sunday sermon snippet 19 April
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered. (John 1:46)
This week’s posting of the Sunday Sermon Snippet comes from this past Sunday’s sermon on John 1:19-51. The prologue to the story now completed (1:1-18), we begin the story in earnest. And it starts off with a bang, as we are invited to “Come and See” the many ways in which Jesus will transform our thinking, feeling, and living. See below for just one of four different ways this “seeing” changes us…
…and if you’d like to check out the whole sermon, just click here.
“Come and See” Means Come, and Follow
Here’s the other thing about this pattern we’re seeing over and over, of “Come and See.” Think of what that first word — “come” — means. Think of what it implies. It means you were here, and now you’re here. You’ve gotten from one place to another, a change has occurred. And so, “Come, and See,” means come and follow.
That’s what happened when they came into contact with Jesus, when they were confronted with who he was (and is) — they followed him (vv 37, 40, 43, 47). Brothers and sisters, we can’t simply listen to Jesus and learn about Jesus and watch Jesus, we have to actually follow Jesus. We must go where he leads, wether we like it or not. And there will be lots of “not” in our lives, because of his life and where he leads. It will happen over and over again as you make your way through your life, and as you keep growing one step closer to him. You will discover places in your thinking and living that are out of alignment with his thinking and living, and you will need to go from here, to here. You will need to change.
The Bible is primarily where we listen to the witness, hear the testimony, come into contact with the evidence, life, teaching, and person of Jesus. All of it made real with the help of the empowering, revealing, teaching Holy Spirit within us. This book is essential in our coming and seeing and following. I love this insight from one writer:
“Personal following without an infallible Bible I think is impossible because if you read the words of Jesus or if you read the Bible and some things in your heart say, ‘That’s great!’ and some things in your heart say, ‘I can’t believe that. That’s primitive. That’s outdated,’ when you’re done, what kind of Jesus do you have? You have the Jesus of your own heart’s making. You think you’re following Jesus, but you’re following your own heart under the guise of following Jesus.”
Family, I’ve seen this so many times as a pastor. And it’s so hard, because people put themselves in authority over the Bible, and over Jesus. It is a hard thing for people to understand that the Bible, Jesus, will contradict us, will cross our will, will tell us things we hate and don’t want to hear, will command things we must submit to in places we hate. And if you aren’t willing to follow in all of those places, what you’re saying is you only want to listen to yourself, and not listen to Jesus.
And Jesus steps onto the stage of your life and says, “Die to yourself, and follow me.”
If you’d like to check out the whole sermon, just click here.
