Grosey's Messages

Luke 7:1-35  Faith and Doubt

1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.

2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.

3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him,

5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue."

6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.

8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."

10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.

12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."

14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."

15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!"

17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,

19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

20 And when the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'"

21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.

22 And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts.

26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

27 This is he of whom it is written, "'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,

30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

31 "To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.'

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."

The Lord is dealing with the nature of faith. Jesus was amazed at the centurion's faith–amazing faith! That word  "amazing" ("marvel" in KJV) is thaumazo, which literally means, "to stand in amazement and wonder." It is used in connection with Jesus only two times–both in reference to faith. In Mark 6:6 we read Jesus was amazed at the unbelief of the Jews in Nazareth. And here, we read He was amazed at the faith of the centurion.

One reason Jesus was amazed was because this was a Gentile–a Roman soldier! He was a centurion, which meant he was a soldier responsible for roughly 100 soldiers. Six centurions comprised a Roman cohort (600 men). Ten cohorts made a legion (6,000 men). Centurions were the backbone of the mighty Roman army. The historian Polybius wrote regarding centurions, "They must not be so much seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable; they ought not to be over anxious to rush into the fight; but when hard pressed they must be ready to hold their ground and die at their posts." They were often older, hardened soldiers who had experienced much bloodshed and cruelty. How amazing, indeed, to discover the faith of this man!

Real Faith Approaches Jesus as the only source of help. 

The centurion had a need in his life and heard about Jesus. His first act was to send someone to enlist the Jesus' assistance. His servant was not just sick; he was at the point of death. It was desperation time and in his desperation, he did the right thing–he sent for Jesus. Your faith is only as good as the object of your faith. Faith alone is not good enough. Sometimes people say, "Just have faith, everything will turn out okay." Wrong. Faith in faith is worthless. Your faith is only as good as the object of your faith. The centurion didn't just have faith his servant would get better; he put his faith in Jesus.

This whole passage is about having faith in Jesus.

The Centurion demonstrated what faith in Jesus looks like.

The resurrection of the young man is a reason why you can faith in Jesus.

John the Baptist was asking of Jesus was the right One to have faith in.

Real Faith Recognises the Authority of Jesus

Real Faith Recognises the Awesomeness of Jesus

"There are two fixed points in our lives: birth and death. Death is especially unbending. This frustrates us because we think in this time of scientific breakthrough, when we can break out of earth's atmosphere and fly into space that we should also be able to break death's cold grip on us. But death is changeless. We may postpone it, we may tame its violence, but death is still there waiting for us. The door of the hearse is never closed. Dairy farmer and sales executive live in death's shadow, with Nobel Prize winner and prostitute, mother, infant, teen, and old man. The hearse stands waiting for the surgeon who transplants the heart as well as the hopeful recipient, for the funeral director as well as the corpse he prepares. Death spares none.

The Bible confirms this in Hebrews 9:27: "For it is appointed unto man once to die; and after this the judgement." Every funeral procession you pass, every cemetery you drive by and every obituary page you turn is a constant reminder: You and I have an appointment with death. But death is not the end. The Bible says there is judgement waiting for each of us. I've told you before about the gravestone that had this warning placed on it:

Pause now as you pass by as you are now so once was I, as I am now you soon will be so therefore prepare to follow me

To follow you I'm not content, Until I know which way you went!

