Having Found Christ, Andrew Goes To Find For Christ (Study 10)

In John Chapter 1 and at verse 35, we read of two men searching for Jesus Christ and they find Him. They go looking for Jesus Christ. Had they heard the Pharisees ‘praying’ and debating and they knew that that was not real. They wanted reality! Want what is real and if you are a preacher or Bible Class leader or Sunday School teacher give your people what is real.

One of these two men is Andrew, having found the Christ, he immediately goes to find for Christ.

He goes to his brother Simon Peter. “We have found the Messiah, the Christ.”

How long does it take you to become a missionary? Just an hour or two! And, you don’t need to know all the answers. If you are asked a hard question just say, “I’ll go and find out”.

Andrew brought Simon Peter to Jesus. The greatest service one man can render another is to bring that person to Jesus Christ and introduce him to Jesus Christ. This can last for ever. No other service you render another will last for ever.

Jesus looked Peter over. Oh, be prepared to have Jesus look you over, remembering that He always wants to improve the material that is presented to Him.

You are Simon – which means a reed – unreliable – easily blown around – full problems – limited in so many ways – tempestuous and temperamental. You shall be called Cephas – a stone or a rock. Jesus Christ is going to transform a reed of a man into a rock. This man, Simon Peter, once he is converted and born again – once he is baptised in the Holy Spirit – once he has served his three year apprenticeship following Jesus Christ – once he has fragile unreliable temperament dealt with by Jesus – he becomes the dynamic leader of that early church. He becomes a preacher and teacher, and very much a pastor as he goes around ministering to all the wounded ones who had to flee from Jerusalem. What a transformation, once he has Jesus deal with him in all kinds of ways.

The scene now shifts from the Jordan to Galilee, where there, Jesus calls Philip. “Follow me”. And Philip, having just begun to follow Jesus goes looking for someone else. He finds Nathanael and says, “We have found him of whom Moses wrote – of whom the prophets spoke – Jesus of Nazareth.”

They have been waiting for a thousand years for this day.

Nathanael was a thinker. He thought about God. He meditated upon God’s Word.

To begin with all he could say was, “Can anything good come from there? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Philip said, “Come and see for yourself. Come with us.” It is good to encourage people to come and see Jesus and meet Jesus for themselves. It is as if Philip has one hand with Jesus and one hand bringing someone else along. Nathanael went with Philip and Jesus saw Nathanael coming, and Jesus not only saw Nathanael but saw right into him and into his heart, and said, “You area true Israelite – a true Jew – a man of integrity – a man with an open honest heart.”

That is the picture of a true Jew. We have been given such a twisted distorted picture of Jews – like Shakespeare’s Shylock in the Merchant of Venice, and, most people believe that twisted interpretation rather the truth of Jesus Christ.

In Nathanael there were no deceit – no guile – no cunning. He came from Cana and his name means, ‘gift from God’.

Nathanael accepted the compliment. What you say is true, but how did you know all about me? I was watching you under the fig tree. I have been keeping my eye on you even before Philip called you to come.

Teacher, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.

Come and you will see even greater things that those of which you been meditating. His favourite Old Testament passage was going to come true in Jesus. You will see heaven open and you will see angels ascending and descending, and I am the ladder.

Yes, there are many ways to Jesus, but only way to God the Father, and that is through Jesus.

Come and follow and find – come and see and believe – is the theme of these verses.

He sees you. He sees what you are thinking. He knows what is in your heart and mind. He is aware of your need, and He is sensitive to those issues that concern you or bother you or trouble you.

The Door to Heaven is open, and the ladder is Jesus Christ.

Some 12 members of a young, new Christian church celebrated their first year anniversary by getting tattoos of the church’s logo.

The City Church of Anaheim, with a population of 100 members, was challenged by Pastor Kyle Steven Bonenberger, 26, to double their congregants on their birthday Sunday Service, UPI said.

Bonenberger pledged that if they reached their goal of 200, he would have the church logo, a red heart, tattooed on him and encouraged others to do the same. He said that God “tattooed your name on his heart” and they could also make an everlasting commitment to Him, the AP said.

When the 200^th person arrived, Bonenberger and some 12 others got their tats in fulfillment of their pledge. The church’s very first venue was in a living room when they were just a small group, according to the AP.

Bonenberger’s church meets every Sunday at the Chain Reaction Club, a punk rock venue. “We call ourselves the church for the people who don’t like church,” he told the UPI. “It’s the furthest thing from what people perceive church to be.”

In his blog entry dated Aug. 15, 2009, Bonenberger wrote that he had an urging to move his church to a secular space, like a night club, even though they already had a comfortable space at the Crystal Cathedral campus and he was receiving income there.

He wrote in his blog, “Some people are called to maintain, update and renovate things. For me, I am called to be an innovator. The gospel of Christ calls me to 1) GO and make disciples where Jesus is not Lord, and 2) Not to build on another man’s foundation (Romans 15:20).

