Between the Ask and the Answer

Well, good morning, everybody. It is so fun to hear you all talking. Oh, it is just a pure delight to see you. My name is Valerie. I'm one of the pastors on staff, and this may be the first time that we are meeting or perhaps I've known you for years, and I just haven't seen you in a while. In the last few years, we'll say, I have primarily been behind the scenes, way up in the top there in that little box, talking to people on the livestream. Hello to all my livestream people this morning, working with technology and just generally trying to help ensure that the services hopefully go smoothly. But they let me out of the box today. And so here I am down at sea level with all of you, and I'm very glad to be here.

In his book, "You Are Never Alone," Max Lucado tells the story of this man, Bill Irwin. And Bill was the first blind man to hike the Appalachian Trail. That trail, if you don't know, runs from Georgia to Maine, 2100 miles. And in 1990, Bill hiked it, no compass, no GPS, just Bill and his German Shepherd. And there they went along the way. Bill's a recovering alcoholic and a follower of Jesus, and he decided his theme verse for this hike, maybe not shockingly, was 2 Corinthians 5:7. We walk by faith and not by sight. Bill battled hypothermia, he battled cracked ribs, he battled skinned knees, skinned hands. Lucado tells us that Bill estimates he fell 5,000 times. And over the eight months that he hiked, that means he fell 20 times a day. 20 times a day, he hit the ground. But he made it, 2100 miles by faith and not by sight.

And as Lucado draws us into this story, he tells us, "You are doing the same, probably not on the trails of the Appalachians, but on the trails of life. You are walking not on the path between Georgia and Maine. No, you are walking on a road even steeper and even longer, the path between offered prayer and answered prayer, the path between the ask and the answer." As we continue in our series, Seven Signs, looking at the seven miracles in the biblical gospel of John, today we're gonna dive into a story that I think really gets at the heart of our relationship with Jesus. And it's a story that ends on a path, a path that we all have to take, a path that's by faith and not by sight.

So go ahead and grab those sermon notes that you were handed on the way in or you can download the notes at tlc.org/notes. If you got your Bibles with you, open them up to the gospel of John. We're gonna be in chapter four, verses 46 to 54 today. And much like last week when we looked at the first sign, Jesus turning water into wine, we are really just gonna settle in on this story. And as we walk through it today, I'll make some observations and hopefully some applications for you.

Now in context, this miracle, this sign, follows this amazing story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well. This is just astounding and this begins to show us that Jesus is not going to be business as usual. We find Jesus talking to a woman and that was not done. He's talking to a woman with a past and he's talking to a woman who was a Samaritan and the Jews and the Samaritans despised each other. But here is Jesus with this woman and this woman essentially becomes the first missionary. She brings her whole village out to Jesus and as Jesus is leaving Samaria, we find out that many people believed in him because of his words. Just remember that phrase, because of his words.

And so let me just help you visualize this for a minute 'cause I think it's important to have this in your mind's eye. So Jesus was down in Samaria, right down here, and he starts heading back up into what I'd call home court, Galilee. And as we pick up the story today, he's in Cana where he did the first sign, turning the water into wine. Now can you imagine how word of Jesus being back in town spread through that town? Hey, the guy who turned water into wine is back. Grab a cup, let's go. And so I just imagine Jesus and the disciples walking through the village and as they go along, maybe they stop by and say hi to the water into wine couple and the crowd just keeps growing and growing and growing. They don't wanna miss the next thing.

And then suddenly bursting through this scene is a royal official. Now we don't know much about this royal official, but we know he was a royal official. We know that he worked for the king. We know that he had power. In that position, he would not be accustomed going to anybody. He, usually people came to him. But here he is and he walked 20 miles from Capernaum to Cana. 20 miles, that's like walking from Twin Lakes Church to Boulder Creek. Or that's like walking from Twin Lakes Church to the outlets in Gilroy. It's a long walk. And this man walked because he had a need. His child is dying and he wants to find Jesus.