Real Faith Recognises the Mercy of Jesus

He is Deeply moved by our sorrow

As far as we know, Jesus didn't know this young widow but when He saw her broken heart, verse 13 tells us "his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.'" Here's what we can learn about Jesus: He sees you in your pain and is moved by your tears. That phrase "his heart went out" is one word in the original text. It is the strongest word possible in the Greek language to express sympathy, pity and feeling. Although her voice didn't speak to Jesus, her tears communicated a powerful message to Jesus and He responded to her need. God is Touched by Our Tears. We have a Saviour who pays attention to our tears. Sometimes when your heart has been broken and you find yourself weeping uncontrollably, you may wonder, "Does anyone even care about me?" The river of tears you have cried has been noticed and recorded by our compassionate Heavenly Father. I love this verse from Psalm 56:8, "Record my lament; put my tears in your wineskin—are they not in your record?" The KJV says, "You have saved my tears in your bottle." Whether it was a bottle or a wineskin, the amazing thing is that our tears are so precious to God He records our weeping, and He treasures our tears. Now, I need to stop and give you a quick history lesson about what a revolutionary concept of God this was and is. During the days Jesus came to earth, one of the most prominent religious beliefs was called Stoicism (founded by Zeno 300 years before Christ). The Stoics (mentioned in Acts 17:18) believed the gods were totally immune to emotions. Since Fate already determined all things, the gods were apathetic or had "no feeling." The Greeks told the story of the young man who stole a fox and hid it under his tunic while talking nonchalantly with the owner. When the owner left, the young man fell over dead. While he had been calmly talking, the fox had eaten out his flesh. The Stoics admired his refusal to demonstrate any pain or emotion. Jesus showed us God is not some uninterested, implacable Stoic deity. We see a picture of God who is full of compassion and is moved by our sorrows. The shortest verse in the Bible is also one of the most powerful. John 11:35 only has two words, "Jesus wept." It's a short statement but it teaches us volumes about Jesus. At the sight of the burial of his friend, Lazarus, Jesus cried. Why? Because Lazarus was dead? No, because Jesus knew in a few moments Lazarus would walk out of the grave. Why did He cry? Because the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, were crying. Their pain touched him and it became His pain. And Jesus wept. What does that mean to us? When our hearts are broken and wounded, Jesus sees us, He is moved by our sorrow, and in a way, He comes to weep with us. He is able to do more than just weep with us, however,

He is Anxious to remove our sorrows

He said to the grieving mother, "Stop crying." It's wonderful to have a compassionate Savior who feels our pain and is moved by our sorrow. But it's even better to have a Savior who wants to remove our sorrows. Jesus is the expert on dealing with sorrow. In Isaiah 53:3-4 we read, "He was despised and rejected by men, an man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering ... Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows."

If you are going to have a real faith you need to recognise the Authority of Jesus.

If you are going to have a real faith you need to recognise the Mercy of Jesus.

3. If you are going to have a real faith you need to recognise the Simplicity of Jesus.

"The Truman Show" is a movie about unreality. In case you haven't seen it, the story begins with the birth of a baby boy telecast around the world. From that moment until his adulthood, every detail of his life is telecast for billions of people to see and hear. They watch him eat, sleep, go to school, get married and work at his job. Cameras are hidden everywhere in his world. Everyone can see him but he doesn't know they are watching. He lives on the world's largest sound stage and all the people in his life are paid actors. Everyone knows what is going on except Truman. He thinks his make-believe world is real. Then one day he begins to doubt. He can't quite fit it all together. He begins to challenge relationships and beliefs. His world begins to crumble. When I was a child I wondered if I was Truman. Not that I knew his name, but I wondered if my world was real. I used to think that maybe the whole thing was a scientific experiment and I was the guinea pig. I wondered if my parents and family and teachers were all in on the research. Now that I am an adult I have decided that my world is the real world. My big regret is that I did not copyright my childhood fears and sell the script under the title "The Grose Show." Do you ever doubt the most fundamental assumptions of your life? Do you wonder if the world is really the way you have always assumed it to be? Do you have doubts about God? About heaven and hell and good and evil? About the Bible? About Jesus Christ? The Bible reports the claims of Jesus that he is the Son of God. Jesus came from heaven to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for human sin, and is the only way to salvation, to God and to eternal life. But, is all that really true? Might it be that he was mistaken? Could it be that Jesus was a fake? What if he was just another nice man but hardly the Savior of the world? What if he really isn't the Christ?

QUESTION: ARE YOU REALLY THE ONE? (18-21)

John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?'"

The last time we heard from John before this passage was in Luke 3:19 where we read, "but when John rebuked Herod the Tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison." Herod had seduced his sister-in-law, Herodias, and had kicked his wife and children out. This was such blatant immorality that John thundered against it. Herod's attitude was, "my personal morality has nothing to do with my ability to govern, so if you don't shut up, it's the jail for you, preacher!" John wouldn't back down, so he is wasting away in Herod's prison. It's during this imprisonment when these doubts arise.

