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00:00:01
Call the Witnesses - Pt. 2
13 Plays2 days ago
John 1:43-51
Recommended
Transcript
The Power of Personal Invitations
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Speaker
All these events on here, by the way, fantastic events. All of these flyers that you received and stuff from us, and the mail, and the bulletin, the online stuff, the monthly newsletter, all great stuff, but there's something special.
00:00:18
Speaker
There's something powerful in a personal invitation.
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Speaker
Or something special when somebody reaches out to you and says, hey, there's this event coming up. I'd really love for you to be there. Matter of fact, we used to, when Kim and I first got here, we would have a meal at various people's houses.
00:00:40
Speaker
I don't know if that was just to usher in the new pastor, but somehow that's fallen off of the sun. But I remember one of the best attended was at the Shriners' house. And I know for a fact the reason why it was the best attendant is Jim went around personally and invited people. Hey, what are you doing tonight?
00:00:59
Speaker
You know, it's hard to get out of an invitation like that when somebody puts you on the spot. I'm a firm believer that the Holy Spirit was at work in that event. I know he was at work at the men's retreat.
00:01:12
Speaker
But the reason we had a lot of people at the men's retreat is because there were personal invitations. With a personal invitation, something special happens. It's no longer just a possibility.
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Speaker
It's something that's personal. There's a name attached to it. Jim invited me. Monty invited me. Bob invited me.
00:01:38
Speaker
Come. Come see what this event's all about. Somebody mentioned just a couple weeks ago, we should just simply have new t-shirts that say, come and see. First Baptist on the back.
00:01:50
Speaker
Something that simple. Come and see can turn into something unexpected. And I believe for many of you men that were at that retreat, that was you.
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Speaker
Something happened to you. You might have got drug there by some other guy. You might have been graciously pushed out of the house by your wife saying it's a great idea that you go to this.
00:02:19
Speaker
But I'm reminded that when we get invited to something like that, special things happen. It's not through programs, it's not through pamphlets or platforms, but through people.
00:02:34
Speaker
Ordinary people, extending a hand, hey, come encounter Jesus. Invite somebody. All the fancy programs in the world here at First Baptist Church can't be replaced with a simple invite.
00:02:51
Speaker
Come and see. Come visit our church. Brothers and sisters, this is your church. If you're taking notes today, that's the very first thing I want you to write. Even before we get into the scripture, right at the very top of your notes, you're going to write, this is my church.
00:03:11
Speaker
You should be proud of that. You should be excited and invite others to experience what you have experienced weekend after weekend here.
Biblical Foundations of Invitation
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Speaker
So the question begins to surface itself this morning, what happens when you and I as ordinary people extend an invitation to come meet an extraordinary Savior?
00:03:31
Speaker
Because this is exactly where we pick up in John chapter 1. You'll remember where we left off last week. That story doesn't just begin with us searching for Jesus. It's actually the other way around. that Jesus is out searching for you and I. He's seeking people. And we saw that with the very first people that he called. We're going to pick up the story in verse 43.
00:03:57
Speaker
Gentlemen, I want to let you know that as I read this, I will point out some things that we studied on Friday night. And all the ladies are thinking to themselves, oh no, he taught them too.
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Speaker
Watch out ladies, the guys are just as well equipped now.
00:04:14
Speaker
We pick up in verse 43 and it says, the next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and he said to him, come follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida.
00:04:26
Speaker
That's Andrew and Peter's hometown. It's important. You see right off the bat, the text says Jesus found Philip. Philip wasn't out on some spiritual quest.
00:04:40
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He wasn't out trying to climb some ladder to God. No, brothers and sisters, God in the person of Jesus found him. Jesus was seeking him. Salvation begins with God, the divine, and his initiative seeking out us, the lost humans.
00:05:02
Speaker
Paul tells us in the second chapter of both Ephesians and Colossians that as sinners, you and I are spiritually dead in our transpass trespasses, in our sins.
00:05:13
Speaker
And as dead people, that means you cannot respond to the things of God. You are incapable of responding to the things of God. Whereas Brother Conley would say since he's here, yea you may not respond to that.
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incapable of because you are
Simple Encounters vs. Formal Programs
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Speaker
lost. Matter of fact, you're in rebellion to the things of God. He finds us. Now, what's interesting then, he says a simple yet powerful command, hey, you follow me.
00:05:52
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I found you, but now I want you to follow me. No long explanation. No theological lecture. No brochure. No fancy pamphlet.