And you know what? We all walked through these doors today with a need. You turned on the live stream today with a need. And you're looking for Jesus in that need. It may be something like this man. Maybe you have a child who's not well and your need is for healing. Or maybe you have a child who is wandering and your deep desire and need is for that child to return, to come back. Maybe you have a financial need that's crushing you today. It's like a million dollars a minute to live in this town. And maybe you're just feeling the weight of that right now. Or maybe your need is relational. You need healing in a relationship with a friend. Or maybe you need a friend. Or maybe something between your spouse or your child or maybe you're sick. Maybe I'm looking at people over here too who have cancer. One is having surgery on Wednesday. There's so much in this room, just people with a physical need. Or maybe it's an emotional need today that you walk through that door with. Or you need healing from a habit that you just cannot quit.

Whatever that is, just keep that need in your mind as we talk about three things that we can do when we have a need. And the first thing that we need to do is just exactly what this man did, our royal official. He tells Jesus, we need to reveal my need no matter what it is. Reveal your need to God no matter what it is. Let's pick the story up in the second half of verse 46. So we've got our royal official whose son lay sick. And the way this verb is in the original Greek, it's an ongoing illness. So his son has been sick. He has been sick. And so he travels. And when this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and he begged him to come and heal his son who was close to death.

This man is facing down the worst fear of every single parent. I don't know any parent who wouldn't gladly die a thousand times so that their child could live. And John tells us that this man, this royal official begged. He begged. This isn't the guy that usually begs. This is the guy who people beg to for things. But he begged. He drops to his knees pleading on behalf of his child. How many of you have been there? Just on your knees in a need. Maybe that's where you are right now. I've been there. And while we don't have the option of bursting through the crowd and getting right in Jesus' face, we do have the ongoing opportunity to go to the very same Jesus that this official went to in prayer.

Hebrews 4:16 reminds us that we can approach God's throne. And let's just hang there for a minute. We can approach God's throne. The God of the universe. And here's some really good news. We find out that it's a throne of grace. And we can come with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Reveal your need to God in prayer. Prayers that don't require a 20 mile walk. Prayers that don't require you being in this building. Prayers that can just be whispered, cried in silence in seconds, in minutes, in hours. This is all through the Bible. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you." God is not afraid of your biggest need. God is not afraid of Ukraine size needs. He's God. He's not afraid of your worst fears, your worst anxieties. He cares for you. He cares for you. Cast it on him.

And here's some really amazing things. This God who's not afraid of anything giant does not despise our small needs either. If it's on your mind, cast it on him. Cast all your cares on him. The Apostle Paul says it this way in Philippians 4:6. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation," that's just another word for all. "In every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God." Now press pause for a minute. Why? Why? Why is it so important for us to pray about every situation? You may be thinking, just because I ask doesn't mean he's gonna answer the way I want. I've lived a lot longer than a day, Val. Or you might be thinking, you know what? God knows what I'm gonna pray anyway, so why are we going through this whole situation? Why don't you, I'll think it, he'll hear it, we'll call it a day.

Here's what I have found in my life, two things. First of all, when I pray, when I reveal my need to God, it is a crystal clear reminder to me that he is God, that he is in control. Every prayer I breathe reminds me God not. And I need that reminder, I have to admit. Sometimes that reminder brings me relief, and sometimes it's really a moment of surrender. And also I think that when we pray and reveal our need to God, it builds our relationship with God. You know, we can't see God, and so sometimes we can feel, it's hard to get our arms around what is this relationship with him? And I think when I pray, it's an opportunity to build that relationship with him.

And for some of you, prayer might be new, and you're thinking, okay, talk to God, I see where you're headed, I'm not sure what it means though. Or you might be a perfectionist, and you're thinking, if I don't do it just right, it's not gonna work. So I better do it just right. You know, there's really no right or wrong way to pray. Just pray. Cast it on him. You know what, I have friends who very much like to pray at the same time, almost every day. They have their spot, they have their list, maybe it's the prayer sheet that we have, or things they've written down, but they just like to sit and pray at the same time every day. I'm a bit more of an ongoing conversation with God kind of prayer person. Now I like to talk, and so this may be why that kind of prayer really works for me.

When I am going through my day, I may be talking with somebody, and I'll be praying in that moment, Lord, give me wisdom. Give me wisdom. I may be praying, oh Lord, please don't let me say what I'm thinking. Please don't let me say what I'm thinking, God. But whatever it is in that moment, I'm praying. I'm talking to him, and I can guarantee you, if you see me cruising around town in my Prius, you'll see my lips moving, because I do a lot of praying in my car. I do a lot of praying about my life, my friends, my church. I occasionally interrupt to pray about the drivers that are around me, but just keep talking. Build that relationship, reveal your need to God.