Who is that is expressing doubt? This is the man of God who was the forerunner of the Messiah. We read about his miraculous birth to elderly parents in Luke 1. We are told that he was "filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb." John was so certain at one time that he pointed to Jesus and shouted, "Look! Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" He was the one who baptized Jesus and heard a voice from heaven proclaim, "This is my Son, whom I love, listen to Him!" Surely this man would never? But he is the very one who said, "Are you really the one?"

If you ever have doubts, you are in pretty good company. Our doubts get louder in the middle of adversity. Why do faithful servants of the Lord sometimes go through periods of doubt? Adversity can promote doubt ... or it can promote faith—it's our choice. John found it harder to ignore his doubts because he was sitting in a prison cell all day. If ever there was a free spirit who longed to be in the wide-open spaces, it was John the Baptizer. His life hadn't turned out the way he expected; He wanted to travel the desert and preach, instead he was an inmate, wasting away— that's a perfect scenario for doubts to arise.

Clark Tanner wrote: John was a rugged individual of the wilderness, whose home and hearth were the hillsides and grasses of the Valley Jordan. His fountain was the river and his meat was the creature of the foliage. Suddenly his world was shrunken to cold, stone walls, all within arm's reach; his only light was probably a small window near the ceiling which may have given only a glimpse of a gloomy corridor, and not the sunshine at all. His life in its entirety had been spent to prepare himself and then prepare others for the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, and as soon as the fulfillment came he was dragged off to spend his last days in an imposed seclusion rather than one of his choosing. Rather than being allowed to enjoy the fruits of his labors, by watching the progress of the Redeemer in His ministry, he was seemingly cast off like an old garment; discarded like a pawn who had only served to make way for the forward movement of the King and then taken off the board.

We face the same kinds of adversity when a child dies, violence strikes, a mate is slowly killed by cancer or a husband walks out. Satan begins to whisper lies in our ears, "God doesn't care... He doesn't love you. He wouldn't treat His children this way." Maybe you have come to a place of difficulty in your life. It's easy to doubt God and ask, "God are you really there? Do you really care? Why don't you get me out of this mess?" Or we don't even pray, we just think, "I don't believe a God of love would allow all this to happen to me."

CONSIDER THE EVIDENCE (v. 19-23)

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

I'm glad Jesus didn't criticize John for doubting. He could have said, "Who does John think he is, asking a lame-brained question like that? Of course, I'm the One. Go back and tell him." Instead, Jesus honored John's question with a sincere answer. Basically, Jesus told the two messengers to go back and present the evidence they found:

Scripture is being fulfilled!  Jesus' statement about the blind seeing, the lame walking, the lepers being cured and preaching the good news to the poor was a direct reference to the prophecy about the Messiah found in Isaiah 35 and 61. Jesus was asking John to compare what Jesus was doing with what the scriptures had predicted.

John was frustrated because the Messiah scenario wasn't playing out the way he expected. John was a fiery prophet who preached the fire of God's judgement was going to fall on wicked people. Go back and re-study his fearless message of judgement in Luke 3:7-9. He called the Jews a bunch of poisonous snakes (you brood of vipers). He said God's axe was already at the root of the trees and every tree not bearing good fruit was going to be cut down and thrown into

the fire. John was a fireball. He expected Jesus to be a powerful Messiah who would thunder against sin and pronounce God's final judgement against wickedness and wicked people. John got the message right; he just misunderstood the timing. Jesus came as the Lamb of God the first time. He will return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah bringing God's final judgement against sin. But John had heard reports that instead of raising a mighty army of righteous warriors to battle sin, Jesus was spending time with sinners and was demonstrating grace, mercy, and forgiveness. He was confused. Jesus gently reminded John to refer back to what the scriptures had to say about the Messiah.  If you are entertaining honest doubts, don't just sit around and brood. Open the Bible and start studying the scriptures. When you are stumbling around in a dark fog of doubt and confusion, remember the words of the psalmist, "your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105) Jesus suggested John consider the scriptures and that's good advice for us.

