John's Witness - Day 3 Follow Christ

That's one of my favorites. I enjoy that song. Very powerful. I don't know if you know it, but that's a newer song. It's not an older song. I'll tell you if any of this music really touches your heart and moves you, you ask Keith where you can acquire that. Our desire is to lead you in Christ-centered, biblically-based worship. Lots of the worship that's out there today is more man-centered and more about man's emotions. I could go on about that, but if you will notice the music that we sing that Keith leads us in is Christ-centered, biblically-based, Christ-honoring.

And there's a lot of new music as well as old music that we enjoy and that's one of the new ones. And like I said, if you're curious as to where to find that, we would help you in any way because we want to help you in your worship. Not just in the preaching and teaching, but also in singing. And thank you, Keith. I enjoyed that. Well, take your Bible this morning and turn with me to John chapter 1. John chapter 1, we are going to be in verses 35 through 37. John chapter 21, we're still in our series, Christ the Son of God, believe and live. We know that John has a two-fold purpose in the writing of his Gospel.

He is elevating and exalting the deity of Christ. He was correcting error in his day. There was a lot of error that was being propagated about who Christ really was. And then also we know that the theme verse teaches us that John's purpose is evangelistic. Therefore, the title of the series, Christ the Son of God, we're seeing a proper Christology, but yet through that, believe and live. That really typifies, exemplifies, grabs hold of the heart of John, that he wanted the readers to know Christ and serve Christ and walk with Christ.

Now, we have been following our first credible witness in this chapter, the verses that we've been in in chapter 1. I told you several weeks ago that we're going to see several witnesses that John, the Apostle John, establishes in that desire to draw a harsh line in the fan as to who Christ was. So John the Baptist was that first credible witness that Christ was the Son of God. And we've had an enjoyable time seeing John flesh out John's witness. John the Apostle, he's fleshed out that witness that he gave us earlier in chapter 1.

Now, if you're familiar with the verses that we've been in, and you should be because of the preaching and the teaching and your own personal study, verses 19 all the way through the verses that we're in this morning have been a three-day event. I told you that we were going to cover it in the three different days. And so far we've learned much about John and his ministry, and we've learned much from the Apostle John's account. But I want to explain something to you that it is extremely important for you not only to take what we're looking at in John's gospel, but it is important for you to go back and look at the other gospels.

You know that Matthew, Mark, Luke are different accounts. They're called the synoptic gospels and they will give you different information, more information than John has, especially in dealing with John the Baptist. I know in our Bible study time Wednesday night we were heavily in the gospel of Luke. As a matter of fact, my favorite account personally of John the Baptist and his ministry is given to us from Luke. I enjoyed seeing the personal side of John the Baptist, his prayer in the wilderness as he was waiting to be called of God and just his preaching and his teaching. So what am I sharing with you?

I think it's imperative for you to go on your own, to look at Matthew, to look at Mark, to look at Luke, look at them as well as what we're looking at in John because you will get all of the layers that we see in the scripture of John the Baptist and what he's teaching. Now in these three days that we've been in with John the Baptist, we have seen and we are going to see that there are three groups of people that John has been dealing with. Now the first group we saw in verse 19 through 28 and those were the religious representative, those who came from the religious leaders. You know that story? What did they do? They came to inquire.

They came to investigate. So right away there were those who represented the religious leadership of the day. Also the second crowd we saw were the crowds. There were vast crowds there when Christ came on the scene. Matter of fact the other gospel accounts really give us details about the crowds and that was on the second day. There was a crowd of people that were there and then Christ came on the scene. Christ burst on the scene. And then this morning on the third day we're gonna see that it's a smaller crowd and it's a couple of John the Baptist disciples. So what do we see?

We've got three days, three different crowds and three different emphases that John has and we're gonna cover that at the end of the message. And what do we see? That brings us to the title of the message this morning, John's Witness Day 3. John's Witness Day 3 and you'll see a part of the title is "Follow Christ." Follow Christ. So let's look at the Scripture together. We know that we're on the third day so we're there in verse 35 and what does the Scripture say?

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. A short portion of Scripture but yet there's quite a bit that the Lord wants us to see that really ties these three together, these three days, this three day event. So if you're taking notes and I trust that you are, I hope that you do for your personal study, notice truth number one the disciples. Truth number one, the disciples.

