WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.680 morning everybody. Nice to see you. So we are back in John 1 this week. If you've got a Bible, 00:00:06.840 --> 00:00:13.760 if you want to turn to that. We've got dust on our Bibles. Run your iPhones. Turn your iPhone 00:00:13.760 --> 00:00:19.860 app to it. That'd be great. And we're going to be picking it up. We're going to finish chapter 1 00:00:19.860 --> 00:00:32.080 today yes yeah so uh all being well so uh if you can find verse 35 that'd be great but uh before 00:00:32.080 --> 00:00:39.200 we get into the passage so so we're in the book of john and if this is all a bit new to you uh that's 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.360 the that's the fourth book in the new testament so it's the fourth book we've got that tells us 00:00:44.360 --> 00:00:49.220 about the lifetime of jesus that tells us the stuff that he did when he was here on earth 00:00:49.220 --> 00:00:55.120 2,000 years ago and this is John's version of the account so as we said before he's got a different 00:00:55.120 --> 00:00:59.620 slant than the other three guys that write about Jesus's life and that's fine and good because 00:00:59.620 --> 00:01:04.100 we'd all do the same if we went away somewhere and then came back and gave our accounts of things it 00:01:04.100 --> 00:01:09.720 would be slightly different right so so this is John's version of events and we finally get to 00:01:09.720 --> 00:01:16.540 John talking actually presenting Jesus to us today and what Jesus is actually about and what he's 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:24.780 doing. And this passage is about Jesus, the first people following him in particular. So we're going 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:31.900 to encounter Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel and possibly a fifth person who is unknown. And 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:36.940 they become the first followers of Jesus. So just before we get into the passage, what are the sort 00:01:36.940 --> 00:01:44.930 of things that people follow today? What do you follow? What do people follow? Influencers. 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:45.910 Oh, you're so modern. 00:01:47.090 --> 00:01:48.870 Football. Football teams, yeah? 00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:51.490 People follow the news. 00:01:51.770 --> 00:01:52.790 Wow. What else? 00:01:56.510 --> 00:01:58.850 Social media, yeah, all that kind of stuff. 00:01:59.310 --> 00:02:01.630 Well, you might follow a car on the journey, mightn't you? 00:02:01.650 --> 00:02:04.830 If you're going in convoy somewhere, you follow a car and all that kind of stuff. 00:02:04.830 --> 00:02:08.830 So as you think about those things and following those things, 00:02:09.370 --> 00:02:12.110 do you think that's kind of what following Jesus is about? 00:02:14.310 --> 00:02:15.470 Or is it something different? 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:19.300 Making everybody think early on a Sunday morning. 00:02:20.140 --> 00:02:23.840 Is it like that? Is it like following people on social media? 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.840 Is it like following a band or following a football team? 00:02:26.920 --> 00:02:27.760 Or is it something different? 00:02:27.880 --> 00:02:35.040 Well, this passage is going to give us a few snippets as to what following Jesus looks like and what that's about. 00:02:35.140 --> 00:02:40.180 And I've actually got at least four, maybe five things that I've pulled out of here. 00:02:40.200 --> 00:02:44.840 And there are other things in this passage that help us understand what following Jesus is about. 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:46.580 So we start off in verse 35. 00:02:47.600 --> 00:02:48.500 John tells us this. 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:53.720 he says, the next day John, I remember he's talking about John the Baptist, not John the 00:02:53.720 --> 00:02:58.480 writer of this letter, the next day John the Baptist was there again with two of his disciples 00:02:58.480 --> 00:03:05.860 when he saw Jesus passing by and he said, look the Lamb of God. I don't know, I'm amazed at the way 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:12.040 my mind works, but it kind of comes up this image of, you know, Jesus walking by. Hi John. And John 00:03:12.040 --> 00:03:17.320 sort of saying, look the Lamb of God. And so we read in the next verse, when two of John's 00:03:17.320 --> 00:03:24.860 disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. And turning around, Jesus saw them following and 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:32.740 asked, what do you want? So the first thing that actually helps us understand what does it mean 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:39.240 to follow Jesus? Am I following Jesus? The first thing is Jesus is asking us the questions. 00:03:40.850 --> 00:03:45.010 What do you want? He says, he turns around and says, what do you want? So the first thing he says 00:03:45.010 --> 00:03:52.190 is what the first words that John gives us that God incarnate speaks on earth is what do you want 00:03:52.190 --> 00:03:59.440 what are you looking for and actually that's what the original Greek actually means what are you 00:03:59.440 --> 00:04:06.460 looking for you know as you follow Jesus what is it that you are looking for and I guess in many 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:13.940 ways God still speaks the same words to this world today what is it that you are looking for 00:04:15.030 --> 00:04:17.650 You know, maybe Andrew, we don't know it's Andrew yet, 00:04:17.710 --> 00:04:21.430 but maybe these two disciples, they just followed Jesus safely. 00:04:21.630 --> 00:04:23.870 Maybe they kind of thought, what John says is interesting. 00:04:24.010 --> 00:04:25.830 We'll kind of follow this guy safely. 00:04:26.450 --> 00:04:29.070 And do you remember, were you one of the people when you were at school, 00:04:29.650 --> 00:04:32.250 you wanted to sit on the back row of the classroom? 