Now why? Let's go back to Philippians 4. And the peace of God, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Now by definition, it's hard to describe a peace that transcends or exceeds understanding. But I can tell you from experience, it's real. I was talking with a dear woman in our church this week who just lost her son, and I asked her how she was doing, and she's grieving. It was a sudden loss, and she's deeply grieving the loss of her son, but she said, "You know what, Val? It's kind of weird, I just feel this peace in my grief. I just feel peace." And that's that peace that transcends all understanding. When we reveal our needs to God, this is what we get.

Now it can be hard sometimes, because if you're like me, you're tempted to just try to figure it out on your own before you bug God about it. And so you cling to things. And let me just tell you that clinging to my needs does not help me. Clinging to my needs usually brings me a lot of frustration because I'm trying to manipulate people and things to get this thing to turn out the way I want. Clinging to my needs just brings me fear and disappointment. But revealing our needs brings peace. You remember what Hebrews 4:16 said, that not only brings peace, we receive mercy. And don't we all need that? And we find grace to help us in our time of need. What a good God we have. There's no impatience, there's no, oh, Val, come on a thousand times with the same request. No, we have a good God who brings us peace and mercy and grace as we reveal our needs to him.

And then second, after we've revealed that need to him, we need to receive his answer no matter what it is. Receive his answer no matter what it is. And this is where the rubber hits the road. This is where prayer can get complicated for us. Now the man in our story basically kind of received two answers. It's really a statement and an answer. So let's go to the statement first in verse 48. Unless you people see signs and wonders Jesus told him, you will never believe. Yikes. That may seem a little harsh at first, like Jesus, give the guy a break. I mean, for heaven's sakes, his son is dying. I personally imagine this unfolding with Jesus in more of kind of a sigh, as opposed to a finger pointing rebuke at everybody. You know, maybe Jesus is thinking back to his time in Samaria where there were no miracles, just words, and many people believed.

And yet here he finds himself among his people and he senses the transactional nature of their faith. You know, give me a sign and then we'll talk Jesus. And this isn't just addressed to the dad by the way. When you see the words you and you here, they're plural. This is y'all. He's talking to everybody who's there for another drink basically, and waiting for the next trick. He's saying no, no. And in this moment, Jesus is warning them and Jesus is warning us against if then faith. If then faith, contingent faith. God, if you do this, then I'm gonna believe in you. God, if I win the lottery, I'm yours. We're good. God, if you do this, I will believe you're real. It's basically playing let's make a deal with God.

I heard Pastor Jeff Chapman put it this way. Behind Jesus' statement is a question. Will I be enough? If nothing else in your life goes the way you want it to go, will I then be enough? You know, I would love nothing more than to be able to cut this sermon short and just tell you all, here's the deal. You pray this, you say this, you do this, and God will have to answer you. Let's close in prayer. But that's contingent faith, and I can't do that. Hear me on this. We do not manage God. Don't let anybody tell you that there is some series of words that you can say, and that by the end of that thing, you will have cornered God into doing exactly what you want. No, we do not manage God. And so we live in this tension then. We live in this tension.

Every time we reveal a need to God, we're at a crossroad. Will my faith be contingent on the answer? Will I believe if I get the answer I want? If God doesn't answer me the way I want, then that is it. I've given him enough chances, or you know what? He's gonna do what he wants to do anyway, so forget it. I'm done with this. And we just kind of begin that slow walk of fatalism or ambivalence. I've gone down that road before. Or at that crossroad, will I follow the example of Jesus on the night before his crucifixion, who was found praying, who was actually found begging God to the point the Bible tells us of sweating drops of blood that this cup, that the crucifixion could pass from him. And in the ultimate act of surrender to the answer, a surrender that cost him everything, he says, "God, yet not my will, but yours be done." Can I say that? Can you say that? Can I receive God's answer without attaching any strings? Yet not my will, but yours be done.

Well, back to our royal official, Jesus has just dropped this warning on everybody, but our dad is not gonna be stopped by that. He just keeps right on going with his plea. And he says, "Sir, come down before my child dies." And this come down is a geographical elevation situation. It's not like Jesus was on a box and he was gonna come down. Come down before my child dies. And the first time he makes his plea, he uses a more formal word, son. And this time, the translation should really read something more like, "Come before my little boy dies, please." And at last he receives his answer. Jesus tells this dad, "Go, your son will live." No pyrotechnics, no magic potions, no hand motions, no secret words, just a simple statement that reflects the truth that Jesus holds the keys, that Jesus holds the power over life and death.

