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it's good to be in the house of our god you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 29 for our call to worship psalm 29 i'll begin reading in verse 1 a psalm of david give unto the lord o you mighty ones give unto the lord glory and strength give unto the lord the glory due to his name worship the lord in the beauty of holiness the voice of the lord is over the waters the god of glory thunders the lord is over many waters the voice of the lord is powerful the voice of the lord is full of majesty the voice of the lord breaks the cedars yes the lord splinters the cedars of lebanon he makes them also skip like a calf lebanon and syrian like a young wild ox the voice of the lord divides the flames of fire the voice of the lord shakes the wilderness the lord shakes the wilderness of kadash the voice of the lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare and in his temple everyone says glory the lord sat enthroned at the flood and the lord sits as king forever the lord will give strength to his people the lord will bless his people with peace amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to psalm 92 psalm 92 be as in bravo we'll stand as we sing together oh [Music] is foreign [Music] is [Music] is is [Music] is well let us pray god most high what a joy and the privilege it is to gather in your house on the lord's day what a blessed provision this is from our wonderful father we thank you for the privilege of corporate worship we thank you for the blessing of being being able to come to the father through the mediation of christ in and through the power of the holy spirit and we long and desire that god would be all in all in this place that you would be exalted that you would be glorified and worshiped and that as we gather together christ would be in the midst of this particular lamp stand we ask or we acknowledge rather your handiwork in the created order we see your sovereign power in providence and we see that grace and mercy so clearly displayed in the gospel of our salvation so god as we gather now cause us to reflect upon the life and the death and the resurrection of our lord jesus christ and may these things draw from our hearts worship and praise that is fitting and right for such a glorious god we acknowledge the the the goodness of god and the sending forth of the son born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law we thank you for his life of obedience to everything the father commanded we thank you for his his sacrifice on the cross on our behalf and we thank you for that resurrection from the dead and that current session now at the right hand of the father where we eagerly await for his return and glory to judge the living and the dead and father our desire is that all those who hear the word of god today all those who by grace have been appointed unto eternal life would be safely clothed in the righteousness of our lord jesus on that day when he appears we pray that for this meeting place we pray that for any who've come here today that are unsaved we ask god that you'd open their hearts to convict them of their sin and show them the altogether loveliness of the lord jesus christ and his ability to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto him through through all who draw nigh unto the father through him god bless our children and our young people we ask that they by grace would remember their creator in their youth and they would believe on the lord jesus christ and walk according to his spirit throughout their lives we ask that you would con forgive us now for all of our sin and transgression as we come into your presence we're mindful not only of your holiness and of your righteousness but of our own waywardness and we know god that in the gospel you call us to live in a manner that is worthy of that gospel and yet we have remaining corruption we have that proneness to wander and that prone is to leave the god that we love and lord we pray now that you would wash us in his precious blood she would cleanse us and sanctify and purify us and cause us to rejoice that we live in the days prophesied by zechariah that there would be a fountain open for sin and uncleanness not so that we could continue in sin but that when we do sin we have an advocate with the father even jesus christ the righteous what a blessed truth this is what a wonderful thing lord god that there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared and even now may that pervase pervasively influence our heart and may we come with joy and with thanksgiving to that throne of grace we ask for your blessing to be upon the various needs in our local body we know there are those who are not well physically and we just commit each one to you and to the word of your grace we rejoice in the healthy birth of lucy porter and we give all glory and praise and honor to you we ask that you look with favor upon jordan and lindsay we pray that they would take seriously this responsibility to bring up their children in the training and the admonition of the lord bless our other sisters that are with child grant them health and strength and protection and god we acknowledge that children are a gift from you and we look forward to the healthy physical birth of these little ones but again father we pray for their their spiritual birth we pray for regeneration we pray that the holy spirit would come upon them that they would know the joy of being found in jesus christ our lord we ask your blessing upon the church in surrey we thank you for pastor mike and for the brethren there we thank you for the planter the church plant effort in vernon and we pray god that you would continue to work in the midst of this situation bless our brother ryan and give him grace to grow in his understanding of scripture give him grace to grow in his understanding of of christian theology and if it is your will father in your time we play pray that we would see a faithful church planted in that community as well we pray for this effort in dryden northern ontario god we know that these are interesting days that we live in we know that these government-imposed lockdowns and these prohibitions placed against church attendance have worked in ways that we would have never conceived and so god in heaven we pray for that effort in dryden she would bless it that you would cause there to be a faithful church planted in that community and from that vantage point the gospel of jesus christ could go forth in that part of the world we pray for the persecuted church and god as we read in the last hour we know these are not isolated incidents we know that all over this earth the people of god are targeted for their faith in the lord jesus christ and it grieves us and at the same time lord god it nevertheless encourages us because we're reminded of the promise of the savior that he would build his church and that the gates of haiti shall not prevail against it that statement tells us that the gates of hades will resist that they will try to to oppose the work of the lord christ but they will never be triumphant christ's bride will enter into that eternal state there will be a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and nation so god in heaven encourage your church here on earth and cause us to pray to you cause us to be men and women of your word and cause us to have great hope and expectation that the knowledge of god most high will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea be glorified through the proclamation of the truth today send it forth powerfully may it run swiftly and be glorified and may you use it to save sinners to the uttermost and god be merciful in this nation as a whole as was mentioned we have seen various things affected or having affected the church in the last several months we pray for our civil authority that you would grant them wisdom as they continue to navigate in the days ahead we pray that you would protect your bride that we would be enabled and always freely able to gather together to worship you and be glorified we pray and bless our time now as we gather together we pray and we ask through jesus christ our lord amen well please turn with me again in your hymn books to hymn number 443 hymn number 443 will stand as we sing together foreign foreign [Music] oh please foreign foreign foreign so well you can turn with me in your bibles to ephesians chapter one for our scripture