The Plowman

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The Gospel of John Series #04: An exposition of John 1:35-51. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 14, 2010.

Introduction
We’ve all had that experience of choosing up sides.  I remember those days in elementary school on the playground.  Clearly the goal was to win.  Winning wasn’t everything it was the only thing.  You choose those who will enable you to achieve the goal.  Friendship, feelings, relationships are out the window, this is war!  It was understood, if the game was a relay race I would be the last one chosen.  I was not swift of foot.  They timed me with a calendar.  But, if we were to engage in a tug-of-war, I was a first round draft choice.  “Tie a rope around Rodney and tell him to sit down they can’t move him.”  The goal determines the choosing.  Everyone knows that.  You choose those who are suited for the task.  That’s what is so confusing.  It made no sense.  When you consider those whom the Lord Jesus called out to be with Him, to form the foundation of His kingdom building enterprise, why this bunch?  They were an unlikely group.  It would seem that unlike the Marines our Lord isn’t very discriminating.  Unsophisticated, unlearned, unpolished not exactly the building blocks for a worldwide movement.  Then again a different principle was operating here.  This was no ordinary movement.

In John 1:35-51 we find John’s account of the early gathering of the disciples.  It has been suggested that the account in the 4th Gospel cannot be reconciled with the accounts in the other 3.  Attempts to harmonizes the accounts have failed.  But that assumes John and the other gospels are all talking about the same events.  I’m convinced that what is recorded in the opening chapter of John is a “first encounter” before their being “called” as disciples.  When you look carefully at the text our Lord doesn’t actually call anyone.  I believe that comes later and that would also explain how they so readily left everything to follow Him.  This morning I want us to explore John chapter 1 verses 35-51.

Text: John 1:35-51

Two things are clear to me in this account.

• The disciples are at the “come and see” stage.
• They are being told that they will see “greater things to come.”

This is an account of 5 men – each different, each with their own experience.

As we consider this account I want to seek out the timeless principles reflected in their encounters.  Are there some truths that are universal, that apply to all of those who would follow Christ?  I believe there are and I call your attention to three of them.
These matter because…

Thesis: Our Sovereign Lord is still in the business of graciously calling men and women to come follow Him.

3 characteristics of those who genuinely follow Christ.

1. Genuine followers of Christ must come to grips with life’s fundamental question.  (1:35-39)
2. Genuine followers of Christ are given a god-ordained potential.  (1:40-42)
3. Genuine followers of Christ recognize the Lord Jesus as the “gate of heaven,” the fulfillment of the promise.  (1:43-51)

Conclusion:
Our God is still in the business of calling men and women, boys and girls to follow Him.
What does it mean to follow Him?

• It means to come to grips with life’s fundamental question – what do you want/desire?
• It means you receive a god-ordained potential – made a new creation.
• It means you recognize Jesus as the “gate of heaven” the fulfillment of the promise.

Where are you in the process?

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Gospel of John #03: An exposition of John 1:14-18. This message by Pastor Rod Harris at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 7, 2010.

Introduction
We live in an increasingly “spiritual” culture.  Spirituality is a hot topic.  People are spiritual but not religious.  That’s how most put it.  It does seem strange that in a world where science is deemed the great deliverer that interest in spiritual matters would be on the rise but that’s part of the paradox of our time.  Much of that is due to the fact that science provides less than satisfying answers to many of life’s most difficult questions.  For all of our scientific advances and though we are living longer we are not living “better.”  Most of you are old enough to remember when some academics boldly declared, “God is dead.”  With our knowledge of the universe we no longer needed the “god hypothesis.”  God was not needed to explain the universe.  So if God is dead why the interest in spiritual matters?  First of all the God who was no longer needed was the God of the Bible.  The God of the Christian Church.  Frederick Nietzche, the philosophical leader of the “god is dead movement” said, “When the God who has been known and worshipped in Christendom is dead, the result will be a rain of gods.”  G. K. Chesterton said, “When people deny the biblical God it is not that they believe in nothing…but that they believe in anything and everything!”  That is where we are.

As a result we are no longer sinners we are seekers.
God is not a judge who passes sentence on our rebellion.
He is an affable, friendly God who looks and acts remarkably like us!
God has been domesticated.
He’s been made “user-friendly.”
He is far more approachable and understanding.

Man has always been “religious.”  Every culture has looked to a supreme being.  Since the Garden we have be sewing fig leaves together in a futile attempt to cover our nakedness.  We’ve sought various means to hide our guilt and establish relationship with God.  That is what religion is – man’s attempt to reach God.  Biblical faith is not about man’s reaching God but about God’s coming to us.  In the Garden when our first parents rebelled, it was God who sought them, “Adam where are you?”  We love Him because He first loved us.  Our text this morning is found in the first chapter of John’s Gospel.

