Let Them Know

Justin Turney

My Story His Glory • Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

0 ratings

· 2 views

Notes

Transcript

INTRO

John 1:43–49 ESV

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

3 Incredible Truths to Sharing Your Testimony with Others:

1) Intentional Calling (v. 43-45a)

When Jesus calls people to follow Him, He expects them to share the same message He does: “The Kingdom of God is at Hand”

Mark 1:14-15 “14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

When Jesus called Andrew, he went and found Peter and told of the “Good News” (Gospel)

When Jesus calls Philip, he goes and finds Nathanael.

There is an intentional calling that Jesus gives to His followers. We are not to come to Jesus and keep it to ourselves. We are to share the reality of who Jesus is with others!

The Kingdom of God is not exclusive to you. It is inclusive of everyone who you know and everyone who is in your sphere of influence.

When Jesus saved you, He did so in order to have a relationship with you and for you to be the door through which He could share His Gospel with others.

Your testimony is an intentional calling to call others to Jesus!

We need to always have on our minds at least one person whom we want to share our testimony with and to look for immediate opportunities to share that story.

Once we do, we start again…who can I share my personal realization of who Jesus is with?

2) Inviting Opportunity (v. 45b-46)

Sometimes we may think, “It was so easy for the first disciples. They just looked at people and those people came to Jesus. They had that supernatural holy nod and 8,000 people got saved.”

The reality is, the more things change, the more things stay the same. People are my nature skeptical of the spiritual realities. It’s part of our sin nature, especially when we live in a material world.

When Philip shares his testimony with Nathanael, he is met with immediate skepticism.

When the skepticism hits Philip, he doesn’t feel defeated and discouraged. He loves his friends and simply extends and invitation, despite the skepticism.

When you and I personally share our story directly with others, there should always be a “come and see” element to it.

Even if the person we are talking to isn’t sure about “religion” or is skeptical, offer an invite for them to walk with you for a season in your own relationship and pursuit of Jesus.

Invite them to church.

Invite them into part of your devotional time.

Invite them to the realities of God’s Word that speak to you and have connected with you.

When you invite people to “come and see” there just might be an exciting surprise that lies ahead for them and is a blessing for you.

3) Impactful Realizations (v. 47-49)

When Nathanael came to Jesus to see what this was all about he was met with a remarkable surprise: Jesus knew him already!

Jesus sees him coming and declares, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” to which Nathanael replies, “How do you know me?”

What does Jesus’ statement to Nathanael mean? It sounds flattering, but it really means that Nathanael is not one to beat around the bush…he gets straight to the point and often you don’t have to worry about what he’s thinking. He’ll just tell you.

Jesus also shows Nathanael that He knows him on a deeper level than just his reputation.

This leads Nathanael to realize that Jesus is truly the Messiah and someone he desperately needs in his life.

1st impactful realization in this text: Jesus already knows the people in your sphere of influence, even better than you do.

When you directly share your testimony with others and invite them to come and experience Jesus for themselves, you’re introducing Jesus to them, but you’re not having to worry about introducing them to Jesus (He already knows them!).

2nd impactful realization in this text: Jesus is the one who calls and convinces to follow Him.

Your job is to invite them to experience Jesus, Jesus and the Holy Spirit do the rest.

You don’t have the burden to save anyone, you just have to have a burden for people to be saved. You don’t do the saving you just do the inviting.

What a blessing to realize, that Jesus already knows those whom you share your story with and invite them to experience Him, and that He is the one responsible for the drawing, convincing, and saving.

This means that there is only one legitimate excuse for us not to share our salvation story with others: You can’t share what you haven’t genuinely experienced.

CLOSING

DO YOU HAVE A GENUINE SALVATION EXPERIENCE WITH JESUS?

If not, He knows you and He wants you to know that He is the real deal!

He wants to be in a relationship and active daily fellowship with you.

He died so that despite your sin and rebellion before God, you might live in and through Him.

IF YOU HAVE A GENUINE SALVATION EXPERIENCE WILL YOU COMMIT TO BE SHARING IT WITH OTHERS AND INVITING THEM TO EXPERIENCE THIS SAME WONDERFUL SAVIOR?