reading this morning ephesians chapter one one of paul's prison epistles when he is in prison from a.d 60 to 62 we see that he didn't just languish there but rather god used him as a means of edification and encouragement not to just the church and his day but to the church throughout the ages for what we have here is given by inspiration of god it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness so i'll begin reading in chapter one at verse one paul an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god to the saints who are in ephesus and faithful in christ jesus grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestined us to adoption as sons by jesus christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one all things in christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will that we who first trusted in christ should be to the praise of his glory in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with the holy spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory therefore i also after i heard of your faith in the lord jesus and your love for all the saints do not cease to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers that the god of our lord jesus christ the father of glory may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he worked in christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come and he put all things under his feet and gave him to be had over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all amen well as i said paul under the inspiration of the holy spirit writes the book of ephesians and a fantastic book that it is and here as he introduces his subject we see that it focuses upon the redeeming work of our blessed god and notice that in verses 3 to 14 which is one long sentence in greek he extols the glory of god the father for having chosen us for having predestined us unto adoption as sons in christ jesus he then praises the father for the work in the ministry of our lord jesus in whom we have redemption through his blood and as well he praises the father for the ministry of the holy spirit so it's distinctly triune in terms of its structure notice verses 3 to 6 the father is emphasized not that the father isn't emphasized in what follows but the work of christ is found in verses 7 to 12 and then the work of the holy spirit is found in verses 13 to 14. and when we ask the question this god who chooses the bible is very clear this god who predestines this god who engages in sovereign election we see that emphasized here but as well we see an emphasis on the truth of the gospel the reception of the gospel belief in the gospel so god not only has ordained the end the salvation of a great multitude that no man can number but god has ordained the means and that gospel is to be proclaimed that gospel is to be believed and those who by grace believe are saved notice in verse 13 in him you also trust it after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with the holy spirit of promise so in other words this morning as you hear the gospel if you're not a believer don't get hung up on sovereignty or election or predestination not that you shouldn't contemplate that not that you shouldn't consider that but i think at times persons conclude this god is sovereign if he does predestine then what matter is it whether i believe or not you're not supposed to think that way that is the false doctrine called hyper calvinism you're supposed to hear the gospel as it goes forth you're supposed to believe the gospel as it goes forth that's the emphasis paul says that first corinthians 1 21 for since in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom did not know god it pleased god through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe so that is my encouragement i affirm wholeheartedly because paul writes under the inspiration of the spirit the fact that god is sovereign the fact that sinners are chosen the fact that election is true the fact that the bible teaches predestination but when you consider god there is no other alternative god is not up in the heavens reacting to his creature god is not up in the heavens taken by surprise by the creature our god is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases psalm 115 and psalm 135 in fact notice what paul says in verse 11 in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will certainly salvation things but all other things god is sovereign he's over everything that's why the old testament often refers to him as god most high he is a sovereign glorious being that has purpose to save a great multitude that no man can number and this leads paul then to ex uh uh show forth or rather express that's the word i'm looking for his prayer for these saints in ephesus notice in verse 16 i don't cease to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers and then he has three specific things one that the god of our lord jesus christ the father of glory may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding having been enlightened and then he says that you may know what is the hope of his calling what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and thirdly verse 19 and that you may know what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty power he wants the saints in ephesus to comfort their hearts with the knowledge that what they have in their future is most blessed they have an inheritance with god almighty as well they're supposed to ponder the greatness of god's power and i don't think it's accidental that he ends up in verses 19 to 23 stressing the headship of our lord jesus christ that display of power is given at the resurrection and the exaltation of christ notice in verse 20 that power which he worked in christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places and then it describes this position of authority far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come and he put all things under his feet and gave him to be had over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all now if you're reading this as you ought to be reading this you should see this is your warrant to get out of bed every single day when we look at this world and the tumult and the chaos and the confusion it can be quite depressing and quite discouraging but when with the eye of faith we look to the right hand of the father and we see christ there exalted far above all principality and power when we see christ there who is the head of all things but specifically for the benefit of his church we as the people of god ought to be the happiest on the face of the earth well let us pray our father we thank you for our lord jesus we thank you for his exaltation at your right hand and we thank you that we have this one who has all authority in heaven and on earth given to him over us and may this encourage your church and may we always proclaim and confess the headship of our blessed savior and may we bow to him in worship and in praise and in adoration and when there are competitors when there are those bidding us to come after them to worship may we say no and may we resist that and may we always hold fast to our blessed savior and we ask in his glorious name amen well for our final hymn before the preaching you can turn to 271 hymn number 271 we'll stand as we sing together foreign foreign foreign foreign [Music] oh is [Music] uh well please turn with me in your bibles to john's gospel we're in john chapter 1. john chapter 1 our focus this morning will be on verses 35 to 51 so i'll pick up reading in verse 35 in john 1. again the next day john stood with two of his disciples and looking at jesus as he walked he said behold the lamb of god the two disciples heard him speak and they followed jesus then jesus turned and seeing them following said to them what do you seek they said to him rabbi which is to say when translated teacher where are you staying he said to them come and see they came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day now it was about the tenth hour one of the two who heard john speak and followed him was andrew simon peter's brother he first found his own brother simon and said to him we have found the messiah which is translated the christ and he brought him to jesus now when jesus looked at him he said you are simon the son of jonah you shall be called cephas which is translated a stone the following day jesus wanted to go to galilee and he found philip and said to him