Unbelief to Belief

So with that said, I would invite you to take your Bible this morning and turn with me to the Gospel of John, John chapter 4. Gospel of John, John chapter 4, we are in our series through the Gospel of John. Christ the Son of God, believe and live, and this morning we will finish up chapter 4 and we will cover verses 43 through 54. John chapter 4 verses 43 through 54. Now this morning we will transition in two different ways in the text that we have before us. Now when I say transition, I mean that there is a transition in the ministry of Jesus in two different ways. First, Jesus will make his way back to Galilee.

In chapter 4 verse 3 he says that he left Judea and he departed for Galilee, but verse 4 says that he had to pass through Samaria. Of course we have learned that Jesus had a productive ministry in the town of Sakhar in Samaria, but now we see that he finally makes his way back to Galilee. Now why do you say back, you might say? He performed his first miracle of turning the water into wine in Cana and Galilee, which we studied in chapter 2 verses 1 through 12. So he, that's Jesus, transitions from Samaria back to Galilee. Now the second transition is that Jesus will make his way back to a people who express unbelief.

Now in Samaria Jesus enjoyed a great level of belief, did he not? Was it not the woman who expressed a great level of belief? Remember that woman there at the well? And the Samaritan people expressed a great level of belief. Now as he comes back to Galilee we will see that he transitions back to what I call a John chapter 2 verses 23 through 25 people. Those who knew of his miracles in a great way, but they still did not believe. Now before we get into the text this morning, I want to give us a breakdown of the different levels of unbelief that we find in the Gospels.

Now I ran across this breakdown of these different levels of unbelief from John MacArthur, and he gives us a list and I thought it'd be very helpful for our understanding of passages like chapter 2 verse 23 through 25, which we've already studied. Remember that passage, remember that sermon that we had? It was titled "Superficial Faith." I told you that we really could call it the "Unbelieving Believers." And this will help us this morning to understand passages like that and the passage that we will look at this morning. And it will help us in the future as we continue to discover the different types of people that Jesus encounters.

Let me go through this list and I will help you to summarize it when we get through the list for your own notes. First, there are those who did not believe because of the lack of exposure. Andrew and John were these types of individuals in chapter 4 verses 35 through 37. They were unbelievers and all they needed was proper exposure. John the Baptist brought to them the truth that they needed and they immediately followed Christ. These people have shallow unbelief and they are just waiting for the revelation of the truth of God. So the first type is those who are unbelievers and they suffer from a lack of exposure.

That's exactly what was going on in Andrew and John's life. What did John the Baptist say? He said, "Look, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," and immediately what did they do? They left and they followed Jesus. The second type of person is the person who does not believe because of the lack of information. The lack of information, the Submaritan woman that we just studied fits this category. This woman needed the correct information as well as the supernatural knowledge of her sin. Jesus not only revealed her sin, but he brought her the correct information concerning the Messiah.

These people require more than exposure to the person of Christ. They are less prepared than the first group and she and they needed to hear the truth of the Word of God to persuade them. That's what we saw exemplified with the Submaritan woman. The third group, these are the people who do not believe because of the lack of evidence. Those who do not believe because of a lack of evidence. These people were found in chapter 2 verses 23 through 24 that we have already studied. These people have seen the miracles or the signs there at the Passover, but the signs that they saw did not bring them the saving faith.

These people needed or they wanted more signs to prove Christ's claims. These people have heard the claims of Christ, but they desire more. They desire more evidence that the claims of Christ are true. And then the fourth group of those who are unbelieving are those who are religious and self-righteous and they deliberately harden their hearts and reject Christ and because of their rejection of Christ, they harden their hearts even more. Many of the religious leaders were examples of individuals such as these. These people refused the claims of Christ and many times they hold on to an outward religion and an outward self-righteousness.

So to help you in your notes, first, those who are in a position of unbelief because of a lack of exposure. Second, those who are in a position of unbelief because of a lack of information. Third, those who are in a position of unbelief because of a lack of evidence. And fourth, those who are in a position of unbelief because they deliberately harden their hearts. A lack of exposure, a lack of information, a lack of evidence, and those who deliberately harden their hearts. I know that took some time, but it will help us understand, now listen, who we're going to look at this morning.

