43 John 1-2 - Pastor Chuck Smith - C2000 Series

so we turn in our Bibles to the Gospel according to John the Gospel of John was the last of the Gospels that were written it was written towards the close of that first century written by John for the purpose of convincing people that Jesus is the Christ that by believing in him they might have life in his name John declares his purpose in writing these books he said many other things did Jesus which are not written but these things were written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God and by believing have life in his name so there is a definite purpose in John's mind as he wrote this book and because this is the reason for this book it is the best book to encourage an unbeliever to read because John wrote that they might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God and by believing have life in his name that's why he wrote it and he's very upfront and telling you why he wrote it and so it was written to counteract some of the false concepts concerning Jesus Christ a lot of the heresy that had developed in the very first century now Paul the Apostle warned the Ephesian elders that after I'm gone I know that there are going to be wolves that are going to come in not sparing the flock of God but seeking to draw them in after themselves and from your own group there will be of those who arise well who will even deny our very Lord and before Paul was gone long from emphasis these things were already happening the false teachers were moving in perverting the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ a system known as Gnosticism was one of the early systems of belief that permeated the church and began to draw people away into false concepts concerning Jesus Christ the church wasn't very old before the Arian heresy arose the denying of the deity of Jesus Christ putting him on the level of man Gnosticism with its concepts of Jesus as and really confusing concepts of Jesus part divine part man and yet sort of a phantom kind of a thing they made up stories that as he walked on the sandy beach he wouldn't leave footprints because he wasn't really real and their idea was anything that is real is evil the world is so evil that God could not have created the world and so originally there was the pure holy God and emanations went out from this pure holy God and finally one of these emanations got so far from God that it no longer knew God and it was this emanation that created the world and thus the world was created by an evil force and everything material is evil and so Jesus could not have been a man else he would have been evil so he was a phantom and a lot of weird things and so John wrote this epistle or this letter this gospel actually in order to correct some of those early false teachings that have begun to permeate the church now it is interesting that as the writers begin the Gospels they each one picked different place to begin and with the Gospel of Matthew he began with the generation or the genealogy of Jesus going back to Abraham and when Mark began his gospel he began it at the baptism of Jesus by John when Luke began his gospel he began it with the Annunciation to Zacharias the father of John the Baptist the forerunner of Jesus but when John begins his gospel he goes clear on back to the very beginning of time which had no beginning he goes back even further than Genesis the book of Genesis is the beginning of creation in the beginning God created but godless existed long before he created and so Genesis you go back to the beginning of creation before that God was God existed so John goes back to the that infinite eternal past and declares in the beginning was the word now the Greeks talked much about the logos and according to the Greek philosophy everything pre existed in a thought anything that you see existed in thought before it became form in other words this pulpit here began with a thought some craftsman had in his mind a design an idea for a podium and so he drew it out on a piece of paper but it was the expression of his thought and so before anything exists it has pre-existed in a thought so to the Greek philosopher the thought was the origin of things well the Bible takes you one step further back it said if there was a thought then there had to be a thinker because you can't have a thought without a thinker so in the beginning God in the beginning was the word and so it actually goes back even before the thought you have the existence of the one who thought or the existence of God so in the beginning God here in the beginning was the word he was existing then and the Word was with God and the Word was God powerful declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ so plain so straight so forthright that even a little child in reading it could not be confused it would take a Jehovah Witness to confuse this passage of Scripture and they did by the insertion of an article VIII and the word was or eight God but they had to create something that doesn't exist in the original language in order to twist this whole thing around John is star parting out with the plain declaration that Jesus the word is God just as straight and forward forthright as can be declared the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made so now he comes to creation you see John goes back before creation in the beginning before there was anything there was the word he was with God he was God he was in the beginning with God and then creation all things were made by him in the account in Genesis we read in the beginning God created the heaven in the earth the word God in Hebrew there is Elohim which is a plural form now there are those who say well the plural form was used for emphasis but that appears to be an invention because God is also referred to as the singular and if it is used only for emphases then it would be confusing to use the same term to refer to God in the singular it is my opinion that when the god el singular is used that it is a reference to the father