1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,720
Well, we want to welcome 
everybody who's here today. 

2
00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:04,760
It's a beautiful day and we have
a great crowd. 

3
00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,000
We're happy to have everyone 
here, as was mentioned, 

4
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,720
especially Brother Ray. 
What a great day to be together 

5
00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,280
and to worship God. 
I hope you still have your 

6
00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,160
Bibles open with you because 
we're going to be in John 

7
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,239
chapter one for the entirety of 
our lesson. 

8
00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:21,360
As I mentioned, and as we go 
into this, I want to 1st, I 

9
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,880
guess, get on the ground level, 
the same plane together. 

10
00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,600
And that is we understand that 
evangelism is a command. 

11
00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,560
Like what does evangelism mean? 
It just means to go to the world

12
00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,600
to share the gospel, to spread 
the good news. 

13
00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,840
We understand that that is a 
command as much as anything else

14
00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,960
Jesus said, anything else the 
apostle said that is a command 

15
00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,640
from God as we consider the, 
the, the value of Jesus final 

16
00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,040
words, Jesus, some of Jesus 
final words were what we've said

17
00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,200
recently. 
He said come together and share 

18
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,360
and commune and be one with the 
other believers and share in 

19
00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,040
around my sacrifice to be 
unified and together as 

20
00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,720
believers. 
That's important. 

21
00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,760
But you know what Jesus is very 
last words were before he rose 

22
00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,480
again or before he went back to 
the Father. 

23
00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:15,840
He said go unto all nations and 
baptize, make disciples. 

24
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,960
That is such an important 
command that Jesus left this 

25
00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:20,720
world with those being his final
words. 

26
00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,360
So I think we can all agree, I 
don't think there's really a 

27
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:29,800
debate that being one who would 
reach the lost somehow is as big

28
00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,200
of a command as any. 
And so may we take it as serious

29
00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,840
as such, and may we take it as 
our personal responsibility and 

30
00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,800
not just the responsibility of 
the church that I go to to 

31
00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,880
evangelize. 
This is our responsibility. 

32
00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,920
And so here are some just 
introductory questions maybe we 

33
00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,280
can ask ourselves as we start 
this study. 

34
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,880
Number one, am I or are you 
evangelizing? 

35
00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,280
Not anybody else, not anybody 
else around you, not anyone who 

36
00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:01,920
you're thinking about, who's not
here. 

37
00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:07,760
Are you? 
Am I evangelizing #2 are you 

38
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:13,040
successful? 
I think this comes with a lot of

39
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,480
qualifiers. 
We want to really defend this 

40
00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:17,040
one, right? 
We get really defensive and we 

41
00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,760
have a lot of explaining to do. 
But, and it's simplest for my 

42
00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:21,520
question for us is, are you 
successful? 

43
00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,400
Am I successful #3 is our growth
our glory? 

44
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,120
Or the flip side of that? 
Is our lack our fault? 

45
00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,480
I think a lot of times we begin 
with the premise and we, we 

46
00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,640
rightfully say that, you know, 
it's, it's not all on US. 

47
00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:42,960
Jesus had people who rejected 
him, right? 

48
00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,680
That's that's true. 
But that's not the whole 

49
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,840
picture. 
Jonah was a horrible evangelist.

50
00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,440
Well, we all agree with that. 
Jonah who was told to go to 

51
00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,680
Nineveh and hated the people 
there, did not want anything to 

52
00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:56,840
do with those people. 
There was not a good evangelist.

53
00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,960
And so it's possible we have 
both extremes, right? 

54
00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:02,720
We we know that Jesus was 1 
extreme where he was the perfect

55
00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,400
one, got rejected, got spat in 
his face. 

56
00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,800
But you also have people who are
clearly horrible evangelists in 

57
00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,160
spreading the good news. 
And so where do we sit? 

58
00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:17,480
Because it's not all, it's not 
all their other people's fault 

59
00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:24,460
if we're not successful #4 Is 
the goal important enough to re 

60
00:03:24,460 --> 00:03:29,960
evaluate your or my approach? 
Is the end goal of reaching the 

61
00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,840
souls of people who would have 
eternal consequences important 

62
00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,560
enough to re evaluate my current
approach? 

63
00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,320
And #5 What are your symptoms of
your evangelism? 

64
00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,080
What happens to you by the way 
you do or do not evangelize? 

65
00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,960
What does it change inside of 
you or not change? 

66
00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,400
How do you think or feel? 
How does it make you anxious? 

67
00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,160
Does it make you feel all the 
pressure? 

68
00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,120
How do you feel or what are your
symptoms about your evangelism? 

69
00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,440
Maybe we'll see some some 
thought provoking things in this

70
00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,800
study in John chapter 1. 
Now I want to 1st establish that

71
00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,880
we read John chapter one for the
first section which is 

72
00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,560
establishing the divinity of 
Christ. 

73
00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,000
It is it is one of the most 
famous introductions to a letter

74
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,320
where it was just full out in 
front of us. 

75
00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:22,560
He doesn't start with the 
genealogy of Jesus life. 

76
00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,040
He doesn't start with all these 
details about his birth. 

77
00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,520
He starts with his divinity. 
In the beginning was the Word. 

78
00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,880
And so we have this 30,000 foot 
view of what's happening here on

79
00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,720
earth. 
That God became man, that divine

80
00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,120
nature existed, created and 
intervened. 

81
00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,720
That's the big picture that 
we're flying over with in John 

82
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,880
chapter 1. 
And then we get into human 

83
00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,000
involvement. 
So as you see the big picture, I

84
00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,320
want us to see this flow of 
thought coming from the letter. 

85
00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,320
Divine nature reaches divine 
intervention and then brings in 

86
00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,040
human involvement. 
So what does that look like? 

87
00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,840
Here we go. 
In the beginning was the Word, 

88
00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,280
and the Word was with God, and 
the Word was God. 

89
00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:07,840
He was in the beginning with 
God. 

90
00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,360
You're like, what does this have
to do with evangelism? 

91
00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:12,760
At the first, I was going to go 
to the end of the chapter and 

92
00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,120
talk about some of the 
evangelists of what they did, 

93
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,200
but I realized that the very 
first verse gives us some clues,

94
00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,120
some insights and perspective 
for our evangelism. 

95
00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,000
This is not going to be a 
complicated lesson. 

96
00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,680
It's right here. 
It's pretty straightforward. 