Look back at verse 35 again the next day John, that's the John the Baptist, he was standing with two of his disciples and what does this say? He looked up and there was Jesus. So what I want you to see is the disciples. Now all of the translations that we have this morning really say the same thing so there's no need to get into some of the other translations but what we have here is John the Baptist disciples. If we're not careful when we see the word disciples we will assume that it's talking about Jesus disciples but let me give you some explanation.

At this time in his ministry John, that's John the Baptist, had built up a significant following. Luke chapter 7 we have John the Baptist disciples they came to Jesus to inquire of him to see if he truly was the Messiah. Now what is my point? There were disciples of John who went to Jesus. Also in John 3, John's disciples came to him to tell him that Jesus was baptizing and the crowds were flocking to him. What is my point? Those were John's disciples. Another thing is if we continue in Acts chapter 19 verse 1 there were some of John's disciples who remained faithful to him. They missed it. They missed the point that Jesus had come along.

What am I trying to show you? John had a following. He had legitimate disciples. And if we're not careful we will read over that and the next day John was understanding with two of his disciples. It's important for us to note that John had a group, he had a a following, they were his disciples. Now what is the meaning of this word disciple? I'm afraid that in our culture we miss the true biblical meaning. Now a simplistic understanding of a disciple is a learner and a follower. In our culture we would focus more on a learner and we would overlook the part of being a follower.

So a true disciple in the biblical sense is a follower and a learner. In the first century it was common for disciples to literally follow the people who were seen as their teacher or their mentor. They would follow them and they would learn not only from their teaching but also from their lives. See in our culture we see a disciple as one who just learns from teaching. We see it like as a classroom setting. But in the first century a disciple would attach himself to a teacher or a mentor. That's why if you continue and you read verse 38 when Jesus starts to interact with these disciples I want you to notice what they say.

"And Jesus turned and he beheld them, those were the two following, and they said to him, he says to them, 'What do you seek?'" Now notice what they said, "And they said to him, 'Rabbi,'" that means teacher, "Where are you staying?'" That might seem odd to us. But what they're saying is if you're a teacher and we were to be your student we would come sit at your feet, we would live with you, we would walk with you, we would listen to your teaching, but we would attach ourselves to you in your life to be a learner. That's what a disciple is. We've missed it in the American church.

We view a disciple as a discipleship program where we sit just in a classroom, but that's not the case. These disciples had not only attached themselves to John the Baptist's message, but they had attached themselves to John himself. They had followed him, they had walked with him, yes they had conversed with him, but they had lived with him as a student and a teacher, as a disciple to a mentor. Now who were these two that were mentioned? Notice what it says. John is standing there with two of his disciples. Who were they talking about? Well if you go on down to verse 40, what does it say?

"One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew." So what I want you to see first is one of the two is Andrew. Now this Andrew later became one of Christ's disciples. He was the brother of the more famous disciple, that would have been Peter. Verse 40 says that, that he was the brother to Simon Peter. Simon Peter was obviously a more well-known disciple of Christ, but Andrew was one of the disciples, Simon Peter's brother, but Andrew is noted or famous for bringing other people to Christ. Verse 41 says that he brought his brother to Christ.

Chapter 6 verse 8 through 9, there was a two-day event where Jesus fed the five thousand and it was Andrew who brought a little boy to Jesus who had a little boy's lunch that day. In chapter 12 verse 20 he brings some of the Greeks to Jesus. And what do we see in that? Andrew had a habit of bringing people to Jesus. But this is the disciple, one of the disciples that is mentioned here. But the second disciple would have been John. Now let me explain something about John. I've given you this information. The Apostle John never names himself in his gospel.

The only time he would refer to himself would be a generic term like a disciple, but he would say the disciple whom Jesus loved. John never names himself. So if you ever see the name John, the Apostle John is writing about another. But what most Bible commentators think is and say is that this disciple that is mentioned here in verse 37, verse 35, would have been John. John's not mentioned by name, but we know that that is his habit. He does not give his name in this gospel. But most Bible commentators believe that this was John. Now what do we need to see here with verse 35? And we did skip ahead to verse 40. What do we need to see?

John's true disciples, John the Baptist, those who were listening to his teaching, but those who had attached themselves to his life, those disciples later became followers of Christ. And remember, John the Baptist's role was to prepare the way for the Christ. He was the forerunner. And John expressed his desire for his disciples to follow Christ over in the chapter 3, verses 26 through 30. Listen to what the scripture says, John chapter 3, 26 through 30, just a page over, probably in your Bible. What does it say?

