WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 If you don't have a Bible, there's these blue 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:05.580 ones on the back table, and we encourage you, 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:08.800 take one, write your name in it, keep it, it's 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.980 yours. But now, we're going to look at God's 00:00:12.980 --> 00:00:22.839 Word. John chapter 1, verse 35. The next day, 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:25.500 John was standing with two of his disciples. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.600 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, look. 00:00:29.129 --> 00:00:32.630 the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him 00:00:32.630 --> 00:00:36.170 say this and followed Jesus. When Jesus turned 00:00:36.170 --> 00:00:38.369 and noticed them following him, he asked them, 00:00:38.450 --> 00:00:42.130 what are you looking for? They said to him, Rabbi, 00:00:42.350 --> 00:00:46.189 which means teacher, where are you staying? Come 00:00:46.189 --> 00:00:49.609 and you'll see, he replied. So they went and 00:00:49.609 --> 00:00:52.310 saw where he was staying, and they stayed with 00:00:52.310 --> 00:00:55.210 him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. 00:00:56.219 --> 00:00:58.659 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the 00:00:58.659 --> 00:01:02.520 two who heard John and followed him. He first 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:05.239 found his own brother Simon and told him, We 00:01:05.239 --> 00:01:08.980 have found the Messiah, which is translated the 00:01:08.980 --> 00:01:12.379 Christ. And he brought Simon to Jesus. When Jesus 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:15.780 saw him, he said, You are Simon, son of John. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.939 You will be called Cephas, which is translated 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:24.299 Peter. The next day, Jesus decided to leave for 00:01:24.299 --> 00:01:27.000 Galilee. He found Philip and told him, Follow 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.180 me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:33.640 of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.480 told him, We have found the one Moses wrote about 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:40.000 in the law, and so did the prophets. Jesus, the 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.780 son of Joseph, from Nazareth. Can anything good 00:01:44.780 --> 00:01:48.319 come out of Nazareth? Nathanael asked him. Come 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:52.400 and see, Philip answered. Then Jesus saw Nathanael 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:55.209 coming toward him and said about him, Here truly 00:01:55.209 --> 00:01:58.890 is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. How 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:02.209 do you know me? Nathanael asked. Before Philip 00:02:02.209 --> 00:02:04.670 called you, when you were under the fig tree, 00:02:04.810 --> 00:02:09.229 I saw you, Jesus answered. Rabbi, Nathanael replied, 00:02:09.550 --> 00:02:12.870 you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel. 00:02:13.689 --> 00:02:16.750 Jesus responded to him, do you believe because 00:02:16.750 --> 00:02:19.830 I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You 00:02:19.830 --> 00:02:23.370 will see greater things than this. Then he said, 00:02:23.449 --> 00:02:25.789 Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened 00:02:25.789 --> 00:02:28.849 and the angels of God ascending and descending 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:32.469 on the Son of Man. This is the word of God. You 00:02:32.469 --> 00:02:46.909 may be seated. There we go. Wow, there's a lot 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:52.289 less of you when the kids leave. You guys ready? 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:55.289 Everybody got a Bible? Man, we're going to unpack. 00:02:55.449 --> 00:02:57.229 There's a lot of ways we could go with this text. 00:02:57.569 --> 00:03:01.629 So we'll unpack it though. We're verse by verse 00:03:01.629 --> 00:03:26.740 today, but we need help. We'll try that. I'm 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:28.800 not normally preach with this, so we'll see how 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:32.599 it goes. It's been one of those days where every 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:34.759 little thing just keeps falling apart. So this 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:36.580 is just a real good indicator we need the Holy 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:38.719 Spirit, right? Because we can't do any of this 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.840 ourselves. So let me pray and we'll get going. 00:03:42.520 --> 00:03:49.240 Lord, we come before you because we're just frail, 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:56.349 messed up, struggling people. who need a Savior, 00:03:56.449 --> 00:03:58.430 and we need the work of the Holy Spirit in our 00:03:58.430 --> 00:04:05.770 life. And so, Lord, we ask you to speak to us 00:04:05.770 --> 00:04:09.169 through your word and by your spirit. Lord, I 00:04:09.169 --> 00:04:11.289 ask you to even give me words to say today, maybe 00:04:11.289 --> 00:04:13.990 that are not even on the pages that I've written 00:04:13.990 --> 00:04:18.829 down. God, will you meet us here? Thank you for 00:04:18.829 --> 00:04:25.379 your word. Amen. All right. We are now in the 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:28.100 third week of John and still in chapter 1. And 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:30.600 you're going to take that from me, right? Alright, 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:33.620 here we go. So, the reason we're spending three 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:37.319 weeks in chapter 1 is because chapter 1 is really 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:42.100 foundational for our journey through John. And, 00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:44.620 I mean, it's just really foundational. And it 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:50.160 starts off by giving us this really big view 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.480 of who Jesus is. the prologue if you look at 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:55.819 your bible the title says prologue right there 00:04:55.819 --> 00:04:58.720 and we talked about the prologue being like a 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:01.980 foyer that you need to come in and out of and 00:05:01.980 --> 00:05:04.660 so and to remember it right and so it's kind 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:07.379 of like the reason we need john we're spending 00:05:07.379 --> 00:05:10.139 so much time in john chapter one is because it's 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:12.660 kind of we need to remember and come back to 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:14.980 this over and over and it's kind of like reverse 00:05:14.980 --> 00:05:18.120 hiking this is what i call reverse hiking just 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:20.730 pretend that you It's like you had a helicopter 00:05:20.730 --> 00:05:23.670 drop you off at the top of the mountain. Right? 