Hunt, David: Thy Son Liveth John 4 ~ Victoria Dr

John chapter four, we'll read together. There was a few confessions that I was going to make about myself, but I decided maybe I'll just wait and let you find them out for yourself. Most of my time has been spent more in, uh, remote areas, mostly in Labrador and Newfoundland, but mostly in Labrador, where we have spent much of our time in isolated areas and, uh, sometimes away from assemblies, uh, and some of our work would be quite different than what it is just now here in Vancouver. So, we trust that the Lord will help and bless. John chapter four and verse forty six. John chapter four and verse forty six. So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him and besought, besought him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The noble man saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way, thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend, and they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth, and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did when he was come out of Judea into Galilee. Now this account, I'm thinking very in a practical way of this account and thinking of the meetings actually here in Victoria Drive, was reading over this portion, and there was just a few things that encouraged me, at least, as I thought of the meetings that lie before us here, and uh, realizing and understanding that it takes God in gospel meetings, uh, it depends somewhat on the preaching, no doubt. Uh, it depends a lot on the Christians, of course, in the area and the assembly that the meetings are to be held in, but I would understand that it takes God working, and if God doesn't work in the life of an individual, that person will never get saved. If God hadn't have dealt in my life, well, I'd have never gotten God's salvation. If God hadn't have worked in your life, then you would have never gotten God's salvation. So it takes God working, and we would look for God to work in these, in these parts at this time. In fact, would be encouraged somewhat, uh, even since getting here and being reminded that God h- has been working. And so we would expect to see God work. I was just thinking, first of all, right on the surface here, it says that Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee. That tells us that he was there before. He had visited this area, this place before. And as I look over this company this afternoon, and as I was thinking of these meetings and these parts here, I'm, uh, I'm made aware that the Lord has visited this place before. God has visited Victoria. I've heard of Victoria Drive from, uh, Mr. Bingham that was here a while back and preached with him a little bit, and I've heard him mention Victoria Drive and some of the things that happened when he was here. And when I read this, it sort of jumped out to me. The Lord, uh, he had came into Cana of Galilee where he had been before. Well, he has been here before, and in your life, those living here in your life, God has visited. Do you remember the day and the moment and the time and the circumstances that God moved into your life and crossed your path and awakened you to your need of God's salvation? It's a, it's a visitation of God, of the Lord coming to a place and visiting in the life of an individual. So the Lord has visited in this place before, and there has been blessing. This man that we've read about today, he came to where the Lord was. I'm thinking very simply of four things that I enjoyed anyway in my own soul about this man, very simply. This portion is rather precious to me. I was saved in nineteen sixty nine in Nova Scotia. Uh, gospel meetings were being held in a place called Oxford. Mr. Fred Holder was one of the preachers, and, uh, during those meetings, uh, tho- those were the meetings that God used in my salvation. Uh, while those meetings were on, I was saved on a Wednesday morning, and, uh, on Saturday morning, I get up, and my dad said to me, he said, uh, David, he said, are are are you saved? And I said, yes, I am. And he said, are you sure that you're saved? That's just what he said. Well, when he said that, uh, I broke down because I had known, I knew that I had gotten saved, but there was, there was just a wondering, did it, did it really happen? It seemed so simple, and it seemed so easy, if I might put it that way. I, I looked at some of the other boys in those, in those meetings, and I, I can remember week after week they would sit up at the front of the hall with, uh, Mr. Holder and, and other, and their face was about that long, and they, they were just as dark as could be. And I thought, those, those boys, uh, those fellas, they sat through all those meetings, and they sat night after night with the preacher, and they're still not saved. And, uh, here I've come into God's salvation, and it, I wonder, did I, did I really, really get saved? Well, he says, Dad said to me, he said, just a moment. So