Nov. 11, 2018 - The Call of Christ
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Prayer
I don’t know about you, but whenever I come across something that i REALLY REALLY like...
I get this OVERWHELMING urge to tell others about it.
If any of you know me enough to know that I’m obsessed with Shane & Shane (the singing group)...
Then you also probably know that I LOVE to introduce people to their music!
Rachel will tell you that it’s actually, STILL, one of the first questions I ask someone that I meet for the first time that’s a Christian…*
(they’re SO GOOD, I can’t help but want people to HEAR them!)
And so what ends up happening - is - I start to - TESTIFY to how good Shane and Shane really are!
Restaurant’s are another big one for me...
If I come across a great restaurant…a great meal...
I want to make sure the people I’m close with in life KNOW about it, so that can hopefully experience the greatness as well!
Again, I don’t know about YOU, but i know this is who I am...
And so in reading our passage today, I could have related to those in the passage…in that way...
AND I hope that as we unpack it, you feel the same way
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
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!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
What we see here is the call of the first disciples of Christ...
In the first section we see it’s mainly about the call of Andrew and Simon Peter...
and in the 2nd section we see the call of Philip and Nathaniel.
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
What i want us to see here is this...
The Aim of John’s Ministry
The Aim of John’s Ministry
What does v35 say?
John was standing there with 2 of HIS own disciples...
This would have been John the Baptist
Now - there were 2 disciples standing there - Andrew is the obvious one as his name is mentioned later...
…and the other is a Disciple of John the Baptist...
NOW - John the Baptist KNEW he had disciples…those who followed him...
those who believed his teachings...
And yet, we see Jesus walk by, and he AGAIN declares (Behold, the Lamb of God!)
What happened when the 2 disciples standing their HEARD John the Baptist say this about Christ?
They began FOLLOWING Jesus…!
The AIM of John’s Ministry was the Person of Christ!
When John the Baptist came on the scene - what was his message?
On Day 1 - “The Messiah is Present. He’s come”
On Day 2 - “Behold, the Lamb of God”
And now on Day 3 - He tells his disciples to what? - FOLLOW Jesus! Follow HIM!
THIS is why I came - John the Baptist said!
John wasn’t looking for people to FOLLOW himself...
Remember - John the Baptist didn’t come to - MAKE FRIENDS!
He came and confronted a SELF-RIGHTEOUS people.
the nation of Israel
These people didn’t think they needed to repent
They didn’t think they needed a Savior
They weren’t looking for a LAMB...
They were looking for a KING!
And they DIDN’T equate the 2...
They believed they were ALREADY right with God based on their RELIGIOSITY…and their morals...
And anyone who would say otherwise - THEY WOULD - kill
John the Baptist comes along and says - You need to REPENT of your SINS
The Wrath of God is coming - and you need to turn from yourselves...
To LAY down your self-righteousness
And THEN John pointed to Jesus as the FINAL sacrifice...
the ONE that could actually save!
For John the Baptist…it was ALL about Jesus Christ! Pointing to Christ!
AND SOME JEWS....believed!
True Jews...
True Israelites…UNDERSTOOD the message of John..
They understood their NEED for a Savior...
They understood that they needed a SACRIFICE for their sins...
And so when John proclaimed - THERE - THERE is the LAMB of GOD!
…they knew…this is the one spoken of in Isaiah 53...
And so here we read today - of this little group of believers…who all knew each other...
all made their living the same way...
And He molds them into - guys that changed the world!
And today we’re going to see a pattern with how this little group...
…could turn into what we see today all around the world!
So the 2 disciples of John the Baptist, begin following the Lamb of God…and this is what happens...
Let’s continue...
38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
Interesting that Jesus sees these men beginning to follow Him...
And His first response is to - QUESTION them
SLIDE: THE CALL OF CHRIST: What Are You Seeking?
THE CALL OF CHRIST
THE CALL OF CHRIST
WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING?
It shouldn’t be lost on us that THIS QUESTION is just as relevant to us today - to YOU today - as it was for those back then...
No doubt there are those today who seek Christ...
But for what He can give them!
You may have heard of the Prosperity Gospel...
The Health, Wealth, and Prosperity Gospel!
The prosperity Gospel in a nutshell is this:
It's the belief that the believer is to USE God...to get what he wants...
God becomes a MEANS to another end.
So - Health, Wealth, Prosperity...These are the things that the WORLD seeks...
The prosperity Gospel tells you that it's THESE things that God WANTS FOR YOU...
That God WANTS you to be rich
That God WANTS you to be healthy
The problem with this thought is - The Bible...
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
And i don't think we truly believe this..."Oh how much EASIER life would be - with MONEY!"Oh SO much easier...
But would it?
When we say 'LIFE' would be easier....what do we mean by 'LIFE'...
If we BELIEVE that LIFE would be easier if we just had a ton of money...then we're NOT thinking about the LIFE that matters...
Our thinking is OFF
5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
SO MANY don't get it.
That's riches...how about HEALTH?
Let's look at the HEALTH of the apostles...