00:05:23.930 --> 00:05:27.470 That's how it starts. And instead, and now you're 00:05:27.470 --> 00:05:30.670 going to walk. You're up on top of the mountain. 00:05:30.810 --> 00:05:33.170 You've done nothing to earn it. But now you're 00:05:33.170 --> 00:05:36.110 up there. And you look around and you see everything. 00:05:37.329 --> 00:05:41.430 Wow. And it's like, and John starts off and says, 00:05:41.610 --> 00:05:43.310 here, I want you to have a massive view of Jesus 00:05:43.310 --> 00:05:46.170 first. But then you're going to walk down the 00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:48.939 mountain. And as you go down, you're going to 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:52.300 begin to see more about who Jesus is as we go 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:54.759 down. But we start with this massive view. And 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.660 so this is, in the first chapter, we see a whole 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:01.959 bunch of the names and titles. And part of that 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:04.000 is to help us get this perspective of Jesus. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:09.459 We see that he's called, in chapter 1, he's called 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:14.639 the Word. He's called, it's more like an eternal 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:17.600 word. It's been there forever. In the beginning 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:20.500 was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 00:06:20.500 --> 00:06:24.480 the Word was God. And he's also called the Lamb 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:26.800 of God, and he's called the Son of God, and he's 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.399 called Rabbi or Teacher. He's called Messiah. 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:32.959 He's called King of Israel and Son of Man. That 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:37.180 all happens in the first chapter. And I think 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:40.920 the reason that's important is that John wants 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:44.879 to give us this, see how big a deal Jesus really 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.959 is. And then he's going to unpack it the rest 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:50.839 of the book. He's going to show us how big a 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:54.699 deal Jesus really is. And at the same time, he 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:57.439 wants to show us, by these names, how personal 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.500 Jesus is. Not just the fact that he's massive 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:02.680 and he created the universe, but that he came 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:08.360 to us in a very personal way. So if you remember 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:12.019 last week, we were looking at this guy, John 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:14.680 the Baptizer. Some call him John the Baptist, 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:18.220 but he's really, the name is John, and not the 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:21.100 author John, but it's John the Baptizer. And 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:24.579 we looked at the testimony about what John has 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:29.459 to say, what he has to say about Jesus and who 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:33.180 he was. And so we're going to continue with that 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:35.540 because John is still on the scene. We kind of 00:07:35.540 --> 00:07:38.360 dealt with day one of John the Baptizer, and 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:40.579 now we look at another day, kind of the next 00:07:40.579 --> 00:07:44.540 day. So let's just jump right in. and look at 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:48.920 starting in verse 35. It says this. The next 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:53.500 day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 00:07:54.420 --> 00:07:57.899 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, look, 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:04.079 the Lamb of God. Look or behold, which we unpacked 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:06.639 that a little bit last week. But he says, I don't 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:08.759 want you just to look with your eyes. This is 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:10.319 the way this is. It's not like, hey, look, there 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:14.430 he is. This is more of a look. Look, John is 00:08:14.430 --> 00:08:16.870 saying, look through the circumstances. Look 00:08:16.870 --> 00:08:19.170 and see through your circumstances. Look who 00:08:19.170 --> 00:08:25.129 that is. He says, I can see. John is saying, 00:08:25.170 --> 00:08:28.370 I can see something you don't see yet. That's 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:30.970 really what's behind that word, behold or look. 00:08:32.450 --> 00:08:37.649 What you see is this carpenter, but what I see 00:08:37.649 --> 00:08:42.470 is the creator of the universe. I see the Savior 00:08:42.470 --> 00:08:46.870 of all mankind, so behold, he's there. So one 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:48.269 of the things about John, especially in this 00:08:48.269 --> 00:08:50.690 first chapter, is there's lots of deep meaning 00:08:50.690 --> 00:08:53.009 in these words. And if we read it, it's almost 00:08:53.009 --> 00:08:57.470 flat. But this word look or behold is one of 00:08:57.470 --> 00:09:02.710 those. Behold the Lamb of God. Now, those hearing 00:09:02.710 --> 00:09:06.549 John would have thought about the Passover Lamb. 00:09:07.110 --> 00:09:10.470 It goes all the way back to Exodus. They would 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:14.529 have thought about this lamb being slain for 00:09:14.529 --> 00:09:17.590 their sins and the blood being put on the doorpost. 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:24.250 And so for John to say, look, hold the lamb, 00:09:24.409 --> 00:09:27.110 that was a big deal. It meant a lot to that. 00:09:27.149 --> 00:09:34.009 What? I don't see a fuzzy little lamb. He says, 00:09:34.029 --> 00:09:37.210 no, that's the lamb of God who's come to take 00:09:37.210 --> 00:09:41.730 away the sins of the world. It's upon him that 00:09:41.730 --> 00:09:46.210 all of your sins are going to be laid. Even though 00:09:46.210 --> 00:09:48.289 they didn't fully understand it, John's bringing 00:09:48.289 --> 00:09:51.090 it around and says that was very significant 00:09:51.090 --> 00:09:57.629 what he said. Look at verse 37. The two disciples 00:09:57.629 --> 00:10:00.950 heard him. These are John's disciples. Two disciples 00:10:00.950 --> 00:10:07.789 heard him say this and follow Jesus. So I want 00:10:07.789 --> 00:10:10.279 you to think about John in this moment. John 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:14.759 is a big deal. These two disciples have come 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:18.460 to John probably and said, could you be our teacher? 