An arrogant church lady stood before a class of young children. She was going to teach them the importance of living the Christian life. She said, “Why do people call me a Christian, children?” A little boy said, “It is because they don’t know you!”
But this is not Bible salvation. The Bible says that when a person is saved, they are born-again. 2 Cor. 5:17 says, “…If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
It does not mean he/she is perfect after salvation, but a definite change has taken place because of the new birth. It is a drastic change that is obvious to everyone.
Illus: People who are like this remind me of the child who was so ugly that his parents sent his picture to “Ripley’s Believe it or not!”. They sent the picture back to these parents and said, “We don’t believe it!”
When we see the Lord save someone and these drastic changes began to take place, we also have a difficult time believing it.
When the Lord starts to work in peoples lives after salvation, it is ASTOUNDING WHAT WE WILL SEE CHANGE IN THEM.
THE SAME THING HAPPENED IN THE LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL
Look at Acts 9:21. We read, “But all that heard him were amazed, and said; IS NOT THIS HE THAT DESTROYED THEM which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?”
But this is what the Bible teaches a person who receives Christ should become - a “New Creature” in Christ Jesus, and the old sinful life is in the past.
Illus: They remind us of a weekly television series called, "The Incredible Hulk." The star was a fellow who wasn't very big, but if he got angry about something, before our very eyes, almost instantly, we could see this little fellow transformed into a huge green giant.
When the Lord saved John, he was MIRACULOUSLY SAVED AND TRANSFORMED into what God wanted Him to be. You could see the changes take place in his life.
Before salvation he had earned the name as one of the SONS OF THUNDER, but after the Lord saved him and transformed him, he earned the name JOHN THE BELOVED!
When the Lord saved him, he had a lot of rough edges that had to be smoothed off before the Lord could use him.
Let us look at the scriptures and see...
I. WHAT HE WAS
There are three rough spots in his life that needed to be smoothed off before the Lord could use him.
A. HE WAS A MAN WITH GREAT AMBITION
WHAT IS "AMBITION"? It has been defined as a strong desire for SUCCESS or POWER.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT JOHN WAS AMBITIOUS? Because of who he ASSOCIATED WITH.
John associated with the most ambitious disciple - Peter!
Look at John 5:10. "And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were PARTNERS with Simon..."
If you want to know WHAT YOU ARE, look at those you associate with, and you will see yourself. The reason you associate with them is because you are like them.
For example, you do not find:
• HONEST people associating with DISHONEST people
• DISHONEST people associating with HONEST people
It is still true that “Birds of a feather flock together.”
BUT TAKE NOTICE OF THIS: WHEN THE LORD GOT READY TO CHOOSE HIS DISCIPLES, HE CHOSE MEN WHO HAD AMBITION.
You cannot find anywhere in scripture where Jesus chose a lazy person who had no ambition, to follow Him.
Why? Because a lazy person who has no ambition, has built his life around excuses for why he cannot do certain things.
Illus: They remind us of the fellow who had a very important baseball game scheduled for the next day. The man asked for the day off at work. The boss man said, “You were off yesterday for your grandfather’s funeral, why do you have to be off tomorrow?” He said because, “Grandmother is getting married!”
This is why we never see the Lord turning to a lazy person to do anything, because they just sit there.
Illus: Many pastors learn one thing early in their ministry. If they want something done, do not select a person to do something who is not doing anything. Probably the reason that person is not doing anything is because he does not want to do anything. If he selects someone who is doing something, usually he will get the job done, even if he is doing more than his share, because he knows how to work.
A lazy person only does what he/she wants to do, and NO MORE! They have a thousand excuses for why they cannot do certain things.
Illus: They remind us of the patient who asked his dentist if he could get an appointment to see him in the afternoon. He said, “Sorry, not today. I’ve got eighteen cavities to fill.” Then he picked up his golf clubs and went to the golf course to try and fill those eighteen cavities with his golf ball.
The men that Jesus chose were ambitious men. They were busy working. For example...
Illus: Most of them, when Jesus found them, were mending their nets, out fishing, or were collecting taxes. They were doing things.
We do not read in the scriptures where the Lord came along and saw a man sitting under a shade tree and said, “You do not have anything to do, follow me!”
The Lord chose John, and he was an ambitious fellow.
HOW WAS HE AMBITIOUS?
Once these disciples were saved, they found themselves in the inner circle of THE GREATEST LEADER WHO HAS EVER WALKED ON THIS EARTH.
• They found themselves in the inner circle of those who followed a Savior who could walk on water, heal the sick, and raise the dead!
• They found themselves in the inner-circle of people who followed the Savior. So many men were pushing and shoving just to get close enough to touch the hem of His garment.
• They became instant celebrities. As they walked down the street, people pointed at them and said, “He is one of the Lord’s disciples.”
