(John 1:44)
�And Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.�
This week�s text verse mentions Philip. Last week we saw that Jesus had searched out Philip and asked that Philip become a follower.
We talked about the fact that Jesus was proactive in searching out Philip. Jesus had gone out in search of him. We tied this fact in with the truth that salvation is all from God. Even our response to Him is conditioned on the fact that He first searched us out and focused the convicting power of the Holy Spirit upon our souls. We find Him because He first found us. We respond to Him because He called out to us. We are allowed this great salvation, and the fellowship with the Creator God, only because we have acted in response to His calling. Ephesians tells us that ��we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.� (Ephesians 2:10)
A former columnist in one of our local weekly newspapers once made the claim that this verse meant that we earned our salvation because we did good works. That is not at all what the verse says. This verse plainly says that we were �created,� that is �made,� to do good works. That fact, created or made, means that we became something that did not exist beforehand.
Before our salvation we had no means of doing any �good works.� We were sinful creatures. Everything that we did was tinged by the stain of the sin in our makeup. We could not any more do any �good� work, in the light of the spiritual realities of eternity, than my son�s dog could carry on a knowledgeable conversation with me on the intricacies of quantum physics.
O. K. Bad example. I couldn�t carry on a very knowledgeable conversation with the dog on that subject, either. The difference, however, between me and the dog is that my shortcoming would be predicated on the fact that I have never studied the subject. The only thing I know about quantum physic is how to spell it - if I have my spell check turned on!
But, potentially, I could embark on a course of study and begin to understand the subject. It�s always possible that we, as humans, can learn things that we�ve not previously known.
The dog, however, does not possess the capacity to learn anything of this type. His reasoning power is not capable of learning to that degree. Even if the dog were to sit in classes for years, and somehow gain an understanding of the subject, he could not converse with me about the subject matter. He lacks the ability to speak.
The sinner can never do good works, in the spiritual sense, because he lacks the capacity to do those works. He is a sinner, bound in his sin nature as a slave of Satan. Even that seeming good which he does is counted as sin because it is from this nature that he is performing those acts.
He can not even be trained to do those good works which would entitle him an entrance into Heaven because it is not within his nature to be able to do so. He needs, instead, a radical change in his spiritual makeup. It is this which Jesus has made available at the Cross. Coming to Christ is the means of obtaining a new nature which is attuned to the things which God has for humanity to do.
After this encounter with Christ, we should begin to use that new nature, with the leading of the Holy Spirit, to learn the things about the spiritual realities which God has for us to learn. As we learn these things, we are more able to walk in the manner which God has for us to walk. This is the beginning of our good works.
To try to obtain salvation by good works is to attempt the impossible. We need the Hand of the Savior!
Much of our good works, the highest form of any good work we can perform, is in the evangelization of others.
As we look at our text verse we see that there was another evangelized. �Now Philip��
The first thing I see in these two words is the idea that another time is not the correct time.
I was talking with my grandson a few days ago. He is learning words that he can use; but much of his talk is still �gibberish.� But, every once in a while, in his stream of sounds, he will use one of these words. This was one of those times.
Generally, when he is talking, I just say, �O. K.,� or, �Yes,� or some such thing. To him this is a good enough carrying on of a conversation because I am paying attention to him. This time, however, he put the word, �Ball,� in the middle of his soliloquy.
I said, �O. K.�
At that point Eli ran off to his room.
I thought he was just going to play. He thought I had agreed to play �catch� with him. I, however, needed to be someplace else very soon so I left.
Well, I started to leave.
Eli came running back into the room just as I was going through the door. He had his basketball with him. When he saw I was leaving he began to cry. Grandpa had lied to him.
He needed me to stay and play catch with him for a few minutes before I left. But, I was in a hurry. But, he was aghast that Grandpa would leave after promising to play catch.
I stayed for a few minutes.
Generally speaking, the most important person is the one who stands in front of us at any one time. It is to that person that we need to relate the words of Jesus. It is to that person that we need to pray over that the Holy Spirit would come in His convicting power. It is to that person that we owe our testimony that Jesus died in time so that we might live in eternity.
