Responding To Jesus
The Endless Journey - John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Reading:
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
Introduction:
A little boy laying in a field on a beautiful sunny day looking at the passing clouds.
Using his imagination to see the shapes in the clouds and wonders who makes the shapes.
Enamored by the beautiful colors as the sun sets, reflecting off the clouds. All the while wondering how the colors are possible?
The boys thoughts are consistent and stir up the questions:
How these things can be, the stars in the clear night sky, the moon giving a bright glow.
How does all this exist, who keeps it together?
We may find these are questions of every individual:
Who is God?
If you search through history with this question on the forefront of your mind; you might recognize the necessity of all mankind.
There is a God who is higher than any man.
You look into Egypt: Why did they worship many gods?
Because they recognized the reality that Mankind isn’t the highest!
We lack control and oversight of everything in this world.
When it comes to this world: what is man supposed to do?
Be a steward.
Almost like God’s words are true for what His creation was to do while on this Earth.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Stewardship over what God created.
In doing this we may recognize that our authority has limits:
We cannot affect this world as we would like to think, or even as some scientists say.
God is in charge, and He holds it all together and can break it apart as He wills.
All He allows He allows for His will and the future plans He has for us!
Connection:
How does the knowledge of this reality hold us accountable for what we choose in our lives or how we move forward each day?
The knowledge requires a response!
This is where we can begin to respond to Jesus.
John provides the expectation, since we now know the truth of Jesus.
John already point out all we needed to know about Jesus.
Yet his ministry was:
Pointing people to Jesus (35-42)
Pointing people to Jesus (35-42)
John had those he was discipling.
He was passing on the knowledge and truth he understood.
He provided hope for the day when Jesus would come and humanity would be given all truth and opportunity.
John ministry shows the succession of truth with each day.
The first day was the proclaimed truth of Jesus as God and He dwelt among them; but wasn’t known yet. (1-27)
The second day was when Jesus’ was proclaimed and John point all to Him. (29-34)
Here we have the third day!
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.
John shows consistency in his message and he does the same thing he did yesterday.
He points everyone to Jesus as Jesus passed by.
When witnessing we must do it consistently like John.
(?) In our witnessing and testifying of Jesus do we call out what He is doing at every point of the day to everyone around us?
Probably not.
But why not?
It’s not because Jesus isn’t present in our lives.
It’s not because we don’t love Jesus.
It’s not because He isn’t working all the time.
I think it is because we are often pre-occupied with our agenda, our duties and obligations.
Trying to pay attention to and remember all that Jesus is doing as He does it in our lives is impossible.
This is where we find the wisdom in Psalms and many other passages speaking into our lives:
They call us to remember all that the Lord does for us throughout the day.
This is a foundation stone for our lives.
We must guide our minds in the right direction, it won’t happen naturally!
At the end of the day reflect on all that has taken place and speak to the Lord:
Thank Him for always orchestrating our lives each day.
Thank Him for opportunities to respond obediently.
Thank Him for the moments you learned something new.
Ask for forgiveness over those moments you you lacked faith!
At the beginning of each day ask for help to not make the same mistakes from yesterday.
This challenges our hearts and minds to be aware.
To be on the lookout for where God is doing something today!
The consistent routine will shape a spiritually aware mind.
When we focus on what Jesus is doing, it’s easier to point people to what He’s doing in our lives, all because we are more aware of it.
John’s lifestyle was free of all “fleshly” distractions.
Nothing to distract him from God’s will.
His main obligation was to point the way to Jesus for all.
In this moment of John He is doing just that.
He was a preacher who lived what he preached.
Nietzsche used to challenge Christians:
“Show me you are redeemed and I will believe in your redeemer.” -Nietzsche
The text says that He pointed out Jesus to his disciples.
The setting seems to be that John’s disciples were near him as Jesus passed by and John points them to Jesus.
John’s statement provides the “starting point” for someone to follow Jesus.
36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
Connection:
If someone wants to follow Jesus there must be a recognition that Jesus is the saviour; the sacrificial lamb who takes away our sin!
When we are talking with people about “religion” the beginning is admitting Jesus is the one who gave His life as a payment for our sin.
Illustration:
The first step for Israel to become Israel was by faith!
Believe in what God offered for salvation.
They were to kill a lamb and spread the blood on the doorposts and lentil.
Their faith was shown by their actions, not just the knowledge of it.
For us:
Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and believing in what He did will alter our life and eternity.
Our faith will be seen through the new life that we now live according to the spirit devoid of the flesh.
Our first step of obedience is to publicly profess Jesus as our Savior and that our old life is gone and our new life has come.
Baptism is that public profession of our faith.
(?) What John did for his disciples wasn’t the norm, from the perspective of a “religious” hierarchy.
Most religions want to adhere to the building up of the number of people following their leadership.
Biblical faith should focus more on building up and strengthening the inner spiritual man of others.
What this shows is that the popularity of the person isn’t the main thing.
Our spiritual growth and depth should be the focus.
John’s disciples adhered to their mentor’s teaching and followed Jesus.
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
The second part of pointing people to Jesus is to be confronted by the truth!
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?”
Jesus confronted their reason for wanting to follow Him.
At the moment we begin taking Jesus seriously we are faced with the same question:
What do we want from Him?
This confrontation often comes at uncomfortable, difficult, or trying moments.
What do you want from Jesus?
Do you want a genie in a bottle to grant 3 wishes or do you want your entire life to change?
