God of Order

Thursday, December 24, 2009
John 1:35-42

John did not decline his disciples from following another leader. In fact, he encouraged it by proclaiming Jesus as the “Lamb of God”. We will come to a point where, as leaders, we would want to hold on to the people following us. However, if it is they’re calling to leave us and pursue God’s will, then we should let them go.

I had a hard time figuring out how Matthew, Mark and Luke linked in with the gospel of John. Here they met Jesus in a different way. I had to search this up and the following is what I came up with:

The central truth of the passage we are about to study is, How the first of Christ’s disciples were brought into saving contact with Him. It may be that some of our readers have experienced a difficulty when studying these closing verses of John 1 as they have compared their contents with what is found in Mark 1:16-20: "Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him" (cf. Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11).

Many have wondered how to harmonize John 1:35-42 with Mark 1:16-20. But there is nothing to harmonize, because there is no contradiction between them. The truth is, that Mark and John are not writing on the same subject. Mark treats of something which happened at a later date than that of which John writes. John tells us of the conversion of these disciples, whereas Mark (as also Matthew and Luke) deals with their call to service—a service which concerned the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That John omits the call to service (which each of the other three evangelists record) brings out, again, the special character of his Gospel, for he treats not of dispensational but of spiritual relationships, and therefore was it reserved for him to describe the conversion of these first disciples of Christ.

It is deeply interesting and instructive to mark attentively the manner in which these first disciples found the Savior. They did not all come to Him in the same way, for God does not confine Himself to any particular method—He is sovereign in this, as in everything. It had been well if this had been kept in mind, for then had many a doubt been dispelled and many an heartache removed. How many there are who have listened to the testimony of some striking conversion, and have reproached themselves and made themselves miserable because their experience was a different one. How many churches there are which have their annual two weeks "protracted" meetings, and then conduct themselves as though there were no other souls that needed salvation during the remaining fifty weeks of the year! How many there are who imagine no sinner can be saved except at a "mourner’s bench!" But all of these are so many ways of limiting God, that is, holding limited conceptions of God.

Of the four cases of conversion described in our passage (we say four, for the two mentioned in verse 35 are linked together) no two were alike! The first two heard a preacher proclaiming Christ as "the lamb of God," and, in consequence, promptly sought out the Savior for themselves. Simon Peter, the next one, was "brought" to Christ by his brother, who had followed and found the Savior on the previous day. Philip, the third one, seemed to have no believer to help him, perhaps no fellow creature who cared for his soul; and of him we read, "Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me" (John 1:43). While the last, Nathanael, was sought out by his now converted brother Philip, and was warmly invited to come and see Christ for himself; and while making for Him, the Savior, apparently, advanced toward and met the seeking one. Putting the four together we may observe that the first found Christ as the result of a preacher’s message. The second and fourth found Christ as the result of the personal work of a believer. In the case of the third there was no human instrument employed by God. The fact that the first came to Christ as the result of the ministry of John the Baptist, seems to show that God puts the preaching of the Word as of first importance in the saving of sinners. The fact that God honored the personal efforts of two of these early converts, shows He is pleased to give a prominent place to personal work in His means of saving souls. The fact that Philip was saved apart from all human instrumentality, should teach us that God has not reached the end of His resources even though preachers should prove unfaithful to their calling, and even though individual believers are too apathetic to go forth bidding sinners to come to Christ.

It is also to be noted that not only did these first converts find the Savior in a variety of ways, but also that Christ Himself dealt differently with each one. For the two mentioned in verse 35 there was a searching question to test their motives in following Christ—"What seek ye?" For Simon Peter there was a striking declaration to convince him that Christ knew all about him, followed by a gracious promise to reassure his heart. For Philip there was nothing but a peremptory command—"Follow me. While for Nathanael there was a gracious word to disarm him of all prejudice and to assure his heart that the Savior stood ready to receive him. Thus did the Great Physician deal with each man according to his individual peculiarities and needs.

Finally, observe how this passage brings out the suitability of Christ for all kinds of men. It is blessed to behold here, how the Savior drew to Himself men of such widely different types and temperaments. There are some superficial sceptics who sneeringly declare that Christianity only attracts those or a particular type—the effeminate, the emotional, and the intellectually feeble. But such an objection is easily refuted by the facts of common observation. Christ has been worshipped and served by men and women of every variety of temperament and calling. Those who have delighted to own His name as The Name "which is above every name" have been drawn from every walk of life, as well as from every nation and tribe under the sun. Kings and queens, statesmen and soldiers, scientists and philosophers, poets and musicians, lawyers and physicians, farmers and fishermen have been among the number who have cried, "Worthy is the lamb." And in the cases of these early converts we find this principle strikingly illustrated.