00:10:18.779 --> 00:10:21.460 Could you be our, and they're his disciples. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.340 And think about what John said in verse 23 about 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:31.779 his role, what he was about. In verse 20 he says, 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:33.820 I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness. 00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:38.169 Make straight the way of the Lord. So all that 00:10:38.169 --> 00:10:41.529 John the baptizer did with his life was point 00:10:41.529 --> 00:10:47.029 people to Jesus. Point of his life was to point 00:10:47.029 --> 00:10:49.929 people to Jesus. And so I can just think, like, 00:10:50.009 --> 00:10:53.309 the fact is that he not only says, look, the 00:10:53.309 --> 00:10:55.690 Lamb of God, and two of his disciples leave, 00:10:55.750 --> 00:10:58.169 and he's like, I don't care. Because his purpose 00:10:58.169 --> 00:11:01.590 was about pointing people to Jesus. And so these 00:11:01.590 --> 00:11:04.799 two guys. Two of John's disciples turn and they 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:08.379 leave and they begin to follow Jesus. Verse 38. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.860 When Jesus turned and noticed them following 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:16.179 him, he asked them, what are you looking for? 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:20.639 They said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:25.019 where are you staying? This is a weird kind of 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:29.639 response. Jesus looks at them. Can I help you? 00:11:30.730 --> 00:11:32.570 He kind of turns around and he says, what are 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:40.649 you looking for? And so in these verses we are 00:11:40.649 --> 00:11:43.909 looking at today, we see how Jesus meets his 00:11:43.909 --> 00:11:46.350 first disciples. That's what's going on. And 00:11:46.350 --> 00:11:48.769 Tim Keller says this about this chunk of scripture. 00:11:48.929 --> 00:11:50.889 He says, the gospel writer is not just giving 00:11:50.889 --> 00:11:54.350 us information. He's showing us a pattern here 00:11:54.350 --> 00:11:57.149 that's for all of us. And so each one of these 00:11:57.149 --> 00:12:00.200 statements is patterns. For all of us is basically 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:03.840 the way of looking at it. John wants us to see 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:07.399 encounters with the real person, Jesus. So he's 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.460 going to walk through four basic encounters of 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:15.559 how they're coming to Jesus. You know, this last 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:20.700 week, Jared, Josiah, and Josh went through Convergence, 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.379 which is the pastoral leadership development 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:26.679 cohort we're doing. And the instructor there, 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:30.159 his name is Bill. Bill Clem had this to say, 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:32.480 and it was really good. He says, you know, a 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:36.279 lot of times when we come to God, we almost come 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:41.200 to him transactionally. It's like, do something 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:45.919 transactionally. But God doesn't come to us transactionally. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.399 He comes to us relationally. He says, I want 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:52.700 you to come to me. Instead of being transactional, 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.039 think about coming to Jesus relationally. And 00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:59.059 in this situation, we see a very relational Jesus 00:12:59.059 --> 00:13:04.159 that these disciples are beginning to interact 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:06.559 with as they come to him. So Jesus stops and 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:11.500 he talks to these two disciples. It's okay to 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:13.539 have these thoughts. The king of the universe, 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:16.120 the creator of all things, is just stopping and 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:19.139 having a conversation with us. That's personal. 00:13:19.559 --> 00:13:22.200 And it's meant to be that way. It's meant for 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:25.440 us to have it. And so what he does is he asks 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:31.879 a very soul, a deep soul level question. What 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:38.820 are you looking for? What are you seeking? What 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:41.559 are you really looking for? It almost sounds 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:43.600 real flat to us when we first read it, but that's 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.179 what's behind these words. What are you seeking? 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:50.799 I think... I think all of us, as I've kind of 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:54.480 pondered that question, I think all of us are 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:59.899 trying to answer this question, aren't we? What, 00:13:59.980 --> 00:14:05.200 at a deep soul level, are you seeking? What are 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:08.159 you looking for? Are you looking for happiness? 00:14:09.419 --> 00:14:13.799 For security? For purpose? We could keep going. 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:16.639 In fact, let's do this. What are the things that 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:22.019 we look for? with our life, to find purpose, 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:25.480 to make sense of our life? What are we seeking 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:29.320 to look for in our world? What do you think? 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:44.299 This is your turn. What's that? Peace. Good. 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:48.570 Sorry. Bob. Now Bob Davis and my wife are telling 00:14:48.570 --> 00:14:54.730 me I need a hearing aid. I'll get them. What 00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:56.570 else? What else are we looking for? What are 00:14:56.570 --> 00:15:00.690 we trying to answer in our life? There was one 00:15:00.690 --> 00:15:03.509 of those terms we used to use when I was doing 00:15:03.509 --> 00:15:05.669 Young Life. We called it, there's like this God 00:15:05.669 --> 00:15:07.950 -shaped hole inside of us. We're trying to fill 00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:10.809 it. What are we doing? What are we trying to 00:15:10.809 --> 00:15:16.159 seek in our life? Meaningful direction. Good. 