Philip Found Jesus - Jesus Found Philip

If you would take your Bibles
and open them again to John chapter 1, I'm going to make a few introductory
remarks and then come back to the text. When a person comes to know the
Lord, when a person finds Christ the Redeemer, in true repentance toward God
and in genuine faith, not a religious experience, but in true faith
when he finds Christ. It's life's greatest day. There's
no way that a human heart can comprehend, can understand, can
even realize the importance of finding Christ. The glory of
it, the benefits, the blessings of it, the importance of it. We can't understand. Eye hath
not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered the hearts
of men, the things that God has prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us, yes, in a measure, but not
totally, in a measure, but not fully. We do not realize the
glory of knowing Christ. the importance of knowing Christ,
the beauty, the blessings of knowing Christ. Now we see through
a glass dimly, faintly, darkly, but then we'll understand. Someday
we'll understand, not now, but someday we'll understand what
it means to know Christ. Now we know in part, we understand
in part, we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect
is come, that which is in part shall be done away, and we'll
understand what it means to know Christ. It's the most important
day of your life when you find Christ for three reasons. First of all, when a man comes
to know Christ, the Redeemer, the Savior, the past is all changed. I want you to turn with me to
Isaiah chapter 1, verse 18. Isaiah 1, 18. Now, first of all,
when a man comes to know Christ, the past is changed. The Scripture
tells us that all our sins are forgiven. Can you comprehend
that? Can you really appreciate it?
All our sins are forgiven. God says they're blotted out.
God says they're cast into the depths of the sea. God said He'll
cast them behind His back. God said He'll remember them
no more. That's right. All our sins are forgiven. Look at it. Isaiah chapter 1,
verse 18. Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. As far as God is concerned, that
sin that's on your conscience and on your heart and in your
past never even happened. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he has peace with God. There is therefore now no condemnation,
no judgment to them who are in Christ Jesus. Now, I don't understand
what everybody's talking about when they preach about the judgment
seat of Christ. There may be a time when believers
shall stand as witnesses, maybe as participants, but no way will
God ever bring up a sin for which Christ died. No way will God
ever judge me when he's already judged Christ. My sins are forgiven. If any man be in Christ, there
is now no judgment, no condemnation. So our past is totally changed. Our past is totally put away,
forgotten, forgiven, pardoned, never to be mentioned again.
And then when a man comes to Christ, his present is changed.
Turn with me to the book of Ezekiel. Right after the book of Jeremiah,
in the Old Testament, the book of Ezekiel, chapter 36. Ezekiel
36. His presence, his present is
changed. His past is changed, and when
he comes to Christ, his present is changed. Instead of walking
in the darkness of idolatry, worshiping a false god, we walk
in light. We walk in the light as he is
in the light. We have fellowship with him. Instead of living for
self, we live for others. And as we grow in grace and as
we mature in Christ, the less we live for self and the more
we live for others. Instead of a life of hate and
vengeance, it's a life of love and forgiveness. Instead of a
life of personal glory, seeking our own, it's a life lived for
the glory of God. Instead of walking in and depending
upon and looking to and hoping in a meaningless fate and chance,
we walk in the providence and purpose of a sovereign God who
worketh all things after the counsel of His own will and for
the good of them that love God who are called according to His
purpose. Ezekiel 36 verse 26 says this, a new heart I'll give
you, a new spirit I'll put within you. And I'll take away the stony
heart out of your flesh. I'll give you a heart of flesh.
I'll put my Spirit in you. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he's none of his. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. And I'll cause you to walk in
my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land
that I gave your fathers, and you shall be my people. I'll
be your God." Of course, that's written primarily and firstly
to Israel, but we are spiritual Israel. Israel is made up of
those who are circumcised in the heart and not in the flesh.