follow me now philip was from bethsaida the city of andrew and peter philip found nathanael and said to him we have found him of whom moses and the law and also the prophets wrote jesus of nazareth the son of joseph and nathanael said to him can anything good come out of nazareth philip said to him come and see jesus saw nathanael coming toward him and said of him behold an israelite indeed in whom is no deceit nathanael said to him how do you know me jesus answered and said to him before philip called you when you were under the fig tree i saw you nathanael answered and said to him rabbi you are the son of god you are the king of israel jesus answered and said to him because i said to you i saw you under the fig tree do you believe you will see greater things than these and he said to him most assuredly i say to you hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man amen well let us pray our father thank you for your word thank you for the gospel narratives concerning the life and the death and the resurrection of our lord jesus christ we pray for the minister ministry of the holy spirit now to guide us to lead us and to direct us cause us to reflect upon this blessed jesus christ that the scripture so clearly sets forth in all of his offices and in all of his glory as well father we pray that you would give ears to hear and hearts to receive to those who have not tasted and seen that the lord is good and may today be the day of salvation and may you be glorified as sinners come to confess jesus christ as lord and savior forgive us again for all sin and all that it does in terms of darkening our minds and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen well as we have been considering john's gospel if you go back just a bit we see that the apostle john starts his presentation with what we call the prologue verses 1 to 18. essentially what he does is he deals with theology he deals with christ's relationship to the father in verse 1 he says that in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god so jesus was with or eternally with the father he is distinct from the father and he is like the father the same substance consubstantial as the father and so in many respects john 1 1-18 gives us introduction tells us something about this one who will go and save his people from their sins but then we moved on to the testimony of john the baptist so in verses 19 to 34 both in a dispute with the religious leadership and then in his own testimony john as well introduces the great theme of the gospel namely the lord jesus christ so as we come now to verses 35 to 51 we see the first disciples of jesus the emphasis moves from the public ministry of john the baptist to the public ministry of the lord jesus christ and as we look we want to notice in the first place the calling of john's disciples john the baptist disciples in verses 35-42 and then secondly the calling of philip and nathanael in verses 43-51 so that's where we're going in the exposition let's look first at the calling of john the baptist disciples in verses 35-42 now as we consider this there is a sense where the disciples were called three times first by way of conversion and that's what's going on here in john 1. as well they're called into service the synoptic writers give us that as well when the uh jesus says come and i will make you fishers of men and then they were designated as apostles so there are three instances where these disciples are brought sort of to the to the preeminence in terms of conversion calling into service and then designated as apostles but as we look at this calling of john the baptist notice again the setting verse 35 again the next day if you go back to chapter 1 at verse 19. now this is the testimony of john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who are you then you look at verse 29 it says the next day john saw jesus coming toward him and said behold the lamb of god and then again here in verse 35 again the next day and then in verse 43 the following day so the first four days in the public ministry of our lord jesus christ now in terms of the actual setting they're still on the east side of the river jordan remember that john functions in accordance with or rather as the subject of isaiah's prophecy he is the voice of one crying in the wilderness make straight the way of yahweh make straight the way of the lord and so that's the setting john the baptist is with his disciples they are out in the wilderness and then notice at verse 1 35 again john stood with two of his disciples one of them will not be mentioned by name the other one is andrew so there are two here and then simon peter is fetched by his brother andrew but in this place we don't see the identification of the second disciple most commentators take this as a reference to john the apostle so john the apostle was one of the disciples of john the baptist he there is at the the east side of the river jordan and now we see this passing of the baton as it were in redemptive history from the baptist to the one that he was proclaiming notice his declaration in verse 36 and looking at jesus as he walked he said behold the lamb of god he's already said that in verse 29 verse 29 however he was on the east side of the river jordan he's functioning as that voice crying in the wilderness and now jesus has come on the scene he is coming to him and so the baptist says behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world i think it is interesting that here jesus is passing by i think it is simply a movement in redemptive history the voice was not the end it wasn't the case that these disciples should remain with john the baptist this was the inevitable result of john the baptist ministry so he reiterates that blessed statement he repeats that wonderful statement behold the lamb of god it's a statement that bears often repetition it's a statement that highlights the chief function of the savior and it is a statement that again shows the fulfillment in terms of redemptive history all that the old testament said in terms of the blood of bulls and goats they pointed forward to the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world after that first promise in genesis chapter 3. we see scripture move forward developing amplifying explicating and sounding the alarm concerning that one who was promised in genesis 3 15 that seed of the woman that would crush the serpent you see in genesis chapter 22 when abraham is told to take his son his only son the son whom he loves up to mount moriah and to offer him there as sacrifice isaac says we have everything but the sacrifice and abraham says the lord will provide when the angel stays abraham's hand we see that ram caught in the thicket we see that that ah that ram is offered up instead of isaac so all of this converges at the time that now jesus has come the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth and the chief function in terms of his coming is on redemption behold the lamb of god now notice the invitation with reference to the disciples in verses 37 to 39. so verse 36 looking at jesus as he walked the baptist says behold the lamb of god verse 37 says the two disciples heard him john the baptist speak and they followed jesus then jesus turned and seeing them following said to them what do you see they said to him rabbi which is to say when translated teacher where are you staying and he said to them come and see again if we've been reading properly and we've been thinking through this properly the fact that the one who was in the beginning with god the one who is distinct from god and the one who is consubstantial with god calls upon sinners and says come and see where i am staying it underscores the mercy the grace the kindness the blessedness of this savior and that's all throughout this passage i've got to tell you and confess for anybody that's here this morning that doesn't know jesus christ as lord and savior i've been praying and hoping that you'll pay attention not just me i think a lot of people in our church pray that very same thing we pray that the spirit comes on the lord's day so that as the gospel goes forth sinners don't sit there and reject and rebel and think about lunch and think about what they're going to do tomorrow and think about their future plans but rather they take heed to the preaching of god's holy word so that the spirit working in their heart will bring them to that place that we see happens