James “put to death with the sword,” likely a reference to beheading.
the apostle Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy (John 21:18).
The following are the most popular “traditions” concerning the deaths of the other apostles:
Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.
John was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil BUT he survived..He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.
James, the brother of Jesus (not officially an apostle), was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club.
Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was flayed to death by a whip for preaching the gospel.
Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece.
After being whipped severely by seven soldiers, they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.”
He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he died.
The apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there.
Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in A.D. 67.
There are traditions regarding the other apostles as well, but none with any reliable historical support.
The Gospel - the good news of Christ is that REGARDLESS of your:
financial situation...
your health status...
your future outlook on this earth...
You HAVE Jesus Christ...!
This is why people walked to their death...they KNEW they had Jesus!!
AND so when Jesus ASKS US - what are you seeking?
He’s asking - WHAT is the AIM of your Pursuit?
Is it ME?
Or is it creation?
And it was relevant back then - WHY?
Let’s set the stage...
Jesus had just fed the 5000…
And NOW - those 5000 are trying to FIND Jesus...
26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
**explain
Even back in the 1st century, people SOUGHT Jesus - for the things He has made…and NOT for Him!
Because here’s the cool thing -
When Jesus is our Pursuit - and HIS GLORY is our AIM...
Then TESTIMONY will become our ANTHEM in life!!
When we SEEK Jesus IN HIS WORD - and have HIS GLORY as our AIM - then we won’t be able to help but = Spread the message of Christ!
Let’s see if this is what we see in our text today!
38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
Here we see Andrew was FOUND by Christ...
And what was the result of that??
SLIDE: THE CALL OF CHRIST: Leads to the Testimony of Christ
THE CALL OF CHRIST
THE CALL OF CHRIST
It says - Andrew first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ)
HOW did Andrew come to THAT conclusion?
Did Andrew just BELIEVE whatever John the Baptist told him and leave it at that?
NO - Andrew used his own brain, sought Jesus out and went and stayed with Him!
Somehow - I don’t think they sat in silence the whole time - AGAIN - I don’t KNOW that…SO don’t hold it against me...
Andrew PURSUED Jesus Christ...
And the result of that pursuit was this -
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
TESTIMONY is the result of - a pursuit of Jesus Christ!
Question for you: Ask yourself this question:
Is my pursuit of Jesus Christ only expressed through the preaching of God’s word on Sunday mornings?
Is my pursuit of Jesus Christ actually my pastor’s pursuit of Jesus Christ?
Is my pursuit of Jesus Christ only active during the Sunday morning proclamation of God’s word?
Not for Andrew!
Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist...
He didn’t JUST sit before John and listen to John...
When Christ walked by - the one for whom John spoke OF - Andrew went after - Christ!
NOW - We speak about Christ every Sunday morning....
Is that all there is for you?
BECAUSE - if you own a Bible and it sits on your shelf all week…THAT’s where you come to KNOW Christ...
What do we continue to see as we move along…?
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.
Let’s stop there - think of this - Jesus is calling his first disciples...
*Not like the Brown’s Coaching search
All of these guys are from this same area…most, if not all, knew each other.
What does that tell you?
Do you think God knew that by selecting Apostles from the same clan of people...
…that the world would just consider this group (a gang of friends who made all this up?)
Of course God knew that’s what the world would think.
And YET what? That’s exactly what God did...
God KNEW - AGAIN - that the world can’t get beyond the physical!
Well - they’re just friends making this up = the world said
God said - I’m gonna use this group to change the world.
Continuing on...
So Jesus FINDS Philip…now what?
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.”
Here we go again - Found and now Finding
The Call of Christ leads to the Testimony of Christ!
“We have found the One”.... Philip says to Nathanael...
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.”
Jesus sees Nathanael coming toward Him, and calls out:
“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
Jesus was reading the Spiritual Status of Nathanael…!
Nathanael, according to Jesus - was a TRUE Israelite!
A true Jew...
a true Believer of God!
the OT way of saying - a saved person
And Nathanael says - How do you know me?
(read verse) - before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you
Could Jesus see the fig tree? I don’t THINK so…why?
Look at Nathanael’s response...
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
More TESTIMONY!
Jesus responds...
50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
In other words - Jesus is saying - Oh, get ready boys…your world as you know it - is forever changed.
What we’ve seen today is the reality that - for those who have been called by Christ...
TESTIMONY becomes their anthem!
That’s how the church started...
ONE person at a time!
Andrew is FOUND - By Christ - and then goes and tells Peter - ABOUT Christ
Philip is FOUND - by Christ - then goes and tells Nathanael - ABOUT Christ
And so 2 Questions for you:
What does your life testify to those around you?
That church isn’t important?
That fellowship isn’t important?
That Bible study isn’t important?
That possessions are important?
What do your words testify to those around you?
That’s the most important thing in life is.... money, security, health?
That the things we never speak of are - politics and religion?
Know this:
We are our own testimony
Either our words and deeds will elevate and point to Jesus Christ, or they will point to ourselves...
May it be the former....
Let’s pray!