So what God says to national Israel as a type or a shadow,
He's saying to spiritual Israel. I've had people come to know
Christ, come to love Him, trust Him, and say to me, you know,
I've gone back to the old crowd. And it's just not like it used
to be. I've gone back to the old places
and the old conversation, the old friends, and it's just not
the same. Yes, it is, too. They are the
same. It's the same. But you've changed. You've changed. It's not the
old crowd that's changed, it's you that's changed. It's not
the old places that have changed. that you used to enjoy, it's
you that's changed. They're still the same. The old
place is still the same. The old crowd is still the same.
The old conversation is still the same. The old needs are still
the same, but you're different. That's the reason you can't find
happiness with them and in their conversation and in their enjoyments,
is because God's changed you. He says, I've given you a new
heart. You've still got an old heart too. He's given you a new
nature. You've still got an old nature
too. And there's a conflict, and that's what causes the unhappiness
and disappointment when you go back to the old places. Then
when a man really comes to know Christ, not only the past is
changed, and the present is changed. You say, what about present sins?
If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's
a daily cleansing. And then when a man comes to
Christ, his future's changed. His future's changed. It's different. We were down in Mexico about
a year or so ago and we went fishing. Went about four or five
miles off of a little island and in a boat, pretty good sized
boat, nine or ten passenger boat, pretty good sized boat anyway
with a top over it. While we were out there fishing,
the rudder broke, the rudder cable broke. And while the boys
repaired the rudder cable, the boat had no direction at all. It was pretty rough water that
day, too, and it was just at the mercy of the waves. The boat
was dashing here and there, and it was turning. It was at the
mercy of the wind, the mercy of the tide, the mercy of the
waves, just drifting, drifting with no direction, drifting about.
But once they repaired the rudder, once they got the cable fixed,
we made for sure in a definite direction. And when God Almighty
saves a person, when Christ comes in to dwell, He gives direction
to our lives. We're not drifting about, being
tossed about by every wave and wind of doctrine, but we have
a definite direction. We walk the way of truth. We
walk the way of purpose. We walk the way of life. We walk
the way of godliness. We walk the way of holiness.
We're walking the way of His eternal home. Christ said to
His disciples, let not your heart be troubled, You believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. And I go to prepare a place, prepare a place for
you. I'm preparing you for that place.
I'm preparing that place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place, I will come again and receive you unto myself. But
where I am there, you may be also." And David said, that's
when I'll be satisfied. I'm not satisfied here. I can
find no satisfaction here. Because there's nothing here
that's permanent. There's nothing here that's eternal. There's
nothing here that's lasting. I'll be satisfied when I awake
with his likeness. That's the reason Paul said,
I have a desire to depart. For you it's expedient that I
remain, but I personally have a desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is far better to live as Christ. And for the believer
to die, it's gain, because that's his direction. He's going home. He's headed in that direction.
He may make some detours here and there, but that's his direction.
He may make some turns here and there. He may go off on a tangent
here and there, but that's his direction, to be like Christ. Well, Philip came to know Christ.
When he did, his past was changed, and his present was changed,
and his future was changed. He came to know Christ the Redeemer. He came to know Christ the Savior. Did you notice in John 1, let's
look over there one more time, did you notice where he came
from? Did you notice where he lived? It said Philip, in verse
44, it said Philip was of Bethsaida. Where have you heard that name
before? Now think a moment. One day our Lord was standing
up speaking to some people and you know what He said? He said,
Woe unto you, Chorazin, Woe unto you, Capernaum! Woe unto you,
Bethsaida! If the mighty works which were
done in you had been done in Sodom, had been done in Tyre,
had been done in Sidon, they would have repented. And I say
unto you, it's going to be more tolerable for the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah in the judgment than for you, Bethsaida, than
for you, Capernaum, than for you, Chorazin. God's judgment
was upon these cities, and yet out of these cities, and out
of this one particular city, Bethsaida, came Philip, look
on down, Andrew, and Peter. No matter how dark, no matter
how deep the sin, no matter how heavy the judgment, God is able,
even from the dunghill, the places of rebellion, to find his own,
to find his own. Philip was of Bethsaida. Philip
was the one who later, after three years, looked at the Master
and said, Show us the Father. And our Lord said, Philip, in
a manner of scolding him, I suppose, Philip, have I been so long time
with you, and yet you don't know me. Same Philip. Philip came from Bethsaida, a
city on which Christ pronounced judgment. Philip was the one
who, after three and a half years walking with Christ, listening
to Christ, living with Christ, still couldn't comprehend, oh,
how patient we need to be with one another, how slow we are
to learn. Oh, year of little faith, show
us the Father. And the Lord Jesus said, Philip,
have I been this long with you, and yet you don't know me. But
yet it was Philip who led the great revival in Samaria. It
was Philip that the Holy Spirit found in Samaria and lifted him
up and took him out into a desert passageway and let him preach
Christ to an unknown Ethiopian eunuch who came to know the Savior.