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:24.919 Happiness. Purpose. Security. There's a few more. 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:28.399 What else? Connection. That's a good one. What 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:35.360 was that? Understanding. What about pleasure? 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:42.799 Happy. Satisfaction. I think when Jesus asked 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:45.840 this question, he's really poking at a heart 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:49.000 level right out of the chute with his disciples. 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:56.120 And their response to Jesus is, you know, we 00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:59.600 don't really know. But what we are seeking, we're 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:03.019 interested in you. We can see something there, 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.700 and so we're going to follow you. But their response 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:08.399 is really like, I don't know where you're staying. 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:13.960 I love Jesus' response. He doesn't go, oh, really? 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:17.899 You want to know where I'm staying? I love his 00:16:17.899 --> 00:16:21.179 response. Look what he says in verse 39. Come, 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:27.019 and you'll see, he replied. So they went and 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:29.559 saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:34.340 with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:39.539 Come, and you will see. This is a beautiful invitation 00:16:39.539 --> 00:16:45.059 and gracious invitation. Again, he's just, there's 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:47.860 no conditions. God just meets, Jesus just meets 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:51.480 him right there. And Jesus meets us right where 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.419 we're at. Not with any, like, he's like, really? 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:57.059 That's going to be your response? He's like, 00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.620 okay, come see where I'm at. But then notice 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:03.600 the detail that the author writes in there. He's 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:07.759 like, and they stayed with him all day. Why? 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:09.500 Why would he throw that in there? I think he 00:17:09.500 --> 00:17:11.259 throws it in there because he wants to show us 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:15.519 just how personal and relational Jesus is. He 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:18.400 says, come out. It was before in the afternoon, 00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:21.079 so they spent the whole day, the rest of the 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:27.920 day with Jesus. So they just followed him, one 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:32.240 step at a time. I don't know what Jesus told 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:34.920 them in their conversation together that day. 00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:39.480 We don't know what they talked about. But whatever 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:43.599 they did had a deep impact on their lives. Look 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:47.819 at what he says in verse 40. Andrew and Simon, 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:53.500 Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:57.259 heard John and followed him. He first found his 00:17:57.259 --> 00:18:00.559 own brother Simon and told him, we have found 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:02.700 the Messiah, which is translated the Christ. 00:18:03.539 --> 00:18:05.880 Okay, so Andrew is convinced. Whatever happened 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:09.039 in that moment, he's like, yep, that's it. That's 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.460 the one. I named my son, one of my sons, Andrew, 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:14.900 around this idea that whenever you see Andrew 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:17.259 in the Bible, he's always bringing somebody to 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:21.660 Jesus. It's a cool picture. But whatever it is, 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:23.359 Andrew didn't have a lot of answers because he 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:26.380 only spent one day. But the first thing he does 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:30.039 is he runs and finds his brother, and he says, 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:34.220 you've got to meet him. We found him. We found 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:39.519 the Messiah. Like, you could sense this, there's 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:41.339 a sense of excitement in Andrew going, okay, 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.720 something, something's, we found him. How long 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.700 has it been since they've heard anything from 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:54.119 God? 400 years. And now, we have found the one 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:55.700 that's been promised, that we've been waiting 00:18:55.700 --> 00:19:00.059 for, for 400 years. John's like, I can't keep 00:19:00.059 --> 00:19:03.740 this to myself. So turns and right on, the next 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:07.940 day he goes and tells his brother. Look at verse, 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:11.480 now we have the encounter with his brother. Look 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:19.460 at verse 42. And he brought Simon to Jesus. When 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:22.980 Jesus saw him, he said, you are Simon, son of 00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:25.980 John. Your name will be called Cephas, which 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:28.259 is translated Peter. Okay, this is a weird encounter. 00:19:30.330 --> 00:19:32.049 We're going through it really slow because some 00:19:32.049 --> 00:19:33.410 of this stuff is like chunky. You're like, what? 00:19:34.170 --> 00:19:39.490 So here's Andrew's strategy. It's not a soft 00:19:39.490 --> 00:19:43.670 sell. He's just like, hey, I found Jesus. You've 00:19:43.670 --> 00:19:46.670 got to meet him. I found my Savior. You've got 00:19:46.670 --> 00:19:49.309 to meet him. I want you to meet him, so come. 00:19:50.029 --> 00:19:52.970 That's it. That's his whole strategy. Like some 00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:55.349 of us, we should probably do that. You've got 00:19:55.349 --> 00:19:57.289 people in your life, maybe one of your one mores, 00:19:57.289 --> 00:20:00.220 you just say, hey. I've got to tell you about 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:02.720 something. Something that really has changed 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.140 my life. His name is Jesus. I want to introduce 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:07.980 you to him, so why don't you come to Easter with 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:12.059 me? It's not an advertisement. It's just saying, 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:15.319 just be honest. Bring him with you. Come on. 00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:21.819 Don't be afraid. Notice here, first of all, Simon's 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:24.900 like, okay, I'll go with you. So they walk over. 