that the Elohim is a reference to the tri-unity of the Godhead one god existing in three persons and God said let us make man in our image and after our likeness who was God talking to in the divine counsels there was that creation the Father the Son and the Spirit and divine counsel let us make man in our image after our likeness here in John the 1st chapter Jesus is described as the creator of all things Paul as he is writing to the Colossians concerning the preeminence of Jesus declares that he is not only the creator but he is the object of creation by him or all things made and for him so he is not only the creator but the object of creation all things were made by him the universe around us and all of its life forms and without him was not anything made that was made and in him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shine ahthe in darkness but the darkness comprehended it not or apprehended it not or could not lay hold of it jesus said I am the light of the world he that cometh unto me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of Life now here it is declared that the light shine is in darkness this is the reference to the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth here he is the light of the world shining in the darkness but the darkness does not apprehend it now there was a man who was sent from God whose name was John the same came for a witness and twice we will read of John's witness here in chapter 1 verse 15 John bare witness of him and cried saying this was he of whom I spake and then he also testified in verse 34 and I saw and bear record that this is the son of God that's the testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus Christ so there was a man who was sent from God his name was john he was he came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe now he John was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light and that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world he was in the world the world was made by him and the world knew him not can you grasp that one Jesus the light he came to shine in the darkness the true light he was in the world we are already told we're already told that all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made he was in the world and the world was made by him and yet the world knew him not that is the world of man it would appear that there were aspects of nature and of the world that did know him it is interesting that those who were possessed with evil spirits often cried out we know who you are evidently the winds and the waves knew who he was for when he was standing in the little ship and it was about to sink when he spoke to the wind and the waves and said peace be still they obeyed his voice they knew he was The Rock's evidently knew who he was because when the Pharisees were encouraging him to rebuke his disciples on the day of his triumphant entry he said I say unto you that if these should hold their peace these very stones would immediately cry out they knew who he was but it was only the darkened minds of man that failed to recognize him he was in the world the world was made by him and yet the world knowing ah evidently that little donkey knew who he was no man had ever written on that little donkey before and yet I'm sure that when Jesus sat on him he was just as docile as could be he knew he was someone has put words in the mouth of that little donkey I think it was Chatterton I don't know if I can recall it or not it's coming it's working it's the juices are flowing and that the circuits are coming together when fishes flew and Forests walked and figs grew upon a thorn some moment when the moon was blood then surely I was born with an ugly face and as he no it isn't ugly faceless heap and ears like errant wings the devil's walking parody of all four footed things the ancient outlaw of the earth with stubborn tattered will mock me scourge me I am dumb but I hold my secret still fools I also had my day one fierce day in sweet I heard the shouts around my ears and there were palm branches at my feet the story of the donkey is it I missed one line in there it was sickening cry and something and ears like errant wings but singing crying I get it one of these days he was in the world the world was made by him and the world knew him not one step further he came to his own and his own received him not he said I am come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel his own he was their promised Messiah he came to his own but they said we have no king but Caesar they said we will not have this man to rule over us and his own received him not and the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled he was despised and rejected of men but glorious good news as many as received him to them gave he the power the authority to become the sons of God even as many as believed on his name so here he is in the beginning with God the creator of all things coming to his creation not being recognized not being apprehended coming to his own not being received and yet as many as would receive him and so the gospel of grace as many as would receive him to them he gave the power to become the sons of God the Son of God becoming man in order that he might make each of us sons of God who would believe in his name which were born not a flesh or not of blood first of all you cannot become a son of God through physical genealogy I am NOT a son of God because my parents were Christians my children are not Christians because I am a Christian it's not of blood it's not something that you can inherent from your parents or pass on to your children this dynamic life as a child of God is not of the will of the flesh it is not something that you can set your mind to and become that is I'm going to live this new dynamic life I'm not going to walk in darkness anymore I'm going to live a generous self-sacrificing life the life that is the ideal that God has declared for man you can't do it by the will of the flesh nor is it by the will of man