Philip. Philip found the Savior. And
I want us this morning to look at two descriptions of his conversion. Now, this is going to be interesting
if you'll listen carefully and ask the Spirit of God to give
me some liberty and to preach through me. Two descriptions
of his conversion. I want to hear what he has to
say about it. I want to hear what Philip has
to say about his conversion. First, we're going to look at
the way Philip described his conversion. And then secondly,
we're going to look at the way the Holy Spirit described his
conversion. The way the Holy Spirit described
it. Now first of all, let's look at the way Philip described it.
Look at verse 45. Philip found Nathanael. He went
somewhere and found Nathanael and said to him, Nathanael, I
found the Lord. I found the Lord. I found him
of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write. I found
that prophet of whom Moses said, God will raise up a prophet out
of the midst of you like unto your brethren, to him you shall
hearken. I found the Christ of whom every
Sacrifice is a type and a picture. I've found Christ. I've found
him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write. He's
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. I've found the Lord.
You know that's not bad language. That's good language. Elihu said
to Job, I've found a ransom. I found the ransom." Our Lord
Jesus said that. He said, if any man is saved,
it will be like a man finding a pearl of great price and going
and selling everything he has and coming and buying even the
whole field. And in that beautiful, beautiful
song of Solomon, in chapter 3, verse 4, the Church says of I
found him whom my soul loveth." I found him. Philip is using
good language here. I found the Lord. I can say to
you this morning, I found the Savior. I found him. I believe Philip found the Redeemer
because he knew his need of the Redeemer. Can't you just almost
hear the gladness in his voice when he ran and found Nathanael?
He said, Nathanael, I found the Savior. I've found the Lord. I've found him whom my soul seeketh."
Simeon found him. You'll never seek a Savior till
you feel your need of a Savior, and you'll never find the Redeemer
till you have a need for the Redeemer. Somebody said one time,
a man will never recognize the Savior till he recognizes the
sin. Again, he said, a man will never
be converted until, first of all, he's convicted. All who
came to Christ in the New Testament came with a need. Look at that
poor, broken, sick woman, twelve years in bondage, and she sought
the Lord and found Him. Look at Magdalena, out of whom
he cast seven devils. Look at the publican who went
in the temple and cried, God be merciful to me, the sinner.
He found justification. He found redemption. He found
the Savior. He sought Him. Perhaps the reason
some in here have never found the Savior is because they've
never recognized their need of the Savior. When you need something,
you look for it until you find it. And you don't stop looking
for it until you do find it. You keep seeking and searching
and hunting until you find it. And when the need becomes great
enough and the sin becomes deep enough and black enough, we'll
keep crying out for the cleansing fountain until we find it. I'll
tell you another reason why he found the Savior. He found him
not only because he needed him, he found him because he searched
the scriptures concerning him, and he searched the scriptures
in such a way that when he did find him, he recognized him.
Listen to what he said. We have found him of whom Moses
in the law and the prophets did write. Now, Philip did not depend
upon his feelings. leading him to Christ, revealing
Christ to him. He did not depend upon his experience. He was looking for the Messiah.
