Explores the call to servitude, sacrifice, and courage in faith.
Good morning, beloved. How wonderful it is to gather in the house of the Lord, to sit beneath His grace and mercy, to bask in His love and bountiful blessings. We are here not by accident, but by divine appointment, hand-picked by God Himself to be part of this family, this body of Christ.
Today, we are going to turn our hearts and minds to the book of John, specifically chapter 12, verses 20 to 33. This passage is a rich tapestry of divine wisdom and truth, a wellspring of inspiration and instruction for the life of faith.
Allow me to read the passage for us:
[Read passage]
In this passage, we find a powerful message that resonates with our hearts today. We see seekers longing to encounter Jesus, we see the call to servitude and sacrifice, and we see the courage to stay the course in the face of adversity.
As Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of the 19th century, once said, "There is no university for a Christian like that of sorrow and trial." Indeed, the path of faith is not always easy, but it is always rewarding, always leading us closer to our Savior and King.
In the passage we read, we see a group of Greeks who had come to worship at the festival. Their hearts were stirred with a desire, a longing, a yearning to see Jesus. This wasn't a casual curiosity or a fleeting fancy. It was a deep, profound, earnest seeking. They wanted to encounter Jesus, to experience His presence, to know Him in a real and personal way. This desire led them to approach Philip with their request.
The importance of having a genuine desire to seek Jesus: It's not enough to simply go through the motions of religion, to attend church services, to read the Bible, to pray. These are all good and necessary, but they must be driven by a sincere desire to know Jesus, to experience His presence, to grow in our relationship with Him. It's this kind of earnest seeking that God honors and responds to.
The Greeks: They didn't let their status as foreigners or outsiders deter them from seeking Jesus. They could have easily felt intimidated or unworthy. They could have let their fear of rejection or judgment hold them back. But they didn't. They were determined to seek Jesus, regardless of the obstacles or challenges they might face. This teaches us the importance of persistence in our pursuit of Jesus. We must not let anything deter us or discourage us. We must press on, keep seeking, keep knocking, keep asking.
The Greeks approached Philip with their request to see Jesus: They didn't try to find Jesus on their own. They sought the help of someone who knew Jesus, who could guide them to Him. This reminds us of the importance of community in our spiritual journey. We need each other. We need the encouragement, support, guidance, and accountability that comes from being part of a community of believers. We need to be humble enough to ask for help, to admit that we don't have all the answers, that we can't do it on our own.
The Greeks' desire to see Jesus: It was not just about seeing Him physically. It was about understanding who He is, what He came to do, how He can transform our lives. They wanted to see Jesus in the sense of grasping the truth of His message, the power of His love, the hope of His promises. This challenges us to seek Jesus not just for what He can do for us, but for who He is. We must seek to know Him, to understand His heart, to align our lives with His purposes.
As we move forward in this passage, we find ourselves confronted with a powerful call to servitude and sacrifice ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
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