it isn't by the force or coercion of others or the encouragement of others you cannot come into this new life because someone is pushing you or coercing you into it this new birth can only come from God born of God as a child of God so I was born once by blood by the will of the flesh by the will of man Here I am that was my physical birth but my spiritual birth can't take place that way the spiritual birth has to come from God and so I have been born again by the Spirit of God the new life and the word was made flesh and tabernacled among us who this is this is of course the the tremendous the tremendous swing of the pendulum if you can follow it in the beginning was the word he was with God he was God he was in the beginning with God and all things were made by him the divine eternal creator and the Word was made flesh and he dwelt among us this tremendous downward sweep from the area of the Infinity into the realm of the finite from the eternal into time surely our minds cannot grasp the scope of this the disciples as years passed and they had an opportunity to really reflect upon Jesus and their acquaintances and their relationship to him I'm certain were more and more amazed and marveled at what actually transpired as John begins his first epistle he begins it much the same way as he declares that which was from the beginning which we have seen which we have heard which we have seen with her eyes and gazed steadfastly upon and our hands have handled of the word of life for that life was manifested and we've seen it and we bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the father and was manifested to us John is just reflecting on his relationship with Jesus that which was from the beginning which we have heard and suddenly they realized when we heard him talk we were listening to the voice of God when we looked upon him we were looking upon God when we touched him we were touching God that eternal life we saw him we gazed we touched oh the wonder of it all and John stands in awe and wonder of that experience that he had had Jesus said I am the father are one when Philip said Lord just show us the father and will be satisfied he said Philip have I been so long a time with you have you not seen me he that has seen me has seen the father how say Estelle then show us the father believe us now not that I am in the father and the father in me the works that I do I do not of myself as a father he doeth the works now believe me that I am in the father and the father in me or else believe me for the very works sake in other words I've been doing the work of God I've been showing you the father we'll read in a moment no man has seen God at any time that the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father he has displayed him he has made him known he has declared him he that hath seen me hath seen the father and so do you want to know what God is like you want to know the truth about God then you must look at Jesus Christ and study him carefully for he was God manifested in flesh for the word became flesh and dwelt among us in order that he might reveal the father unto man because man had developed such wrong concepts of God God has been maligned and light against continually by Satan and even today Satan continues his work so that people have all kinds of grotesque false concepts concerning God one of the most common phrases in profanity is that God would dam certain things or certain people and you hear it so often as though God is just desiring to dam everything and everybody nothing could be farther from the truth God Himself to the Bible declares concerning God he is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and God cried to Israel and said turn ye turn ye for why will he die saith the Lord behold I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked turn ye people see God as fury and wrath and judgment and fire and thunder when in reality he is a heart that yearns after your love and your fellowship how people miss read the Bible even in the book of Genesis when man first fell and God came into the garden to commune with man and Adam hid himself for he realized that he was naked and God said Adam were art thou now we have the words but we don't have the tone of voice and that's what people put into their own minds the tone of voice and so often a person in reading that puts in that tone of voice of an arresting officer holding the gun on the bank robber hold your hands up you know blast a hole through you Adam where art thou but as I read the whole scripture and I understand God through the whole revelation of himself I'm convinced that rather than the bark of an arresting officer to hear the voice correctly you will hear it as the SOB of a heartbroken father Adam what have you done Adam where are you just that broken heart of God over the failure of man and this is what Jesus shows to us as he weeps over Jerusalem Oh true Salaam if you only knew your possibilities if you only knew the potentials if you only knew the things that belong to your peace but you don't they're hid from your eyes and as the result of your ignorance devastation is going to come and we see his chest as it is evening and we hear him as he is sobbing as he cries over Jerusalem and the terror that will come because of their blindness because of their ignorance if you only knew if you only knew and he weeps as he looks at the city and he knows the impending doom that is coming because of the path that they have chosen and there you see the heart broken the broken heart of the heavenly father as he is weeping over the loss to state of man Jesus came to reveal God the word became flesh and he dwelt among us in order that we might know the truth about God there was a publisher of a newspaper who declared himself an agnostic and yet every year his wife who was a Christian and the children would go to church for the Christmas Eve service and because it was Christmas Eve and a family celebration he went yearly with them as the children would give their