97
00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:27,520
What do we get from this? 
It didn't start with us. 

98
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:34,200
If we evangelize like it's like 
it it's ours to deal with or 

99
00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,280
that we're the ones who started 
it, perspective is immediately 

100
00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:40,640
off the track. 
Our perspective has to be this 

101
00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:45,000
started with God. 
Who in the world are we to stop 

102
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,520
it? 
Who in the world are we to claim

103
00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,160
any kind of ownership over it 
that would do anything besides 

104
00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,440
what we are exemplified to do 
with it? 

105
00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,720
It did not start with us. 
Verse 3. 

106
00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:02,320
All things were made through 
Him, and without Him nothing was

107
00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,200
made that was made. 
What's the point? 

108
00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,040
We learned from this that we 
might be able to apply to our 

109
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:13,800
evangelism, to our approach. 
He makes it all happen. 

110
00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,240
He is the driving force. 
He deserves the credit. 

111
00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:20,600
He is the one that we need to go
to for the source of these 

112
00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,800
things. 
He needs to be the one who we 

113
00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,080
direct. 
All of it goes through Him. 

114
00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:31,680
Point #2 verse 4. 
In Him was life, and the life 

115
00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,440
was the light of man, and the 
light shines in the darkness, 

116
00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:37,960
and the darkness did not 
comprehend it. 

117
00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:40,120
I believe we have three points 
here. 

118
00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:46,520
Number one in Him was the life 
as we seek to save the lost. 

119
00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,840
If we look at it like we 
ourselves are the life, like we 

120
00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:56,440
ourselves carry the burden of 
evangelism, like we somehow have

121
00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,240
to give enough life out of us to
get other people to have life, 

122
00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:01,640
it's not going to work. 
You're going to be burdened, 

123
00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,360
you're going to be overstressed,
you're going to misplace your 

124
00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:10,200
identity because that life was 
the light of men. 

125
00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,960
Similarly, He is the source of 
the light. 

126
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,200
What is light? 
Light is guidance. 

127
00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,200
Light is direction. 
Light is the opposite of what we

128
00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,360
are trying to counteract, which 
is darkness. 

129
00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,480
So who is that? 
That's Him. 

130
00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:29,760
He is the life, He is the light.
Our God, our Savior, 

131
00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:34,120
specifically he's talking about 
here is the light of men, and 

132
00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,240
the light shines in the 
darkness, and the darkness did 

133
00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,400
not comprehend it. 
There's the third one. 

134
00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,200
There will be darkness that does
not comprehend. 

135
00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,560
As we wrestle with all the 
results, the byproducts of what 

136
00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,920
we try to do with our faith, 
with the world, we have to 

137
00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,000
accept the fact that this was 
true from the beginning. 

138
00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:58,920
And it will be true, and it 
doesn't make sense, but it's a 

139
00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,080
fact of life. 
There will be darkness and it 

140
00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,960
will not even understand it. 
No matter how hard you try, no 

141
00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,040
matter what words you use, no 
matter how far you go, the 

142
00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,800
times, there will be darkness 
that simply cannot comprehend 

143
00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,440
it. 
This is all just in the 

144
00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,680
introduction of this letter, and
it's from these first 4 verses, 

145
00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,360
1st 5 verses. 
We lay these foundations. 

146
00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,400
And like we said, if we don't 
lay this foundation for our 

147
00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:31,640
evangelism, if we think that it 
started with us, if we don't 

148
00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,760
realize that it did not start 
with us, it will likely stop 

149
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,400
with us. 
Why? 

150
00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:38,919
Because we're going to think 
it's ours. 

151
00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:40,960
We're going to think we have a 
choice. 

152
00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:44,560
We're going to think that maybe 
we are the one who's at the 

153
00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:46,320
forefront. 
We're the tip of the spear. 

154
00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,160
It's not true #2 if we don't 
realize he makes it all happen, 

155
00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:58,400
we may over inflate our failures
and our successes #3 if we don't

156
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,280
see him as the life and not us, 
we will have a misunderstood 

157
00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:06,560
role in this process. 
It's exhausting to try to do 

158
00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:08,800
your job and somebody else's 
job. 

159
00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:12,680
If you have one of those jobs, 
some of you have at work where 

160
00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,360
you've had to try to pick up 
slack for three other people and

161
00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,280
your boss expects you to do 
this, this and this. 

162
00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,600
And you're like, we have we need
3 positions for this job. 

163
00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:25,280
God did not give you a job 
that's his to carry. 

164
00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:27,920
That is his job. 
He is the life. 

165
00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,080
And from such we should be 
drawing ourselves and directing 

166
00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,040
people to. 
He is the light, He is the 

167
00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,320
guide. 
And so if we don't realize that 

168
00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,560
he is the one who ultimately 
guides, you may feel really 

169
00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:43,760
hesitant. 
You may feel really hesitant to 

170
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,720
evangelize. 
You may feel a lot of pressure 

171
00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:49,920
because you feel like you're the
guide, you're the light. 

172
00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,960
No, he is the light is literally
going to say the next in the 

173
00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,240
next couple verses as we read, 
John was sent, but he was not 

174
00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,680
the light. 
And we may even get pride. 

175
00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:04,200
We have to realize He is the 
light, not us. 

176
00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,320
And if we do not realize that 
darkness is simply not going to 

177
00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,480
comprehend You accept that at 
face value. 

178
00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,520
You walk in the door knowing 
that if you don't realize that, 

179
00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:14,480
you're going to have confusion, 
you're going to overthink, 

180
00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:16,840
you're going to be self centric 
in your evangelism, and you're 

181
00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:21,240
going to have misplaced energy. 
And we must have these 

182
00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,000
foundational principles from the
beginning of the letter before 

183
00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,520
it'll all work. 
Now enter human. 

184
00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,640
This is all God so far. 
Now let's enter the human. 

185
00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:35,280
Remember, we're looking at this 
from a 30,000 foot view. 

186
00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,280
God's doing this great stuff. 
God is very involved in the 

187
00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,640
world. 
Now you've got this puny little 

188
00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,280
person come on the scene. 
What happens? 

189
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,600
There was a man sent from God 
whose name was John. 

190
00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,160
This man came for a witness to 
bear witness of the light that 

191
00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:57,400
all through him might believe he
was not the light, but was sent 

192
00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,520
to bear witness of that light. 
Now this says John the writer, 

193
00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:04,920
John is not, is not the same 
person as the John he's talking 

194
00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:06,520
about. 
This is John the Baptist who's 

195
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,360
going to prepare the way for 
Jesus. 

