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Phil Campbell

Mitchelton Presbyterian Church

Up til his death in 1949 Robert Ripley spent 40 years travelling around the United States collecting incredible stories and incredibly things. They were the start of a chain of museums he called RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT. There's even a Ripley's Believe it or Not down at Surfers Paradise.

Go to the original RIPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT and you'll find things like the worlds biggest Meccano model of a Ferris Wheel. 7 metres tall. Or you can see the Six legged cow; he lived 14 years with two extra legs growing out his back. Now they've got him stuffed and on display.

Can you believe that?

Ripleys BELIEVE IT OR NOT museums even publish comic strips. Full of incredible stories. Did you know, for example, TIGER WOODS started his golfing career when he was TWO YEARS OLD, in a putting competition with Bob Hope on American TV. I'm not sure who won. But the big thing was, he made it into the Ripleys BELIEVE IT OR NOT Comic book all the way back then. A two year old golfer.

I guess there are all sorts of incredible things that happen. I guess there are all sorts of incredible people. The interesting thing with Ripleys Believe it or Not is that even the title tells you that it doesn't much matter whether you believe it. Or NOT.

Here it is - take a look. Believe it or not. In the end it doesn't much matter if you believe it. Or if you DON'T. Sometimes belief is like that. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes you can take it or leave it. Other times, what you BELIEVE can actually be a matter of LIFE AND DEATH.

Like there's a fire and you're trapped in a building, the huge fire ladder is right outside your window. The fireman says STEP OUT THE WINDOW, hold on to my arm and you'll be safe. What if you say, SORRY, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU. What if you said, "I don't believe you're going to save me at all. You'll let me DROP. I don't believe the ladder's going to hold me. It's too dangerous."

What you believe is a case like that is going to make all the difference in the world. It's going to be a matter of LIFE AND DEATH.

Over the last few weeks we've been looking at the opening verses of John's gospel. Verses 1 to 18. And in those 18 verses, verse 7 and verse 12 both point to the fact that BELIEVING is fundamentally important.

Have a look. Verse 7. Last week we looked at John the Baptist; remember why he came? The reason John the baptist came was to testify about Jesus, so that through him, all men might BELIEVE.

And verse 12. You'll see it again. "Yet to all who received him, to those who BELIEVED IN HIS NAME, he gave the right to become children of God."

We looked at that one a few weeks back. That the way to be part of the FAMILY OF GOD… is to BELIEVE IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

But what exactly does that mean? A friend of mine said to me a while back, Listen, this BELIEVING business isn't quite as simple as it looks. Because he said there's a verse in James that says EVEN THE DEVIL BELIEVES IN JESUS. Which of course he does. Let me tell you, there are very few people who BELIEVE IN JESUS as strongly as the devil does. Which doesn't for a MINUTE mean the devil is a CHILD OF GOD. The devil believes in Jesus. AND HATES HIM.

And so obviously, there's something more to BELIEVING IN JESUS than just agreeing with some facts. Than just giving INTELLECTUALY AGREEMENT to a set of statements about Jesus. And this morning we're going to spend a little bit of time having a closer look at exactly what John means when he's talking about BELIEVING IN JESUS.

If you've been in a bible study group during the week you'll already know it's a bit of a challenge. Because John's got a lot to say about BELIEVING. As you read John's gospel, you'll find the word BELIEVE turns up 88 times. If you want to add the word FAITH, which you should, because in the original Greek is exactly the same word, you get a total of 100 times. Now I did some maths. John's got a total of 879 verses. Which means that he's talking about BELIEVING almost once every eight verses. Which makes it one of the very key issues in the gospel. And something that it's worth putting a bit of time into understanding.

And I want to suggest to you this morning that when John talks about BELIEVING, he's using the word in three different ways. Three ways that all give a PART OF THE PICTURE. There are three aspects to believing that are like three legs on a stool. And they're all important. If any one of them's missing, then you'll more than likely fall over.

Here they are. You'll see them under point three on the outline on your sheet. Which doesn't exactly mean we've almost finished.

John talks about BELIEVING BECAUSE. John talks about BELIEVING THAT. And John talks about BELIEVING IN. And they're all part of the mix that go into a full, balanced sort of belief. Each one's like a leg on a stool, that's stable and strong. Any of them on their own won't stand up. And you need all three.

