(John 1:36)
�And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.�
I have begun to write a reply for a local �letter to the editor� of our local weekly newspaper. The letter to which I am replying alleges that there are many contradictions in the Bible. I, of course, disagree.
One thing I am saying to the writer of the original letter is that I understand her position. She is looking at the Scripture from the side of an agnostic belief system. I, on the other hand, am approaching the Scripture from the standpoint of a theistic belief system. In my letter I will remark that we disagree.
Part of this disagreement is based on a matter of perspective. A person standing on the earth will see the moon as an object in the sky. A person standing in the proposed space station to be placed on the moon will see the earth as an object in the sky.
The truth of the matter is that both of the �star gazers� are correct. And both of them are wrong. Both are looking at celestial objects. But, neither object is really in the �sky.� Both objects are placed by the Creator in the heavens of the universe.
In a sense, that is the problem between myself and the letter writer. I see the unity of the Scriptures as a fully three dimensional picture of God. Sometimes we will see one part of His majesty. Sometimes we will see another part. These may appear to contradict, to the natural mind; but they are actually two diverse parts of the picture of God as shown through the Scripture.
She will look at these and surmise that the different aspects of God display a disunity of purpose and, therefore, a contradiction of His purported personality.
Part of the purpose of the discipline of theology is to view these aspects and find the harmony which must exist among them. This is done on the basis of the first rule of interpretation: God is One and He does not contradict Himself.
We may not always understand the words of His Scripture. This is predicated on our lack of understanding. Still, we accept through faith the fact that God is, and He is correct in all His dealings even when we might not understand.
Part of our misunderstanding must be upon our human minds. We are creatures, even after salvation, of the fall of Adam. Our understanding is darkened by the human aspect of our minds. To attempt to remedy this we work in the study of those Scriptures even as we seek the face of the Lord and the illumination of the Holy Spirit so that we might understand that which He has given us to understand.
Some things we will never understand this side of Glory. This is part of the �faith� of our faith. We accept simply because God says something is true.
The lady�s understanding, on the other hand, has no such assist. She is dwelling in the mistaken assumption that human reasoning is all that there will ever be available to humanity. Therefore, she must depend wholly upon human reasoning. This can be a very fine tool. However, since the human mind, alone, has no frame of reference to understand the realities of the spiritual world, she will never be able to understand the truths of the Word of God.
Our response to this is not more human scholarship. Our only usable recourse is to access the Throne of Grace in prayer that the Spirit might move upon such a person.
I might add that this woman gives testimony that Christians, perhaps well meaning Christians, have accosted her with human reasoning in the past. They have attacked her, apparently without the leading of the Holy Spirit, and have thus driven her from the Divine Presence.
Once again, the remedy for this is not further �brow beating� and scorn. The remedy is prayer that the Spirit of God may work upon her soul with His convicting, and His comforting, power.
In all this we should look to Jesus. John did. That is the thrust of this weeks sermon. After being interrogated by the religious authorities John continued to walk toward the glory of the sight of Jesus.
Tonight I had the unexpected honor of baby sitting for four of Shandi�s cousins. I wasn�t expecting this. When it came time to feed them, I called for a pizza to be delivered. While waiting for the deliveryman, we all did one thing: we watched for his arrival.
That is as it should be for the Christian in the trials and opportunities of the day. We should watch for Jesus to deliver that which we need. He will come to the door of our lives with the need of our lives.
John kept the thrust of his life in seeking the sight of Jesus. �And looking upon Jesus��
This was not an accident that John saw Jesus. This is where his entire ministry had led. John had longed for the Savior.
I received one of those annoying phone calls yesterday. Some politician had his phone machine set to make random calls. I was one of his victims. Worse, his machine was one of those which will not let you hang up until his entire message has been delivered. If one tries to hang up and reset his own phone to receive other important calls, the offender�s machine continues to hold the line open with its message.
Now I am waiting for the election to commence so I can vote against this lout! I want to extract my revenge upon this political sadist.
John, on the other hand, was joyfully looking for the coming Savior. His preaching had been for the purpose of preparing the people to receive Jesus. His work had been to prepare people to receive the coming Jesus. His reward, humanly speaking, was to see the fruit of his own labor brought to full flower in the Person of the coming Lord.
How much better would be our witness to the world if this were our attitude. We should show men the Savior.