00:04:32.770 --> 00:04:33.630 Yeah, keep your head down. 00:04:33.630 --> 00:04:38.500 And when the teacher asked the question, I'm working really hard, you know, 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:40.820 not looking up and hoping they don't pick you. 00:04:40.880 --> 00:04:44.380 And those two disciples are kind of following Jesus in that sort of way. 00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:47.660 They're kind of, you know, let's keep safe here. 00:04:48.740 --> 00:04:54.660 But Jesus turns on them and looks at them in the eye and says, what is it you want? 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:56.280 What are you looking for? 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:58.900 And it's like their cover is suddenly blown. 00:05:00.080 --> 00:05:03.100 And, you know, why is Jesus asking them that question? 00:05:04.050 --> 00:05:08.530 Well, maybe he's asking them that question because maybe he's wondering, are they rabbi hopping? 00:05:09.750 --> 00:05:12.130 Are they hopping from John the Baptist to Jesus? 00:05:12.250 --> 00:05:13.790 And maybe they go on to somewhere else. 00:05:13.790 --> 00:05:22.000 people church hop today. Maybe Jesus is asking, are you just doing that? Are you following me 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:27.120 just because you've got nothing better to do? He's asking them what is in their heart as they follow 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:33.680 Jesus. It's a great question, isn't it? And it's a really important question to ask ourselves today. 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:42.080 Why am I following Jesus? It's a risky question, right? For a lot of reasons. Why am I following 00:05:42.080 --> 00:05:47.020 Jesus today are we following Jesus because our parents did it are we following Jesus because 00:05:47.020 --> 00:05:51.580 I've just always done it are we following Jesus because well the church seems friendly they seem 00:05:51.580 --> 00:05:58.380 like nice people you know it's interesting straight away Jesus is not passive about how we follow him 00:05:58.380 --> 00:06:03.440 all those other things we talked about at the beginning that we follow today we remain in 00:06:03.440 --> 00:06:10.180 control of right that we can decide to ease in or back off from it or whatever but here as we 00:06:10.180 --> 00:06:17.240 follow Jesus. He's not passive about us following him. He's asking us, what are you looking for as 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:25.110 you follow Jesus? What is it that you are looking for in your heart? And so it's Jesus asking us 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:30.450 this question. It's like our cover is blown. But also in asking the question, Jesus is cutting 00:06:30.450 --> 00:06:35.070 through the culture of the day. So when John writes this, which is like 2,000 years ago, 00:06:35.430 --> 00:06:40.950 the Jewish culture of that day, at that time, there were lots of these rabbis around in the 00:06:40.950 --> 00:06:45.570 land and they gathered around them disciples. So every rabbi had a bunch of disciples that sat 00:06:45.570 --> 00:06:51.210 with them and listened to their teaching and got on. So it was a very cultural thing for them to 00:06:51.210 --> 00:06:57.750 gather around a rabbi and listen and discuss stuff, discuss the political situation of the world and 00:06:57.750 --> 00:07:03.730 what they thought about the Romans running them and all that kind of stuff. But Jesus cuts through 00:07:03.730 --> 00:07:10.030 that because he knows how radically different following Jesus is going to be from following 00:07:10.030 --> 00:07:17.950 a rabbi at that time. And he cuts through the culture of the day to help these guys understand 00:07:17.950 --> 00:07:24.170 following me is going to be very, very different. I mean, we're talking about Andrew here. Church 00:07:24.170 --> 00:07:31.070 tradition is that Andrew ends up following Jesus and is crucified on an X-shaped cross. We're going 00:07:31.070 --> 00:07:36.390 to meet Peter in a few minutes. Church tradition is that Peter, at the end of his life, was crucified 00:07:36.390 --> 00:07:41.930 upside down because he didn't consider himself worthy of being crucified in the same way his 00:07:41.930 --> 00:07:50.490 savior was you know the cost involved in following Jesus is far far different from just getting along 00:07:50.490 --> 00:07:55.650 and doing the other stuff in the world that the people in the culture of the day are doing and so 00:07:55.650 --> 00:08:04.160 Jesus is challenging them are we following Jesus because we want him to fix us because we want him 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:11.820 to hold our hand or are we following him to take us wherever he wants to take us whatever the cost 00:08:11.820 --> 00:08:19.160 a big question isn't it and I think so often and I do get concerned at times that in the 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:26.000 in the in our generation we've we've domesticated Christianity to something that is more palatable 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:31.440 to something that is about me to something that about how Jesus can help me and we turn it into 00:08:31.440 --> 00:08:37.220 things that I just want emotional highs or I want Jesus to fix me and Jesus here is saying 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:45.950 have you counted the cost what is in your heart why are you following me what are you after 00:08:45.950 --> 00:08:53.730 I remember as a young man I can still remember as a young man listening in my early 20s to somebody 00:08:53.730 --> 00:09:01.810 talk about these five American missionaries in their early 20s who were passionate about 00:09:01.810 --> 00:09:07.490 following Jesus and who got hold of this that actually it's Jesus or nothing no matter where 00:09:07.490 --> 00:09:15.670 he calls us to do and what he calls us to do they were all in and as young men they pursued him and 00:09:15.670 --> 00:09:19.990 they felt the call of God to become missionaries and they eventually felt the call of God to become 00:09:19.990 --> 00:09:26.570 missionaries to an unreached people group in the forest in Ecuador in South