Let's take a look at them one a time, and as we go I'll tell you what they mean. And can I say to you if you're someone who's not SURE whether you should be believing in Jesus or not, if you're not quite sure where you stand, if you're not as CONFIDENT as you think you should be, then listen hard. Because this is important.

NUMBER 1. It's BELIEF BECAUSE. As you read John's gospel, you'll keep running into people who are hanging round with Jesus BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DOES. They're the sort of people who love to go to Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum, because they say I'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT.

And let me tell you, when Jesus was around there were some great things to see. Jesus turned water into wine. If you were there at the wedding, you would have been drinking it. Jesus healed people who were sick. He raised people from the dead. And BECAUSE he did those things, there were people who said, WE BELIEVE. We've seen it. We like it. We'll believe it. The sort of people who'll pay ten bucks down at the Gold Coast to go to Ripleys.

Now for an example of that, just turn over the page to verse 50 here in chapter 1. It's the calling of the first disciples, and in verse 44 Jesus finds Philip, and he says to him, FOLLOW ME. And Philip does. But first of all he heads off to find Nathanael, who's putting his feet up under the shade of a big old fig tree, and Philip says to Nathanael, come and have a look at this guy. We've found the Messiah, the one Moses wrote about in the old testament.

Now Nathanael's got better things to do; I mean, he's there under the fig tree with a long cool drink, and you can sympathise, I guess. I mean, it's not every day you get told the Messiah's in town. And he grumbles a bit, and he argues a bit. But he goes.

And they walk; it's quite a distance. But as soon as Jesus sees him, before they're even introduced, HE KNOWS HIM. And Nathanael's dumbfounded. He says, HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?

It's a weird feeling, isn't it. You know, Maurie and I went to a conference on Thursday. As we were leaving, Maurie said, I'm going to make sure I take of my name tag so I don't walk around looking like a goose. Which reminded me of the time I was at another conference and had a name tag on and I forgot to take it off. And I went into a shop to buy lunch. The guy behind the counter says, HI PHIL, HOWS IT GOING. And I thought, WHO IS THIS GUY? Where do I know him from? How's he know my name.

Well, Nathanael hasn't got a nametag. And he says to Jesus, HOW DO YOU KNOW ME? And Jesus says to him in verse 48, "I saw you while you were under the fig tree, before Philip called you."

Now compared to raising someone from the dead, this isn't much of a miracle, is it? But it's enough to bring Nathanael to his knees. And Nathanael says, "Rabbi, YOU'RE THE SON OF GOD; you're the KING OF ISRAEL."

And look at what Jesus says to him there in verse 50. We're talking about BELIEVING BECAUSE. And Jesus says to him, "You believe BECAUSE I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You'll see greater things than that." That's just a start. Stick around.

But there it is. Just takes one bit of evidence, one sign of the power of Jesus, and Nathanael BELIEVES BECAUSE OF IT. Just like that.

Now it seems to me there are Christians today who have been sucked in to the lie that FAITH, that BELIEVING IN JESUS, it's just a BLIND LEAP IN THE DARK. Without any evidence to back it up. People say, well, you can't really trust the bible. It's not reliable. You can't really take the miracles seriously. There's no real evidence Jesus existed.

To which I want to say to you, THERE'S PLENTY OF EVIDENCE. There's plenty of evidence to back up the reliability of the bible. Historians are finding more and more little bits of archaeology that confirm even the little side details; Acts 28, Paul is on the Island of Malta, he says a government official called PUBLIUS put him up for the night. Historians said there was no such person. Until a few years back, they dug up an ancient bit of footpath from Malta with an inscription on it. That said it was paid for by PUBLIUS, who was the chief of Public Works. It happens over and over again. The bible is backed up by EVIDENCE.

If you want reasons to believe, if you want to BELIEVE BECAUSE, then look at the evidence. It's there. Take the time to take a look.

But can I say to you as well, that all the evidence in the world isn't going to make you BELIEVE in Jesus in a BALANCED WAY. And you'll see that if you turn over quickly to chapter 11, where Jesus has just stood outside the tomb of his friend Lazarus who's been dead for four whole days, and he says, I'm going to wake him up. And they take away the stone, and he prays, AND LAZARUS COMES OUT. In full public view.