recitations in their program and sing the carols but this one particular year he decided that he wasn't going to make his annual pilgrimage to the church because he saw it as an act of hypocrisy he said I do not believe in the Incarnation I do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh for I don't see any reason why God would have to come in the flesh and therefore I'm not going to be a hypocrite any longer I'm not going to church with a family on Christmas and despite all of the persuasive efforts of the wife he could not be dissuaded from his position and so on Christmas Eve he saw the family leading in a blizzard to go to the church to celebrate the Christmas Eve program as he sat by the fire got out of book and began to just sort of settle in to his reading before long a little bird tried to fly into the window attracted by the light of the fire inside and suffering outside in the blizzard this little bird started flying up against the window beating itself against the windowpane trying to come inside and distracted him from his reading and he thought well a little bird go away but it wouldn't it kept trying to fly in and so he finally decided well I guess I'll have to do something about it and so he went down to the barn and opened up the door and turned on the light so that the little bird could be attracted to the light in the barn hoping that it would see the light and fly on down and find the shelter there in the barn from the blizzard walking back up to the house he found the little bird on the outside still trying to fly into the window by now it begun to bloody itself from just flying up against the pane of glass so he tried to show the bird that there was the light on in the barn and there was a place down there for it to go and to get warm and to be sheltered from the storm and he started to sort of shoosh at the bird and swing out a bit but the more he did the more frantic the little bird became in trying to fly into the glass and began to injure itself even more and he found himself talking to the little bird he's a little bird I don't hate you I I'm trying to help you don't you understand little bird I'm your friend I don't mean you harm I want to help you poor stupid little bird don't you know and then the thought came into his mind oh if only I could become a bird for a moment to communicate to this poor little creature that I that I don't hate it I'm trying to help it and suddenly the light flash God became man because man so misunderstood God he didn't hate man he wasn't trying to harm man he wanted to help man he went in the house got his overcoat and everything and headed off for church met the family he saw the reason for the Incarnation that God might community Kait to us the truth about himself that truth that have been lost in the garbled concepts that men had created of God so the Word was made flesh and he dwelt among us and we John said beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father we are sons of God through faith but we have been begotten again through our faith we've been born again but there is only one begotten son in the sense that Jesus was begotten of the father and we beheld him as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth now John there was a man sent from God his name is John he wasn't the light he came to bear witness of the light and John bear witness of him and cried saying this is he of whom I spake he that cometh after me is preferred before me for he was before me now John was by physical birth a cousin to Jesus however John was born before Jesus was born probably in about the sixth month of Mary's pregnancy when John was born so yet John is saying of him he is preferred before me for he was before me so he is talking about that pre existence of Jesus prior to his incarnation and of his fullness have all we received and grace for grace for the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ now when God made man God made man for fellowship that was the purpose of God creating you that he might receive just that praise and glory and all from your fellowship with him that he might enjoy and just receive that that joy and blessing of just fellowshipping with you you say well that sounds sort of selfish to me well perhaps it was nothing I knew about it that's why God created me that's the only reason why God created me reading that I might have fellowship but that's the primary purpose that we might have fellowship with him know if you are not fulfilling that primary purpose of your life then your life is bound to be empty unfulfilled and ultimately frustrating because you're not fulfilling the basic purpose for which God created you you're not answering to that basic need and necessity and man of worshiping God fellowshipping with him but man did not live on this planet long before he broke that fellowship with God by disobedience sinning against God in his disobeying of the commandment of God and the net effect of sin is always that of severing fellowship with God God's hand is not short that he cannot save neither is his ear heavy that he cannot hear but your sins have separated between you and God sin always has that effect of separating a man from God God said to Adam in the day that you eat you will surely die that is the death of the consciousness of God within the heart of man the death of the life of God that spirit of God and that life of God within man it happened Adam eight and that death took place that spiritual death now God still long for fellowship with man but that fellowship been severed by man because of man's sin now in order that man might have fellowship with God something first had to be done about man's sin and so God sent Moses and God gave to Moses the law the law of the sacrifices the covering of making possible the restoration of fellowship with God and in part of the sacrificial offerings were these offerings that were just fellowship offerings the communion offerings the meal offering in which I just would sit and eat with God and fellowship with