196
00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:13,240
So he's saying this man was sent
from God and what was his job? 

197
00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,680
Was his job to carry the burdens
of all the sinful people around 

198
00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,640
him and to feel like it was all 
his job and pressure to fix 

199
00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,560
everything. 
He was sent to be a witness. 

200
00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,200
What does a witness do in court?
The witness is the easiest job 

201
00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,800
in the courtroom. 
The witness stands on this and 

202
00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,240
on the on the witness stand. 
And they say what they know. 

203
00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,560
They say what they've been 
shown, and they say they can 

204
00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:44,040
testify on behalf of somebody. 
That is the role of the man sent

205
00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:46,840
from God. 
This man, John, and I believe in

206
00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:48,600
this. 
We have a pattern for our role. 

207
00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:51,200
You might say, well, John was 
way more important than me. 

208
00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:54,760
John was one of the men sent 
from God. 

209
00:11:56,160 --> 00:12:00,720
So you think that John's ability
to speak to people and to be a 

210
00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,360
witness for Jesus, yours is less
important than of being a 

211
00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,120
witness for Jesus? 
Now, is it less important that 

212
00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,120
now that Jesus is not here to 
have people who would testify 

213
00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,760
about him, who would be a 
witness to his glory and his 

214
00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,640
power and his life changing 
abilities? 

215
00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,000
I'd say it's just as important. 
Yeah, sure. 

216
00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,720
He was the first one. 
Maybe he was chosen as the one 

217
00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:23,600
who did this role in paving the 
way. 

218
00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:28,920
But is yours any less important?
Can you not be a man or woman 

219
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:33,640
sent from God to be a witness of
the light, to claim that another

220
00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:40,080
is the light and it's not you? 
We have a role that is equally 

221
00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:42,560
important today. 
In a world where Jesus is not 

222
00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:43,760
here. 
Jesus was there. 

223
00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:47,360
He could have told people about 
himself. 

224
00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,400
That would have been pretty 
good. 

225
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,400
Jesus is not here today, and so 
it's just as vital that we would

226
00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:58,160
be a witness for him on earth. 
You're not a dime a dozen. 

227
00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:00,440
Even if you think you're a dime 
a dozen. 

228
00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,360
There's plenty of people out 
there and say Jesus is real, 

229
00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:08,000
yes, but your witness matters. 
Your testimony of his glory and 

230
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,440
His truth matters to the world 
around us. 

231
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,840
Our job today. 
Jesus says blessed are they who 

232
00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:21,720
do not see and yet believe. 
John saw and he believed. 

233
00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,360
You see or you believe even 
though you have not seen. 

234
00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,600
Verse 9. 
That was the true light, which 

235
00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,000
gives light to every man coming 
into the world. 

236
00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,720
He was in the world and the 
world was made through Him, and 

237
00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:41,120
the world did not know Him. 
He came to His own, and His own 

238
00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,360
did not receive Him. 
What do we learn from this 

239
00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,320
verse? 
We're picking up little Nuggets 

240
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,360
along the way. 
What do we learn from this one 

241
00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:52,160
verse #7 expect failures that do
not add up. 

242
00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:59,000
As we are hopefully being 
equipped like soldiers in an 

243
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:03,280
infantry room getting ready in 
the barracks to go out, May we 

244
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:08,040
realize in our pursuit that we 
should expect failures that 

245
00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:12,160
don't add up. 
Does it add up that the people 

246
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,360
that knew Jesus best in his 
entire life didn't accept him 

247
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,320
for a long time? 
Does it add up a bit? 

248
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:25,120
Does it does it make any sense 
that he would come to this world

249
00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:26,760
and his own family would reject 
him? 

250
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,000
Makes no sense. 
It says his own did not receive 

251
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,680
him. 
A prophet is without honour in 

252
00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,400
his own country and that's what 
happened with him. 

253
00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,840
So we may we expect failures 
that don't add up. 

254
00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:44,480
But the flip side, verse 12 but 
as many as received him to them,

255
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,640
he gave the right to become 
children of God to those who 

256
00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,120
believe in his name, who were 
born out of blood, nor the will 

257
00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:54,560
of the flesh, nor the will of 
man, but of God. 

258
00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:57,880
What's our point of evangelism 
from this statement? 

259
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,160
What if you were to read the 
Bible for the first time read 

260
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,520
this sentence. 
But as many who did some 

261
00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:10,520
fascinating work of their own 
power and might right as many as

262
00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:17,360
received him, to them he gave 
the right to become children of 

263
00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,880
God. 
That doesn't add up either. 

264
00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,000
We've got two things that don't 
add up. 

265
00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,280
People know Jesus, they see his 
whole life, they're raised with 

266
00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:27,440
him. 
They don't believe. 

267
00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,320
Then you got these other people 
who do very little. 

268
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,760
You could claim almost nothing. 
They believe they receive Him 

269
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,640
and they follow Him, and all of 
a sudden these people are 

270
00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,000
children of God. 
That doesn't add up. 

271
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:45,680
So what do we learn from this? 
Believe in and hope for 

272
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,520
victories that don't add up. 
This may be the most important 

273
00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,080
one on the list. 
Be very careful. 

274
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:58,320
May I and may we be very careful
in our attempt to reach people 

275
00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:00,840
that we don't look for what adds
up. 

276
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:04,480
It seems like in the scriptures,
that's the thing you can 

277
00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,240
guarantee won't happen is if 
you're looking for what's adding

278
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,360
up, that's human wisdom. 
That's human reasoning. 

279
00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,560
And that is not usually what God
works through. 

280
00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:15,400
He works in ways that are beyond
us. 

281
00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,560
And if we don't hope for 
victories, it's one of the 

282
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:21,040
things to believe that can 
happen. 

283
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,920
But if we don't hope for them 
and go every day saying no, I, I

284
00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,120
hope for the best, love, hopes, 
all things. 

285
00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,920
First Corinthians 13 says if we 
don't have that hope, we're not 

286
00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:36,360
evangelizing, right? 
If we don't reach people and go 

287
00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,480
toward them as if something 
could happen here that I have 

288
00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:43,120
not seen before. 
And if we think we're smart 

289
00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,680
enough that our past experience 
is the truth about what's always

290
00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,840
going to happen, we are sorely 
mistaken. 

