2nd Sign: From The Foxhole To Genuine Faith, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. But something you understand when you look at all the gospels and read all about the miracles, the miracles that Jesus Christ provided people to look at were all designed for the same reason, to authenticate who He was so that they would listen to what He says. In other words, that's the point of the miracle. It authenticates who He is, the Son of God, but they are then to listen to what He says. Well, when Judah and Galilee pretty much, they just want to see what He can do. You know, sort of like after Jesus fed 5,000, their only interest was getting a meal.

They're not interested in what He says at all. The Samaritans, on the other hand, were very much that way. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. There is a term that is very likely been used for over the last hundred years.

We know for certain that it was used for at least the last 80 years because it was quoted by Dwight Eisenhower, who was commander in chief of the allied forces in World War Two. And Eisenhower said this, he said, there are no atheists in a foxhole. When the bullets start and the explosions all around you happen, many of us in our fear and our panic, cry out to God. God, get me out of here and if you get me out of here safely, then I'll do this for you or I'll serve you. The real question, though, and the real test of genuine faith doesn't happen in the numbing battlefield.

It really happens when the pressure is off. So many of us that have foxhole faith don't have genuine faith at all. Gary Berg, in his commentary on John, he said that a pastor friend of him revealed to him his own experience. There was a young woman who had a terminal diagnosis and he knew them, but very not very well at all. They were what he called Christmas Easter Christians.

They came twice a year to church. So he went to the hospital and he visited her and she challenged him. She said to him, if Jesus healed in the Bible, then he should be able to do it right now.

And if he doesn't, what good is he? So she had her extended family around her and they all told him or evidence foxhole faith, if God would heal her, then we'll serve him. So he prayed with the entire family. And after he had prayed to his own amazement, he said, God healed her completely. The doctors, they said, were baffled.

They didn't understand that at all. And she was released from the hospital in the very next Sunday after she was released. The whole family showed up in church. They were about ready to take care of what they had said because God had healed her. Well, within four weeks, only her and her husband were showing up in church.

None of the others were showing up in church. Then as time went on, they became more and more sporadic and her and her husband didn't attend church at all. So he saw her in public when he was out doing business and he asked her about it.

And she said to him, she looked him in the eye and said, you know, as I really thought about it, it was all just coincidental. And what I'm saying is her foxhole faith certainly dimmed right in to total darkness. Foxhole faith is never enough.

Before we're too condemning of her, though, many of us have foxhole faith. We run to God. Something terrible is happening in our lives. We run to God and and often what ends up happening, we tell God first exactly what we want him to do. That's the first thing we tell.

And secondly, often set up with it. We tell them something like this. We we say, God, if you do this, then I'll do this. That is foxhole faith.

That will never work. It's not genuine faith at all. And when God does do something, he always has something much bigger in mind. So I invite you to open your Bibles to John four and verse forty three.

Last week, I began a new series. The series is called The Seven Signs of the Son of God. And in these seven signs, John does reveal the power of God, but he also reveals the nature of God.

They're very strategic to John. Last week, Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. And what we learn from that is nothing is too small to go to God with nothing.

Absolutely nothing. We should never fear to tell God I'm running out of something. I'm struggling with something. We should go to God with each thing we have like that. But we learn something also from Mary, because after she told Jesus that they have no wine, she then said, whatever he says, do it.

That was it. Whatever he says, you just do it. After that, John writes that he went to see Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a member of the Sanhedrin. He's a Pharisee of Pharisees.

He's the teacher, theological teacher and biblical teacher for the entire Sanhedrin. And he and Jesus have an interesting conversation, but nothing more happens. Then Jesus decides to go back to Galilee from Jerusalem and he decides to go through Samaria.

He goes through Samaria and he meets the woman at the well. Now, the Samaritans, if you remember, the Samaritans are a people that have their own religion. They're part Jewish and then part pagan.

After the Assyrian captivity, some of them came back into the land and they sort of have a compilation of both religions. The Jews detest them. Jewish people, especially Jewish men, don't speak to Samaritans. Jews don't walk through Samaria.

They'd rather cross the Jordan and go on the east bank all the way up the Galilee and come back in. Jesus decides to go right through Samaria and he meets the woman at the well. And that woman is not only a Samaritan, but she's an immoral woman. And Jesus offers her at the well living water. What you realize then is she goes back into the village and there is a tremendous revival in Samaria, of all places. There was no miracles in Samaria.