Too many preachers speak of �their� church. To many evangelists speak of �their� ministry. Too many Christians speak of �their� works for the Lord.
Folks, we ain�t got none of the above! The churches are those which Jesus has established, if they are to be true churches of His. The ministry is of Him, not of us. Our �works� certainly pale next to the Work of Jesus on the Cross. More, our �works,� unless they are done in His power - therefore His works - are wood, hay and stubble. If our �works� are done under our own power they are the works of the flesh!
We need to, as did John, long for the work and power of Jesus.
That brings up another point. John always used the language of the Savior.
I�m not trying to talk about glossolalia, or �speaking in tongues.� What I do mean is that John was in the habit of using his language of speaking in the manner of speaking of the Savior.
I never took math in High School. Oh, I took a very rudimentary �Business Math� in ninth grade. But, when I got to college I found that I needed to take algebra. I had no idea what this was about. I decided to take the College Level Examination Program (the CLEP tests) to give me some sort of an idea what I was going to be getting into.
I was in the military so the tests were free. I just wanted to look at them. I did. All of the questions were in some sort of code. Well, that�s what I thought. I didn�t understand the symbols, even, of algebra. I just set the test aside and answered the multiple choice questions with �A,� or �B,� or whatever.
I couldn�t read the questions because they were in a �language� that I didn�t understand.
When we speak of Jesus, and things spiritual, the world might not understand. This doesn�t mean we don�t speak of these things. It does mean that we back up our speech with prayer that the Holy Spirit would bring His own illumination and conviction to those with which we speak.
By the way, I passed the CLEP text even though I didn�t understand the questions. The power of the Holy Spirit is such that some will be saved even when they don�t fully understand all the ramifications of that which we speak.
The answers in the test were based on the questions in the CLEP test. The answers to the soul need of man are based in the language of the talk about Jesus. Our duty is to spread the message. It is the work of God that gives substance to that speech.
John also, we must note, continued to look for the Savior. Here it is, in our text, the very next day after having given a defense of his preaching, when John looks to Jesus and points others toward the Savior.
First, we may note that John talked as he walked.
That is an important part of the story of John the Baptist. The �saying� of John was speaking of Christ. ��as he walked, he said��
John was willing to talk his walk.
Many people claim to live good Christian lives. They don�t smoke. They don�t drink. They don�t �run around.� They have a lot of �don�t� in their lives, but they have little �do.�
Many people send flowers to funerals when they have never had a good word to say about the person who is in the casket. �But, I really respected him.� That may be a truism; but, wouldn�t it have been nice to mention that before the funeral?
What we might say about someone after they are gone from this earthly life means little. What we said about them, and how we treated them, while they were among us is the true measure of our feelings toward that person.
Likewise, we may live a very good and pure life. We may be a pillar of virtue. But, unless we speak of the Savior to those about us, what good - in the light of eternity - is our influence for the Savior? Have we caused anyone to understand that our life is made full by the Love of the Savior? Unless we give testimony to this fact, who knows!
Talk needs to be part of our lifestyle. Still, the walk is also important. We need to walk the talk!
Several years ago I was in a hospital in a city about fifty miles from home. I was there to visit a brother-in-law who was in the hospital�s intensive care unit. As I was sitting there with other family members waiting our hourly turn to go in and stand by his bed, I received a phone call. Another brother-in-law had died.
Jim had been sitting in a recliner in his living room, playing with some of his grandchildren. When my sister went to check on him, he was passed from this life to the heavenly life.
As I was writing an eulogy about him, a labor of love in this case, I said that he was one who �walked the walk.�
Jim wasn�t a preacher. He wasn�t a �church worker.� But, no one who knew him was ever able to doubt that he was a Christian.
Talk, as we�ve discussed just above, is necessary. But, talk without the action that backs it up is only words. There is going to be a heavyweight championship boxing match tonight. Both of the fighters have been interviewed. Both have said that they will win.
One will. One won�t. Once the bell rings the time for talk is ended and the time for action is begun.
The opening bell has rung for us in our Christian walk.
There is a rhetorical skill called �puffing.� This is simply �padding� our talk with nice sounding phrases which are only intended to give �flavor� and �bulk� to our discourse.
Is our claim to the redemptive power of Jesus Christ seen as mere �puffing,� or is it honored as the substance of our lives. Do we give the picture of a �poser� or of a possessor?
