The text that I want to look at this morning is verses 35-39 of the first chapter of the gospel of John. In order to preface the chosen text I also read verses 1-18. I chose these scriptures as a preface for one reason. For the message I have prepared for you this morning, it is important for you to know that Jesus is God in the flesh. Many a times I have had discussions with people where I have made a similar statement and they have said, “No, he is the Son of God” and I say, “Yes, but he is also God.” Now I don’t claim to fully understand how this is, I only claim that the bible teaches it. So lets take a look:
(If you have your bible with you, I want to encourage you read along with me because I will be jumping around a little bit. If you don’t have a bible with you, follow along and I think that you will arrive at the same conclusion.)
V.1 claims that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” V.14 tells us that “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” Now if the Word was God and the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, then it logically follows that God became flesh and made his dwelling among us. These scriptures alone testify that Jesus was God. But so that we will have another leg to stand on, lets look a little bit deeper.
The rest of V. 14 reads, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We know that Jesus is the Son of God, and we know that the Son comes from the Father. So we see that in this passage the phrase, “the One and Only,” refers to Jesus because it reads “. . . the One and Only, who came from the Father.” If we skip down to V.18 we see the same phrase used again. It reads, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Fathers side, has made Him known.” So if we know that the phrase, “The One and Only” refers to Jesus, and we know that God is the One and only, then once again it logically follows that Jesus is God.
The scriptures teach that Jesus was God. Knowing this truth is important to this morning’s message because by definition God is omniscient, or he knows all things. And if he knows all things, then he knows the deepest desires of our heart.
So let’s take a look at the text for this morning.
(READ JOHN 1:35-39)
I find it interesting that the first time we hear Jesus speak in the book of John he gives us these words,
“What do you seek?”
Since creation mankind has always been in pursuit of fulfillment and purpose. Whether we are aware of it or not, we all live our lives in search of meaning. I want to challenge everyone here this morning to take an honest look at yourself and answer the question that Jesus is asking you. “What do you seek? What is it that you are looking for? What is that one thing that would make you feel whole? What would complete you as a person?” At some point we have all entertained theses questions. In fact, we invest a large portion of our lives seeking to answer them:
We say to ourselves:
“If I was better at sports . . .”
“If I was only smarter, then . . .”
“If I could just get into that college that I wanted to go to, then . . .”
“When I get out of my parents house, then. . .”
“. . . My life would have more meaning.”
As we grow older the search continues:
“If I could only graduate College, then . . .”
“If only I could get that job that I want, then . . .”
“When I get that promotion and start making more money, then . . .”
“When I get married . . .”
“When I buy my own house . . .”
“ . . . Then my life would be better, then it would have more meaning.”
And the list goes on and on, and we walk through life looking for meaning and purpose in things that, at best, can only offer temporary satisfaction.
Maybe you can identify. Maybe in your search for meaning and purpose you have run into some dead ends.
“You train hard and become a better athlete.”
“You study hard and become a better student.”
“You finally get out of your parents house.”
“You get into the College of your choice”
. . . and still something’s missing.
“You graduate from college, get the perfect job, get that promotion, marry the spouse of your dreams, move into that house you have always wanted”
. . . and yet that still small voice that speaks to your heart whispers, ‘There’s more.”
C.S. Lewis comments on this truth in his book, “Mere Christianity.” He writes:
“Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy.
“I am not speaking of what would ordinarily be called unsuccessful marriages, or holidays, or careers. I am speaking of the best possible ones. There was something we grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in reality. I think everyone knows what I mean. The wife may be a good wife, the hotels and scenery may have been excellent, and chemistry may be a very interesting job but something has evaded us.”
It has been reported that over 70 million Americans today are struggling to find some meaning in life. And that over 50% of Americans struggle with some type of depression.
There is a hunger in man that this world can never satisfy!
Jesus is asking you this morning, “What do you seek?”
Are you one of those 70 million Americans?
Are you hungry for true satisfaction in life?