America and they 00:09:26.570 --> 00:09:31.150 they ended up going to what were called the Orca Indians in that place in the 1950s 00:09:31.150 --> 00:09:35.970 and they they landed and they built a camp near the tribe and they reached out and they made 00:09:35.970 --> 00:09:43.020 contact but after a few days the tribe came and killed every single one of them the cost 00:09:43.020 --> 00:09:48.660 they counted the cost and they considered it worthwhile and one of them wrote this well-known 00:09:48.660 --> 00:09:55.940 saying that is that is well understood he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain 00:09:55.940 --> 00:10:05.800 that which he cannot lose he is no fool to give what he cannot keep as in my life his life to gain 00:10:05.800 --> 00:10:13.160 that which he cannot lose eternity with Jesus and there is such a cultural shift in our heads 00:10:13.160 --> 00:10:18.500 sometimes it seems that what we have turned Christianity into and how we worship Jesus today 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:24.540 seems so removed from this element of the cost of following him and actually if we spent time 00:10:24.540 --> 00:10:27.560 looking at how Christians are passionate about Jesus 00:10:27.560 --> 00:10:29.180 in other nations of the land 00:10:29.180 --> 00:10:31.740 and the persecution they experience because of that. 00:10:31.920 --> 00:10:34.420 And then I compare that to the things that we moan about. 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:36.940 And I think, oh, we've lost the plot. 00:10:37.640 --> 00:10:39.600 I didn't like the worship this morning. 00:10:40.020 --> 00:10:42.560 Really? Really? Is that what it's become? 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.360 You know, that person sat over there is upsetting me. 00:10:46.780 --> 00:10:48.480 Really? Is that what we've become? 00:10:48.660 --> 00:10:51.560 We've lost our way when we think following Jesus 00:10:51.560 --> 00:10:54.360 is about fixing things to make it how I like it. 00:10:54.640 --> 00:10:59.180 And the call of Jesus on our lives is, have we counted the cost in following him? 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:02.360 And are we ready to go where he is calling us to? 00:11:02.660 --> 00:11:08.320 Because there is so much out there that he's doing and that he's asking us to get caught up with him. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.400 But have we counted the cost? 00:11:10.920 --> 00:11:14.580 And so I think God this morning asks each one of us as we follow Jesus. 00:11:15.870 --> 00:11:17.290 He says, what are you looking for? 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:20.230 What is it that you are looking for? 00:11:20.830 --> 00:11:22.310 Same thing that this passage teaches. 00:11:22.390 --> 00:11:23.330 Let's move on a little bit. 00:11:23.330 --> 00:11:30.280 turning around Jesus asking the question what do you want they said rabbi John helpfully tells us 00:11:30.280 --> 00:11:37.980 that means teacher they say where are you staying it's kind of like again I just think you know if 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:43.610 the son of God appeared and says right you can ask me one question what's it going to be I mean 00:11:43.610 --> 00:11:47.750 where are you staying isn't high on the list right that's not the kind of thing I'd be asking 00:11:47.750 --> 00:11:52.670 but anyway they're kind of rumbled because Jesus turned on them and asked them this question and 00:11:52.670 --> 00:11:56.990 where are you staying? Come, he replied, and you will see. So they went and saw where he was staying 00:11:56.990 --> 00:12:03.070 and spent that day with him. It was about the 10th hour. Andrew, that's one of the two, Simon Peter's 00:12:03.070 --> 00:12:08.090 brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing 00:12:08.090 --> 00:12:13.790 Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him we found the Messiah, that is the Christ, and 00:12:13.790 --> 00:12:20.370 he brought him to Jesus. So the second thing if we're following Jesus that we are experiencing is 00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:27.660 we are moving from knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus right at the start of this day Andrew 00:12:27.660 --> 00:12:34.300 describes Jesus as rabbi you are teacher rabbi uh where are you staying and that kind of at the end 00:12:34.300 --> 00:12:41.460 of the day having spent a day with Jesus you are the messiah you are with the mess what has happened 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:47.640 in that day what has Andrew experienced in that day that's transformed his thinking from you are 00:12:47.640 --> 00:12:56.440 teacher to you are the son of God you are the Messiah you are the anointed one you know we're 00:12:56.440 --> 00:13:02.660 not told what's happened but what happens when we get in the presence of Jesus and we spend time 00:13:02.660 --> 00:13:07.960 with him is he is he shifts our hearts and he shifts our heads and he shifts our minds to 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:15.560 understand something more about who he is and we begin to get to know Jesus rather than just 00:13:15.560 --> 00:13:20.740 knowing about him and my heart's cry this morning is that we become men and women in this generation 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:29.010 who learn what it is so much more to know Jesus and not just know about him. You see the whole 00:13:29.010 --> 00:13:33.570 point of the alpha course we're going on is not that you learn head knowledge about who this Jesus 00:13:33.570 --> 00:13:39.410 is, it's not that you learn what textual criticism is so you know the Bible's reliable, it's so that 00:13:39.410 --> 00:13:43.370 You begin on a journey where you're going to know Jesus, 00:13:43.990 --> 00:13:47.590 the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of God. 00:13:48.070 --> 00:13:50.590 And actually, we are all on that same journey, right? 00:13:50.630 --> 00:13:52.790 And the frustrating thing is sometimes it feels like 00:13:52.790 --> 00:13:55.850 the more you know Jesus, the more you realize you don't know. 00:13:56.960 --> 00:13:58.800 So you skip back again. 