This morning, I am going to talk about seeking Jesus.
In our passage this morning, from John 1:29- 42, we see John the Baptist declare “Behold! The Lamb of God. Who takes away the sin of the world.”
Would you know Jesus if he walked in here this morning?
Are you prepared to see him if he did?
How would you respond? Would you sheepishly shake his hand and say” oh, I’m pleased to meet you.” Or would you take the stand and declare; “Behold! The Lamb of God!”
John the Baptist took a stand because he was ready to see Jesus.
So this morning, we’re going to focus in on John the Baptist in John 1:29 -34 to see what it means to seek Jesus.
In the passage, is that we are looking at this morning, the context is of John the Baptist speaking to the messengers of the Pharisees.
Look with me at John 1:22 and 23.
22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (Jn 1:22-23, ESV)
There is something different about John the Baptist. People around him saw this difference. They saw who he was and the Pharisees send people to ask who he was.
It is interesting to me to see that throughout the Gospels these most religious people, the Pharisees, were so caught up in being religious that they completely missed Jesus when he walked among them.
But John the Baptist did not miss it—he saw Jesus for who he was.
Look at verse 29:
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn 1:29, ESV)
He recognized who Jesus was. He knew that he was the Lamb of God and he also knew that the mission of Christ was to “take away the sins of the world”.
So as we look at this passage, I’m going to talk about the three ways that we can seek Jesus in our own life.
But I am not talking about seeing him physically. I’m talking about how to recognize Christ as the spirit moves through different situations in our lives.
So the first part to seeking Jesus is to seek him
1. Purposely.
John the Baptist was purposely seeking out Christ.
In John 1:15, the Bible says;
(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) (Jn 1:15, ESV)
John was constantly talking about the one that would come. He anticipated the coming of Christ and put himself in a place in which to find him as we see him in verses 29 and 36 – – when Jesus was walking by.
If you are seeking Christ, are you anticipating that you will see him and are you placing yourself in a position to see him when he does pass by?
Every Wednesday, after the kids go to bed, Monica and I sit and watch one of my favorite shows” Ghost Hunters“.
It is pretty creepy actually, but we have fun with it. That is until he gets time to turn out the lights and go to bed.
But as we watch the show, I noticed that the Ghost Hunters are doing exactly what we as Christians should be doing in seeking out Christ.
First they go to the place they expect to see ghosts; they go to haunted houses. If you expect to find a ghost, it go where the ghosts are.
John the Baptist was in the position to see Jesus walking by. He was in a position where he could identify to his followers who Jesus was. And some of his followers left him to follow Jesus.
Are you in a position to seek out Christ?
Are you regularly attending church or chapel so that you are worshiping and opening up so Christ can move in your life?
Are you regularly opening your Bible for the spirit to speak to you?
Are your regularly going to God in prayer, so that you can speak to God?
These are as basic as going into on of house to find ghosts – – we need to purposely put ourselves in a place to see Jesus.
The second thing the Ghost Hunters do is that they expect to see a ghost. Of course, I do when I watch the show. I’m always hoping to see them see the ghost.
John the Baptist was not surprised to see Jesus, nor was he surprised when two of his disciples turned and followed Christ.
That is what he expected.
Many of us here are here every Sunday. Many of you love to read your Bible and you pray daily. I know this because you are here week after week and you tell me about your prayers and your Bible reading.
But do you expect that Jesus will actually show up? Do you really believe Jesus when he says;
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Mt 18:20, ESV)
This is a matter of faith, you’ve placed yourself in a position to see Jesus, now believe that he will do what he says and will be with you.
This is seeking Christ purposely.
Now the second part to seeking Christ is to seek him
2. Specifically.
You’ve got to know what you’re looking for.
John the Baptist said in verse 30:
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’( Jn 1:30, ESV)
He saw that he was looking for a man who ranks before him.
When you are seeking Jesus, know who you are looking for.
Jesus is not what popular culture would like to portray him as a bobble head doll or a pretty picture.
He is the Lamb of God.