"And they came to John, and they said to him, 'Rabbi,'" that means teacher, "his disciples talking to John the Baptist. 'He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him.'" What is going on? John the Baptist's disciples have come to John, they said, "Teacher, the one that we beheld and you bore witness of," that's Christ Jesus, "he is baptizing, and people are flocking to him." Verse 27, John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven." What is he going to say?

He says, "You yourselves bear witness with me that I have said I am not the Christ." And he goes on to say, basically in our language, "Yes, that's supposed to happen." What do we see? John the Baptist, he was a teacher, he was a mentor, they had attached themselves to him, they not only listened to his teaching and his preaching, but they attached themselves to his life, and there came a day when John's disciples began to leave and follow Christ. Now, what can we learn from that? That is a great example for us to see that true Christians, Bible Christians, attach themselves to Christ.

They do not just listen to sermons, they do not just read Christian books, they do not just come to our classes, but they attach themselves to Christ in all matters of life. That's why in our culture when someone says that they are a Christian, but they will not be faithful to church, I seriously, seriously, seriously doubt their true and real commitment to Christ.

Because listen, all of the true Bible Christians in the New Testament, they attach themselves to Christ, and then when the New Testament church was formed, they attach themselves to the body of Christ, the work of Christ, and you've got to remember the center of God's activity on earth is the church today. In John's day, John the Baptist, the center of God's activity was when John was working. If you wanted to look all over the face of the earth and you wanted to know where God was working, it was in John's ministry, then it was in the ministry of Christ, and then it became the ministry of the church.

So what we see is true disciples attach themselves to the center of God's activity, and that's why John's disciples went on the fall of Christ, and that's why John, he said, "Listen guys, this is normal, this is biblical. A man can only have what's given to him from heaven, and he knew that the real disciples would follow Christ." And see, for us we've got to see that. What a true disciple does is attach themselves to the work of Christ and not just listen to teaching. It's easy to listen to teaching. It's easy to read the latest in the newest book.

It's easy to look spiritual by our words, but yet those disciples attach themselves to John and attach themselves to Christ. And you know what? Another thing we must see is they're not our disciples. Those disciples were not John's disciples. If those would have been John's disciples in John's eyes, in John chapter 3, John the Baptist would have swelled up with pride and anger. Why? Because his crowd was leaving them. His ministry was dwindling. His pews were becoming empty. But see, those were not his disciples. They were God's.

And that's why when they came along and said, "Listen John, they're all following and that other guy," he said, "Amen. Praise the Lord." See, for me, for you, we got to understand as the pastor of this church, you're not my disciples. You're not following me. You're not my people. You're God's people. If you're born again and you're redeemed, you should be attached to the teachings of Christ and the work of Christ and you're not mine. You're His. We're all in this together. Now, I do have an authority over you as the pastor and the overseer and the shepherd. We understand that. We learned that in our study in 1 and 2 Timothy, did we not?

But what do we must see? Two things. A true disciple attaches themselves to the work of Christ, not just the teachings. And listen. You and I belong to Him. And I want to warn you. Listen close. There are people that you and I know, they will profess Christ, they will say the right words, they will even do things that look very spiritual. But if they are not connected to the local church, if they are not pouring their lives into the local church, if they are not connected to the center of God's activity, they are not the kind of disciple that we saw in John's ministry and Jesus' ministry.

Because a true disciple is not just a learner, but a follower. So, what do we see? The disciples. Now, let's move on. Let's look at truth number two. I want us to see the message. Notice the message. Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, and now he changes, verse 36. And he looked upon Jesus. Now, Jesus is coming His way. And what did he say? Behold the Lamb of God. Now, you know this, you should, that verse 36 is nothing more than a repeat of verse 29. Last week, we saw day two, and what did he say in verse 29? He said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Now, this tells us two things.

Now, listen close. First, there are certain things that a man of God must repeat. Some of you might think, well, John the Baptist just reheated that message, did he not? No, no, no. Under the leadership and the guidance of the Spirit, he knew that he needed to repeat that message. And the second thing is, Jesus as the Lamb of God, the great sacrifice for mankind, is central to the message. And John knew that he needed to repeat this, because look, we know the context. Those Jews were looking for a physical king. They were looking for an earthly prophet.

