I'm asking this, how many of you realize that we actually just sang a prayer?
! Let me follow that up with another question.
! How many of you have an idea of who will answer our prayer?
! Now, I'm asking a theological question in reference to the triune God.
Do you follow that?
I mean, in general, it's a little bit like Sunday school.
You could say God, and you could strike it right.
I'd have to give you points for that.
But more specifically, who of the triune Godhead is responsible for answering that particular prayer?
Help me out here.
The Holy Spirit.
That's right.
Holy Spirit.
And by the way, if the Lord tarries and I live long enough and you're here long enough,
we will eventually get to John chapter 14, 15, and 16,
and we are going to find the most extensive instruction on the ministry of the Holy Spirit there.
That's just going to be, it's going to be wonderful.
It's going to be as good as Ephesians.
Maybe even better because it's next.
You know how I am about books, right?
The one I'm preaching in at the moment has got to be the best book there is.
And I suppose that comes from the process of praying and studying through the week.
And so often as I am coming to the conclusion of that process.
And for some of you, you may know that generally on Thursday I have the text written, finished, the text part.
And Connie then puts together the things that go on the overhead.
And then from Thursday till Sunday about this time is a time that is bathed in prayer.
You know, I want the help of the Holy Spirit to preach the Word.
And I rely on your prayers as well.
And one of the things is that when I finish up Thursday, I am just full.
I mean, it's like I am ready.
If I could preach Thursday afternoon, it would probably be best for me.
Because I carry around this, oh, man, I want to bring it.
But, you know, it's like, oh, okay.
This is Friday.
And Judith, my bride of 44 years, has advised me on many occasions that I'm not allowed to preach to her ahead of time.
And I said, I was talking with another brother in the Lord.
And he was talking to me about what he does as he preaches his sermon to his wife several times in advance.
I said, God bless you.
I wish.
So you get to hear it hot the first time.
Here it is.
I want you, as we kind of get our hearts into this passage, to put your finger, first of all, on John 1, verse 35.
That's where we're going to be.
We're going to take time together going over all of this passage from 35 to 52.
But in order to kind of have the global view, because it helps us keep things together,
I want to remind you why John wrote the book.
How many of you know why John wrote the book?
It tells us over in John chapter 20, it says, in essence, that these things are written,
the pieces that have been put together are written, so that you might know who Jesus is,
that he is the Son of God, and that knowing you can believe in him.
And so here we are, as we kind of get into the process of understanding this book,
we remind ourselves, for one, that John wrote this to inform us of the truth that Jesus is the Son of God,
and that knowing this, we can believe on him and have eternal life.
Well, let me do something here that is not going to give you an excuse to leave the service early,
but I do want you to kind of have some abbreviated ideas of what the book is about.
So someone comes up to you and says, the book by Dostoevsky on war and peace, what's it about?
Do you know what you could actually say?
It's about war and peace.
Now, that's a gross abbreviation of a book about 800 pages.
So when we get to the book of John, we want to understand, what's this book about?
I've got to tell you, it's about worship and witness.
Worship and witness.
Think about that.
Worship and witness.
The two pieces go together.
Another way of putting it would be edification and evangelism.
Now, there's a similarity, isn't it?
Worship, witness, edification, evangelism.
And as we look this morning at this extended passage,
we are going to see how these pieces actually come together.
And so I would put it this way.
When the heart of the believer is caught up with the glory and the supremacy of Christ,
they don't have to be coached.
They don't have to be coerced.
They don't have to be manipulated.
They talk about what's inside, and they talk about the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so I want you to have that fixed in your mind and kind of lock in on that
because what we're going to find in this extended passage is, first of all,
we're going to find that seeing Jesus clearly shrinks and satisfies.
Shrinks and satisfies.
Second thing we're going to see is that seeing Jesus clearly leads to sharing.
It just follows as the night, the day.
The two go together.
So let's talk, first of all, about seeing Jesus clearly shrinks and satisfies.