Jesus didn’t force an answer, hear what He did.
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.
When we point people to Jesus, we have to know that they are forced to face the reality of what they are expecting from Jesus.
Know that you don’t have to get a response from people, that’s a little over zealous.
Back in verse :13 the imagery was used for birth when speaking about what Jesus offers.
Birth has a gestational time of 9 months; don’t force spiritual birth immediately, let it come naturally.
It is best to utilize the 1 Corinthians method when witnessing:
Prepare the ground, till it up, fertilize it.
Plant the seed and systematically follow up and water it.
Pay attention to any fungus or deceptional thought, remove it (correct the wrong thinking with the truth of God’s word)
Harvest the seed to salvation (the birth of a spiritual infant)
Something to note: these steps probably won’t be done by 1 person, it may be done through multiple people.
You can hear that John’s disciples weren’t fully convinced.
They called Him Rabbi, a title for an important leader.
They didn’t believe He was God; but they would.
Jesus invited them and then He cared for them.
The tenth hour reference was the dinner hour, so Jesus invited them to eat dinner and spend the latter part of the day with Him.
Connection:
When you spend a little time with Jesus your going to want to tell others about Him.
This is what Andrew did for His brother Simon.
The first thing he did was announce to Simon the truth of the Hope that was now in the world!
Simon’s obedience brought a new identity!
He would be called Peter, referencing the firm faith that Peter had in Jesus.
Transition:
The system didn’t stop.
John pointed is disciples to Jesus and now Jesus on the way to Galilee called His own disciples.
Philip had been called: “follow me”; and Philip brought Nathanael.
Those whom Jesus called were:
Responding to Jesus (43-51)
Responding to Jesus (43-51)
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.”
Jesus was presented by Philip to Nathanael using the proper Jewish identifiers:
Prophecy
Nation
And Family
For Nathanael this brought confusion.
Which really adds to a typical minor theme found through John.
A Misunderstanding;
For Nathanael: since the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem not Nazareth!
This is what merits Nathanael’s sarcasm:
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Nazareth was insignificant and one that has no prophetic statements about the Messiah.
Have you ever heard of anyone being skeptical about Jesus when your talking to them?
What should you do?
Invite them to “come and see” for themselves.
Investigate themselves and the claims that are made about Jesus!
Nathanael did that:
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 reveals His deity here:
He reveals that He is Omniscience and Omnipresence.
Knows all, and is everywhere all at once!
These are attribute that only God has.
Was anyone at the fig tree with Nathanael?
Nope!
Jesus also references Nathanael’s family history.
Jacob was Nathanael’s forefather, the one who deceived his father and the birthright of his brother.
Yet in Nathanael there was no guile
A little poke, revealing that Jesus knew him and his family.
Jesus knows all.
Connection:
Typically when people are seeking Jesus they desire truth and are willing to hear it even if it’s not easy.
At the bottom of the barrel there is only one way to go: Up.
Jesus meets us where we are and reveals it to us!
When you come to Jesus and He reveals Himself to you there will be a response!
Unbelief or Belief.
Nathanael’s reaction shows that the truth was received.
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.”
Receiving the truth of Jesus brings us to the beginning of our race, not the end.
The life that we now live we live differently as Paul said in Galatians.
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
When we meet Jesus and believe in Him our response is to change our direction and follow Him.
Don’t be fooled following Christ isn’t easy, your going to be tested, tempted by Satan, and tried through the fighting between our flesh and spirit.
We will have storms to walk through.
Experiencing them in the flesh is difficult; but our faith is secure.
He is guiding us through it each and every moment.
This is the faith in the new spiritual connection we have with the Lord.
We may not see the end; but I believe that He is walking through it with me and guiding my mind back on the path of truth!
Illustration:
They say that you can see a candle burning in a window from about 1.6 miles away.
In the darkest night if there is a guiding light you can make your way to it.
Because of our flesh Jesus can be hard to see or focus on; but the candle is lit and there for us to focus on.
He provided the truth in His word.
Whether it is a life to learn from or a truth about Him that we can trust.
Some examples:
He will never leave or forsake you! (Heb. 13:5-6)
Or that some of your problems are because of your own lusts (James 1:13-14).
Or that some have shown what not to do by disobeying what the Lord said like Achan, or the Israelites over and over and over!
In the darkest of moments you find yourself in, whether it is self inflicted or Satan initiated.
Jesus is there and is trustworthy!
Jesus provides hope at the end here to Nathanael and to us:
What a wonderful future we will witness.
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.”
To Nathanael this is a direct reference to his ancestor Jacob’s dream about a ladder reaching to heaven and the angels ascending and descending upon it.
This expresses and confirms that because Jesus arrived the gateway between Heaven and Earth has opened.
Even better is the fact that Jesus bridges the chasm of sin that separated us from God.
There can be fellowship and connection from the creation to it’s creator once again because of Jesus!
Conclusion:
John’s example was to point people to Jesus, providing hope to the hopeless.
Who do you know that needs this hope!
We also find that when we believe in Jesus we bring others.
Who are you going to bring with you to Heaven?
To accomplish this are you consistent in your message?
Are you over zealous forcing an decision or action?
Let the Lord work in people through your words and testimony!
Trust that each person will respond to Jesus!
Either belief or Unbelief.
Don’t come to God with expectations, come willing to live up to His expectations for you!
-Pray!