291
00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,560
If we only learn from our past 
and don't have hope for future 

292
00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,600
that God can bring. 
That's the definition of faith, 

293
00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,040
having hope for a future we have
not seen, especially with 

294
00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:10,400
people, especially with people 
who deserve it, just like we did

295
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,240
not deserve it, he says. 
It's not of the will of flesh 

296
00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,079
nor the will of man. 
How is that true? 

297
00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,000
There's a lot of people who for 
a long time did ran away from 

298
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:24,760
God, who didn't want God. 
There's a lot of people who were

299
00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:29,400
rejected by others. 
There's a lot of people who have

300
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,880
done a lot of bad things and 
most men would not want them to 

301
00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:38,880
see the Kingdom of God. 
We've said it before, we may be 

302
00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:43,600
surprised if we see in heaven 
because there's a lot of men who

303
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,720
want to see punishment and 
judgment for what's done wrong. 

304
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,440
And so in many sense of the 
word, it's not the will of man, 

305
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,480
it's not from our will. 
Then it happens. 

306
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:58,320
God's will is stronger, it is 
more powerful because people can

307
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:05,480
be born again from God himself 
and become children of God. 

308
00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,480
It's not what many would say we 
deserve. 

309
00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,480
And ironically, you guys have 
probably heard of the the crab 

310
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,960
scenario where crabs you can, 
you can put a bucket of crabs 

311
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,680
with a lid open and they won't 
get out. 

312
00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,720
Many of you know why? 
Because if one crab tries to get

313
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,040
out, the other ones will reach 
up and pull it back in. 

314
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:26,320
So you don't even have to 
contain them. 

315
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,280
They'll contain each other. 
Why? 

316
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,320
Because our will is we pull each
other down. 

317
00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:35,600
We want to judge, we want to be 
rude sometimes we want to pull 

318
00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,680
people down. 
And may we have belief and hope 

319
00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:42,520
for better, both for ourselves 
and for the people around us, 

320
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:44,800
that we would not pull them 
down. 

321
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,280
And we're going to skip a big 
chunk in the middle because 

322
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,520
we're going to get to more about
evangelism. 

323
00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,240
But he goes on to say, and we 
beheld his glory. 

324
00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:57,400
And that's the song we just 
sang. 

325
00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:02,240
And they beheld his glory. 
The people who saw him beheld 

326
00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,960
his glory. 
OK, So what have we learned from

327
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,800
that section right there? 
Internalize our role, both the 

328
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:14,640
limitations of our role and also
the value of our role #7 expect 

329
00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,280
failures that don't up, add up, 
and believe in and hope for 

330
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,040
victories that don't add up. 
And so in this section, this is 

331
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:25,400
where a kind of a study reaches 
its most specific point. 

332
00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,320
And I built kind of three points
around these. 

333
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:30,240
The first point of the study is 
people come to Jesus through 

334
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,880
relationship, not sales pitches.
So we're all the way down. 

335
00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:40,840
In verse 35, it says again the 
next day, John, this is Speaking

336
00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,360
of John the Baptist stood with 
two of his disciples. 

337
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,440
OK, we're big picture, right? 
All of a sudden you have this 

338
00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,880
man and then he through 
relationship has two other 

339
00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,560
people with him. 
Do you see this is like a 

340
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,000
multiplier. 
We're supposed to see 

341
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,440
multiplication here, 1 turned 
into two and he's got 2 

342
00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:03,040
disciples and what happens? 
And looking at Jesus as he 

343
00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,680
walked, he said, behold the Lamb
of God. 

344
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:09,560
What can we learn from this 
pattern? 

345
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:15,440
John does not build dependence. 
He doesn't build these people to

346
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:19,600
depend on him, He builds 
relationships that he uses to 

347
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:24,840
then direct toward Jesus. 
We're pretty simple guys. 

348
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,520
I hope we see that at this point
there's not going to be anything

349
00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:29,440
life changing necessarily in 
this lesson. 

350
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,720
But we have to 1st build 
relationships and have 

351
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,320
disciples. 
Maybe is what John's context 

352
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:36,760
was. 
He had people who who understood

353
00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,080
his teachings, but he wasn't 
about John. 

354
00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,840
John directed them to Jesus. 
Behold the Lamb of God. 

355
00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,360
And we got to be careful because
it's easy for us to build people

356
00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:53,120
who depend on us for everything 
spiritually, and pretty soon 

357
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:57,000
they realize their foundation is
not in the right place and 

358
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,760
they're right if we're not 
careful. 

359
00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,200
The two disciples heard him 
speak and they follow Jesus. 

360
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,000
Verse 38. 
Then Jesus turned and seeing 

361
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,840
them following said to them. 
So here's here's the evangelism 

362
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,000
started. 
We have evangelism by one man 

363
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,800
who directs people to Jesus. 
Now when Jesus starts the 

364
00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,120
evangelistic process, we need to
learn from what the Master does.

365
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,160
The Master is going to teach. 
So how does the Master 

366
00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,160
evangelize? 
I'm ready pen, pen and paper 

367
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,080
ready to go. 
What does he do? 

368
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:36,960
He says, what do you seek? 
That was his opening line. 

369
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,440
What do you seek? 
What can we learn from this? 

370
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,440
We're going to stop a lie. 
We got to ask good questions. 

371
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,280
Jesus was a master of this. 
He asked good questions. 

372
00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:54,320
Why is that so important? 
When we leave with statements, 

373
00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:59,560
we call attention to our ideas 
and our thoughts in our ways. 

374
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:04,000
But, and that's not necessarily 
a bad thing, there's a time for 

375
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:05,320
that. 
But we're talking about 

376
00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:07,560
evangelism this morning. 
We're talking reaching people 

377
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:09,760
that we don't know that that 
we're not involved with. 

378
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:14,680
When we lead with questions, we 
foster connection with others. 

379
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,160
We show a value for them. 
We want to listen to them, we 

380
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:19,840
want to talk to them, we want to
learn them. 

381
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,880
That was Jesus first instinct to
learn the people and to build a 

382
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,000
relationship and a connection 
with the people. 

383
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:32,200
And when they speak and find 
safety, they pursue further. 

384
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,040
People are scared to ask 
questions. 

385
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,960
People don't want to look dumb. 
They don't want you to challenge

386
00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:39,920
them. 
They a lot of things. 