You pick up there in verse 35, and the next day, again,
John was standing with two of his disciples,
and he looked at Jesus as he walked by, and he said,
Behold, the Lamb of God.
I know that an entire week has passed since the last time we looked at the,
in fact, two weeks since we looked at John 1, verse 19 through 28.
But what we saw when we, three weeks now, I guess,
but when we looked at that passage, one of the things we saw is that,
for one, we're all witnesses.
Do you understand that?
We're all witnesses.
Now, some of us may choose to be bad witnesses.
I'll never forget.
At one point, I was on the phone with an individual dealing with a problem
that I was having with insurance.
Anybody ever here have problems with insurance?
I mean, you know, it was just a little thing, you know, like,
and I'd been on the phone.
I mean, I have a record in the computer of how many times I'd called this person,
and, you know, I was like,
How many of you like listening to music ad nauseum?
Oh, they're playing my song, you know.
And so I remember when I finally got to a human voice being a little snarky,
you know, I was like, I wanted to let them know
that I was a little disappointed with the service I was getting,
and my pastor's shepherd's heart was really kind of right there with it,
and I kind of went off on a tear.
And this woman, unusually, I don't think she was being recorded,
she stopped me and says,
You got an attitude.
Me? Attitude?
And I had to say,
I am ashamed,
and thank you for correcting me.
I want you to know that the guy you're talking to is a pastor.
And I have never met you,
but I ought to know better.
And I have every reason not to be this way,
and I ask you to forgive me.
Hmm?
You see,
we're going to be good witnesses sometimes,
and we're going to be bad witnesses,
but let's face the fact we're all witnesses.
And furthermore,
one of the things that we do see
as we look at that passage in John chapter 1
is that a biblical witness is not self-focused.
And that's what I mean when I speak about shrinking.
You know, if you look at the passage,
you'll find here that
John the Baptist was very, very clear about who he was.
And we're going to see that in three different instances
as we work our way through this passage.
First, let's recognize that John the Baptist,
a man who God sent to be his chosen forerunner,
one of a kind,
the only one,
sent by God directly in front of Jesus.
And as we work our way through
the testimony of John the Baptist,
the thing we're going to find is that
here was a man who had no self-focus or ambition.
His humility,
I want you to understand,
was not something that was put on.
How many of you know what I mean
by kind of put on humility?
Oh, that was a wonderful special.
Oh, no, it was nothing.
You know, I mean,
it's like, yeah, right.
I mean, you just can't wait for me
to say another sentence.
You know, you're right.
I guess when I stop and think about it again,
that was a real dud.
I hope you don't sing that again.
You know, that kind of thing.
You know, we find that John was just,
his heart was humble.
And we read later on in the text
as we work our way through the book of John
that there came a time
when John the Baptist's disciples
began following, guess who?
That guy that he baptized.
And remember, his disciples
are kind of worried about this,
and they come to John,
and they say,
hey, John, I don't know
if you're paying attention,
but the crowd is dwindling.
And on that basis,
what John says,
he says,
he must increase
and I must decrease.
Now, listen to me.
John speaks in the Greek
in an imperative.
Do you know what imperative is?
It has to happen.
How many of you understand
that gravity is an imperative?
I mean, if I stepped off from here,
whether I had all kinds of faith
about my ability to walk on air,
guess what would happen?
It's about 14, 16 inches.
Gravity is an imperative.
It would take over and do its job.
And so here is John the Baptist saying,
it's an absolute fact
that he must increase
and I must decrease.
It has to happen.
John understood that.
And he saw the work of God
in that fact
and he was satisfied with it.
And so as you look at this passage,
here's one of the things
I want you to understand.
You can't make much of Jesus
and yourself at the same time.
And so here we see John's lack of self-focus.
There in verse 35,
the next day again,
John was standing with two of his disciples,
you know, kind of the buds
just talking together
and along comes Jesus,
just walking by.