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:00.860 And that's such a challenge. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:04.260 But it's about moving, and it's about spending time with him. 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:05.800 That's what's happened to Andrew. 00:14:05.900 --> 00:14:08.100 He spent a day with Jesus, and he's shifted. 00:14:08.660 --> 00:14:09.700 He's not just a teacher. 00:14:09.780 --> 00:14:10.820 He's not just a good teacher. 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:13.480 You are the Son of God, he exclaims to his brother. 00:14:13.940 --> 00:14:19.980 We've found the Messiah, something so much bigger. 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:22.880 So maybe the question this morning for you and for me is, 00:14:22.880 --> 00:14:26.140 so on that scale of, you know, Jesus, you are a teacher, 00:14:26.300 --> 00:14:29.940 to Jesus, you are the Messiah, the Son of God, where are we? 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:36.480 On that scale this morning of knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus, 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:38.280 Where are you and I? 00:14:39.140 --> 00:14:43.760 As we follow him, that is number two that we see. 00:14:44.160 --> 00:14:44.760 Where are we? 00:14:44.800 --> 00:14:47.740 Are we shifting from knowing about Jesus to knowing him? 00:14:48.020 --> 00:14:50.040 Number three, we move on in the verses. 00:14:51.060 --> 00:14:52.100 Where did I get to? 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:56.680 Yeah, so Andrew goes to his brother Simon Peter, 00:14:56.820 --> 00:14:58.680 and then in verse 42, he says, 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:01.460 and he brought him, he brought Simon Peter to Jesus. 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:03.660 Jesus looked at him and said, 00:15:03.820 --> 00:15:05.400 you are Simon, son of John. 00:15:05.400 --> 00:15:14.450 you will be called Kephas which when translated is Peter and Peter means the rock not the actor 00:15:14.450 --> 00:15:22.210 okay just to be clear this is a statement about what Peter is going to become and that's the third 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:27.590 thing about following Jesus are you hearing Jesus talk to you about what you will become 00:15:27.590 --> 00:15:34.350 in him are you hearing what he is calling you what you will become and how you will be changed 00:15:34.350 --> 00:15:40.130 to be used by him so Andrew brings his brother Simon to him and immediately what we see is Jesus 00:15:40.130 --> 00:15:44.390 Jesus doesn't say follow me like he has done to the other guys or he's going to say in a minute to 00:15:44.390 --> 00:15:49.790 two more but he simply says to Simon you will be called Peter you will be called the rock because 00:15:49.790 --> 00:15:54.830 Jesus is saying something in the future that this guy will become a rock as a follower of Jesus 00:15:54.830 --> 00:16:00.490 he will become solid and reliable as a follower of Jesus and he will become the rock on which the 00:16:00.490 --> 00:16:05.690 church is going to be built. He sees a Peter who in the future will stand up in Jerusalem and preach 00:16:05.690 --> 00:16:11.810 to thousands of men and women. He sees a Peter who will be a pillar of the church as it explodes 00:16:11.810 --> 00:16:17.610 in the first century AD around the Mediterranean. And he sees a Peter who will become the man who 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:28.140 leads the apostles of the early church. But not right now. This guy, Simon Peter, what is he? 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:30.880 He's a fisherman on Galilee, right? 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:33.480 He just makes his life locally in Galilee. 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:36.440 He's learning his trade, perhaps. 00:16:37.020 --> 00:16:38.380 You know, I'm guessing he's a young guy. 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:40.480 You know, maybe he knows about boats. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:43.940 He understands about the weather on Galilee and when to go, 00:16:44.020 --> 00:16:45.880 take your boat out to get fishing and when not. 00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:48.860 He's probably got a band of mates he gets together with in the evening 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.820 and hangs out and has drinks and has a few laughs. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:54.900 And he's probably thinking, I'm going to get married and I'll have kids 00:16:54.900 --> 00:16:56.920 and then I'll hand the business on to my kids 00:16:56.920 --> 00:16:59.440 and then I'll reach old age and be looked after a bit 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:00.800 and then I'll die and that'll be it. 00:17:01.100 --> 00:17:02.140 That's Simon's life. 00:17:02.560 --> 00:17:05.160 But Jesus appears in his life 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:07.820 and begins to see something very, very different. 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:09.280 Very different. 00:17:10.100 --> 00:17:12.760 Simon would have laughed if he'd understood 00:17:12.760 --> 00:17:15.640 what Jesus was talking about, right? 00:17:16.140 --> 00:17:19.560 If Jesus had said to him, Simon, in four years' time, 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:20.780 you're going to stand up in Jerusalem 00:17:20.780 --> 00:17:23.460 and be preaching to thousands, the capital city of the land. 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:25.510 He would have said, no, right? 00:17:26.190 --> 00:17:27.390 So there's two things here. 00:17:27.470 --> 00:17:28.670 Actually, there's more than two things here. 00:17:29.230 --> 00:17:33.170 You know, following Jesus lifts us out of the accepted routine 00:17:33.170 --> 00:17:36.970 of what life is about, of how you thought it was going to be mapped out, 00:17:37.190 --> 00:17:43.150 and opens up a panorama of opportunity and experience in following him. 00:17:44.080 --> 00:17:44.660 It does. 