Talking To A Skeptic, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.

This is is often born in the context I prejudice seawall.

I know that if they can any good thing come on prejudice.

He has a disdain for Nasser is not in the text, but I really believe that Philip joining us today on this additional fellowship in the work pastoral Gebhardt fellowship and alerted the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join pastoral Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word. Our world is there is a verse in the Bible that has guided my ministry all these years. I remember writing in the margin of my Bible.

I was in seminary.

After I looked at that verse, I simply wrote the words of my mandate in second Timothy 42 apostle Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy preach the word be ready in season and out of season. We prove and rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction, to put it another way is a preacher and teacher of the word of God is my job and it's my great desire to help people see the beauty of Jesus Christ and to see what he is done often though, I feel completely in adequate for the task.

My words simply can't measure up to the greatness of our Lord and Savior. And so with great excitement and a little bit of relief. I decided to preach a series on the conversations that Jesus Christ had with the people that he encountered. In other words, let Jesus speak for himself quite cleverly I've entitled the series conversations with Jesus. You see, we often study his discourses. We study what the apostle Paul teaches is the implications of his life and death.

We look at his miracles, but rarely do we spend a lot of time just in his conversations that he had with people so the place to start is the beginning and his conversation with the skeptic, which open your Bibles the John chapter 1, the gospel of John chapter 1. This gospel is unique in a lot of ways.

The other three are called Synoptics very similar. John's not writing around the same time he's writing 34 years later, much later than them. He's writing in the 90s the world is changing.

There's a lot of things going on, including sort of some interesting forms of Gnosticism sort of mystery way of coming to spiritual knowledge and John plays off of that to the Greeks, by the way, they believe that the universe sort of had a rational and moral order to it. They believe they call it the order of nature and the Greek point of view, the decided to call this what life is really about, or the order of nature. They called it the log loss. Now it's interesting about that is the Greeks then went on a few reader philosophers and they said if you want to live life then you gotta know the log loss and you've got to sort of contemplate the log loss and then you have to live your life conformed to the log loss and that's why John starts his gospel. That way in a beginning was the log loss you see in beginning was the word he's playing off of the Greek culture in the beginning was the log loss notice, the order of nature.

The reason for life. The answer to all the questions in the beginning was the log loss and he says, and the Word was with God and the word was God. So with the two things he says in the first verse is the log loss is eternal in the log loss is God that he says he was in the beginning with God in all things came into being through him, and apart from him nothing came into being that is common to being is not only eternal in God but he's the creator of all things in him was life and the life was the light of men. He is the giver and the source of life, spiritual life as well as physical life. He says the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it and then he introduces John the Baptist when he says there came a man sent from God's name was John and he came as a witness to testify about the light so that all might believe through him. It was not the light, but he came to testify about the light and there was a true light which coming into the world, enlightens every man.

He was in the world. The world was made through him, the world did not know him.

He came to his own and those who are zoned, they did not receive him, but as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become the children of God. Even those who believe in his name.

Notice the whole thing is he saying is the importance of life comes down to how you relate to the log loss and then he says, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God and the log loss became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, glory as the only begotten from the father full of grace and truth.

So now the log loss becomes flesh.

The log loss reflects the glory of God. He is the one who brings grace and truth of the world and he says John testified about him and cried out, and saying he says this was he of whom I said you comes after me has a higher rank and I for he existed before me for of his fullness we have all received the grace upon grace for the law was given through Moses and grace and truth were real life through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the father.

He has explained him that word explained in English. The Greek word is exegesis, the idea of taking the text the and explaining through the grammar and syntax.

One of the things I never liked hearing was a great professor saying that a exegetical assignment you have. Tonight is and then you would have to take the Greek text, and you would have to you do all the work studies all the grammar all the syntax put in its context, and explain the passage in Greek Johnson's. That's what Jesus Christ did to God. He's the explanation of God.

And so the log loss here is amazing as it is an astounding start to this gospel and then you see in verse 19 he says this is the testimony of John, this is day one. John is out there and he is preaching and he is preaching at East East of Jerusalem and the Jordan South down in Judea and he's preaching. He's he's preaching, repent, repent. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. In other words, what is telling them his Messiah is coming. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness he paraphrases.

Isaiah the prophet that the Messiah will be here. The Jews meanwhile don't like what John is doing because he called them.

A lot of names are dated like at all. So they send in emissaries to them and try to explain who John was. Are you the Messiah, and he said no. Are you Elijah no, you see him simply the voice of one crying in the wilderness, and so on that day.

John is interacting with them. In verse 20 he said, I baptize in water but among you stands one whom you do not know, and I think what's interesting here's I'm convinced Jesus Christ was standing there. He was in the group. There a lot of people listening to John and Jesus Christ standing there, and John understands Abbott. He doesn't know who he is yet and so consequently he said there's one standing writing your group or you do not know the notice verse 29 says the next day day to he sees Jesus coming and he said, behold the Lamb of God, it takes away the sins of the world. There's the guy here's the Messiah. This is the anointed one. John spots him now.