There's no indication that Jesus said,
hey, John, thanks for baptizing me.
Man, that was awesome.
And by the way,
John, do you remember
when the Holy Spirit came down on me
and let you know who I am?
You know, it was like,
John just, there he is,
saw Jesus.
And out of his heart,
because of his understanding
of who Jesus was and is,
he said this,
behold the Lamb of God.
Just a profoundly significant
theological statement
about the fact
that God sent his son
to be the savior of the world
and that his ministry
of saving us from sin
meant that he had to die
in my place
and your place.
And as a result of that,
throughout all eternity,
when we get to heaven
and we enjoy eternal bliss,
we will remember Jesus
as the Lamb
who was slain
before the foundation
of the world.
I want you to imagine
just for a moment, though,
that here is John
and he says,
behold the Lamb of God.
And the next thing we find there,
he looked at Jesus
at verse 36,
he looked at,
behold the Lamb,
and then verse 37,
the disciples,
the two disciples
heard him say this
and what did they do?
They followed Jesus.
We know that numbers
are important,
aren't they?
how many employees
do you have?
How much did that cost?
How many come to the church?
How many watched the game?
Truth of the matter is,
as I was thinking about this,
when I happened,
I didn't watch the game,
I just kind of googled
what the score was
and one of the things
I actually paid attention to
was how big was the crowd
at the Maryland OSU game?
It was something like 52,000,
I thought,
peanuts.
I mean,
small stuff.
When we have a game here,
we have 108,000.
Am I right, Joe?
Gary?
Give or take,
you know,
who's counting?
We're about numbers.
And so,
we don't know
what John was thinking
when he saw
these two disciples
that he cared about
walking off.
But if our carnal spirits
were involved
in any of the thinking
that he may have had,
guess what he was thinking?
Man,
I poured my heart
into these two guys.
They've been following me
and there they go.
We've been there.
Someone sings a special.
Or someone teaches a lesson.
Or someone shares a victory.
And as soon as the conversation
plays out,
we find ourselves thinking,
hey,
I sang that song before.
Don't you remember
the lesson I taught
two weeks ago?
How many of you understand
what I'm talking about?
That wicked,
perverse,
I mean,
you know,
it's like,
where did that thought
come from?
Hell,
you know,
and our own wicked heart.
But you know,
here is John.
And he exclaims
ecstatically,
with emotion and affection,
behold,
look,
it's the Lamb.
And as a result
of his
clear
testimony,
he has two
that follow.
you look at the passage,
and it says,
they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned
and saw them following
and said to them,
what are you seeking?
What's up?
By the way,
how many of you realize
that questions
are one of the ways
to really find out
what's in people's hearts?
Okay?
Questions are
supremely important.
And so,
here are the two disciples.
Hey,
what's up?
What are you thinking?
And I love the fact
that they invite themselves
to Jesus' home.
Now,
that's an indication
to me
that they really
wanted
something from Jesus.
This wasn't just
a passing fancy.
Their heart
had been convicted
by the Spirit of God
that Jesus
is the one
they needed.
Remember later
in John chapter 6
where Jesus
preaches that
thunder and brimstone
kind of sermon
where at the beginning
he has a big crowd
and when it's all gone,
who's left?
Does anybody remember?
Just the disciples.
And Jesus turns to them
and says,
are you guys packing up
and leaving too?
And what did Peter say?
Who remembers?
Where are we going?
You got the words.
You're the one.
Evidently,
these two disciples
were persuaded
of the supremacy
of Christ
and they said,
no,
we want to spend
time with you.
And he said,
come,
come on,
come with me.
And as you look
at this passage,
there are a couple things
that I want you to mark.
For one,
in verse 37
it says,
they followed him.
We're going to get back
to that.
I want you to put your finger
on verse 40
because I want to tell you
that I've already started
preparing the message
for this.
Verse 40.
We're a long way,
Lord willing,
we're a long way
from John chapter 13.
