How To Know Him

Introduction

How many of you like puzzles? How about Mazes? I love the feeling of being lost in a maze and having thinking through a way out. I like the challenge of trying to figure out what to do next.

How about a mystery? I love a good mystery. But be careful if you watch a mystery movie with me. I have a bad habit of figuring out the end before its over.

Tonight, I want you to know that to know God is not a big mystery. God wants you t know Him. He tells us about Himself in the Bible. Yes, there are things that He says is not for us to know yet. But He wants us to know Him. In order for us to know God, He had to come to us. I am so glad He came to us in the Man of Jesus Christ.

As we began to look at the first chapter of John a few weeks ago we looked at Jesus, how He is God. That John in the very opening of his gospel starts by pointing to that fact stating in the beginning was the Word. When we believe that and place our faith in the fact that He is what the Bible says, we are placing faith in something strong and secure.

I also pointed out my prayer for all of us this summer and the theme for Camp. That we all would seek to know Him more. But the question many be for you tonight is; how do we seek to know Jesus. How do we do what Paul says in this verse?

Philippians 3:10 KJV 1900

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

I have four quick principles found in our text that will help us to know how to seek and How Jesus helps those who want to know Him. We all must see ourselves in the right perspective, Set Jesus in His place in our life, Seek Him, He seeks us, and He even reaches the skeptic.

Luke 11:9–10 KJV 1900

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Self Image

This was talked about last week so I don’t want to spend a lot of time here. But I feel it is important to note that if we are to seek to know Jesus more this summer we should not place ourselves on a pedestal. It is hard to fill your heart with Jesus when it is already full of yourself. Pride is a dangerous thing. It can come into our hearts and like a cancer spend until it effects everything in your life. It can and does effect all kinds of different people. It doesn’t matter who you are or what kind of passed you have or don’t have pride effects all of us.

John the Baptist sees himself in the right place and he is an example for us to follow. Just to recap from last week.

John 1:23 KJV 1900

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

John 1:27 KJV 1900

He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

John the Baptist was not a self-seeker. They counted John among the prophets but John maintained that, “Jesus is me - in time and in significance. He says this later on in John.

John 3:30 KJV 1900

He must increase, but I must decrease.

John’s testimony of himself is humble and truthful. If we are going to seek Jesus this summer we must humble our hearts, and get ourselves off of the pedestals and get on our knees before the God-man.

Just a quick note. That doesn’t mean we are worthless either. Jesus died for you! You are worth the life of the Son of God. As we pointed out last week we are beautifully and wonderfully made by God and He died for you. Who we are is all because of Jesus not because of what we have done.

Set Jesus in His Place

Verse 29-34

John 1:29–34 KJV 1900

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

John the writer jumps a few days in this first chapter. He does back to John the Baptist giving His testimony about Jesus but it is now the next day.

John declared, Behold the Lamb of God! in the first few verses we saw Jesus as God but now John sees Him as the sacrificial lamb. John’s declaration would have immediately connected us listeners to the Passover lambs. However, many of the Jewish leaders were not looking for the Messiah which is the Lamb of God, they were looking for a king that was going to come and remove Rome from there hold on Israel. They wanted glory to be restored back to Israel. This lamb would deal with the sins of all mankind. But they wanted nothing to do with this Lamb, this Messiah.

They were still stuck on our first point. They were too full of themselves to see what was right in front of them. Jesus wasn’t coming, yet, to be the ruler, (although one day he will), He was coming to set them free from the grabs of of sin on the hold of Rome.

John follows His declaration with, “which takes away the sins of the world.” That is of everyone!

Luke 19:10 KJV 1900

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

John 3:17 KJV 1900

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

If we are going to Seek to know Him more this summer we must have the right self image, but we must beyond anything else see Jesus as the Lamb who came to take away the sins of the world!

Matthew 20:28 KJV 1900

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The Jews leaders were looking for someone to rule on High, But Jesus came to give up His life that they may live forever.

John the Baptist purpose was to point others to Jesus then to step out of the spotlight and let Jesus have His place. Our message and ministry is to be like John’s in the this sense: We are voices in the wilderness of the world, pointing men to Jesus . Jesus is the Christ; there is not another to be looking for, It’s Jesus who takes away sin, not our works, not hope in anything other than the Son of God.

Seek Him

Verses 35-39

John 1:35–39 KJV 1900

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

This in where the rubber meets the road. Just start. We often talk about wanting to know Him more. But talk is cheap and actions seek louder than words. Just get busy seeking Him.

It is evident again in these verses that John the Baptist is pointing others to Jesus, even His own followers. I can imagine John standing there with two of his followers and watching Jesus walk by and says to them; “Behold! what are you two doing following me? You should be following Him!”

We don’t have to have a Bible college degree or even older and wiser to seek Jesus we just need to willingly and actively seeking him. When we do He will meet you where you are.

Verses 38-39 shows us that the two disciples were a bit apprehensive, shy, and unsure of the whole thing. These verses shows us that Jesus turned back to meet the seekers . What a gentle Savior we have. He knew their hesitancy and insecurity. He did not press them, He met them halfway. He didn’t ask the m to hurry or toughen up. God made it easy for them to come. He opened the door for them to know Him.

When a heart responds with a desire to know Christ, God does not play hard-to-get. To the seeking heart Jesus says, come and see. He still bid those who seek Him to come and see today.

The Sought

Verse 40-42.

John 1:40–42 KJV 1900

One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

Andrew one of the disciples to leave John the Baptist and follow Jesus. I love Andrew. I truly believe that Andrew was not a flashy guy. Outside of a few things very little is known about Andrew. He wasn’t the one to walk on the water, he wasn’t one who lay in Jesus’ lap. He didn’t do grand things for God as far a miracles that we know of. But He brought Peter to Jesus. Peter who walked on water, who helped lead the first Church, Peter who is mentioned time and again as someone in the middle of all the big things for God.

Andrew who had been one of the two who were standing with John the Baptist, follows Jesus and His first response is to bring his bother to Jesus. He goes and seeks others to bring them to Jesus.

You and I may never be like Peter. We may never do these grand things for God on the big scale of things. But it is my prayer that I be like Andrew, who’s greatest achievement recorded is that He brought Peter to Jesus. I may never be a Peter but I may be an influence on the next Peter as I point them to Jesus.

Jesus wastes no time with Peter. He knew this rough edges of a fisherman just need Him to get right to the point, as He immediately changes is name and calls him a stone.

Conclusion

Have you heard Jesus say, follow me? But you cannot see yourself as someone who is able, or even worthy of Christ. Jesus is seeking you. Follow Him anyway, He knows what you can and can’t do. Seek Him, Seek to know Him more.

Jesus is inviting you to come and see, so that you may believe on Him and have life. He will call you and use you. We won’t have time to look at the Skeptic, but even to the one who may be thinking, “I don’t know about this Jesus.”

I want to end with the words Jesus says to the first two disciples.

What seek ye? What are you looking for in life? Are you looking to have your name written in lights? Are you hoping to do big things for God? Or maybe You just want to be like Andrew.

How do you seek to know Him? It starts with a child like faith coming to Jesus the lamb of God for salvation from your sins and just getting busy learning and knowing Him more.