Text: John 1:14-18

We are coming to the end of the prologue.
The introduction to John’s Gospel.
Here he lays out the various themes that we’ll meet again and again throughout his account.
John’s purpose is evangelistic – 20:30-31.

We already been told who He is:

• He is the Eternal One
• He is God
• He is the Creator of everything that exists
• He is life and light.

We’ve been introduced to the forerunner – John the baptizer.
He is an example of godliness:
Understands his worth is rooted in the call of God on his life.
Delights in his role as a light bearer.
Acknowledges his usefulness but is not delusional about his importance.
Glories in the exaltation of Christ.

Now we launch into deep theological waters with this simple, eloquent statement.  It has been rightfully said that John’s Gospel is shallow enough for a child to wade and yet deep enough for elephants to swim!  Simple straightforward statements that will take eternity to unpack.

In this section we are reminded that…

Thesis: The doctrine of the incarnation sets Christianity apart from the religions of the world.

There are three things I want us to note concerning this wonderful truth.

1. The incredible fact of the incarnation.  (1:14)
2. The blessed benefits of the incarnation.  (1:14-17)
3. The glorious result of the incarnation.  (1:18)

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Gospel of John #02: An exposition of John 1:6-7, 19-34. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, October 31, 2010.

Introduction
He was an extraordinary character.  To some he was the greatest man of their time, perhaps one of the greatest man in their history.  To others he was a nut!  A country bumpkin.  A strange little man with unusual habits in both dress and nutrition.  He was an outcast from society.  Had you lived during his time you may not have liked him.  You may not have approved of his message or his methods but one thing is certain – you would not have been able to ignore him.  The common folks adored him while the religious establishment despised him.  Multitudes flocked to hear him, some out of curiosity, others out of deep devotion.  We really do not know that much about him.  His ministry was not long but it was profound, explosive and far reaching.  He was known as “the baptizer.”  Jesus said of him, “Of those born of women none is greater than John the Baptist.”  This morning I want us to look at his life and consider his legacy.  Our text is found in the first chapter of John’s Gospel.

Text: John 1:6-7, 19-34

We are still in the prologue of John’s Gospel.  John is setting forth the themes that will run throughout his account of the life and ministry of Jesus.  In the first five verse he gives us this wonderful, profound statement concerning the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.  There we discover He is the eternal one, He is God, He is the creator of everything and He is life and light.  So John begins his telling of the life of Jesus not with the events surrounding His birth but long before that.  He reaches back into eternity past and tells us that before anything was created He, that is Jesus, was already continuing to exist.  Then as he moves to tell us about Jesus’ earthly life and ministry he begins where the other gospel writers begin – with the announcement of John the Baptist.

He is referred to simply as “John” in the 4th Gospel. Why?
Because there are only 2 Johns closely associated with Jesus.
John the Baptist and John the son of Zebedee (the beloved apostle).
The apostle is the author of this Gospel and never refers to himself by name.
Thus there is no reason to distinguish this John with the descriptive – “the baptizer.”
John was the son of a priest who served in the Temple (Luke 1).
We know that he was a very dedicated and zealous servant of God.
He ministered in the wilderness of Judea.
He wore a coat of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist (the garb of a prophet).
He ate locust and wild honey.
He preached repentance and the coming of God’s kingdom.
He was not afraid to speak the truth even to the most powerful leaders.
He asked the leaders from Jerusalem, “What are you snakes doing out here?”  (Luke 3:7-9)
He was not afraid to confront the king about his immorality.  (Mt 14)

Listen to our Lord’s assessment of the Baptist – Matthew 11:7b-11a.
That is high praise indeed!
Yet he was a fall son of Adam like the rest of us.
A man of flesh and bone.
The occasion of our Lord’s assessment is critical at this point.
Do you know what prompted the testimonial?
John was struggling to believe – Mt 11:2-3.

John was extraordinary, gifted, godly, passionate, fervent, flawed, weak and sinful.
In other words, he was a man.
A good man.
A godly man.
One worthy of emulating but a man nonetheless.
We find in John and example of what it means to be a godly man.

As we consider our text we learn that…

Thesis: A godly man understands his role in the Divine plan.

A godly man knows who he is.  He knows where he fits into the greater scheme of things.  This is something desperately needed in our day.

I want to share with you 4 characteristics of a godly man.  I’m using man in the generic sense.  A godly person.  Man or woman.  What is it that ought to mark us as the people of God?