None. Jesus didn't. All he did was speak to them and they believed what he said. So now Jesus has gone through Samaria. It's been two days and he's going into Galilee. And that's where we sort of pick up the way this story works. It says in verse 43, after the two days, he went forth from there into Galilee.

And then an unusual statement for Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Now that just jumps in. There's a lot of possibilities.

D.A. Carson, who is a brilliant exegete, says there are 10 explanations of this. I'm not going to repeat them for you, but the idea is it's a little bit difficult to understand why he said that right then or why John put it in there.

But I think if you think about it from a certain point of view, I think there's something more to say here. He had just come from Samaria. And in Samaria, all he did was speak the truth to people and they believed it. But he finds out in Judah and in Galilee, for example, that people aren't interested in the truth. They're not interested in what Jesus says. They don't honor him as their Messiah at all. And he explains it even more in the next verse. It says then, so when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him.

You say, oh, there it is. They're receiving him. Why? Having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast for they themselves went to the feast. He's becoming famous because of what he says.

No, not at all. Because of what he does. You see, that's what he's becoming famous for. You've got to come and see Jesus. This guy's a miracle worker.

This is really important. But something you understand when you look at all the gospels and read all about the miracles. The miracles that Jesus Christ provided people to look at were all designed for the same reason. To authenticate who he was so that they would listen to what he says. In other words, that's the point of the miracle. It authenticates who he is.

The son of God. But they are then to listen to what he says. Well, when Judah and Galilee pretty much, they just want to see what he can do. You know, sort of like after Jesus fed 5000, their only interest was getting a meal.

They're not interested in what he says at all. The Samaritans, on the other hand, were very much that way. So after he goes through that, he says, therefore, he came again to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. He comes back to guy to Cana again, and there's a man who has a son who is sick in Capernaum.

Capernaum is 18 miles northeast of Cana. It's a six hour walk. That'll become important later or a two hour chariot ride. That's how close he is. But we know something about this man. What it says here with this man is that one thing for sure that we know about him is that he is, as he says right here, he is, in a sense, a royal official. Now, what that really means is and in a true sense of it is that he is a person of the court of Herod Antipas. And Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, he's the man who had John the Baptist beheaded.

This guy, as a royal official, it's Basilikos is the word, has tremendous influence. He would be very likely have tremendous power and extreme wealth. Is he Jewish or Gentile?

Some would say Jewish and some would say Gentile because we don't know. If he is Jewish, though, this story becomes ironic because if he's Jewish, he's certainly a Sadducee. Any man in his position would be a Sadducee. He's not a Pharisee. And if he's a Sadducee, Sadducees don't believe that God ever interferes in the affairs of man.

Ever. So why is this guy seeking Jesus if he's a Sadducee? It tells you a little bit what happens with the desperation that all of us face from time to time in our lives. This is a desperate man. He said when he heard that Jesus had come out of Judah into Galilee, he went to him imploring him to come down, heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

There's this desperation. What's interesting is all of these terms imploring him to come down and heal are all imperative moods in the Greek. In other words, he's commanding Jesus. This is how God gives us commands in the New Testament. I'm commanding you. You need to come down. You see, I'm telling you, you need to come down and heal my son.

That's the way this should be done. That's what foxhole faith always does. If you're in a foxhole and you're giving faith, you always tell God specifically what you want him to do. Because that's what foxhole faith is, I'm facing something very tragic and I want God to do something. In fact, I want him to do exactly what I want him to do. He sets the conditions now. Contrast that with Mary last week when Mary say whatever he says, do it.

What were her conditions? None. That's faith. That's not what he has. He has foxhole faith. You see, he's telling Jesus exactly what it is that he needs to do. And it's all because his son is at the point of death. So Jesus said to him and everyone else who could hear, unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe. The only time he uses wonders in John. You people is you all.

It's just for you plural. Jesus said, this is the problem. Unless you see signs and wonders, you won't believe. In other words, you'll only ever have foxhole faith.

That's all that you'll have no matter what ends up happening. The royal official said to him, sir, come down before my child dies. Come down is imperative.

You have to come. He means down because Capernaum is on the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Galilee, 700 feet below sea level. Which is really low, considering we're at sea level.