And, we need to do that now. Another time might be too late. We do not know when God will require the soul of that person. We do not know when God will call us home. We do not know when the Lord will come in the clouds to call us unto Himself.
But, we do know we have that instance when we are speaking to another.
Another thing, as we read this verse, is that another location is not the proper location.
I recall one time, when I was a young pastor. I was working in a factory and tended to spend the day doing two things. I got filthy; and, I got filthier as the day went on. One time someone came up to me and asked that I speak with one of their co-workers about a loss he�d just had in his family. My reply was, �O. K. Wait a minute while I wash my hands.�
Wasn�t that a stupid reply! Notice that I didn�t use a question mark after that sentence. It was stupid!
We speak where we are, in the condition in which we are in. If we have the time it is nice to be clean and have on our nicest �Sunday-Go-To-Meeting� clothes. But, that is hardly a necessity. The One we are speaking about is not us. We are to speak of our Lord.
We can only do this where we are.
A lot of young Christians like to fantasize about going across the sea and spreading the message of Christ as missionaries on foreign soil. I have a friend, a lady who grew up in the neighborhood where I grew up. She was a friend of my sister. She, and her husband, have been missionaries for over forty years on a foreign soil.
I am not.
The only people I can reasonably speak with are the ones with whom I interact every day. This lady and her husband will never see the people I see. They can not evangelize my own personal mission field. It is my job to be a witness for Christ, a missionary if you will, in the location where I am standing.
Several years ago Linda and I grew some potatoes in the back yard. When it came time to harvest them we didn�t go to dig up the front yard. Neither did we go to our neighbor�s yard to harvest our crop of potatoes. We went to our own back yard where the seeds had been planted.
It is the same in the spiritual realm for each of us. God has given us a garden of souls with whom we talk every day. Our prayers, our witness, the Holy Spirit in His convicting grace, has planted seeds. We need to tend to our garden. That is our duty to God and man.
Another thing here is that Jesus did not go to another person. At least, at this time He didn�t. He went to Philip.
Again, we have someone that we need to speak with. God has put the burden on our hearts. Now, a short caution: Don�t even think about speaking with them without the backing of prayer. You need to pray for this person, by name!, before - and during - the time you will be witnessing to them.
We do need to have a burden that souls would be born into the Kingdom of God. But, it is even more important that we have a burden that a soul would be born into the Kingdom of God.
Mass evangelism is one thing. God has gifted some in this area. But, even in these instances, men and women respond to Jesus one at a time. We need to be in prayer for individuals! Maybe someone will come and glean in the field that we�ve cultivated. Maybe we will gather grain from the garden of another. That is God�s choice
Our duty is to be vigilant where He has placed us.
As we look at our text verse we also see that there was another experience. ��was of Bethsaida��
Philip had a home. Philip had a town from which he came. Philip had a circle of friends and relatives with which he was familiar.
First, Philip lived in a place.
We talked about this just above. We can not be used of God any other place than where we are!
Last night it was getting ready to rain. I went out into my yard and looked around. I�ve always loved the feeling in the air just before it storms. I live in a place now that is just a few blocks from where I lived when I was a child. I looked around at some of the places where I played when I was younger. I marveled at how they had changed.
When I left for college the first time, I never dreamed that I would be coming back here to live. Apparently, God did! Here I have been for some time. I had dreamed of leading great churches in far off cities. God didn�t have the same dreams!
You see, our fidelity to God is not measured in what we might have done. It is measured in what we have done - or left undone. Our dreams and fantasies are one thing; our work ethic in the fields of God may be quite another thing.
We need to live for God, and work for God!, in whatever place He has seen fit to place us. There is an eternal purpose which we can fulfill as we serve Him.
When I was in the Army I didn�t choose my duty stations. I went where the Army said I was needed. Can we expect less from God!
Go where God has sent, even is that means staying where you are. The important part of our service is not geography, it is faithfulness.
Philip lived among persons.
