Begin With Amen

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Hey, thank you for listening to Elevation with Stephen Ferdick.

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It's so good to be back.

I love it.

I'm excited today because I'm starting a brand new sermon series.

That's right!

That's right!

I didn't even tell anybody.

I hardly even told Holly.

I put something down in my phone over a year ago,

and I've been saving it for the season that I felt that the Lord wanted me to release it.

And that season is here.

So, from now until Easter, we're going to be in a special sermon series.

And the series is called Seeking Jesus.

Seeking Jesus.

Praise the Lord.

Something to help us get past all of the distractions that are in our life and seek Jesus.

Something to help us tune out all the noise and seek Jesus.

Something to help us stop scrolling so much and start seeking Jesus.

Stop digging through the dumpster to find a meal and start seeking the bread of life,

seeking Jesus.

Stop groping around in the darkness, looking for wisdom, and start asking the one who is wisdom.

What to do with our lives seeking Jesus.

I'm believing that He's going to speak to you, and I'm excited about these next few weeks.

I want you to go ahead and be seated as the worship team is dismissed as we set up our scripture.

And the title of my first message for this new series.

It may sound backwards when I say it, but I promise you, it'll make sense by the end.

Today, I want to teach you how to begin with a man, begin with a man.

Thank you so much, LJ. We're going to be in John chapter one,

and throughout the course of the series, I hope to be able to give you several pictures of Jesus

from the New Testament that will help you to see Him for who He is.

When I was in my 30s, I did a series called Savage Jesus.

I guess I'm getting soft in my old age.

Now, I'm preaching about seeking Jesus.

Now, when we say seeking Jesus, as you find John chapter one verse 43 through 51 in your Bible,

John chapter one verse 43 through 51, understand that when we say seeking Jesus,

we're seeking someone, not something.

Here's the difference.

The other day, Holly lost her ring.

And I could see she was getting frustrated.

And I said, move aside.

The professional is on the job.

I paid for it. I guarantee you, I'll find it.

I'll stick my hand through your nostril to find it if I have to.

Ring was expensive.

And I said, I bet you'll find it in three seconds.

It wasn't three seconds, but it was only about two minutes.

I was seeking her ring.

I found her ring.

I handed her her ring and we were done.

Because when you're seeking a thing and you find it, you're done.

When you're seeking a thing and you get it, you're finished.

Seek fine finished.

That's simple.

When you're seeking someone, let's use the context of marriage again.

I gave Holly a ring, made her my wife, and that's a relationship.

So when I found my wife, I didn't stop seeking.

Because when you seek a thing and you find it, you're done.

But when you seek someone and you find them, you go deeper.

And deeper, and deeper, and deeper.

An entire marriage seminar was just presented in the first two minutes of my sermon.

Half of y'all missed it because you're still getting your notes out.

Just right at the top of your page, right, seeking Jesus,

week one, and then put in your notes to say begin with a man.

We're studying the beginning of Jesus' ministry on earth in John chapter one.

And if I was about 20 years younger, I would say Jesus has motion.

But since I'm not, I'll just say his ministry is beginning with significant momentum.

John the Baptist, who was the man who jumped in the womb,

recognizing the voice or at least the frequency of his cousin Jesus in Mary's womb,

has pointed the way he said, look, the Lamb of God.

Somebody say, look, the Lamb of God.

He had that ability to see Jesus.

He saw Jesus before Jesus was even visible.

He knew Jesus for who Jesus was.

And he saw Jesus as the Lamb of God that was prophesied and slain from the foundations of the earth.

And John began to do something very unusual in ministry.

He began to give his members to another pastor.

Well, I was going to say I've never done that before.

But there are a few members that I've gladly given to another pastor,

but not the good ones, not the good ones.

John the Baptist gave the good ones to another pastor.

He said, here you go, that's the Lamb of God, follow him.

One of those two was named Andrew.

And Andrew had a brother that went by the name of Simon.

And Simon had his name changed to Peter, which means rock.

So Jesus takes Simon, turns him into Duane Johnson.

And they start the ministry with, y'all have missed my corny jokes.

I can tell you missed starving.

Where, you know, there's at least three or four of them at this point in John chapter one

that are following Jesus.

Another great term that we want to talk about today is following Jesus.

And in John chapter one, verse 43, let me go ahead and read the scripture now.

The Bible says, the next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.

Finding Philip, he said to him, follow me.

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethesda.

Philip found Nathaniel and told him, we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law

and about whom the prophets also wrote.

Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Nazareth?

Naz?

Can anything good come from Nazareth?

Nathaniel asked.

Come and see, said Philip, when Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said to him,

here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.

How do you know meeting Nathaniel asked?

Jesus answered, I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.

Then Nathaniel declared, rabbi, you are the son of God, you are the king of Israel.

Jesus said, you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree, you will see greater

things than that. He then added, very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of

God, ascending and descending on the son of man. I'm going to throw out a few phrases and you

finish them if you know them, okay? This is not going on your permanent record, just relax and

take the test. Say it out loud if you know it and these are not Bible verses either.

You've got to know when to hold them.

Know when to fold them. By the way, you can play along online to just type it in the comments.

Let's do another one. I'm going to get a little harder now.

You've got to crawl before you can.

Two for two. You've got to crawl before you can walk.

How about this one? You've got to see it to believe it. That's true.

That's true. Sometimes, you know, I just need proof. I'm not picking on anybody,

but if you tell me as a man that you bench press over a certain amount

and you don't look like you bench press, I'm at a guy the other day that told me he could bench over

300. And I said, okay, he said, you don't believe me. I said, no, I would have to see it to believe it

because first of all, I don't know what kind of funky form you got going on to get 300 pounds

up in the air. You might be, I don't know, you might have, you might break your back getting 300

pounds up in the air. So I don't really know first of all that. And secondly, never mind. He said,

what do you mean? I said, well, it just to be honest with you, it just doesn't look like

and then he goes, oh, yeah, well, no, I can't do it now.

In college, he said, in college, the man was 52 years old and still has a frame of reference

for his bench press number in my college. Yeah, you look like college. Look like you graduated too.

You got to see it to believe it. And it's the craziest thing nowadays, people just

see things and believe them without even verifying the source. When my relatives the other day said,

I heard your friend and they named my friend who's in ministry. They said, I heard they're selling

CBD oil and products now online to raise money for their ministry. Well, I know this person,

this person would never do that. That would be the last thing that they would do to raise money

for their ministry. So I said, show me, show me the, show me the post that you saw that would cause

you to believe that Joyce Meyer would be selling CBD oil. Joyce ain't selling CBD oil. I don't even

think Joyce Meyer eats French fries. She's so holy. It's the holiest person I know. You're not

gonna convince me you can bench 300 and you look, you're not gonna convince me Joyce Meyer. So I know

her. You got to show me because I know her. You've got to see it to believe it. And that's not a bad

thing to live by. Even when it comes to this church, some of y'all who've been around for a while

remember when they were saying that we had a water slide on the stage for baptisms. And the

worst part was they had a picture of it. But you can't believe it because you saw a picture of it.

Do you not understand Photoshop? There were people calling our front desk of our ministry.

Well, I saw the picture, but you never came to the church. And until you come to the church,

don't tell me about the picture. That'll preach.

Don't tell me if you're not willing to see it. There's a sense I get in John chapter one where

Philip is saying to Nathaniel, you've got to see it to believe it. That's what Jesus told Andrew

and the other disciple who wanted to see where he stayed. He said, come and see. And they went in

hung out and got convinced. Now Jesus did not feel the need to convince them. And I need us to

understand that we do not serve a Jesus who explains but a Jesus who demonstrates so that even when

he taught the kingdom of heaven, he did it with parables because it was a demonstration, not an

explanation. And so to seek Jesus, this is all I'm trying to say by my first point, you have to

follow to find out. You can't know what God is like evaluating God. You can't figure out what

it's like to walk in faith. You have to follow to find out. Put that in the comments and write it

down as my first point. You have to follow to find out. Now most of us are used to calculating

our decisions in life. So we want to figure out and then follow. Most of us would have never had the

faith of Philip, the first character that I mentioned where Jesus said, follow me and he did.

I would need a little bit more details than follow me. I don't know the exact profession that

Philip gave up to do this, but it would take a little bit more than follow me. I at least need

to know where we're sleeping tonight. But Jesus is leaving for Galilee, which is where he did his

ministry, not where he was born. He was born in Bethlehem. He ministered in Galilee and that is where

he lived. And he's going back there for some undisclosed reason and he turns to Philip and says,

follow me. For what? You'll find out if you follow me. When God speaks, reason can never answer.

God cannot be sought at the level of mind. God must be experienced at the level of spirit.

I don't know who I'm preaching to right now, but you keep telling God when he shows you more,

you'll go more. You keep telling God that you will obey him once you understand the outcome.