But he did not depend upon his experience. He did not depend
upon a vision. He depended upon what he had
learned from God's Word. He searched the Scriptures. And
when he found Christ, he recognized him as fulfilling the Word. This
is Christ. This is the one of whom Moses
wrote. This is the one who is written about in the prophets.
My friends, if you would recognize Christ, if you would recognize
the Savior, if you would recognize the Messiah, if you would recognize
a true gospel sermon when you hear one, you've got to search
the scriptures. That's what the noble Bereans
did. It says they were more noble than those of Thessalonica because
when they heard the Apostle preach, they went home and searched the
Scriptures to see if these things be so. Most of the people in religious
circles today are like little birds in a nest. Have you ever
seen a mother bird feed a bunch of hungry birds in a nest? They're
sitting up there in a nest and they've got no arms or legs and
they've just got their mouths open. And they're sitting there
with their mouths open, and the mother bird flies, and she just
drops in there, you know, whatever she's picked up, just drops it
in. They just keep, and they close
their mouths and swallow it, and close their mouths and swallow
it. That's not what God's people ought to do. I'm saying to you, search the
Scriptures. They testify of Christ. Faith
cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. What we preach
from this pulpit, you go home. and open your Bible and see that's
so. That's what Christ complimented.
That's why he complimented the Bereans. He said they were more
noble. They were more intelligent. They searched the Scriptures
to see if what Paul told them and Peter told them and James
and John told them were true. If you would find Christ, you
must search the Scripture. He who reads the Bible with a
view of finding the Savior, will find Him. He who reads the Bible,
not to satisfy his curiosity, not to prove his Methodism or
Presbyterianism or Catholicism or Baptism, but he who reads
the Bible, not to prove his theology, not to prove his doctrine, not
to ease his conscience, not to satisfy his curiosity, but to
find God's mercy, he'll find it. He'll find it. Christ said, any
man who wills to know the will of God, he'll know it. He'll
know it. But this Bible reveals Christ. And when Philip met him and when
Philip heard him, he recognized him. He said, this is the one
Moses wrote about. This is the one the prophets
told about. This is he of whom Moses wrote. You see what I'm saying? He not
only had a need, I've got a need, you've got a need, my soul we've
got a need. The older we get in Christ, the
more imperfect we become. The more flaws and failures and
infirmities and afflictions we discover, the more the light
of God's holiness and God's beauty and God's truth shines upon us,
the more of our own imperfections we see. We've got a need. And
I'm not satisfied with a religious religious ritual. I'm not satisfied
with the balm of a ceremony rubbed over the wound. I want to find
him who can come within and do something about the condition
there. So I searched the Scripture. You know, the rich man was in
hell, Christ said. And he saw Abraham afar off in,
Lazarus afar off in Abraham's bosom. And he cried, Father Abraham,
send Lazarus. that ye may dip his finger in
water and cool my tongue. I'm tormented in this flame."
And Abraham said, Son, remember in thy lifetime thou had the
good things and Lazarus had the evil things. Now he's comforted,
thou art tormented. Well, Father Abraham, I've got
five brothers at home. Send Lazarus back. Raise him
from the dead in a miraculous fashion. Let him walk the streets
where they carried his casket. Let him walk again on the shores
that no longer know his name. Let him minister to people who
know that he's dead, and that'll waken my brothers." You know
what Abraham said? They won't believe. Though one
rose from the dead, they won't believe. Christ rose from the
dead and they didn't believe him. They have the scriptures. Let them hear them." That's what
he said. They have Moses and the prophets,
that is, the scriptures. Another group said, Lord, show
us a sign and we'll believe. He said, no sign is going to
be given. Work a miracle and we'll believe you. Come down
from the cross and we'll believe you. You think they would have?
Why, he raised dead men and caused lame men to walk and gave sight
to the blind, and even Nicodemus the Pharisee said nobody could
do what he does except God be with him. We know he's from God. Miracles won't save. It's the
Word of God that saves. That's the reason you needn't
put any stock in these so-called divine healers going about the
country, I believe, in miracles, shaking people's heads, healing
quarters and cancers and crooked legs and things like that. That
doesn't save men's souls. They've got to hear the Word
of God. That's what the Savior said. He said, no sign shall
be given, no sign shall be given but the Word, the Word. And if
you want to know Christ, do like Philip. Search the Scripture.
