Sermon Tone Analysis

“Open Your Bibles to John” 1:43

Come and Follow ()

Come and See ()

Come and Believe ()

This passage, which records Jesus’ call of His first disciples to salvation, pictures the balance of salvation taught throughout Scripture.

Salvation takes place when seeking souls come in faith to the Savior who has already sought them.

6

1. Come and Follow ()

Who really finds who in these 3 callings of disciples???

Calling one = Andrew, Simon Peter’s Brother.

who went and found Peter john 1.40-41

Calling 2 = John the Author

Calling 3 = Philip and Nathaniel

Do we find God or does God find us?

Jesus is finding them

john 1.43

Why is this important for the Christian to see and know that Jesus finds us and not that we find Jesus?

Answer: Some contemporary churches are billed as “seeker-friendly,” but the Bible says that “no one seeks God.”

pictures God searching in vain for even one heart that seeks Him: “The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

This passage is quoted in , which says, “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.’”

So, if no one seeks God, who are the “seekers” that some churches strategize to attract?

Plus, how are people saved if no one is seeking God?

First we must understand human nature.

Because of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden (), sin entered the world and became part of human existence.

Because Adam is the common ancestor of every human being, we all inherit that sin nature.

We are born with a natural desire for rebellion, self-interest, and disobedience.

In , Paul says, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.

For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

In ourselves, we cannot seek after God, for the simple reason that seeking God is a good and holy thing.

Sinful flesh is incapable of good and holy things

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” ().

In other words, the only way we can seek God is if the Holy Spirit has first stirred our hearts with a desire for God.

It is God who draws us to Himself.

SO WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KNOW WE DON’T FIND GOD BUT RATHER HE FINDS US.

PRIDE, PERSPECTIVE TOWARD THOSE WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIANS CHANGES FROM THEY SHOULD GET RIGHT LIKE ME TO EARNEST PRAYER THAT GOD WILL FIND THEM AND DRAW THEM TO HIMSELF

Do we have a God who is from the wrong side of the tracks?

It appears so.

He chooses to Identify with those who do not have the pedigree.

underscores this truth: “By grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God.”

Even the faith to believe for salvation does not originate within our fleshly nature.

God enables the fallen human heart to seek Him, when in our own self-centered rebellion we would never do so.

Even our best efforts fall far short of the righteousness required by God ().

That’s why Scripture says that no one seeks God.

We seek fulfillment.

We seek pleasure.

We seek pleasure.

We seek escape from pain.

We Seek Value

We seek Signifigance

We seek Power

We seek Happiness

We seek security

But the the Bible teaches we do not seek God without God first working in our hearts to want to know Him.

We are not saved because we had the wisdom and insight to exercise our own faith and trust God.

No one wakes up one day and, on his own, decides to seek God.

We are saved when God touches our hearts and prompts us to use the faith He gives to receive His gift of salvation.

Even with the knowledge of God’s existence everywhere, people naturally choose to “suppress the truth by their wickedness” ().

Because no one naturally seeks God, God seeks us.

He sought Adam and Eve as they hid in the Garden (), and He has been seeking His lost loved ones ever since.

Jesus gave this as His mission statement: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” ().

This is what we see happening in our text.

IN

Matthew 4.19

Jesus is calling some men to himself to become fishers of men.

our mission statement says Laborers.

Laborers are fishers of men.

2. Come See! John 1.46-51

Jesus doesn't come from Buckhead.

Buckhead in and of itself is not bad but Jesus chose to be from nowhere special.

I believe he did this to Identify with us.

I believe He has a deep value on authenticity and substance over pretense and flash.

He didn’t need the Identify props that we need.

We lust for fame, fortune, Beauty, Intelligence, athleticism because in our fallen state we cannot grasp the supremacy of being a child of the King.

We need those things to feel better about ourselves.

Not Jesus.

He is all substance and willing to hide his power and flash.

Nathaniel is skeptical: WE never encounter skepticism do we?

No argument just come and see.

How Philip Handled Nathaniels Doubts.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006).

(p.

72).

Chicago: Moody Press.

Nathaniel is skeptical: I’m glad we never encounter skepticism?

Only all the time.

How Philip Handled Nathaniels Doubts.

No argument from Philip only just come and see.

Philip’s reaction to Nathanael’s doubt should be viewed as exemplary because it parallels Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question in the previous pericope (1:39).

That response was, “Come and see,” and it points to the fact that Philip did not argue with Nathanael concerning Jesus.

Instead, he issued an invitation to join him.

In reflecting on this response it is well to remember that in spite of opinions to the contrary, evangelism is not usually advanced much by apologetics because apologetic arguments usually convince those who are generally already convinced or who are at the point of seeking to be convinced.

Evangelism usually is advanced best by genuine, concerned, loving proclamation and invitation.

-Note: Philip did not try and argue with Nathaniel.

People are never argued into the kingdom.

Philip was sure and his conviction lead him to say come and see for yourself!

If you see HIm you will not need my arguing.

Philip told Him to “come and see”.

He did not try to argue him into heaven or faith but rather said if you see Him you will savor Him.

Illustration:

There is a story which tells how, towards the end of the nineteenth century, Thomas Huxley, the great agnostic, was a member of a house party at a country house.