he got on the phone, he phoned into Oxford, and Mr. Holder was there, so he said, we're coming in to see you. So in we went. Well, Mr. Holder read, uh, a number of verses, but this was one portion that he read that Saturday morning. And you know, I would be conscious today that there are a number of Christians that are not absolutely one hundred percent sure. You know, they would say that they're saved, but if you would, uh, if you would ask about the assurance of salvation, or at least if they were honest, deep down, they do not have the assurance of God's salvation. I think of a young woman in Newfoundland, and for about fifteen years of her life, she lived at times wondering whether she was really saved or not. Something would, some little thing would come up, come up, and then she'd say, well, if I was a Christian, you know, I wouldn't think that, or if I was a Christian, I wouldn't do that, or I wouldn't say that. And for fifteen years, and yet nobody guessed. Nobody had a clue that, that that girl was having doubts and wonderings about her salvation. Well, it's a real thing. May I don't know about the West Coast, but it's a real thing out our way. There are those that wonder sometimes, don't have the assurance of God's salvation. Well, Mr. Holder read this portion, uh, after a while. He was just reading down through it, and he came to the part where it says, and the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him. When he read those words, he was just reading over, never said anything about them, but those words riveted home in my soul. The man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him. And you know, it just dawned on my soul afresh that the word that I had heard and the truth that I had rested upon, that the Lord Jesus died for me, for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. That was the word, and it was the word that, that God had given to my soul, and I rested upon it. Well, that was my assurance, and I, I don't forget that day. Three days after God saved me, I had the assurance of my salvation. It's a real thing to have the assurance, one hundred percent settled, one hundred percent assured that a person is saved and ready for heaven. No doubts, no matter what may happen. Well, anyway, in this man that we've read about, that's why this portion is somewhat precious to me. This man, four things. There was a problem in this man's life, and then I was thinking of the purpose, this man's purpose. I was thinking of a, of his pleading, and then, of course, of the provision that was made for this man. So I think of his problem. This man had a problem. Any, anyone here with problems today? Well, I think in a series of gospel meetings, when a series of gospel meetings comes to an area, whether it be east or west or north or south, you know, uh, gospel meetings are a result of a problem, problems. And I'm thinking of the problem in this man's life was a real problem. It was a definite problem. I don't know if you've ever had the problem or not in a, in a real way, but you know, uh, many of us that are parents, we would be able to enter into the problem that this man had, in a spiritual sense at least. His son was sick, and he was at the point of death, and I would take that to be a real, a real difficulty in this man's life. If I look at it in a practical way, if I, if I thought about my son, if, if it was your son today or my son, and uh, he was at the point of death, came to a, came to the place, and the man would look at the, at his son, and he would understand that this, this young man, he, he hasn't got much longer to live. My, my boy is going into eternity. My boy's going to die. And I would think as a father myself, I would, I would think that that would be a very, a very trying moment, a very trying time, and you would do anything for the boy. You would try anything. And I've witnessed that and seen that in the life of, uh, in the life of others that I could mention today, and I was spoken to even sometimes through the gospel. We got a call one Sunday morning, we just after the the breaking of bread in Oxford, the phone rang. A woman on the other side asked if we could come to Halifax, and uh, just to be with them, uh, their boy of fifteen years of age in school one day just passed out, took a convulsion, and they found he had a brain tumor. Fifteen years of age. Now he's in the hospital, VG in Halifax, so we went down and, uh, continually had to hold on to the, the hand of that boy, somebody. If not, he would get restless and, uh, very, very upset. We quoted scriptures to him time and time again, and again he would get very upset when scriptures was being quoted to him. His mum and dad was in the assembly. The boy turned sixteen while he was passing through that circumstance, and shortly after his sixteenth birthday, he went into eternity. Well, I watched that mom and dad, for they lived right where we did. I watched that mom and dad as they