Because this applies in a great way to the people here in Galilee that Jesus is going to encounter. Jesus encountered people in Galilee who were from this third level of unbelief. They were not impressed with his words. They wanted signs. They wanted proof. They wanted more evidence as to who he was. And as we continue through this Gospel, we will see these different types of people who are at different levels of unbelief. Now this morning, the title of the message is "Unbelief to Belief" because out of this group of unbelieving people in Galilee, there is one who does come to a place of belief.

We're going to break these verses down and we're going to look at unbelief revealed, unbelief confronted, and unbelief to belief. Unbelief revealed, unbelief confronted, and unbelief to belief. And the title of the message comes from those last verses, verses 50 through 53. So let's go to the text together. Let's read the text together and then we'll dive into our message this morning. Verse 43. "And after two days," of course he was there in some area, "he went forth from there into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country." Verse 45.

"So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast." Now that's referring to the Passover. "For they themselves also went to the feast." Verse 46. "He came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water to wine. And there was a certain royal official," some translations say nobleman, "whose son was sick at Capernaum. And when he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and he was requesting him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

Jesus therefore said to him, 'Unless you people see the signs and the wonders, you simply will not believe.' The royal official said to him, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.' And Jesus said to him, 'Go your way, your son lives.'" The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off. And as he was now going on, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better.

And they said therefore to him, 'Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him.' So the father knew that it was at the hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed in his whole household." Verse 54, this is again the second sign that Jesus performed when he had come out of Judea into Galilee. Now, I've already given you the breakdown of the message this morning. There are only three truths, unbelief revealed, unbelief confronted, and unbelief to believe. So let's look at truth number one, unbelief revealed out of verses 43 through 45. Let's go back to the text.

Verse 43, "And after two days he went forth from there in the Galilee, for he himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country." So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they themselves also went to the feast. Now, here in these verses we see that after two days in some area, we already know it was very productive. Jesus went to Galilee, which was what he had previously determined to do. And we know that from chapter 4 earlier, verses 3, verses 4 right in there.

Now, in getting into Galilee, Jesus discovered different types of people in Galilee. Now remember, Jesus knew what was in man, and he did not need anyone to bear witness concerning mankind nor their hearts. But when he gets to Galilee, he discovers the type of people that they were. Now, notice out of these verses how John, the apostle, reveals the Galileans unbelief. First notice, Jesus was not accepted by his own people. Look at verse 44, "For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country." Now, we're probably familiar with passages like that. What are we seeing here? Jesus was not accepted by his own people.

Now, the English Standard Version reads "Home Town." The King James is exactly like the New American Standard, and it reads "Own Country." Now, going back to the original language, this word can be translated "Home Town" or "Home Country." So, what is meant here? If you know your Bible, you know that this was not Jesus' hometown. So, what is meant here by this phrase, by these words? This must be understood that this was Jesus' home country. This was Jesus coming to his own country, coming to his own people, coming to his own region, the region of Galilee. One of the Bible commentators that I read, D.A.

Carson, he basically says Jesus went back to Jewish turf. That's a very modern term, but it does explain the original text accurately. Jesus leaves some area, and he does not go to his own hometown, but he goes to his own people, and he's back on Jewish turf. Jesus is with his own people. Now, what do we see here? There was a rejection of Jesus by his own people, and we can see this in other places in the Gospels, the synoptic Gospels. Matthew 13, starting in verse 54. Mark 6, starting in verse 1. Luke 4, starting in verse 14. "All described the fact that his own people rejected him." So, what do we see?

Jesus was not accepted by his own people, and that's exactly what that verse, verse 44, means. Second, I want you to see Jesus was received by some in Galilee. See, it almost seems like a contradiction, because there's a rejection in verse 44, but notice verse 45. "So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast," talking about the Passover feast. Now, we must clarify this receiving. This was not saving faith that is demonstrated here.