Go to verse 45 and you'll see what happens. Chapter 11 verse 45. "therefore, many of the Jews who'd come to visit Mary, who'd come to pay their respects, and had seen what Jesus did PUT THEIR FAITH IN HIM. They believed. BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY SAW. But get this. Some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done, and they call a meeting of the Jewish council. AND THEY DECIDE TO KILL HIM. Because of the miraculous signs he's doing.

You might be the sort of person who says if only I could see a Miracle, if only there was more evidence, I'd believe. But the fact is, the very same sign that makes some people BELIEVE make some people want to KILL HIM. Saw it. Believed it. So wanted to KILL HIM.

There's a thing in a lot of churches these days, they say, let's do MIRACLES LIKE JESUS DID, and people will HAVE TO BELIEVE. WRONG. And in the end, BELIEVING BECAUSE OF THE SIGNS Jesus did is only part of the picture.

Let's move on to the second angle. The second leg of the stool. There's evidence. So you can BELIEVE BECAUSE. But on top of that, WE NEED TO BELIEVE THAT. Stick with it if your head's starting to spin. We're up to second sort and there's only one more to go.

Believe THAT. By which I mean, there are actually CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO BELIEVE. To be able to say you've really believed in Jesus. You need to have CONTENT to your belief.

Now it seems to me we live in a time when people tend to POO POO the idea of RIGHT DOCTRINE. I knew a guy who was a Christadelphian, they're a sect that puts out little magazines. And they mention Jesus a lot. They believe THAT Jesus was just a man. They believe THAT the devil doesn't exist. They believe THAT - well, they believe all sorts of weird stuff. The thing that gets to me is that I know some Christians who'll say WHAT'S IT MATTER.

What about Jehovah's witnesses. They believe THAT JESUS is the Son of God. SORT OF. But then under their breath they say, so are all of us. And still there are Christians who want to say, ah, look, it doesn't matter WHAT you believe, as long as you're sincere about it. Like a Scripture Union rep who came to see me in New South Wales once, and said, we don't believe in teaching DOCTRINE.

To which I want to say, RUBBISH. What we believe is fundamentally IMPORTANT. You can believe the sky is GREEN as much as you like, it's not going to change the TRUTH. And when it comes to believing in Jesus, it's even MORE IMPORTANT - that what you're BELIEVING is WHAT REALLY IS.

We're doing a lot of flipping backwards and forwards this morning, but have a look at some verses that talk about BELIEVING THAT.

If you're in chapter 11, there's one to look at right here.

Back a few verses, John 11:25; just BEFORE Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He says to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and BELIEVES IN ME will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

YES LORD, says Martha. I BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD who was to come into the world.

That's the content. THAT he's got the power of life and death. That he's THE CHRIST. The King. That he's the Son of God.

Similar thing if you turn back a bit and have a look at John 6 verse 69. There's been a whole bunch of people, they've been GOOD TIME disciples. When things get rough they dip out. And Jesus says to the twelve, he says, ARE YOU GOING TOO? And Simon Peter says this. Because he's figured it out. The truth's been dawning on him. He says, Lord, who else would we go to? Because you've got the words of eternal life. And get this in verse 69. Chapter 6 verse 69. We believe and Know THAT… that what? THAT YOU ARE THE HOLY ONE OF GOD. God's Messiah.

Now you can go through a whole lot of other verses like that and make a list. A list of all the things about Jesus that need to be believed for it to be a RIGHT BELIEF. John 10:38. Believe THAT THE FATHER IS IN ME AND I AM IN THE FATHER. That the Father and the Son are ONE.

Right belief is believing that Jesus is who Jesus is.

PAUSE>>> There are two dangers. Here's the first one. It's thinking that BELIEVING RIGHT THINGS … is all you have to do.

That's the Pharisees mistake. Sometimes it's the Presbyterians mistake too. And it's the devil's mistake. That you can sit there in church and you can know your bible and you can correct people on the slightest hint of wrong doctrine… and still not be right with God. Did you know that the DEVIL has very good doctrine. He believes THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, the Son of God. No doubt about it. He'd get first class honours in a theology degree. Because he knows his enemy.

But here's the second problem. And that's to throw out the baby with the bathwater. And say that because BELIEVING THE TRUTH IS NEVER ENOUGH ON IT'S OWN, that it's not important at all.