God after the sin offering then that offering of consecration the burnt offering and then the peace offering the fellowship offering where I just sit down and eat with God and fellowship with him but that could not be until first of all the sin offering I had to take care first of the sin and so under the law and under Moses the Covenant of God through Moses there was that provision for the covering of sin so that sinful man could be restored into fellowship with God and could sit and commune and eat with God but these offerings of the bulls and goats could not put away sin all they could do was cover sin and they could point to an offering that God himself was going to make by which the sin of man could be put away so that the fellowship between man and God could be totally and completely restored and so the law came by Moses this is not looking at the law in a derogatory sense this is looking at the law as God intended it as a tool by which man could come into fellowship with God but an imperfect tool because of man's failure nothing wrong with the law it was good it was holy but man was still sinful and that's the necessity of year after year the offering of the sacrifices so God has established now through Jesus Christ a new covenant of grace and truth by the law Moses covenant with God but now through Jesus Christ a new covenant a new covenant that is established on the grace of God in the truth of Jesus Christ so the law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ now no man has seen God at any time of course people immediately say well what about Moses when God said to Moses what would you like he said Lord I just like to see you in God said you can't see me and live but God said I'll tell you what you get there in the rocks and I will pass by and then you can see the afterglow says the hind apart but it's actually the afterglow of God having passed by a spot and then Moses looking at the radiation of the afterglow and he became irradiated in looking at that his face began to shine so that when he came back to the children of Israel they couldn't look at his face they said cover it man you're shining you know I can't stand to look at your face but no man has seen God at any time your your physical body just couldn't handle that you'd be like trying to stand in the Sun you'd be consumed now God has promised that the pure in heart shall see him but not in this body we're going to have to have a change of body Paul said this corruption must put on incorruption this mortal must put on immortality one day I expect to see God but not in this body in my new body this body is designed for the earth of the earth earthy design for the environmental conditions of the earth my new body far superior designed for the heavenly environment and in that new body I can behold the face of the Lord and I can sit and worship at his feet what a glorious day that will be so no man has seen God at any time but the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father he hath manifested him declared him demonstrated him brought him forth into full revelation he has revealed him to us and this is the record of John the Baptist when the Jews sent the priests and the Levites from Jerusalem to ask him who are you John was baptizing we read in the wilderness and multitudes of people were going out being attracted by this man and so in Jerusalem the religious leaders got upset you know this guy's out there baptizing and we didn't send him out there and he doesn't have our authority and they sent the priests and levites out to ask the guy who are you anyhow and this is the record of John he confessed and he did not deny but he confessed I am NOT the Messiah and that was really who are you you know are you saying that you're the Messiah you pretend he said I am NOT the Messiah and they and because the word Christ is Messiah so got to remember that I am NOT the Messiah and they asked him are you then Elijah now the prophecy said that Elijah would first come and turn the hearts of the children to the father's before the coming of the great day of the Lord and so are you Elijah the Jews even to the present day at their Passover services are in their home and their Passover celebrations have the chair the empty chair the door is open waiting for Elijah are you Elijah forerunner of the Messiah and he said I am not now this brings confusion to some people because in Matthew's Gospel about the seventeenth chapter Jesus talking about John said this is Elijah if you're able to receive it but John said I am NOT that is he is not the full complete fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah he came in the spirit and the power of Elijah going back to Luke's Gospel chapter 1 when Gabriel the angel appeared unto Zechariah the father of John the Baptist as he was ministering during his course in the temple and when Zachariah saw the angel standing there at the right side of the altar he was greatly afraid and he said to Zacharias fear not I am Gabriel I am standing in the presence of God and I've been sent unto thee to let you know that your wife Elizabeth and her old age is going to conceive and bear a son and thou shalt call his name John and he shall go forth in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and he began to tell him of the ministry of his son John the Baptist he'll go forth in the spirit and the power of Elijah but when they asked John plainly are you then Eli Jason though and they said are you that prophet now Moses promised and there shall come a prophet like unto myself and to him shall you give heed are you that prophet that Moses spoke about and he said no 20 questions and they then said unto Him then who are you that we may give an answer to those who have sent us what do you say of yourself and he said I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness make straight the way of the Lord as was predicted by Isaiah the prophet and they which were sent were of the Pharisees and they asked him and said unto him why do you baptize then