These are those who, just like in chapter 2, verse 23 through 25, believed in Jesus, but only in his miracles, not in him as Messiah. They were attracted to his miracles, but not to his Messiahship. We see this connection by John saying that they were at the feast, the Passover. They were at that Passover, and they saw his miracles, really his signs, John likes to use that word, but they did not demonstrate saving faith. John MacArthur calls them curiosity seekers. I think that's very accurate. And they welcomed him merely as a miracle worker, again, focusing on the miracle and not on who he really and truly was.

These are those who followed because of the signs, because of the wonders, but they did not possess saving faith. Now, for you, for me, for us, as we take this text and apply it to us, we must see that people are exposed today in the life of the church. Not everybody in the life of the church and surrounding church work and surrounding kingdom work are truly born-again people. And what Jesus does later, we see that he exposes these people for who they actually were.

And what we must see is that it is the preaching of the Word of God, the moving of the Spirit of God, in the work of the church that exposes and divides people and proves who they truly are. See, the problem today is a lot of pastors and preachers and churches do not accurately and thoroughly preach the Word, so therefore people are not divided by the Word. And see, that's exactly what we will see a little later. But as you study revivals and as you study church movements and as you study the outpouring of the Spirit of God in the local church, especially in church history, you will see where people were divided.

And let me tell you, specifically, when people begin to be saved in the life of the church, there are religious people in the life of the church who do not like it. I've seen it with my own eyes through the years. And many times they will reject this and they will vehemently deny this. This went on during the first Great Awakening with one of the greatest men of God America ever produced, and that was Jonathan Edwards, as well as many other leaders in that day. In the 1730s, the first Great Awakening really began and it impacted all of the colonies.

But during that time, one of the characteristics of that movement of God was that there were many people in the life of the church, many church members who profess Christ who were converted. And a lot of people in the life of the church did not like that. And there became these phrases and these groups. There were some called the New Lights. They were in favor of the revival movement and the work of God. And then there were what's called the O Lights. They rejected that movement of God.

And when you study that movement and when you divide that movement, what you see is the preaching of the truth of the Word of God from men like Edwards and the movement of the Spirit of God divided people, improved people for who they were. And there were many people in the life of the church. They wanted to hold on to religion. They wanted to hold on to their position. And they did not want to be exposed for who they were. And see, that's exactly what we see here. These Galileans, they had knotted their head, tipped their hat towards Jesus' miracles. But yet we see that there were some who received Him, but it was not saving faith.

They were curiosity seekers. They welcomed Him as a miracle worker, but not as the Messiah. Jesus would never have it that way. Their unbelief is revealed. So let's continue to move on. Let's notice unbelief. It is confronted. Unbelief, it is confronted. Look at verse 46. "He came, therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water to wine, and there was a certain royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and he was questioning him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

Jesus therefore said to him, 'Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.' And the royal official said to him, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.'" Now, in these verses we are introduced to a specific individual. This royal official or this nobleman. The King James reads nobleman. The English Standard simply says official. Either translation really is sufficient. Now, who was this individual? He was a nobleman, a royal official. Now, it is doubtful that he was a Roman official.

Most Bible commentators believe that he was Jewish, and most Bible commentators believe that he was a Jewish official under who is called Herod Antipas, a puppet king set up by the Romans. But he was no doubt an official, a royal official, a noble official, and he is in a place of unbelief. Now, I want us to notice some details about this situation with this nobleman as he comes to Christ and his unbelief is confronted. First, notice he had a sick son. That's pretty obvious out of verse 46. This is obvious from the text, but this tells us that he has a need in his life which the others there in Galilee were not experiencing.

This sets him apart from the others there in Galilee. So we have this sick son. Second, I want you to notice that he went to Jesus for help. Look at verse 47. "When he heard that Jesus came out of Judea and of Galilee, he went to him, and he was requesting him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death." Now, there are some specifics that I want us to notice out of verse 47. Notice that he had heard of Jesus. Now, questions. Did he hear of what Jesus did previously in Galilee at the wedding feast? Remember, he turned the water into wine. Did he hear of the miracles Jesus had performed at Passover?