with andrew that we see happens with simon peter that we see happens with philip and nathanael these were sinners these weren't upright men these weren't perfect men these weren't men that god said oh they're wonderful individuals i'm going to allow them into my kingdom because they're so upright that's not it at all they were sinners saved by grace and that same grace is available today in the preaching of god's word christ is not emptied christ is not devoid christ is not powerless the apostle says in hebrews 7 that he saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto god through him there's nothing better than being saved there's nothing better than being found there's nothing better than being forgiven there's nothing better than to know that when you ultimately pass from this life you enter into the presence of god most high in what the hymn writer called emmanuel's land so pay attention and look at the work of the savior notice that he doesn't go about resisting people he's not a running back with the ball in one arm and a stiff arm out there to knock everybody down sinners come to him sinners have access to him sinners have freedom in and through him and that's the emphasis in these first disciples notice they heard him and followed the baptist isn't upset about this john the baptist doesn't say well i can't believe andrew and this other man most likely john are going to leave from attending to me the voice was a means the end was the lamb of god now that the lamb of god is here john's ministry is fulfilled so that when those disciples leave from john the baptist and follow the lamb of god john the baptist isn't getting out his roster and saying oh you're dead to me now you're dead to me you're dead to me no he's thrilled this is the purpose this is his function this is what he was intended to do by god most high but then notice these disciples expressed their desire for information verse uh uh verse 37 then two disciples heard him heard him speak and they followed jesus then jesus turned and seeking them following said to them what do you see before we look at their expression think about that for just a moment look at the wisdom of our savior what do you see what is it that you want when you come to jesus some people want money you know guys like benny hinn and kenneth copeland they've capitalized on that uh what's the other weirdo in texas with the gleaming teeth and the the the perfect hair oh joel osteen yeah these people profit their prophet's a prophet they capitalize on this longing of man to get stuff from jesus i think jesus question here is very appropriate what do you seek there's a lot of people seeking temporal benefit there's a lot of people seeking ethical instruction we want to know some wise words on how we are to live but the persons for whom jesus comes those persons who were by god it for salvation see him in that chief function as lamb of god the jews seek after signs the greeks seek after wisdom but we preach christ in him what crucified not as one who provides temporally for everybody who comes to him though he does he's good that way not that he provides ethical instruction for everyone that comes to him though he does he's good that way but we come to him for his life his death and his resurrection we come to him as the lamb of god we come to him as the one who answers to the biggest problem we face and it's not temporal issues it's not even a lack of ethical instruction it's our rebellion against god it's god's enmity toward us it is the fact that there is a breach between us and heaven and if we by god's grace don't believe the gospel we're going to end up in hell that's simply the reality of it and so he asks them what do you seek now notice what they say verse 30 uh verse 30 7 i'm sorry verse 38 what do you see they said to him rabbi which is to say when translated teach her where are you staying so the two men answer his question they're not evading and he says what do you see and they answer where are you staying that's not evasion that is commitment where are you staying because we're gonna follow you there and we're going to stay there with you as well these men by god's grace had come out of darkness into marvelous light they heard the preaching of the baptist they now see the lamb of god and by grace they want to follow him as his disciples and then notice what jesus says to them in verse 39 he said to them come and see that's amazing isn't it just think about the gospel see there's people out there that get irritated with god's plan of salvation there's people that would hear the reading of ephesians 1 or hear a brief exposition of it and say well that's not fair that god chooses that's not fair that god elects that's not fair that god predestines who are you o man to reply against god you have issues i have issues we've got big problems we are rebels in god's moral order the fact that god has chosen one is most amazing but that he chooses a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe tongue people and nation ought to shut our mouths into eternity but again it doesn't we continue to run them off at run off at the mouth and and impugn the goodness of god no that's not our position it's like the prophet ezekiel in the days of the prophet ezekiel god indicts the nation of israel he says the children uh uh the the sons of your uh uh the children of israel are saying the way of yahweh is not fair and then god says through the prophet it is their way that's not fair their rebels their transgressors their lackers of conformity unto my law who are you to think that you are the arbiter of what is fair in god's moral universe in this particular nation we murder babies in this particular nation we murder old people in this particular nation we murder people who have mental illness in this particular nation we have completely and utterly disregarded the sixth commandment and yet collectively as a people we want to call into question the righteousness and the justice of god who are we who do we think we are we're proud and we're arrogant and we need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of god that in his time he would lift us up but back to the text the fact that this one described in verses 1-18 no one has seen god at any time but the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him this position of intimacy this position of conscience consubstantiality with the father and yet when he assumes our humanity when the word becomes flesh when he dwells among us he doesn't keep us at arm's distance he doesn't drive us off he doesn't say no but when these disciples say where are you where are you going and he says come and see it is a blessed invitation on the part of the savior given to these men and then notice what it says in verse 39 they came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day now it was about the tenth hour tenth hour jewish reckoning it would have been 4 p.m but think about that they remained with him that's one of the themes of john's gospel that's one of the emphases that comes out a lot in the upper room discourse this idea of believing on the lord jesus christ and remaining with him it's a wonderful statement concerning communion with the blessed christ that we have as a result of the gospel see god made us upright but we sought out many devices but why did god make us it was to worship him it was to glorify him it was to honor him it was to commune with him remember in that pre-fall setting with reference to the garden god comes to them in the cool of the day why to yell at them to to beat them to to to browbeat them now he comes to them to commune with them this is an emphasis throughout scripture in fact adam's job in the garden wasn't first and foremost as a farmer adam's job in the garden garden was as a priest he was a priest given that blessed privilege of mediating god's blessings to the created order of course adam sacrifices that through his own sinfulness but you see this emphasis from genesis 3 all the way to revelation 22 on god's dwelling with his people isn't this one of the chief features of the covenant blessings of god i will be their god and they shall be my people i know it seems zany brethren but those who have been conquered by sovereign grace want to be with their savior they want to be with christ they want to commune with the lord they want to do so in private they want to do so in family they want to do so in public at the worship of god