00:06:07
Speaker
I always wanted to do that.
00:06:11
Speaker
Just a call to a relationship and to trust.
00:06:18
Speaker
Same thing we did with the men's retreat. Hey, come on out, want you experience something. Once you experience men in ah in a format, in a place that you're unfamiliar, it takes trust and we're here to build relationships.
00:06:32
Speaker
Now where does this happen? Bethsaida.
00:06:36
Speaker
What's so special about Bethsaida? Well, it's small and it's ordinary. And we're told here it's Andrew and Peter's hometown. No spotlight.
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No prestige.
00:06:51
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It's gauze. I put in my notes. It's gauze.
00:06:58
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And all the people of gauze are going, no, don't say that. Yet the king of glory is calling ordinary people and ordinary places to invite to encounter him. The second thing I want you to write your notes today, witnessing happens in ordinary places.
00:07:23
Speaker
Witnessing happens in ordinary places. It's like when you get that unexpected phone call from somebody and it's not a telemarketer because you've blocked them.
00:07:34
Speaker
It's not a stranger. But it's somebody, you pick up your phone and you go, oh, hey, how are you doing? It's so good hear from you. haven't heard from you long time. Hey, I want to tell you about this thing that God has introduced me to.
00:07:50
Speaker
This is what's happening here. It's this personal invitation. It's seeking a response. Jesus doesn't just see Philip, he calls Philip. What that mean for you and I today?
00:08:03
Speaker
Well, the truth is, some of you are here today not looking for Jesus. You just got invited by somebody. And you think it's hapstance that you just happen to be here today.
00:08:17
Speaker
But I want to let you know, brothers and sisters, that God has been actively seeking you. in pursuing you. You're here exactly for the reason, exactly on this Sunday, exactly at this time to hear this message.
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There's no circumstance. It's no coincidence.
00:08:33
Speaker
He found you right here today in these pews. You might actually be in somebody else's pew to let you know that today if you're visiting us.
00:08:44
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And when somebody is truly found by Jesus, they can't simply keep that to themselves. remember we talked about that a little bit last week. There's something in you when you have this encounter with Jesus, this true encounter, that you have to share him with somebody else. And and we see that's what happens here. Look on verse 45 and 46. It says, Philip went to Nathanael and he told him, We found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about.
00:09:07
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His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth. I like the New Living Translation and in 46. Nazareth?
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Can anything good come from Nazareth? Come and see for yourself, Philip replied.
00:09:24
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You'll notice if you've done your homework and you've studied and you've done your observation, we'll see son of several times in this passage. Son of Joseph.
00:09:38
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We'll see he's referred to something else here in just a few minutes and then something else again. If you're taking notes, you might just want to write research son of.
00:09:51
Speaker
Philip finds Nathaniel and says, hey, we found him. I'll put a note to myself. You'll notice Philip doesn't have all the answers.
00:10:01
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Philip hasn't known Jesus all that much, all that long, but Philip knows who he is. He doesn't have all the answers. He's like many of us. He's still trying to figure it all out. But he knows enough that he makes this connection with the Old Testament prophets, what they had foretold, that there would be this coming Messiah, and that Messiah is found in the person of Jesus.
00:10:22
Speaker
Philip understood, not to the fullest, but he understood who Jesus was. And he calls him son of Joseph. You might want to underline that in your passage if you have that.
00:10:34
Speaker
Now, Nathanael responds with some type of skepticism. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Right? There's doubt. There's bias, little bit of prejudice in there because Nazareth was looked at as a lowly place of low reputation.
00:10:51
Speaker
He wasn't known for anything good. How could this Messiah who's been long prophesied, how could he, the perfect savior, come from such an imperfect, lowly place, insignificant place like that?
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Speaker
You notice Philip doesn't argue. He doesn't get in some big theological debate. He simply says, hey, come and see.
The Transformative Power of Encounter
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Brothers and sisters, this is what looks like when you're out in the world and somebody wants to challenge you on your beliefs.
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You don't have to have all the answers.
00:11:23
Speaker
You don't have be in every single Bible study class here. You just simply need to tell them, hey, come and see. Come and see for yourself. Come and have that encounter with Jesus. It will forever change your life.
00:11:35
Speaker
This is what true evangelism looks like. It's not about winning arguments. It's simply just telling people, hey, come and see. Hey, come and see for yourself. Don't make assumptions about what the church believes in and what we don't believe in.
