IDENTIFYING The COMPETITORS For BELIEF—John 1:19-28
(Vie/Contend/Battle)
Attention:
Believe It!
Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School.
"Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge, & all the people walked across safely. He used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters & call in an air strike. They sent in bombers to blow up the bridge & all the Israelites were saved."
"Now, Joey, is that REALLY what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked.
"Well, no, Mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it !"
There are many trying to gain our attention & guide the placement of belief.
Identifying God’s servant(s)
John was approached by others regarding his spiritual niche.
*We must identify/concern ourselves with/ the spiritual niche of those competing/vying for our belief.
How can/are we to identify the niche of those competing for belief?
9 considerations/keys/objectives/principles for identifying/categorizing those copeting for belief.
1—Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs(:19)
Explanation:(:19)
:19—“Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests & Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?””
This entire section(:19-36) reveals the “testimony of John” the Baptist & the relevance of his ministry in relation to the coming of Messiah.
Here we gain insight to the personal character of John & his ministry. The reader sees John’s ministry in greater depth or focus. A particular aspect of John’s ministry is centered upon. That aspect is the relationship between John’s & Jesus’ ministry as it is borne out from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
The emphasis eventually shifts fully to Jesus’ ministry beginning with the focus upon the inner circle of His initial disciples(1:35-51).
The “Jews”, in “Jerusalem” “sent” “priests & Levites” to John. They were sent “from Jerusalem” which was their(the Jew’s) seat of spiritual learning & expression in Israel. The temple(Herod’s) was there. These were sent to John to question(“ask”) him in order to discover his purpose or rather to discover ‘if’ &/or ‘how’ he was fulfilling anticipated biblical identities.
“[John] constantly uses the phrase "the Jews" as descriptive of the people as distinct from the Gentile world & from the followers of Christ (at first Jews also). Often he uses it of the Jewish leaders & rulers in particular who soon took a hostile attitude toward both John & Jesus.”—RWP
These particular “priests & Levites” were sent because they were the representatives of spiritual things to their larger constituency.
This smaller section(:19-28) specifically details the inquiries of those who had been sent by a larger party(the Pharisees) to inquire of spiritual things.
John must have made statements regarding the Messiah or at least had made a noticeable public impact so that an inquiry seemed in order. Regardless, John engendered enough interest among “the Jews” that their concern about the possible arrival of Messiah in their lifetime was seriously entertained.
We all(like the Jews) trust our delegates. If they are found to be untrustworthy they are rightly dismissed or disposed of.
*But, Where/How do we get our information, & is it trustworthy?
“Testimony/Record/Witness”—marturia—1) A testifying—1a) The office committed to the prophets of testifying concerning future events; 2) What one testifies, testimony, i.e. before a judge. Strong—Evidence given (judicially or genitive case).
“Jews”—Ioudaiov—1) Jewish, belonging to the Jewish nation; 2) Jewish as respects to birth, origin, religion. Strong—Judaean, i.e. Belonging to Jehudah[hdwhy—Gen. 29:35].
“Sent”—apostellw—1) To order (one) to go to a place appointed; 2) To send away, dismiss—2a) To allow one to depart, that he may be in a state of liberty, 2b) To order one to depart, send off, 2c) To drive away. Apostellw includes a reference to equipment & suggests official or authoritative sending. Strong—Set apart, i.e. by implication--To send out(properly, on a mission) literally or figuratively.
“Priests”—iereuv—1) A priest, one who offers sacrifices & in general in busied with sacred rites—1a) Referring to priests of Gentiles or the Jews,; 2) metaph. of Christians, because, purified by the blood of Christ & brought into close intercourse with God, they devote their life to him alone & to Christ. Strong—A priest (literally or figuratively).
“Levites”—Leuithv—1) One of the tribe of Levi; 2) in a narrower sense--Those were called Levites who, not being of the family of Aaron, for whom alone the priesthood was reserved, served as assistants to the priests. It was their duty to keep the sacred utensils & the temple clean, to provide the sacred loaves, to open & shut the gates of the temple, to sing the sacred hymns in the temple, & to do many other things. Used 3X.
“Ask”—erwtaw—1) To question; 2) To ask—2a) To request, entreat, beg, beseech. Erwtaw denotes the form of the request. “Aitew signifies to ask for something to be given, not done, giving prominence to the thing asked for rather than the person, & hence is rarely used in exhortation. Erwtaw, on the other hand, is to request a person to do (rarely to give) something; referring more directly to the person, it is naturally used in exhortation, etc.'” Strong—To interrogate; by implication--To request.
Argumentation:
**1Jn. 2:15-17—“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, & the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, & the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
If you do not love the world, then you will not seek the world’s answers for other-worldly things.