if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet John answered them saying i baptize with water but there is standing one among you whom you do not know he it is who's coming after me is preferred before me whose shoe latchet I'm not unworthy to untie now these things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan where John was baptizing and the next day John saw Jesus coming unto Him and he said behold the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world oh what a tremendous statement concerning Jesus the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world how did the Lamb of God remove the sin by a sacrificial substitutionary death that was just deeply embedded in their mind as the result of their culture and their worship and their religion how then is Jesus to take away the sin of the world by his substitutionary death behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world this is he of whom I said after me there comes a man which is preferred before me for he was before me and I knew him not but that he should be made manifest to Israel therefore I am come baptizing with water now I knew him not and then we have a new phrase but that he should be made manifest to Israel I have come baptizing with water that's why I'm here in order that this man might be made manifest to Israel I didn't know he's my cousin I didn't realize who he was I knew him I didn't know who he was I didn't know that he was the one I know that God sent me to declare to declare prepare you the way of the Lord make straight his paths but you know I didn't know who he was but the purpose of my being here is that he might be made manifest to Israel and I knew him not but that he should be made manifest to Israel therefore I'm come baptizing with water and John bare record saying I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him and I knew him not but he that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit so John's that I didn't know him until I saw the spirit like a dove coming and resting upon him and I know that the one who told me to go out and baptize also told me that the one that you see the spirit descending and singing about that is the one who is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit and so John said I saw and I bear record that this is the son of God John was sent as a witness of the light what is John's witness concerning Jesus Christ he is the son of God now the next day after this John was standing with two of his disciples and looking upon Jesus as he walked he said behold the Lamb of God again he had said earlier behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world now he just says behold the lamb of God as John is writing the book of Revelation the book of Revelation centers around the Lamb of God to understand the book of Revelation you've got to see the lamb and our first view of the Lamb of God of course is is in the first chapter of Revelation as he describes Christ in his glory but then as he gets into the heavenly scene chapter 5 when he was weeping sobbing convulsively because no one was found worthy to take the scroll or loose the seals and yet and the elder said unto Him John don't sob behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to take the scroll and loose the seals and I turn and I saw him as a lamb that had been slaughtered and he came and he took the scroll out of the right hand of him that was sitting upon the throne and when he took the scroll out of the right hand of him sitting upon the throne the 24 elders came forth with their little golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of the saints and they offered them before the throne of God and they sang a new song saying worthy is the lamb to take the scroll and loose the seals for he was slain and has redeemed us by his blood behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world one day by the grace of God we'll be standing in that heavenly scene and we'll see him as he comes and takes the scroll and we'll hear their behold the lamb of God who has taken away our sins the sin of the world so John is now with two of his disciples and John is saying to his disciples they're standing there talking he says behold the lamb of God and the two disciples heard what John said and they followed Jesus now John's testimony of Jesus is hey you know I'm only a an attendant to the bridegroom and I'm honored when the bridegroom is honored and he must increase I must decrease so John is now pointing his own disciples to Jesus and one of those disciples happened to be Andrew the brother of Peter and so these two disciples started to follow Jesus and Jesus turned and he saw them following him and he said who are you looking for and they said unto Him rabbi which is being interpreted Master where do you live and Jesus said come and see and they came and saw where he was living and they stayed with him that day for it was about the tenth hour was getting late in the afternoon for a clock so one of the two which heard John speaking and followed him was Andrew simon Peters brother now Andrew we are not told too much about these simon peter's brother but it is interesting that in the New Testament we always find Andrew bringing people to Jesus that seemed to be his ministry just bringing people to Jesus but what a beautiful ministry that is it was Andrew who brought the little boy to Jesus with the five loaves and the two fish Andrew and you'll see him bringing people to Jesus so Andrew first of all found his own brother Simon and he said unto Him we have found the Messiah which is being interpreted the Christ so there you see the Christ is Messiah and he brought him to Jesus and when Jesus beheld him he said you're Simon the son of Jonah and you shall be called Cephas which is by interpretation a stone you're Simon you're son of Jonah but you're going to be called Cephas stone the following day Jesus came forth into the area of Galilee and he found Philip and he said unto Him follow me now Philip was a Bethsaida