That's kind of interesting because when you get the verse 35 it's day three these days happen right in a row and again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked in he said, behold the Lamb of God, there is again that was interesting is these two disciples of John are becoming will become two disciples of Jesus. In other words, they become part of the disciples, but there simply disciples of John and it's astounding when you think about it because these are common men. These are fishermen therefrom, not just Galilee but there from North Galilee from the Sea of Galilee to the North Shore and they have walked all the way from their down to hear John's ministry and they are followers of John, you'll know them because they're pretty famous. The two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus and Jesus turned and saw them and said what you seek and they said to him, Rabbi, or teacher, Ramon. I were you staying the notice they're not walking they know John's ministry is John's ministry is to prepare them for the Messiah. They now know that he's the Messiah, so they see Christ out and they want to know where he staying and he said, and you will see, and so they came and they saw him staying in and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day for it was about the 10th hour was for the afternoon so they spent this day with Christ and then they going to spend that evening.

The next night with Christ now. Unfortunately for us we don't have anything about that discussion. Could you imagine what that's like. This is the first day of Jesus's ministry is first day of public ministry and so there there disciples of John the Baptist. They got to be saying take tell us all about where you came from. You see, tell us how the Old Testament pointed to you. Tell us what you going to do whatever it is we don't have any of those conversations, but he stayed with them for a long time and one of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother Andrew is one of the disciples, and he found first his own brother Simon, and he said to them, we have found the Messiah was translated as the Christos, the Christ, the anointed one. We found him they have to understand, there would be nothing on earth today that would equal that if you are a Jew in the first entry for Savoy have the Roman yoke on you and it's been quite oppressive. Secondly, you have heard from generation after generation after generation back for thousand years. Messiah's coming Messiah's coming and now they say look, we just found we just found our Messiah now.

Their thinking is and he's going to become our king and he's going to throw the Romans out and were going to set up a messianic kingdom and will the whole world that part they haven't learned yet, but they are so excited and notice he finds his brother, he finds his own brother Simon, that's exactly the way. By the way, the kingdom of God is advanced even though today, so it's from day one it's been the same. Somebody finds the Messiah and then they go tell somebody they found the Messiah would you like to find Messiah somebody finds the Savior and then we tell someone else.

Would you like to find a Savior.

You see, the whole idea being witnesses for Jesus Christ or as it's been said in the past you know were simply beggars telling other beggars were to find bread the idea of it is that's the way the kingdom. Advances what's interesting to me at at this stage is Jesus Christ is the log loss. Eternal God, Creator, giver of life. All these things and notice how he puts his original team together. Is he looking for the best of the best. I merely see that recruiting in America were looking for the best of the best Jesus looking for two guys who had to be there just to fishermen, that's all they are.

There's nothing nothing about nothing affect the whole group that he puts together a bunch of nobodies from nowhere.

That's who they are newer Jesus and I don't need anybody I can make a nobody or somebody. In fact, these men change the whole world see Jesus isn't looking for that Jesus is looking for someone who believes and so he starts to put his team together now. What's interesting is when he brought Simon to Jesus.

Jesus look at him and said you are Simon son of John know he may have been told that her he just may have known that, but the notice the first sentence, you shall be called Cephas just made a guy your brother tells her he's the Messiah goes all the by the way are your bill yet About You Names Going to Be John and Really Changing Your Name Right off the Bat in Cephas's Aramaic's Name Becomes Petross Become Stone and so He's Going to Change His Name.

First Thing He Says but I Touch a Little Bit about His Authority.net Because You Notices Peter Hardheaded Yes Is a Vocal Yes.

Does He Say Anything. No, the Next Day Notice. Now We Get to Get to the Next Day, the Day for the Next Day He Purposed to Going to Galilee and He Found Philip and Jesus Said to Philip. Philip, Follow Me. Now Philip Was from Bethsaida, the City of Andrew and Peter.

Now That's Quite Interesting. Philip Is from Beth SATA the House. Beth of Fishing.

It Is a Tiny Little Fishing Village on the Northeast Corner of the Sea of Galilee.

It Would Be Very Similar to Man. Check Her Bucktown.

It Would Be Very Similar, It's Just a Little Fishing Village. But Notice Andrew from Bethsaida Peters from Bethsaida, Philip from Bethsaida. These Are All Fishermen Who Happen to Go to Holy Diver to Judea to Hear John The Baptist Preach and Believed in What John The Baptist Is Saying and so He Finds Him, and He Says Follow Me Now Philip Was from the State of the City of Andrew and Peter and Philip Found Nathaniel Knauer Zero Union on Our Conversation, He Finds Nathaniel Notice the Same Way Andrew Went to Simon. Philip Goes the Nathaniel Just One Person Going to the Next, but There's Something Different about Nathaniel Nathaniel's like A Lot Of You Weren't a Pastor. Some of You Still Are, and I Certainly Lots. He's a Skeptic He's Skeptical I'm Not Sure I Believe This How I Know You See in a Moment Here. Philip Found Nathaniel and He Said to Them, We Have Found Him of Whom Moses in the Law and Also in the Path Whom the Prophets Wrote This Is Phenomenal from Nathaniel's Point of View.