00:11:51
Speaker
Don't judge them about their outward appearance or a stereotype.
00:11:59
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where they do or don't go to church. You'd be surprised how many people sit at church wanting to be at some other church because they're not getting fed.
00:12:08
Speaker
We discovered this the first time we came to Cameron and we said, well, why aren't we asking those people to come to First Baptist Church?
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Speaker
Kim and I heard this, several several of you guys. Well, they go to this other church. We would never ask them. Well, how do you know they're happy over there?
00:12:25
Speaker
Maybe they're not learning about the Bible. By the way, I just told somebody this morning, if you if you really love sticking real close to the Bible and worshiping Jesus, this is the place for you.
00:12:36
Speaker
Because that's the two things we're going to do Sunday after Sunday. You'd be surprised if you just invite somebody, a simple invitation. Hey, you ought to show up. See if it fits.
00:12:47
Speaker
See if if we're a good fit for you. It takes imperfect witnesses like you and I, that's what we are, to point people to a perfect Savior, and that's Jesus. If you write down notes, I just want you to write down, I am imperfect witness.
00:13:07
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I am an imperfect witness.
00:13:12
Speaker
You know what does for you and I? When you read that this week, I'm an imperfect witness, it takes all the pressure off you.
00:13:21
Speaker
You don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to fix somebody's doubts if they have questions about what we believe or don't believe. You don't have to overcome every objection they have. You simply need to say, well, you know, those are good questions that you have.
00:13:35
Speaker
I see you have some doubts. Why don't you just come and see what's going on at First Baptist Church? Come and see what Jesus has done in my life. You'd be surprised how just that invitation alone gets them in the door.
00:13:50
Speaker
But I want know the power isn't in that invitation. it' so It's what happens when somebody gets in the door and has that encounter with Jesus. That's what changes their life.
00:14:02
Speaker
It's not on you to save anybody. It's on you to say, come and see. It's just that simple.
00:14:10
Speaker
Now, look with me at the remaining verses here, 47
00:14:16
Speaker
47 says, as they approached, Jesus says, now here is a genuine son of Israel. There's the son of again, a man of complete integrity. How do you know me, Nathanael asked. Well, Jesus replied, I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.
00:14:32
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Then Nathanael exclaimed, Rabbi, you are the their son of again, son of God, the king of Israel. Jesus asked him, do you believe this just because I told that I have seen you under the fig tree?
00:14:46
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You will see greater things than this. And then he said, I tell you the truth.
00:14:52
Speaker
You will all see heaven open and the angels of God coming up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the staircase between heaven and earth.
00:15:05
Speaker
It's an interesting story. picture of what goes on here if if you just read beyond a little bit the story. Think about it for a second. Jesus is sitting there Nathanael approaches and Jesus says to him, hey look, here he comes.
00:15:20
Speaker
I know this guy.
00:15:24
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If you're Nathanael, you're probably thinking yourself, how does Jesus know me? He hasn't met me before.
00:15:32
Speaker
But he says, Philip, I... Not just saw you, but he uses this word, i I know you. It's the same word that we get for intimate knowledge. It's this experiential knowledge.
00:15:44
Speaker
Philip, if I see you, and I know you, and at that moment, everything for Nathaniel changed. He goes from skeptic to believer, just like that. Rabbi, he says, you are indeed the son of God, so he's no longer the son of Joseph.
00:16:00
Speaker
Son of god Jesus responds, you will see greater things than these. Then he gives this picture, this allusion back to Genesis chapter 28, verse 12 in Jacob's ladder. He says, you'll see amazing things like the heavens will open up and the angels will ascend and descend.
00:16:18
Speaker
He's painting this picture for Nathanael saying, the son of man, this bridge between heaven and earth. You think you've seen something now in your declaration that I am the Son of God, just wait to what I show you.
00:16:33
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That's what Jesus is saying right now. You've got to just imagine Nathaniel in this picture. I just think to myself, he's got to be beside himself. He says, you're not just rabbi, you're not just some teacher, not just a prophet or a good person.
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No, you're the Son of God.
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Speaker
And more importantly, you know me fully. Put down in my notes here something you might want to write down. Jesus knows you fully. Jesus knows you fully.
Unconditional Invitations from Jesus
00:17:03
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What that mean to you and I? That means he knows all of your junk.