And when you find him, you'll recognize him, fulfilling the
Scripture. You know, the Apostle Peter said,
I was on top of that mountain when Moses and Elijah appeared.
I heard the voice from heaven speak. I saw the Lord Jesus glorified. I saw all that he said. I heard
it. But we have a more sure word
of prophecy. that you do well to take heed
to it, the scriptures." That's what he said in 2 Peter 1, 18-19,
a more sure word. Philip found the Redeemer because
he needed him. We've got to establish a need.
We've got to come down off our high horses. We've got to come
down out of our elevated castles of personal piety. We've got
to come down here with the harlots and the publicans and sinners,
for Christ said, they enter heaven before you. I came not to call
the righteous but sinners to repentance. Christ died for sinners. He came into the world to save
sinners. Philip had a need, and Philip searched the scriptures,
and then he found the Lord because he believed him. He received
him. Listen to the confidence in his
voice. He said, Nathaniel, I found him. And Nathaniel, verse 46,
began to put forth objections And Nathanael said, where did
he come from? Philip said, Nazareth. Nathanael said, can any good
thing come out of that place? Philip said, you just come and
see. I can't answer all your objections, Nathanael. I just
know this. I've found him. I believe him. I believe his grace. I believe
his love. I believe his purpose. I believe
his wisdom. I believe his righteousness.
I believe his sacrifice. I can't answer all your questions. People find a minister and they
begin to ask him all kind of strange, unusual, hypothetical
questions. I can't answer them. I'll be
the first one to admit I can't answer all your questions. I
do know this, the secret things belong to the Lord. The revealed
things belong to us. And I know he's revealed himself
to me. I found in him a resting place. I found in him a refuge. I found
in him a cleansing fountain. I found in him the peace of God.
I found in him the rest of God. I found in him what I have found
nowhere else. And one of them looked at him
and said, Lord, to whom shall we go? To whom shall we go? Shall we go to philosophy? You
won't find any answers there. Shall we go to ritualistic religion? You won't find any answers there,
where they burn the candles and peer through stained-glass windows
and utter a lot of mumbo-jumbo that nobody understands. Shall
we go to enthusiastic religion where everybody's running up
and down the aisle screaming and shouting and throwing songbooks
and talking about how good they are? You won't find anything
there. Shall we go to the law, the law with its scourging whip
that creases our backs and makes them bleed, the law of God which
strips us, the law of God which shows us our sins and our guilt?
The more you read it, the more sinful you become. Shall we go
to the fountain? Shall we go to the sprinklers?
Shall we go to the baptismal pool? Shall we go to the sacraments? There's nothing there. People
have been there and come away empty. Shall we go to the feast? Shall we go to the altar? To
whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. I prefer to stay with Christ. No one else has the words of
life. No one else has the hope of life. No one else has the
answers. He does. No one else can meet
my need. He can. No one else can satisfy
my soul. He can. I've found Him. I've
found Him. And they said, here we're going
to stay. We've left all to follow Thee and this is where we'll
stay. I've found the message. I've found the ransom. I've found
Him whom my soul loveth. I've found Him. Wandering around
through everything else dissatisfied with everything else. I found
it All right next and closing. Let's see how the Holy Spirit
described Phillips conversion. This is interesting Philip said
he found the Lord and he did no question about that. He did
find it But let's see how the Holy Spirit described it. Verse
43, just before verse 45. Philip said in verse 45, I've
found the Lord. But verse 43 said this, the day
following, Jesus would go into Galilee and he found Philip. He found Philip. Our Lord went
into Galilee to find Philip. And he found Philip before Philip
found him. He sought Philip before Philip
sought him. He knew Philip before Philip
ever knew him. He called on Philip before Philip
ever called on him. He said, Philip, follow me, follow
me. He loved Philip before Philip
ever loved him. Herein is love, not that we love
God. He loved us and gave himself for us. He moved toward Philip. before Philip ever moved toward
him. That's so. Turn to John 1, verse
12. Listen to this. It says in verse
12, "...as many as received him," not just his words, his doctrines,
his church, his messenger, him, "...to them gave he the power,
the right, the privilege to become sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name." There's a colon there, that's not the
end of that sentence. Which, these people that believed
on his name, these people that received, which were born, that's
the new birth. That's the regenerating work
of the Spirit. And they were born not of blood, that is not
a family inheritance, it didn't come down bloodlines. I'm not
redeemed because my father was a believer, or his father, or
his father, that's not the way it came. You'll find our Lord
finding one of his jewels in a place where nobody believes.