What Yes We Have Found the Prophet That Moses Spoke of. We Have Found the Messiah That Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Jesse and Zachariah and Stefan All the Prophets Spoke of. We Found Them We Have Them.

That's Pretty Exciting. But Then It Gets Very Unexciting for Nathaniel. It Says Yes You Will. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph Skepticism. First Point Is Often Born in the Context of Pride and Prejudice, Skepticism Is Often Born in the Context of Pride and Prejudice Seawall and We Know That Nathaniel Said to Him, Can Any Good Thing Come As Come on Well Is Prejudice. He Has a Disdain for Nazareth Is Not in the Text, but I Really Believe at That Moment He Looked at Philip and He Rolled His Eyes Really Nazareth Really Is a Skeptic's to See What We Learn Here Is Nazareth Is the City of Disdain Judeans Look down on Those from Galilee, You're Just a Galilean You're from the Wrong Place but Get This, Galileans Look down on Nazareth. You See, Nazareth Was Right Next Door to Sephora's the Forces of Military Establishment of the Romans. It's a Garrison Roman Soldiers or the Business of Nazareth Is the Business of Keeping the Soldiers of Rome Entertained so You Know Exactly What Kind of Town Nazareth. This That's the Town It's a Nowhere Town in a No Place and It Was Interesting As Nathaniel Doesn't like It and It's Because He Is Prejudice. You See, We Find out That Nathaniel Was from Cana. Now I Know You Civil Cana Must Be a Nice Place. I Mean There Was a Miracle in Cana Comes in the Next Chapter You Know Cana Is No Place Cana Is so No Place That Even the Scholars Aren't Even Sure What Cana Was. But the Best Answers the Best Scholarship Points That Cana Is a Little Town about 9 Miles from Nazareth. Now That's Close and There's Nothing in between. So Here Are Some Cana Reminds Me of Light to Rural Towns with You Two High Schools, like Your Archrivals the Town That Looks Just like Your Town down the Road but Everything about It's Bad, You See Very Archrival, and so You Have in This Case Nathaniel Macon's Statement Is That This Is a Bad Place.

By the Way, It's Not Unusual Goes and Stays Away Holder Place and Go with Me to the Book of Acts Chapter 24 the Book of Acts Chapter 24 Now Were Talking about Paul Much Later in Time, It Is in the Middle of His Ministry Is Good Have To Stand before Felix the Governor but I Want You to See Something in Acts Chapter 24 Verse One It Says after Five Days, the High Priest Ananias Came down with Some Elders When an Attorney Named Turquoise, and with Him and They Brought Charges to the Governor against Paul and after Paul Had Been Summoned to Toles Began to Accuse Him Saying to the Governor.

Now What's This Typical Lawyer Speech or What's on the Start. He Says since We Have through You Attain Much Peace and since by Your Provenance Reforms Are Being Carried out for This Nation. We Acknowledge This in Every Way and Everywhere Most Excellent Felix, with All Thankfulness. They Hated Their Oppressors Is Giving a Lawyer Talk.

He's Buttering Them up. He Says, but That I May Not Wear You Any Further I Be Due To Grannis by Your Kindness. A Brief Hearing. Then He Says This for We Have Found This Man and This Is a Great Translation. A Real past. This Gives Had a Funny and the Word of God to Be Called That We Have Found This Man a Real past and a Fellow Who Stirs up Dissension among All the Jews throughout the World. A Ringleader of the Sect of Nazarenes. It's a Bad Word Even That Nazarene He's in You, What Good Might Nazareth See What Pride and Prejudice Does. That's the Way It Works.

We Go Back to John. No, You See a Typical's Skeptic Starts with Ridicule and Disdain.

There Still Skeptics with Us Today.

You Might Be One Christianity I Grew up on That When the Church When I Was 11 and Getting Really and Sick. I Skepticism Christianity Is Still from Nazareth. Amazing Disdain Pastoral Number on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the If You Ever Miss One of Our Broadcast or Maybe You Dislike. Listen to the Message One More Time. Remember, You Can Google a Great Website Called One Place.com That's One Place.com and You Can Listen the Fellowship and the Word Online at That Website You Will Find on with Today's Broadcast but Also Many of Her Previous Audio Programs As Well at Fellowship in the Word. We Are Thankful for Those Who Financially Support Our Ministry and Make This Broadcast Possible. We Ask All of Our Listeners to Prayerfully Consider How You Might Help His Radio Ministry Continuous Broadcast on This Radio Station by Supporting Us Monthly with Just a One-Time Gift Support for Ministry Can Be Sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon that Pastor Bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible church visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and oh LA not owe Argie in our website you will find hundreds. Pastor Bill sermon. You can browse through our sermon archives to find sermon series are looking for, or you can search by title.

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