When Bonenberger found the Chain Reaction Club he talked to the owner of the place about his vision, and the owner offered him the venue for free. He also got a significant donation shortly after. Crystal Cathedral was very supportive and encouraged members to visit his church, according to his blog.
Of his tattoo Bonenberger said, “I love the tattoo. I love these people. I’m stoked. They’re in my heart,” UPI reported. A church member, Holly Morales said, “City Church has really done a lot for our family, so I thought it would be a nice way to pay them back,” The Orange County Register News reported.

The City Church of Anaheim is known for being unconventional, including holding regular rock n’ roll revivals and using KFC buckets to collect the church offerings, according to The Orange County Register News.

Two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled to protect the Mojave Desert War Memorial, thieves stole the Sunrise Rock cross. 

On May 10, a Park employee noticed the cross was missing and said it was probably removed during the night, according to CityWatch (CW).  

An anonymous caller who clamed to know who stole the cross sent an email to a reporter saying the cross was “lovingly” removed and would be returned after a non-sectarian memorial is placed on the site, CW reported.

CW cited US Reps Buck McKeon, Ken Calvert and Congressman Jerry Lewis who condemned the theft of the cross.  Calvert called it an act of vandals and an insult to anyone who had served in the US Armed Forces. 

Calvert also promised that he, Congressmen Lewis, McKeon, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Liberty Institute will work with all involved entities to recover the cross and replace it on its rightful place on Sunrise Rock, CW reported.

Wanda Sandoz, who with her husband Henry were longtime caretakers of the cross said, “Whoever did this either cut it off or put a chain around it a dragged it off with their vehicle,” according to CW.

The memorial was first set up in 1934 by a group of World War I veterans.  It has been torn down and replaced twice, and 10 years ago received the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), according to The Press Enterprise.

The Park Service has collected some physical evidence from where the cross was located, and investigators are reviewing messages left on a tip hot line that was set up after the theft, The Press Enterprise said.

Liberty Institute is also offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who vandalized the area and stole the cross, according to CityWatch.

In 1999, the ACLU sued to have the cross removed after a former employee of the park, Frank Buono, retired and moved to Oregon, then claimed that it offended him to see the cross on public land, according to the Tulsa Beacon.

In 2002, the U.S. District Court in Riverside, California ruled in favor of the ACLU case.  An appeal was immediately filed to forestall the cross’ removal, but it was covered by a wooden box, the Tulsa Beacon reported.

Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), helped the Legionnaires get the cross legally designated as the “National WWI Veterans Memorial” and worked in Congress to transfer a one-acre tract of land containing the cross to private ownership through a land swap deal, the Tulsa Beacon reported.

The ACLU complained that this was done solely to evade the District Court’s order for the cross to be removed. In the appeal, the 9th Circuit Court upheld the lower court’s decision and invalidated the congressional act in transferring the land to private ownership, according to the Tulsa Beacon.

However when the case was raised to the U. S. Supreme Court, the decisions of both lower courts were overturned by a 5-4 vote, and the SC refused to order the removal of the cross, the Tulsa Beacon noted.

Justice Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion, said “The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement (of religion) does not require the eradication of all religions’ symbols in the public realm.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to justify the Jewish state’s contested claim on the city before a parliamentary session.

According to Reuters, Netanyahu said “Jerusalem” and its Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism’s core canon.

In the Christian New Testament, Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times, Netanyahu said. He noted that none of the 16 Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran.

However, in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s comments came on Jerusalem Day, an Israeli national holiday marked by tens of thousands of Israelis marching through the city singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags.

Jerusalem Day commemorates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in June 1967, marking the unification of their ancient capital.

However the Palestinians consider the annexation of East Jerusalem illegal. They anticipate East Jerusalem to be the capital city of a future Palestinian state. Israel has pledged that Jerusalem will remain united as their capital city.

Jerusalem lies within Israel’s boundaries.  Mayor Nir Barkat added that the city’s boundaries are “nonnegotiable” according to Aol.News.

Holy sites

Jerusalem is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  For the Jews, the Western Wall, which is part of Solomon’s Temple that was destroyed in 70 AD, is the holiest site in Jerusalem.

For Christians the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the traditional burial place of Jesus and a regular pilgrimage place.
For Muslims, the gold-topped dome of the Rock, is believed by them to be where Muhammad ascended to heaven, Aol News reported.

Also, the Al-Aqsa mosque makes Jerusalem the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

However, the Al-Aqsa mosque stands on a plaza that Jews revere as the vestige of two biblical Jewish temples, according to Reuters.

In the international community a united Jerusalem under Israel is not recognized.

Many countries agree that East Jerusalem should be the future capital of a future Palestinian state.

Indirect peace negotiations with the Palestinians resumed this month after one to one and a half years of U.S. trouble-shooting.

