Philip
Almost 2000 years ago Jesus of Nazareth began a three year venture of building a Kingdom here on earth that would alter the course of human history and would stand forever. He began by searching for a team, an inner circle of High level leaders who would take on the leadership of his Kingdom after he completed His mission here on earth.
There is a principle called synergism. By definition, the simultaneous action of separate agents working together has a greater total effect than the sum of their individual efforts. An ex. Of this is 2 horses if One horse pulled 9,000 pounds, another 8,000. Together you would expect them to pull 18,000 pounds ,Not so! When teamed together, they pull 30,000 pounds. More can be done in a team effort than can be accomplished alone . In order for the principle of synergism to work like it should, there has to be teamwork.
When Jesus assembled His team these 12 apostles had synergism, they accomplished more, through God’s power, than an army of millions.
This morning we want to look at another of the people Jesus chose to be His disciple- Philip.
The name ‘Philip’ is a Greek name which literally means ‘horse lover’. Some of the disciples had both Hebrew and Greek names. But there is no reference to a Hebrew name for Philip. He appears to have always gone by this Greek name.
Like Andrew, Philip was not one of the most renowned of the disciples. If you saw a Philip around town today he would be the man who always has his feet firmly planted on the ground with a clear sense of what he wants to be doing. He would have his Palm Pilot in his hand, with his schedule and his lists… He knows what he needs to accomplish this year, this month, this week and this day. When he drives around town he always knows the shortest route. He seems to have studied all of the streets, intersections and traffic flows. He never wastes time. Ask him about religion? He’ll tell you that he was taken to church as a child. He believes that religion has some practical value. That children ought to go to church to teach them morals and keep them out of trouble. Does he believe in God? Sure. There couldn’t be a world or universe without a creator. He is not opposed to religion but he has a very practical approach to it… Faith must be rooted in truth and proven in action. He won’t follow something just because everyone else is, he needs to test it, try it, see it, feel it, believe it, for himself. He has a very practical, common sense approach…but when he finds God, finds faith, you can be sure he will be a devoted follower. You can count on him.
What type of guy is Philip? He is practical
The first thing we learn from the Bibles account of Phillip is to
1. Let God satisfy your practical concerns John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth ! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
Philip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. Bethsaida a little town along the Sea of Galilee. Note that Jesus finds Philip. Last week we saw that Andrew sought out Jesus. Not Philip. Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist before He became a follower of Jesus. Not Philip. He was too practical. Think about it. John the Baptist was a religious leader who wore clothes made of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey and spoke out against the religious leaders of the day…
Philip was not the kind of guy to follow after religious zealots or be swept away by the next preacher or teacher that came along. What He saw in Jesus satisfied his practical concerns. And you can see how thorough his search was in what he does next.
We saw last week that after Andrew encountered Jesus he went to get Peter. And his words were few. “We have found the Messiah”. Look by contrast at Philips words. He has encountered Jesus and now he goes to Nathanael. V 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”Look at how thoughtful & articulate Philip becomes : he’s Historical, meticulous, an almost scientific statement. It is clear that Philip was educated in the Old Testament.When Nathanael objects : 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
Philip gives a practical answer. “Come and See” He is not going to try to convince or sway Nathanael with emotions or facts. Philip had come to see for himself. He wants Nathanael to do the same. Look at the situation, Philip has met God. And He goes out of his way to tell his friend about Him. Philip was impressed by Jesus! Are you impressed with Jesus? Do you still possess the wonder of knowing the God of the Universe? Or has your relationship with God become commonplace?
The next time we see Philip is the same scene we saw Andrew in last week in John 6.
Now, Philip is out in the wilderness with Jesus and the other disciples and alot of other people listening to Jesus teach.... * John 6:1-14, 1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Jesus has 5,000 men plus women and children who have followed him to listen to his teaching. They have been mesmerized and now it is late and there is no McDonalds or Wendy’s in sight. Before Andrew brings the boy with the loaves and the fish to Jesus, Jesus asked Philip a question.
