“How is God Working in My Life?”

**INTRODUCTION 

Hello and welcome to "Key to the Kingdom". My name is Bret McCasland. Have there been times when you wondered whether or not God was at work in this world? Things seemed to be out of control and God's presence was nowhere to be found. You wondered what bad thing would happen next, and if God really cared about what was going on. And then you asked similar questions about whether or not God was even working in your life. You did not see much evidence of it and wondered if the Lord had forgotten about you. I suppose we have all felt like that at times. And yet when we paused and reminded ourselves that God has been, is, and always will be at work in His world, we were motivated to move ahead and to trust God's plan and purposes. In today's lesson on "Key to the Kingdom," we will look at a story in the life of a man who believed some very important words Jesus shared with him. And when he did, he moved ahead in faith. Maybe that is what we need to do; to move ahead with great faith. I hope you will stay tuned to this station for the next few minutes as we open up our Bibles and study together.

**LESSON

In the Gospel of John, we find seven miraculous signs which Jesus did throughout His ministry. Certainly He did many more than that, and the other Gospel writers record some of them. The ones found in John, however, are recorded for the purpose of bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Well, today I want us to look at the second of those miraculous signs which Jesus did early on in His ministry. This one is found in chapter 4 of John's Gospel. It's a rather lengthy reading, but I want to notice it all, as we begin with verse 43. <After the two days He left for Galilee. (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in His own country.) When He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all that He had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there. Once more He visited Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to Him and begged Him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.> Have you ever been there before? Maybe you were in a similar situation, like this, and you can relate to the situation which this man found himself. Perhaps one of your children, maybe even a grandchild, was sick, even to the point of almost dying. And you do not know for sure what to do. You had gone to a number of different doctors, yet they could not properly diagnose the problem. They had no solution. Maybe your child was in and out of several different hospitals and they could not figure out what was wrong and make a proper diagnosis. You went from one doctor and hospital to another, and yet you had no solution. You did not know for sure what to do. And, in fact, you felt as if you were out of options and you were even at the point of desperation. There was a time in my life when I had to make a very important decision concerning the health of one of my children. I had to make this decision: Do I wait to see some evidence that what I'm about to do is the right thing, or do I step out in faith and trust God? In the first part of the passage we just read, we noticed that Jesus was somewhere for two days. Well, earlier in chapter 4, Jesus was in Samaria, and one might remember that Samaria is the country in the middle between Judea, in the south, and Galilee, up in the north. And while He was in Samaria, one day outside of the village of Sychar, He had sat down at Jacob's Well and He talked with a woman who had come there to draw water. They talked about a number of important things, and then He went back into the village with her, where He stayed two days. He talked to people in that Samaria village, and they believed that indeed Jesus was the Savior of the world. Well, after that is where this story picks up. We noticed that He went in to Galilee, to the north, yet He was hesitant to be there very long; for, as we noticed, those Galileans did not make Him feel welcome, even though they were among His own people. He was not honored there. They did not believe in Him or the work He was doing. And no doubt that was a very distinct contrast to the people in Samaria who really did not like the Jewish people. And yet they, in that village of Sychar, did believe in Jesus. Yet there were some who were in Galilee who were excited to see Jesus. They had seen Him down in Judea at a festival, and now they were there in Galilee and He showed up. They had heard and seen some of the things He had said and done. Now, while Jesus was there in Cana, a Jewish officer living in Capernaum, about 25 miles to the north of Cana, came down to see Him. The officer had left his sick son back home, possibly because he was too sick to travel. But the son was at a point of death and this royal official, this Jewish official, did not know what else to do. And so he came to plead with Jesus, there in Cana, to travel back with him to Capernaum in order to heal his son. The first thing we notice is Jesus’ response: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” That seems to be rather harsh, doesn't it? But yet it was a reflection of the attitude many people had toward Jesus. They wanted to see some evidence of His power before they believed in Him. They wanted some kind of a sign or a miracle that would point to God's glory before they believed in God's Son. Give us miraculous signs then we will believe, was the thought of the day. But this Jewish officer was not looking necessarily for any kind of sign. He simply had a very urgent request. So he began to plead with Jesus to follow him all the way back to Capernaum. And the text seems to indicate he did not ask Jesus just a time or two to do that, in a polite manner, but rather he began to beg Jesus. He pleaded with Him to come and heal his son. Yes, this man had reached a point of desperation. This man obviously was one in a position of authority, and he was used to giving commands to people who were subject to him. And they would follow through, they would obey his command. Now, perhaps he was thinking that same thing would work with Jesus. He would tell Him to come with him to Capernaum and Jesus would naturally respond. Well, the Lord did not work that way then, and certainly we know He does not work that way today. He does not respond to our demands, as we see this man was trying to do. Well, the man really did not have time to argue with Jesus. His son's life was at stake and he knew that Jesus was his only option. And the thought was, Jesus needed to be present before a cure could take place. And that was evident of what happened in His first miracle, there in the little community called Cana. Jesus was present when the water was turned into wine. Many people, however, did not realize Jesus could just say the word and a boy, some 25 miles away, would be healed; yet that is what happened. Jesus spoke four words to the man. He said, “Your son will live.” Nothing else was needed. No explanation was given. Jesus’ words carried power and authority. And instead of going with the man, Jesus simply spoke those words of healing in Cana and a boy in Capernaum was healed. Jesus saw the sincere faith of the boy's father and so He healed his son. And he would not only recover from his sickness, but he would be healed and restored to full health once again. And so this man took Jesus at His word. There was no reason for Him to doubt what Jesus said would be true and would be done. The official had no choice to believe completely that what Jesus said indeed would happen. And unlike many others, he did not have to see before he believed. He had enough faith in Jesus to begin his journey back home. And on his way he met the servants who had come to meet him. And it was then it was revealed that indeed his son was made well, at the very hour Jesus had said, “Your son will live.” That's a great story, isn't it? We love it, how people respond in faith to what Jesus is doing in their life. We love it, how Jesus was able to perform that miracle from a distance. But we pause and ask our-self the question, what does that mean for us today? How can we relate to that? Let me offer about three questions for us to consider as we work our way through this lesson. How do I respond when the Lord calls on me to