Look, it's tiring, isn't it. Trying to understand the bible. Trying to stand for the truth. Saying people like the Jehovah's witnesses have got it wrong. Much nicer to say, Hey, doesn't matter. Just believe whatever you like. As long as you believe something. It's a danger, because if you're not believing in Jesus as he is, you've made an IDOL. You've created a GOD TO SUIT YOURSELF. Instead of knowing him as he is.

Like I said at the start, BELIEVING RIGHT THINGS about Jesus, believing THAT he's the Son of God, that he's one with the Father, that he's the Messiah - it's not enough on it's own. But you need to have it. It's like the SECOND LEG of the three legged stool. It won't stand on its own. But it has to be there with the others.

And that brings us to leg number three, which there on the sheet I've called BELIEVE IN. We've looked at believing BECAUSE. We've looked at BELIEVING THAT. Now for the big one.

It's something more than just believing right facts. It's something more than just being persuaded by the evidence of a few miracles. It's the point of PERSONAL COMMITMENT. To actually ENTRUST YOURSELF TO JESUS.

And if you read through John carefully, you'll see that this is the one that Jesus wants most of all. Because it's the glue of what we call a RELATIONSHIP. It's what you do when you TRUST ANOTHER PERSON.

It's like the old story of Blondin, the famous French tightrope walker. He strung a cable across the Niagara Falls. There's a huge crowd watching. And as they watch, he walks across. And all the way back. Like he was out for a Sunday stroll. The crowd goes wild. He says to them, do you believe THAT I COULD WALK ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE WITH THIS WHEELBARROW. And they all cheer and scream and say YEAH! We believe THAT you can walk across there with a wheelbarrow. No problems. That's a good case of believing THAT. They've seen him walk it easily. Shouldn't be too much harder. They believe that he could do it.

But here's believing IN. Blondin says, okay, you believe I can do it. You've seen me walk across there. WHO'S GOING TO GET IN THE WHEELBARROW. And come with me.

And there was a deathly hush. See, it's a different thing altogether, isn't it. You can believe THAT he can do it. You can believe BECAUSE. But when it comes to BELIEVING IN, there's an element of personal commitment being called for.

And time after time through John, you see that coming through. We're nearly there. Just turn back and see a couple. Right back in chapter 1 verse 12 where we started. "Yet to all who received him, to those who BELIEVED IN HIS NAME, he gave the right to become children of God." It's talking about that PERSONAL COMMITTMENT. Receiving him. Getting in the wheelbarrow and trusting him for that trip across the wire. JOHN 3:16. Turn over to it. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes IN HIM shall not perish but have eternal life.

You know, what if one of the kids is watching you topping up the car at the service station and says to you, and says Dad, does the car run on OIL or on WATER or on PETROL? The answer is, NONE OF THEM ON THEIR OWN. You need all three.

Same here. And I want to ask you to take a look at yourself this morning, take a look at YOUR belief; because you need a dose of all three. Don't just BLINDLY BELIEVE. Look at the facts. And believe BECAUSE. Don't just switch off your brain and believe RUBBISH. Believe the TRUTH ABOUT JESUS. And insist on it. Believe THAT he was who he says he was. Get it RIGHT. And stick to it.

And most of all, MAKE SURE YOU'VE PUT YOUR TRUST IN HIM. So it's not all just in your head. But that you've acted on it. And put your life in his hands.

I want to finish by asking you to turn over to John chapter 20, verse 30 and 31. Because John tells us here exactly WHY he wrote his gospel. We've spent six weeks looking at it. And here's what he wants us to do.

Chapter 20, right near the end. Jesus did many other miraculous signs that aren't recorded in this book. John's only listed seven of them. But these are written, he says in verse 31, THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD; and that by believing, you may have LIFE IN HIS NAME.

That's written to you. And can you see how all three legs of the stool are in there together. WE weren't there to SEE THE SIGNS. But John's written them down for us. So we've got the BELIEVE BECAUSE. And he's written them down, he says so we may believe THAT - that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, God in the flesh; and that BY BELIEVING, by putting our faith in him, we might have life. In his name.

That's what John's calling us to do. And we need to do that with CONFIDENCE. So let me ask you all as we take our last look at John's gospel this morning, where are YOU as a believer? Because it's not just a trivial matter of BELIEVE IT OR NOT. It's a matter of LIFE. Or Death.