But in matters of faith, you know, you have to follow to find out Abraham, go to a land,

I will show you what's going to be like. You've got to follow to find out. And you'll find out

why I called you as you follow. I cannot describe to you what the next season of your life will be

like if you follow God in faith. You will have to follow to find out. And this is where most of us

would have never gotten past John 1 verse 43. The whole thing would have ended right there.

Follow me and we would have waited for details and he would not have given them because Jesus

does not call you to figure out. He calls you to follow. And maybe that gives you relief because

there's a sense in which some of you in your mind right now are trying to figure everything out

for the future of your life and the next season of your life. And maybe it can be an exhale for you

or a sigh of relief or a surrender to the Savior to know that he never called you to figure out.

He just called you to follow. But how are we going to pay for it? Follow. But how is it going to

follow? But what's going to happen in three follow? We might not even be here in three years.

If you all watch the news, I don't know about no three years. I'm just following Jesus the best I

can today. Somebody asked me what's the 10 year plan for the church. I'm doing good to have a 10

minute plan for this sermon. I don't even really know what I'm going to say after this first point.

If you want to know the truth, I'm trying to follow. And as you follow, you find out. That's what

Philip knew. I've got to find out. There was something in Philip that said, I want to find out.

I believe there's somebody in here who God is calling you to follow him. And it is unseasonably

difficult for you to do that right now. But don't you want to find out what your life can be in

his hands? Don't you want to find out how freedom feels when you finally decide to forgive that

person? Don't you want to find out what it feels like to lay your head down on your pillow at night

knowing that you've confessed your sin instead of continuing to hide it? Don't you want to find out

what it's like to get beyond this selfish, me first generation where I'm simply just following

the crowd. And I say goodbye to the crowd. And I start following the Christ who is greater than

the crowd. And something in Philip, I can't prove it, but something in Philip, I just inferred

from the text. And I deduced it from what is written that he said, I don't know what my future is,

but I want to find out behind this man. You have to follow him to find out.

So sometimes you have to see it to believe it. Here's what I want to talk about today. Other times

you have to believe it to see it. You have to believe it to see it. Now these are the moments in life

where you have no physical proof that what God spoke is true. And it actually contradicts the way

you feel in that moment. We're going to move on from Philip for a moment and we're going to move

to this character called Nathaniel. This is really who I wanted to talk to you about today.

I was just telling you about Philip. Just in case you can't figure out your life right now, but God

is calling you to follow him anyway. That's probably not anybody in here. You probably all got to

figure it out. But some of us are just trying to figure out what to do. And we don't know what to do

about this situation with an aging parent or this situation with a struggling child. And we don't

know what to do about this issue in our body. And we're trying to figure it out, but God is just calling

us to follow. So that was for some of us. But for the rest of you who have got it figured out,

like Nathaniel, right? Nathaniel has got it figured out. Because Philip found Nathaniel and told

him, we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law. In other words, all of these prophecies

that were about Jesus. And after meeting Jesus, he said, we found him. And about whom the prophets

also wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. We are seeking Jesus in this season of our church.

And as we seek him, we need to pay attention to everything we can learn about him. And one of the

things that we need to learn from is the label that was associated with him as he walked the earth.

They didn't call him Jesus the Savior yet. He hadn't died for them yet. They did not call him

Jesus the healer yet because he hadn't performed any miracles yet. Not yet. They would see

all of that as they follow. But at this point, they only knew him this way. Watch Jesus of Nazareth.

It was common to call somebody by where they came from back then. And then they call him the son

of Joseph. Well, that one's kind of complicated, isn't it? Because remember Mary's story. And she's

like, I promise, Joseph, it was the Holy Spirit. He came from a questionable background.

So when he called him Jesus of Nazareth, watching Nathaniel's response. And I was laughing at it as

I read it. And maybe you didn't know why. He said, verse 46, Nazareth. Can any net? You said,

you found the Messiah and he comes from Nazareth. Yeah, that's right. Nazareth. And then Nathaniel

wants to know, can anything good come from there? Come and see, said Philip. Now the reason that

Nathaniel had a negative perspective of Nazareth is because it was small and I studied this week.