But in verse 40
it says,
one of the two.
Now,
does anybody know offhand
who one is?
This is important.
It's actually
the apostle John.
And in the gospel
that he wrote,
he never names himself.
He only refers to himself,
I think,
three or four times
by this title.
One whom Jesus loved.
Now,
would the Holy Spirit
endorse
someone being arrogant
and proud
about the fact
that they had been
loved by Christ?
And what is the answer
from reasonable Christians?
The answer is,
not in your life.
Now,
could John have said
something ungodly?
That's true.
But we'd have somewhere
kind of rebuttal
in relationship to that.
We're going to come
to this issue
of what John meant
when he said,
one whom Jesus loved.
But I want you to recognize
that as we work our way
through the text now,
one of the things
that I want you to see here
is that a clear view
of Jesus
changes life's directions.
It changes life's directions.
We are going to see
in this passage,
verse 35 on,
we're going to see
for one thing
that as these two disciples
heard John speak
definitively,
I mean,
clearly,
convictingly,
this is the Lamb of God.
This is the Messiah.
This is the Savior
of the world.
What happened
is that
they changed their direction.
We read that Philip left
whatever he was doing
to follow.
And I want you to recognize
that it wasn't because
of coercion
or pressure.
It wasn't because
there was a certain
benefit package
that came with
following Jesus
in the immediate present,
better health insurance,
you know,
that kind of thing.
I want you to understand
when you really
get down to it
that apart from
John the Apostle,
who they believe
died as an exile,
every,
except for Judas,
every other disciple
was executed
for their faith.
It was their view
of Christ
that led to a change
of direction.
So as you sit out here,
one of the questions
to ask yourself
practically is,
is your life's direction
different
because you've seen
Jesus clearly.
Now stop just for a minute.
When we think about
life's direction,
we have a tendency
of getting caught up
in the mundane
and the things
that have no
eternal significance.
Let me explain
what I mean by that.
I mean tomorrow morning,
given time,
whatever,
most of you here
are going to either
go to school
or go to work.
Right?
That's not
your life's
real direction.
That's just how
God has employed you
to have a spiritual
and lasting impact
in the lives
of other people
who desperately
need Christ.
I want you to
understand something else
as we look at the passage
in broad terms.
A clear view of Jesus
changes life's purpose.
That's part of what
I'm reflecting on here.
Some went from
being fishermen
to being fishers of men.
One went from
being a doctor
to being a disciple.
Another went from
being a tax collector
to a disciple.
Ask any person
that has been swept away
by the gospel
about what their life
is all about.
Let me say that again
slowly because I think
we have to understand this.
Ask any person
whose life has been
swept away
by the beauty
of the gospel,
what's your life about?
Here's what they won't say.
It's about my retirement.
It's about my motor home.
It's about how much
my investments
are making
so I can be
a pretty self-indulgent
fool.
Tell a story
on myself.
Three, four years ago,
well, that's two years ago
actually,
that I began thinking
to myself,
when I retire,
I think I'm going
to get a small plot
of land,
about ten acres,
and I'm going to raise
chickens and cows.
house.
This is true.
In fact,
my bride
even entertained me
so much,
hi Judith,
that we began
driving around
looking at properties.
I remember actually
thinking to myself,
you know what?
If you have
those ten acres
or twelve acres
or whatever,
the next thing
you have to have
is a mower.
And then,
this is just Tim
kind of speculating
in his mind
and he thought,
you know what?
If you're going
to keep it mowed
so you can kind of
sit there and look at it
and like short grass,
you know,
you're going to spend
four, five,
maybe six hours
mowing the sucker
every week
when it rains,
you know,
and then,
you know something
about cows
and chickens
and goats?
You have to feed them.
I remember actually
doing the math
and I was convicted.
I was convicted.
God rescued me
from being a miserable,
despicable sinner
to spend the rest
of my life
pointing to Jesus,
not at the back end
of chickens and cows.