obey Him? Do I see if He really will do something on my behalf? And do I tend to believe Jesus only when He answers my prayer, or when I feel confident He will? On the other hand, do I take Jesus at His Word and live a life of faith and obedience in Jesus Christ? Oh, we can never forget, today, the Lord is at work in our lives and in ways we will never even know. We may not know what God is doing unless we move ahead in great faith. And even though we may not immediately see the results, we believe the Lord will provide. Throughout the Bible, we find a number of different definitions, if you will, of the word faith or believe, and we find a number of illustrations of what that looks like in people's lives, just like in the story here. Well, I looked at some of those and I came up with my own definition of faith. See if this might resonate with you. Believe in advance what God will do in the future. That sort of thing seems to go against our human nature, doesn't it? It's hard for us to do that. We want to see the evidence before we believe in Jesus. And yet, that is not the way God has called us to live as one of His followers, or as a believer, as a Christian. And yet this sign reminds us that the Lord is at work in our life, and there is no reason to doubt it, whether or not we immediately see the outcome. Has anyone ever ask you the question, how is God working in your life today? And if so, how did you respond? Perhaps you said, oh, yes, He is. And here are some examples of what I see God doing in my life. And here's what's going on. Or perhaps, did you say, well, I don't think God is working in my life because I don't see any evidence of it. God doesn't seem to be doing anything right now. A lot of things have happened in my life over the years, and I've been absolutely amazed at how God has been at my... He's been at work in my life. And I moved ahead with great faith knowing that good things would happen. And yet on many other occasions, God was doing something in my life and yet I missed it because I did not move ahead in faith. I was hesitant. I did not know for sure what to do, and my faith was stagnant. My belief in Jesus was not what it needed to be. And looking back on those times, I know I messed up. I did not live out my faith because I was asking too many questions. I wanted to see some evidence before I moved ahead in faith. And yet it was on those occasions that God worked around my unbelief. He worked out His will in the midst of my doubt, or hesitation, or questions that I was asking. Sometimes we may not believe God is at work in our lives because we don't see any evidence of it. In our minds, nothing is changing. Nothing is getting any better. And yet, as Christians, today, we can know that God is at work and He will always bring about, to completion, His will for our lives. Yes, nothing is ever lacking on God's part. His will is always being accomplished. And whether or not we live by faith in God is a testimony to what we believe about God. Either we believe God is God or we don't. And when we believe that God is God, then we will live that out by living by faith. And that's what we see happening here with this man. Obviously, God is doing some amazing things in this world, but perhaps even more amazing is the fact that God invites us to be part of what He is doing. The Lord calls upon us to join Him by living a life of faith and obedience. And we don't know how God is working, but we can know for sure that God is showing up. God is present in the here and now. God is present in the future. Going back to the story, we find that the father obeyed Jesus’ commands. He believed those four words which Jesus told him, and he immediately left. His faith was put into action and there was no hesitation. He did not even receive word of the confirmation of healing until he was halfway home from that 25 mile journey. You know, the distance between Cana and Capernaum was no problem for Jesus, and neither time nor distance comes into play as the Lord continually works in our life, today. We may get the sense, we may get the feeling that He's not working if something doesn't happen on our timetable, yet we can never forget that the Lord is always at work. You know, sometimes we miss out on the blessings God has in store for us because we want to see the evidence before we believe; and that is when we sometimes get ourselves into trouble. There's one thing we might miss in this story, if we don't pay close attention to it, and it is found in verse 53. We notice there that this man and his whole household, his whole family, believed. In other words, this Jewish officer’s faith in Jesus was contagious. His faith led his entire family to believe in Jesus and that He was God’s Son. Likewise, our faith in the Lord is absolutely important. Yet we can never forget our faith may lead other people. Our faith may even lead some of our family members to believe in Jesus Christ, as well. We may have lots of uncertainties, we may have lots of questions, about the problems going on in the world today; and the question is can God solve my problems? That's not it. That's not the question that we ask. But the question is how big is my God? And obviously, the answer is my God is big enough to handle whatever concerns me today. My God is more than capable enough to deal with the issues, the problems, that are in my life. And in fact, there may be some really big things going on in your life right now. You don't know for sure how to handle them. You're looking for some answers to those puzzling questions that don't seem to have an answer. You want to know how and where God is working in your life, or perhaps how He is even working throughout this world. And if we want to know those answers, we simply begin by asking our-self the question, am I walking by faith? And if so, we start moving ahead. We believe God knows the way and so we join Him on that journey. Other people are watching how we either live by our faith or if we are waiting for the evidence. And sometimes, I suppose it's only natural, we tend to forget that God is at work. The Lord is doing amazing things and His purposes are being accomplished. And we have that privilege, that opportunity, to be a part of what He is doing. But that can never happen if we are not willing to walk by our faith in the Lord. And so, how is God working in your life today? Well, God is at work. He always has been. He always will be. We just may or may not see it. And the work He is doing in your life, or my life, is something we may not even expect. But make no mistake about it, God is at work in your life. He's at work in my life. We can never question that. We can never doubt His Word. We simply respond by living a life of faith, one day at a time. And we are to be as desperate to live a life of faith as this Jewish officer was in desperately seeking a solution for the health of his son. There is one passage I want us to keep in mind that seems to tie all of this together, and it's an important one. It comes toward the very end of the Gospel of John, and perhaps is the theme for John's entire Gospel. We find it in chapter 20 verses 30 and 31. <Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this Book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.> Jesus did these seven miraculous signs, which are recorded here in John's Gospel, not only for the sake of those disciples, not only for the sake of those who saw and who witnessed them there on that specific occasion, but now they are left for us to consider what our faith looks like. And so what does our faith look like to ourselves, as we hold up that mirror and look at our spiritual life? What does our faith look like to other people? Most importantly, what does our faith look like to God? Well, I trust that our faith will lead us to having that eternal life which comes through Jesus Christ, His son. Here is a challenge that I would like to leave with you today: I will live by my faith in the Son of God, and I will join with what He is doing in my life. None of us know exactly what that looks like. But someday we will, as we continue to walk in step with the Savior. I would encourage you to know, today, that indeed God is working in your life, and I would encourage you to live a life of faith knowing that.