387
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:44,240
And once they ask, when they get
a chance to speak and they 

388
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,800
answer your question, they can 
find safety when they realize 

389
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,120
this person's not out to get me.
This person's not thinking, oh, 

390
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:52,920
they're better than me. 
This person is a safe person. 

391
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:57,120
And Jesus started with a 
question and how did they 

392
00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,400
respond? 
They said to him, Rabbi, which 

393
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,920
is to say when translated 
teacher, where are you staying? 

394
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:06,960
So they respond with his 
question with a question. 

395
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,520
So it's almost like the 
brilliance of the scenario is 

396
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:16,200
that he causes them to seek even
more and he identifies what they

397
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,320
really need. 
Maybe we identify needs, not 

398
00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:21,720
slam people over the head with 
stuff. 

399
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:27,240
And So what happens? 
Well, I think this question 

400
00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:31,520
itself is very deep. 
The book of John has a lot of 

401
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,280
heavy, simple questions in it. 
You read throughout the book of 

402
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,440
John. 
For example, in John chapter 3, 

403
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,520
we studied not long ago 
Nicodemus, where he said, can a 

404
00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:42,160
man be born again when he is 
old? 

405
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,160
He's asking a simple, practical 
question. 

406
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,120
But really it carries a lot of 
spiritual depth. 

407
00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,720
It carries the depth of, I mean,
even an old person. 

408
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,440
It's hard for older people to 
learn new things, to accept new 

409
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:58,280
ideas when they've had a serious
way of thinking their whole 

410
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,160
life. 
It's hard for him at this stage 

411
00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,280
in his faith to to learn 
something new again and to 

412
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,480
ultimately have a spirit that is
reborn. 

413
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:09,880
And we talked about that. 
That's a loaded question. 

414
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,560
But he didn't even realize maybe
the depth of what he was asking.

415
00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:17,640
Simple questions, deep, deep 
meaning In John chapter 4, it's 

416
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:19,640
everywhere. 
The woman at the well says, 

417
00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:22,760
where can I find water that will
make me never thirst? 

418
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,720
She's asking a practical 
question at the well, not 

419
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,520
wanting to keep walking out in 
the middle of the day in the 

420
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:33,240
heat to draw water, but we see a
very deep spiritual question. 

421
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,280
Where can I find living water? 
We're starting to see the 

422
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,400
pattern. 
John 5, the man at the pool of 

423
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,760
Bethesda came to Jesus and and 
Jesus asked him the question. 

424
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:45,280
He said, do you want to be 
healed? 

425
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,240
Simple question. 
You might think a lot of loaded 

426
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,240
meaning there. 
Do you really want to be healed?

427
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:54,720
Do you really want to come out 
of sin? 

428
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,200
We might ask ourselves, do we 
really want what God brings to 

429
00:24:58,200 --> 00:24:59,760
our life or do you just want the
blessings? 

430
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,600
Do we want the challenge? 
There's a lot of loaded meaning 

431
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,160
there when he says, do you want 
to be healed? 

432
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:09,320
John 6 How can this man give us 
his flesh to eat? 

433
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,520
The Pharisees said, Wolf, they 
were like weirded out by that 

434
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:14,840
statement. 
They just said, how can this man

435
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:19,200
give us his flesh to eat? 
This spoke great spiritual depth

436
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,480
about what we would do later on,
how we would need His body and 

437
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,320
his blood and eventually commute
around his body and His blood. 

438
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:30,520
John Chapter 9, they asked 
Jesus, where's your Father? 

439
00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:35,560
The Pharisees were coming after 
him like asking where he came 

440
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,440
from, and they didn't realize he
was asking the Son of God to do 

441
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,800
to identify his heavenly 
origins. 

442
00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,080
The book of John is loaded with 
heavy, simple questions that 

443
00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:48,320
hold a lot of spiritual 
meanings. 

444
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:51,880
So what is here? 
What is this question? 

445
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:54,240
Where did they ask him? 
Where are you staying? 

446
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,960
Does John and the theme of this 
letter have a bigger theme he's 

447
00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:00,480
calling out? 
I think so. 

448
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:05,200
When they're asking him this, we
have the context of God being 

449
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:10,040
Incarnate in the world. 
For so long God was distant, and

450
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,480
it may have seemed God was far 
away. 

451
00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:17,200
But God came down, John chapter 
1 says, and now he's dwelling 

452
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,560
among his people and these men 
are looking for a place to dwell

453
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,080
with him. 
They're looking to abide with 

454
00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:25,040
him and connect with him and 
live with him. 

455
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:31,880
And ultimately true discipleship
means spending time with him. 

456
00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:36,320
And that's the recipe. 
That's what is good to come out 

457
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,080
of this. 
This is almost a model of what 

458
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:42,320
we should see happen. 
And he said to them, come and 

459
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,120
see. 
That's what Jesus says. 

460
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,160
Jesus answers with relationship,
not a lecture. 

461
00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:49,880
He answers with presence, not 
proof. 

462
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,360
He answers with experience and 
experience to be with him and 

463
00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:56,960
not explanation immediately. 
Is there room for those? 

464
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,800
Absolutely. 
But we're talking about 

465
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,800
evangelism, reaching out 
initially. 

466
00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:06,720
Our words can be so aimed at 
conquering, defeating arguments,

467
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:12,000
proving our point that we never 
have a chance to to connect. 

468
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:17,280
And Jesus offers. 
Just come along with me, join 

469
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:19,920
me. 
So what do we learn from that 

470
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,840
invite? 
This lesson I hope you should 

471
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,840
see by the end of it, is a call 
to invite people. 

472
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:31,680
Don't try to always bash people 
over the head. 

473
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:33,920
Don't try to tell people why 
they're wrong all the time. 

474
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:38,600
Invite them to come alongside. 
Because if you are seeking God 

475
00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:42,640
and seeking to follow him, when 
your invitation goes to them, 

476
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,120
it's an invitation to seek with 
you. 

477
00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,160
It's not an invitation to listen
to you as your disciple now. 

478
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,560
It's not a it's not a pyramid 
scheme in which you now have 

479
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,000
disciples who feed into you. 
No, it's an invitation to seek 

480
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,160
alongside me. 
And when we say come and see, we

481
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,440
invite to come alongside verse 
39. 