And when you talk
to people
who have been swept away
by the glory of Christ,
you hear about it.
So,
as you look at this
radical change here,
we find in John the Baptist
for one,
and then we find
in the two disciples
there in verse 37
and again in verse 40,
one of the things
that we understand
is that these individuals
were willing
to lay it all aside
so that they could have
a sweeter
and more significant
relationship
with the Lord Jesus.
Does that mark
your life?
Think with me
just for a moment
of a companion passage
in relationship
to this
and turn over
in your Bible
to Philippians chapter 3
verse 7 through 9.
Let me kind of
start earlier
in verse 4.
Though I myself
have reason for confidence
in the flesh also,
if anyone else
thinks he has reason
for confidence
in the flesh,
I have more.
Verse 5.
I was making
$500,000 a year
as a speaker
on a tour
and I had property
in Florida
and I also had property
just not in the passage
but just understand
the passage.
Here is John the,
is Paul saying,
I had it all.
property in the Rockies,
property in the
Smoky Mountains,
vacation home
in Florida,
you know,
and I had it all.
Everybody thought
I was the real thing
and then,
guess what?
Verse 8.
Indeed,
I count everything
as lost
because of the
surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord.
all that
has become
junk
in my thinking
in comparison
to the glory
and the satisfaction
of knowing Christ.
Where is that
in your thinking?
He says,
I count it all rubbish
that I may gain Christ
and be found
in him
not having
mine own righteousness
that comes from the law
but that which
comes through
faith in Christ
the righteousness
from God
that depends
on Christ.
Let's see
something second.
Seeing Jesus
clearly
leads
to sharing.
We should know
by now
that John the Baptist
saw Jesus
clearly
and we understand
that the reason
he saw him
clearly
was because
of the work
of the Holy Spirit.
How many of you
recognize that?
Remember what John said?
I had no idea
who he was going
to be
except for the fact
that I had been
told by divine
utterance
that the one
that the Holy Spirit
came down
and stayed on
that's the Messiah.
And then he met
Jesus
and saw that happen.
That's him.
And so here is
John the Baptist
who
had a clear picture
of Jesus
and as a result
the thing
that we find
about John
working our way
through the passage
is that
his joy
and his satisfaction
was in pointing
others to Christ.
And some
saw Jesus
through John's testimony
and were affected.
How do we know that?
Well what we find
here in the passage
as we allude
to verse 37
and then again
to 40
was that what
happened is
as a result
of the testimony
of John the Baptist
there were two
that were drawn
off to become
the disciples
of Christ.
And so I want
you to recognize
that seeing
Jesus clearly
by the work
of the Spirit
of God
ends up
calling individuals
away from
where they are
and their goals
and ambitions
of life
and changing
them dramatically
to make them
focused on
the Lord Jesus
and following
that
you end up
with a sequence
that we shouldn't
miss.
Look at
the passage
again.
It says
there in verse
40
one of the two
who heard
John speak
and followed
Jesus
was Andrew
Simon Peter's
brother.
He first
found
when did
he do it?
When did
he find
his brother?
Immediately.
We find
the same
thing play
out
if you will
in verse
43 and 45
kind of skip
ahead a little
bit.
The next day
Jesus decided
to go to
Galilee
he found
Philip
and said
to him
follow me
and Philip
was from
Bethsaida
the city
of Andrew
and Peter
Philip
found
Nathanael
what really
prompts
gospel
witnessing?
I want to
say this
carefully.
What really
prompts
gospel
witnessing?
I want to
say it
this way
an abiding
joy in
forgiven
sin and
a personal
relationship
with Christ.
That's what
does it.
Secondly
I would add
this a desire
to share
what's
supremely
satisfying
as I was
driving to
church this
morning.
I was
thinking about
my back
surgery
some 15
20 years
ago.
I forget
when it
was but
I remember
being
gurnied
into surgery
with numbness
down my
leg and
constant pain
and after
I woke
up
and all
those other
things were
out of my
body I
remember
kind of
moving my
leg to
find out
so how's
the pain?