1Cor. 7:29-31—“But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, & those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.”
2Tim. 3:16-17—“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, & is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2Tim. 4:3-4—“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; & they will turn their ears away from the truth, & be turned aside to fables.”
1Thess. 2:1-12—“For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. But even after we had suffered before & were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness--God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor & toil; for laboring night & day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, & God also, how devoutly & justly & blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, & comforted, & charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom & glory.”
Simply because someone tells you they are not lying does not necessarily mean they are not lying!
**2Tim. 2:1-3—“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
Jude 3—“Beloved, while I[Jude] was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you[the church/believers] exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
**Deut. 12:32—13:11—““Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it. If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, & he gives you a sign or a wonder, & the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’--which you have not known--‘& let us serve them,’ “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart & with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God & fear Him, & keep His commandments & obey His voice, & you shall serve Him & hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt & redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go & serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, “of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, & afterward the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. So all Israel shall hear & fear, & not again do such wickedness as this among you.”
Lk. 16:19-31—““There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple & fine linen & fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came & licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, & was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died & was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes & saw Abraham afar off, & Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried & said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, & send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water & cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, & likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted & you are tormented. And besides all this, between us & you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses & the prophets; let them hear them.’ “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses & the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’””
Scripture—God’s Word— is a Trustworthy Informant:
I hear people who assume that the Bible is merely an antiquated book which was written by some antiquated people, some time in the antiquated past & is therefore to be relegated to the past. “The popular delusion [is] that the Bible is full of mistakes & is no longer relevant to our modern world.” These ask, “How do I know this is God’s word?” OR “Is the Bible Trustworthy?”
Answer:
The OT has been faithfully compiled by Israel, those who were contemporaries of the prophets, kings, & writers.
The NT has been compiled faithfully by the Church, those who were contemporaries of the writers.
Fulfilled Prophecy—“Only the Bible manifests this remarkable prophetic evidence, & it does so on such a tremendous scale as to render completely absurd any explanation other than divine revelation.”—ChristianAnswers.net
Historical Accuracy—“No archeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference.”—ChristianAnswers.net. In fact, Scripture is backed-up by archaeology. People groups mentioned in Scripture(questioned by some) are ‘re-discovered’ thru physical evidence.
Scientific(Observable) Accuracy—There is no ‘serious’ challenge to the Bible’s presentation of reality. Though not a strictly scientific book, the Bible nonetheless contains much that reveals a ‘scientific knowledge’ predating their corresponding ‘discovery’ by later secular science.
Scriptural Consistency—“The Bible is remarkably self-consistent, despite having been written by more than 40 different writers over a timespan of about 2,000 years.”—AIG
Logic— “Only the Christian worldview can make sense of the universal, exception-less, unchanging nature of laws of logic.”—AIG
Testimonial Confirmation—God’s people thru the centuries. Lives permanently changed.
Illustration:
*“How do you know that?” or “Where did you hear that?,” or “Are you sure?” we may ask our friend/“Of course I’m sure, it was on the internet!” is the common joke/TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs
Just because its public makes it neither real nor reliable.
In Jesus’ day there were many who with deceit, malice & with intentionality appended names trusted in Christian circles, to give credence to their flawed writings.
*Popular opinion says, The Bush administration supposedly based the USA’s entrance into war with Iraq upon information(faulty?) they were receiving declaring Iraq possessed ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’/Many people have died because of that information/But we have to ask, “Were those informants trustworthy?”/TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs
A whole lot of lives are at stake if our Informants are not Trustworthy.
Don’t be one who, with the push of a button, pumps out & maintains lies & half-truths.
Facebook ads/ ‘Wow! John Travolta Buff’— ‘Wow! Bruce Willis Buff’—doctored photos & false advertising(menshealth.com)
‘Learn to speak French—Shocking French video’(woman with oversized breasts—obviously tailored to attract men)—(languagelearning2014.com)/TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs?
*E-mail pleas—Heart-wrenching stories...Bring a tear to your eye. Then you scroll to the bottom & the supposed author writes something like this: “If you send this to 10 people you will have $1000 by tomorrow evening.”/What a perversion & horrible misuse of trust!/Such are UnTRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs
Application:
?You employed TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs to identify the competitors for Your belief?
?Are YOU a TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANT?
Jesus is competing for your belief & so are others(people, the devil, etc.)!
? You Identified those competing for Belief?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Joey said, “Mom, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it !"
Action:
Identifying the competitors for your belief employs...
1. TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs(:19)
Presented 02/16/2014am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.
Carrabelle, FL 32322