2.Lives are being changed! Jesus also told the disciples of John to report that people's lives were being transformed. Notice the specific examples Jesus mentions: the blind, lame, lepers, deaf and even dead people. People with needs were being helped. You really can't argue with a person whose life has been changed.

If you are struggling with doubts about the Christian life, I want to challenge you to do what Jesus suggested. Take some time and conscientiously study the Bible.

Ingersoll, a famous atheist, invited the Pastor Joseph Parker to a public debate about the claims of the Bible and Christianity. Dr. Parker accepted the debate on certain conditions. He told Ingersoll he would bring ten men from his church that had been delivered from alcoholism by their faith in Jesus and all Ingersoll had to do was bring one man whose life had been saved from drunkenness by atheism. Dr. Parker offered to bring ten married couples whose marriages had been saved and renewed by Christ; all Ingersoll had to do was produce one couple who could say the same about atheism. Ingersoll declined. Why? You cannot refute a changed life. Jesus was changing lives 2,000 years ago, and He is still changing lives. If you find yourself doubting like, John, examine the evidence Jesus presents.

After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxuries are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' (Malachi 3:1) I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he." (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

Notice John's questions were more than just an expression of personal doubt. It actually amounted to a public challenge to Jesus' identity. Notice John supposes to be speaking for others when he says, "Should WE look for another?" It was an expression of doubt but it was also a question that would have embarrassed lesser men.

1. Among humanity: John was the greatest. On the very day John said the worst thing he ever said about Jesus, Jesus said the finest thing He ever said about John!  Jesus asked a couple of questions himself. He asked the people why they flocked into the desert to hear John's preaching. John wasn't like a reed shaken by the wind; that is, he didn't change his message according to the crowd. John was more like an huge strong tree than a shaken reed. He stood firm on the Word of God. Jesus asked if the crowd flocked to John because of his fine clothing– tongue in cheek. We know John never cut his hair and wore leather and camel's hair clothing. The only designer label John wore was Camel Klein!

Then Jesus points out John was more than a prophet. John the Baptist was a transitional character between the Old and New Testaments. He was the last in a long line of great Old Testament prophets. But he was more because he was the "Elijah" who was to come before the Messiah. Of all the people ever born of woman (that's most of us), John was the greatest. What a compliment! Jesus was saying John was greater than Abraham, Moses, Elijah, King David and

all the rest. In other words, humanly speaking, John is the very best mankind can do. But is that enough? No really.

The Kingdom of God: Greater than humanity's best

Jesus said the least in the Kingdom of God was greater than humanity's best. What does He mean? The phrase "born of woman" is important. That speaks of our human identity. We have all been born of a woman but Jesus told a fine, religious man there is another birth more important than being born in the flesh. Jesus told Nicodemus a person must be born again or they will never see or enter the Kingdom of God. When you experience this second birth you become a part of God's kingdom. All you need to have a kingdom is a King and Jesus becomes the personal Lord or Ruler of your life.

John was the servant in the kingdom; we are heirs of the King! John was the friend of the bridegroom, we are actually the bride! Today, the youngest believer has spiritual riches John the Baptist could never imagine. We have Jesus residing in our hearts, we have the scripture describing the new Covenant, we have the fellowship of other believers. You can rejoice today that in the eyes of Jesus, the least in God's kingdom are greater than humanity's best.

Faith.. the whole section is about what faith is. And then the Lord confronts us with the question: are you like the Pharisees, unbelievers or are you like the tax collectors, believers?

Believers Luke 7:29

Luke 7: 29 says that "all the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John."  They heard Jesus and believed. They believed what he said. They believed who he was. They were ready to follow him anywhere. Even tax collectors! (Tax collectors were apparently considered to be the lowest level of society, skeptics, ungodly and irreligious. If a tax collector believed, that was a big deal!). The only reason given for their easy belief was that they had been baptized.