Y'all, I studied so much this week. I have no idea how I'm going to say amen at the end of this

sermon. That's why I called this sermon begin with amen. So wherever we end, we'll just end and

come back next week. I studied so much for this sermon. This is how much I studied. I was waking

up last night every hour on the hour, 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m. At 4 a.m., I had this horrible nightmare

that on my way to preach, I got in a terrible car accident. I went to the hospital and I was in

the hospital. They had me all hooked up, but I was trying to scan my credit card to pay for the

hospital visit and I was telling them, I've got to go teach the series at the church. I studied

too much. That's how much I love y'all. I was my fictitious hospital bed. I got out of my not

really hospital bed to preach this to you. And I studied and found out that Nathaniel came

from somewhere near Nazareth, but not Nazareth. Follow me. Nathaniel came from a place called

Cana. Cana was also in Galilee, but Cana was north of Galilee. Cana was distinguished. Cana was

sophisticated. Cana was a wealthy place. Picture the part of town where you drive through and judge

the people and say, it must be nice if I had all their money. That was Cana. Cana was a place

where if you came from there, you were the sweatshirt. Straight out of Cana, you would not feel like you

came out of the mud. You would feel like you came from privilege. And so I'm not calling Nathaniel

a snob. I'm just saying that he looked down on where Jesus came from. So when he says, can anything

good come from there come and see, he's giving a negative interpretation of where Jesus came from

based on his background. He believes a certain thing about a certain place. And because he believes

a certain thing about a certain place, he could not accept a certain person that came from a

certain place. Only problem is John 1 verse 1. John 1 verse 1 says, in the beginning was the

word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him

all things were made. Through him, Jesus all things were made without him. Nothing was made

that has been made. And the Lord stopped me and showed me something that Nathaniel thought

that Jesus came from Nazareth. But Jesus didn't really come from Nazareth. If John 1 verse 1 through

3 is correct and through Jesus everything was made that was made, that means Jesus didn't come

from Nazareth. Nazareth came from Jesus. And I came to preach about Jesus today. Oh, I preached

that better than you're responded. Through him all things were created. He is not subject to what

he made. He is not subject to a human label. He is not a baby that was born in a barn. He is

the pre-existing God who in John 1 verse 14 became fleshed. That's incarnation and dwelt

among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the one who came from the Father. So they said

he came from Nazareth. He said he came from the Father. They said he came from a small place.

He said I came from a place that you've never seen because in the beginning was the word.

And the word was with God. And the word was God. And nothing exists without him. And so all I'm

saying is God is bigger than your background. God is bigger than your background. Oh, God is

bigger than what you think about him. God is bigger than your little tradition about him.

God is bigger than what you were taught about him. God will come to places that you were taught. He

stay away from. God will use people that you taught. You were taught. He hated. God will do things

that you were taught were impossible. God will do things now. I'm not saying I've seen all of it,

but sometimes you have to believe it to see it. So if the enemy can keep you from believing it

because you've never seen it, he can keep you from ever seeing it and experiencing it.

And he can keep you from seeing it if he can keep you from believing it. Wow.

Not Nazareth. Nothing good can come from Nazareth. Somebody say not Nazareth.

Now for Nazareth, just put whatever in the blank you don't think God can use.

Not heartbreak. Not Nazareth. No, no, no, nothing good can come from a broken heart.

The Bible says a broken in a contrite heart, he will not despise. He will dwell

in what you despise. It's not Nazareth. I know you didn't want to get a divorce and now you're

saying not after a divorce, God can't use me. I got a word for you. Follow him and find out.

One man said fool around and find out, but this is the church version. Follow him and find out.

I don't care what they called you. I don't care what they said about you. I'm going to come over

on this side. I always come down that wrong side of the steps. God is looking for somebody today

who will follow him and find out. No, God can't use me. I'm an alcoholic. Follow him and find out.

What if God gives you that same passion for his presence that you used to have for a substance?

Follow him and find out. I speak to somebody who's a drug dealer right now. You're about to be

a disciple and you're about to turn the chain of supply and demand on his head because when you get

hooked into this vine, there's an unlimited supply and I don't care what they said about you

and I don't care what you said about yourself. I don't even know what you've been labeling your kids.

I don't even know what the doctor told you to say. Follow him and find out. He's a healer. He's a

wave maker. He's a shane breaker. He's a stone roller. Yes he is.

And he came from Nazareth. So if you're going to seek Jesus, you might have to look in Nazareth.

You might have to look in a dirty place. You might have to get honest about what you're going through.

You might have to get authentic and quit pretending like you have it together and stop saying

praise the Lord we're fine and pick up the phone and call a counselor and say I need help

because the help might come from Nazareth. Nazareth. Nazareth. Nazareth. I kept saying it wrong all

week. Nazareth. Like I was saying, Nazareth and Nazareth and the Lord said, well what do the two

things have in common? I said, both were situations where everybody thought it was over

and both were places where God displayed his glory. You better follow him and find out.