passed through the ordeal with their boy of fifteen years of age, just turned sixteen years of age, and I would tell- say today that that was a real, a real problem in their lives, something that was real, and only those that passed that way, I suppose, would understand. I looked at my boy, and he professed to be saved at fifteen. and I'm, I rejoice today that my boy, who's nineteen now, twenty— he'll be twenty in April, my daughter will be sixteen the first of March, both of them are saved and in the assembly. So it's a, it's a real thing, but you know, there was a, a time that came when I looked into the face of my children, and I understood that here was two individuals, and they are sick as far as spiritually in their sin, and they need God's salvation. Is there anyone here today with that difficulty? Your boy, maybe a son or a daughter, maybe it's a mother or a father, maybe it's a grandparent, or maybe it's a, a friend, and yet as you think of that individual today, you would, uh, be reminded that they are not saved. Well, that's a problem. That's a problem in the life of the individual, the son or the daughter. If it was your son or it's your daughter, would you understand today that that's a, a difficulty? And, uh, so this man, anyway, he understood, or at least it gripped his heart, that my boy is at the point of death, and he's going into eternity, and I don't want him to die. I would see that in the heart of the father. My dad, when we were, uh, before we were saved, when we were growing up, uh, we s- we started, began to attend the gospel hall in Oxford in about nineteen sixty. And of course, my dad was the type that when gospel meetings were on, he he went wherever the car would go, that's where he went, gospel-minded, and the family was there as well. And I can remember my dad saying on different occasions, I didn't bring a family into the world to go down to hell. He said, I didn't raise, raise a family that that they'd be lost, and uh, so he says, everything in in my power that I can do, well, dad and mum can't save nobody, even though we'd like to save our children if we could sometimes. But you know, there's that within within my dad's heart, and that stands out today, right to this moment, that my dad had an interest in my soul that he desired above everything else, that, uh, his family, we as children, would get God's salvation. Well, I search my heart today. Do I have that desire? Is that longing in my heart for my family, or is that longing in my heart for a loved one, or a friend, or a neighbor? Well, this man had a problem. His son was sick. His purpose, he wanted his son to get better. He was going to do whatever he could, whatever had to be done, he was going to do it to see if his boy could, could be made well. So what does he, what does he do? He comes to the very person who is able to meet the need, and his purpose was that he might find a cure for this boy. So, makes the trip down to where the Lord Jesus is. Is there a person that can meet his need? Well, that's, uh, the provision there is. Is there a person today that, that can meet the need of your son or daughter? Is there a person today who can meet the need of, of this go- of these gospel meetings that are about to begin? Is God able to save souls? Well, from this story, we find that God is able to meet the need. You know what, I, I would see here that it takes an interest on the part of the father. The father was interested in seeing the son delivered. I wonder how much interest I have in seeing souls delivered. Or I wonder how much interest there will be in your heart to see a soul delivered. A son? Are you interested in seeing your boy saved? Are you interested in seeing your daughter saved? Maybe your girlfriend or boyfriend or husband or wife? Well, I want to say today that God is able. And this man came to the person who could meet his need. He came right down to where the Lord Jesus was. That was his purpose, is that the boy might get saved. Well, what are we going to do? When a person has a purpose, what does they do? Well, I would think one thing is pray. If we were to search out today, how m- how many times have we prayed for our children? Or how much effort have we put into praying for m- for our children? Are they worth? Are they worth seeing saved? I've often thought of Noah in his day, you know, all the work that Noah did and all the effort that Noah put into, to building that ark, and yet he saw his family saved. Well, sometimes, uh, sometimes the family altar is an important, uh, an important place to start to pray for our son or daughter. I wonder, would our children, if we were to ask our children, did you ever hear your dad pray for you that you might get saved? Did you ever hear mom pray for you that, that you might get saved? Well, the purpose of heart is that we might see our children saved, and perhaps in this series of gospel meetings, there's going to be a boy or a girl, one of the