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:45.960 And we've got to begin to say, 00:17:46.060 --> 00:17:49.580 are we hearing Jesus speak to us about what he has in store for us? 00:17:50.020 --> 00:17:54.220 Are we exercising faith to trust him for that and to hold on to it? 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:59.700 because Jesus begins to see something that we don't and that he's calling us to do that. 00:18:00.020 --> 00:18:06.440 You see, when Jesus looks at you or me, he doesn't see a person defined or limited by our own 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:12.600 expectations. He doesn't see a man or a woman restricted by our circumstances or our history 00:18:12.600 --> 00:18:18.520 or our qualifications or our achievements or our failings or our physical health or our mental 00:18:18.520 --> 00:18:24.380 health, or dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. Whatever phrase you use to say, I can't do this because I've got this 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:32.300 going on in my life, Jesus sees beyond that, and he says to Simon Peter, you are the rock, and my church 00:18:32.300 --> 00:18:39.930 is going to be built on you. I'm just a fisherman, God. I just pick fish out of water, you know, just hang 00:18:39.930 --> 00:18:45.850 out with my mates in the evening. I'm just a local Barnsley lad. Don't go anywhere else in the world. 00:18:45.850 --> 00:18:48.350 what do you mean I'm going to be preaching in London to thousands 00:18:48.350 --> 00:18:53.850 and become the guy who encounters emperors and kings and leaders? 00:18:54.970 --> 00:18:55.490 Outrageous. 00:18:56.170 --> 00:18:56.930 It's outrageous. 00:18:57.770 --> 00:19:00.830 But Jesus is well able to do that in you and me 00:19:00.830 --> 00:19:03.950 because Jesus is building his kingdom, his church. 00:19:04.110 --> 00:19:06.170 He's not building your kingdom or mine. 00:19:06.310 --> 00:19:08.370 He's building his kingdom and his church, 00:19:08.450 --> 00:19:10.750 and he's calling you and I up into it. 00:19:11.030 --> 00:19:14.190 And so he's well able to say to us, Simon Peter, you're the rock. 00:19:15.260 --> 00:19:16.620 It doesn't matter what you are today. 00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:18.160 This is what you are going to become. 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:20.320 And I want us to be stirred by that, 00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:22.460 whatever age we are as we sit here this morning, 00:19:22.540 --> 00:19:24.880 and we may think we've lived most of our life or not. 00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:25.860 That doesn't matter. 00:19:26.020 --> 00:19:29.660 Jesus is still calling us forwards to become men and women 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:32.540 that he has purposed and that he has called us to be, 00:19:32.540 --> 00:19:36.900 and not to be constrained by the narrow vision 00:19:36.900 --> 00:19:38.500 that we have about ourselves. 00:19:38.620 --> 00:19:41.480 He sees a person who, as they follow Jesus, 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:49.710 will become the man or woman that he has called them to be that's number three number four if 00:19:49.710 --> 00:19:54.870 we're following Jesus the next thing we'll see is that Jesus connects with us where we are at 00:19:54.870 --> 00:20:02.130 so moving on the next day verse 43 Jesus decided to leave for Galilee finding Philip he said to him 00:20:02.130 --> 00:20:08.090 follow me Philip like Andrew and Peter was from the town of Bethsaida Philip found Nathanael and 00:20:08.090 --> 00:20:13.950 told him we have found the one moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote 00:20:13.950 --> 00:20:21.820 jesus of nazareth the son of joseph it's interesting in this instance we're not told 00:20:21.820 --> 00:20:27.350 much more about what happened but we read that jesus found philip right it's the other way around 00:20:27.350 --> 00:20:32.170 to andrew and peter they found him but in this instance jesus found philip we don't know what 00:20:32.170 --> 00:20:38.030 that means and jesus simply says follow me and again it's that that whole sense of throwing his 00:20:38.030 --> 00:20:44.340 lot in with jesus you know following me is not i'm going to carry on doing what i'm doing and 00:20:44.340 --> 00:20:51.030 just add jesus to the rest of my life it's throwing the lot in with jesus and and doing that are you 00:20:51.030 --> 00:20:58.030 all in but then philip goes and finds his mate nathaniel you see there's no there's no keeping 00:20:58.030 --> 00:21:03.310 this jesus private we're not meant to to just have it as a private little religion that was a personal 00:21:03.310 --> 00:21:09.230 thing we do. But if we found, truly found this same Jesus, then it's got to be worth talking to 00:21:09.230 --> 00:21:14.050 other people about and letting them know. So he goes to Nathaniel and he says to Nathaniel, this 00:21:14.050 --> 00:21:19.770 guy I have found, he is worth following. What he has to say, what he does, how he lives his life, 00:21:20.190 --> 00:21:26.370 what he's about. Now Philip was in a culture, as we're reading here, where the most, a lot of the 00:21:26.370 --> 00:21:31.650 people at that time, they knew and understood the Old Testament, right? It was part of the Jewish 00:21:31.650 --> 00:21:36.730 culture they knew what it was what was in it and they knew it spoke about a messiah coming 00:21:36.730 --> 00:21:42.850 and so philip goes to nathaniel and says hey know that guy that the old testament is talking about 00:21:42.850 --> 00:21:49.320 i think i found him and that would make a lot of sense to nathaniel now if you go out into 00:21:49.320 --> 00:21:54.160 jordan thorpe or baitmore today and say hey i found a guy the old testament's talking about 00:21:54.160 --> 00:22:02.230 right it would be irrelevant right it's not pertinent it's not relevant today uh you know 00:22:02.230 --> 00:22:06.090 Because we don't live in a culture like the one that John is describing 00:22:06.090 --> 00:22:07.690 and that Philip and Nathanael lived in. 00:22:07.730 --> 00:22:08.810 We live in a different culture. 