WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.250 Many of us today, tell our friends, our acquaintances, our relatives, to our circle, that, 00:00:08.771 --> 00:00:19.881 "I have known the Lord for these years, I believe in Jesus Christ these years. Since I gave my life to Christ, my life has changed." 00:00:19.972 --> 00:00:26.592 But, if someone asks you, can you prove, do you have proof as a Christian? 00:00:26.636 --> 00:00:27.236 "But I changed!" 00:00:27.241 --> 00:00:33.321 The person will tell you, "Yes, but the previous day when we talked, you got angry and started shouting." 00:00:33.421 --> 00:00:36.201 You will tell him, "Yes, I used to smoke before but now I do not smoke." 00:00:36.201 --> 00:00:39.391 He will tell you, "Yes, but you keep company with smokers." 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:40.100 You will tell him, "Yes, I have changed." 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:44.070 "Yes, but the previous day I heard you cursing due to your anger." 00:00:44.070 --> 00:00:46.150 This is your proof as a Christian? 00:00:46.530 --> 00:00:53.330 This will bring us to the title of today's message which is, YOUR PROOF AS A CHRISTIAN! 00:00:53.471 --> 00:00:59.461 We shall read from the book of Mark 10:46. 00:00:59.629 --> 00:01:06.899 "Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, 00:01:07.248 --> 00:01:20.298 blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. [...] So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you? 00:01:20.837 --> 00:01:27.107 The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” 00:01:27.797 --> 00:01:35.577 Chapter 52, "Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well!” 00:01:36.122 --> 00:01:41.212 Your proof as a Christian is your faith in God's Word! 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:51.649 Here, we see blind Bartimaeus who was sitting at the corner of the road and was asking for mercy. 00:01:51.699 --> 00:01:56.319 When Jesus came close to him, he told him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 00:01:57.609 --> 00:02:03.719 What could a beggar want? Someone who begs needs money, isn't it? 00:02:04.236 --> 00:02:13.866 But what did blind Bartimaeus answer to Jesus as we read? He told him, "Teacher, I want to regain my vision." 00:02:14.019 --> 00:02:18.749 He did not say, "Teacher, I want to win the lotto." He did not say, "Teacher, I want to win the lottery, 00:02:18.858 --> 00:02:22.248 so that I can help the other poor, the other beggers." 00:02:23.905 --> 00:02:29.695 He did not say, "Teacher, I want a Mercedes." He said, "Teacher, I want to regain my vision! " 00:02:30.125 --> 00:02:37.778 Immediately, when blind Bartimaeus met Jesus Christ and they had the conversation, 00:02:37.778 --> 00:02:40.358 - What do you want Me to do for you? - Lord, I want to see! 00:02:40.492 --> 00:02:45.729 What did Christ tell him, "Let it be according to your faith! Your faith has made you well! Go!" 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:51.779 Your proof as a Christian is your faith in the Word of God! 00:02:51.849 --> 00:03:05.109 If your proof as a Christian is your faith on God's Word, you will be believe now, you will act now, and you will receive now! 00:03:05.354 --> 00:03:16.014 Now, I want us to look at another case with someone who was a little weak in the faith I'd say, or maybe no faith at all. 00:03:16.202 --> 00:03:21.672 The book of Mark 9:17-27. 00:03:21.672 --> 00:03:30.172 "Then one of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 00:03:30.172 --> 00:03:40.082 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. 00:03:40.082 --> 00:03:43.692 So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” [...] 00:03:43.736 --> 00:03:48.403 Then, they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, 00:03:48.805 --> 00:03:52.965 and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. [...] 00:03:52.965 --> 00:03:59.955 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes!” 00:04:00.160 --> 00:04:07.590 Here, we have a case of a father whose son was deaf and dumb, he neither could hear nor could speak, 00:04:07.777 --> 00:04:13.727 and many times when that demon would come upon the child, he would fall down, 00:04:13.727 --> 00:04:20.367 roll and fall inside the fire, he would fall inside water in the river, sea, wherever there was danger. 00:04:20.767 --> 00:04:23.107 Because the demon wanted to kill him! 00:04:24.272 --> 00:04:27.241 You can understand how much pain his father was going through! 00:04:27.467 --> 00:04:33.167 Moreover, we see that there is a conversation between Christ and the father. 00:04:36.320 --> 00:04:44.300 After the father told Him, "Please if you can do something. You at least, if your students couldn't do it. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.170 At least you, take care of my child, please!" 00:04:48.425 --> 00:04:52.895 And Christ told him, "If you believe, everything is possible to the who believes!" 00:04:53.155 --> 00:04:54.944 What was the answer of the man? 00:04:55.504 --> 00:04:58.764 "I believe, Lord, help me in my unbelief." 00:05:00.239 --> 00:05:08.599 In other words, he confessed that although he believes, his faith is not enough, his faith is small. 00:05:08.746 --> 00:05:16.386 The fact that your faith is small, is not a reason for you not to pray, because many of us use it as an excuse. 00:05:16.526 --> 00:05:22.746 "Why should I pray, will God listen to me? Every time I pray nothing happens." 00:05:23.243 --> 00:05:30.263 "My faith is small! I have to go and find a Man of God who will have big faith." 00:05:30.958 --> 00:05:33.197 That is how we quit and don't pray. 00:05:33.197 --> 00:05:43.652 If you know that you do not have faith, then, you can come to Christ and take the faith that He has prepared to give you. 00:05:43.826 --> 00:05:50.126 How can you receive faith if you refuse to come close to Jesus Christ? 00:05:51.838 --> 00:05:52.648 Is it possible? 00:05:53.402 --> 00:05:59.902 How will you receive faith if you refuse to open the Word of God to see what God says about your case? 00:06:00.369 --> 00:06:01.829 Is it possible to receive faith? 00:06:02.028 --> 00:06:11.078 Even the statistics say that, nowadays, melancholy and depression have increased a lot. 00:06:11.566 --> 00:06:18.166 The psychiatric hospitals are full, the clinics are full of people who have psychological problems, 00:06:18.843 --> 00:06:29.253 and all these happen because they refuse to come close to Jesus Christ who can give them faith and they can receive the solution to their problem. 00:06:29.395 --> 00:06:40.050 If you read your Bible very well and carefully, you will see that Jesus Christ never healed and that alone, 00:06:41.436 --> 00:06:54.716 Jesus Christ never blessed and that alone, Jesus Christ never delivered and that alone, Jesus Christ never saved and that alone. 00:06:55.550 --> 00:06:59.560 In every case, he demanded people's faith! 00:06:59.745 --> 00:07:07.415 What will happen right after your prayer is your proof as a Christian! 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:09.069 What is the result? 00:07:09.735 --> 00:07:11.485 That is the question. 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:16.310 Yes, you believe for many years, what was the result of your faith? 00:07:17.052 --> 00:07:18.652 Where did your faith lead you to? 00:07:19.203 --> 00:07:20.833 Where did it bring you? To what level? 00:07:22.667 --> 00:07:28.347 These are the questions that each Christian has to sit down and ask himself! 00:07:30.547 --> 00:07:37.357 If you discover that your faith is small or that you do not have faith at all, come to Jesus Christ, 00:07:37.993 --> 00:07:42.016 He is willing to give you the faith that He has prepared to give you! 00:07:42.016 --> 00:07:56.460 [♪ Music ♪]