which was the same city where Andrew and Peter originated at actually Andrew and Peter evidently moved from Masada to Capernaum because Peter had a house in Capernaum where Jesus stayed but the sayeda was probably their hometown on up about five miles from Capernaum around the Sea of Galilee and up near where the jordan river comes into the Sea of Galilee now Philip found Nathanael and said unto him we have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph with found him the one that Moses wrote about the one that the prophets have written about Jesus of Nazareth and Nathanael said unto Him can any good thing come out of Nazareth Philip said unto Him come and see Nazareth evidently didn't have too good of a reputation and so Philips answer was just a good answer you just come and see so Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and he said of him behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile you're a straight shooter and Nathanael said unto Him how did you know me and jesus answered and said unto him before Philip called you when you were sitting there under that fig tree I saw you and Nathanael answered inside a room Rab I powers the Son of God you're the king of Israel and jesus answered and said unto him because I said unto you I saw you under the fig tree do you believe stick around you're going to see greater things than that and he said unto Him verily verily I send to you after this you're going to see the heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man where did we find that in Scripture they heaven open and the angels ascending and descending remember when Jacob was running from his brother Esau and he came to Bethel and he was tired and he was scared and he got a pillow a rock for a pillow and he went to sleep and he dreamed and in his dream he saw the lord of heaven standing at the top of the ladder and the angels of god were ascending and descending and god spoke to him and said behold i am the lord the god of your father's the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and in the morning when Jacob got up he said truly the Lord is in this place and I knew it not now Jesus in essence is saying I am the ladder I am the access by which man can come to God I'm the one who ties heaven and earth together you're going to see heaven open you're going to see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man so the Son of Man is the ladder by which heaven is joined to earth when one of job's friends counseled him look man just get right with God and you'll be over with your problems he said thanks a lot you bag of wind you tell me get right with God you think you're helping me who am i that i complete my case with God God is so vast I look for him and I don't see him I look to my right I look to my left I look behind me and I can't see him and he said there is no days man between us who can lay his hand on this boat God is so vast he fills the universe I can't see him how can I plead my case with him when I am just so nothing and God is so great and there's no one between us that can touch us both heaven is so high how can I ascend how can I plead my case before God but Jesus is the answer to that cry of Jobe the day's man who stands between God and man who touches God and who touches me the day's men between us he is the latter that has bridged from the infinite to the finite from eternal to the time now in the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there Cana of Galilee is about about oh five six miles from Nazareth and it's down you're starting from Nazareth you come over the top of the hill from Nazareth and you sort of start down this valley that ultimately brings you out to the Sea of Galilee and it's the path or the road that went from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee Cana just a little village there and there was a marriage there in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there and Jesus was invited and his disciples with him to the marriage and when they wanted wine the mother of Jesus said unto him they've run out of wine and Jesus said what business is that of mine my hour is not yet come woman what am I to do what you trying to do to me you know my hour has not yet come now Mary knew more than she was saying she had pondered all these things in her heart and now she began to realize the full impact of what was happening with this child that was born of the Holy Spirit and his mother said to the servants now it's interesting Jesus sort of ignored her in a sense woman what have I to do with you my hour is not yet come but Mary said to the servants whatever he says for you to do do it and there were there about six waterpots there were there six waterpots of stone that were these water pots were the type that they use for the purifying so each of them held two or three firkins apiece and the furqan is about nine gallons so 18 to 27 gallons apiece so they're good size water pots that kind of use for your cleansing ceremonies and jesus said unto them fill the waterpots with water and they filled them up to the brim and he said unto them now draw it out and bear it to the governor of the feast and so they took it to the governor of the feast and when the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and he knew not its origin from whence it was but the servants which drew the water they knew the governor of the feast called the bridegroom and he said unto him every man at the beginning does set forth good wine and when everyone is pretty well drunk then he not the worse but you've kept the bat the best wine until now now this is the beginning of miracles which Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on him and after this he went down to Capernaum he and his mother and the brothers and his disciples and they continued there not many days so the turning of water into wine the beginning of the miracles of Jesus and it is interesting to me that it was at a festive occasion a marriage feast and the first miracle of course of Christ is