And he is greater than any of us.
Seth Godin this week told a story of disobeying the voice in his GPS.
We’ve all been there–Going one way and the voice in the box telling us to go a different way —usually I am wrong—but I will have a better idea of where to go than the GPS in our car. And the little box will constantly tell me I am going the wrong way.
Oh, I’m not going to let this little radio tell me what to do.
My favorite quote is” make a U-turn now”.
Instead of following the GPS, Seth Godin writes, he too went his own way.
He knew where he was going and what he was looking for.
“If it’s gotten to the point where we are uncomfortable disobeying a 3 inch by 4 inch touchscreen, then you know we’ve been brainwashed.”
We need to know where we are going and who we are following.
When you are seeking Jesus, you are seeking
“The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
This is very specific. It is Jesus who takes away sin not bring you to it.
When you are seeking his will on an issue? Do a sin check? Ask yourself if Jesus is glorified in this? Is there sin involved? And is there grace involved?
Jesus is the master of grace. He sacrificed himself for our sin. If there is no element of grace, then seek another option.
We see so much in the world that does not offer grace. I believe in discipline, but I also believe that the Bible speaks equally, if not more heavily, on grace. That is why we become concerned with the Lamb of God being represented. He was the author of grace. When we make a decision, we must consider grace.
When we seek Christ specifically, we know what Christ looks like. We take his example and so apply it to our lives that that light shines through us.
Knowing his example and applying that plumb line of our lives is seeking him specifically.
We need to seek Jesus purposely and specifically, but we also need to seek him
3. Biblically.
It is not enough to purposely seek and know what you’re looking for – – you must have some of verification that what you are looking for is really when you are seeing.
As Valentine’s Day is a month away, one of the top gifts to give women is jewelry.
And just so I don’t get beat up as a leave this morning men you can also get chocolate or flowers.
But jewelry is always of interest.
To buy the perfect diamond it is always advisable to get the piece appraised. An appraiser will give you an expert look at the diamond and determine if the rock is really what the seller claims it to be.
We need the same authentication in our spiritual life. Look with me at verse 33
I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ (Jn 1:33, ESV)
John the Baptist referred back to the” one who sent him” for verification that this was truly the Messiah. He listened to the word of God. It was the word of God that gave him assurance not even the spirit who remained on Jesus like a dove. It was affirmed by the very word of God.
Jesus says in Matthew 24:4 – 5
And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. (Mt 24:4-5, ESV)
There are many bright and shiny objects in a world today that draw us away from the precious jewel we had in Christ.
That is why we must look at everything under the lights of Scripture.
We must always let Scripture be our guide. And I will mean the entire Scripture. Just because someone uses Scripture out of context does not make the lie anymore true.
The Bible says:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Ti 3:16, ESV)
We must use the Scripture to examine everything – – every decision, every relationship we are in, and every belief that we take.
So we see Jesus, we do it purposely, specifically, and biblically.
The Bible says” seek and you will find”(Mt 7:7, ESV) and we must seek him in every area of our lives.
And this morning, I invite you to seek and find Jesus today. We are to first seek out Jesus as “the Lamb of God”.
He is presented to us as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. All of us are sinners. We have all said things, thought things, and done things to make God unhappy.
The payment for this sin is death. But Jesus sacrificed himself for us – – as a lamb – – in our place.
We must accept this payment to receive eternal life. It is within this moment of acceptance that you will know Jesus and begin to see his presence in your life. This morning, I invite you to accept this payment and then begin to seek him out each day as you seek to know him more.
It is not enough to know about Jesus or to simply recognize his presence. He needs to be invited into our lives and listened to. We need to seek him with every step that we take. We’ve got to be on target at every opportunity—or we are going to miss out on seeing him work.
So this morning, I encourage you to seek him purposely, specifically, and biblically. Then you will be able to declare as John the Baptist did, “Behold! The Lamb of God.”
Let us pray.
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This sermon was preached on 16 January 2011 at Memorial Chapel, Fort Lee, VA. All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007