Come And See

TITLE: COME AND SEE

SCRIPTURE: ST. JOHN 1:44-46

I am excited this late hour and final moments of the year 2011 to bring this close-out sermon. This will be the final sermon delivered behind this Sacred Desk at Perfected Praise Worship Center this year. We end our first Full Year as a Church Family and I am humbled. Shortly we will go into PRAYER and Pray the old year out and be in Prayer as the New Year Rushes In. While the World is out PARTYING and DICK CLARK is - ROCKING THE NIGHT AWAY – it’s good to know that the Saints of God all across the Land are Praying for God’s continued Mercy and Grace. I firmly believe that it is the Saints of God that have held the faith causing our nation to continue to be as Prosperous as it is. Without the Praying Saints, I fear what our country would look like today.

While it does appear that PREACHING means different things to various age groups – I still believe preaching is not about – PROSPERITY – DESTINY – DECLARING AND DECREEING – PROMOTION – TAKING ANYTHING BACK - Preaching is Still about JESUS.

It seems to me that Jesus is being preached LESS AND LESS from our Pulpits across the land. Sermons are more about WHAT GOD WILL DO FOR YOU. I believe where our HEART is, has much to do with what Christianity is becoming. Whatever our Heart is Excited about that’s what we will Share with those around us. If we are experiencing something exciting in our lives we want to SHARE IT. You want to tell others about it. Why I look at FACEBOOK, people put on FB what they are excited about, what they are doing – in essence what they want to talk about.

• Heard people talk about have you seen this movie or that movie

• Many Recipes were shared over the Holiday Period

• As we travelled some made suggestions as to where we should stay and what Restaurant we should eat

• Shared things we are excited about

I wonder this evening are we still excited about:

• Seeing our Loved Ones Saved

• Seeing our Children in Church

• Winning our Co-Workers to Christ

• Seeing our Church Grow

• Seeing our Spiritual Growth

I want to challenge us this evening to get Excited about Jesus as we enter into this New Year. We must be more excited about Jesus than we have been about:

• The return of the NBA after their Lockout

• Oklahoma State University in the Fiesta Bowl in a few day

• Our Favorite Television Show

• Our Grandchildren

• Must be Excited about Jesus and all He has done for us

I’m not saying that Jesus is all that we should ever be conversing about – but He should take up the Majority of our conversations. What else is there to talk about? I am interested in what’s going on at your job – I’m interested in your health issues and concerns – I’m interested in your children – I’m interested in your dreams and aspirations – WITHOUT JESUS IN THE EQUATION WE ARE JUST SPINNING OUR WHEELS.

• We can run to the North, South, East, West

• We can fill out all the Job Applications

• We can Invest and Save

• Without the Hand of Jesus working in our Life

In our text we learn the HEART and SIMPLICITY of the message used by a few new converts to Jesus. Matter of Fact their EXCITING MESSAGE OF INVITATION consists of only three words – Come and See. Jesus does not seem to be very popular in our day and age. I have been following TIM TEBOW of the Denver Broncos who elects to place Jesus first in all of his interviews and actions on Football Field. Commentators as well as other Sports Figures have asked him to “TONE IT DOWN” with the Jesus stuff.

• It’s really not Tim Tebow that is being ridiculed

• It’s not his belief that is being ridiculed

• They are rejecting Jesus and all that He stands for

Yes, my brothers and sisters, people will respond NEGATIVELY to our excitement about Jesus. Many people reacted to Jesus and His teachings with INDIGNATION because He was telling them that they must CHANGE. That stressed them out because they loved their safe, secure and comfortable lives more than they loved God. Is it any different in our own day when people get upset with the teachings and traditions of the Church that constantly tell them to move from one place to another in terms of spiritual maturity?

In our text PHILIP shows us how to respond when folks react negative to our excitement about Jesus. The Bible says that it was NATHANIEL that showed Skepticism to the news that “WE HAVE FOUND HIM OF WHOM MOSES IN THE LAW, AND THE PROPHETS, DID WRITE, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE SON OF JOSEPH.”