I know in the Lord speaking, I'm not moving. I am not moving to my next point. It will be a shame

for you to let the shame of where you came from. Stop you from seeing the glory of who you came from.

I got a shone verse for bed. I got a shone verse for verse 14 says the word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory. The glory of the one and only son who came

from the Father. Can anything good come from Nazareth? Nazareth. Nazareth. Nazareth. Nazareth. Nazareth.

Can anything good come from that? Well, it depends because before he came from Nazareth,

he came from the Father. Everything that God allowed to happen in your life passed through his hands

and it has to go back through his hands and we have seen his glory. Now they say you have to see

it to believe it, but back up to verse 12, John chapter 1 verse 12, yet the all who did receive him

to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. See it? Circle the word

believed, Justin believed in his name, verse 14 again, and the word became flesh, that's Jesus

and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory. Circle the word scene. Sometimes you have to

see it to believe it. I get that, but sometimes you have to believe it to see it. See if I don't

believe that God is my provider, I won't see the provision. You get it, it's a complete inversion.

That's why Jesus' kingdom is upside down, but it's actually right side up because it's the

complete inversion. The gospel of John is not just about miracles. The gospel of John is not just

happy meals being fed to a crowd of 5,000. The gospel of John is not just water walking in storms.

The gospel of John is not just unique conversations. The gospel of John is themed around belief,

belief in the Son of God, belief in Jesus, not just what he did, but who he is. It is the theme of

the gospel. Believe, believe, believe. And he said to those who believe, you see the glory. So when

you believe God is a provider, it opens your eyes to see provision that you were walking past just

a day before. And if I remind you today that he's a provider, and if I force you by faith to follow

him and find out in your next step of your life, you may see that he has already made the plan to

provide for the thing that you're praying about. And he may have already worked out the situation

that you are so worried about. And I have found it to be true that if I do not believe that he's my

provider, I won't see the provision. Old Testament example, let's do this class real quick.

In Second Kings 4, a woman came to Alisha, he was the prophet, said, my husband is dead, I need

you to help, I need you to provide for me. The prophet said, back, what do you have in your house,

how can I help you? She said nothing except a jar of oil. What happened? The moment that she

believed, because the prophet said you have something in your house, she could see what she was

unable to see before she believed. So when I believe that God is my provider, it opens my mind,

it opens my eyes to begin to consider some of the things that he's given me in my life that may

be in seed form right now, but just because it's a seed doesn't mean it's not supply.

Can I give you another example? If I don't believe that God has the power to do what I need him to do,

I will not see his power operate. That's true. Think about in the Old Testament book of Joshua,

chapter 6, and you see this group of people that has been marching around a wall in a city called

Jericho for six days. Now on the last day they march, they start shouting, and you walk up to this

army and say, what are y'all shouting about? Because you would expect to see something that they

would be shouting about, but nothing has happened yet. They have to believe that the walls could fall,

shout in faith to find out. I said they had to shout to find out. You can figure out, you can count the

walls, you can measure the walls, you can climb the walls, you can come up on the walls and pray over

the walls and anoint the walls with oil, and you can take a seminar about the walls and you can

have a Bible class about the walls, but nothing is going to happen to those walls until you believe

that they can fall and the proof of your belief is in your shout. So when you shout, look, I know

not everybody's shouting in church and that's fine, you don't have to. You don't have to shout out

loud in church to get the content and the substance of what I'm saying, but even when I preach,

okay, listen to me, even when I preach once in a while, you ought to say amen. Every once in a

while when something hits you and you believe by faith, even if it's hard to hear, I used to have

a preacher that I sat under and he'd always say, if you can't say amen, y'all to say out, I got all

these country preacher shenanigans, I can pull them out anytime, all this bad, this preacher shenanigans,

one guy used to say, I'm preach for the praise of men, amen, amen. God, I run it.