They were looking for someone to be a physical savior, whereas Jesus was to be a spiritual savior. That's why he repeated himself. He didn't say, "Here comes a prophet king." He said, "No, here comes a king who's going to be a lamb." Now, let's look at the message, because it's imperative that we understand the message first, Christ the Lamb of God, verse 36. Now, we looked at Jesus as the Lamb of God last week. We learned that Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb spoken of all throughout the Old Testament. Let me pause here for a moment. You must understand the purpose of the Old Testament.

The purpose of the Old Testament was to prepare the people for the coming Messiah. There are types and shadows and pictures of Christ all throughout the Old Testament. Those Old Testament believers might not have understood it in that day, but we, because we have a full revelation, look back and we see that that was an arrow. That was an illustration. That was a picture that pointed to the coming Christ. I gave you some of those examples of sacrifice. The Passover.

As the people of God were getting ready to come out of Egyptian captivity, that Passover innocent lamb that was slain, and when they took that blood from that Passover lamb and they put it on the door post of their homes, and they hid behind that blood, that's nothing more than a picture of Christ. I don't know if you know the story of the story of when Joshua and the people of Israel, when they came and they took Jericho, what did they do? Those spies who spout out the land, they told that harlot to hide behind what? The scarlet thread. That is a picture of Christ. What am I showing you?

The sacrificial system was nothing more than a picture and a shadow of Christ. And that's what John is saying. Now we have the lamb of God. And we learned last week in verse 29 that Christ Jesus died for the sin of the world. He is the sacrifice that is sufficient for all, but he is the sacrifice that is efficient only for those who believe. And look, this is none other than what we call the substitutionary death of Christ. Christ died in my place. Christ died in your place. Christ bore upon himself the sin that I have committed past, present, and future. And Christ took upon himself that judgment that was reserved for me.

That's the substitutionary death and that's the message of John that he repeats. He was a broken record. He said here he comes, the lamb of God. Here he comes, look at him, the lamb of God. Why? He's trying to dispel, now listen, that erroneous idea that they had. They wanted a physical king. And the second thing about the message is Christ the son of God. Look at verse 34. As I have seen and have borne witness that this is the son of God. It is important to see that not only did John present Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, but he also presented him in his deity.

Now notice, John the Baptist's message was right in line with John the Apostle's message because the Apostle John elevated the deity of Christ and John the Baptist did as well. John and John the Apostle, they emphasized the deity of Christ. Remember in John's day, there were those who attacked the deity of Christ. John is arguing and he's elevating the deity of Christ and that's exactly what John the Baptist says. He's God, he's deity, but he's a lamb. And he's going to Calvary. This is the message. See, John is giving us a full picture of who Christ was.

See, we've got to be careful today because there are some who want to, now listen, they want to slice up and dice up who Christ was and is. They want to take certain portions of who Christ was and is. They want to reject certain things about who Christ. They're those, they want Jesus as Savior, but they don't want him as Lord. Jesus will never be one thing without being the other. He will never be your Savior without being your Lord.

And see, John, John the Apostle and John the Baptist, they presented Christ as the Son of God, the eternal creator God in the form of his son Jesus, but also the sacrificial lamb who would go to Calvary for the sin of the world. So we must take the totality of the message of John the Baptist and John. And listen, it bears repeating today. It needs to be repeated today. This is a vital message for a vital time in our time and day. And it is absolutely a necessity that the church get back to the message of the Bible. Christ did not come to give you a better life. Christ did not come to fix all of your problems.

Christ did not come just to forgive you of your sin. Christ came to save you and to be Lord of your life, even if your problems are never ironed out on this side. If Christ came to only give us a better life, poor old John Paul, he got the raw end of the deal, did he not? Study the life of Paul. If you're gonna believe in the health, wealth and prosperity gospel, Paul didn't preach it and he sure didn't live it and he didn't experience it. Why? Because that's an American invention. It's not found in the scripture. But what do we see in Paul?

Paul, the Lord Jesus became the Lord of his life and it didn't matter if he was hungry, if he was well fed, it didn't matter when his own countrymen turned their back on him, if he was beat with rods or stolen and left for dead, or if he was facing martyrdom, what? Christ was Lord. And see, that is the totality of the message of who Christ was and is. And we must ask ourselves today, is that the message that the church is preaching? The total message. And sometimes it needs to be repeated. The third thing I want us to see out of these verses is what I call the transition. The transition, go back to the verses.

Again, the next day John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and he said, behold the Lamb of God. And now notice verse 37, and the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Now, in your knowledge of the gospels, you will see what some people call, and they think are, contradictions. And repeat that, in your knowledge of the gospels, some of you might see what you would think are contradictions. Because Mark chapter one, starting in verse 16, and Luke chapter five verse one, gives seemingly different accounts of the disciples coming to Christ. Now let me explain what we have here.

