Come and See
John 1:44-46
How many of you like first hand experiences?
You have to check things out for yourself…
Others can tell you about it but you want to see it yourself.
What about when you experience something exciting:
You want to tell others about it.
Movies – “Have you seen this/that movie?”
Eating – women sharing recipes
Restaurants – vacation spots – “you have to eat here”
· We want to see our loved ones saved
· We want to see our kids in church
· We want to win our co-workers
· We want to see our church grow
We will question why this is not taking place?
We have a heart problem!
Matthew 15:18
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart.”
Whatever your heart is excited about, that you will share.
For some we are more excited in our heart about:
Our favorite football team
Our favorite fishing hole
Our favorite television show
Our favorite song on the radio or CD
Our grandkids
We have to once again, get our hearts excited about Jesus Christ and what He has done for us.
· Q: Are you saying Jesus needs to be all that I talk about?
· A: If you are totally committed to Him, He will be all that you will want to talk about!
But how do I do that?
How do I share Jesus?
· With my family
· With my co-workers
· With my friends
Today, we learn from some effective New Testament evangelist who only had to say three words.
“Come and See”
Read John 1:44-46
1. Philip shows us how to respond when folks respond negative to our excitement about Jesus.
Nathaniel is skeptical. Just like others you will run into.
Through his comment,
“Can any good thing come from Nazareth”
· He reveals the disgust that Galileans have with Nazarenes
· He reveals his prejudice issues
But what does Philip do?
Does he give up?
Does he walk away?
Does he get discouraged?
Does he get out his bible and preach a message?
No, he says two very important terms that you and I must learn – COME AND SEE!
· We have heard about the Messiah –
· We have heard the coming King -
· Well guess what, we found Him
· Philip didn’t preach a three-point sermon
· He didn’t start condemning Nathaniel for his bad attitude
· He didn’t judge his actions
He simply invited Nathaniel to COME AND SEE!
Another evangelist comes to mind and some of you are going to be surprised at the next one that I chose.
Read John 4:6,7
2. The Samaritan Women speaks on behalf of every one of you who has a past.
This is a lady who had 5 divorces
This lady is now living with another man
This lady has a past that she is not proud of
But today, she is an evangelist.
Read verse 28,29
Come and See a man who told me all things.
· I didn’t think I was good enough for Him
· I don’t know why He chose to talk to me
· I was just going to get water
But I found everlasting life.
Our job is not to condemn the sinner but to bring them to Jesus.
· We are not to preach condemnation but preach to them - love.
· You can’t clean fish before you catch them, so get them first to COME AND SEE then allow God to clean up their lives.
How do I do that? Very Simple
Illus. – Church Business Cards
You get one of these cards and you have them ready at all times. Because you never know when you are going to need it.
Watch me:
You are not about to hand out your opinions
You are not about to hand out your thoughts
You are not about to hand out your religion
But you’re ready! You are set! You are waiting on God!
Then all of sudden:
· You see a wife that is about to give up on her marriage – (give her a card -“Come and See!”)
· You see a man who is about to give up on life
(Give him a card - “Come and See!”)
· You see a teenager who is depressed and running with the wrong crowd at school
(Give them a card - “Come and See!”)
· You see a former church member that has been out of church for many years. They were hurt or just forgotten –
(give them a card - “Come and See!”)
· You see a mom who is at her rope’s end and
she is ready to give up on life –
(give her a card - “Come and See!”)
· You see a father who has lost control of his life and is going through some medical issues –
(give him a card - “Come and See!”)
Why I am giving them a church card:
“I don’t know about any of the other churches located around us but this I do know: Jesus is alive and well at Shipps Baptist Church. And if you want the answer to all of life’s problems, you can find him there.”
I may not know what to say to her
I may not know what to say to him
I may not have the comforting words for their situation
But one thing I can say – Come and See the man:
· Who can turn your life around
· Who can take your situation and make it good
· Who can restore your marriage
· Who can restore your fellowship with your kids
· Who can heal the blind
· Who can cause the deaf man to hear again
· Who can save a sinner from hell
· Who can reclaim that backslider needing to restore their fellowship with God
All you have to do is – “COME AND SEE”
· You are not coming to see the pastor
· You are not coming to hear the music
· You are not coming to see who all shows up
You are coming to see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
· Your neighbor may not be here this Sunday
· Your Sunday school teacher may be out this week
· Your buddy you sit with each Sunday maybe gone
But Jesus is here and He is waiting to meet you!
You have got to just – “Come and See!”
Notice that with Philip and with the Samaritan women:
They were so excited after they met Jesus that they had to tell somebody.
If you don’t have the joy in your soul that causes you to talk about Jesus – You need to come and restore some things in your life.
First, putting Christ back in control.
There’s one more New Testament evangelist I want you to hear from this morning.
3. Jesus Christ – Turn back to John 1:37-39
Look at the question that Christ asks these men:
“What is it that you seek?”
What do you want?
What do you need?
What do you need me to do for you?
Matthew 7:7
“Ask and it shall be given to you…”
Mark 11:24
“Pray, ask and believe…”
The reasons some of us are not getting is that we are simply not asking.
Also notice:
The two disciples have decided to follow Jesus. As they follow Him the ask Him:
“Where do you live”?
“Where are you headed”?
“Where are you leading us?”
We know we want to follow you but we are curious about where you want us to go.
Verse 39 – Come and See!
You have surrendered your life to Christ and you are now trying to find your place.
Take the advice of this N.T. evangelist – “Come and See!”
The same God that saved you is the same God that will sustain you.
Some of you need:
· To become a better parent – setting an example
· To become dedicated to a church
· To start giving more time to church services
· To start reading your bible more
· To start praying more
That is where you will be able to see what it is that God has in store for you.
The invitation is simple: COME AND SEE!
