(John 1:45)
�Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth; the son of Joseph.�
We know from the Scripture that no one will simply set out to seek Jesus. The reality of the spiritual fact is that humanity is bound by a sin nature which will not long for the things of God. Mankind is not simply not attuned to the things of God. Man is diametrically opposed to the things of God. Man�s basic nature, for all of the good of which he may be capable, is sinful while the nature of God is holy. The two natures are complete opposites.
I was at a resale shop a few days ago. As I looked through the section of CDs, DVDs, records and cassette tapes I came upon a section of old 8-track music tapes. These may be of the same genre as are the VHS and cassette tapes in that they both use a �magnetic tape� in order to function; they are not the same. They, along with the old �Beta� tapes, are on the same general order; but, they are not in any way compatible.
The sound of the 8-track may be superior to that of the cassette (Or, so I have been told.) but, they are less than useless to one who owns a cassette player. Their simple nature is such that they are not the same.
Neither is the nature of man, in his natural state, the nature of God. Romans 3:23 tells us that, �For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.� And, yet, here are some men who approached Jesus as the Holy Spirit led them to Him.
We first see that Jesus was the sought after. �Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him��
Notice that Philip went to find Nathanael. This is still the manner of the transmission of salvation in our day. God has ordained that the Christian has a part in the great work of the salvation of sinners. It is not, of course, that we have anything to add to what Christ has already done. We, the Christian, have the duty of spreading the message that Jesus died in time so that men might live in eternity.
When we spread this message, and pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the lives of those to whom we speak, we are partakers in the great work which God wishes to see take place. That is both a great glory for us and a great responsibility for us.
The glory lies in the fact that we are allowed to work with the God of the Universe in His work among mankind. We are not simply playthings of His. We are valued friends and co-laborers.
If that concept doesn�t stir the Christian, he has need to check his salvation!
But, this is also a great responsibility. I understand the fact of the Calvinist doctrine of the Grace of God. I understand the concept of the Sovereignty of God in the salvation of a soul. But, I also understand that we have a part in that work. We are true to neither God nor man if we shirk our duty! Hiding behind your doctrine does not release you from your duty as a Christian.
Notice that Nathanael was comfortable where he was. I went walking yesterday. It was hot. Every chance I got, I walked under the shade of a tree. It was just more comfortable in that place. Nathanael was under a tree.
I don�t know if Nathanael was resting from his labor or working while he was under that tree. He could have been repairing fishing nets; or, he could have been just �taking five� out of the hot sun. But, I�m guessing that he was comfortable whatever he was doing.
People in their sins are like that. They are comfortable in their sins. We�ve all heard stories about people who were miserable until they found Christ. There are those, of course. But, for most of them who were miserable in their sins it was because someone had been praying for them. They Holy Spirit conviction made them uncomfortable.
The average person, out in the world of sin, is not uncomfortable in that place. That is not where their nature has led them. They are sinners in their natural place, the world of sin. When we confront them with the Gospel, we may make them uncomfortable as we are abasing them with the Spiritual truths of which they are not accustomed.
If this same person were asleep on a rail road track, he might not appreciate being awakened - until he realized his peril! This person who is outside the saving grace of Jesus Christ is in spiritual peril and needs to be warned. He may not appreciate the awakening of the Spirit; but he needs the opportunity to respond to the Love of God nonetheless.
It is our duty to awaken the spiritual sleeper with the Word of God and the intercession of prayer. It is not our duty to attack this sleeper. That sort of action may take his focus from the Savior and bring it to us, the attacker. In this case we stand between the person who needs Christ, and Christ.
Our duty is to introduce Christ, not to interfere with His work!
Do notice, here, that Nathanael was convicted where he was. He was roused in his attention to find Jesus. He wasn�t yet a believer; but he had become a seeker.
Through the intervention of Philip, with the message of Jesus, Nathanael was convinced to find Jesus from where he was. The message of the Gospel is not one of reformation; it is a message of regeneration. We don�t ask people to give up their evil life; we encourage them to accept Jesus Who will give them the gift of the Spirit to help in that reformation.
Indeed, without the power of the Spirit in a person�s life, there is neither incentive nor power to reform beyond that of an outward show of religiosity. That is one reason that we do not attack the sinner we wish to see attracted to Jesus.
To simply labor to change a lifestyle may give one the false hope that he can effect his own salvation. This is, of course, not the case. Only the regenerating power of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can cause a soul to truly change from a sinful to a spiritual life.