This is not a contradiction. Luke has an account in Luke five. I've preached from it many times. But yet it's different from what we see right here, going on down to verse 30, because in verse 40, excuse me, there is Andrew who was one of the two who came and brought his brother Peter to Jesus. What do we have? This is not a contradiction, but this is a work leading up to conversion. Let me give you an example. Let me show you what I mean. Peter, we see that he is brought to Christ by his brother, Andrew, in verse 41. But in Luke chapter five, starting in verse one, we have Peter coming to Christ in conversion. Why the two different accounts?

What is going on? This is very important for you to understand. They were seeking right here in John, they were following, they were examining, they were looking at the work, they were working through the idea that Jesus could be the Christ. This is before their conversion. One of the Bible commentators that I read said this is basically a come and see stage in their lives. John MacArthur says this was their first exposure to Christ and later they became disciples. Do you get that?

They weren't converted here in John one, but they simply are following, they're examining, they're seeking, they're working through this idea in their mind, in their heart as to who Christ is. So in Luke chapter five, when Jesus is preaching in Peter's boat, when the day before he had healed Peter's mother-in-law, that was not Peter's first encounter with Christ. So I want us to see a few things about this transition. First, they left John the Baptist. What does it say? And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. They, these two, Andrew, and we believe that's John, these disciples, they left Jesus.

They left John, excuse me, and then they followed Jesus. So the second thing we see is they followed Jesus. Very simplistic, but I want you to see. Again, this is very important because in the first century, again, a student would attach themselves to a teacher. If they would have had our idea of what it meant to be a disciple, they would have sat down, listened to Jesus, and gone back home. That's not what they did. What do we see? Because they understood discipleship, they attached themselves, and they began to follow a possible teacher. And so to follow a teacher would have meant to live with them, to walk with them, to listen to them.

That's why a little later on, I've already read, they said, "Where are you staying?" That we might come with you and sit down with you and listen to you. And this needs to be repeated because so many claim discipleship in the life of the church today, but they have never sought out to try to follow Christ. Only listen to his teaching. Now, I want you to see, I really want you to see this transition. See the differences in John chapter one and in Luke's account in Luke chapter five. See the difference. Notice in John one, verse 37, I want you to see a difference. Christ did not call them in John, but Christ called them in Luke.

Listen to the difference. I will turn over to Luke chapter five. You don't have to turn there, but listen, now it came about while the multitudes were pressing around him and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the lake, the Sea of Galilee, and he saw two boats lying at the edge of the water, but the fishermen had gotten out of him and were washing their nets. Verse three, and he got into one of the boats which belonged to Simon Peter. Then he goes on to preach the gospel. And what does he say? He calls them out. And what does he say?

He says in verse 11, "And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear from now on you will be a catcher of men. "And when they had brought their boats to land, "they left everything and they followed him." And the difference between the two is, and in John, they were following Christ, but in Luke, Christ called them out. And that's why we can see, they're checking Jesus out, they're listening to his words, they're examining if this is truly the Messiah, and that's the difference. There are some who follow, but listen, there are some who have never been called. We must understand the difference. We must see the transition.

Because look, it is natural and it is normal and it is biblical to have people who follow Christ, they seek Christ, they're listening to the things of God, they're investigating this stuff called Christianity, they're testing the waters before they're called by a work of God. That's what we see here. And that's what we must understand goes on today. And a lot of times there is a time between when they start walking and serving, excuse me, following God, there is a time between when they're investigating, there is a time between when they're testing the waters and when God calls them out.

But see the warning here is that we in the church must not make the mistake by thinking that everybody who seems to be following Christ is born again. See, no man, no woman is born again unless God's called him out by the power of the Spirit. Conversion is a one-time event, it is a historical event, but the journey to conversion a lot of times takes time and a process, you get that? Conversion is a one-time event, it is a historical event, but the journey to conversion is a process and a lot of times takes time. And that's what's going on here. John's professed, John's preached, this is the Lamb of God, this is the Son of God.

They had heard this message previously and this particular day in verse 35, 36 and 37, the third day, what do we have? Then they looked at John the Baptist, they looked at Christ and they basically said, we're gonna see if this is true. They started to seek, they started to investigate, and if you take the gospels and you put them together and you look at the timeline, there was a process and there was a journey to their conversion and their conversion only came about when God the Holy Spirit called them out. And that's what happened in John five.