482
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:03,720
He said to them, come and see. 
They came and saw where he was 

483
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,360
staying and remained, which 
means to abide or to stay or to 

484
00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:11,920
dwell with him that day. 
Now it was about the 10th hour. 

485
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,240
These people wanted to spend 
time with them. 

486
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:16,040
They wanted to continue the 
conversation. 

487
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,160
They're moving from curiosity to
relationship. 

488
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,840
And this opens up a theme that 
John uses heavily. 

489
00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:28,480
Abiding with Jesus, revelation 
or learning through revelation 

490
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,480
with him. 
So being with Jesus and learning

491
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:35,920
from the Master in the process 
and the incarnation of God 

492
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:42,280
living among them. 
Verse 41 of the two who heard 

493
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,920
John speak and followed him was 
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 

494
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,240
He first found his own brother 
Simon and said to him, we have 

495
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:51,680
found the Messiah, which is 
translated Christ. 

496
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,000
So now we're switching to 
somebody else. 

497
00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:58,360
One of those people was Andrew, 
and now we have this branching 

498
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,560
out. 
So John had two people and then 

499
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,360
that person went and told 
somebody else. 

500
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,200
This is the pattern. 
It was Andrew. 

501
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,680
We know a lot about Peter, but 
there's no Peter without an 

502
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:14,880
Andrew. 
Don't show favoritism with who 

503
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:16,560
you seek. 
All this person's going to be so

504
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:18,520
good for us. 
This person's going to be so 

505
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:20,800
good #1 because it's not about 
us. 

506
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,400
We're don't show partiality. 
But number two, you don't know 

507
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,000
what might come out of it. 
You might bring an Andrew and 

508
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,600
get a Peter out of it for the 
God's glory and for God's 

509
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,520
purposes. 
Don't show favoritism with 

510
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:37,880
evangelism. 
So hopefully we're starting to 

511
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,720
see we have a divine side of our
roles with evangelism. 

512
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,680
And then there's a human side. 
The divine side is created, 

513
00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:48,280
bringing life, bringing light 
and welcomed into a family. 

514
00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:50,960
Our side is John says there he 
is. 

515
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:54,160
There's the Messiah. 
Andrew says I found him. 

516
00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:56,400
Philip says come and see in just
a minute. 

517
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,480
And Jesus says come and see. 
Jesus models the human side 

518
00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,440
here. 
There is a human side that Jesus

519
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:04,640
does. 
Our side is very simple. 

520
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,560
Don't overthink our side. 
Don't overwhelm yourself with 

521
00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:10,160
our side. 
Come and see. 

522
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,360
Invite verse 42. 
We're going to move along 

523
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:13,440
quickly. 
We're finishing up. 

524
00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:18,640
And he brought him to Jesus. 
Now when Jesus looked at him, 

525
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:23,320
Speaking of Peter, he said you 
are Simon, the son of Jonah. 

526
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,160
You shall be called Cephas, 
which is translated a stone. 

527
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,320
Our second big point in this 
section is come and see is 

528
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:37,200
better than Let me tell you why 
I'm right and you're wrong with 

529
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:39,240
evangelism. 
Verse 43. 

530
00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,560
The following day Jesus wanted 
to go to Galilee and he found 

531
00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:45,520
Philip and said to him, follow 
me. 

532
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:48,120
Philips already wrote his 
disciples. 

533
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,080
He says let's go, let's do this 
now Philip was but was from 

534
00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:54,360
Bethsaida, the city of Andrew 
and Peter. 

535
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:58,600
Philip found Nathaniel and said 
to him, we have found him of 

536
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:02,400
whose of whom? 
Moses in the law and also the 

537
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:06,200
prophets wrote Jesus of 
Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 

538
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,320
There's the pattern again. 
You have this one guy who brings

539
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,240
one other person. 
We can do that. 

540
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:16,480
We can do that. 
Philip's invitation and 

541
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,400
Nathaniel says to him, can 
anything good come out of 

542
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:23,560
Nazareth? 
There's some criticism, there's 

543
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:26,160
the there's the push back. 
And what does he say? 

544
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:31,640
He says come and see. 
Does he correct Nathaniel? 

545
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:33,840
Well, you don't understand 
because the prophecies say out 

546
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,920
of the out of Jerusalem this is 
going to happen, or out of out 

547
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:38,080
of Nazareth this is going to 
happen. 

548
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:40,000
He doesn't give a long 
explanation. 

549
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,840
He doesn't correct him. 
He doesn't argue geography or 

550
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:44,680
prophecy. 
He doesn't shame him. 

551
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,040
Just come on, come see, come 
see. 

552
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,360
He shows restraint. 
This is important because 

553
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,280
oftentimes if you talk to 
people, they don't talk about 

554
00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:58,920
not liking Jesus or his 
teachings or what he's about or 

555
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:02,240
what he gives to the world. 
They don't like Christians 

556
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,080
attitudes. 
They don't like pressure 

557
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,200
tactics. 
They don't like arguments that 

558
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,320
feel dismissive. 
And maybe you get some people 

559
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,240
who feed off of those. 
Maybe some people cave to 

560
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:14,880
pressure and they like that. 
They, they feel like, OK, if 

561
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:16,680
they're pressure me, they might 
be right. 

562
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,040
But maybe there's a lot of 
people who don't like to feel 

563
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:26,320
pressured and people reject our 
tactics a lot of times more than

564
00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:30,560
they reject Jesus. 
They don't like arguments that 

565
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,240
feel dismissive. 
And so my question for us is, 

566
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:37,280
what is our priority got cut off
up here? 

567
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:39,600
But is our priority to be 
correct and to prove it to 

568
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,360
others? 
Or is our priority seeking him 

569
00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:44,640
and welcoming other people to 
seek too? 

570
00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,080
You don't need to overcome every
objection. 

571
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:51,680
Philip did it. 
You don't need to. 

572
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:53,600
You don't need perfect 
perspective. 

573
00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,440
You just need authenticity and 
courage to invite because what 

574
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:03,820
happens? 
What happens? 

575
00:33:04,540 --> 00:33:07,100
Nathaniel said to him, oh, OK, 
I'm getting ahead of myself. 

576
00:33:07,260 --> 00:33:08,500
We'll see what happens in just a
minute. 

