Believe
God has always wanted His people to believe Him…..but the stress of believe is in the New Testament….we are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
(In the Old Testament, all together, there are 45 times….believe, believed, believeth are said.
In the New Testament believe is said 121 times; believed 92 times, believeth 41 times, believing 8 times, believest 8 times, and believers 2 times.)
John 11:26 “And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
To believe is to put the whole weight of our existence upon. Most illustrate it as a chair….to sit down and put your feet up, so that your whole weight is on it.
I have always like this definition…..the term weight is so right…..for our life is made up of all sorts of weight.
We are made of a spirit….which when we are lost is dark…..and that is great weight.
We are made of a soul which is our personality, which is usually clothed in many layers of “fashion….of the world’s fashion”. What weight is there!
And our body….the weight of which is so worried about these days!
When we believe on Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, we need to put all our weight upon Him.
We believe He will save and keep us….spiritually, personally, and physically.
To believe is not a mental exercise….
I have reasons, so I believe.
No, to believe is to see Christ Jesus….whether He is placed before you by the Bible,…or by witness;….
….we ‘see’ Him.
He is the Son of God, Who died for our sins…and was raised the third day, that we might have newness of life, in Him.
Our hearts are then drawn to Him by the Father (John 6:65)….and we believe….resting on Him….for ourselves.
John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Once we are born again….we are to continue to believe Him (put the weight of our existence upon Him)….for He alone can give us the life we should have.
If we are to preach….He must not only be the message, put the power.
If we are to teach….He must be the lesson, and the give the understanding of it.
If we are to witness….we must show Him.
If we are to take care of our household, He must strengthen and guide us….hold our hands as we speak to our children….and let them go into adulthood.
(It matters not the job….My husband used to work on a boat, [much later he was called to preach]….and the Lord told him, there……”for ye serve the Lord Christ” Colossians 3:23-24.
On the boat, he was serving Christ, as well as anywhere else.)
Our believing, has a direct impact on the results of what we ask:
Matthew 8:13 “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
Matthew 21:22 “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
Mark 9:24 “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
One was spoken to a Roman centurion…..
…one to His disciples,….
…..and one to a Israelite father, distraught over seemingly everyone’s inability to help his son, including himself
(The father said, “I believe, help mine unbelief”. And there is a place for this prayer: when we are in distress and at the end of ourselves.)
The answer is the same.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ….for the request given….
….for we place our weight….ourselves…..on Christ Jesus…in this.
Believe Me, Jesus said, all through HIs ministry….for I am come “to save those which are lost.” (Matthew 18:11)
The last time He spoke to the multitudes of Israel, He spoke again of the one requirement for light and life:
John 12:36-37 “While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them.
But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him:”
What of us? We have seen many things He has done. Are we believing on Him?
The last time He spoke to the chief rulers and Pharisees before His arrest, He spoke of believing on Him, and His Father God:
John 12: 42-46 “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.
And he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent me.
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.”
And in His discourse going to Gethsemane, He spoke of believing to His own disciples….
….believing is putting our whole weight upon. They were soon going to be tested in ways they had not even considered.
They all said they would stand with Him….even in death (Mark 14:31)….but it is hard to know what is in our hearts in the hour of temptation….
….that is why “believe” is so important.
(When we believe, we place ourselves on Christ, the Rock. We often shake and tremble on the Rock, but He is stable, solid, faithful….and will recover us, strengthen us, and restore us.)
John 14:1, 10-12 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.”
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.
Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works that these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.”
After this, He spoke of abiding in His love…..and of the Holy Spirit…..but He did not speak of believing.
Now they just had to do it.
Were there failures? Yes, but they believed….and went on to abide in His love, receive the Holy Spirit in power, and show Christ Jesus to a lost world.
Where is our belief taking us? Let us follow Christ’s example, and go on in His love, by the Holy Spirit,…and show forth our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 