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:26.700 Sometimes people respond that way. They just 00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:31.589 show up and go, oh. I'll go, sure. You're that 00:20:31.589 --> 00:20:33.529 excited about it, I'm going to go meet him. So 00:20:33.529 --> 00:20:37.589 he walks in, and there's Jesus. And Jesus looks 00:20:37.589 --> 00:20:44.930 at him and says, hmm, you're Simon. He hasn't 00:20:44.930 --> 00:20:47.529 been introduced. You're Simon, son of John, which 00:20:47.529 --> 00:20:51.990 is, I know who your daddy is. And your name is 00:20:51.990 --> 00:21:00.950 going to be Cephas. Huh? Josiah, your name, hi, 00:21:01.069 --> 00:21:04.970 your name's going to be John. It's kind of weird. 00:21:05.069 --> 00:21:11.509 Like, why would he, what is he doing? Well, next 00:21:11.509 --> 00:21:13.009 part of this verse, I mean, it's just strange. 00:21:13.769 --> 00:21:17.450 But it's very significant. See, John looks at 00:21:17.450 --> 00:21:20.750 Simon and says, I'm going to change your name. 00:21:21.410 --> 00:21:24.529 That's the first encounter he has with him. First 00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:26.980 time, he's like, you don't know me. I know who 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:29.240 you are. I know your daddy. I know where you 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:31.400 come from. And no, by the way, your dad had the 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:35.740 wrong name. Your name is Cephas, which means 00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:40.700 Peter. In Jewish culture, naming is a significant 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:44.420 event. My parents thought they were Jewish in 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:45.839 the Jewish culture when they named me Caleb. 00:21:46.140 --> 00:21:48.599 And we learned growing up, it's Caleb Mark, Joel 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:51.880 Philip, Enoch Timothy, and Joshua Luke. They 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:54.220 got all into the Bible names, right? But one 00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:56.299 thing, growing up, I knew what my name meant. 00:21:57.180 --> 00:21:59.880 I knew what it was about because we were reminded 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:03.000 of that. Your name means something. And so in 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:04.900 Jewish culture, it means something. It indicates 00:22:04.900 --> 00:22:10.539 something. But renaming someone indicates something 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:14.839 of the authority of the person that's renaming. 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:18.519 So you don't go in and say, I'm going to give 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:22.420 you a nickname. No, it's a way of saying. I actually 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:24.480 am a person of authority, and I'm going to give 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.000 you a new name, and you have a new identity now. 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:33.539 Wow. So Jesus is asserting his authority over 00:22:33.539 --> 00:22:37.539 Peter and telling people, or Peter, that he's 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:40.519 a different man. Right out of the chute, he says, 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:44.160 you're a different dude. You have a new identity, 00:22:44.259 --> 00:22:46.980 and Peter means rock. And we know the story of 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:50.119 Peter. How does Peter do living up to that name? 00:22:51.250 --> 00:22:54.710 Horrible. If you read any of the Gospels, Peter's 00:22:54.710 --> 00:22:57.470 like, and then he falls and crumbles. Like he's 00:22:57.470 --> 00:23:04.450 more sand than rock. But Peter is giving a name 00:23:04.450 --> 00:23:07.269 because Jesus is giving a vision for what Peter 00:23:07.269 --> 00:23:14.569 is going to become. See, over my life, I was 00:23:14.569 --> 00:23:16.369 thinking about this. The opposite is true too, 00:23:16.470 --> 00:23:20.559 right? Over my life, I've had a lot of names, 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:24.099 nicknames, mainly. Most of them were designed 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:27.000 in my childhood. Most of them were designed to 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:28.900 tear me down. And I'm not going to talk about 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:30.900 me here, but there's a lot of really bad ones 00:23:30.900 --> 00:23:34.240 I started thinking about. So the world does that. 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:38.480 The world gives us names. The world gives us 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:42.720 a lot of names, don't we? You're worthless. You're 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:49.789 stupid. You're fat. You're weird. You're annoying. 00:23:51.230 --> 00:23:56.470 You're a slut. You're dumb. You're an addict. 00:23:57.630 --> 00:24:02.970 You're not enough. You're a failure. You're divorced. 00:24:05.910 --> 00:24:12.670 You're ADHD. You're ADD. You think of any others? 00:24:13.369 --> 00:24:15.470 Maybe some other names that you've received from 00:24:15.470 --> 00:24:23.910 the world? If you're in Christ, you're given 00:24:23.910 --> 00:24:27.410 a new name, a new identity. That's the beauty 00:24:27.410 --> 00:24:29.849 of being in Christ. And so Peter, he starts out, 00:24:29.890 --> 00:24:31.349 and he doesn't do this with every one of the 00:24:31.349 --> 00:24:33.309 disciples, but I think it's almost like, I want 00:24:33.309 --> 00:24:37.589 you to see something. What I do to you, the one 00:24:37.589 --> 00:24:39.890 who has authority over you, which is going, the 00:24:39.890 --> 00:24:42.130 one who made the universe, he looks right at 00:24:42.130 --> 00:24:45.789 Peter and says, I got a new plan for you. A new 00:24:45.789 --> 00:24:50.880 purpose for you. You have a new identity. In 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:52.720 fact, in Scripture, when it talks about those 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:55.259 who are in Christ, it says, you are sons and 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:58.640 daughters of the Most High King. You are more 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:02.819 than conquerors. You are righteous. You are forgiven. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:06.200 You are co -heirs with Christ. That's a pretty 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:09.960 good list. If you're in Christ, those are all 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:13.839 true for you. You don't have to live by those 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:20.519 other names. A big part of belonging to Jesus 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:23.819 and being his disciple of Jesus is embracing 00:25:23.819 --> 00:25:29.980 who Jesus says you are. Part of the problem we 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:32.680 struggle with is we're believing what has been 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:38.380 spoken to us that is not who you are. I believed 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:45.720 for a long time that I was dumb. Couldn't read. 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:49.109 Fourth grade, I got set back. Because I didn't 00:25:49.109 --> 00:25:54.490 understand why, but I was told I was dumb. And 00:25:54.490 --> 00:25:57.529 so for a long time, I struggled with that. Like, 00:25:57.529 --> 00:26:01.029 no. And then it was part of Jesus that really 00:26:01.029 --> 00:26:06.029 helped me see that that's not my identity. What's 00:26:06.029 --> 00:26:11.349 yours? Are you living in the world's what they 00:26:11.349 --> 00:26:17.299 say you are or what Jesus says you are? Look 00:26:17.299 --> 00:26:23.460 at verse 43. The next day, Jesus decides to leave 00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:27.660 for Galilee. He found Philip and told him, follow 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:30.960 me. Now, what's significant? I love this. Philip 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:34.180 doesn't find him. Philip didn't get brought there. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.059 Jesus goes after Philip, sees Philip and says, 00:26:37.180 --> 00:26:41.720 follow me. That's it. That's all we know. Philip, 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:50.019 follow me. I choose you, Philip. It doesn't even 00:26:50.019 --> 00:26:53.859 make sense, Philip, but I'm choosing you. Come 00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:58.099 follow me. Is that what Jesus has said to you? 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:01.420 He's looked at you and he said, come follow me. 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:08.059 Give me your life. Follow me. Guys, that's a 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:13.579 big deal. That's a huge deal. Because if he said 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:16.599 that to you. You are a daughter or a son of the 00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:19.859 Most High King. You are more than conquerors. 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:22.579 You are righteous. You are forgiven. You are 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:25.079 co -heirs with Christ. That's what that means. 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:27.779 And he says that to Philip. He says, come. Hey, 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:35.160 Philip, follow me. I choose you. Verse 44. Now, 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:39.079 Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:41.319 and Peter. So what he's basically saying here 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:43.339 is these guys knew each other. They probably 00:27:43.339 --> 00:27:46.599 were friends. They all kind of, you know, they're 00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:51.880 in the same town. Philip found Nathanael and 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:57.220 told him, we have found the one Moses wrote about 00:27:57.220 --> 00:28:01.599 in the law, and so did the prophets. Jesus, the 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:04.259 son of Joseph from Nazareth, he says, look, we 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:07.779 found him. Right here. Everything that's been 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:11.920 talked about in the Old Testament has been pointed 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:15.299 to him immediately. And Philip's like, we found 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:19.039 him. And so immediately he goes and says, and 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:24.640 finds his friend, and he says, Nathaniel, you 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:28.460 know, Nathaniel, everything that's been in here, 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:31.119 we found him, the Messiah. Everything that's 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:34.799 been talked about in the Old Testament. He says, 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:41.000 we have found the one. And now it shifts to Nathaniel. 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:45.119 Nathanael's first response to Philip's endorsement 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:51.319 of Jesus is what? Skepticism. He's a skeptic 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:54.640 right out of the chute. And just so you know, 00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:56.500 if you're a skeptic or you have a friend that's 00:28:56.500 --> 00:28:58.319 a skeptic and you're leading them to Jesus, it's 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:02.380 okay. Because right here we see how Jesus responds 00:29:02.380 --> 00:29:04.779 to a skeptic right out of the chute. A skeptic 00:29:04.779 --> 00:29:08.759 isn't a bad thing always. Okay, prove that to 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:11.720 me. That's not a bad thing. That's not a bad 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:17.319 posture, is it? Look at verse 46 says, can anything 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:20.299 good come out of Nazareth? Like, I don't know 00:29:20.299 --> 00:29:24.220 what's even behind that statement. Nathaniel 00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:26.859 asks, and what does Philip do? So let's just 00:29:26.859 --> 00:29:30.960 assume that he's got a problem with Nazareth 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:34.500 people. He's a racist or he's whatever. We'll 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:38.700 assume that. Or let's just assume, yeah, let's 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:42.920 just assume that. How does Philip respond? He 00:29:42.920 --> 00:29:47.700 doesn't get worked up over it. Well, come and 00:29:47.700 --> 00:29:51.839 see. Come and see. You've got nothing to lose. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:57.099 See, Nathaniel's first response of hearing about 00:29:57.099 --> 00:30:00.839 Jesus is not positive, is it? That doesn't bother 00:30:00.839 --> 00:30:04.759 Philip. He just says, come and see for yourself. 00:30:05.900 --> 00:30:09.769 And so, Nathaniel does. All right. We'll see 00:30:09.769 --> 00:30:13.009 who this Jesus cat is that you're talking about. 00:30:14.390 --> 00:30:18.329 Look at verse 47. Then Jesus saw Nathaniel coming. 00:30:19.490 --> 00:30:22.329 Guys, even that statement right there is significant. 00:30:25.430 --> 00:30:28.009 He's not surprised. He's like, oh, there he comes. 00:30:28.069 --> 00:30:30.509 I've been waiting for him. Come on, Nathaniel. 