and starting off. I'm not demanding the bank statement to see that He actually put the money in my account. I'm just believing His word and I start off.

Miracles happen when you step out on God's word. Miracles happen when you do what that guy did, believe the word that Jesus spoke and start off. You want to see miracles take place in your life? Start doing what God says to do. Whatever He says to you, do it. So we see in this man's life: we see a need, we see it move to an investigation, we see it move to a request, we see it move where his little germ of faith all of a sudden now he's stepping out on the word of God and he experiences a miracle.

Don't miss this, step number four: true faith, saving faith, does not stop with a physical miracle. Verse 51: and as he was going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour, 7 p.m. Roman time, the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives," and he himself believed and his whole household.

Do you see where it says verse 53, he himself believed? But it says in verse 50, the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and he started off. Do you know there's a difference between believing the word of the Lord and believing on the Lord who is the word of God? You can believe the word of God, but do you believe the God of the word? That's why it says "believing" twice for that guy.

He didn't just stop like so many people do; they just stop at the physical miracle and they say, "Wonderful, look what Jesus did for me. He healed my son. Could life be any better? This is awesome, this is great. I've had an encounter and an experience with the living God," and they don't go any further than that. Listen, true faith, saving faith, goes all the way to the end to where you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And as this man did, not only did he believe, but his whole family. He didn't just receive the healing of his son; he received the salvation of his soul. You have to move from the temporal to the eternal. And people break down right there. So many people, they don't move from that. And they're stuck right here and they're saying, "Well, I've seen God do in my life." But they've never moved from the temporal to the eternal.

Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7? "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. For many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not preach in Your name, prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?' And I will declare to them, 'Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. I never knew you.'"

You didn't have saving faith. You never came all the way to the end. You never got past the temporal to the eternal. You never trusted Me for eternal life. You believed My word and you believed in some of the things that I could do and you tapped into some of the power of giving, perhaps. I had an uncle who knew about the power of giving, and he was generous. And God will bless the generous man whether he's saved or lost.

It doesn't mean that he goes to heaven. It just means that you receive a blessing. The generous man will be blessed, and he who waters will himself be watered. And that's true for a lost person. You start doing things God's way and you get in on blessings from God. But that doesn't mean you're saved. That doesn't mean you're on the Ark. That doesn't mean you have true saving faith. Can that faith save him?

You have to move from the temporal to the eternal. And if you never move there, you die and go to hell. It's as plain as that. Jesus said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" There's nothing more important in your life than your soul. This guy experienced a miracle and his son was healed, but news flash: one day came where the son finally died.

Maybe it was 40 years later the son died. Maybe it was 60 years later the son died. He's not living now, he's dead. And the temporary things from God, they come and go, but your soul, that's going to live on timeless, endless, dateless. Your soul, where's your soul? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

I read a book not too long ago that's called *Revolution in World Missions* by a missionary named K.P. Yohannan. And I love what this guy said. He was taking on this thing called the social gospel where people jump on the bandwagon to say, "We want to help the poor and we want to build hospitals and we want to build roads and we want to do this and we want to do that." And those things are all good and fine, provided you don't leave out dealing with a person's soul.

He says this: "In few countries is the failure of Christian humanism more apparent than in Thailand. There, after 150 years of missionaries showing marvelous social compassion, Christians still make up only two percent of the entire population. Self-sacrificing missionaries probably have done more to modernize the country than any other single force. Thailand owes to missionaries its widespread literacy, first printing press, first university, first hospital, first doctor, and almost every other benefit of education and science."

"In every area, including trade and diplomacy, Christian missionaries put the needs of the host nation first and helped usher in the 20th century. Meanwhile, millions have slipped into eternity without the Lord. They died more educated, better governed, and healthier, but they died without Christ and are bound for hell." He goes on to say this: "There's nothing wrong with charitable acts, but they are not to be confused with preaching the gospel."

Feeding programs can save a man from dying from hunger. Medical aid can prolong life and fight disease. Housing projects can make this temporary life more comfortable. But only the gospel of Jesus Christ can save a soul from a life of sin and an eternity in hell. Listen, you have to trust Jesus with all your heart. And that's what this man did.

He believed in the word, he received the miracle, and then he went home and they told him, "Yes, that happened just like He said at the hour that He said it." And then the man believed. And he believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and believing he had life in His name, and he led his family and his whole household and all those servants to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. See, he didn't have faith without works; he had true faith, and his faith saved him. And if you have faith, true saving faith, you're going to meet the nobleman one day in heaven. And you'll meet his whole household because they all believed.

Larry Nobles: One of the blessings of true saving faith is that God can use it to positively affect everyone around you in eternal ways. Today you're listening to part two of the message "True Faith". And in a moment, Pastor Jeff returns to tell a true story of true faith from one of his staunchest heroes in the faith, Dr. Adrian Rogers. This will be good for your soul. Stay with us.