And think of that power. He simply speaks and 20 miles away, a boy is healed. This dad heard the words he was longing to hear, "Your son will live." How many of you have experienced that moment when God says yes? Let me see your hands. I bet everybody in this room has had a moment when God says yes. How many of you have experienced that moment when God says no? Or God says wait? Not nearly as much fun as yes, is it? But listen, we are on the broken side of things, folks. The very best answer to prayer is still temporary. At some point, this boy died. Maybe a young man, an old man, at some point though he died and the plea was answered with a no. Until Christ's return. Until then, when the Bible tells us that he promises he will wipe every tear from our eyes, every tear that you have shed over a no or a wait, he will wipe from our eyes. When I look around, I see, I know stories, so it makes me cry when I say that. He will make all that is broken whole. All that is broken will be made whole. Praise God he will make wars to cease. I am very much over that right now.

But until then, we live in a broken world. Until then, we will encounter death, we will encounter dictators, we will encounter evil, we will encounter sorrow. Until then, we will have to sit with God's no and God's silence. And I know, I know how hard it is in the world in that moment to be there. I do understand. I know how hard it is when we don't get the yes that this dad got. And it can be so tempting under the crushing pain and the disappointment that we feel in the moment to just kind of let the numbness wash over us and just walk away. Maybe we don't walk away with our feet, but we walk away with our heart. I am begging you today. I am begging you, don't walk away from the one who will get you through. Do not walk away from the one who will get you through. Receive his answer no matter what it is.

And then third, we need to respond to his direction no matter what it is. Respond to his direction no matter what it is. I imagine the official in this moment, he's standing there. He's received the answer that he's hoping for, but not in the way he planned. Both times he talked to Jesus, he said, here's the plan. You come with me, we go to my son, you heal my son. I so get this. I love to pray a plan. I love to save Jesus' time and go, here's my need. Here's the plan. Sign off, sign here, initial here. Beautiful, we're all set, let's go. I love to pray a plan, but like the Father, I often find that God is at work, but not in the way I planned. He's on the move, but not in the way I imagined.

So this Father actually has a decision to make at that moment. Does he keep begging and try to get Jesus to stick to the plan, or does he follow Jesus' plan and get on the path? Look at the next sentence, the second half of verse 50. The man took Jesus at his word, and he departed. He took Jesus at his word. I mean, that's a really great way to be remembered in scripture. If there could be one thing said to me at the end of my life, I will take this one. She took Jesus at his word. And he starts home, 20 miles. 20 miles to think. 20 miles to maybe have some doubts, seep in. 20 miles to wonder what he's gonna be met with. If it's bad, can I still run back and get Jesus and we'll do it my way? 20 miles.

And I think God in his mercy on this man sends his servants to give him the news. Verse 51, while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. Can you imagine the party on the road? In the middle of this road from Cana to Capernaum, the celebration that took place. On to verses 52 and 53, it says, "When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him yesterday." Now think about that. So that means it wasn't on mile one that he ran into these guys. He'd walked already a ways. "Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him. The father realized that that was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, 'Your son will live.' And it says later on in that verse, 'So he and his whole household believed.' Can you imagine? They're standing, they're talking, and they realize, wait, wait, what happened? What time did you say that happened? I'm pointing at my watch like they had a watch. They looked at the sundial. What time did that happen? What's going on? And can you imagine it registering on their faces? Oh my goodness. Jesus is not like us. Jesus is different. And they all believed.

And John closes this account with something for us, the readers. He says, "This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee." The second sign pointing us to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. The second sign pointing us to his glory and to the fact that as René told us in week one of this series, Jesus is here to meet us in our mess. He's here to meet us in our mess. I wonder where you find yourself today on the road between Cana and Capernaum. Where are you on that road today? Maybe you're celebrating. Maybe you have heard an answer to prayer that you have been praying, and you are just so grateful to God, and you are celebrating.