on the lord's day we come to the father through the son in the power of the holy spirit they came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day now it was about the 10th hour now notice what happens well before that notice what happens they took seriously verse 14 in the prologue didn't they the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth why did they remain with him all day so they could behold his glory so they could be in his presence so they could know the nearness of god as their good see again this is one of the chief boons of our religion that christ loved me paul says and gave himself for me this blessed privilege that the saints of christ have to commune with their god we are brought nigh through his precious blood now notice in terms of identification who are these disciples verse 40 one of the two who heard john speak and followed him was andrew simon peter's brother notice how andrew was identified he's simon peter's brother that indicates that by the time of the writing of the fourth gospel simon peter was already more popular than his brother andrew we know that simon peter emerges on the day of pentecost he is that first among equals to preach that wonderful sermon when all the peoples of all the nations are gathered together on the day of pentecost so the identification of andrew as simon peter's brother indicates that at the time of the writing peter was more well known now andrew will go on to be an apostle but notice what andrew does verse 41 he first found his own brother simon what happened when god saved you think about it for a moment wasn't it this desire to go grab somebody else maybe not physically and bring them to the savior weren't you like that pearl merchant who found that pearl of greatest price and wanted to go tell everybody about it that's what sinners do when by god's grace they believe they become hopeful spreaders of grace he that whenever souls solomon says is wise it ought not to surprise us that when andrew comes to the savior he now goes after his brother to bring him to the savior there's a great pattern for soul winners in this particular passage and notice how andrew does it he doesn't guilt him he doesn't manipulate him he doesn't brow beat him he doesn't threaten to torture him he doesn't threaten to gun him down but rather he brings him to christ what's the emphasis there for us as soul winners bring them to christ open the scriptures with them show them messiah as the bible sets and forth bring him to a church where the gospel is actually preached not to those places where health wealth and prosperity obtained so the activity of andrew is he first found his own brother simon and then he brings him to the lord jesus christ notice verse 41 we first found he first found his own brother simon and said to him we have found the cr messiah which is translated the christ john does that for us he'll translate hebrew words into greek and when we read messiah which is translated it's the hebrew word translated as christ in greek both of them mean the anointed one and as we've rehearsed on many occasions the anointed one is our lord jesus christ and so what andrew does is he says to simon peter we have found him we have set eyes upon him he is now upon us all of the preaching of john the baptist has made straight the way of yahweh he is with us now so he brings simon peter to jesus and then notice what happens he brought him to jesus verse 42 now when jesus looked at him he said you are simon the son of jonah you shall be called cephas which is translated a stone now as i said the identification of jesus here as messiah but then he brings peter to messiah and then jesus names peter that might seem a bit odd to us until we think back to matthew chapter 16. you are peter and on this rock i will build my church well that's amplified or explained here it's simply declared and i think the point here is not the significance for peter but it's the significance of jesus see it involved royalty to name another person you see that with pharaoh in second kings 23 and you see that with the king of babylon in second kings 24. these authority figures renamed other persons you see it when god meets with jacob and changes his name to israel so jesus here isn't necessarily declaring or giving us the significance of why peter is called a stone he'll do that in matthew 16. but he's showing his royal authority to rename him and as well he is speaking prophetically remember jesus is a blessed uh a prophet in addition to priest and king and so he speaks prophetically concerning simon peter's significance in the renaming of him so again the emphasis isn't so much on what it is for peter but the emphasis is upon the public ministry of jesus now let's look secondly broadly at the calling of philip and nathanael so what we've learned so far is that as sinners saved by grace we are at least invited to consider what ought to be a reflex action on our part bringing others to jesus i understand brother not everybody's going to go door to door everybody's not going to knock on doors everybody's not going to go stand in the city square and open up their bible and preach the gospel to every comer but i get that but the idea is simple that when we have received grace when we are those who have been conquered by grace we should be purveyors of that grace as well propagators of it tellers of declarers of it in whatsoever way god gives us ability so again you can't say well i've never had it in me to go down down and preach have you ever had it in you to write a letter to your mother have you ever had it in you to tell your son look unto the lord jesus christ have you ever had it in you to grab somebody by the hand as it were and invite them into a church where the gospel is actually proclaimed see when we receive grace we want to tell others of grace amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost but now unfounded was blind but now i see you know the story of john newton again not an upright man not a godly man not a good man but a conquered man and when that man is conquered by sovereign grace he takes pen to paper and he celebrates it everybody non-christians know amazing grace what a wonderful thing that god has used in the history of the world not just the church for the benefit of all of us who love to sing and rehearse that praise but for those who don't even know christ they nevertheless have heard amazing grace why because john newton like andrew grabbed as many people as he could and brought them to see jesus now look at the calling of philip and nathanael in the first place note the call of philip in verses 43 and 44. the following day jesus wanted to go to galilee and he found philip and said to him follow me notice the shift there notice the conspicuous shift it's not the baptist testifying it's not the voice of one crying in the wilderness to make straight the way of yahweh but now it's him it is the lamb of god he takes the initiative later on in luke's gospel luke 19 at the foot of that tree when he looks up to zacchaeus he defines his mission and ministry this way i have come to seek and to save that which was lost here he comes after philip again not with guns blazing but with grace offered so verse 43 the following day jesus wanted to go to galilee and he found philip and said to him follow me now notice something intriguing philip followed him didn't he philip didn't say well you know lord i've got to wait well you know lord it's holy it's pious to not be rash you know god it's just the the best way of wisdom to sit around for another year and and if i feel it then then i'll come the emphasis in the call narratives in the gospels are on an immediate response matthew chapter nine matthew or rather jesus walks by matthew's tax office and jesus says to matthew follow me he left all and followed him he didn't say well the minister told me it was it was rash he didn't say the minister told me waiting and patient was the way to go that's just wrong when jesus says follow me you know what the legitimate option is follow him he is the god of heaven and earth he is the one who is enthroned far above all princes and powers far above all dominion far above everything in this age and in the age to come don't try to rationalize or or reason yourself out of following the lamb of god in fact in revelation chapter 14 this is the description given of the lamb's fair army on zion it says specifically that they follow the lamb