00:30:32.289 --> 00:30:36.089 John uses this term saw a lot in the Bible. Saw. 00:30:36.269 --> 00:30:40.259 He looked. He saw. It's this way of saying Jesus 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:44.400 knows what's going on. And Jesus saw Nathanael 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:47.579 coming toward him and said to him, Here truly 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:52.220 is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Okay? 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:56.200 Jesus says, Nathanael, I get you. I get you. 00:30:57.400 --> 00:31:02.660 I see in you, though, something the world doesn't 00:31:02.660 --> 00:31:07.359 see. I see it. I don't mind your skepticism. 00:31:08.140 --> 00:31:10.039 I see you. I see what's going on in your heart. 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:16.619 And when Nathaniel meets Jesus, his heart is 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:20.079 instantly exposed. That's what's going on here. 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:24.299 Jesus exposes his heart. I see your heart. I 00:31:24.299 --> 00:31:30.819 see what's happening. I think Nathaniel feels 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:35.779 it. Look what he says in verse 48. How did you 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:40.269 know me? How do you know me? Nathanael asked, 00:31:40.529 --> 00:31:45.509 before Philip called you, when you were under 00:31:45.509 --> 00:31:52.789 the fig tree, I saw you. Jesus answered, Rabbi, 00:31:53.049 --> 00:31:57.529 Nathanael replied, you are the son of God. You 00:31:57.529 --> 00:32:00.990 are the king of Israel. Something big just happened 00:32:00.990 --> 00:32:03.849 there. Right? When you look at that, something 00:32:03.849 --> 00:32:07.890 big happened like. So Jesus' response strikes 00:32:07.890 --> 00:32:16.670 Nathaniel powerfully. It hits him. He knew Jesus 00:32:16.670 --> 00:32:20.609 could see into his soul at a soul level. That's 00:32:20.609 --> 00:32:23.009 what's happening. Jesus saw both the inside and 00:32:23.009 --> 00:32:25.829 the outside of Nathaniel even when he was not 00:32:25.829 --> 00:32:29.269 aware of it. He knew what was going on. He says, 00:32:29.289 --> 00:32:32.450 look, I saw you sitting under the tree. There's 00:32:32.450 --> 00:32:35.819 a lot of speculation about what. jesus referring 00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:39.519 to nobody really knows you know was was he reading 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:42.519 what's going to happen in verse 51 in the bible 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:45.240 or was he like was he just there and he goes 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:47.160 hey dude i remember you were under that tree 00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:50.119 i know that's exactly where you were when philip 00:32:50.119 --> 00:32:53.599 came to find you how do i know i'm the king of 00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:56.900 the universe i'm the one in charge basically 00:32:56.900 --> 00:32:59.240 because i get you i know what's going on in your 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:10.130 heart Jesus sees us, guys. Sometimes we don't, 00:33:10.130 --> 00:33:12.910 we may know that intellectually, but do we really 00:33:12.910 --> 00:33:15.890 know that Jesus knows what's in our hearts? He 00:33:15.890 --> 00:33:23.289 sees it in here. And he's fully aware of all 00:33:23.289 --> 00:33:29.230 that has happened to you. He's all, he's fully 00:33:29.230 --> 00:33:32.519 aware. Of all of the sin that's been done to 00:33:32.519 --> 00:33:35.200 you. He's fully aware of all the sin you've done. 00:33:35.339 --> 00:33:38.460 He's fully aware of your heart's condition. He's 00:33:38.460 --> 00:33:40.900 fully aware of your skepticism. He's fully aware 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:45.759 of your questions. And it's okay. He just takes 00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:49.079 you. And he just takes Nathaniel. And all these 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:50.779 disciples. He just takes them right where they're 00:33:50.779 --> 00:33:59.569 at. He knows not only what happened. On the outside 00:33:59.569 --> 00:34:03.430 of condition, but he sees his heart. So Nathaniel's 00:34:03.430 --> 00:34:11.230 response is, I believe. You are the son of God. 00:34:11.329 --> 00:34:14.250 You are the king of Israel. One of the commentators 00:34:14.250 --> 00:34:16.250 had this to say that I was reading about this 00:34:16.250 --> 00:34:20.670 section. He said, the gospel of John is bracketed 00:34:20.670 --> 00:34:24.090 by accounts of unbelief melting into belief. 00:34:25.989 --> 00:34:29.710 Nathaniel, here in chapter 1. And Thomas in chapter 00:34:29.710 --> 00:34:34.989 20. Think about doubting Thomas. Both men were 00:34:34.989 --> 00:34:38.909 inclined to disbelieve, but in encounter with 00:34:38.909 --> 00:34:45.469 Jesus won their faith. Changed it. Jesus met 00:34:45.469 --> 00:34:49.210 them at a heart level. It wasn't a transaction. 00:34:49.909 --> 00:34:54.130 It was relational at a heart level. Jesus is 00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:55.829 not done though with Nathaniel. He's got more 00:34:55.829 --> 00:35:01.909 to say. Look what he says. Verse 50, Jesus responds 00:35:01.909 --> 00:35:05.369 to him, responded to him. Do you believe because 00:35:05.369 --> 00:35:11.550 I told you I saw you under the fig tree? Nathaniel, 00:35:11.590 --> 00:35:17.150 you will see greater things than this. There 00:35:17.150 --> 00:35:20.210 he is, casting vision again. You are going to 00:35:20.210 --> 00:35:26.670 see greater things than this. And then he says, 00:35:26.849 --> 00:35:30.800 truly, truly, I tell you. That word right there, 00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:32.960 truly, I tell you, is really a way of saying, 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:35.539 we don't use it like this in our language, but 00:35:35.539 --> 00:35:37.780 it would be like amen and amen, and now I'm going 00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:40.679 to tell you something. It's like it is, comes 00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:43.619 with authority. It's amen and amen. It's our 00:35:43.619 --> 00:35:47.340 truly, truly. It's like big deal. You will see 00:35:47.340 --> 00:35:50.900 heaven opened and the angels of God ascending 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:55.420 and descending on the Son of Man. What? Another 00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:57.469 weird little statement. So let's unpack this. 00:35:57.630 --> 00:36:01.130 I think what Jesus is preparing, I think here 00:36:01.130 --> 00:36:05.429 Jesus is preparing Nathaniel for what was coming 00:36:05.429 --> 00:36:07.889 down the road for him. He's giving him some vision. 00:36:07.929 --> 00:36:12.289 He says, but in this verse, in verse 51, the 00:36:12.289 --> 00:36:14.929 last verse there, there's a shift that happens. 