Was he there at the Passover, and had he seen the signs for himself? Now, we do not know, but he heard that Jesus was there in Galilee. Notice he was asking him to come. Now, if you do some language study, the tenths of the verb here indicates that he was begging repeatedly for Jesus to come and to heal his son. This was not a one-time request. This man was imploring. This man was begging Jesus to come. And notice his son was at the point of death. This indicates the severity of the situation. His son was at the point of death, and this official was in desperate, desperate need of help. So, this nobleman went to Jesus for help.

The third thing I want us to see comes out of verse 48, and that is Jesus confronted the unbelief. Look at verse 48. Jesus therefore said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." What do we see out of this verse? There are some specifics which we need to notice out of this verse. Notice that this was a strong and direct rebuke. We know that Jesus knows all men and what was in the hearts of men. And he knew the condition of their hearts. So, notice this was a strong rebuke, and it was an accurate rebuke. But also notice that he is rebuking the people plural. Go back to the verse.

The real official said to him, "Come," excuse me, back up to verse 48, "and Jesus therefore said to him, 'Unless you people see.'" Now, what do we see here? Jesus is rebuking the people plural. One might think that Jesus is speaking directly to the nobleman, except for the language. The verb "see" here is in the plural, indicating that this confrontation is for the nobleman, but also for the people in general. He is rebuking not just the nobleman, not just that specific individual, but the people in general. So, what do we see? First, he had a sick son. Second, he went to Jesus for help. And then third, Jesus confronted their unbelief.

And listen, this official did not possess a level of-- this official did possess a level of faith that the people did not have. But his faith was a very shallow, non-saving faith while the people possessed general unbelief. That is why this confrontation for the nobleman-- this confrontation was for the nobleman, as well as the Galilean people. Now, what do we need to see out of these verses? We must see that there are a lot of people who come to church-- now listen, they come to church because of a need. You realize that? There are a lot of people who come into the life of the church to have their problems fixed.

A lot of times people will come because they have a troubled marriage. A lot of times people will come because they are diagnosed with a sickness, maybe cancer. A lot of times people will come because they are struggling with their children, struggling with their teenagers. There is a whole host of reasons why people would come into the church and affiliate with the church and assimilate into the life of the church. But no matter what the reason or reasons why people come to church-- now listen, we must give them the truth of God's Word and not only the truth of God's Word, but the truth of true Bible conversion.

A lot of people in the life of the church today would bring this individual and they would quiz this individual and they would say, "This individual is honestly motivated. Slap him on the back and make him a member of the church and declare him a Christian." Unconverted. And see, we must see that when people come into the life of the church, we must give them the Word of God and true conversion. See, that's one of the problems I have with what's called the "Seeker Friendly Movement." I don't have a problem with dealing with people who are seeking in life.

The problem I have with the "Seeker Friendly Movement" is that they have altered the message of the church to make them feel better. Jesus did not do this. Jesus gave this individual and these people what they needed. That's why He confronted them. And if people come into the life of the church and they are seeking, they are seeking answers, they have problems, they have needs, it's okay. You bring them on. But what we will do is give them the truth of the Word of God, true conversion. And listen, when God saves them, then God will enable them to be able to deal with those problems because a lot of times those problems never go away.

See, we've Americanized the gospel of the church, and in many ways we have taught people that if they'll come to Christ, all their problems will go away. That's not the case. But this individual came and Jesus confronted this individual. We see in verse 49 in his heart, what does he say? He said, "Sir, come down before my child dies, a great need." But Jesus confronted him with who he really was. Let's continue on. Let's look at truth number three. Let's notice the unbelief to belief. The unbelief moves to belief.

Starting in verse 50, Jesus said to him, "Go your way, your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and he started off. And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he, that's the nobleman, inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said, "Therefore to him yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives," and he himself believed in his whole household. Now here we see a turn in the story which reaches the apostle John's purpose. John wanted to show the evangelism of Jesus.

John wanted to show that there were those who truly believed in Christ. And this falls right in line with John's purpose of the book. John's purpose of the book was that others might believe and live. And he's simplifying that in the life of this nobleman. Now let's notice the details of the nobleman's transition from unbelief to belief. First, Jesus said, "Go, your son lives," right there in verse 50. Now this word "go" is in the imperative, meaning that this is a command. But also notice that in this command, Jesus tells him that his son lives. Now we know what verse 52 says, that he was healed at the time.