Notice, also, the Scriptural affirmation. ��We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write��
Philip made an appeal to the Scripture. That is what the early church did. They searched the Scripture. Peter makes allusion to this in his writings. �And account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.� (II Peter 3:15-16)
I could have found many other instances, such as Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts or Jesus on the Emmaus Road, where the New Testament example is that of a people who were grounded in the Word of God. I chose the reference in II Peter because of the reference to the epistles of Paul. We are going through a time in history when men are saying that we can not trust the New Testament cannon because it was not decided upon �early.� Notice, please that Peter, writing just a few decades after Jesus had ascended back into Heaven, spoke of the writings of Paul and �the other scriptures.�
The Holy Spirit led the churches to accept the writings which He inspired. The New Testament saints trusted the Scripture which we have today. We can trust the Scripture. We can, must in reality!, use the Scripture.
When I was in Viet Nam during the war I could have taken hundreds of rounds of .45 ammunition with me. But, since I carried an M-16, that ammunition would have done me no good. I needed the proper ammunition. So, too, do we need the proper ammunition of the preserved Word of God. Any other ammunition, so called, is worthless in our spiritual quest!
Philip, and Nathanael for that matter, trusted the authority of the Scripture.
We have things brandied about today such as DaVinci�s so called code and the so called Gospel of Judas. We have many of the Gnostic Gospels unearthed in Egypt. We have groups such as The Jesus Seminar who tell us what we are allowed to accept and not accept as truth in the Scripture. We have hundreds of translations on the market, and more coming every day it seems!, which tell us that the Word of God was lost and the learned critics have used their human reasoning powers in order to reconstruct what it might have said when God inspired the originals.
All of these are of the adversary. All of these are designed to denigrate the faith once delivered.
Folks, we can trust the God inspired, and God preserved, Word which He has given us. The Traditional Text which underlies the King James Bible is still the Word of God. That text is the authority which God has given us! We do not have to wonder if our Bible has been reconstructed to approximate the original texts. We have the promise of God that He cared enough to give us His Message. We have the God of Power Who has not let that Message, which He counted as important enough to inspire and preserve, depart from His churches and His people.
The authority of the Scripture is certain because it is God Who backs that authority with His Own authority!
That is why we can have an appeal to the Scripture when we approach people with the Gospel Message that Jesus died in time so that we might live in eternity.
Don�t let anyone give you a �snow job� on that. We have a Word we can trust because we have a God we can trust!
Look, again, at our text verse and see the Savior approached. ��Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.�
Notice that when Philip spoke of Jesus he used his own natural reasoning powers at first. Philip called Jesus, �the son of Joseph.� Philip did not have his theology down quite yet. He didn�t understand that Joseph was the husband of Mary and not the father of Jesus. Philip didn�t understand that Jesus was the Son of God. That understanding would come later. For now Philip was content to be a follower of Jesus in as much as he was able to understand.
This is not to say that Philip didn�t learn more about Jesus in the ensuing months and years. He most certainly did.
Neither do we need to be theological savants in order to testify of what it is that we do know. If we understand that Jesus has saved our soul, we know enough to tell that simple story.
We can, should!, study the Scripture - and converse with the Savior in prayer - so that we may learn more about Him. But, if we intend to wait until we understand everything there is to know about Jesus before we begin to witness we will never be ready. We will never, this side of Glory, understand all the riches which God has for those that love Him and are called into His purposes.
We start where we are. We trust the Holy Spirit to energize His Own message and bless our efforts in obedience to Him.
Nathanael, just introduced to the concept of Jesus as the Messiah, wondered about Jesus. He had a curiosity, born of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, to learn more.
That is why Nathanael went to Jesus. He wanted to learn more about Jesus as the Spirit convicted and convinced his heart about the special Person, Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael didn�t understand as much as even Philip understood. Nathanael, with the prodding of the Spirit on his heart, was led to find Jesus for himself.
The message of Philip, incomplete as it was, was enough to draw Nathanael to the side of the Savior.
This led to the point where Nathanael was ready to worship Jesus as his own Lord and Savior.
What about you? Do you want to learn more of the Savior? That wonder you experience is the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is calling you, personally, to become a believer in Him.
Why not accept Him as your Savior? You don�t need to understand everything about the doctrines of the churches. You just need to understand that Jesus died in time so that you could live in eternity.
Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary so that He could be the remedy for your sin problems. Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary so that He could be the only sacrifice that can remove those sins and give you a fellowship with the Father in Heaven. Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary so that you could be certain of a home in Heaven.
Accept Him as your Savior.
Do it today!