Now we can only imagine what was going through the minds of these ambitious disciples. They saw all kinds of potential in following the Lord, and they all were struggling to be THE CHIEF OF STAFF!
Look at Luke 22: 24 “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.”
That is why the Scriptures show us that these twelve disciples were having a power struggle among themselves as to who among them would be the greatest.
Look at Mark 9:33-37, "And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me."
HOW DID THE LORD DEAL WITH THEIR AMBITIONS?
The Lord took a little child to teach them.
Illus: Why did the Lord illustrate this lesson with a child in His arms? He used a child for several reasons, but one of them is because a child is helpless and dependent. And the last thing these ambitious men wanted to be was helpless and dependent.
What Jesus wanted to show those "big shots" was that if they were too big to humble themselves to do menial tasks, they were greater than their Lord, because He was willing to humble Himself.
JOHN WAS AN AMBITIOUS man. Also...
B. HE WAS A MAN WITH A SPIRITUAL EGO
Look at Mark 9:38, "And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and HE FOLLOWETH NOT US: AND WE FORBAD HIM, because HE FOLLOWETH NOT US."
Notice that twice he stated that the reason he rebuked the man casting out the devils was because that man was not following them. SO WHAT? God has never called any of us to recruit people to follow us.
Illus: God designed the Christian to be like a bird dog. A bird dog is trained to find the bird and let the hunter know where it is. Christians are to point men to Christ!
They got so big for their britches that they were offended when men would not "follow" them.
After the Lord saved him, he was AMBITIOUS and had quite a SPIRITUAL EGO.
C. HE WAS A MAN WITH LITTLE TOLERANCE
In Luke 9, the Lord sent His disciples ahead of Him to find lodging for them in Samaria, but the Samaritans refused to have anything to do with them because they were headed for Jerusalem.
When James and John heard about this, look what they said in verse 54. "And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?"
James and John were two hotheads. When these Samaritans refused to provide lodging for them, they were ready to try’em and fry’em!
Jesus rebuked them, and let them know that they were not being led of the right spirit.
We can all be thankful that God does not give out power to men who are not capable of handling it. Can you imagine what this world would be like if some Christians had the power to call fire down from heaven and destroy someone, the first time they could not have things their way?
John was:
• AMBITIOUS
• EGOTISTICAL
• A HOT HEAD
As we look at his life, we cannot help but wonder why the Lord would choose someone like Him.
Why? Because none of us are qualified to serve until He works in our life and makes us qualified.
John allowed the Lord to work in his life, and take off those rough edges. He also shows us...
II. WHAT HE BECAME
John allowed the Lord to smooth off all those rough edges, and make him into a vessel that God could use.
Illus: Most of us have seen someone take a piece of furniture that someone else has thrown away, and restore it, and turn around and sell it for a large profit.
This is what Jesus did with John. John had so many rough edges that it was hard for Jesus to use him, but when He got through with him, look what John became.
A. HE BECAME LOVING
It is amazing how the Lord transformed his life.
When the Lord announced to the disciples that one of them was going to betray Him, look where you find John.
In John 14:21-25 we read, "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?"
The Lord said that one of the disciples did not love Him, and would betray Him. They all began to ask, " Lord, who is it?"
Let me ask you something. If you and I could look at those twelve men from another room, and could see them without their seeing us, which one of them would you have selected as the one who would betray Jesus?
I can almost assure you that the last one you or I would have selected would have been John.
Why? Because he is the one we would have seen with his head "...leaning on Jesus' bosom..."
John, at one time had been a hot head, at one time was struggling to see if he could be one of the greatest. He had discovered that the one thing He wanted most, was to get as close to the Lord as he could get - that was all that counted!
Did you know that you can tell who wants to be close to the Lord? We can all look at Christians across this congregation and tell who really loves the Lord, because they are the ones who want to "snuggle" up real close to Him.
B. HE BECAME LOYAL
In Mark 8, the Lord recognized that it would not be long before He was to die on the cross. He began to prepare the disciples for His death.
Verse 31 says, "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."
Notice, the Lord spoke of Himself as, "the Son of man must suffer many things..."
When you and I suffer, who do we want to be near us? We want our most loyal friends! The Lord knew what was coming, look at those He drew close to Him.
Look at Mark 9:2, "And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them."
John, who had been ambitious in the wrong way, egotistical, and hot headed, had become THE LORD'S LOYAL DISCIPLE.
Conclusion:
When the Lord said that one of His disciples would betray Him, John asked the Lord, "Lord, who is it?"(John13:25b)
It was not John that betrayed the Lord. It was John who allowed Christ to smooth all the rough edges off his life so God could use Him.
The question again tonight is; "Lord, who is it?" Who will betray Jesus, or who will allow Jesus, like John did, to smooth all the rough edges off so God can use him?
I. WHAT HE WAS
II. WHAT HE BECAME