these are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes andrew is called he follows simon peter comes to him he follows philip is called he follows nathanael will be called nathanael follows you get the theme there if you're not a believer in christ today i want to disavow you i want to try to cast away this false notion that the rest of us are going to heaven because we figured it out the rest of us are going to heaven because we're good the rest of us are going to heaven because we're virtuous that's not it at all trust me i'm one of us wretched vile guilty deserving of damnation and hell and fury and wrath it's grace alone through faith alone in christ alone that's the way of access to the father that's the the means of approach for guilty sinners it is to follow jesus and the text doesn't leave us doubting or wondering preachers talk about this follow jesus see jesus know jesus recognize jesus all of that is metaphorical for believe on jesus look at verse 50. getting a bit ahead of ourselves notice because i said to you i saw you under the fig tree do you notice the emphasis do you believe not do you see not do you know not do you have you you know ponder it's do you believe the way of access the way of appropriation the way to receive the gifts that god gives through jesus christ is faith believe on him and you shall be saved that's why in the apostolic preaching that was the emphasis it's not moral reform it's not clean up your act it's not try a little harder it's not get a little better if you do that you will do that on your way to hell the way of escape is through the blood of our lord jesus christ philip hears that word and philip by grace follows him now notice what philip does having heard and having followed verse 44. now philip was from bethsaida the city of andrew and peter philip found nathanael and said to him we have found him of whom moses in the law and also the prophets wrote jesus of nazareth the son of joseph so again what does philip do philip saved so does philip now just say well i'm saved that's great i love it it's awesome it's the best thing i've ever had no he goes after nathanael he goes to nathanael and he says look we found the one that moses and the law and all the prophets wrote concerning notice that recurring theme of fulfillment everything that was purposed of christ is fulfilled by christ everything that moses wrote concerning jesus everything that the prophets wrote concerning jesus which according to jesus is everything they wrote does come to pass and fruition and fulfillment in the life and the ministry of our lord jesus christ so verse 44 philip was from bethsaida city of andrew and peter philip found nathanael and said to him we have found him of whom moses in the law and also the prophets wrote jesus of nazareth the son of joseph now some people stumble there jesus of nazareth he was born in bethlehem of course he was but he was raised in nazareth and people knew that he was the son of god of course he was but according to his humanity he's the son of joseph so everything that philip says there is historically accurate everything that philip says there is absolutely positively true everything that philip brings to bear upon nathanael is what the prophets and what moses spoke about now notice nathanael's response kind of kind of enigmatic kind of puzzling notice in verse 46 nathanael said to him can any good good come out of nazar or any good thing come out of nazareth in the first place this just may reflect some confusion he knew micah 2 or 5 2 he knew that it was bethlehem ephrathah wherein the messiah would be born perhaps there's a note of derision in there as well can can anything good come out of come out of nazareth kind of like a new yorker talking about eastern kentucky can anything good come out of kentucky there might have been a little bit of that but as well notice what he is doing he is basically presenting questions and i love the way that philip deals with his questions so you're going to get that aren't you when you present the gospel people ask questions don't they do you hit them do you beat them do you kick them do you say how dare you question me no you answer their questions but phillip here is the paradigm for how we should answer questions look at what philip says probably hearing it in his own heart in terms of reminiscing what the savior said to him can anything good come out of nazareth philip said to him come and see in other words brethren the truth has nothing to hide see if jehovah's witnesses come to your door and they try to hand you stuff great take it or not it's not good stuff but if you try to hand them stuff it's like you're trying to hand them the rona it's like you're trying to hand them you know death on a platter they won't take it why because they've got stuff to hide the the watchtower society tells them oh you can't you can't read that stuff brethren the truth has nothing to hide you see that in the scripture philip doesn't say well you shouldn't ask such questions you should just you should just knuckle under you should just submit they'll come and see you should never be afraid to tell somebody come and see you should never be afraid to tell somebody come to church you should never be afraid to tell somebody read the bible investigate it for yourself don't shrink back don't try to hide don't try to cover it up don't try to say and if you don't know something that's okay god is omnipotent omniscient omnipresent you're not if you don't have the answer that's okay i don't have the answer but i know who does and point them to the scriptures a.w pink mentions this or comments this year i think very well he says the one who seeks to win souls must expect to be met with objections you know that right you're all kind of looking at me maybe there's a haze maybe we need to turn the fans on fire up that ac a little bit too much warmth is never a good day in breaching the spurgeon said the next best thing to the holy spirit in the heart is oxygen to the brain we need to think we need to we need to process information he says the one who seeks to win souls must expect to be met with objections many a sinner is hiding behind queries and quibbles how then shall we meet them learn from philip all that he said to nathanael in reply to his question was come and see he invited his brother to come and put christ to the test for himself this is the wise way do not be turned aside by the objections of the one to whom you are speaking but continue to press upon him the claims of christ and then trust god to bless his own word in his own good time that's good horse sense that's good counsel that's what we should take from this that's what we should do in the future don't be afraid to invite people to come and see for themselves the scriptures are blessed the scriptures are glorious the scriptures don't need us to protect them the scriptures rather are the word of the living and the true god and we should never ever be afraid of people investigating them for themselves in fact that ought to be a goal now notice jesus response to this statement can anything good come out of nazareth what does jesus say what are you talking about i came out of nazareth no that's not what he says look at what jesus says jesus saw nathanael coming toward him and he said of him behold an israelite indeed in whom is no deceit that's a true statement that jesus gives it isn't derisive it isn't you know uh uh putting him down it's not insulting it's not a confession that nathanael was without sin it's not a confession that that nathaniel was perfect it's not a confession that nathaniel was the best guy that ever lived but it was nevertheless a true statement concerning what concerning nathaniel's character see up to this point we have no evidence that jesus had met simon peter and yet he tells him you are simon son of jonah you are going to be called cephas do we ever stop to think how does he know that because he's christ he's omniscient the same thing with nathanael he knows that this is a an israelite in whom there is no deceit this is an accurate assessment of this man what does that indicate jesus knows his character now notice what it goes on to say in terms of the the the the emphasis nathanael said to him how do you know me see as far as we know nathaniel is saying you got something right concerning me and again we shouldn't take this as nathanael's proud and nathaniel's arrogant and all he should