I REALLY ENJOY SHARING funny stories with friends. Funny stories are frequently a good method of communicating very important information.
Most of us enjoy funny stories. In fact, we seldom forget a good humorous story. Today, I want to share a funny story with you.
A young Flipino surgeon perfected an amazing new procedure for performing delicate open-heart surgery.Soon after his discovery, he was requested to share this amazing new procedure with other medical doctors.
Day after day, the surgeon traveled throughout Manila in his chauffeur-driven car sharing his discovery with other physicians.
Day after day, he lectured at medical hospitals, universities and heart clinics. Day after day, he explained the very delicate procedure in great detail to medical staff and surgeons throughout the city. They were always absolutely astounded by the complex and intricate procedure. It was nothing short of a miracle.
On one particular occasion, the brilliant young physician requested his chauffeur to deliver him to a large university for still another lecture.
"I am exhausted from delivering this exact same lecture day after day,"
the young doctor complained to the driver.
"Sir" the chauffeur proclaimed to the surgeon, "I am willing to deliver your next lecture,"
wishing to exhibit his owrm intellectual abilities.
"In fact," the driver insisted,"...l am confident that I am capable of delivering the exact same lecture you have been sharing throughout the city"
"What is your level of education?" the surprised doctor inquired.
"Elementary," replied the driver.
"You know we Filipinos are very capable of memorizing all the facts and repeating them exactly as they are given to us,
" he reminded the surgeon.
I have listened to your lecture over and over for months... ,
"the driver insisted, "... and l am absolutely confident that I can repeat your lecture exactly as you would deliver it yourself-I already memorized it."
After considering the driver's challenge for a moment, the amused surgeon proclaimed, "0.K.
They agreed "We will exchange places at the university"
"I will dress in your chauffeur's uniform and sit at the back of the classroom posing as your driver," the young medical doctor insisted, ". . . and you will dress in my barong and deliver my lecture posing as medical doctor." Methodical!
Later, mister tsuper, posing as the medical doctor, delivered the medical lecture to the students at the university without one single mistake, exactly as he had predicted-Great, amazing!
Feeling confident of his ability following the lecture,however, the driver boldly asked the students,
"Does anyone have any questions concerning my lecture?"
Believe in yourself!
Shocked by the driver's request for questions from the students the doctor wondered,
"How will that foolish driver ever be able to answer even one simple question?"
At that very moment, a student in the classroom stood and asked the driver a very, very complicated question concerning the delicate heart surgery procedure described in his lecture.
"Dead! Oh, broken!" .the doctor thought to himself from the back of the classroom,
"that foolish driver will certainly be discovered by the student's questioning."
Thinking quiely for a moment, "Young man," the confident chauffeur replied to the questioning student,
.. your question is very simple. In fact it is so simple, I am going to allow my driver who is seated at the back of this classroom to stand up and answer it."
Then what do you say?!
That is a humorous story.
It makes us laugh at the driver's witty responses. But it also teaches us a very important lesson about life:
You can memorize all the facts, but still not understand the truth.
Like the driver from my humorous story, when it pertains to Christianity, many sincere people have confused the facts with the truth. Millions of people sincerely
profess to be Christians, but they do not understand the truth.
They know the facts about Jesus, but they have missed the truth. They do not understand the truth concerning salvation because they refuse to have faith in Jesus Christ alone.
"It is all the same you say "..
believing is faith."
"No," I say "... it is not the same."
Believing A Doctrine Is Not Saving Faith
Christian faith is not just believing doctrine. No doctrine can be the real object of your faith. You can believe doctrine with your mind, but that doctrine ill not save your soul.
•You can believe Jesus was born of a virgin.
•You can believe Jesus died on a cross.
•You can even believe Jesus was resurrected from the grave.
These facts are important, but believing facts will not save you. Doctrine cannot be the true object of your faith.
Doctrine has never saved anyone. Believing facts will not bring salvation to your soul. Seeing may be believing, but believing the facts is not the same as Faithful
Faith is more than believing facts. You may be capable of memorizing all the facts about Jesus and believe them to be true but are you willing to trust Him with your life?
It is easy to believe the things
you can see, but faith requires a
willingness to believe in thingss
you cannot see.
Listen to what the Bible says about believing the
facts:
Do you believe that there is only one God?
Good! The demons also believe-and tremble with fear.
James 2:19
Imagine that!
Even the demons believe there is only one God.Even the demons believe Jesus is the Son of God. The demons even believe Jesus was born of a virgin.
Even the demon believe! Believing the facts, however, is not enough to save you.
Jesus requires you to trust Him by
giving Him complete control of your life.
It is easy to believe the things you can see, but faith requires a willingness to believe in things you cannot see:
To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1
Do you really have faith in
Jesus? Or do you merely believe the
facts about Jesus?
Several years ago a friend shared a simple illustra tion with me explaining the difference between
believing the facts about something and having faith.
He explained:
Imagine an acrobat walking a cross a high wire. The acrobat bravely steps onto the thin wire high above the cement floor below and slowly takes simple steps until he reaches the platform at the other end of the wire.
Now, let me ask you a question.
Since you have witnessed the acrobat walk
across the high wire already, do you believe he is capable of walking across the high wire again?
"Of course! I believe he can" you answer.
Now, imnagine the same acrobat preparing to repeat his daring act high above the cement floor. This time, however, he requests you to ride
on his shoulders across the wire. What would you say?
"No!" would be my answer.
I may have witnessed the acrobat walk across the high wire. I may even believe
he is capable of walking across the high wire again.
I may even believe that he can walk across the wire with someone on his shoulders. But I am not willing to be
that person. I am not willing to trust him with my life. I would not allow the acrobat to have complete control of my life. I would not have faith in him.
You? Would you be willing to trust the acrobat with your life? Would you be willing to ride his shoulders across the high wire- You agree?
Riding on the acrobat's shoulders across the high wire would require you to have faith in the acrobat's ability to deliver you safely to the platform on the other end of the wire.
Think again!
Do you really have faith in Jesus to save you from your sins, or do you believe that you must simply believe certain doctrine in order to receive salvation?
If you depend on your beliefs in doctrine to save you, then you do not really have faith in Jesus. If you
think believing doctrine will bring salvation, then your
faith is actually in yourself, not Jesus.
Maybe you believe Jesus was born of a virgin. Maybe you believe Jesus died on a cross. Maybe you believe Jesus is the Son of God.
Maybe you believe all those facts, but are you willing to trust Jesus to completely control your life?
Who has the power to really save you, yourself or Jesus?
-Hanhan