January 21-23, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 1:29-41 “ON LIVING LIVES THAT SAY, “LOOK!”

EPIPHANY 2

January 21-23, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 1:29-41

“ON LIVING LIVES THAT SAY, “LOOK!”

1.     Lives that attract.

2.     Lives that inform.

3.     Lives that connect.

John 1:29-41 (NIV 1984) “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the One I meant when I said, ‘A Man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.” ³²Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. ³³I would not have known Him, except that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” ³⁵The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?” ³⁹“Come,” He replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour. ⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).”

          “Why am I here?” I’m guessing that most of you haven’t asked that question about yourself recently even though it’s a very important one. The question of individual and collective purpose has kept philosophers busy and employed for centuries. More recently a presentation I saw pointed to having a purpose in life as one of the key components of wellness. Perhaps if you are up there in years and your body isn’t working well you have asked, “Lord, why am I still here?” If you are wondering I have some Good News from God’s word for you today. As a redeemed and baptized child of God you are here to live a life that says “Look!”

          John the Baptist certainly understood his purpose. I’ve always wondered if John the Baptist and Jesus had any interactions as kids. They were close in age and related. Did they get to play together? Did John see Jesus when He went up to Jerusalem and stayed in the Temple at age twelve? I don’t know. At what point in life did John the Baptist know his God given purpose? We are simply told in all the Gospels that John appeared on the scene, that the word of the Lord came to him and he began preparing the way for the Lord by baptizing and preaching repentance. Take a look at a picture of what John might have looked like—out in the desert, wearing clothing of camels’ hair with a leather belt around his waist, eating a diet of locusts and wild honey, baptizing in the desert. Think about it. By appearance, diet and action John lived a life that said, “Look!” a life that attracted people to Jesus.

          How attractive are you? When you look in the mirror what do you see? Not the mirror in the bathroom at home but the mirror of God’s Word? Do you attract people to Jesus in your appearance, your diet, your actions? Let’s start with appearance, what you wear. Colossians 3:12-14 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Does that look like you? A Christian who goes around looking grumpy or mad or angry, a Christian who tears others down and uses foul language, does not attract anyone to Jesus. But as one of God’s chosen people you can dress each day with those characteristics that will. How about diet? What are you eating? Are you taking in God’s Words on a daily basis so they change you and shape you and strengthen you? What about actions? Do people see that you prioritize worship, that you pray, that you are a God dependent person? Professor Bivens in our Bible Class has reminded us of the importance of being authentic and transparent. Like John. People look for that and your purpose, like John the Baptist’s purpose, is to a live a life that says Look! Not look at me, but look at the one who changes me. Jesus.

          Attract, then you can inform.  “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the One I meant when I said, ‘A Man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.” ³²Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. ³³I would not have known Him, except that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” When John the Baptist got the chance he informed. He made sure the people knew the purpose of Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

          You and I can do the same thing. When our lives attract people we get the chance to inform. It might be when they notice you are a church goer or when you tell them where your kids go to school or when you are wearing your soon to be released St. Jacobi wear, don’t just tell them wear, tell them why. Because Jesus takes away the sin of the world. It’s OK to let them know you sin. They already do! Tell them how good it feels to be forgiven. Always. Because of Jesus. You don’t have to answer every question others have or try to make Jesus appealing by hinting that the lives of believers are trouble free—they are not. Live a life like John’s that says “Look! It’s Jesus. He came to take away the sin of the world.” And He did just that when He gave His life, sacrificed like a lamb on the cross. We live lives that inform.

          And then hopefully lives that connect. “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?” ³⁹“Come,” He replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour. ⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).” You need to know your purpose. John understood his. He wasn’t interested in having people follow him. They were supposed to follow Jesus. Notice how he connected them. Look! He said. Follow Jesus. It continued with Andrew. He found his brother Simon. He made the connection to Jesus.

          That’s my purpose and your purpose, to live lives that say “Look!” so we can connect people to Jesus. I think that’s pretty obvious for someone who is called Pastor. It’s obvious for a family of people like our family at St. Jacobi. Why our budget is important and our work, how we look to the community. We exist to connect people to Jesus. But it’s your purpose individually and for your families too. It may not be so obvious because you aren’t called Pastor or named after an Apostle but it is just as true. You are here to live a life that says, “Look!” As a worker to your co-workers, parent to a child, children to parents, no matter what role God has a playing we’re here to say Look! Look at Jesus. Because when it comes right down to it, when the buzzer sounds at the end of a life or the end of this world the only thing that matters is Jesus who has taken away the sin of the world. Living lives that attract, inform and connect people to Him is the most important reason you are here. Amen.