Maybe you're starting out on the road, and you're about mile three, and you're thinking, "Oh, I don't know. I'm gonna keep walking, but I'm feeling, I don't know what's gonna happen here. It's feeling a little unsteady." Or maybe the road is longer for you than it is for others, and you keep passing all these parties, and you're wondering, "Lord, how long am I gonna wait here?" Or maybe you are just flat out had a no. The answer you received is no, and you are stumbling around, feeling as blind as Bill Irwin on the Appalachian Trail, and you feel like, "Val, I'm hitting the floor 20 times a day right now." It's no good. How do you take God at His word today? What even is His word for you today?

Look at the verses at the bottom of your notes. These are just some of the words for you today. The Lord says to you, "Never, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble. God says to you today, "When, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." God today says to you, "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, even if God says no, nothing will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." That is His word for you today.

Many of you know that if I'm ever up here, I'm gonna encourage you to get into God's word. I don't get paid per time I say that, just so you know. But for me personally, getting into God's word has been absolutely one of the best things for me in my life. Because when I'm walking on that road between Cana and Capernaum, this is how I know what God's word is to me. This is where I find that reminder that I can cast all my cares on Him. This is where I remember that He will give me peace. This is our remember how great He is. We can take Jesus at His word because as Psalm 145 says, He is faithful to everything He has promised. And He's loving towards all He has made.

And this road may be long. This road may be very long. This road may be 20 days. This road may be 20 months. This road may be 20 years. This road may take you all the way to glory. I promise you though, as sure as I am standing here today, that you can take Jesus at His word. You absolutely can take Him at His word. I wouldn't tell this, I know there's pain in here and I wouldn't say this and I didn't believe it. I wouldn't presume to belittle your pain. If I didn't believe, you could take Jesus at His word. One of my favorite verses in the Bible, and I have a few of them, but this one is in Deuteronomy 32. And in this moment, Moses is handing off leadership to Joshua and he's talking to the children of Israel and he's reminding them of all the things God had said to them. All the things God had said and at the end, after he's reminded them of everything God has said, Moses says to the children of Israel, "These are not just idle words for you. They're your life. These are not just idle words for you. They are your life."

And more than that, these words point us to the one who John simply said is the word. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. These words point us to our Savior, Jesus. He is on every page reminding us that we are loved, that He is God and that He can be taken at His word. Let's pray. As we wrap up our time today, we're gonna take just a couple minutes to do something a little different. I keep asking you to think about this need that you have and I wanna take some time just to pray about that.

So first of all, let's just take a moment in silence and let's just come to that throne of grace together. No words, just sit before God. Now take a moment to bring that need or needs that you've been thinking of to God. Maybe it's the first time, maybe it's the millionth time, but bring your need to God. Now ask God to give you the desire, the courage to take Him at His word. Maybe you feel like, nope Val, you're not gonna fool me, I've tried, but try one more time. Ask God to give you the willingness to just take Him at His word.

Now finally take a moment to thank God. Thank God for His love for you, His care for you. And you may not feel like that this morning, but thank Him by faith. Thank Him by faith on that road between Cana and Capernaum. You know, if you're here today and you're new to all this and maybe you're thinking, you know what, I want a relationship with the God who loves me, with the God who says I can cast all my cares on Him. You can pray something like this in your heart. God, I surrender. I surrender. I acknowledge that you are God and I am a person in need of a savior. I ask for your forgiveness. I give you my heart, my life. I don't understand it all, but I believe, I take you at your word.

Lord, we come before you today as people who are grateful. Grateful that you, the God of the universe, the holy other, all powerful God would invite us to cast our cares on you. That you would invite us into the throne room of grace. God, thank you so much. Father, our hearts, I just add my prayers to everyone's. Our hearts are burdened for the people of the Ukraine today, God, for those suffering. Under evil, Father, we pray for your mercy. I just pray for practical provision for these folks, for food, for water, for shelter, God. May they know your presence. May they know your peace that passes understanding.

God, in here in this room today, I know the needs are as varied as the people represented and they run from the mundane to the deepest of hurts. I pray for each person here, Lord. Lord, today, would you remind them in some way that you hear, that you care, that you are on the move. God, may your peace that passes understanding just reign and be felt by each person today. And Lord, may we be people, may we be a church that takes you at your word. May we be willing to walk that road from Cana to Capernaum, believing that you are God and that you are good in all your ways towards us, God, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.