John 6: 5 …. "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
One thing you can see here is that there is one significant difference between these early followers of Jesusand the church today. We won’t go anywhere without food! Why did Jesus ask this question specifically of Philip? The next verse tells us that “(Jesus) asked this only to test (Philip) for (Jesus) already had in mind what He was going to do” (verse 6). By this time Philip had seen Jesus perform many miracles. But in this specific situation Philip couldn’t see the answer coming from Jesus. All Philip could see was a problem –a big problem. You can just imagine Philip calculating the cost in his head and he pulls out his pocket calculator and does some quick figuring.
5,000 men
+5000 women
+1000’s of children
=a lot of hungry people
Finally he stammers, “Eight month’s wages (the original says ‘200 denarii’) would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”. That’s a pretty precise answer … 200 days wages wouldn’t even be enough … but it is an answer that totally forgets how Jesus works. All of the disciples were men of faith. Philip was a man of faith. But, like us, sometimes it was a weak faith. He had a habit sometimes of getting out the calculator at the teachings of Jesus and making comments like “It can’t be done.” or “We don’t have the ability or resources to do that.” He was very practical in nature. Not that that is all bad.
It seems that the time with Jesus had increased Philip’s faith little. He had seen Jesus heal people numerous times. He had seen Jesus do the impossible. Yet, he completely took his eyes off Jesus ….. He did what a lot of us do sometimes. We get our eyes off our Master and on to our problems. Philip needed to lift his eyes from the limited resources they had to see the unlimited resources of God. Jesus wasn’t worried about where the food would come from. His question wasn’t because He needed Philip to fix something for Him. He wanted to do something in Philip.
Where was Philip’s focus? On what they didn’t have. On the problem. Isn’t that where our focus goes so quickly. On the problem. On what we don’t have. on our insufficient resources… God tests our faith in order to increase it.When it comes to faith we should remember:
1. The amount of faith we have is a indication of our closeness to the Lord. When we realize how big and great God is our faith expands. If Philip had bothered to look at Jesus. He would have noticed that Jesus wasn’t worried about where the food would come from. Jesus was filled with peace and confidence and was in total control.
What Philip should have said is "I don’t know how you’re going to provide for them Lord, but I know you will." But, Philip wasn’t looking at Jesus. He wasn’t walking by faith.
Illus ( Sermon Central)- I heard a story once of a tightrope walker. He could go across a tightrope blindfolded and he even pushed a wheelbarrow across a tightrope blindfold. A promoter heard about him and made him an offer do his act over Niagara Falls. “Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many peoplecame to see the event. The Tightrope started on the Canadian side and came to the American side. The tightrope walker made it easily. Then He came to the promoter and said, “Well, Mr.Promoter, now do you believe that I can do it?”“Well, of course I do. I just saw you do it.”“No,” said Tightrope, “do you really believe I can do it?”“Well, of course I do, you just did it.”“No, no, no,” said Tightrope, “do you believe I can do it?”“Yes,” said Mr.Promoter, “I believe you can do it.”“Good,” said Tightrope, “then you get in the wheelbarrow.”
The word “believe”, in Greek means “to live by.” This is a nice story. .&…...makes you ask, how often do we say that we believe Christ can do it, but refuse to get in the wheelbarrow?”
2. We should expect God to test our faith in order to increase it. Jesus knew Philip’s thoughts. Maybe Philip didn’t want to honesty admit to himself what he was thinking. Jesus put Philip in a place where the numbers didn’t add up, so he could bring him to a point where he would step out in faith. Philip did not do it this time. We see Andrew give a meek reply about some small fish and loaves, but even that is tainted with doubt. Doubt can be very destructive to God’s work in your life. James 1:6-8. It limits what God will do through us. The real issue that day wasn’t feeding people, but faith.