**VIDEO CLIP

Has anyone ever asked you the question, how is God working in your life? Well, if that's the case, then how did you respond? Did you give some specifics about how you have seen God working in your life and moving and shaking and doing things perhaps you did not expect? Or did you say, well, I haven't seen God working in my life. You know, when we stop to think about it, we recognize that God is the God of the universe. He is always working. He is always active and involved in His world. He is also involved personally in your life and in mine. Now, He may be involved in our lives that we can readily see and understand, but oftentimes He works behind the scenes. Oftentimes, He is doing things that we cannot even imagine. But God is always at work. He is providing solutions. He is solving problems. He is leading and guiding us in the direction we need to go. And never can we just sit still and wait for God to just show up and do something, but we take that step. We take the initiative. We move ahead knowing that God moves with us, that He is going where we are going and we are walking, working and walking in connection with the Lord God Almighty. And as we do that, those blessings and those opportunities begin to unfold right before our very eyes. We begin to realize how God is working in our life, and it is absolutely amazing. I would encourage you today, as you think about your relationship with God that you keep moving, keep moving ahead from one day to the next, and then begin to experience all the many blessings that God has in store for you.

**CONCLUSION

Thank you for being our guest today on "Key to the Kingdom." I trust this message from Jesus’ second miraculous sign encouraged us in our faith. If you would like to listen to it again, it is available on our website, keytothekingdom.com. There you can download today's message, entitled, "How Is God Working in My Life?" It is free to do so and no commitment or obligation is required. A number of other lessons are on the website as well, and I encourage you to find those which might be of interest to you. More information about this Mass Media ministry is readily available and you are invited to look at what is offered. If you would like to keep up with us on a regular basis, you can download our free app onto your smart-phone. Many are also following us on Facebook®. Every Sunday evening, a new devotional thought is uploaded for your consideration. Every week we share Bible lessons, which hopefully inspire and encourage you to live in a closer relationship with the Lord. Thank you for taking time to join us for today's message. And please, consider joining us again next week as we continue to study the Bible on “Key to the Kingdom.”