00:22:08.870 --> 00:22:11.790 So we need to engage our brains a bit about how, 00:22:12.130 --> 00:22:16.230 what is the connection points that Jesus has with the world in which we live in, 00:22:16.450 --> 00:22:18.410 with the tribes that we mix with today, 00:22:18.590 --> 00:22:20.830 with the people that we rub shoulders with today. 00:22:21.150 --> 00:22:24.590 You know, we wouldn't say we found the person that the Old Testament talks about, 00:22:24.590 --> 00:22:28.490 but we might say, I found someone who finally makes sense of life, 00:22:28.750 --> 00:22:31.150 of why we are here, of what our purpose is, 00:22:31.150 --> 00:22:36.750 who makes order out of chaos we might say I found someone who finally has a really clear and 00:22:36.750 --> 00:22:42.770 definite moral and ethical compass when all of that stuff is up for grabs generally in the world 00:22:42.770 --> 00:22:48.030 today I finally found someone who addresses my deepest needs I found someone who identifies 00:22:48.030 --> 00:22:54.090 with my struggles and refocuses my lives I found someone who is more reliable more trustworthy has 00:22:54.090 --> 00:22:59.850 greater integrity than anyone else around I found someone who has the authority and the grace to 00:22:59.850 --> 00:23:08.200 challenge my deepest issues which keep me out of sorts with you. I've found someone who cuts 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:15.260 through the superficiality of this world that we use to block out the reality of life and I've 00:23:15.260 --> 00:23:20.340 found someone who is an anchor in the shifting sands of this modern world and there are other 00:23:20.340 --> 00:23:26.180 things and I just want to say that's your homework this week. In your groups this week talk about 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:33.480 how what would be the connection points with your friends that don't yet know jesus to introduce him 00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:39.640 into the conversations what is it about jesus that actually is relevant to the culture in which 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:45.960 you live and you move today and have a think about that in your groups that's number four jesus 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:53.620 connects with where we're at number five moving on the last few verses so nathaniel says in verse 00:23:53.620 --> 00:24:00.100 36. Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Nathanael asked. Come and see, said 00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:04.880 Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, here is a true Israelite in whom there 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:10.220 is nothing false. How do you know me? Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, I saw you while you were 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:15.800 still under the fig tree before Philip called you. Then Nathanael declared, Rabbi, you are the son of 00:24:15.800 --> 00:24:22.390 God. You are the king of Israel. Jesus said, you believe because I told you I saw you under the 00:24:22.390 --> 00:24:24.490 fig tree, you shall see greater things 00:24:24.490 --> 00:24:26.430 than that. He then added, I tell you the 00:24:26.430 --> 00:24:28.070 truth, you shall see heaven open 00:24:28.070 --> 00:24:30.450 and the angels of God ascending and descending 00:24:30.450 --> 00:24:32.050 on the son of man. 00:24:32.750 --> 00:24:34.490 Nathaniel, what a guy, right? 00:24:34.690 --> 00:24:36.390 I love him. Can 00:24:36.390 --> 00:24:38.090 anything good come out of Nazareth? 00:24:38.310 --> 00:24:40.450 You're talking about Jesus here, the son 00:24:40.450 --> 00:24:42.530 of God, you know? Can anything good come 00:24:42.530 --> 00:24:44.470 out of Nazareth? You see, Nathaniel is 00:24:44.470 --> 00:24:46.380 a Yorkshireman, right? 00:24:47.450 --> 00:24:48.450 A spade's a spade. 00:24:48.970 --> 00:24:50.710 Straight talking, no messing, 00:24:50.710 --> 00:24:53.010 none of this mask stuff, none of this 00:24:53.010 --> 00:24:54.550 saying one thing and meaning another 00:24:54.550 --> 00:24:57.070 Nazareth, can anything good come out of that 00:24:57.070 --> 00:24:58.810 and interestingly, notice Philip 00:24:58.810 --> 00:25:00.990 doesn't get into a debate with him, he doesn't 00:25:00.990 --> 00:25:03.010 start saying, well actually there are some good things 00:25:03.010 --> 00:25:04.850 in Nazareth, doesn't get into 00:25:04.850 --> 00:25:06.910 a debate with him, he says, well come and 00:25:06.910 --> 00:25:08.450 see Jesus and find out for yourself 00:25:08.450 --> 00:25:11.270 come and meet Jesus 00:25:11.270 --> 00:25:13.270 and Jesus says to him, here 00:25:13.270 --> 00:25:15.110 is a true Israel in whom there is 00:25:15.110 --> 00:25:17.030 nothing false, that's language 00:25:17.030 --> 00:25:19.190 of the day for saying, Nathaniel 00:25:19.190 --> 00:25:25.570 you're a guy who plays a straight bat what you say you mean and there's no messing with you and 00:25:25.570 --> 00:25:31.130 Nathaniel says to him how do you know me and then Jesus says this is an amazing thing I saw you under 00:25:31.130 --> 00:25:35.910 the fig tree before Philip came to you whether that's he saw him in his spirit or with his eyes 00:25:35.910 --> 00:25:40.990 or whatever we don't know but probably in the spirit and he sees him and that blows Nathaniel's 00:25:40.990 --> 00:25:47.710 mind and he goes wow you know that you truly are the son of God and you know whereas it took Andrew 00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:54.370 a day to go from rabbi to messiah it seems to take nathaniel one sentence of jesus of a 00:25:54.370 --> 00:26:00.790 supernatural encounter with jesus is saying i saw you under the fig tree and you know and philip is 00:26:00.790 --> 00:26:09.010 and nathaniel is blown away you know and it's that moment when you realize jesus knows all about you 00:26:09.010 --> 00:26:16.770 there's no escape he knows everything everything you think everything you think about everybody 00:26:16.770 --> 00:26:24.190 else. Everything you do, everything you say, the words that come