The nobleman did not yet know that he had been healed. But what does it say? The nobleman believed in what he said. This indicates that there was a change in the nobleman's belief. MacArthur says he moved from the third level of belief to the second level of belief, moving from one wanting a sign or a miracle to one needing more accurate information concerning Christ. What did he need to see? That Jesus was the Messiah. And so what we see is Jesus said, "Go, your son lives." And in acting in obedience, he demonstrates that he moves in his level of belief. The second thing, the slaves bring good news. Look at verse 51.

As he was going down, his slaves met him saying that his son was living. Here we see that he receives the news that his son was not just better, but he was alive. Remember, he was at the point of death. The third thing we see is that the nobleman learns of the timing of the miracle. Look at verse 52. "So he inquired of the slaves the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." And we see that the nobleman understands the timing of the miracle. Evidently, there had been an amount of time which had lapsed since his encounter with Jesus and his meeting with the servants.

After waiting, no doubt in fear, no doubt in worry, the nobleman discovers that his son was healed at the very hour Jesus proclaimed that his son would live. Fourth, we see the nobleman believes. Look at verse 53. "So the father knew that it was at the hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed." What do we see? The nobleman believes. Here we see this process come to fruition and the nobleman believes fully in Christ. At first he knew of Jesus' miracles. Then he believes in Christ's words by moving along in this process of belief.

Then at last he reaches saving faith through the miracle which Christ performs for the nobleman. Remember that the miracles were to be signs. Did we not learn that early? These signs were to point to who? Christ. Christ is the miracle worker. Christ is the one who performs these miracles. And this sign pointed him to Christ. And the nobleman comes to a position of biblical belief. Fifth, I want us to see that his entire household believes. What do we see?

"So the father knew that it was at the hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed in his whole household." Now this is not an uncommon occurrence in the Scriptures. For your own notes and your own study, we see this in Acts 11-14, Acts 16-15, Acts 16-31-34, Acts 18-8, 1 Corinthians 1-6, 1 Corinthians 16-5, all speak of entire households believing. Acts 11-14, 16-15, 16 starting in verse 31, 18 verse 8, 1 Corinthians 1-16, chapter 16 verse 15, all speak of an entire household believing because one individual believes. See? We see this process of belief and the specific time of his belief.

In this nobleman, there was a process of moving along in his belief and his moment of saving belief. We see the entire work. And see for you, for me. Now get this. We must understand this process. Now let me explain myself. Conversion is a one-time event. It is a historical event. But the work of God to that point, the level of belief to that point is a process. And that's exactly what we see right here with the nobleman. There are many people who believe, but they do not possess saving faith or saving belief. And many people are on this journey, on this road towards biblical belief and biblical conversion. Now how do we do this?

How do we deal with this? Properly. We must understand conversion. Because if we do not understand conversion, when people come along and they will articulate a certain level of belief, we will automatically pat them on the back, declare them Christian, make them members of the church, when actually they're in the process of coming to the Savior. We must understand the process and we must understand conversion. And listen, information, the correct information is important here.

We must understand that it is biblical teaching, biblical preaching, and the Word of God, and the movement of God, and the movement of the Spirit of God that brings people through this process of belief to conversion. The process might look different for you and for me, but conversion is always universal. A lot of times in the life of the church, this process of belief takes a long time for some, but yet for some it is a short amount of time. Go back and study the life of John Bunyan, the famous Christian who wrote Pilgrim's Progress. If you go back and you study his life, he was under great conviction for a very long period of time.

And what do we see that? That is that process of God moving them through belief to a conversion, belief in conversion. Now, I don't want to confuse you there. What we see with this individual, this nobleman, he believed in his miracles, he believed in the Word of Jesus, and then finally he believed in him as the Messiah. And it was the miracle that brought that work to fruition in his life. And the important thing for you and me is, listen, conversion is universal.