In the very next verse, after our text verse this week, we see that Philip found Nathanael. I don�t suppose that Philip went looking for Nathanael in just any old place. Philip, quite obviously, already knew Nathanael. Philip just went and found one he already knew.
That, speaking to one we already know, is one of the hardest things we can do.
I was once asked if it was hard speaking before a group. No! Speaking before a group is easy; speaking to one person - now, that�s hard. It�s not so much that we know them as it is that they know us. Do you understand that it is hard to speak about the power of Jesus to change a life if your own life doesn�t seem changed?
One of the greatest things that God can do to vitalize our spiritual lives is to leave us in the same location after we have been saved as we were in before we were saved. That should be the greatest of incentives to live a new life in Christ. That should be one of the greatest incentives to walk in a life of holiness. That should be, normally is!, one of the greatest incentives to avail ourselves of a prayer life to seek the leading and guidance - and provision - of God!
Philip understood this. He lived under a promise.
Philip had been called, by the Savior, Himself, to be a follower of Christ.
Wouldn�t that be great? Just think about it. Several years ago I had the opportunity to meet President Clinton. Some people seem really impressed when they see the picture of me with him. You know something, I must have been impressed as well. After all, I do have that picture displayed.
Of much more importance is the fact that I have met the Master. Not only that, Jesus personally asked that I follow Him. Without Jesus making the first move, sending the conviction of the Spirit into my life, I would not have been able to have been saved. Neither would you! Every single one of you who has been born into the Christian life has been personally called into this fellowship by the Savior. Every single one of you!
How impressed are you by this fact. Do you have a picture of Him in your life? Can others look at you and understand that you�ve been with Jesus?
Looking back at our text, we find that there was another enlistee. ��they city of Andrew and Peter...�
Andrew and Peter, and Philip and Nathanael, these were all from the same city.
But, there were other people from that same spot.
They were from the same spot, first of all as to location. It is really great to see a revival in progress. I don�t mean a special meeting at a church; I mean a revival. When the people of God are united to a task, and the Spirit of God is moving in a location, we may see great works. Four of the twelve disciples were from this same area of revival.
But, more than just a location, they were all in the same place as sinful beings. They all needed the salvation that Jesus offered. We don�t often think about these disciples as sinners. Yet, that is what they were. In this sense they were no different than us. In this sense they were no different that they guy you work next to every day. They were sinners.
What made the difference in their lives? Simple. They met the Master. More than just this, they followed the Master. They were specially called persons who responded to that call in faithfulness to Jesus.
But, consider what we�ve said. Jesus has specially called each of us to our salvation. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit has been shed upon our lives.
These New Testament saints were not supermen. They were not on a higher plane than are we. They were recipients of the Spirit and Power of God. We have that same privilege. This is still New Testament times. We are still saints unto God. We still have the same access to the same God! We can still expect to see the same results.
So, why don�t we? Well, we could say that men�s hearts are harder today than they were back then. We could say that the culture of the day is hostile to the message of the Lord. We could say that no one will listen to our message.
We could say all that. But, in saying these things we are discounting the power of God! The world was not completely ready to accept this �new� message in the disciples time. The culture of that day was hostile to their message to the point of jailing and killing those disciples. The people of that day had heard all the stories of all the cults; they really weren�t all that interested in �yet another religion.�
But, God acted in a miraculous way through the efforts of men and women who were energized by the truth they knew that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. They marched that message out into the world without fear or �shyness.� They knew in Whom they believed.
So do we. We know in Whom we have believed. But, I don�t believe that we have the same zeal burning within our hearts to spread this story. We have compartmentalized our lives. Christianity is for Sunday. Monday to Friday is for work. Saturday is for the family.
The disciples were Christians every minute of every day. Until we gain this fervor and passion we will never see the same results as did those early disciples.
Not only were others from the same spot, they were of the same section.
This was at one point a very rabid high school basketball town. One day I went to one of those games out at the high school. I was prepared to cheer for �our� team. But, I was late. The only tickets left were for the section where the opposing fans were sitting.