have said was oh no i'm i'm a wretch and therefore there's only deceit in my heart that's not what he says as far as the law is concerned as far as an upright man in israel is concerned nathaniel fit that bill of goods and so now he says to jesus how do you know me then it says in verse 48 jesus answered and said to him before philip called you when you were under the fig tree i saw you now there are two things here that ought to encourage or rather help us in terms of nathaniel's response in addition to jesus knowing the character of nathanael he also knew that philip called him how did he know that again the text doesn't tell us but we have no indication that philip said hey hang on here right for a moment lord i'm gonna go get my brother my friend my friend uh nathanael but then he says when you were under the fig tree i saw you now when we see philip or nathanael's response we ought to conclude that nathanael isn't amazed at the physical eyesight of our lord jesus christ wasn't because jesus had 20 20 vision and could see past you know mountains and stones and see this fig tree where nathanael happened to be standing no jesus knew it because of who jesus is and so nathanael starts to make that connection now and nathanael sees it for himself notice verse 48 nathanael said to him how do you know me jesus answered and said to him before philip called you when you were under the fig tree i saw you nathanael answered and said to him rabbi you are the son of god you are the king of israel again he's not saying you've got the best eyesight i've ever seen i was under that victory i was a long way away and you were able to see me you don't evoke a confession of you are the son of god and the king of israel based on good physical eyesight but you evoke that response because you are the son of god and the king of israel so nathanael confesses properly what is true of jesus was messiah destined to be the son of god yes second samuel 7 14 the davidic covenant psalm 2 7 messiah was to be the son of god but i think that nathanael speaks better than that here remember this is not an isolated context we've got the prologue telling us that jesus is the son of god we've got the testimony of john the baptist which crescendos in verse 34 with this testimony that jesus is the son of god it ought to not surprise us that one of the first disciples makes the same statement that jesus is the son of god when you compare the end of the gospel record in chapter 20 and you hear thomas say my lord and my god you start to get this idea that john the apostle wants you to understand that in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god john gill describes the way or the meaning behind nathaniel's statement you are the son of god he says it's not by creation it's not by adoption not by incarnation resurrection nor office as mediator but by nature as being of the same essence and possessed of the same perfections god is and of which he was convinced by the instance he gave of his omniscience in other words the fact that jesus knew these things about nathanael underscores that jesus is omniscient that is the prerogative of deity divinity and so when nathanael confesses here that thou art the son of god he is speaking again in terms that the later creeds and confessions would pick up not to say this is what it was but to recognize what it was and then notice what we have on the heel well the king of israel was the messiah destined to be the king of israel yes zechariah the prophet zechariah chapter 9 the king rides into the city of jerusalem on the back of the donkey now notice he goes on or jesus responds to this we're coming to a conclusion jesus answered and said to him because i said to you i saw you under the fig tree do you believe you will see greater things than these now that's an interesting statement greater things i would say are the the life and the death and the resurrection of our lord jesus christ so jesus is arguing from the lesser to the greater because you know that i saw you under the fig tree you will see greater things than these in other words as a disciple of jesus as you see him teach as you hear him preach as you see him do miracles as you see him go to the cross as you see him come out of the tomb these are the greater things in fact what jesus is saying is something i'm sure you and i have said before you ain't seen nothing yet it's going to get a whole lot more glorious than me having identified nathanael under the fig tree now notice how he affirms this or he confirms this he goes back in redemptive history to genesis chapter 28 to jacob's ladder look at what he says in verse 51 he said to him most assuredly i say to you hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man before we look at the actual content of this statement look at those two words most assuredly you've heard those words before amen amen one commentator edward clink makes this observation it was used to indicate one's consent or ascent to words uttered by someone else and brethren there's evidence that they were used in the context of public worship in other words to say an amen in the midst of a church service is absolutely positively okay to say amen after someone finishes a public prayer is absolutely positively okay in fact i think the weight of the evidence that we have would indicate that more people than rather than less people participated in the saying of the amen back to clink the commentator it was used to indicate one's consent or assent to words uttered by someone else the use of the term by jesus to introduce his own speech is unique there is no known jewish use by a person introducing his own statement for it was always used to affirm the statement of another but what we know of jesus this rings true right remember how the end or the at the end of the sermon on the mount the people were astonished at his teaching why because he taught them as one having authority and not as one of the scribes so when jesus says amen amen concerning his declarations concerning his statements it is telling us something of his authority but as well it is telling us that we really need to pay attention not that we don't need to pay attention to every time he doesn't use that formula amen amen but notice what he does i say to you hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man i mentioned jacob's ladder genesis chapter 28. the guy argued there when we went through genesis this is where jacob was converted this was the place that he called the house of god that's the word bethel this is the place where he saw the gate of heaven this is a significant place in redemptive history most commentators back in genesis chapter 28 say that the the the vision that jacob receives is both providential and prophetic in god's providence he wants to communicate to jacob that he's got it that he's going to protect him that he's going to watch over him but prophetically it is pointing to the unique link between heaven and earth pointing prophetically to that gate of heaven pointing prophetically to that one in whom there is salvation in fact as matthew poole says commenting on jacob's ladder mystically and so it represents christ by whom heaven and earth are united who is called the way to heaven which this latter was who as head of angels is perpetually sending them forth either to god or from god to minister to the heirs of salvation and this explication or accommodation of this vision is warranted by our savior himself again genesis 28 12 then jacob dreamed and behold the latter was set up on the earth and its top reached to heaven and there the angels of god were ascending and descending on it genesis 28 17 he was afraid and said how awesome is this place this is none other than the house of god and this is the gate of heaven look at what jesus says you shall see heaven open who opens heaven the prologues told us no one has seen god at any time but the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he is what he has declared him what does that mean he's opened heaven we get to see god now this is why on the in the upper room when philip asks how do we know the father how do we distinguish between you and the father he says if you've seen me you've seen the father christ is the one who opens heaven christ is the link between heaven and earth christ is the one who will engage in the greater things in terms of fulfillment of prophecy in terms of his mission as the lamb of god it is christ as christ that does and engages in these greater things and then notice how jesus identifies himself at the end of verse 51 this is part and parcel of all that has gone before us to introduce to us the one who saves his people from their sins you will see the angels of god ascending and descending upon who upon the son of man see most often we read that identifier the favored one by our lord of himself and we think according to his humanity interestingly that phrase son of man hearkens back to daniel 7 verses 13 and 14. and what we ought to see is son of god in power son of god in glory when jesus uses this convention concerning himself not always but a lot of times he is underscoring his dignity as the one sent by the father as one who shares or has rather the same essence as the father remember when the high priests adjoure him under god at the trial before the sanhedrin he tells them you will see the son of man coming on the clouds with power what's the response of the response of the high priest he rips his garments he says we have no further need of witnesses this man has blasphemed he understood the significance of the title and we should as well so in the conclusion of john 1 what the author is doing not only through his own writing in verses 1 to 18 but through the testimony of the baptist in verses 19 to 34 and in the conquest of these first disciples in verses 35 to 51 he is saying behold your god behold your savior behold the one who has come to save his people from their sins it is a most blessed introduction to the entirety of john's gospel where it details for us the glory of christ as savior in conclusion learn first the pattern for evangelism listen to what john calvin said i reference calvin because haven't you ever heard that oh you're a calvinist you don't evangelize you're reformed you don't preach the gospel just because some people identify as calvinists or reform and they don't preach the gospel doesn't mean that's true for everyone who professes to be a calvinist and reformed right why should we be judged by the conduct of others who aren't living consistently listen to john calvin he says the circumstance of andrew immediately bringing his brother expresses the nature of faith which does not conceal or quench the light but rather spreads it in every direction see there ought to be that in us and i don't want to manipulate and i don't want to browbeat and i don't want to make you feel bad because you haven't talked to five sinners over the past five months but i want to encourage you that we're to shine his lights in a crooked and perverse generation we're to hold forth the word of truth brethren people at times want answers people at times want to know why we have hope in our hearts and may god give us bold tongues to speak the truth that means you need to learn the truth don't go out there and botch it up don't go out and preach work salvation don't go mingle faith and works and tell somebody how to damn themselves certainly think properly certainly take your cues from the written word but nevertheless speak the truth in love we live around a lot of people that have no hope we live around a lot of people that are held down we live around a lot of people that are that are strangers to the covenants of promise they have no hope and or without god in this world what should we do we should bring them to jesus look at acts or john 12 for just a moment to see that this didn't dissipate in these disciples john 12 look at about verse 18. the jews here are getting up in arms because they don't like the fact that jesus is getting attention verse 18 and john 12. for this reason the people also met him because they heard that he had done this sign the pharisees therefore said among themselves you see that you are accomplishing nothing look the world has gone after him now notice now there were certain greeks here's the world in that particular context among those who came up to worship at the feast then they came to philip who was from bethsaida of galilee and asked him saying sir we wish to see jesus i've told you before that many a preacher in the history of the church had that on his pulpit sirs we wish to see jesus that's what every evangelist every preacher ought to keep in mind as he gets behind the pulpit sirs we wish to see jesus not you not your hot wife not your you know antics not your entertainment we wish to see jesus now notice verse 22 philip came and told andrew and in turn andrew and philip told jesus you see what was in their hearts from the outset didn't dissipate when we understand the grace of god we want others to understand the grace of god as well we want to testify we want to declare we want to tell sinners there is hope to be had in our lord jesus christ notice as well in terms of the glory of christ it's been one of my arguments that that's the emphasis in john 1. look at the titles of christ that we have seen just in these sections or in this section lamb of god rabbi i should tell you rabbi was applied to other religious teachers but it was a sign of great respect it was a teacher and a master one whom you had purpose to follow so its use here is indicative of the honor that they had for our lord so lamb of god rabbi messiah or christ son of god king of israel son of man you see all of this emphasis upon who jesus is do we ponder that who is it that saved us from our sins it's this one how should we respond in life to the of this one saving us we should worship and praise and adore we should evangelize and tell others and declare notice as well the function the one who takes away the sin of the world notice as well that he's omniscient he is authoritative he speaks and underscores his own sayings with the ah man on man he is the one who opens heaven he is the one who is the link between heaven and earth he is the one who is most gracious to sinners by inviting them come and see and he is that danielic son of man who comes to the ancient of days and what is conferred upon him as a great kingdom and great authority consistent with with what we saw there at the end of ephesians 1 that man is jesus that man is the word who was in the beginning with god that word who was god he became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory these apostles these disciples saw it they wrote for us so that we may stand in awe at the one who loved us and who gave himself for us and again if you're not a believer here this morning that's the emphasis believe what does it mean to follow what does it mean to see what does it mean to receive what it mean what does it mean to recognize it means to hear the gospel of truth the fact that jesus lived the fact that jesus died the fact that jesus was raised again to believe that means that you pass from death unto life it means that you receive the forgiveness of sins and it means you receive a righteousness by which one day you'll enter in to the presence of god almighty well let us pray our father we thank you for your word we thank you for the account of these first disciples of our lord jesus christ and i pray for all of us that we would be encouraged that we would see the glory of christ as so vividly displayed in this chapter as well that we would be encouraged to consider sinners that we know and love and help us god by grace to shine as lights help us to to hold forth that word of truth help us to tell sinners to come and see to invite them to investigate holy scripture to investigate churches of christ to investigate good christian books to learn of the savior and god we pray that you'd bless the preaching of your word all over the earth today and that you would be glorified in the salvation of sinners strengthen this local body encourage our hearts build us up in our most holy faith and go with us now and help us in all things to bring glory and honor unto you and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen we can turn in your hymn books to him number 564 564 will sing this song in praise to our great and glorious god foreign yes [Music] the lord bless you and keep you the lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace god may this be true for each of us now may we go with that peace of christ that does surpass all understanding help us to sanctify and to enjoy the day to call it a delight and may you bring us together again tonight to worship your glorious name and we ask through jesus christ our lord amen may be seated for a brief time of meditation