children of the Christians, and this is going to be their opportunity. So may the God, may God help us with a purpose of heart, with interest, to see our family saved. I think it was pleading, you know, the Lord said to him, except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Well, the man wasn't interested so much in all of that and what it entailed, but he says, sir, he says, come down ere my child die. And I can see the, the dad's heart, the father's heart is reaching out. He sees now that it's coming to a, a climax, and he says, sir, come down ere my child die. He wasn't, he didn't want to let go. He didn't want to lose the opportunity that, that he had at that moment. Well, I think of pleading with God. You know, one has said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. But in a, in a real, a very real way, sense, you and I can plead, plead with God for souls, for our loved ones, to look into the face of a, of a family. Of course, I'm thinking about the family, but anyway, that's the way it appealed to me as I was reading this portion over. When I think of the nearness of the Lord's return, when I think of the conditions of the, of the world about us, surely can't be very long. It must not be very long, can it? And that shout is going to be given, and we're going to be called to meet the Lord Jesus in the air, to leave our family behind, to leave the boy behind or to leave the girl behind, to be caught up to meet, to meet the Lord Jesus. Well, I thought this is a real time of pleading. Why, we can plead with God, lay hold upon God, that God in his mercy at this time will just stir the, the heart and the soul and the conscience of our boys and our girls, of our young people, and of others, perhaps, that God in his mercy will come into their lives, that they might be saved. Be nothing, if possible, nothing more heartening than to leave the family behind, to be separated for eternity. So how important is it? May the Lord help us every day, maybe every meal, whenever we sit down for the, to have a, a bite to eat, and we do pretty well at that. I found that out since coming out here, that's no, uh, no lack on that part. Well, when we sit down to give thanks for the food, just to remember the meetings. Oh God, the meetings of Victoria Drive, visit with thy great salvation. Or think of s- some individual, maybe just to invite them along or to give them an invitation. You know, sometimes, uh, some of us aren't very brave when it comes to, when it comes to others, and it seems that some are as brave as can be, face the giant, and it wouldn't make any difference, but there's others of us are a little more timid. Well, to give them an invitation, here's a, here's an invitation. Uh, we're having some meetings down there at the hall, and we'd like to give you an invitation just to come and hear the gospel. You never know, that might be the, the one invitation that will God would just put his hand upon and bless. And, uh, you know, there's a joy in seeing a person come to a gospel meeting, and there's a joy in seeing someone get saved that you've invited to a gospel. It's a real thing. And then the provision, of course, why God is able to meet the need. Just as he met the need in this man's life, I want to tell you, this man went away a different way. We preach that in the gospel. If you come to Christ, if you get God's salvation, you'll never be the same again. It'll change your life, it'll change your destiny, it'll just change everything in the life of the individual when they get saved. Well, so it is with, when, uh, we see a person saved. You know, you're never, never quite the same after. Why that person that I prayed for, that person got saved. That girl that my, my friend at school that I invited out to the gospel meeting, why, why she got, she got saved the other night in the, in the gospel meeting. Well, I want to tell you that's a, that's a real thing, and that just does something that you're pretty hard to put into words sometimes. Ever see anybody saved? Anybody ever get saved that was near to you or that you invited along to a gospel meeting? Well, this would be a good time to, a good time to start right here. Never be a better, never be a better time. Can't help what's past. What we didn't do in the past, well, it's just as well to forget that now. Should have talked to somebody or should have invited them, well, it's too late for that now, but but starting today, if there's someone upon your mind or your heart or comes to mind, well, this is this is an opportunity. The Lord Jesus is passing, passing by. He's going by this area, and who knows but the person that you invite or the person that you plead on behalf of, may be the very individual that God has designs in saving. So the provision is, Jesus said to him, go thy way, thy son liveth. The man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. Well, that's tremendous. Why, he just rested upon, upon the word. It's