I went to church one time with my dad, my dad was, I think most y'all know about my dad, he was

kind of from a Nazareth situation. His dad committed suicide, he dealt with alcoholism not only in his

family, but in his own personal experience and his life was very rough as a boy and I won't tell

you the story all over again because I know you come every week and you've got all my stories

but one time my dad wanted me to go to church with him and he was so excited to go to church because

the Lord turns his life around and we went out to this little church in a place like Nazareth,

just little town, 400 people lived in Nazareth by the way. Well, there couldn't have been 400 people

in this town and we pull up to the church and I'm like, what are you bringing me to? And it is

like independent Baptist fundamentalists, you know, just absolute condemnation turned up to level

11, like everybody was going to hell. The president was going to hell. The senator of the state

was going to hell. Mickey Mouse was going to hell. Y'all remember when the Baptist hated Mickey

Mouse for a minute? It was a whole moment, cultural moment. He's yelling at everybody and he's

preaching so hard and everybody in the church is in and everybody's saying, amen, that's right and

preach it and all this stuff. And one little boy, he couldn't be more than eight years old,

he stands up on the pew while the preacher is preaching and he shouted something I never heard

in my life. He didn't say amen. He didn't say praise the Lord. He didn't say preach it. He

hollers at the top of his lungs and this is what he says, let the wildhog eat my man

with a trademark shout. I don't know what it meant but I felt it in my bones. I'm like, yes, let the

wildhog eat indeed. Somebody shout amen. Amen. And when you shout amen, realize what your

shouting means so be it. When you shout amen, it doesn't mean preach pastor Stephen. When you say

amen, you're not talking to me at all. You're talking to the one that the word came from.

So when you say amen, you're saying God, let it be like that in my life. God, what you just

spoke to me, I don't care that my kids on drugs. If you say they'll be saved, they'll be saved,

so be it. Somebody shout amen. God, if you say I'm coming out of this, I'm coming out of this,

so be it. If you say the fire won't burn me, my clothes won't even smell like smoke.

So be it. Shout amen. I'm going to turn this into a pinnacle of church by the time it's all

said and done. But it's not just going to be for the people who have an outward expressing

personality. It's going to be for everybody who's been fighting against insecurity and fighting

against lies and fighting against the enemy telling you that's all it's ever going to be. Nazareth,

can anything good come out of Nazareth? Well, if God says something good can come out of this,

then amen to what He says and let every man be a liar because I got my own amen.

I love the word say amen.

But if you want to take it to the next level and you just might, then you can do what Jesus did

in John chapter 1 verse 50. You know, Nathaniel comes toward Jesus and I love Jesus because

watch this. He sees the best in me. I'm grateful that he knows the worst of me,

but he sees the best in me. You can't say that about anybody else. You say, Ken, my mother,

she don't know the worst, not be worst, not be worst. I'm not talking about what she caught you for

when you were in 10th grade. I'm talking about what you still deal with. And God knows that that

was Nathaniel's issue with Jesus. He said, how do you know me? I thought about doing an illustration,

but I didn't have time to work it out in advance where I was just going to walk up to somebody random

that I didn't know and start saying stuff about him. You know, how's your daughter?

She doing good over there at Sanford University? How's that new Honda Civic treatment? You like it?

I was going to find out from somebody else and then just I was going to walk down and there's no

way I could know all this and just freak them out. And that's what it must have been like for Nathaniel

because he's like, we'll see about this. Jesus of Nazareth. I never heard of Jesus from that.

The Bible doesn't say Jesus come from Nazareth. He's come from Bethlehem and I know my Bible,

so he didn't come from, well, he did come from Bethlehem. You just didn't dig deep enough.

So now Nathaniel, he's got kind of like a cynical or skeptical attitude. He's like,

I got to see it to believe it. Show me this Jesus. Now, this is crazy. He's like, I got to see it

to believe it, verse 47. When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said of him, how's that Honda

Civic working out? How's your daughter doing there at Sanford University? Here, truly,

it's an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. He knew something about him that he shouldn't know.

And Nathaniel said, how do you know me? Are you a stalker or a saviour?

Jesus, I saw you while you were still under the victory before Philip called you, before Philip,

before, before, before they called you. I knew you. Oh, that's good news.

I'm so glad God picked me before I was born, because after that, he might not have wanted me.

I've done some dumb stuff since then. I'm so glad he knit me together in my mother's womb.

I'm so glad he chose me and he saw me under my victory. Under the victory was a euphemism and

Judaism. It wasn't a literal term. It meant when you meditated. You know how we might say,

I'm in the lab. That doesn't mean you're a scientist. That just means I'm working on something.

You know how you might say, I'm cooking. You know, you're not really making spaghetti. You mean,

I'm working on something. Under the fig tree was the way they would describe meditating under

the fig tree. It could have been physical too, but there is rabbinic evidence to suggest that Nathaniel

was meditating. And Jesus is saying, I know what you've been thinking about. In other words,

I know what's in you. And Philip may have found you. Jesus says, but who do you think found Philip?