Are you in search of a meaningful existence?
I think that we can get an insight on the human heart by looking at how the disciples responded to Jesus’ question.
“Where are you staying?”
In other words, “Where are you going to be so that I can be with you?” or “How can I be with you?”
C.S. Lewis, in his classic book, Mere Christianity, said, "The whole purpose for which we exist is to be taken into the life of God."
I think that C.S. Lewis has hit the nail on the head. Your whole existence has no other eternal purpose than to glorify God by enjoying communion with Him for eternity. And eternity starts now.
Any sociologist will tell you that humans are relational beings. We were created to be a relational people and because God is a relational God, you were created to have a relationship with God.
St. Augustine comments on this condition of the heart in his Confessions when he writes, “For you, Oh Lord, have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Have you become restless in your search for meaning? The truth is, because you were created for a relationship with God, you can only find true rest, real meaning, and abundant life through that relationship.
We see this desire being displayed through the Psalmist:
In the 84th Psalm when he writes:
My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and flesh cry out for the living God (Psalm 84:2)
The cry of your heart is the same cry that proceeds out of every human heart. “Lord, you have made me for yourself and my heart is restless until it rests in you” . . . and Jesus’ invitation to you is the same that he gave to the people in the gospel of Matthew,
“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
-Has your soul experienced the rest that is found only in Jesus Christ?
-Is your life overflowing with an abundance of goodness & truth & mercy?
-Do you have a love relationship with your creator?
You can. You can know these things starting right now. Whether this is all new to you or whether you are a mature Christian, we could all do good to take note of the way Jesus answered His disciples. When they asked, “Where are you staying? How can I be with you?” He answered simply . . .
“Come and See”
I think that the force behind those words lie not in what Jesus said, but in what was not said. Notice that He didn’t say, “To be with me you must . . .”
“ . . . Understand me first.”
“ . . . Come to church more.”
“ . . . Stop doing this or that.”
“ . . . Start doing this or start doing that.”
He didn’t say anything about trying to be a better person.
He simply says “Come and see.”
“Come and see” is not an invitation to:
- become a religious fanatic
- adhere to any particular theological doctrine
It is an invitation to have a relationship with your creator
It is an invitation to life.
And not life as you have always known it, but life as God originally intended it. God is good, and his plans for you are good.
In speaking through his prophet Jeremiah God says,
“I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)
The psalmist writes:
Oh taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man that trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the Lord you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. (Psalm 34:8-10)
The invitation is simple, “With an open heart, Come and you shall see.”
We see this same invitation given through the scriptures:
“Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters.” (Isaiah 55:1)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
“Come and See for yourself.”
This is an invitation to life.
Well the disciples did just that. They went and they saw, and they were so captivated that they gave up everything to follow him. And they rarely left His side for the rest of the days that he walked the earth.
How will you respond to the invitation of Jesus this morning?
As Christians we should be responding to this invitation every morning. We need to receive God’s love and mercies anew and daily make a decision to choose life in Christ.
If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, how will you respond to this invitation?
PAUSE
I want to close with the declaration of faith that John the Baptist made about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” A true walk with God begins with recognizing who Jesus is.
Perhaps the most well-know bible verse in America is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Here’s my interpretation of that verse: “For God loved YOU so much, that He thought it proper to sacrifice his son, so that through faith in his death and resurrection, you might have the ability the live in the abundance of life.”
The Apostle Paul write
“I implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. For God made Him that knew no sin to be sin for you, that you might be made the righteousness of God; therefore I urge you to receive the grace of God. For He says in Isaiah, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of Salvation I helped you.’ But I tell you, NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the time of salvation!” (2 Cor 5:20-6:2)
My question for you this morning is this:
“How will you respond to the invitation of God?”
Will your response be no response at all?
Will you say, “Thanks but no thanks?”
Or will you respond in the affirmative to that still small voice that speaks to your heart in the quiet solitude of life with the whisper, “Come and See.”