577
00:33:09,220 --> 00:33:11,580
But at this point, I've said you
don't need to overcome every 

578
00:33:11,580 --> 00:33:12,700
objection. 
You don't need perfect 

579
00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:15,700
perspective and all that. 
And there may be some objections

580
00:33:15,700 --> 00:33:17,780
out there. 
People may be say thinking well 

581
00:33:17,780 --> 00:33:20,340
in Second Timothy 4 verse 2, it 
says convince, rebuke and 

582
00:33:20,340 --> 00:33:23,200
exhort. 
How am I supposed to hear this 

583
00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:27,480
call to welcome and not be so 
pressurizing and like telling 

584
00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:28,960
people here all is all the 
truth? 

585
00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,400
How can I compare that though 
with what second Timothy says? 

586
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,160
Well, great question. 
I'm glad you asked. 

587
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,880
We have a context for this 
letter. 

588
00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,800
Peter or Paul is writing this 
letter to Timothy telling the 

589
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,360
young man Timothy, how to lead a
congregation. 

590
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,600
He's going to work with a 
congregation to evangelise and 

591
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:52,400
to establish an eldership, to 
lead a congregation. 

592
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:56,000
That's not evangelism at its 
core. 

593
00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:01,520
The responsibility of Timothy is
in the church to rebuke and 

594
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,600
convince and exhort. 
It's not saying every person you

595
00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,360
walk up to on the street try to 
evangelise, tell them how the 

596
00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,760
wrong rebuke them. 
That's not the context. 

597
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,840
What about Acts chapter 2, one 
of the greatest sermons ever? 

598
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,400
Peter stood up and said you 
killed the Messiah. 

599
00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:20,920
That's pretty convicting. 
He's coming at those people, 

600
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,600
right? 
Context. 

601
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:29,679
He's writing to people, the Jews
who already believed in God, who

602
00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:33,120
knew the scripture, who believed
in the Messiah concept, who had 

603
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:36,520
just witnessed the supernatural 
events of the day of Pentecost. 

604
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,159
This isn't seeing somebody on 
the street you don't know, it's 

605
00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:43,280
talking to a Co worker. 
This is a lot of stuff that 

606
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:45,360
already happened that we can't 
just pull out of context. 

607
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,840
It's not cold evangelism, casual
conversation, or outreach to 

608
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:54,080
spiritual outsiders. 
This is people they were in a 

609
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:58,120
different scenario. 
And by the way, his sermon in 

610
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:02,080
Acts 2 spends way more time 
talking about Jesus life, his 

611
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:04,440
death, his resurrection and his 
exaltation. 

612
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,480
And then it ends with you killed
him. 

613
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:12,480
So that's not the whole context.
Yes, there's a place for 

614
00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,160
conviction, but it starts with 
Jesus. 

615
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:20,120
It starts with him. 
And maybe your objection beyond 

616
00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:23,080
those scriptures is the world 
already knows that story. 

617
00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:25,960
The world, the world already 
knows who Jesus is. 

618
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:27,960
The world already knows this 
stuff. 

619
00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:37,920
What what we're about is or what
I have to skip to is, and that's

620
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:43,560
not going to win. 
That is converting people to 

621
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,400
something that's not first. 
Jesus. 

622
00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,440
If we skip the core, it's going 
to be hollow. 

623
00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:57,040
And you know what's wrong with a
hollow Peach? 

624
00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:01,880
It doesn't reproduce anything. 
There's no seed in there. 

625
00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,920
It's not going to keep growing. 
You take the core out of it. 

626
00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:08,760
Tastes like Peach, looks like 
Peach, feels like a Peach, 

627
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:12,680
smells like a Peach. 
But it's not going to produce 

628
00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:14,920
another Peachtree. 
You leave the core in there 

629
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:16,680
first. 
That seed grows another 

630
00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:20,480
Peachtree. 
I'm not saying it's always our 

631
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:26,160
fault why we don't grow, but I 
am saying it is sometimes our 

632
00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:30,760
fault when we don't grow. 
May we not take out the core. 

633
00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:37,920
In an event to skip to what we 
think matters, we can't skip the

634
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,720
foundation or you'll miss the 
point altogether and people will

635
00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:45,040
see that and people are not 
dumb. 

636
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:50,000
People are going to see that. 
We haven't talked about any 

637
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:51,520
doctrines. 
This is just the beginning. 

638
00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:54,920
Come and see. 
Jesus meets people where they 

639
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:56,400
are, not where we wish they 
were. 

640
00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,920
Verse 47, Jesus saw Nathaniel 
coming toward him instead of 

641
00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:01,800
him. 
So here's what happened after he

642
00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,240
said come and see. 
Phillips part was simple. 

643
00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:06,960
Come and see. 
And why is that such a good 

644
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:08,600
thing? 
Well, here's what happens. 

645
00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:13,440
He goes and talks to Jesus and 
Jesus says, behold, an Israelite

646
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:15,520
indeed, in whom there is no 
deceit. 

647
00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:20,600
What did Jesus do? 
Jesus identifies Nathaniel. 

648
00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:27,080
He didn't even know him, but he 
knew him and he showed him that 

649
00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:30,520
he sees him, He shows him that 
he values him. 

650
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,920
He shows that personal 
connection to him. 

651
00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:42,320
He acknowledges the good in him.
And Nathaniel said to him, How 

652
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:46,200
do you know me? 
Jesus answered and said to him, 

653
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:50,320
Before Philip called you, when 
you were under the fig tree, I 

654
00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:56,200
saw you. 
Some people say this was a 

655
00:37:56,200 --> 00:38:01,560
coincidence or just he saw him 
off in the distance but because 

656
00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:04,000
of Nathaniel's reaction, I don't
think that's the truth. 

657
00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:08,800
Verse 49 says Nathaniel answered
and said to him, Rabbi, you are 

658
00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:11,080
the son of God. 
You are the king of Israel. 

659
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:15,000
Was he saying you have 2020 
vision that could see me across 

660
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,480
the field. 
I personally think that was a 

661
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:20,680
quiet place of respite and he 
went under the fig tree and was 

662
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:24,960
my opinion he was praying there 
in a quiet place by himself. 

663
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:26,920
I don't know that for sure. 
It doesn't tell us for sure, but

664
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,400
I think that's a lot more likely
than he saw him always off 

665
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:32,440
because he turned and said 
you're, you're the Son of God. 

666
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:37,440
Only God could see me when I was
praying alone. 

667
00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:41,560
Why is this significant? 
Jesus does the teaching. 

