INTRODUCTION
A Country farmer and his boy ventured to the big city for the first time. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and back together again. The boy asked his father, "What is this father?" The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don’t know what it is."
While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed, an old lady limping slightly with a cane slowly walks up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady walks between them and into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched; small circles of light with numbers above the wall light up. They continued to watch the circles light up in the reverse direction. The walls opened up again and a beautiful 24-year-old woman stepped out. With great enthusiasm, the father said to his son, "Boy, Go get your Mama!"
The old farmer was ready for a change I guess.
Each one of us comes to a crossroad in life. We come to a point where we need to make a decision that will impact the rest of our lives. The question is what do we do when we come to that crossroad and what is that crossroad?
There comes a time when God calls your name. God will use many different ways to do this. God will not call you on the telephone, but He will use a variety of people and circumstances to call your name.
As we pick up on our journey with Jesus, we last left Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.
This is the third of four consecutive days described here in the first chapter of John (cf. vv. 29, 35, 43).
According to Mark Moore’s book “The Chronological Life of Christ” on Thursday, the members from the Sanhedrin interview John the Baptist as to who he was (vv. 19-28). On Friday, Jesus returns from the wilderness (vv. 29-34).
Saturday, for the second day in a row, John lays his eyes on Jesus and identifies him as the Lamb of God (vv. 35-42). John apparently only has two disciples with him. Perhaps the rest have taken the Sabbath off. Nevertheless, these two are the first to follow Jesus. And according to our Gospel records, this is the last time that John sees Jesus, as he marches off with two of John’s finer students. Sunday, Jesus meets Nathanael, via Philip, and his small entourage of disciples (Andrew, John, Peter, James, Philip, and Nathanael) pack their bags and return with Jesus to Galilee (vv. 43-51). Three days later they will find themselves in Cana at a wedding where Jesus performs His first miracle (John 2:1).
Today we are going to look at what happened to four men when they came to the crossroads. We are going to see what happened to these four men when God called their name.
SERMON
I. WHEN GOD CALLED ANDREW AND JOHN 35-42
A. Their experience 35-37
1. They stood.
THE PALESTINIAN SUN BEAT DOWN ON THE TWO FRIENDS AS THEY LISTENED TO JOHN EXHORT THE CROWDS TO REPENTANCE. FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS THEY HAD FOLLOWED JOHN EVERY WHERE HE HAD GONE, LISTENED TO HIS MESSAGE, AND WATCHED THE CROWDS REACTION.
AT FIRST THEY WERE SURE THAT HE WAS THE ONE THAT THE PROPHETS HAD POINTED TO. THE ONE WHO WOULD DELIVER ISRAEL FROM THE HANDS OF THE ROMANS. THIS GUY EVEN LOOKED LIKE A PROPHET, THAT LONG WILD HAIR, A BEARD THAT REACHED DOWN TO THE MIDDLE OF HIS CHEST AND THE EYES, HIS EYES SHONE WITH A ZEALOTS RAGE.
Andrew stood where he could hear preaching about the kingdom of God.
If a person wants to come to Jesus today, they need to put themselves in a position where they can hear the word of God. Romans 10:17 reminds us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
2. They heard.
Andrew and John had listened intently of John the Baptist as he preached about the kingdom of God. They so wanted to promised messiah to come to them
It is so important for us to get people around the Word of God if we want to bring them to Jesus.
When I started going to church, I did not care about God, I was going to be with Robyn, but I was around the Word enough that it penetrated my heart. I saw the Word being lived out in the people at church and it caused me to want to know more about Jesus.
3. They followed
The verb tense of the word “followed” denotes that they followed Him once for all. That they were not going to turn back.
When we decide to follow Jesus, we too will come to a crossroads where we will have to decide that we are going to follow Jesus once for all. Sometimes we do not come to that point until a little later in our walk. I remember telling Robyn one day that I knew I reached a point of no return with Jesus.
B. Their dilemma 38-39
Andrew and John were at the crossroads, God was about to call their name.
Andrew and John had been following Jesus for a little ways when Jesus turned and looked at them and asked them a question.
Jesus asked the basic question of life: “What do you seek?” He did not ask, Whom do you seek? but “What do you seek?” What are you after? Are you seeking...
meaning, purpose, and significance in life?
a religion of self-improvement and human development?
rules and regulations and laws of righteousness?
fellowship and companionship?
deliverance from trials and trouble and suffering?
approval and acceptance of God?
blessings from God, His care and provision and security?
Jesus was not rebuking them, He wanted to know what they were looking for.
What are you looking for out of life? What do you want from Jesus?
Jesus was giving these two men an invitation to receive the treasure of heaven.
What are you seeking? What do you want from Jesus? Security? Protection? Insurance? Salvation? A relationship?
I used to wonder why a person would come to church all of their life but yet never seem to really follow Jesus. This happens because many people really do not know what they want from Jesus. This causes so many people to be cheated out of what God wants to give them.
We have to be will to let go and let God in our lives.
