John 3:18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Brothers, yesterday I highlighted the fact that John used the word “world” three times in John 3:17 and I challenged you to broaden the scope of your prayer life.
Today I want you to notice that John once again used a word three times in order to drive home a point. The word for today is “believe.” Three times we are reminded that believing is important, eternally important!
Oddly enough some of the most conservative and well-meaning Christians and some of the most liberal humanist have something in common; they both believe that we have no choices. There are some in the Christian camp that believe that God has so micro managed our lives that we have no real choices – we are preordained even before we were created – to either be saved or not. And the humanist is convinced that we are nothing but a bundle of chemical reactions and electrical impulses. In both cases trying to believe anything is futile for, according to their way of thinking we have no real choices.
But the Bible is clear – we have a choice. Three times alone in this verse John highlights this fact. Matter of fact, we live or die according to the strength of our beliefs. We stand condemned or pardoned before God based on our belief – our belief in Jesus Christ. So brothers, what you believe matters!
Yesterday a woman who is facing some very challenging health issues came by the church and asked me to pray for her. Before praying, I asked her two specific questions. First, I asked, “Why do you want me to pray for you?” Secondly, I asked, “What is it specifically that you want me to pray with you about?”
I did not do this to be hard on the woman; I asked those questions to determine what she believed. If her belief about prayer and about God was more like – “I’m desperate and I’ll try anything” then there was a greater worry than her physical issues. If her belief had been that there may or may not be a God and just in case I’ll have a minister pray for me, then there was going to be little power in our prayer of agreement.
You see, before I embarked on the journey from the conference room the lady and I were in to the throne room of Heaven I had to make sure we had the ability to get there – belief was the fuel.
God is sovereign and will do what He will do. However, the Bible is also clear that: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Brother, what you believe matters! Do not pray a condemning prayer. Do not pray doubtfully. Pray in the firm assurance that when you pray God hears and responds. Believe that your prayer moves the hand of God. Believe that when you pray something happens that would not have happened if you had not prayed. Believe my dear brothers that your prayers are the first line of offense, not just a last resort.
Let us pray brothers; let us pray as if we believe what we pray!
The ONE THING 