Reading, Sermon and Prayers - Call to Christ, let your light shine

READING: John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 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.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

SERMON: Call to Christ, let your light shine. John 1:43-51

We’ve all been called to Christ. We’ve been called into a relationship with our Lord and Saviour. We’ve all come through our own path, and our own calling to meet God. But, each of us sheds light in our own way.

There have been many throughout scripture that have shined their own light in the darkness. Some have burned brightly right from the start. Others, have burned halfway before shedding their light. This morning, I’d like to take a look at God’s call to some of the men found in scripture, and their response to hide or shed their light.

Jonah’s Call…

I’ll start with a famous story from the Old Testament. Many of you are familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale. He was trapped inside a great fish for three days, and survived by the grace of God. But, what led to that miraculous situation?

God spoke to Jonah and called him to go and preach to Nineveh, a huge city plagued with wickedness. God was sending Jonah to become a prophet to encourage the Ninevites to change their ways.

Jonah refused. He knew what God wanted him to do, and He knew where to go… and so he chose a different path to follow.

Instead of dedicating himself to the mission at hand, finding transportation, and heading toward the city that needed his help, Jonah rejected the call, bought a ticket on a boat headed in the opposite direction, and took off to Tarshish, leaving Nineveh behind him.

God wasn’t happy with this. So he sent a storm to pummel Jonah’s ship with waves from the sea and the strength of a violent wind. Everyone on the boat felt that they would die because the sailors couldn’t control the direction of the ship. They were far from land to give them refuge, and all seemed hopeless and doomed. Passengers felt that someone must have displeased God to have such a storm overtake the boat. After a while the conversation turned to Jonah who claimed he had fled away from the Lord. They didn’t want to hurl him into a watery death, but Jonah volunteered. They tossed him overboard, feeling it was their only option to appease God.

But, God’s plan was more than just getting Jonah off of that ship. It was to show Jonah who was in control. Shortly after Jonah hit the waves, the storm subsided.

God silenced the wind and sent a fish to swallow the future prophet, and deliver him to Ninevah. God’s plan had not yet been fulfilled, but He would not be deterred by a man refusing to follow.

When God calls someone to serve, no matter how much they protest, His will WILL be done! If we try to hide our light, God will find a way for it to shine through, either by choice, or by force.

Samuel’s Call…

Samuel’s situation was a bit different. A sleeping child heard a sound in the wind and thought it was his master. He was a good servant, ready and able to do his master’s will. When he heard the voice, he ran to Eli to do his bidding. But Eli didn’t call him. This went on for three more times before Eli realized what was happening and told Samuel to listen to what the Lord had to say. When Samuel was ready to listen, God spoke to him. He chose to talk to Samuel directly just as He spoke to Jonah.

But where Jonah ran away and tried to avoid God’s direction, Samuel came running at the sound of his master’s voice. He sought to please the one he served by running to Eli’s side. When he finally figured out that God was calling him, he answered with the simple statement “Speak, for your servant is listening”.

He listened, he grew in the Lord, and he became a great prophet. He let his light shine brightly and illuminated Israel with the truth that God revealed to him. God had a plan, and Samuel worked to fulfil that plan.

The Disciples Call…

Where Samuel listened, and served, the disciple Phillip was even more energetic. Jesus went to the regular, everyday places to call His disciples. He went to common destinations, to meet common men, performing common work.

Phillip was one of the first to follow Jesus. Our Lord invited him to join Him on the road trip to Galilee. But what did Phillip do first? He ran to his brother Nathanael and told him the good news. He said: “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote”.

This wasn’t just a simple discovery. He was excited. Phillip was a brand new disciple. He may not have understood what he believed yet. But he knew Jesus was the best thing he had ever heard of. Jesus was simply too good to keep to himself. He couldn’t help himself. He had to talk about Him. He had to tell his friends and family.

It’s the new Christians that are often so vocal about their faith; they know what they’ve found and want to shout it from the rooftops and Phillip was no exception. New believers often have more contacts with those outside the church. They haven’t gotten their faith all cluttered with opinions and traditions. They find it easier to keep the main things, as the most important things to talk about. But more importantly, they haven’t come to believe that other people aren’t interested. After all, they were interested, so others should be interested too.

We need more Philips. We need more people willing to let their light shine, regardless of how bright it is outside. What a difference it would make if more people were so impressed with Jesus that they couldn’t help but talk about him! We need men, women and teenagers who love their friends and family so much, that more than anything, they want to bring them to Jesus. It doesn’t take a lot of learning, education, or experience. The only real requirements are a love for Jesus, a love for our friends, and the kind of faith that believes no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.

We have heard of three different responses to God’s call. Three different ways to show the light. Christ doesn’t call us to sit around with our hands in our pockets. He calls us to do something.

Jonah was called to preach. He dragged his feet, but eventually he allowed his light to shine in the dark city of Ninevah. And do you know what happened there? The city repented.

Samuel was called to serve. He listened to the wind and found God calling out to him. He found his light and chose to let it shine to the Israelites. He let it build up over the years while God shaped and moulded him into a great prophet. He became a great preacher to a nation and an example to us all.

Phillip was called to follow Christ as one of the disciples. He chose to not only let his light shine, but to run out to find Nathanael and let him see the messiah for himself. He put his knowledge of Christ as one of the first things to get on the street. He chose to get the good news out to those he cared about.

We can see from these three stories that God calls the reluctant as well as the willing. He calls the educated as well as the ignorant. He shapes people and he takes them as they are. Jonah wasn’t willing, but he preached just the same. Samuel didn’t know what he heard, but he listened, and obeyed. Phillip was ecstatic and he brought others to the Lord.

The truth is, God calls each of us to be disciples of Christ, and to do what we can to further his kingdom. Some of us might be reluctant to get involved. Not because we don’t want to see the church and God’s message of his redeeming grace transform the lives of others, but because we feel that we might not have much to offer in the way of talents or gifts. But think of these men: a reluctant preacher, and a child servant, tax collectors and fishermen.

As a result of their response to our Lord’s call, God was able to equip them to further His kingdom. Not everyone is a prophet like Samuel and Eli. But, we all are common people like the disciples were when they first met Jesus.

I’m sure they had no idea of what they were getting into when they responded to our Lord’s invitation. Yet, the efforts of these down to earth, common people resulted in Christ’s church coming to fruition.

We’ve been called to do what we can to uplift the church and to proclaim God’s redeeming grace to those around us. We gather in response to God’s invitation to be a part of his kingdom, to not only worship him, but also to serve him.

We’ve been called into a relationship with God. Some will allow their light to burn bright and long. Some will let their flame grow over the years, and illuminate their path as they grow. Others will wait to shed their light, but eventually, they too will shine. Where will you go with your relationship with Christ? Amen.

PRAYERS:

Let us pray to the Father who through his Son has opened the way to heaven.

May your people be always alert in your service, ready to answer new calls for the coming of the Kingdom. Lift up our hearts to adore the Lamb who was slain for our salvation.