Now that God had called their name, what were they going to do? When God calls your name, what are you going to do?
C. Their decision 39-40
The decision was to accept the invitation from Jesus. Andrew and John were probably caught a bit off guard by the question Jesus asked, so they responded by asking where He was staying. Jesus invited them to come and see and they did.
Andrew and John were eager to hear more. John the Baptist had prepared the way for them to accept Jesus as savior.
Jesus was not just inviting them to where He was staying, but He was inviting them to see the truth and learn more about Him.
This meeting had such and impact on John that years later when he was writing this account he remembered the very hour that he accepted the invitation.
D. Their conviction 41
After this meeting with Jesus we see in verse 41 the conviction that Andrew and James left with. READ VERSE 41.
They were convinced that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
This conviction was going to change their lives forever.
When you encounter Jesus in your life, you life will never be the same. Jesus will impact every area of your life. There are many people who sit in church who have never encountered Jesus. Once you have, you will be different. You will have a love and passion within you like you never have had before.
E. Their concern 41-42
II. WHEN GOD CALLED PETER AND JAMES 41-42
From time to time we hear statistics about how people first came into church membership. These figures trace back to the Institute for American Church Growth, which asked 10,000 people about their pilgrimage. What led them in? Answers were: Special need, 2 percent; Walk-in, 3 percent; Pastor, 6 percent; Visitation, 1 percent; Sunday school, 5 percent; Evangelistic crusade, 5 percent; Program, 3 percent; Friend/relative, 79 percent.
Here is an instance where Andrew and John were so concerned about what they heard from Jesus that they could not wait to find their brothers to tell them about Jesus.
Do you have family members who are not Christians? When we decide to follow Jesus, we realize that without Him we are lost, that we will not go to heaven. Andrew and John loved their brothers enough that they went looking for them to tell them about Jesus.
Now that you belong to Jesus and know that He is the Son of God, what is your concern? Who are you concerned for?
As a church, it is the responsibility of each and every Christian to share the Gospel with people who do not know Jesus. When was the last time you made an effort to take to someone about Jesus?
Many people will sit back and wait for the preacher to come up with a great plan to reach the community.
Well, here is mine. This master plan that I am giving you is a proven method that will guarantee that this church reaches the lost people in the Auburn area. Here is the plan. Each person who is a Christian in this church needs to share the gospel with their friends and family. Evangelism is the only thing that will ensure that this church does not one day close its’ doors.
Evangelism has to be in the heart of the preacher and it has to be in the heart of the leadership or it will not be in the heart of the congregation.
In the church we must be outward focused, we have to stop demanding what we want to be comfortable and do what we need to do to bring in the lost people of Auburn!
Notice how God called Andrew and John. God used John the Baptists’ preaching to prepare the hearts of these two men.
With Peter and James, God called them through a family member.
We are going to see another way that God calls your name as we look at the conversion of Nathanael.
III. WHEN GOD CALLED PHILIP AND NATHANAEL 43-51
A. Philips experience 43
In the instance of Philip we find that Jesus went looking for him. Jesus purposed to travel well over 50 miles on foot to seek Philip.
We do not know what went on between Philip and Jesus that convinced him to follow Jesus, it was probably more than Jesus just saying “follow me”.
Philip could have rejected the call of Jesus and so can you. When God calls your name, you have to make the choice.
B. Philips conviction 45
In verse 45 we see that Philip came to the same conclusion that Andrew and John came to about Jesus.
This conviction was going to change his life forever. I want you to notice that when Jesus truly enters a person’s life, that person is not the same. Being a Christian or a follower of Jesus is not a religion, it is what you are.
As with Andrew and John, Philips convictions about Jesus lead him to do something about it.
C. Philips concern 45
Philip found his friend Nathanael. Philip shared what he knew about Jesus. Nathanael was not convinced just by the testimony of Philip so Philip told him to come and see and Nathanael did.
Upon seeing Jesus himself, he too was convinced about who Jesus was. Look at verse 49.
When Philip found his friend, I am sure that Philip was excited about Jesus, we too need to be excited about Jesus. For too many years many of use have gone through the motions of church and have lost of joy for Jesus. When we are excited about Jesus, people will take note and will listen to us.
We to believe in Jesus enough to live for Him and to be real. When people see that we are real, they will listen to us.
Nathanael came to Jesus because a friend cared enough to share. Do you care enough about your friends to share Jesus with them?
CONCLUSION
On this part of our journey with Jesus, we got to see the first converts in Jesus’ public ministry. God called their name and they responded.
When Jesus confronted these men, they had to make a decision; they were put in a dilemma. Were they going to accept the call or ignore it?
Through out the rest of their lives they faced the dilemma of making the choice to follow Jesus or compromise. What is your dilemma? Has your faith in Jesus caused you to have to make some tough choices?
These men also were convinced that Jesus was the promised one. Are you convinced?
That conviction lead to a concern for these men. They first concern they had was for their friends and family. What about you? If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God what is your concern? Is it for your lost friends and family?
When God calls your name and you heed the call, you will never be the same!