The unnamed disciple of verse 35 is, by common consent, regarded as John, the writer of this fourth Gospel. John was the disciple who leaned on the Master’s bosom, devoted and affectionate. He was "the disciple whom Jesus loved:" he was, apparently, the only one of the twelve who stood by the Cross as the Savior was dying. Andrew seems to have been a man with a calculating mind, what would be termed today, of a practical turn: no sooner had he come to Christ, than he goes at once and finds his brother Simon, tells him the good news that they had found the Messiah, and brought him to Jesus; and, he was the one to observe the lad with the five barley loaves and two small fishes, when the hungry multitude was to be fed (John 6:8, 9). Simon Peter was hot-headed, impulsive, full of zeal. Philip was sceptical and materialistic: he was the one to whom our Lord put the test question, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" to which Philip replied, "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little" (John 6:5, 7); and again, Philip was the one who said to Christ, "Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us" (John 14:8). Nathanael, of whom least is known, was, evidently of a meditative and retiring disposition, whose life was lived in the back-ground, but of an open and frank nature, one "in who was no guile." How radically different, then, were these men in type and temperament, yet each of them found in Christ that which met his need and satisfied his heart! We regard these first converts as representative and illustrative cases, so that it behooves us to study each separately and in detail
(Taken from http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/John/john_05.htm)

This is only part of the passage. The rest of them are in the link and I find them very good as well.
Here’s what I found out after reading this, that Simon aka Peter did not come to know about Christ the day he was fishing. His brother Andrew had already told Simon about Jesus. Simon had already met Jesus and this is the first time Jesus had already called him Peter (“A Stone”). And later, when he was fishing with his brother, Andrew, he got his confirmation through the miracle that Jesus showed them.

So basically, they did not follow Jesus blindly. They already knew him and it was in their hearts to follow Jesus. Simon just needed the confirmation.

When I found this out, I realized that I have been taking the bible without looking at context and logic. It all works out right as I read again. As we know, nobody would have blindly left everything to follow a stranger. They knew Jesus as a lamb of God! They knew that if they followed Him, they would experience being with God themselves. They might have even told their father that they might follow Jesus and be His disciples. That is why the father allowed them to leave on a second’s notice.
One thing I learnt about God is that He is a God of order. Everything was created in His order. He did not create the birds, fish and animals on the same day. He chose to separate those days. He could have put the shark, eagle and tiger one day and the next day create the giraffe, dolphin and swallow. But He did not, and that is what makes our God unique.

Therefore, if I experience somebody suddenly rising up in the middle of the sermon, come up the stage and dance and sing in an out-of-tune voice, I would immediately know that that is not from God. God respects order. He does not cause gravity to be suddenly lost, nor does He cause the earth to suddenly go round the moon instead.

The Lord has equipped us with minds so vast that even though we cannot comprehend Him, we can still comprehend most of His works so that we can understand even a twinge of Himself. When we see hearts drawn closer to Him, we know that He is moving
His mighty hand. When we hear of revivals, we know that He is moving.

Knowing this, we can be secure that God will not go against His word, nor will make anybody do what they do not want to do. He is a loving God, and we trust in Him to maintain the order in our lives.

Hearing from God!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009
John 1:29-34

Ok so how the… did John know that Jesus was the Christ without yet being revealed? The only conclusion I can come up with is that the Holy Spirit revealed this to him. Then it is true that the Holy Spirit does speak to an individual in a very personal way. How did the Holy Spirit reveal Jesus Christ to him? Through a vision. John saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and He remained upon Him. This also confirms with us that the Holy Spirit is a person when John personified the Holy Spirit as a “He”.

So the Holy Spirit does two things here to reveal Jesus to John. The Holy Spirit first spoke to John before Jesus came and told him of what he was about to witness. Then when Jesus came, the Word was confirmed through the vision that came true. And John testified of Jesus the Christ the Son of God. He obeyed the Word which was given to him.