Some of you people have been redeemed out of families that
are totally pagan. Abraham was. Abraham's father
was an idolater, and his whole clan worshiped idols. But God
called Abraham, which were born not of blood, not of the will
of the flesh. Now if our flesh had its way,
now be honest about it, don't be a hypocrite. If our flesh
had its way, it would not lead us to God, that's for sure. Not
of the will of man, but these people who received him, who
believed on him, were born, look at the last two words, three
words, born of God, born of God. That's where it all began. Turn
to the book of Romans, chapter 8. Verse 28, Philip found the
Lord. No question about that. He found
the Lord. He had a need. He'd been searching
the Scriptures. He recognized Him. When he found
Him, he received Him. He believed Him. He ran and told
somebody, I've found the Lord. I've found the Redeemer. I've
found Him who meets every prophecy and meets every need. I've found
Him. And Nathanael started popping off with a lot of objections.
He said, now you just come and see. You just come and see. But Romans 8, verse 28 says this,
and we know this, that all things work together for good to them
who love God. That's not only talking about
things of providence, that's talking about persons, Father,
Son, Holy Spirit. All things, covenant redemption,
covenant mercies, covenant love, all things, the obedience of
Christ, the death of Christ, His active and passive obedience,
the future, the intercession, the coming of Christ, all things
Things of life, successes and failures, sickness and health,
life and death, all things work together for good to them who
love God, who are called according to His purpose. Philip found
the Lord, but the Lord found him first. For whom he did foreknow,
he knew you before you knew him. He said, Jeremiah, before I formed
thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before thou camest out of thy
mother's womb, I sanctified thee and set thee apart. Paul said,
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, call me by his
grace when I was forty years old. Whom he foreknew, he predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son, that Christ might
be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
then he called. And whom he called, he justified.
whom he justified, he glorified. Now what are you going to say
to these things? Well, Paul said, if God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? All things. When I believed on
Christ and received Christ, you know, if somebody asked me to
tell them the day and the hour when I was saved, I couldn't
do it. Many of you can. Some can. Paul could. I don't
believe Peter could tell you the day and the hour when God
saved him. He can tell you the day when Christ first revealed
himself to him, when Christ first made him conscious of his need.
He can tell you the day and the hour when Christ first met him. But after three years, our Lord
said, Peter, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Christ said, whom do you say
I am? Peter said, I am the Christ, the Son of the living God. Two
years later, he sat by a fire and said to a bunch of people,
I don't even know him. I don't even know him. A few
months later, he was standing on Pentecost telling about who
he was. I don't know. It depends on when
God is pleased to move in your direction. But I do know this,
when I first believed on Christ, when I first received Christ,
I didn't understand the sovereign purpose of God. I didn't understand
the sovereign grace of God in redemption. I just knew several
things. I knew I was a sinner. I know it more now. I knew that
Christ was the sinner's Savior by His suffering and by His sacrifice
and by His substitutionary death, but I didn't know anything in
the world about His sovereign grace. His eternal purpose. I knew nothing about that. I
believed that Christ died for sinners. I received Him. I trusted
Him. Then one day, God showed me that
all that had been done for me and all that had been done toward
me and all that had been done in me was the work of God. It
wasn't something that I did. It wasn't something that the
minister did. It was something that God did. This is the work
of God, and I begin to understand scriptures like this. We are
His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good work. I begin to understand scriptures
like this. Other sheep I have which are
not of this foal, them I must bring. I begin to understand
scriptures like this. All that my Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh out in no wise cast out.