It wasn't
there.
I became
a lifetime
debtor to
Dr.
Bay.
Anybody
that comes
to me
and says
I'm
having
back
pain
go see
Dr.
Bay.
It's
just
natural.
You
follow
that?
The
stunning
truth
about the
history of
gospel
witnessing
around the
world
is that the
vast majority
of people
that have
been drawn
to Christ
have had
no
professional
training
no
preparation
other than
being
recipients of
the grace
of God
in their
lives.
I want
you to look
at a couple
things in
relationships.
I've got to
prove my
point with
the Bible.
Would you
agree with
that?
Let's go
to Acts
chapter 8
verse 1.
Keep your
finger because
we're coming
back to
John but
Acts chapter
8 verse
1.
And Saul
approved of
his execution
and there
arose on that
day a great
persecution
against the
church in
Jerusalem and
they were all
scattered throughout
the regions of
Judea and
Samaria except
the apostles.
The professionals
stayed home.
Who went
everywhere else?
Just the
common
disciples.
The people
whose lives
had been
radically
changed by
the ministry
of the gospel
and knew the
complete forgiveness
for all sins
through the
finished work
of the Lord
Jesus.
And you know
what?
They couldn't
help but talk
about what was
good in their
lives.
I want you
to see the
way this all
played out.
We kind of
cut ahead to
Acts chapter
17 verse
6.
Here's
Paul.
Paul and
Silas actually
in Thessalonica
I believe it
is.
And people
end up being
pretty upset
by having
these preachers
here in town.
But a very
interesting little
statement is made
in verse 6.
And what they
could not find,
Paul and Silas,
they'd been
hidden by
other believers,
they cry out
to the city
authorities and
say, listen,
these men who
have turned the
world upside
down have
come here
also.
Stop and
think for me
just for a
minute.
Do you think
it was just
Paul and
Silas really
that were
used by God
to turn the
world upside
down?
Not in
your life.
We know
of names
like D.L.
Moody.
Most of us
don't know
that Kincaid
was the
guy who
actually
witnessed
to a
young shoe
salesman
and sharing
the gospel
led to a
transformed
life.
We know
Billy Graham,
but the
vast majority
of people
who have
really been
transformed by
the gospel
and are
transforming
the lives
of others
with the
testimony
of Christ
are unnamed.
So let me
ask you a
question.
How is your
witness?
Is that a
fair question?
How is your
witness?
If I were
to honestly
ask other
people at
work,
and we're
talking about
work,
politics?
What are
the things
that you
are passionate
about and
that you
have complete
confidence in?
Oh,
politics.
There's a
Greek word for
it.
It's called
meganoito.
No more
of that.
It's like,
I am convinced
that God
does not
wear a label
that says
vote for me,
Republican or
Democrat.
that.
Here's another
thing.
God is not
that primarily
concerned that
his children
become evangelists
for the
things they're
selling,
or evangelists
for their
child's
t-ball team,
or whatever
else.
The thing
that I should
be known
of,
listen,
the thing
that I should
be known
for,
particularly in
the unbelieving
circles that
I end up
on occasion
around,
is that I
am,
first of all,
a testimony
by my
behavior to
the grace
of Christ.
And secondly,
that when God
gives me an
opportunity,
I'm excited
to talk about
the one who
forgave all
my sins.
Is that
where it's
at with
you?
So,
first question
I would ask
in relationship
to this
business of
how you're
witness is
that,
well,
do you
really know
him?
I mean,
I'm convinced
one of the
things that
happens is
people grow
up in a
church,
they learn
the vocabulary
of the
church,
they could
even be
baptized.
I have
baptized more
people more
than once
than I care
to think
about.
how many
of you
caught that?
Nothing wrong
with baptism,
but I want you
to understand
that baptism
doesn't save
you.
Baptism is
an outward
sign of what
God's done
in your heart
and salvation.