1. A godly man understands his uniqueness is rooted in the call of God on his life.  (1:6)
2. The godly man delights in his role as a messenger and a light bearer.  (1:7-8, 15, 19-23)
3. The godly man acknowledges his usefulness without delusions of being indispensable.  (1:25-28)
4. The godly man glories in the exaltation of Christ.  (1:29-34, 35-37; 3:30)

Conclusion:
This is God’s call on the life of the redeemed.  If Christ is who the opening verses claim He is, how could we expect anything less?  If you belong to Christ find your life, your identity in Him.  Delight in your role as a light bearer.  Know that God is using you but the whole thing doesn’t hinge on you.  Finally glory in the exaltation of the Lord Jesus.

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The Gospel of John #01: An exposition of John 1:1-5. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, October 24, 2010.

Introduction
To some he is nothing more than a confused, crazed religious leader.  To others he was a good, descent man; an honorable teacher and ethical guide.  Still others consider him a myth.   The result of an overactive imagination fueled by religious zeal.  Some think he was one of many manifestations of “The Divine.”  To those who hold to a biblical faith he is the Son of God; the Son of man.  Fully God and fully man.  The only one of his kind.  God made flesh.  Immanuel, God with us.  The Lord Jesus Christ.  Given the claims of Scripture, it is the most important question you will ever answer, “Who is he?”  Who is Jesus of Nazareth?  What is your Christology?  Your doctrine of Christ?

When he rode into Jerusalem on Sunday of Passion week to the shouts of, “Hosanna!”  The crowd asked, “Who is this?”  (Matthew 21:10).  When he spoke and the violent waters of the Sea of Galilee became smooth as glass the disciples whispered, “Who is this?  Even the wind and waves obey his voice?”  (Mark 4:41).  When Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic the scribes and Pharisees demanded, “Who is this who speaks blasphemy?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  (Luke 9:9).

That is the question.  Who is this Jesus?  Is he a myth?  Is he only a man?  If so you can afford to ignore him.  If on the other hand he is God, as the Scriptures claim, then he demands your allegiance.  You ignore him to your own peril.  It is not the kind of question you can easily push aside.  The stakes are just too high.  Our text this morning is found in the opening words of the Gospel of John.

Text: John 1:1-5

John’s Gospel has been the source of comfort and encouragement for Christians throughout the ages.  It has been called, “God’s love letter to the world.”  Martin Luther, the great reformer, referred to it as the chief Gospel.  He said, “If some tyrant succeeded in destroying the Holy Scriptures and only a single copy of the Epistle to the Romans and the Gospel according to John escaped him, Christianity would be saved.”  Some of the best known and most loved texts of the Word of God are from this Gospel.

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 6:35 – “I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 10:10 – “I am the good shepherd.”

John 11:25 – “I am the resurrection and the life.”

John 15:1 – “I am the true vine…”

Many a believer has found perfect peace through the precious words of John 14 – “Do not let your heart be troubled.  You believe in God believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come back, and take you to be with me, that you may also be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going…I am the way and the the truth and the life.  No one come to the Father except through me.”

John, writing from Ephesus, is clear about his purpose.  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

His purpose is evangelistic.  He is writing to bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ.  A gospel is a selective history with a purpose.  John arranges the story to point to the uniqueness of Jesus as the Lord’s Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One.  His purpose is to set forth a picture of Christ in all His glory so that you fall at His feet in worship.  The focus throughout is on the glory of Christ.  Our text sets the tone for the book with its glorious description of the exalted Christ.

One of the unique features of John’s gospel is that the more you study it, the bigger Christ appears.  It is like Lucy’s experience with Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia.  As she gazed into Aslan’s large wise face he said…

“Welcome, child.”
“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”
“That’s because you are older, little one,” answered he.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not.  But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

The more you study the gospel, the better you understand what Christ has done.  The better you understand what Christ has done – the more glorious He becomes!  With that in mind let’s look at our text – John 1:1-5.

What is abundantly clear and foundational from our text is that…
Thesis: An authentic Gospel demands an exalted doctrine of Christ.

The purpose of our gathering is to bring glory and honor to our God.  The biblical Gospel is a Christ-honoring, Christ-exalting message and this passage is unparalleled in its description of Christ.  It is believed that the entire prologue (1:1-18) is an ancient hymn glorifying Christ.  The opening verses certainly set the tone not only for the prologue but for the whole of John’s Gospel.

There are four affirmations about Christ I want us to note from this text.

1. He is the Eternal One.  (1:1-2)
2. He is God.  (1:1-2)
3. He is the Creator of everything!  (1:3)
4. He is life and light.  (1:4-5)

Conclusion: As such He cannot be ignored.  You cannot easily dismiss Him or casually brush Him aside.  He demands your allegiance.  He commands your adoration.  He is worthy of you soul, your life, your all.