This is the funniest thing I've ever seen in the Bible, y'all. I've been preaching at this church

for 20 years. I preached for 10 years before that. And I never laughed harder reading the Bible

than I did this week. Did you see in verse 45 where it says, Philip found Nathaniel and told him,

we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law. I laughed when I saw that because he said,

we have found the one. We found Jesus. But all you got to do is back up to verses to see why I laughed.

Verse 43, the next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee, finding Philip. How quick we forget.

That I didn't find him. Uh-huh. I didn't choose him. He chose me. You want to know why I'm here today,

not because I found Jesus. The truth of the matter is some of us weren't even looking,

but he was. Some of us weren't even seeking, but he was. Some of us didn't even want to come to

church, but something major come, didn't it? Why? Because you had to get this word.

Philip didn't find Jesus. Jesus found Philip. And the same is true of me. It's my story is not the

story of Stephen seeking Jesus. My, my story is Jesus sought Stephen. He found me. And the reason

that's good news is if I found him, that means I could lose him again. But if he found me,

I said, if he found me, that means there's no valley too low, no mountain too high, no road too far,

no natural too small, no sin too great, no shame too strong, no grave too deep.

He found me. That's why I'm happy. That's why I'm excited. That's why I'm confident.

The Psalmist said in Psalm 27 verse 13, I would have despaired unless I believed that I would see

the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Check out the verse. I would have despaired,

given up, quit, no hope unless I believe that I would see. You say see it to believe it. God says

believe it to see it. And if you believe the walls can fall. And if you shout while you're still

staring at him. And if you start to clear and over my family, my family is blessed. I know everybody's

acting dysfunctional right now. But my family is blessed. The roots are blessed. The branches

are blessed. My body is blessed. My mind is blessed. Depressed but blessed. Stress but blessed.

Confused. He sees you under the fig tree. He sees what you're crying about. He sees what you're

confused about. And he calls you anyway. And he calls you while you are still under the fig tree.

And he told Philip come and see and he told Nathaniel Nathaniel. You think me seeing you

under that tree is a reason to believe Nathaniel. You ain't seen nothing. Yeah. Think about all the

things Jesus could have said. I'm not done yet. Think about all the things Jesus could have said to

Nathaniel. He could have said when Nathaniel came look at it in verse 47. He could have said

he saw him approaching and he knows that he just talked bad about Nazareth. That's his hometown,

he could have said. Oh here he comes. Oh Nathaniel. Oh Nathaniel it doesn't. Oh negative Nate.

Aren't you glad he sees the vest in you. He could say oh messed up Matt. But he don't see messed up.

He sees Miracle. I don't know who I'm preaching to but he called you while you were still under the

fig tree. He called you right in the middle of the messed up mine. He called you right in the middle

of the mess. Nazareth. Can anything good come from Nazareth. Follow me and find out. That's what he's

saying. Well he don't call him negative Nathaniel. You know how we make name the Bible characters

according to their absolute lowest point. Doubting Thomas. What you mean doubting Thomas. Thomas

said I'll go and die with you. Doubting Thomas. More like honest Thomas. If we could read your

mind. If we could get under your fig tree everything up going up under there ain't that good either.

By the way I just felt the Lord drop this in my spirit so I say it. Some of you need to remember

this who are raising kids who are lost right now. The Lord knows where to find them.

He found you, didn't he? He found you. That's why I called the sermon seeking Jesus.

Because I realized that I'm not really the one seeking. He is. He is the seeking Jesus.

Not just the saving Jesus. Not just the healing Jesus. He's the seeking Jesus. He's looking for

one who's lost and he'll leave 99 to get him. And a lady came up to me the other day and she gave me

a brought one. She gave me a little Jesus. You can't even see that, can you?

I said that's nice. Thank you. I said what am I supposed to do with this?

She said no just for the love is cute and I'm like it is cute thank you.

And I'm not hating on this I mean but something about it. Something about

many Jesus. And then she told me she goes they're cool you can hide them different places and

people can find them. And I was preparing this message thinking like that's how we think about

him sometimes. Oh isn't that wonderful? Well let me remind you what to think of when you look

at it. Remember every time you pick it up remember that this is just a reminder that I'm not holding

him. He's holding him. And I'm not interested in shrinking Jesus down to where I think see when

my life really runs up on the types of battles that I have to fight as a grown man.