668
00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,920
Jesus leads him. 
Philip brings Nathaniel to Jesus

669
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:53,920
and Jesus leads him and he 
provides this beautiful evidence

670
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:58,720
for him. 
When verse 50, Jesus answered 

671
00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:01,320
and said to him, because I said 
to you, I saw you under the fig 

672
00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:02,400
tree. 
Do you believe? 

673
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,400
Like, is that that big of a 
deal? 

674
00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:06,960
You will see greater things than
these. 

675
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:10,960
What do we learn from that point
#15 We got a long list of 

676
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:13,280
points. 
When the invitation is accepted,

677
00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:16,000
God reveals what is needed in 
given time. 

678
00:39:16,720 --> 00:39:19,440
This time He needed this. 
God gave it to him. 

679
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,000
Next time he says you're going 
to see more. 

680
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:29,560
What does he say verse 51 and he
said to him, most assuredly I 

681
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:34,360
say to you hereafter you shall 
see heaven open and the angels 

682
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:37,520
of God ascending and descending 
upon the Son of man. 

683
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:39,560
That's where this chapter 
closes. 

684
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:42,680
That's the thing that he says 
he's going to see. 

685
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:47,440
He needed this right now, but 
God he but Jesus tells him 

686
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:50,320
you're going to see more. 
What specifically is it? 

687
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:56,000
It's this scene of heaven 
opening and angels of God 

688
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:57,840
ascending and descending upon 
the Son of Man. 

689
00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:01,000
What is he talking about? 
This is a reference that he 

690
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:04,560
would have known back to Jacob's
dream in Genesis chapter 28 

691
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:08,120
where he sees this in his dream.
He's laying on a rock. 

692
00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:12,400
He falls asleep and he sees this
vision of angels walking up and 

693
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:17,040
down on this ladder. 
And John is putting up this 

694
00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,840
powerful point right at the 
beginning of the letter, saying 

695
00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:23,240
when Jesus quotes and says, I'm 
going to show you a sign. 

696
00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:28,440
That's me. 
I am the ladder. 

697
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:32,600
I am the ladder that's going to 
come between heaven and earth 

698
00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,440
and bridge the gap. 
I'm going to be the one who 

699
00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:38,320
causes people to ascend and 
descend between heaven and 

700
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:39,800
earth. 
I'm going to be the bridge. 

701
00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:43,360
I am he. 
And you're going to see that 

702
00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:47,720
happen. 
So when heaven is now touching 

703
00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:52,160
Earth, God is reaching humanity.
The broad overview of the 1st 

704
00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:57,800
chapter of John is man and God 
and God makes the connection and

705
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:01,360
God builds the bridge. 
He builds the the ladder out of 

706
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:06,120
his son Jesus Christ. 
A God who felt distance now says

707
00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:08,680
come and see. 
He says dwell with me, live with

708
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:13,280
me, be together with me. 
And if you come you will see 

709
00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:16,520
more. 
You're going to see this, that I

710
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:23,760
am the ladder. 
John 1 teaches God's glory in 

711
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:28,000
His work, and it teaches our 
simplicity in our human side of 

712
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:33,000
our work. 
May we seek Him, may we follow 

713
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:38,120
Him, and may we invite and don't
get too far over our toes, 

714
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:42,640
taking on responsibilities and 
places in our work that's not 

715
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:45,360
ours. 
It will crumble, it'll be 

716
00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:51,400
unsustainable, and we will fail.
May we follow his example and 

717
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:53,680
may we treat evangelism maybe 
more like a living room in the 

718
00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:56,280
courtroom. 
May we have a living room that 

719
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:58,320
is door open. 
This shows hospitality, 

720
00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:01,560
conversation and relationship 
rather than a courtroom that 

721
00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:04,120
puts people on trial that 
requires evidence, arguments and

722
00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:07,600
proving wrong. 
Are there? 

723
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:11,960
Is there a time for speaking for
truth and correcting error? 

724
00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:16,240
Clearly the Scriptures say that,
but may we in our evangelism 

725
00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:20,160
learn the difference? 
So what shall we do? 

726
00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:22,880
That was the question in Acts 
chapter 2 that they asked on the

727
00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:25,320
day of Pentecost. 
We talked about Acts chapter 2 

728
00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:27,800
earlier, what they said, what do
we do? 

729
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:30,320
They were actually given an 
invitation. 

730
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,480
They were given an invitation. 
He says repent and be baptized. 

731
00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:37,720
After the long sermon, they 
asked the question and he says 

732
00:42:37,720 --> 00:42:39,680
repent and be baptized. 
What is that? 

733
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:41,160
It's an invitation to 
forgiveness. 

734
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,640
It's an invitation to 
restoration and to participation

735
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:47,640
in God's promise. 
Our part's always an invitation.

736
00:42:48,720 --> 00:42:51,200
It's not a conviction. 
Conviction happens in the heart 

737
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:54,960
through the word of God. 
And it might happen like this. 

738
00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:56,760
You might say. 
It is a very simple way of 

739
00:42:56,760 --> 00:42:58,320
explaining it is you have to 
have belief. 

740
00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:00,880
Acts chapter 2. 
Yeah, they believe they realized

741
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:03,680
what they've done and he tells 
them to repent, which is 

742
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,040
corroborated in Luke chapter 13,
verse 3. 

743
00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:10,600
And they had to confess Jesus. 
It wasn't some nameless entity 

744
00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:14,800
of a God, it was the man Jesus 
Christ who died to save them and

745
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:18,040
they were told to be baptized, 
repent, be baptized for the 

746
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:21,040
remission of your sins as quoted
in all these, in all these 

747
00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:24,880
passages, we have a great 
opportunity to invite and you 

748
00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:27,320
are invited today. 
If you have not already started 

749
00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:30,920
this process, you can start, you
can follow Him. 

750
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:34,920
And yes, our part is receiving 
him. 

751
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:37,960
And that looks like a lot of 
different things that will come 

752
00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:39,800
with time. 
But if you haven't started that 

753
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,800
walk, this is the process. 
And if you have started and you 

754
00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,440
need to get back on the right 
path, we offer the opportunity 

755
00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:50,120
today for prayers, for support. 
We are, as we're about to see in

756
00:43:50,120 --> 00:43:52,200
Christ, unified, ready to help 
one another. 

757
00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:55,160
And so please come while we 
stand and sing the song of 

758
00:43:55,160 --> 00:43:55,680
invitation.