Sometimes we see pastors prophesying over others. Some of us think, “wow, I want that,” while others will think, “Can he really do that?” Either way, it is definitely a miracle for God to reveal to us something in someone else’s life. God is good and He uses individuals to reveal His secrets to others so that people may know that He is real and true to His Word. But rather than being the one receiving, it would be so much better to be the one prophesying.

If John could hear from God in such a way, then why not us? God speaking to us, is such a small task compared to dying on the cross for us. Then it is definitely possible, that with a little passion and hunger and faith, God can speak to us in that tangible manner that He spoke to John. With this in mind, it gives me the confirmation that God wants to speak to us, and all I have to do is ask and be sensitive and be still to catch the opportunity to hear from Him. I have heard testimonies that tell me that God is always speaking to us, but it is our choice to tune our spiritual ears to hear Him.

There are no guidelines to how, except spending time with God. John spent plenty of time in the wilderness. Jesus spent so much time with God that He was tempted in a rough way by the devil. David spent time with God. Moses spent time with God. Joshua, the person in the bible who brought the Israelites into the promise land, would just linger in the presence of God.

All the heroes in the bible who heard from God all spent time with the Lord and were hungry for Him. Then one day God started speaking to each and every individual. Then the breakthroughs start to happen. I believe that I can hear from God. And I’m going to try.

Daddy Jesus

Sunday, December 20, 2009
John 1:10-13

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

We have that privilege. To become children of God and have the right to all that God has for us. And the most valuable thing God can give us is Himself. He is our heavenly Father who loves us and cares for us so much that He wants us to draw close to Him, as close as a child to a Dad. Nobody could love us more.

What are the benefits of being a child of God?

• We get to ask of Him anything.
o Of course whether He wants to answer us or not, we would have to ask of His will. However, I would believe that every single item that we ask for, He would hear. Like a child asking Dad for a toy, Dad might think about it, simply because it pleases his child. The bible says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything let your requests be made known to God.
o Then you ask the question, “What are the right things to ask God for?” Even a kid would know what to ask Dad for and what not to ask Dad for. Dad’s will is to please you, so he would give you the things that are pleasing to you. However, Dad’s will is also to keep you from harm and danger, so the thing’s that are going to put you in harms way, he would not give you. It’s simple logic.

• We get to go straight to the throne of grace and talk to Him directly.
o Christians sometimes think prayer is a duty or a must if you are a Christian. What they don’t get is that praying is actually a privilege that we now have that the Old Testament Christians would die for. A child does not have to talk to Dad if he/she doesn’t want to. But if you love Dad, you would definitely want to spend time with him, right?
o Sometimes we don’t get prayer at all. If we just realize that God is desperate for us to talk to Him, just like a Dad would be desperate for a child to talk to him, wouldn’t it be so much easier for us to pray.
o So when can we pray? Of course, the obvious answer is anywhere, anytime. While doing stuff, while watching the TV, at the table, we talk to Dad about everything and anything, except maybe when we are with our friends, then Dad gets shifted aside. We can say that, “Oh, I don’t need to allocate a specific time to talk to Him, He is omnipotent (everywhere) so I can talk to Him anytime. “
o Just like any relationship, it can only grow when quality time is spent with each other. Getting to know God is more than simple walking through life hoping that God is with us and praying only when we need stuff. Sometimes we treat our Dads that way, but what we don’t realize is that we are getting farther and farther away in the relationship. Spend time with God, in prayer and in Word, and you will notice a significant difference throughout the day.

• We get to possess anything that He has promised us.
o Healing, prophesy, the Holy Spirit, faith, inheritance, success, prospering; and about anything that has been said in the bible. The bible even teaches us how to activate the kingdom of God here on earth. So basically, God has given us His secrets to a successful life with Him.
o Just like a child to a Dad, we seldom listen to Dad’s advice on the unseen things like how to treat your friends, or how to plan your time well, or that you should not date till you’re ready to commit. Well, God’s word gives us so much more than that and it is our choice as children of God whether we want to activate His blessings by following His commands.

These are only a few benefits of being child of God. As I always say, I like to view God as my heavenly Dad. Seeing things from this perspective, I began to learn that I want to spend time with Him and that whatever He brings to me, I know that that is the best for me. I also know that no harm would befall me because as a child trusts in Dad, so we, as children of God, can trust in Him. Knowing this, my worries are down by half. No one cares more than God. So spend time with Him not because we have to but because we have the privilege to.