So,
I want you
to understand
if you're
sitting here
and you,
I have
never
witnessed
other than
about my
kids,
you know,
whatever,
or my dog
or whatever,
okay,
if it's not
in your
heart,
you may not
be a person
who has
enjoyed
the blessing
of complete
forgiveness.
You're not
a repentant
individual
who's been
drawn to
realize
the abiding
grace
of God
in salvation.
And,
you know,
the woman
at the well,
no coaching,
off she went
to town.
The demoniac
just needed
a little push,
remember that?
He said,
Jesus,
I don't want
to go back
to town.
Everybody
remembers
what a skunk
I was.
He said,
go back
and show
them.
You're
changed.
The truth
of the matter
is that
some of you
don't know
Christ,
and that's
the reason
for the lack
of affection
and passion.
Number two,
there are some
of you here
that have lost
your first love.
How many of you
know that love
needs to be nurtured?
It just doesn't
kind of stay there?
Some of you
have had the enemy
of your soul
trap you with
a secret sin,
and you're
bound up
with bitterness
and sullenness.
Can I tell you
something?
You can't have
a bad attitude
and be a good
witness.
Can everybody
smile at that
one?
That can't be
applied to anybody
here that I know,
but you can't
say it so we
understand it.
You can't be a
person with a bad
attitude and be a
good witness.
And all God's
people said,
well, that wasn't
bad.
Okay.
I want to say
this.
Believers who
are not
passionate about
the Lamb have
something that is
hindering their
joy and their
witness.
And so when that
is the fact, you
who know Christ can
do one of two
things in the face
of the Spirit's
work this morning
which is tapping
on your shoulder
and saying,
this needs to be
changed.
Two choices.
You can go ahead
and just tempt God
with your stubborn
spirit.
Anybody ever tried
that before besides
me?
You don't mean to
say bring it on,
but when you say
no to God, when He
is speaking to you
about having a
contrite spirit in
the face of the
convicting work of
the Spirit, and you
just say yeah, He
just says, I'm
there, and He'll
help you.
Or, and here's
what Tim Kenoyer
has to do on a
periodic basis,
because me and
attitudes are
something God has
to help me with.
You understand
that?
I'm an attitude
inventor.
I just pop.
Where did that
come from?
You can confess the
need that you have
in your lack of awe
and love for the
Lord Jesus Christ.
You can go ahead and
say it.
By the way, does He
not know this?
No, He knows.
But He likes for you
to have the humility
to say, I don't feel
anything.
I don't have any
affections for you.
And it's not your
problem, but I need
your help.
Now, which of the
two is more
intelligent?
Help me here.
One or two?
One of the things I
read in a book by,
forget the name,
John Krodz.
He said, being foolish
is a career choice.
There are some of you
in this service this
morning that are
consciously and
deliberately saying
no to God about
the shallowness of
your affection and
the lack of joy in
the Holy Spirit and
the complete absence
of just that natural
bubbling of saying,
come and see,
the one who has
forgiven all of my
sins.
And I would plead
with you this
morning.
Do not tempt
the Lord.
Humble yourself
because as Charles
Spurgeon rightly
says, we have two
choices, either
humble ourself or
let Him humble
us.
being foolish is a
career choice.
Let's pray.
Father, this morning
as our hearts
consider the text
and we see what
you did in John
the Baptist's life
and we see what
you did in the
lives of these men
that you called to
become disciples,
we don't want to
waste our lives in
pettiness and
smallness.
We want to have the
humility to confess
the hardness of our
heart.
and we know
our thinking is
wrong and we need
the Spirit to make
a difference.
We don't want to be
foolish
and thumb our
nose at the
Holy One of
Israel.
And so it is my
prayer that this
morning your Spirit
would get a hold of
the hearts of all
of your people.
that our view of
Christ would be the
thing that dominates,
brings about
transformation to
the glory of our
Savior.
And we ask this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.