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We'd like to ask you to pray and ask God what He would have you to do, to consider becoming a regular monthly Vision Partner. And for your gift this month to become a Vision Partner, we'll send you Pastor Jeff's new book, *The Devil's Newsroom: Muting Satan's Fake News and Tuning into God's Truth*. Go to fromhisheart.org or just call us at 866-40-BIBLE (866-402-4253). And when you do make that gift, we'll send you *The Devil's Newsroom*. God bless you for having the vision to become a Vision Partner. Now, the conclusion of this message called "True Faith" with a story of true faith from one of Pastor Jeff's most valued heroes in the faith: Adrian Rogers.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Adrian Rogers is my hero as a preacher, and I just love to listen to him. I was listening to a sermon that he did sometime ago—obviously he's in heaven now—but he had preached on this passage of Scripture and I listened to that sermon and there's a story that he shared that I thought was just so good. I wanted to share it.

He said he was at a hospital one day and he was praying for a woman that was obviously in his church. And if you've ever heard Adrian Rogers's voice—and it was said of Adrian Rogers, he couldn't whisper in a hurricane. He just has this booming voice. And his wife used to give him grief all the time. She'd be like, "You know, when you pray in a restaurant, it's like you've got a megaphone. Everybody in the restaurant's looking at you," because he just had that kind of a voice.

I remember what a friend of mine told me, he said, "You know, I could listen to Adrian Rogers read the phone book." He just had an awesome voice. So he was praying for this woman in the hospital, and as he's praying, he hears a voice across the hall that says, "Come see me." He thought she was talking to a nurse, and so he just kept on, and she said it again, "Come see me."

He said, "Are you talking to me?" She said, "Yes, come see me." And so he got through with the lady that he was praying for and he went across the hall to this other lady, and she was old. And she was obviously dying, and it was very, very evident, and she knew it. And he said, "Yes, ma'am, how can I help you?" And she said to him, she said, "I'm getting ready to die, and I'm not ready to die. Can you help me get ready?"

He said, "Yes, I can help you with that." And so he talked to her about Jesus, and he said, "Do you want to pray and receive Jesus?" And she said, "Yes." And so he said, "I'll lead you in a prayer." And so he said, "I'm going to pray a phrase and then you repeat after me." And she said, "Okay." And so he said, "Dear God, I know that You love me." And she said, "Dear God, I know that You love me."

And he said, "And God, I know that You died to save me." And she said, "And God, I know that You died to save me." She just kept repeating what he said, and he just led her through the prayer. And he said, "Jesus, I believe in You. Jesus, I believe in You. Jesus, right now I open my heart to You." And she said the same thing, and she said, "Lord, I thank You for saving me. Lord, I thank You for saving me. In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name, amen, amen."

And he opened his eyes and he expected to see in her just such a face of joy and peace, and he didn't see that. He saw a face of pain and a face of torture, and he said, "What's wrong?" And she said this: "I don't see how just saying that can do any good at all." And he said, "You know, you're right. Just saying that doesn't do any good at all. But believing it with all your heart changes everything."

And he said to her, "We're going to pray again. And this time, you don't say that prayer, you pray that prayer. And you really and truly give your heart and life to Jesus Christ and you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and He will save you." And they went through the prayer again, and this time she prayed with all her heart and gave her heart to Christ. And Adrian said he opened his eyes and there was peace and there was joy and the Lord had come in.

Listen, you're not saved by the plan of salvation; you're saved by the man of salvation. You're saved when you give your soul to Jesus Christ. And here's the question: has that happened to you?

Larry Nobles: If that hasn't happened to you, if up until now you've not known what true faith really is, we'd like to ask you to pray: Heavenly Father, I want to acknowledge that You are God and that You deserve to be worshipped. I believe in Your Son Jesus, that He lived, died, and rose again from the dead for my sins. I willingly turn from my sin, and I want to live for You for the rest of my life, putting all of my faith and trust in Jesus. For it's in His name I pray, amen.

If you said a prayer like that, if you meant it from your heart, you're a child of God now. And that's why we want to invite you to go to fromhisheart.org, click the "Why Jesus?" section on our website. You can download some free materials there from Pastor Jeff to help you get started in your journey. Again, fromhisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus?" link.

I'm Larry Nobles, and we trust today's lesson, "True Faith", touched your life and spoke to your heart. Also, be with us next time for the lesson "No More Excuses". Join us then as Pastor Jeff Schreve speaks truth, love, and hope to a lost and hurting world. Because God loves us all and He has a wonderful plan for our lives. Find out more at fromhisheart.org.