The end of the story is that the dresser of the vineyard decided to abandon his work. He determined to take away the protective hedge and wall and allow the ground to go untended. He even went so far as to prophesy a drought! 

How much are we returning on the investment God has made in us? What fruit are we producing, worthy of the sacrifice He made to save our souls? ]]> http://www.newstartchurch.net/vigilance/bearing-fruit/feed/ http://www.newstartchurch.net/sermons/questions/ http://www.newstartchurch.net/sermons/questions/#comments Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:45:30 +0000 admin http://www.newstartchurch.net/?p=233 Text: John 1:19-21, 35-41

Click here to listen to the audio of this sermon.

Three questions were asked in our text:

A. Who are you? (In verse 19; their other questions ins verse 21 were variations of this same question)

B. What are you seeking? (In verse 38)

C. Where do you live? (In verse 38)

John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing converts in the Jordan river when the Jews sent priests and Levites to question him. They sent community and societal leaders, ”high-class” people, to question him and to grill him. It is helpful to recall that John wore a rough coat made of camel’s hair; he ate locusts and wild honey for his diet and had been in the wilderness, the woods, the mountains, and the desert until he came out preaching. In essence, you have this crude mountain man who wears a rough coat made, not of fine linen, but of camel’s hair. He is what we might call today a “redneck” preacher, and now he is confronted by the upper classes.

The focus and interest of the intellectual, religious, and political elite was: “who are you?” In other words, ”What are your qualifications? Where did you go to college? What degrees do you have? What seminary did you study in?” Human nature tends to place an emphasis on the “who” in discussion. In America in particular, we are a personality-driven culture; It’s all about who you know - it’s all about your network. We’re told we need to know certain people to get ahead in life.

In verses 35-41, John is standing with two of his disciples when Jesus walks by. Note the selflessness of John, when he says, “Behold the Lamb of God!” In another place John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John never lost sight of his calling - he never forgot that his job was not to get the glory, but to point the way to Jesus. The two disciples heard him speak and left him to follow Jesus. John had built up a large following, but after Jesus came along, the crowds left John to follow Jesus. John would later find himself in prison, and from prison he would watch as Jesus’ popularity soared while he waited to be executed. How many people could willingly fade into the shadows while someone else took their glory?

When Jesus saw the two disciples of John following him, he asked them, “what seek ye?” Notice that Jesus did not ask the same question that the religious leaders asked. He did not ask, “who are you?” or “what right do you have to follow me?” As a matter of fact, Jesus never once asked anyone, “who are you?” Their social standing did not interest him. Their identity, fame, or lack thereof was unimportant to him. He ate and drank with sinners, and throughout his ministry made no distinction in classes. Instead, Jesus said things like, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” and ”And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:” and “…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” and “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

No, Jesus was not interested in social standing or classes, but He did want to know what people were seeking. He asked his disciples, “Whom do men say that I am?” One day he walked through a crowd of people, and somewhere in that crowd was a woman who was very sick. She had been bleeding for twelve years, and for twelve years none of the doctors of the day could help her. Yet this woman said to herself, “if I can just touch the hem of his garment, I’ll be healed.” This was exactly the kind of thing Jesus was interested in - He was not at all interested in what tribe she was from; He couldn’t care less how much money she made, how much stock she owned, or where she went to college, or what neighborhood she lived in. Here He was surrounded by hundreds, possibly thousands of people bumping up against him, but when one woman touched him in faith, He perceived that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched me? No, Jesus was never interested in social standing, but he was very interested in somebody’s motive for touching him.

So when Jesus saw the disciples of John following Him, His question was not, “who are you?” but He cut right to the chase and said “what do you seek?” In other words, “what are your motives?” “What are you after?” “What is driving you?” “Why are you here?” God is not interested in where you’ve come from today, but He is interested in what you’re seeking. He wants to know what drives you - What are you after in life? What motivates you? What are you hungry for?

Some people are seeking a show, someone to perform for them; some are looking for entertainment, something to appeal to their senses. The church is to them a circus, a production. Some are looking for a God to work a miracle so that they’ll believe. Some want to know what God can do for them - what kind of “fringe” benefits He offers. But the newness soon wears off of the show for the production-seekers, and they are no longer entertained; they have heard every sermon the preacher knows, and every story he’s told. The songs the choir sings are all old to them, and even miracles, if they happen regularly, are taken for granted. After all, Judas saw the miracles of Jesus, but he still betrayed him.

But the third question in our text today was the one which the two disciples asked Jesus in verse 38: “where dwellest thou?” In other words, “where do you live?” “Where can we find you?” Their question was not, “would you work a miracle for us?” or “would you show us a trick?” It wasn’t, “would you give us something?” They wanted to spend time with him, to learn from Him, and this was the question Jesus wanted to hear.

Everyone has a motivating force in his or her life.  For some, it’s wealthbuilding - only they make more and more money, and find just emptiness. For some, it is fame and fortune, for others, it is power in the political world. Some are seeking nothing more than a comfortable retirement. What is your driving force today?  What is your goal in life?   Where do you want to be ten years from now? Why are you doing the things you are doing?

Several years ago there was an enormously popular Christian book called “God-Chasers.” I don’t want to nit-pick, but when you are chasing something it implies that the something is running away from you; God is not running from us - He is immovable, unchanging. He does demand, however, that we seek Him. What do you seek today? If you seek a show, we do not have a 100 voice choir or a million dollar sound and light system. We don’t have a professional staff of paid actors for our drama team. If you seeking money, we do not have much money. But if you hunger…and thirst…after righteousness, you have come to the right place. If you feel that you will die without a move of God in your life, you have made the right choice.

DEUTERONOMY 4:29…thou shalt find {him}, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

2CHRONICLES 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

He did not say if they seek miracles, or food, or a show, but if they seek “my face.”

The disciples of John asked Jesus, “where do you live? Where can we find you?” When you humbly and sincerely ask God that question, you’ll find Him.