00:17:08
Speaker
Your past, your sins, your scars, your wounds. And yet he still calls you to himself.
00:17:19
Speaker
The men's retreat, we had an opportunity to share some things we wanted to let go Things that that won't be repeated here, but things that each man held on to, that we need to let go that would impede our relationship with Christ.
00:17:32
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Brothers sisters, he knows all of that stuff already.
00:17:39
Speaker
As I was studying this this past week, I remembered there was a guy on TV. He's a mentalist. You know what a mentalist is? They're like a mind reader. That's what his job is. He reads people. He reads their features. His name is Oz Perlman.
00:17:53
Speaker
Have you ever seen him? He's on everything these days. He'll ask you for something. Think of something in your mind that there would be no way I could possibly know.
00:18:05
Speaker
And then he'll start asking him some questions. And it's amazing, within like five or 10 questions, he'll say, oh, you're thinking of, and it's the most obscure thing. And it blows people away every time. It's unsettling.
00:18:17
Speaker
And I put that in my notes. Can you imagine Nathaniel here, Jesus saying, I know you fully. I know exactly where you were under the fig tree that moment I know you.
00:18:28
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I know everything about you, Nathaniel.
00:18:32
Speaker
And I put here, some of us might be hesitant to come if Jesus really knew everything about us?
00:18:41
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Well, I'm here to tell you, he already knows it. And he still invites you to follow him today. What does that mean for you and this week?
00:18:52
Speaker
What will we do with this invitation that's presented to us here?
Encouragement to Extend Invitations
00:18:59
Speaker
Because this is where it becomes personal. It's one thing, you know, we talked about at the men's retreat.
00:19:04
Speaker
one thing to study the Bible well. And it's great that we go through in-depth study, but the core instruction of what we get is application. what are we What are we doing with God's Word that that makes us more Christ-like each and every week?
00:19:21
Speaker
What do we do with this passage? Well, I put one thing is, who is that one person in your daily routine? At the gym? At the workplace? gym?
00:19:31
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at the beauty salon, at the coffee shop, at your job? Who's that one person that comes to mind that you need to invite church?
00:19:41
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Doesn't matter if they're church going. Doesn't matter what church they go to. Write them down. Write them in your notes today. Write them down right now and think about them as soon as you leave church today.
00:19:55
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Start praying about them this afternoon. Pray for an opportunity that God would give you some insight of how to effectively invite them.
00:20:06
Speaker
And I put, it takes boldness. Because our natural tendency is, I don't want to bother that person. Or, if I bother that person, they may shoot me down. I can't make it. I don't want to go there. I know what First Baptist is all about.
00:20:22
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No, you don't. You don't know what we're about. But you know what? Come and see.
00:20:29
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Don't overcomplicate it, that was the second thing I put.
00:20:34
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Just an invitation. Hey, come check out our church. Hey, come check out Bible study.
00:20:42
Speaker
I'm even give you an insider's hint that works every time. Can I give you a hint? You just tell them this, I'm only gonna give you a one-time invitation.
00:20:55
Speaker
What that does is it gets you off the hook that every time you see that person, they're not expecting you to invite them to church and you don't have to invite them to church every time. And it makes them feel special.
00:21:07
Speaker
Hey, it's just a one-time invitation, but I want to extend this to you if you'll come to church. You'll be surprised. I very rarely have anybody to shoot me down right after that. Hey, I'll give it some consideration.
00:21:19
Speaker
Your job is simply to invite. Your role is not to save. Just invite.
00:21:27
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In my notes, I just wrote down, invite one person this week, and I circled it. Will you be bold enough to say, come and see? Will you trust God to turn that invitation into something meaningful?
00:21:40
Speaker
Because, brothers sisters, that's exactly how the kingdom moves forward, is one invitation at a time. One person showing up here in the doors. One person that gets loved on by this congregation. One person that has an encounter with Jesus.
00:21:52
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One person who gives their life to Christ. One person who then decides, I need to get baptized. Who gets melded into and merged into this family.
00:22:04
Speaker
who comes to Bible study class, who comes into fellowship with one another, who grows in Christ's likeness and then repeats the process by inviting somebody else. That's that's how it works.
00:22:16
Speaker
That's why i'm so encouraged to see new faces here today. Because I know what we're doing is we're planting seeds of invitation and hoping that somebody will respond. And so thank you for those of you who are here today. It's it's not by Hapsteads.
00:22:31
Speaker
He brought you here.