nice to get a word from God. Nice to get, get a word from, from the Lord. Well, there is provision. He made provision to meet the, the need of this man, and he has provision to meet the need of every soul, every person that's in need, and everyone. Wouldn't it be good that if every person that came to gospel meetings got saved? Well, there's provision for every individual, and the person that you would have upon your heart at this time, there's provision to meet that person's need. I think of a man way back there on the Labrador coast in Red Bay, and I've known him, knew him for a number of years. His wife was in the assembly, and he was one of the hardest, cruelest, not, not cruel to his wife, really, because she could, uh, stand up for herself if it got down on that side of it, but, but his, you know, when it come to the gospel, he'd come to a few meetings sometimes, and then he wouldn't come, but his, uh, language and his attitude and his just everything about him for years, and then he he got up into his sixties and he took a heart attack, and they rushed him to the hospital, and he had a bypass, and then he got well for a while, and then he had trouble, and he went back again for another operation, and uh, but that didn't didn't change him a particle. Well, one day he wasn't so well again, and they took him over to the hospital, and uh, so we were, we were across the streets, what we call it across the streets. So we went down to the hospital to see him, three or four of us, and uh, so he's in there all hooked up and everything, and a Bible's sitting on his table. So anyway, uh, before we go, we read a two or three verses and sa- said to him, Uncle Bob, that's what we, we call most of the older, uh, gentlemen and the ladies or aunt, whatever, over there. So I said, Uncle Bob, could uh, would you mind if I prayed before I left? And he said, no, he said, I'd like for you to. Well, that was a little bit different. So anyway, we prayed before we left the hospital in St. Anthony, and uh, when he came home, he went on into, into St. John's, and uh, then he came home two or three weeks later, and he came to meeting. Came in to the gospel meeting one night, and of course everyone was glad to see him. And, uh, the next Sunday, Sunday morning, he came in, sat at the back. Well, he'd never been in a Sunday morning meeting in his, in his life, sixty-some some years. And then he came to, uh, the Bible reading one night. He showed up at the Bible reading was, well, everybody began to s- wonder what's happened to Bob, Bob Bridle. Well, and he never said a word, never said. In fact, somebody kind of approached it one day, and but he never, never opened his mouth about it. Well, that went on for about three months, and everybody, and of course, then he was going to every meeting, whether it was somewhere else, if it was a meeting on and he was free, he he was be at the meeting. And then he had a tie on one night, and that really, everybody was floored then. Well, they couldn't, they couldn't believe that this was Bob, Uncle Bob Bridle. Anyway, he told us after, well, he said I was such an ungodly sinner, he said I had to make sure that this was working. Well, so that's what he said to us. Well, Bob's in the assembly today. I baptized him. They said, uh, how are you going to baptize him? Bob's about... way up there, and he's about like way around there. Well, I said, if I can get him down, he'll come up for sure. He'll get up. Anyway, had the joy of baptizing Bob, Uncle Bob, and then one morning he walked into the assembly and sat down, gathered with the saints in Red Bay. Of course, that's where Mr. Joyce was for years, in Red Bay, Labrador, and Uncle Bob. Well, I just thought, and I've looked at him different times, and many still just shake their head and wondering, but you know that was God. God worked in that man's life. We thought it was hopeless. What we had written Bob off years ago, that there was no hope for this man, but not with God. God was able to meet the need of Bob Bridle, and he could do what all the preachers and all the preaching that they heard on the Labrador coast, and they've heard as good a preaching over there as, as anywhere, but it didn't get Bob. But I'll tell you, when God began to deal with Uncle Bob, why he couldn't, couldn't stand against him. Well, can God meet the need today? Is God any different? Well, perhaps there's some we think can't get saved, but they can get saved. And so let us pray, and let us plead with God. Let us lay hold upon God, that at this time we might have the joy of seeing sinners awakened and brought into the, into the family. This man, you think he rejoiced? Well, I would think he was a pretty happy man. When he arrived home, why, he found God had answered, the Lord had answered his prayer, his desire, and the Lord can do the very same for us here in nineteen ninety six. And so may the Lord encourage our hearts to look for his working at this time.