is very interesting and perhaps significant to many and the Jews Passover was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money and when he had made a scourge of small cords he drove them out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen and he poured out the changers money and overthrew the tables I love him there are those who try to picture Jesus as a rather effeminate person you know just the kind of wooden swatter fly just sort of weak and all but he was a man's man he came in and when he saw what was going on in his father's house he was upset and he took and made a whip and started cleaning things up picking the tables and dumping them over and it's interesting one fella could do so much upsetting of that whole thing and yet they couldn't handle him I mean they they just they had to let him go why because he was a man's man and they didn't dare to challenge him he said unto them that soul that does take these things out of here make not my father's house a house of merchandise and his disciples remembered that it was written the zeal of thine house has eaten me up then answered the Jews and said unto Him what sign do you show us seeing that you're doing these things and he answered the Jews and said unto them and jesus answered and said unto them destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up now this is an accusation that was brought against Jesus at his trial he said if we destroyed the temple he rebuild it in three days now they didn't understand what he was sorry nobody was talking about his body but they thought that he was talking about this monstrous building that Herod had begun to construct for the Jews Herod died before it was ever finished but he had drawn the plans and had begun the construction of this tremendous temple with its huge stones and at this point when Jesus is about thirty years old they have been working building on it for some forty six years and it would take them another 19 years to complete it and there were huge Stones some of them weighing according to Josephus as much as a hundred and forty tons and so Jesus had destroyed this temple and I'll build it again in three days and they said to him 46 years was this temple in building and will you rebuild it in three days but John tells us he was speaking of the temple of his body now after he was risen from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did but Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men and he needed not that any should testify of man for he knew what was in men there many believed in him but Jesus did not commit himself to them he knew all men he knew what was in men he knew the fickleness of men you didn't have to tell Jesus about people he already knew how many times we tell Jesus all about ourselves he already knows he needs not that any should testify of man so we move now into chapter 3 and you're going to have a couple of weeks three weeks or so to study this one over so you ought to read to get it down tight chapters three and four when we come back to the Gospel of John shall we stand now I know that some of you want to know if it was real wine that Jesus made was it fermented wine or unfermented wine who knows you know you want me to know things that I don't know however the governor spoke about the type of wine that they had could make a person drunk and the general procedure was to you know serve your good stuff when everybody's taste buds are fresh and your minds are real clear and then when your minds start getting foggy they'll then then bring out your junk you know they don't know what they're drinking by then I don't know I do know that the scripture teaches that wine is a mocker and that strong drink is raging and he who is deceived by it isn't wise I do know that for an overseer in the church they're not to be given to wine person who has been chosen to the office of the bishop or the overseer in the church is not to be given to wine so all I can do is answer for myself and I do not and would not drink wine because of my position all things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the power of any I really love the freedom that I have in Christ the freedom to do or even more important to me the freedom not to do I'm glad that I'm not bound by something that you know is pulling me down and turning me down and I can't get away from it I'm glad that I'm not under the power of something like that though it might be lawful for me to do if it can bring me under its power or if it can bring me under its influence which is a common term he's under the influence what does it mean he's under the power of it now all things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the power of anything I don't want to be I love my freedom too much I love having a clear mind I like having this freedom that I have I think it's absolutely glorious to be so free in Christ Jesus so as you well know I don't set rules for others I only encourage you to seek first the kingdom of God in His righteousness seek it pre-eminently seek it diligently seek it with all of your heart follow after the Lord don't be deterred by anything and may the God of peace and the God of love keep your minds and your hearts steadfast in Jesus Christ that you might grow into that perfect complete mature child of God that person that he wants you to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ coming into the fullness of the stature of the major of the image of Christ so god bless you and God keep you and watch over you until we by His grace gather together again to learn and to worship

Channel: Ken Zenk

Views: 43,681

Rating: 4.7819705 out of 5

Keywords: Bible, God, Jesus, Christ, Love, Hell, Death, Sex, Marriage, Drugs, Satan, Porno, Cancer, Sports, Girls, Music, Holy Spirit, Children, Family, Heaven, Healing, Pregnant, Aids, Gay, Movies, TV Shows, Animals, Israel Prophecy, Last Days, Christian, Jewish People, Gentiles

Id: B64NMlVW_QI

Length: 81min 44sec (4904 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2013