You may remember that the prophet John baptized so many people that he was nicknamed "John the Baptizer." His baptism was somewhat unusual because Jews were rarely baptized. Baptism was for converts to Judaism, not those who were born Jews. Yet these people volunteered by the thousands to be baptized by John as a symbol of their repentance from sin. Apparently those who were baptized were inclined to believe - - - they had hearts for God and truth. They were (or wanted to be) spiritual people. Baptism was more than a symbol of repentance from sin, it was an act of persons who wanted to believe. Baptism was a dividing line of faith for them.

A friend once told me how he became a Christian. He ran a gun shop in Warilla, and had married a Christian girl. He was still wild and woolly. Then he said one day he was driving down the hill and saying to himself "I don't believe, I don't believe, I don't believe!" He got to the bottom of the hill and started on the way up the other said saying "But I do believe I do believe! I am a believer! I am a Christian!"  

Questions? Aren't there some objections? What barriers stand between you and faith? He suddenly had no questions. He couldn't think of any objections. He said there were no barriers. All the former objections were gone!!  He just believed!

Some people are believers. Even tax collectors! They hear Jesus' words, acknowledge that God's way is right and believe in Jesus Christ.

Some people are Unbelievers Luke 7:30-35

"The Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John." (7:30). The Pharisees were very religious people. They claimed to know the Bible better than anyone else. They were experts on religion. But they were unbelievers. This wasn't the first time they had said no. They didn't believe John the Baptizer and they refused to be baptized. I guess they figured they were good enough without repenting, believing or being baptized. They didn't need it. And, if they didn't need it with John, they didn't need it with Jesus. There is such a sad line in their brief report of unbelief: they "rejected God's purpose for themselves."  This indicates that God had a purpose for each one of them. God had a plan, a dream and a potential design for their lives - - - but they rejected God's best when they rejected Jesus. I assume that the same applies to each of us. God has a purpose for each of our lives. God dreams the best for us. But, God's purpose for each of us is always tied to our belief in Jesus and following him as Lord. Everyone who rejects Jesus also rejects God's best for life. Everyone who accepts and follows Jesus says "yes" to God's purpose and plan for life. It makes me wonder if someday after death unbelievers will find out what their lives could have been. Will God run a film clip or open a "Could-have-been Biography" and show every unbelievers the difference Jesus Christ would have made in every details of their lives? How sad, that the Pharisees were religious but unbelieving. How sad that they rejected God's purpose for themselves. Jesus explained all that God had done to convince the unbelievers. He tried multiple approaches, but none of them worked. Jesus uses an illustration from children at play. There are two groups of kids. Group #! plays a flute with fun music and invites the kids in Group #2 to dance with them. They refuse. So, Group #1 plays funeral music and invites them to cry with them. They refuse. "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry."

Jesus was referring to God's two messengers. John came shouting and preaching repentance. He wore clothes made out of sack cloth and lived in the wild and gave up every luxury and looked super religious. They wouldn't listen to him - - said he had a demon. Jesus came looking quite normal, hung out with ordinary people, eating and drinking and having a good time. They wouldn't listen to him - - -said he was a glutton and a drunk. The point is that some people just won't believe! No approach will work. They always find something to criticize. No matter how many books, how many churches, how many arguments, how many kind deeds - - -they will always find a reason for disbelief. They are just unbelievers in Jesus, no matter what.

 Jesus summed it all up with a proverb from his time, saying: "wisdom is proved right by all her children." Today we would probably say, "wait and see how it comes out in the end." In other words, in the long run the results will show who was right, the believers or the unbelievers.

Are you a believer? If so that is just great! God bless you and all those who are like you in fast, easy and strong belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Just be sure you clearly communicate your faith to God.

Are you an unbeliever? Certainly that is your right to choose, but please reconsider. Don't miss out on God's purpose for your life through Jesus Christ.

Are you a doubter? Well, you have some very good company. Doubt is okay, as long as you don't get stuck in your doubt. Let your doubts be temporary - - - try to switch roles from doubter to seeker.

Are you a seeker? Good. Jesus welcomes seekers. Tell God you want to check out Jesus. Look him over. Read the Bible. Go wherever you need to go. Do whatever you need to do. Seek the truth - - - and, I believe, your journey will led you directly to Jesus Christ.