SHARE YOUR FAITH
Text: John 1:43-51
43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
1. Jesus Found Phillip (v. 43)
Phillip didn’t find Jesus. Jesus found Phillip. The reason Phillip didn’t find Jesus is because Phillip wasn’t
Note two phrases in verse 43: “findeth Phillip” and “follow me.”
Phillip didn’t find Jesus. Jesus found Phillip. The reason Phillip didn’t find Jesus is because Phillip wasn’t looking for Him.
Question: When did you meet Christ? When did He find you? Save you?
Salvation is a relationship with Jesus.
- Being a Christian is not about following a list of rules. It is about following a Ruler.
- You’ll know for sure that you have met Jesus when you
2. Phillip Found Nathanael (v. 45)
- The first thing that Phillip did was find Nathanael.
Phillip demonstrates this truth:
It is impossible for someone to follow Christ and not be concerned about people far from God.
Are you concerned about what Jesus is concerned about? The
Question: Who do you know who needs to meet Jesus?
3. Phillip Invited Nathanael (vv. 45-47)
- Jesus found Phillip. Phillip found Nathanael. And then Phillip invited Nathanael to come and see Jesus.
This is our job; found people find people for the purpose of
Question: How do we fulfill the Great Commission? Follow Phillip’s example.
1] Come and See Jesus at my
2] Come and See Jesus in the
3] Come and See Jesus in my
4. Jesus Changed Nathanael (vv. 47-51)
- Phillip found Nathanael and told him how he had met the Messiah, the one of whom Moses wrote about. His name is Jesus. He is from Nazareth.
- Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
Phillip simply says, come and see.
v. 46 – Skeptic – Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
- v. 48 – Shock - Who are you and how do you know me?
v. 49 – Salvation - Thou at the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
How did the change in Nathanael take place?
- How did it happen? Nathanael
How did Nathanael meet Jesus? Phillip found him and
It is not our place to change people. Jesus changes people.
- We, as a church, do not have a behavioral modification program. We don’t have an agenda as a church to change people. We don’t change people’s politics, we don’t change people’s social lives, we don’t change people’s sin condition, because we can’t.
We’re not on a change agenda. We are on a kingdom agenda.
Question: What might be if we don’t introduce others to Jesus? What if we do?