I didn�t cheer quite as loudly as I had expected. Sometimes that�s how it is when you are in the wrong section of the gym!
Others were of the same section as these disciples had been. Others still are of the same section as these disciples, and we, had been. That section is the place of sinfulness! This is from where we are called.
The disciples were called from a place of sin. We were called from our place of sin. God desires to call others from their place of sin. We are responsible for doing as did Jesus; we call them to follow Him. We are His voice and His hands in the world of today. That might sound somewhat intimidating until we realize that, while we supply the witness, He supplies the power.
My son just put a new water pump on his car. He had a lot of neat little tools that he used to do the job. It was the tools which made the contact with the machinery. It was his hand which guided the tools and provided the power to turn the screws when they needed turned, and to place the parts where they needed to go.
It is no different in the spiritual realm. We are the tools which God uses to redeem the world. We are not the ones who are responsible for the work. We just make ourselves available in the tool box of God�s Love. We are responsible to be used of Him. He does the real work.
His work still calls individuals to salvation.
Once others have reached this place of salvation, they will become tools in His tool box as well. The great thing is that He does not treat us as mere tools. He gives us the prestige of being called co-worker in His great work of the salvation of souls.
This is our great glory of being in the service of God.
It is glorious to note that others were called to the same security as were these disciples.
Jesus called these disciples to become followers of Him. As such, they were called to a better life.
I�ve often remarked that being a Christian gives one an eternal purpose in life. No more are we tied into the work cycles of humanity. We will still work, but we see that there is more to life than just this.
If I�ve delivered pizza for a forty year work career, what have I gained other than the gratitude of the gas station? Nothing, really. There�s another guy, with another car, who can easily replace me. The same can be said of any job you can name. But, when we are �employed� in the eternal work of God the blessings are eternal. There are souls that have a Heavenly home because of our work in the service of God. Think of the majestic glory of that statement!
Several years ago my wife passed on to Glory. I remarked at that time that I could not understand how anyone could get through the grief of this type of experience without the Lord standing by their side. I still don�t know how anyone could do it. But, as Christians, we don�t have to take life and let it beat us down. Jesus has given us a better life in this world. And, a greater life in the next world is waiting for us!
These disciples were followers of Jesus who were given a bountiful life in Him. We have riches the world will never understand.
But, with these great temporal blessings, these men were called to Jesus to gain a barrister life.
A barrister is a lawyer. The duty of the Christian is to proclaim the spiritual law. We don�t need a law degree to do this. We only need to understand that man is lost without Jesus. The glory is that Jesus died in time so that we might live in eternity. That is the law of the spirit. Jesus came to call men to repentance so that they could be all they were created to become.
This is what is meant when we say that the disciples, and us for we are also disciples of Jesus as Christians!, were to preach the spiritual case for Jesus. Mankind needs Jesus. Jesus calls mankind. It�s a match made in Heaven!
Without the salvation which Jesus offers men and women are lost, without hope of salvation, on their way to Hell, and can never have fellowship with God. But, with Jesus, without doing anything except accepting the free salvation He offers, all of the riches of Heaven can be theirs.
That is a pretty strong case. Still, we do need to always remember that this is a spiritual medium in which we are working. Prayer for the conviction of the Holy Spirit is always necessary. Without the Spirit�s intercession, our best argument is bound to fail. With the Spirits intercession, the presentation of our weakest argument carries the power of God. It is good to remember that, with the power of God, the argument is not from our intellect or reasoning ability, it must flow from the message of the inspired and preserved Scripture which God gave to us.
The purpose of the disciples was to offer the pardon of Jesus from the penalty of the Law. He paid the price so that we do not need to do so.
That has ever been the message of the true churches of Jesus. It is the message that has been passed down from Christian to Christian throughout this church age. The Army of God continues to march, yearly mile after decade mile, throughout the centuries. The constant in all this has been the Love of God shown on the hearts and lives of men and women!
Jesus wants to give you this same salvation. He calls you with this same love which He displayed to His disciples. Why not accept Him as your own Savior and become a follower of Him.
Jesus calls you.