700 feet. So no matter how you go to the Sea of Galilee, you're going down because there's mountains around it and all that. So he said he wanted that. And the idea of his child is interesting.

It really means that the Greek word that's used there is little one. It's male. My little boy. Is dying. So you can see this man's desperation. You have a little boy that's dying.

How desperate are you? Do you ever try to make deals with God for this? God, if you do this and I'll do this.

That type of thing. Well, the whole story changes right now. Jesus said to him, go. It's imperative. Your son lives.

Put yourself in the guy's place. Now, you've already figured out how God should work in this situation, right? He needs to come down. He needs to find your son and he needs to heal yourself. Jesus says, go. Your son lives. Is that good news? Maybe.

I mean, think about it from your point of view. Certainly from his point of view, this is a moment of truth being offered right now. The prayer is going to be offered in Cana, the answer is going to be done in Capernaum. That's the most difficult walk in the world. We've all done this.

The walk from Cana to Capernaum. Have you ever prayed for something and you've had to wait ever? Yes. Yes, you're praying for something. You're using your foxhole faith and you want it done now and you want it done in this way.

And you have to walk. But our situation seems a lot different, yes, Jesus didn't say your son lives to us. Let's see what he did say. Paul wrote in Romans 8 28, all things work together for good to those who love Jesus.

That's what he said. Now, what does he mean when he says all things work together for good to those who love Jesus? What things?

All things. That's what Jesus said. So Jesus tells you, he may not say go to Capernaum, but in a sense he is, all things will work together for your good.

You've prayed, all things will work together for your good. How do you feel about that? You see, do you exercise genuine faith? Or do you sit in, you know, sort of in a sense, scratch your head and say, I just don't know how this is going to work at all. See, I don't know if I'm going to get what I asked for. I don't. I don't know what I'm going to see the goodness.

See, I don't know what am I going to see the good. When's he going to answer it? Am I going to get what I asked for? How long will this walk be that I'm on right now? It could be 18 seconds, 18 days, 18 months, 18 years. It could be. You wouldn't even understand the good of it until you were in the Lord's presence.

That's a long walk, isn't it? But he already answered it. This is all going to work for your good. Now, what Mary say, whatever he says, do it. So this is what he says to you.

This is the way it's going to be. Now, which kind of faith do you have when he says that? Foxhole faith or genuine faith?

You see, this is a little bit harder than we thought. It goes on, the man believed the word that Jesus spoke just like the Samaritans. He believed. Now we're moving to genuine faith. He believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and he started off.

Wow. He didn't start off because he experienced the miracle. He started off because of what Jesus said to him. This is hard for us.

We do this all the time. You find these kind of stories all through the Bible. Hold your place here with me for a moment and go with me to 2 Kings 5. 2 Kings 5. Verse 1 says, Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram and the man was a valiant warrior. But he was a leper.

Now, that's about as here is this great warrior, famous man, has great value. He's a leper. I'm guessing it's in the early stages of his leprosy. But he knows in that world that's a death sentence to him. He will eventually be isolated in leper colonies.

He'll likely lose vision, digits off his hands and feet. He knows what leprosy is going to bring him. Now let's go down to verse 9. So because of that, Naaman came, he said, with his horses and his chariots, and he stood at the doorway of the house of Elijah. Who's Elijah? He's a prophet.

One of the great prophets of God, the successor to Elijah. This is, look, I'm going to deal with this. I'm going to go to the store. I'm going to go and talk to the great prophet of God, Elijah.

Now, this is why, because I don't want to have leprosy and die a leper. That's his foxhole faith, how it starts. Now, watch what happens. Elijah sent a messenger to him. Now, where's Elijah? He's in the house. Does Elijah come and talk to him at the door?

Nope. He sends a messenger. Now, here I am, this great warrior and all that, and the guy doesn't even come talk to me.

He sends his messenger. And he said, go wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you, and you shall be clean. Now, did Elijah tell him that? Nope. God told him that. There's the word again.

You go ahead and do this. You got to love Naaman. Naaman was furious and went away sad and said, behold, I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. I know how this works.

I've seen it on TV. Guy's got to come out. He's got to be right with you. He's got to wave his hand and call on God, and then you get healed.

That's Foxhole 3. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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