Coming to Faith in Jesus
Preaching Notes – John 1:35-51
John 1:35–51 (ESV)
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?”
They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”
39 Jesus said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus.
43 Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
51 Jesus said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
I. Pointing and Inviting
Helpful criticism from last Sunday
Hunting but not gathering
Why did I not invite?
Our biggest failure – pointing without inviting
II. 4 Men, 4 Stories, 1 Faith
Andrew – John 1:37-41
Prepared and unperplexed
A child well parented
Simon Peter – John 1:42
From reckless emotionalism to rock-solid faith
The easily discounted
Philip – John 1:43-46
Found by Jesus
Our favorite form of evangelism
Ask a successful farmer about volunteer plants
God does not always work alone
Nathanael – John 1:46-49
Cynical Skeptic confronted and saved
Expect questions, opposition, and rejection
Don’t wither quickly
Give God a chance
III. 4 Varied Steps From Here to There
1. Invited – John 1:36, 41, 43, and 45
Point and invite
The right/best invitation
Invitations are better than dissertations/lectures
2. Engaged – John 1:37, 41, 43, 45
Engaging Jesus (not you, church …) is the goal
Then let Jesus take over
3. Revealed – John 1:38-39, 42, 45, and 49
Jesus/God will reveal himself
4. Blessed – John 1:50-51
You will God
VI. The Invitation
You cannot invite, unless you have surrendered
If you have surrendered you will invite
Invitation to The Table
Bread Crumbs - Devotions for Life 
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