John 1:29-42
“What Are You Looking For?”
By: Ken Sauer, Pastor of East Ridge United Methodist Church, Chattanooga, TN www.eastridgeumc.com
(Many of the ideas from this sermon came from a sermon by Brett Younger)
How would your life be different if you were not a Christian?
For some of us who have been surrounded by Christian people all our lives, it may be hard to imagine.
For others, we can remember what it was like.
We can remember the darkness and the lonely feeling of being lost.
We can remember the desperation and feelings of hopelessness.
Some of us wouldn’t be alive right now if Christ had not saved us.
So, how about you?
How would your life be less or more or just the same?
What would you miss about church?
I, for one, would never sing out loud in public if it were not for Church on Sunday.
I would also not know what it is like to be surrounded by such a community of love and acceptance.
Which of your friends would not be your friend if you had not embarked on this Christian journey?
If you had never met the people in your Sunday school classes, the folks you fellowship with and serve with…how great of a loss would that be?
How would your family change?
What would be missing?
How would you spend your time differently?
What would be different about your attitude toward your neighbors?
Would you know what love is?
What do you do because you are a Christian?
Do you feel good about the time you have spent helping strangers in the name of Christ?
Do you wish you still had all the money you’ve given away?
Have there been experiences you would hate to have missed:
…experiences of God’s grace…
…times you’ve cared for hurting people?
If you were not a Christian would your life be less fulfilling?
Every once in a while, the disciples probably wondered about how different their lives would have been if they had never met Jesus.
It started out so innocently, so unself-consciously.
John the Baptist was standing with two of his followers when Jesus walked by.
John says, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
And the two disciples are understandably curious.
They start following Jesus.
“Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’”…
…or “What are you looking for?”
That’s the most fundamental question in life, is it not?
The disciples answer Jesus, perhaps a bit nervously, “We thought we would see where you were staying.”
In other words, “We don’t know what we are doing or what we want, but we are looking for something. We are looking for something to fill us.”
“Our lives lack meaning and purpose.”
“We are unsatisfied.”
“We are searching and seeking.”
“Could You be the One John told us about?”
And Jesus offers them the invitation that will change their lives big time: “Come, and you will see.”
They end up staying with Jesus the entire day.
They have no idea what they are getting themselves into.
They don’t know that they will end up leaving behind their nets, boats, homes, friends, work and retirements.
They will end up changing their ideas about almost everything!!!
Notice that the time is recorded: “It was about the tenth hour.”
Many think that the reason this detail is in here is because, John, the author of this Gospel was one of the two first disciples himself, and he could tell you the very hour of the day and no doubt the stones on the road he was standing on when he met Jesus.
At 4 pm on a spring afternoon in Galilee, life became a new thing for him!
And take note of Andrew.
In verse 41, we are told, “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”
There are only three times in the Gospel of John when Andrew is brought onto center stage.
And in each of these incidents, Andrew is bringing others to Jesus.
Andrew is a great example for all of us—he could not keep Jesus to himself!
It’s amazing, miraculous and true: God works through people and depends upon them to introduce others to Jesus.
Andrew’s story is unfinished until his witness brings others to Christ.
And the same can be said for us.
I am aware of a long list of people whom God has used to bring me to Christ, how about you?
Mothers, youth leaders, pastors, and friends.
Who has God used to help bring you to Jesus?
Whose witness has inspired your belief?
More than likely, some persons have brought you to Jesus by example.
Others have probably influenced your faith by simply spending time with you.
And still others have probably
influenced your walk with Christ by teaching God’s Word and by telling you about God’s work in their lives.
How do you influence others to be followers of Jesus through your words and actions.
In what ways is it apparent that you are unable to keep Jesus to yourself?
Jesus asked the first disciples, “What do you want” or “What are you looking for?”
It is the fundamental question of this life.
What are the people who live in the homes surrounding this church building looking for?
And how about our co-workers, classmates, and friends?
Deep in their souls, are they not looking for the same thing we all look for: something to believe in and hold on to, something important enough to live for, and something big enough to claim their adoration and praise.
Are they not looking for challenge and purpose?
Are they not looking for God?
Those wristbands with the slogans or the bumper stickers that ask, “What would Jesus do?” are good.
They challenge us and make us think.
Perhaps, they help us to change direction or follow Christ’s ways better.
But how about wristbands or bumper stickers which beg the question: “What would John the Baptist do?” or “What would the disciple Andrew do?”
Would not the answer be: “John would point others to Jesus and Andrew would bring others to Jesus.”?
And these are things all of us can do, and are called to do.
How are we intentionally bringing others to Christ?
How do our lives point others to Jesus?
Often, what begins with curiosity becomes a step toward grace.
The emptiness people feel from time to time can be used by God to call us to the paths that lead to meaning.
God makes us long for something that lasts.
God draws us toward life even when we don’t know what’s happening.
“Come and see” is how the disciples’ story begins.
This is an invitation to catch a glimpse of God, and if we catch a glimpse of God we will catch a glimpse of who we can be!!!
The people who follow Jesus end up doing many of the kinds of things that Jesus did.
They care for the hurting, listen to the lonely, feed the hungry, pray for the brokenhearted, bandage those who are wounded, and do more than is expected.
They seek God and find amazing and extraordinary lives to live!!!!
How would your life be different if someone had not pointed you toward Christ…or brought you to Jesus?
And the real biggie is: How would your life be different if Jesus, turning around and seeing you had not asked you “What do you want?” or “What are you looking for?”…
…and then invited you with the great divine initiative to “Come, and you will see”?
