John 4:53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
Exercise Your Faith
Every year at the Ranch we are privileged to spearhead an outreach to New York City. The purpose is primarily to give the gospel. We do this by employing what we call “prayer stations” in the subways, where we pray with people about needs that they have. The main obstacle to someone’s trusting Christ as Savior is to realize that they need Him in the first place. When a person comes to the prayer station with a need about health, finances, or something else, it is with an attitude that says, “I am in trouble. I can’t fix this, but I believe God can. I am going to appeal to Him.” This attitude can open one’s eyes and heart to the gospel. Oftentimes faith grows from the lesser to the greater, from temporal to eternal.
We read in John 4 of a nobleman who had a son who was ill, and he appealed to the Lord Jesus to heal his son. Verse 50 says, “Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.”
About what did this man believe Jesus? He didn’t believe on Jesus about salvation. He believed on Jesus regarding the specific words that God had spoken, namely, “Your son liveth.” As the man went back to his house, he heard the wonderful news that his son was alive. When others told the father of the hour that the fever had left his son, the father knew it was the same hour in which Jesus said, “Thy son liveth.”
Then the Bible says, “And himself believed, and his whole house.” What was it that they were believing now? Before, they had believed Jesus for healing of a sick son, and now they were believing Jesus as to the Person that He was and the work He could do in their hearts. He was the Messiah Who could provide what only God could provide, salvation.
There were two miracles here, the miracle of meeting a physical need and the miracle of meeting a spiritual need. The miracle of taking care of a temporal need led to the meeting of the eternal need. In other words, Christ’s healing of this man’s son emboldened this man to trust Christ for something far greater, namely the salvation of his soul. The faith that grows is the faith we exercise.
If faith can move from the lesser to the greater, from healing to salvation, then should not the greater need embolden us to trust God for the lesser? If you have trusted God with eternity, don’t you think you can trust Him with today and tomorrow? If you can trust God with your soul, don’t you think you can trust God with your life? Yes, you can. How do you gain stronger faith? Exercise the faith you have because the faith that grows in the faith we exercise.