John 1:40-46 - “One of the two who heard John speak and
followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother
Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated
means Christ) He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called
Cephas" (which is translated Peter). The next day He purposed to go
into Galilee, and He found Philip And Jesus
said to him, "Follow Me." Now Philip
was from Bethsaida, of 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."
Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him,
"Come and see."
Something I noticed about these verses is that there's a lot of finding going on. The word found is used five times in three verses. In verse 41 it's talking about Andrew, and after he followed Jesus it says he first found his own brother (Peter) and said to him "We have found the Messiah." So first he found Jesus, then he found his brother to tell hem.
Then in verse 43 it says Jesus found Philip, and in verse 45 Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, "We have found Him..."
Seeking and finding is a two sided thing. It's something that has to be done by both God and man. Mankind is lost. We've gone astray like sheep, as Isaiah 53 says, but the Good Shepherd has sought us and desires to bring us to Himself. He sought us even to the point of taking on flesh and sacrificing Himself in order to remove the veil that separated us from Him.
We also need to seek Him. It's hide and seek, like Craig talked about. God is really good at losing the game of hide and seek.
Deuteronomy 4:29 - But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
He sought us. We need to be seeking Him. And finally, we need to find others. Once the disciples found or were found by Jesus they went and found others. Andrew and Philip knew who Jesus was, and they were so excited about it that they went and found their brothers and told them to come and see, and they also became disciples. Jesus said in Matthew 28 "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations."
Once we've found the Lord, we should be so moved by who He is that we just have to find others and tell them about Him. And not only that, but He also commanded us to. It wasn't the great suggestion, it was the great commission.
Something I noticed about these verses is that there's a lot of finding going on. The word found is used five times in three verses. In verse 41 it's talking about Andrew, and after he followed Jesus it says he first found his own brother (Peter) and said to him "We have found the Messiah." So first he found Jesus, then he found his brother to tell hem.
Then in verse 43 it says Jesus found Philip, and in verse 45 Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, "We have found Him..."
Seeking and finding is a two sided thing. It's something that has to be done by both God and man. Mankind is lost. We've gone astray like sheep, as Isaiah 53 says, but the Good Shepherd has sought us and desires to bring us to Himself. He sought us even to the point of taking on flesh and sacrificing Himself in order to remove the veil that separated us from Him.
We also need to seek Him. It's hide and seek, like Craig talked about. God is really good at losing the game of hide and seek.
Deuteronomy 4:29 - But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
He sought us. We need to be seeking Him. And finally, we need to find others. Once the disciples found or were found by Jesus they went and found others. Andrew and Philip knew who Jesus was, and they were so excited about it that they went and found their brothers and told them to come and see, and they also became disciples. Jesus said in Matthew 28 "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations."
Once we've found the Lord, we should be so moved by who He is that we just have to find others and tell them about Him. And not only that, but He also commanded us to. It wasn't the great suggestion, it was the great commission.
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