I began to understand scriptures like this. He that hath begun
a good work in you shall perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ. I began to understand scriptures
that talked about Christ was the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. And scriptures came alive that
said, salvations of the Lord, the salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. It fit into place. And I understood
I found him because he found me. I understood that I did call
on him because he called on me. That I did love him because he
loved me. And I did seek him because he
sought me. "'Tis not I that did choose thee,
for, Lord, that could not be. One day as just a young lad,
I thought on divine things. I was concerned. Who caused me
to be concerned? What caused me to be concerned?
Who made me think on heaven, hell? Who made me think on God
and life? Others were totally indifferent.
The Holy Spirit. One day I was made aware of my
sin and my guilt. I thought of God's wrath against
sin. Why did I become convicted of my sin? Did that flower of
repentance grow out of the dunghill of human nature? Then why did
it grow out of other dunghills? No, it was God-granted. One day
I read the Bible and I understood it. I read verses besides the
clichÃ©s that men were using and the doctrinal foundations on
which cults and sects were built. I began to read the whole Scripture.
I began to look at the Bible as God's Word. I saw Christ the
Savior of sinners. I saw God's justice. I saw how
he could be just and justify the ungodly. I saw God's purpose. I saw God as a king, almighty,
not as a frustrated, defeated, disappointed, disillusioned granddaddy
sitting up there in heaven hoping somebody will let him have his
way. That wasn't a God I saw in the Bible. I saw a God of
sovereignty, a God of purpose on every page. Who gave me that
understanding? while others remained in theological
darkness and went around in circles trying to explain how man can
be on the throne and God can too, how that man's will and
God's will both can be done. I saw that man's will was in
subjection to God's will. Who taught me that? I began to
pray and to call on God, God be merciful to me, a sinner.
My heart was broken, is broken, I hope it always will be broken.
Who maketh thee to differ? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
what of thy glory is this thou didst not receive it? And Christ
said to me as he said to Philip, follow me, follow me. And one day years and years and
years ago he said, follow me. I had a dim view of him, a light
view of him, a small view of him, but I followed him. Later
on he said, follow me, as he revealed more of himself to me,
more of himself in his glory, and I followed him. A few years
ago he revealed himself as the king, and the command was, follow
me. Whatever it cost, whoever it
cost, you follow me, the sovereign, the king, the one who reigns,
and I followed him. Now tomorrow he may say, follow
me through a dark valley. It will be dark on both sides
and at both ends, but I'm with you. Follow me through persecution. Follow me through the deep valley
of sickness. Follow me through trials that
you cannot understand or fathom, but I know what it's all about.
You just keep on following me." And as he reveals himself, I'm
going to follow him. I'm going to follow him. No long
word is needed. He just walked up to Philip and
he said, Philip followed. You want a refuge? Follow Christ. Don't follow me.
Don't follow me. Please don't. You want a refuge? Follow Christ. Don't follow a
church, a denomination. You follow Christ. I have people
call me occasionally. One this morning. He may be here
this morning. I want to know what faith this church was. Southern
Baptist? Independent? What? What difference
does it make? It's not what's preached here. It's not who preaches
here. It's what's preached here. It's
the message that's preached. It doesn't matter what names
out yonder. Names mean nothing in this world. It's who's preached. It's what's preached. For whose
glory we preach it. And I urge you, follow Christ.
Follow him. Follow him in faith. Follow him
in baptism. Follow him in confession. Be
like old Phillip, Nathanael, I found you. I found you. Oh, I found you. What number
do you want to sing, Doc? 240. Let's turn there. Let me
offer this.

Philip Found Jesus - Jesus Found Philip

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Philip Found Jesus - Jesus Found Philip

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