I don't need many Jesus. I need a mighty Jesus. You ain't seen nothing yet Nathaniel.

You think that's something he says in verse 51 he says. Verily or truthfully I tell you the truth

you will see heaven open. You will see angels ascending and descending on the son of man. He's

prophesying from Jacob in the book of Genesis but he's prophesying about the cross. He's prophesying

about salvation. He's saying yes he's nothing yet. Put it back up. Verily I say unto you the

King James says very truly I tell you very true. Oh you need the original language to really get

this. In the original language he doesn't say very truly I tell you no he says amen amen. He says

it twice. 25 times in the gospel of John. Not in Matthew not in Luke not in Mark in John alone.

Jesus is recorded. 25 times he says amen and then he says it again. Now let's break this down.

He said very truly I say to you you ain't seen nothing yet Nathaniel. You are only getting started.

You want to see what it looks like to walk by faith. Follow me and find out. Follow me with questions.

Follow me with doubts. Follow me with impurities. I'll work them out. Follow me with sin. I'll watch it

away. Follow me. Just just seek me for who I really am. Just just follow me and you will find out

amen amen. I tell you you will see heaven open but what is interesting about amen in this culture

is not just that he said it twice. It's that he said it for himself. Normally when someone makes

a statement of truth someone who is listening will say amen in response. But when Jesus

when Jesus I'm gonna put this one up here with you L.J. I don't need him right now. When my great big water

walk in Jesus when he speaks a thing he doesn't wait to find out if you agree. If he said it that

settles it. Somebody shout amen. He said I'm healed. He said I'm free. He said I'm forgiven. He said

I'm righteous. He said I'm crisp. He said it's done. It is final. It is fitted. It is settled. It is

ridden. Amen. Amen again. Amen amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hot five three people say amen and amen. Amen

and amen. Amen and amen. Amen and amen. Amen and amen. And I got something for you Lose. Watch this

not only did he say it twice which means it's a covenant. Not only did he say it for himself

which means he'll fulfill it. He said it before the truth that he spoke when he said it because

Jesus doesn't need to wait for the amen. He is the amen of God. In the beginning where's my band?

What's the word? And the word was with God. And the word was God.

He said amen. Whatever comes after it is true. He said amen. Nothing can cancel it. He said

amen. It says good is done. So be it. Amen. Amen. The first words of John's gospel are in the beginning.

The last words that John writes in Revelation 2221 on the island of Patmos, the grace of the Lord

Jesus be with God's people. Amen. And if you believe you will see Jesus.

Jesus. Not little Jesus. You will see King Jesus. I want to start a series today called

See King Jesus. The one who was and is and is to come. So be it. And amen.

When the king speaks a word it cannot be overturned.

The king. The king. I need the whole church to receive this song. You stand up right where you are.

And you throw your hands in the air right now. And you say amen to God. Amen. I'm not waiting

until it's over to say amen. God, I come into agreement with you right now. In the beginning

was the word and in the end is the amen. I'm starting with an amen. I'm starting with the one who called me

because when the king speaks the word it cannot be overturned. It's as good as God. Amen.

And when heaven touches earth it can never be reversed. It's the king of God.

So get the liars out. Put the liars out the way. They don't have the fun to say. They

love to see King Jesus. Love it as a plea. Every word these speaks. Yes. And amen.

Amen. So celebrate the victory in the panel.

Everybody.

Amen. So be it.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Here we go.

Amen.

Can anything good for the sake of the world?

He's a key, crucified, he sees the nails in his hand.

You gotta believe it, just see him.

Stop doubting him, believe it.

Oh, the crown, that's who I am.

That is said, cross the side, that it was not the end.

Why can't he use it from your eyes?

Don't forget.

You will see it right away.

And he will lie.

Believe it, believe it.

Believe it, believe it.

Believe it, believe it.

Believe it, believe it.

Believe it, believe it.

Believe it, believe it.

He's alive, he's alive, he's alive.

The devil's heart is on the cross,

I tested for only his words,

and he'd be saved.

And he'd be stunning and stunning.

The world is gone, the world is gone

The world is gone, the world is gone

Say amen again

The world is gone

Let's go all of Asia's time

In the sky, no, please be there

In the sky, no, please be there

See that open, please be there

Now easy, easy, easy, easy

In the sky, no, please be there

In the sky, no, please be there

See that open, please be with me

Everybody, come fast inside

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

So be it, be silent

So be it, so be it

So be it, so be it

Amen, amen, amen

Amen, amen, amen

Thank you for joining us

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