I C U (I See You)

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. … through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

John 1:43–44 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.

John 1:43 ESV

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land Bethsaida; Beth-Ramtha; Livias-Iulias

BETHSAIDA; BETH-RAMTHA; LIVIAS-IULIAS A town on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was a small fishermen’s village, known under the name of Beth-Ramtha, and formed part of the Perea. In the early Roman period Herod Agrippa conferred on the place the rights of a polis, naming it Livias in honor of Livia, wife of Augustus (Josephus, Antiq. XVIII, 27). When Livia changed her name to Julia the city was also sometimes called Iulias (Josephus, War II, 168). It was later annexed by Nero to the kingdom of Agrippa II. In the New Testament it is named Bethsaida. It was the home of Philip, Andrew and Peter (John 1:44; 12:21). Jesus healed the blind there (Mark 8:22) and it was one of the cities which he reproached (Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13). Eusebius (Onom. 58:11) locates it in Galilee, near Lake Genezareth. Bethsaida is identified with et-Tell, east of the River Jordan.

We know, from v. 35-40, that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptizer. The connection of Philip with Andrew and Peter makes it likely that they knew each other, and perhaps worked together as fishermen. The Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, record that Jesus returns from the 40 days in the wilderness and begins preaching about the Kingdom of God, in the process, calling Andrew, Peter, James and John to formally follow him as disciples.

The Swanson New Testament Greek Morphology (UBS 4th Edition) Chapter 1

16 Καὶ παράγων παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδεν Σίμωνα καὶ Ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Σίμωνος ἀμφιβάλλοντας ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ· ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλιεῖς. 17 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. 18 καὶ εὐθὺς ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. 19 Καὶ προβὰς ὀλίγον εἶδεν Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ καταρτίζοντας τὰ δίκτυα, 20 καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς. καὶ ἀφέντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν Ζεβεδαῖον ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ τῶν μισθωτῶν ἀπῆλθον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ.

Mark 1:16–20 ESV

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Value of Character

Not all movement is “sheep-stealing.”

Sometimes one person can disciple you to a certain level, and then another person takes you farther. Just like elementary school teachers aren’t in competition with middle or high school teachers, no minister or ministry should see itself as being in competition with another.

Value of Character

1 Corinthians 3:5–6 ESV

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

John 3:25–27 ESV

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

Value of Character

What is our role in the Mission of God? What is your role as a disciple of Christ?

Value of Character

Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Character, Value of

Fame is a vapor, popularity is an accident, and money takes wings. The only thing that endures is character” (attributed to O. J. Simpson, former professional football player).

John 1:45–48 ESV

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.”

There is no one to whom you will minister, who wasn’t first seen by the Lord. there are no accidental incidents in the Kingdom.

Psalm 139:1–6 ESV

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

It is incredible, when you stop and think about it - God knows the plan that He has, and your role in it, and this church’s role in it, right on up the chain. Nobody can do it all, nobody has all the answers, and even when we get it right, we still “know in part, and prophecy in part.” Paul didn’t write, “By grace you are saved through knowledge” in .

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

What do we have as Lutherans? We have a history of defending the Gospel against efforts to dilute it with justification by works. We have a history of defending the “once for all delivered to the saints” nature of the Christian faith against innovations - also known as heresies. We have a history of writing hymns that not only entertain, they edify - they build you up in your most holy faith.

Jude 20–23 ESV

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

As Confessional Evangelical Christians, we are Christ-centered rather than man-centered, Law and Gospel-focused over Moral Therapeutic Deism. We depend upon God’s revelation over man’s intuition. We understand that:

The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel First Evening Lecture

In the first place, then, Law and Gospel differ as regards the manner of their being revealed to man. Man was created with the Law written in his heart. True, in consequence of the Fall this script in the heart has become quite dulled, but it has not been utterly wiped out. The Law may be preached to the most ungodly person, and his conscience will tell him, That is true. But when the Gospel is preached to him, his conscience does not tell him the same. The preaching of the Gospel rather makes him angry. The worst slave of vice admits that he ought to do what is written in the Law. Why is this? Because the Law is written in his heart. The situation is different when the Gospel is preached. The Gospel reveals and proclaims nothing but free acts of divine grace; and these are not at all self-evident.

The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel First Evening Lecture

The Law may be preached to the most ungodly person, and his conscience will tell him, That is true. But when the Gospel is preached to him, his conscience does not tell him the same. The preaching of the Gospel rather makes him angry. The worst slave of vice admits that he ought to do what is written in the Law. Why is this? Because the Law is written in his heart. The situation is different when the Gospel is preached. The Gospel reveals and proclaims nothing but free acts of divine grace; and these are not at all self-evident.

That is what defines you as a Lutheran, not your hymns, not the structures of worship, though they all convey what we believe. The content of our Character - the who we are - is what shapes what we do.

We tell others to “repent and believe the Gospel,” because God has granted us the gift, through Word and Sacrament, to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” We only want for others, what God graciously gives to us:

2 Corinthians 4:5–6 ESV

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

That glory might, at first glance, not seem glorious - When Jesus talked about being “entering into His glory,” He wasn’t talking about the Resurrection or Ascension only He was talking about the Cross as well.

John 13:31 ESV

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

In the words of Pastor Bonhoeffer:

Discipleship Chapter Four: Discipleship and the Cross

It is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering that everyone has to experience is the call which summons us away from our attachments to this world. It is the death of the old self in the encounter with Jesus Christ. Those who enter into discipleship enter into Jesus’ death. They turn their living into dying; such has been the case from the very beginning. The cross is not the terrible end of a pious, happy life. Instead, it stands at the beginning of community with Jesus Christ. Whenever Christ calls us, his call leads us to death.

In Christ, even death, our enemy, has become our servant, for death brings us into His presence, in baptism, in Holy Communion, and at the hour of our death. Nothing shall separate us from His love, even though it may separate us from the love of the world, from fame and acclaim.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, ed. Martin Kuske et al., trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss, vol. 4, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 87.It is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering that everyone has to experience is the call which summons us away from our attachments to this world. It is the death of the old self in the encounter with Jesus Christ. Those who enter into discipleship enter into Jesus’ death. They turn their living into dying; such has been the case from the very beginning. The cross is not the terrible end of a pious, happy life. Instead, it stands at the beginning of community with Jesus Christ. Whenever Christ calls us, his call leads us to death.

Jude 24–25 ESV

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, ed. Martin Kuske et al., trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss, vol. 4, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 87.

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