out of your mouth, and you realise 00:26:24.190 --> 00:26:30.470 he knows everything. He knows everything that you've been through. He knows everything that 00:26:30.470 --> 00:26:37.880 has shaped you into the man or the woman that you are today. And knowing that, he then says, 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:48.080 follow me, follow me. What a God we've got. What a saviour. What a saviour. Follow me, he says. 00:26:48.080 --> 00:26:53.980 follow me and so nathaniel as i say has this same revelation as andrew you truly are the son of god 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:59.660 but jesus answers something very interesting he says you are amazed nathaniel because in faith you 00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:05.060 you were blown away by the fact i said i saw you under the fig tree i want to tell you you are 00:27:05.060 --> 00:27:12.730 going to see greater things in faith as you follow me and i just long for just to grab something of 00:27:12.730 --> 00:27:19.910 that this morning for you and for me that actually what we have seen has blown us away in our lives 00:27:19.910 --> 00:27:25.990 and we're so grateful to Jesus but he says the same to us that in faith we will see greater things 00:27:25.990 --> 00:27:33.550 in him as we pursue him he tells something of what Nathaniel will see in the future whether 00:27:33.550 --> 00:27:39.270 that's in this life or in the life to come but and we don't know what that is but he's giving 00:27:39.270 --> 00:27:45.420 him a picture of what he will see as he exercises his faith and nathaniel is just an ordinary guy 00:27:45.420 --> 00:27:51.600 he's not given to emotion he's the salt of the earth and yet jesus promises him he's going to see 00:27:51.600 --> 00:27:58.020 greater things you know as we take jesus as his words we embrace the fact he knows all about us 00:27:58.020 --> 00:28:04.120 and there's nothing hidden his promise to us is that through faith we will see amazing things 00:28:04.120 --> 00:28:10.220 that he will do and my question this morning is what do you want to see i think jesus yet 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:15.020 challenged me what do i want to see well i want to see lives healed i want to see we pray for the 00:28:15.020 --> 00:28:21.000 sick and they get healed that'll be a good start right i want to see that we talk to people about 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:27.480 jesus and they're convicted of sin in their lives and they're set free i want to see that the ravages 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:31.780 of evil that is so prevalent in lives and lifestyles across these estates 00:28:31.780 --> 00:28:38.400 crushed and the grace and the love and the mercy of God truly being community transformation in a 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:44.580 way that no government plan or policy ever will do. I want to see men and women cry out to God 00:28:44.580 --> 00:28:51.860 for mercy and rejoice that they find a saviour who loves them, who cares for them and is passionate 00:28:51.860 --> 00:28:58.900 about them. I want to see the fruit of God's Holy Spirit growing in the lives of us, his church, 00:28:58.900 --> 00:29:03.260 so that that love and that joy and that peace and that kindness and that goodness 00:29:03.260 --> 00:29:08.560 and that faithfulness and that gentleness becomes more and more evident in us 00:29:08.560 --> 00:29:11.960 as we relate together and as the world outside looks on 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:14.800 and to see sin defeated in lies. 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:16.340 I don't know what it is you want to see, 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:20.200 but Jesus is encouraging us, maybe even egging us on. 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:23.440 You know, you have seen greater things in your life already, 00:29:24.020 --> 00:29:27.160 but what do you want to see with me as we go forward? 00:29:28.060 --> 00:29:29.060 So just to wrap up, 00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:31.840 as I've looked at these things about following Jesus, 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:33.540 it reminds me, 00:29:34.080 --> 00:29:35.640 so Angie and I have been watching a little bit 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:36.520 of the Winter Olympics. 00:29:37.940 --> 00:29:39.700 It's like the only sport we ever watch, 00:29:39.820 --> 00:29:41.340 so we only watch sport every four years. 00:29:42.520 --> 00:29:44.900 But we watch this skeleton thing. 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:47.120 It's weird, right? 00:29:47.120 --> 00:29:48.060 If you don't know what it is, 00:29:48.340 --> 00:29:50.680 basically, you lie down flat, 00:29:51.120 --> 00:29:52.560 you wear a full-body lycra suit, 00:29:53.250 --> 00:29:53.970 for a start, 00:29:54.550 --> 00:29:55.590 so you've got to be the right shape. 00:29:55.590 --> 00:29:58.510 then you get what seems to me like a long tray 00:29:58.510 --> 00:30:00.740 and you put the long tray 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:02.600 on a bit of ice that's going down 00:30:02.600 --> 00:30:04.580 that angle and you lie flat on it 00:30:04.580 --> 00:30:06.680 and then you whiz down this icy 00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:08.660 slope, right, reaching 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:10.560 speeds of 80 miles an hour 00:30:10.560 --> 00:30:12.600 with your chin centimetres 00:30:12.600 --> 00:30:14.500 from the ice, right, and you're going around 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:16.480 curves and all this sort of stuff and it's amazing 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:17.740 to watch and we got a gold medal 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:19.860 which is great, but 00:30:19.860 --> 00:30:22.460 the thing I noticed about that and the thing I 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:24.220 tie it into the talk this morning 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:28.720 is those guys, they stand at the top of that slope. 