00:36:15.690 --> 00:36:20.969 See, first it was you will see, and then in 51 00:36:20.969 --> 00:36:26.800 is you will see shifts to you all will see. See 00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:29.239 that in your Bible? There's a difference in the 00:36:29.239 --> 00:36:32.139 word, the two. One is he's looking right at Nathaniel, 00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:35.400 then he's basically saying, everyone here, you 00:36:35.400 --> 00:36:41.199 all will see. What will you see? What is he talking 00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:45.000 about? This goes back to Genesis chapter 28, 00:36:45.159 --> 00:36:46.559 which you can go back and read that if you want. 00:36:47.500 --> 00:36:49.380 You probably remember this story if you've read 00:36:49.380 --> 00:36:51.599 that part of the Bible. There's this story of 00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:56.849 Jacob, and Jacob is on the run, right? stole 00:36:56.849 --> 00:37:00.269 his brother's birthright, and he's on the run, 00:37:00.289 --> 00:37:04.230 and he lays down. He's tired, lays down. He puts 00:37:04.230 --> 00:37:06.670 his head on a rock for a pillow. Remember that 00:37:06.670 --> 00:37:08.250 story? It's probably coming back to a few of 00:37:08.250 --> 00:37:11.389 you. And he falls asleep, and God reveals to 00:37:11.389 --> 00:37:15.590 him, to Jacob, something very important in a 00:37:15.590 --> 00:37:18.889 dream. In this dream, Jacob sees this ladder 00:37:18.889 --> 00:37:22.829 that is extended from heaven to earth. And the 00:37:22.829 --> 00:37:25.510 angels are using this ladder to move between 00:37:25.510 --> 00:37:30.250 heaven and earth. And above the ladder stood 00:37:30.250 --> 00:37:36.030 the Lord God. What Jesus is saying is, I'm the 00:37:36.030 --> 00:37:39.610 ladder. You're going to see some amazing things. 00:37:39.670 --> 00:37:44.630 I am the ladder to God. I am the way to God's 00:37:44.630 --> 00:37:50.750 presence. I've come to you. He promises Nathaniel. 00:37:52.300 --> 00:37:57.000 He will recognize that Jesus alone can bring 00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:00.780 a person into the presence of God. He's it. Nothing 00:38:00.780 --> 00:38:03.460 else. Now, why does he choose to reveal that 00:38:03.460 --> 00:38:05.420 to Nathaniel? I don't know. I think it's like 00:38:05.420 --> 00:38:08.440 just these chunks in the story we see. But here's 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:12.179 the big idea. Nathaniel, you're going to see 00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:14.539 much greater things. And you're going to see 00:38:14.539 --> 00:38:20.980 me, the latter, break into this world. And you're 00:38:20.980 --> 00:38:26.280 going to watch all of that happen. And as we 00:38:26.280 --> 00:38:27.980 conclude today, the band, you guys can come up. 00:38:28.059 --> 00:38:30.519 As we conclude today, let's go back to the first 00:38:30.519 --> 00:38:34.219 words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Verse 38. 00:38:34.440 --> 00:38:36.179 This is the first time Jesus speaks. He says 00:38:36.179 --> 00:38:39.920 this. What are you looking for? What are you 00:38:39.920 --> 00:38:43.860 looking for? This is the question that confronts 00:38:43.860 --> 00:38:48.539 each one of us. What are you looking for? What 00:38:48.539 --> 00:38:54.280 are you seeking with your life? Is it acceptance, 00:38:54.539 --> 00:39:00.500 position, influence, excitement, escape? Is it 00:39:00.500 --> 00:39:07.219 love? Is it security? Is it experience? Is it 00:39:07.219 --> 00:39:14.280 approval? After this question, John points to 00:39:14.280 --> 00:39:19.039 Jesus. He says, look. Look to Jesus. Come and 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:22.159 you'll see. I think the idea is real simple here. 00:39:25.159 --> 00:39:29.480 Whatever you're looking for, whatever you're 00:39:29.480 --> 00:39:35.639 desiring for, it's found in Jesus. Come and see. 00:39:37.639 --> 00:39:41.739 The Gospel of John is an invitation for us to 00:39:41.739 --> 00:39:45.940 be in relationship with Jesus. It's what's constantly 00:39:45.940 --> 00:39:47.679 happening here over and over. And I'm not just 00:39:47.679 --> 00:39:50.039 talking to a first -time encounter with Jesus. 00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:53.400 I'm talking about a continuous relational encounter 00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:58.969 with Jesus. Jesus. Come and see. And I would 00:39:58.969 --> 00:40:04.710 just encourage you today, and this applies to 00:40:04.710 --> 00:40:10.010 me too, that's the mission God has us on is seeing 00:40:10.010 --> 00:40:16.869 and experiencing him. Why do we want you to be 00:40:16.869 --> 00:40:19.969 reading your Bible every day? That you might 00:40:19.969 --> 00:40:23.510 see Jesus. That you're living under there to 00:40:23.510 --> 00:40:27.369 experience Jesus. Jesus does something later 00:40:27.369 --> 00:40:33.369 in the gospel. He says, I got to go. This is 00:40:33.369 --> 00:40:35.929 when he goes to ascend back into heaven. He says, 00:40:35.949 --> 00:40:37.670 I got to go. And it's better for you that I go. 00:40:37.769 --> 00:40:40.449 Because the spirit of God will come and dwell 00:40:40.449 --> 00:40:46.650 in you. Why? Because he wants to show us more 00:40:46.650 --> 00:40:48.530 of Jesus. And he does it in a much greater way. 00:40:49.090 --> 00:40:52.630 And that's available to you and me. So whether, 00:40:52.789 --> 00:40:55.230 I don't know where you stand, but if you've never 00:40:55.230 --> 00:41:02.429 said, I need Jesus, today's a good day. Just 00:41:02.429 --> 00:41:05.070 step forward and say, I don't have all the answers, 00:41:05.289 --> 00:41:11.289 but I'm going to come see you. I'm going to follow 00:41:11.289 --> 00:41:17.789 Jesus. But if you are here and you've been tracking 00:41:17.789 --> 00:41:19.170 with Jesus, maybe you've been in the church your 00:41:19.170 --> 00:41:22.639 whole life, has it been transactional? Or is 00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:26.500 it relational? And I think John really wants 00:41:26.500 --> 00:41:33.940 it to invite us into a relational, come and see 00:41:33.940 --> 00:41:38.440 type relationship with your creator. That's intimate, 00:41:38.579 --> 00:41:40.699 that's close. And my prayer is that that's where 00:41:40.699 --> 00:41:42.880 you begin to press in and say, I need to see 00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:48.380 Jesus personally. I don't care how long you've 00:41:48.380 --> 00:41:50.579 been walking with Jesus, that's still part of 00:41:50.579 --> 00:41:53.300 your mission. is to keep pressing toward Jesus. 00:41:57.099 --> 00:42:04.340 Let's pray together. You know, as we go into 00:42:04.340 --> 00:42:10.019 just a time of response, we celebrate communion. 00:42:12.239 --> 00:42:14.539 And I think part of the reason why God gives 00:42:14.539 --> 00:42:17.719 us this command to constantly come back to the 00:42:17.719 --> 00:42:21.619 Lord's Supper is... that we need a regular reminder 00:42:21.619 --> 00:42:27.960 of what Jesus did and how he came after us relationally 00:42:27.960 --> 00:42:30.360 enough that he gave his life, his blood was shed, 00:42:30.500 --> 00:42:36.460 his body was broken for you and me. Lord, we 00:42:36.460 --> 00:42:43.019 come before you today. So personally, I just 00:42:43.019 --> 00:42:47.500 so want to get out of the transactional way of 00:42:47.500 --> 00:42:51.840 approaching you. And to step more into the relational. 00:42:53.260 --> 00:42:56.840 Knowing that you come to us. And you know us. 00:42:57.539 --> 00:43:02.219 You see us. You know the details inside and outside 00:43:02.219 --> 00:43:07.719 of us. And God, that's my heart. My heart for 00:43:07.719 --> 00:43:09.980 our church here. The heart for us as a people 00:43:09.980 --> 00:43:17.400 is that we will know you. And see you. Lord, 00:43:17.420 --> 00:43:19.789 we give this. this day to you. Thank you for 00:43:19.789 --> 00:43:20.210 your word.