Just One
October 11, 2020
John 1:43-46 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip & said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew & Peter. Philip found Nathanael & said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law & also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come & see.”
James 3:8-9 “With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord & Father, & with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.”
1 John 4:20 “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ & hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
John 1:40-42 “One of the two who heard John speak & followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon & said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him & said, ‘You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas’ (which means Peter).”
John 21:20-22 “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, & asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went & told Andrew; Andrew & Philip went & told Jesus.”
John 6:8-9 “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves & two fish, but what are they for so many?’”
What type of people does Jesus call into His family? James & John were called sons of thunder because if they got angry, especially for those rejecting Christ; they wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume them. How about Peter? He was impulsive, quick to react, bold, & at times proud. He also had a habit of doing things without the Lord’s permission. Philip was gullible, shy, & sober minded. Thomas had problems believing, though zealous with strong loyalty to Jesus; he was was smart but was careless with his words. Jude had problems believing in Jesus until after the resurrection. Judas Iscariot was a thief & betrayer of our Lord. What’s my point? The call of God has nothing to do with our imperfections or failures, but has everything to do with those called being available to God & open to change. No one is called because of their ability, but rather because of their availability. The early disciples had one thing in common; they all touched someone; they knew who their “one” was, & they sought them out. This sermon is devoted to the contemporary follower of Christ and our commonality with the early church in seeking out our “one” and getting them into full fellowship – Connecting with God, Connecting with one another, and Connecting with the community. Be blessed.
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