He healed Peter's mother-in-law, he got in Peter's boat, he preached the word, and he called Peter's name and there was conversion. Now, we have studied this three-day event given by John the Apostle, three days of John the Baptist ministry. Now this is not exhaustive, I've already told you that. That's why I encourage you to look at the other gospel accounts. This is what the Spirit led John the Apostle to give us. Now as we begin to close, I want you to see, three days, three groups, three messages.

We've already seen the groups, the religious leadership, the crowds who were nameless, but yet they were there when they heard John call out the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world, and then the third day, the disciples. But notice in abbreviation each message. The first day, what does he say? Oh, I'm not the Christ, I'm a nobody. I'm just a vessel, I'm a forerunner, I'm a voice. Oh, I'm a nobody, I'm not the Christ, I'm just a sinner, saved by grace, here to do his work. But then notice the second message. Look, look, there's the Lamb of God. Behold, I'm a nobody, I'm a forerunner, but there is Christ.

But then notice the third message. Follow him. Oh, a man can only have what's given to him from heaven. I'm just a forerunner, I'm just a man. Oh, but behold, the Lamb of God, he will take away your sin. And what does he seem to say? Oh, follow him. And that's why in John three, when the crowds, when his disciples came to him and he said, oh, listen, I just came to prepare the way. A man can only have what's given to him from heaven. He's the one I bore witness of. So you see the simplistic message? I'm not the Christ, I'm a forerunner. Behold, look, I love the Amplified. It says, look, the Lamb of God. And then he says, follow him.

You see the evangelistic heart of John? See, as we close these verses, verses 19 all the way down to 37, all deal with John the Baptist. Listen, I wanna say to you, if you've not been converted God's way, if you've not had your name called out, maybe you're just like Andrew. See, Andrew was well-meaning, was he not? He had attached himself to John. He had become a follower of John the Baptist. He had digested all that John had taught. He had listened intently and carefully. He had a heart that had become soft. Why? Because he was under the influence in the work of the Spirit of God. Maybe you're just like Andrew.

And all of the events in your life and the work of this church have been bringing you to this point. And you're seeking, and you're curious, and you're questioning, and you're in the scriptures, and you're listening to the teaching and the preaching. But yet, maybe you don't understand, but you're in this process of being moved towards the time when God would call your name. And see, my job is to be just like John the Baptist. I've just got a job to do. I'm here to exalt Christ. I'm here to say to you, behold, look, at Christ the Son of God, the Lamb of God, who came to die in your stead.

And my job today is to look and do exactly what John said, and that is this, follow him. Follow him. Follow him by the work that God's doing in this church. Follow him by the scriptures, the messages that are being taught. When you see the work of God, get in the middle of it, get neck deep in it, drown in the work of God, and understand that you will never be converted. Now listen close, unless it gets in your boat. Unless he preaches the gospel to your face. Unless he calls out your sin. Remember what Peter said in Luke five? He said, "Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man." Why?

The Spirit of God had identified his sin to his own mind and heart. See, if you're seeking, if you're in the middle of God's work, you stay there until Christ comes and he gets in your boat, and he calls out your sin, and he reveals to you his righteousness, and he calls your name, and then he says, "Come, follow me." See, the mistake we've made in our Baptist work today is, we think that anybody who exhibits an outward work of following him are truly converted, and that's not the case.

In the Baptist church today, we would have taken Andrew prior to verse 37, we would have made him a deacon, a Sunday school teacher, and put him on every committee we could get him on. Why? Because he would have been here Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and come to every work day. But he still was not born again. Oh, we would have taken Simon Peter right here after these few verses, why? 'Cause he was zealous. He opened his mouth before everybody. He had all the right answers, did he not? He would have been there Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. We would have put him on every committee teaching Sunday school.

As a matter of fact, we would have shelved a handful of tracks in his hands and sent him out to evangelize the world, but he'd never heard the voice of God calling his name. So what's the title of the message? The title of the message is John's Witness, Follow Christ. And all I'm trying to do is do what John did. Tell you about Christ, exalt Christ, show you what he came to do and who he came to be. And just like John, trust the spirit of God to call. Now listen, your name at the appropriate time. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for the three weeks publicly that we've been able to be right here in this gospel.

I thank you for the truth that we have explored, the truth that we have learned, the truth that you have revealed to our hearts.