HOW MUCH FAITH DO YOU HAVE?

In the gospel of John, John's main interest is that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:31). While the other gospels stress a need for personal salvation and the mission of why Jesus came, John's main emphasis is on us believing that Jesus is the Sson of God.   "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).

The entire gospel of John was written so that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

In the text, John 11:42, Jesus makes a statement while praying to God the father and before raising Lazarus from the dead.  He says,  Father, I know you hear me, but, I'm praying out loud, and (the reason that I'm going to do this in front of them) is so that they might believe...

Question:  How Much Do You Believe?

How much faith do you have in Jesus?  Because the magnitude of your problem, or trouble, is often times directly related to the magnitude of the faith that Jesus wants to bring us to.

In other words, often times, the reason that we have troubles and disappointments, is not to frustrate us, but to enlarge our faith.

I remember when Sandra and I started this ministry. We started in our living room.  But my living room became too small.   I remember, Ramada Inn wanted $75 per week for a room.  I did not have the faith for $75 dollars per week.  But the problem came anyway...

God often allows problems in our life, so that our belief ( so that our faith can be increased in him).   Jesus wants us to know that he is bigger than our problems...

Three things that Jesus wants us to believe:

1. Jesus wants us to believe that It's never too late to call on his name.

In this text, Jesus friend Lazarus had gotten sick.  But Jesus did not come right away.  He waited.  Sometimes God waits to answer our problem, because he want us to know that he's never late, he always right on time.

2. Jesus wants us to believe that He Is... Able. John 11:21; 25

Acts 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Martha, the sister of Jesus, said: Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But Jesus said to Martha, I Am.  And as long as I Am, you don't need to worry because HE IS.  Able.

Often times, the reason that we have problems in our life is because Jesus wants you to know who He Is.

3. Jesus wants us to believe that He is Life.

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life.  In other words, there is not life without Jesus.

All of the ups and downs that we go through day after day, is to get us to one point of understand   And that point is that life without Jesus, is really no life at all.  When you come to understand that Jesus is our life, then you've  learned the one lesson that all of nature has been teaching us.  And that one lesson is that Jesus is the only way, truth, and the life.