3. You cannot please God without faith Hebrews 11:66And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. He tells us to “trust Him”. \Like with Philip, he knows how he is going to answer a prayer, provide for a need, deal with a problem. He tells us in this passage that what is meager in our eyes, “five small barley loaves and 2 fish” He can do the impossible with it. Philip saw the miraculous and yet still struggled to see their source. God has done so much in our lives, but when we’re faced with life’s challenges.... Is He big enough, is He great enough? While Philip’s using his calculator to figure out how many days of work it would take to feed these people, God’s already got it figured out. He’s just performed a miracle!
You see, there are too many times in our lives that we assume that God is bound by ordinary methods to work things out! And We forget that God is exceptional!
Psalm 86:8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. Isaiah 40:18 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? Let Him satisfy your practical concerns and move you beyond your practical limitations…This is what Philip did. ……-with Nathanael. The most practical of the disciples gives the most practical invitation “Come and see for yourself”. He saw for himself and invited others to do the same.
-We see Philip again in John 12:20. * John 12: 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew……. Maybe they came to him because of his Greek name? Unsure what to do. But Philip is practical. And he knew the right guy to go to. To invite them to come and see.
Last story, Philip and the other disciples are with Jesus in the upper room. As they take their final meal together Jesus makes a tremendous theological statement. The scene in John - 14:11 Jesus and His disciples are in the upper room and Judas has left the room to go betray Jesus. There are three questions asked by three disciples during this part of the story. The first question came from Peter, "Lord, where are You going?" The second question came from Thomas, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?". The third question, which is actually a demand, comes from Philip, "Lord, show us the father and it is sufficient for us."Here Philip after 3 years of being with Jesus, still struggles with seeing Jesus as anything more than a teacher, a prophet, a common man.And this is still the struggle today. How that question must have pained Jesus. He is only one day away from the crucifixion. Christ has been with these men for over three years. Day in and day out. Living with them. Teaching them. Laughing with them. Crying with them. Jesus had shown these men that He was God. Yet here is Philip, a leader among the twelve, still completely missing the obvious. Philip was a man who battled with spiritual perception. The disciples were confused as to where Jesus was exactly going. John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9 Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ’Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. The disciples didn’t understand if Jesus was leaving them to go somewhere else or if He was going back to heaven. Jesus then told them in 14:4 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas then stated they didn’t know where Jesus was going or the way to get there. After Jesus’ statement in John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Enter Philip these statements created uncertainty, and Philip recognized the problem. Philip could put his anxiety of the coming departure if he could just see the Father. Have you ever had an experience in your Christian life where you experienced uncertainty in your faith? You probably asked the Lord to reveal Himself to you in a special way to ease your anxiety. And as you read, you can just hear the disappointment in Jesus’ voice as He says 9 … "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ’Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
Jesus told Philip the words He spoke were the same as the Father, if nothing else, believe because of the works performed by Jesus. Philip’s request to see God was not a misguided question, it was just misplaced. Philip believed that such a revelation would solve all his difficulties and doubts.
Philip expressed a universal desire of mankind to see God (Exodus 33:18). The world desires to see God, to be able to touch and see that which we have faith in. Jesus’ statement,
Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father ( John 12:45, 14:9), is one of the most staggering claims He ever made.
Acts ref to Philip:
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Acts 6:1-7
witnesses – where? In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
Where were they still in Acts 8? Jerusalem! They hadn’t even got out of home base to speak of. There were those Jews who came from distant lands for Passover and Pentecost that had been converted, and now gone home; but the Apostles were not reaching out! God used persecution to get them to move out and do His will. He wasn’t the author of the persecution, but He used it, evil as it was, for His good and the ultimate good of His people and others. Cf. Rom 8:28. God does that with us all the time.
“…all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”
Christian legend says Philip preached the Gospel in Phrygia (west central Turkey) before dying or being martyred there at Hieropolis. Like so many of the other disciples, he faithfully served Christ, and realized he had seen the Father in Jesus, he didn’t waver or back down, he gave his life to the God man that changed his life from the ordinary to the extra ordinary.
ILLUS: God can use you
The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember...
Noah got drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
..AND
Lazarus was dead!
Now! No more excuses!
God can use you to your full potential.
Besides you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