Our walk gives credence to our talk. Our manner of life gives a picture of the effectiveness of the power of Jesus Christ. Or, our manner of life give a testimony that Biblical Christianity is simply another philosophy which may, or may not, �work� when the rubber of life meets the road of adversity.
The important thing about John, what seems to stand out to me, is that John refused to balk as he walked and talked.
John didn�t live his Christian life for a while and then take a vacation. He lived all of his life to the glory of God.
In looking up the definition of �balk,� I find various definitions - all of which have to do with the idea of not completing a task.
My granddaughter is going through the phase where she will dawdle while she eats her meals. This is a real problem in the morning when she needs to get ready for her school bus.
Her parents tell her to �hurry up and finish.�
Let us not dawdle in our Christian witness and life. We don�t need to �hurry up and finish.� But, we do need to be vigilant to be busy about our mission for the Savior. We need to do this for all of our lives.
The Christian life is not something from which we take a two week vacation in the summer. The Christian life is something that we need to be constantly living. When Linda and I went on vacation we would normally eat in restaurants. Why did we do that? I mean, we ate when we were home the other fifty weeks of the year. This was a vacation. Shouldn�t we do something different?
Things like meals, breathing, our heart beating, these do not stop when we go out of town on a vacation. Neither should our devotion to our Savior!
John was so settled on living a life of faithfulness to God that he constantly looked upon the Savior. That�s our final point, the Savior of John. ��Behold the Lamb of God.
The eyes of John were so settled on Jesus that he would say this to the diminishment of his own role.
Look at the very next verse after John said this in the hearing of two of his own disciples. �And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.� (John 1:37)
Some might look at this and say, �John shoulda kept his big mouth shut!�
This wasn�t in John�s thinking. The entire ministry of John had been in preparing people, including his own disciples, to become followers of Jesus. To John this wasn�t a bad thing; this was a victory. This was a vindication of his ministry.
Charles Simpson, a well known charismatic preacher and teacher, tells the story of a time he was praying for revival. He says that he prayed to God that the town he was in needed revival. He asked God to send revival to the town. He also tells that God impressed upon him, �If you really believe that this town needs a revival, would you mind if I sent it through the church down the street rather than through your church?�
Simpson says that God wanted to know whether he wanted a revival because the town needed revived, or if he just wanted to help his own church grow.
What were his motives?
God could ask most of us the same question. Do we really desire to see souls born into the Kingdom of God?
W. V. Grant, Sr., an old time Pentecostal preacher, told the story of going to Africa to preach. Someone asked him if he were afraid of the jungle animals. He said that he wasn�t because his life was God�s life to use as God saw fit. �You can�t lose what isn�t yours.� His desire was to serve the Lord and preach the Gospel.
John the Baptist, as well known as he had become, didn�t worry about how big his role was in the service of God. He just wanted to be certain that his role was filled with all of his energy and devotion - whatever it was that God asked of him!
John said, �Behold the Lamb of God,� with devotion.
John was exited about the fact that he was able to gaze upon Him of Whom he had preached. It was a thrill for John to see the Savior of Whom he had preached.
When my son was born, he came a little early. He was a preemie. When Linda had gone into labor, she called the hospital. She was told to ignore the symptoms. �It�s too early. Just go to bed and try to forget about it.�
Bad advice.
When she finally decided to just go to the hospital, and forego any more phone calls, she was well into her labor. When we got to the hospital, not even the emergency room doctor had time to make it to her bedside. Ethan was delivered by the nurses on duty.
It would have been nice had the doctor been able to be there for the birth. But, the important one in this scenario was the baby. The doctor, as important as we consider him to be, was mere ornament to the task.
So are we. We may be important - and we are in God�s plan. We are called to spread His message. Still, it is His Message, and His Son, that are the important parts of the equation.
May we give God the best vessel possible in our lives for Him. It is our joy to be able to serve Him.
I want you to note that John also said this with devotion. Note the words, �Behold the Lamb of God.�
John didn�t say to just look anyplace. John said to look to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
How important is that view. In Jesus, alone, is the possibility of salvation. In Jesus, alone, is the possibility of a holy life and peace with God. In Jesus, alone, is there hope of a home in heaven.
Do you have Jesus as your own Savior? Have you accepted the Salvation that is only available through His work on the cross?
Accept Him as your Savior. Do it today.