00:30:29.600 --> 00:30:30.880 And it's like they're deciding. 00:30:31.360 --> 00:30:33.540 Because once they commit, that's it. 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:34.740 They're on. 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:36.220 They're on that tray. 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:37.380 They're going down. 00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:38.160 Whoosh! 00:30:38.340 --> 00:30:40.220 And there's no stopping until they get to the end. 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:45.200 And I think the challenge of Jesus for his church this morning, for us, 00:30:45.840 --> 00:30:47.040 is are we ready to commit? 00:30:47.860 --> 00:30:50.500 Are we ready to stand at the top of that slope? 00:30:50.820 --> 00:30:53.780 Are we ready to commit and run and jump on that thing? 00:30:53.780 --> 00:30:54.960 I'm washed off. 00:30:55.970 --> 00:30:58.450 That's his invitation to us this morning. 00:30:59.070 --> 00:30:59.590 Amen. 00:31:16.360 --> 00:31:16.980 There you are. 00:31:17.420 --> 00:31:18.040 Thanks, Andy. 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:21.780 Just a few notes. 00:31:22.320 --> 00:31:23.340 I'm going to preach it again. 00:31:24.780 --> 00:31:26.880 Jesus does go right to our heart, doesn't he? 00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:29.980 And they question you, are we ready to follow him and not just watch him? 00:31:30.560 --> 00:31:32.580 So easy to be spectators of Jesus. 00:31:33.760 --> 00:31:39.080 And yet, the dynamic of stepping in, just as Andy's described so clearly there. 00:31:39.710 --> 00:31:42.650 Jesus sees things in us that we can't see ourselves. 00:31:42.890 --> 00:31:50.080 and that's what limits us sometimes isn't it we look at ourselves and we think we this far and 00:31:50.080 --> 00:31:59.100 no further but Jesus sees things that we don't see what do you want to see are we ready to commit 00:31:59.100 --> 00:32:05.880 those are the questions and there is always opportunity for response there is always 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:12.500 opportunity for people who are moved by the word to come forward to come and make their own response 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:14.340 to God and for somebody to come alongside 00:32:14.340 --> 00:32:16.680 and pray and I want to give you that opportunity 00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:18.660 if anything that Andy has said 00:32:18.660 --> 00:32:20.120 has challenged, convicted 00:32:20.120 --> 00:32:22.460 motivated, spurred you to 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:24.720 come and to make that physical response 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:26.380 but equally I don't want 00:32:26.380 --> 00:32:28.300 us in our hearts to 00:32:28.300 --> 00:32:30.500 feel again like we're spectators 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:32.000 we don't want to be spectators of Jesus 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:33.820 we don't want to be spectators of his word 00:32:33.820 --> 00:32:36.420 and I believe there is a response that each of us 00:32:36.420 --> 00:32:38.520 has to make and it may be that we're not all 00:32:38.520 --> 00:32:40.380 coming here back there, I don't want 00:32:40.380 --> 00:32:42.340 any of us to step back and 00:32:42.340 --> 00:32:44.680 not think that this word is not relevant to us 00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:46.400 because it is and so we're all 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:48.160 going to respond this morning in worship 00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:50.600 Chris and the guys are going to 00:32:50.600 --> 00:32:52.680 lead us and we're 00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:54.500 just going to take some time just to absorb 00:32:54.500 --> 00:32:56.640 what Andy has said, what God has 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:58.760 spoken to us and as I 00:32:58.760 --> 00:33:00.480 said the floor is open if you 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:02.760 know you need to make a physical 00:33:02.760 --> 00:33:04.760 response then do 00:33:04.760 --> 00:33:06.280 do that as well 00:33:06.280 --> 00:33:25.160 God you have to take 00:33:25.160 --> 00:40:59.900 changing names 00:40:59.900 --> 00:41:04.560 the names and the labels we give ourselves the names and the labels other people give us 00:41:04.560 --> 00:41:12.500 become a limiter jesus gives us names that provide possibility and potential just feel that people 00:41:12.500 --> 00:41:18.780 that are struggling with that that understanding that labeling that whatever whether it's personal 00:41:18.780 --> 00:41:24.480 whether it's what other people have done jesus is speaking a word of faith into our hearts this 00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:26.440 morning as we choose to follow 00:41:26.440 --> 00:41:28.740 him the possibilities 00:41:28.740 --> 00:41:30.080 are endless 00:41:30.080 --> 00:41:33.160 and we'll be amazed and surprised 00:41:33.160 --> 00:41:34.960 at what he can do so the question we take away 00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:36.000 with us what do you want 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:39.380 what do you want amen 00:41:39.380 --> 00:41:42.460 amen we're going to close our service 00:41:42.460 --> 00:41:44.380 there doesn't mean that God is leaving us 00:41:44.380 --> 00:41:46.360 but we're going to close 00:41:46.360 --> 00:41:47.640 with the words of the grace 00:41:47.640 --> 00:41:50.260 may the grace of our Lord 00:41:50.260 --> 00:41:52.500 Jesus Christ and the love 00:41:52.500 --> 00:41:54.340 of God and the fellowship 00:41:54.340 --> 00:41:55.640 of the Holy Spirit 00:41:55.640 --> 00:41:57.960 be with us all now 00:41:57.960 --> 00:42:00.380 and evermore. Amen. 00:42:00.740 --> 00:42:01.940 Amen. Have a wonderful 00:42:01.940 --> 00:42:03.840 week following Jesus. 00:42:04.620 --> 00:42:05.760 And yeah, 00:42:06.080 --> 00:42:08.160 I'll see you again next week. 00:42:08.560 --> 00:42:09.060 Amen.