However, the Israel and Palestine remain at odds over the issue of Israel which Palestine refuses to formally recognize as a Jewish state, Reuters reported.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Netanyahu’s recent comments, “I find it very distasteful, this use of religion.

East Jerusalem is an occupied Palestinian town, and East Jerusalem cannot continue to be occupied if there is to be peace,” according to Reuters.

Netanyahu promised that while Israel would retain control over all of Jerusalem, they would ensure freedom of worship at its holy sites.

However, Palestinians over the last decade have had limited access to al-Aqsa.  Christians in the West Bank also note similar problems in Jerusalem churches, Reuters reported.

There are 750,000 people in Jerusalem, two in three of them Jews with the remainder mostly Muslim Palestinians.

Some Palestinians are aligned with the Islamist Hamas, while those who would like peace blame Israel for sabotaging peace prospects because they insist East Jerusalem is a Jewish birthright, Reuters reported.

The controversial documentary on the life of Larry Norman, the “Father of Christian Rock,” will be screened on Tuesday, 6:30 pm at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville.

After the screening of “Fallen Angel: the Outlaw Larry Norman,” director David Di Sabatino and Randy Stonehill, a longtime friend of Norman, will answer questions from the audience.

Controversial documentary on Larry Norman, ‘father of Christian rock’ to be shown after years of legal wrangling

“Fallen Angel: the Outlaw Larry Norman,” will be shown after a court judgment favoring Di Sabatino was made recently.  Norman’s family tried to block the film claiming violations of the copyright law and denying some allegations that were made in the film.

“Fallen Angel: the Outlaw Larry Norman” pays tribute to Norman’s musical genius, but also tackles his dark side, citing Norman’s relationship with Stonehill’s estranged wife, allegations of cheating his business partners out of royalties, and fathering a child out of wedlock with another woman.

Norman was a San Francisco hippie who wrote songs about Jesus, sex, drugs, war and the end times.  His music made him a hero of the 1970s Jesus freaks and his albums such as Upon This Rock, Only Visiting This Planet and So Long Ago the Garden became Christian rock classics.

From 1966 to 1968 Norman performed in concerts with The Doors, The Who, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix, among others.  His band People! scored a Billboard hit in 1968 with a cover of The Zombies’ song “I Love You.”  However, Norman left the band the day People!’s debut album was released.

His 1972 release, Only Visiting This Planet, is considered one of the best albums in Christian rock, and his music influenced that of U2, John Mellencamp, and the Pixies.

Time Magazine called Norman “the most significant artist in his field.” Over 300 cover versions of his songs have been recorded by artists such as Petula Clark, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Black, and Cliff Richard.  His songs have also been recorded by contemporary Christian artists like DC Talk, Rebecca St. James, and Audio Adrenaline.

Norman performed for The White House twice, and also performed in the Hollywood Bowl, the Sydney Opera House, the Palladium and London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, which he sold out six times. In the last 40 years Norman has released nearly 100 solo albums.

Of “Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman,” Stonehill said he believed the documentary has a redemptive message and celebrates Norman’s brilliance as a musician.   Of his stormy friendship with Norman he adds, “You see us (in the film) on our best days as friends and collaborators, and on our worse days.  It’s a picture of God’s faithfulness.”

Blending their unique blend of Celtic-tinged rock with weighty Christian lyricism, in the 90’s, Irish rock band Emmaus, was the big thing.

According to a report in a 1997 issue of Cross Rhythms magazine, Emmaus was second only to U2 in popularity in Ireland.

However, after a whirlwind tour in support of their 1997 release, “All Over the World,” Emmaus was largely silent for the next decade, releasing a live disc in 1997 (Live at the Temple Bar, Dublin) and 2000’s “Closer, Nearer.”

Now, like a rushing wind, Emmaus and front man Ronan Johnston are back full-force.

Last year, they released “Mountaintop” to positive reviews and this year, they released, “Let Us Not Go Back to Egypt.”

Lyrically, “Let Us Not Go Back to Egypt,” examines the inconsistencies and fragility of our modern life and times.

“As things have been slowly falling apart and as we’ve seen the great institutions of State, business and Church come tumbling down, people have become very afraid, very anxious about the future, very unsure if they will survive,” said Ronan.

“I think this album is a reminder that it is for freedom that we have been set free. We have a deep and lasting hope in Jesus, and if we stay close to Him during this time, He will take this present disaster and turn it into something great and wonderful.”

Musically, Ronan and Emmaus are all over the place on this disc,  but that’s a good thing.

Like a buffet, it just means that there’s something for everyone– For those who love folk rock, there’s folk rock (All who are born of the Spirit); for those who love Gospel, a little Gospel (title track– Let’s not go back to Egypt); and for those who love big orchestral numbers, there’s something for them too (Arise Shine).

You can order “Let Us Not Go Back to Egypt,” here.

Related: Check out our 5 Questions with Ronan feature here.