Conversion is universal from India to America, from rich or poor, from yesterday to today to in the future, but yet the process where God works to bring them to that point is different. Look at Andrew. What did he do? He heard the words of John the Baptist. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and he immediately follows Christ, but yet this nobleman, what does he do? He goes through the process of a sick son, believing in the miracles, believing in the Word of Jesus, to finally believing in who Jesus was, both converted, but a different process. So what do we see? Belief to unbelief.

Now as we move towards conversion, I want to take you to some wording that the Bible commentator, Warren Wearsby, uses to describe this nobleman's journey. And I want you to get this because I think this will help you, help me, help us understand conversion and the process of people coming to conversion. And I like how Warren Wearsby articulates it. Warren Wearsby says that this man, this nobleman, began his journey with crisis faith. Was he not in a crisis? He was losing his son, the son that he loved. Was he not? His son was sick? He comes to Jesus? What does he say? Oh, would you please come down and help me?

Do we not see a lot of people in our lives and around us who are in crisis? You know, people who are in crisis, and listen close, are ripe for the gospel. Not this cheap self-help gospel. Not this oh come join the church and your life will get better. No, people who are in crisis are ripe for the gospel. And see, a lot of times people who are in crisis, they will have crisis faith. Their hardened heart will get softer. Those distractions will become less important because they're in the grips of that crisis. No doubt that nobleman's, noble royal business seemed less important because he was losing his son. Crisis faith.

Then we see the nobleman's faith changed. It changed from crisis faith to confident faith. I like how Wearsby uses that word, confident faith. What do we see? He believed what Jesus said. And he believed what Jesus said even to the point where he delayed his trip home. Isn't that what he did? Took a little time before he left. And see, he believed it says, but what did he believe in? He believed in what Jesus said, not who Jesus was. And so it moved from a crisis faith to a confident faith. And we see people in the life of the church and around us, and their faith will develop into confident faith. Many times they're unconverted people.

And many times they'll come into the life of the church. And many times they start listening to preaching and listening to teaching. Maybe they start attending our Bible study classes. Maybe they start identifying with a particular set of convictions, developing their own convictions, developing a theology in their life. And they are expressing a confident faith. But that does not mean they have saving faith. Then we see this nobleman's faith changed again. Goes from crisis faith to confident faith. And now it's confirmed faith. The sun had been healed. And through this confirmation of the healing of the sun, the nobleman was converted.

Remember the purpose of the miracle. John calls them signs. It is a sign to point to Christ. And he was not hung up on the miracle. He was caught up in the miracle worker. And the process of bringing him to conversion was complete. It was confirmed faith. And we must understand that people must be converted and that faith must be confirmed. Now listen. By the witness of the spirit in their life, and the witness of their own lips. I don't care how biblically illiterate they are. I don't care how religious or non-religious they are. When they are converted, they will be able to confirm that conversion. All you have to do is ask them.

Listen, any time anyone has ever questioned me or quizzed me on my conversion, it never offends. It just lights my fuse. Why? Because I never get over telling people how God saved me. But yet when you have someone, they do not have a confirmed saving faith. And you begin to ask them about how God saved them. A lot of times it will expose them. He had confirmed faith. And then it progresses even more. Then we see that the nobleman's faith became, and I love how Wiersby says this, contagious faith. What do we see? He shared his experience with others. And they were converted as well. Contagious faith.

See, we must see that when people are converted, they will have the desire to tell at least one. They will have the desire for others to be converted. You see that process? Crisis faith, confident faith, confirmed faith, and then it becomes contagious faith. What do we see this morning? We see the journey of the nobleman right there in the quagmire of general unbelief and Galilee. Unbelief to belief. And as we close, I want to ask you this morning, where are you in this process? Come on now, be honest. Where are you in this process? Are you in the place of crisis faith?

Maybe you begin to demonstrate a confident faith, confidence in the Word of God, confidence in Christianity, confidence in things you're learning, but do you have confirmed faith? Your faith has been confirmed by the witness of the Spirit and confirmed that you can articulate that God has taken you from darkness to light, because if you do have confirmed faith, you will have contagious faith, because you will desire for at least one to know that God has saved you. Unbelief to belief. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for the message and the example of this nobleman today. So little information that we know.