Finding Jesus – Part 4
By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
December 20, 2024 – John 1:14 (The Message)
Today is the last sermon in our advent series titled “Finding Jesus.” We’ve looked at finding Jesus in unexpected people, in unexpected times, in unexpected circumstances, and today, I want to look at finding Jesus in unexpected places.
Where do you go to find God? You know the Sunday school answer to that question. You find him in the Bible. You find him a church. You find him in prayer. Those are great places to find God, but they are not the only places to find God.
I know that I have found God in the pages of some novels. I have caught a glimpse of who he is in some movies. I have seen his face in the faces of others as I walked through downtown Ottawa. I saw his face while I watched kids play in Stewart Park.
Finding God in unexpected places. I want to take you to the book of John today.
John 1:1–5 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
This is how the Gospel of John introduces us to Jesus. It calls Jesus “the word.” The Greek word for “word” is “logos,” carries with it the idea that Jesus embodied the totality of God. If you could think of all who God is, his character, his power, that is the logos. That is who Jesus is. That is who he was from the beginning of time. “In the beginning, the word already existed.
But look what it says in verse 14
John 1:14 (NLT)
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
I like how Eugene Peterson paraphrases the first part of this verse in the Message.
John 1:14 (MSG)
14 The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
The one who existed before anything else existed. The one who causes all that is to come into being. The one who was and is God – became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood. Where do you go to find God? You don’t expect him to show up in the neighbourhood. Finding Jesus in unexpected places. As we have been learning about God, He often does what is unexpected.
If you know the Christmas story, you will know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where he used a stable for a motel and a manger for a cradle. He then migrated to Egypt to escape wicked King Herod. He grew up as a child there in Egypt and then migrated back to Israel, to Nazareth, when King Herod died, because that was the home of his mom and dad. There, he learned the trade of his dad and became a carpenter.
The Gospel of John lets 30 years pass in its narrative. It picks up the story when Jesus begins his ministry. Jesus has been introduced by John the Baptist. We pick up the story in verse 45 where Jesus was calling his disciples, and his disciples were telling their friends about Jesus.
John 1:45–46 (NLT)
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
To the people living in Israel, Nazareth was a backwater town where nothing happened, and nobody important lived. But that is where Jesus grew up as a teenager, and that is where he grew into a man. He grew up in an unexpected place. You would expect the architect of humanity to live in some prestigious place, not in a humble home, carrying out a humble trade, in a humble town. But that is exactly what he did.
If you want to know what kinds of people Jesus likes to hang around with, take a look at the people he chose to grow up with. He didn’t gravitate to centers of power but a village. The one who existed before the world began chose to grow up in an unexpected place, a humble place, a humble town, a humble home.
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I grew up in the Ottawa Valley, in the country between the village of Glasgow and the village of Braeside. It was a humble place as well. Here is what I know about small places. They are filled with quirky people – most of them were my relatives – People who know each other’s business. You don’t put on airs because everybody knows everyone.
You might not like all your neighbours, but you know all your neighbours and you need to get along.
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The first church I pastored was in Bruce Mines. It was a town of 600 people on the shores of Lake Huron. What I loved about pastoring is that there were no pretensions. What you see is what you got, for better or worse.
Those are the kind of people Jesus chose to live amongst.
We live in a very different time and place. We live in a world where your presentation in a resume matters. Your presentation on Facebook, Linked In, and Instagram matters in terms of how people perceive you. We live in a world where people are trying to make a brand name for themselves. It seems like everyone is trying to become an influencer.
That is just the world we live in. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with that except when you start believing your own press. When you start believing that perception is more important than reality, you will not be the kind of people Jesus chooses to hang out with. Those aren’t the kind of people that he chose to go up with. He likes people to be who they are. He wants our true selves – not some version of our false self.
It is not that Jesus won’t talk to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the people who were the ruling elite of the day, the people who had a way of putting on airs – What Jesus did was call them to repentance. Jesus called them to righteousness on the inside, not just the outside. Because Jesus wants our inside and outside to match. He does good work with people who will be authentic.
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I love this Jesus story found in the gospel of Mark.
Mark 2:15–17 (NLT)
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
The people who liked to hang around Jesus and the people who Jesus hung around were “disreputable sinners.” They were the kind of people who others called scum.
Where do you find Jesus – he is hanging around unexpected people in unexpected places. He hung out not with those who thought they were righteous but those who knew they were sinners.
That is what I love about Jesus. He comes to us as we are. He doesn’t do well when we are trying to pretend that we are something that we are not. That is why you will often hear me say, come as you are – no perfect people allowed. I say that because that is the way to find Jesus.
Now, Jesus doesn’t want to leave people as he found them. When you hang around Jesus, it has a way of changing you.
As you can see, many people in Jesus’ day didn’t like the way that Jesus did things. They didn’t like that he hung out with disreputable people. They didn’t like that he went to their place and ate with them.
Just because Jesus comes to us does not mean that everybody will love him. He moves into our neighbourhood. But not everyone in the neighbourhood likes that.
John 1:10–13 (NLT)
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
He came to these ordinary people, the people of Nazareth, the people of Israel – and they rejected him. It is a scary thing for the God of the universe to move into the neighbourhood. It has a way of upsetting the status quo. A lot of people didn`t like that. Some people didn’t recognize him. Others just flat-out rejected him.
This is still the great choice that everyone must make. Do I reject Jesus or accept Jesus? Do I hang out with him, or do I stay away from him? Do I receive Jesus as he is – or not?
But Jesus moved into the neighbourhood anyway. To those who did believe in him, to those who did receive him, showed them how to become children of God. He is not talking about a physical birth but a spiritual birth – A birth that comes from God.
Many of you have had that happen in your life. You have said, Jesus, I believe you died for my sin. I believe that you rose from the dead. Come into my life, forgive me of my sin. I am going to follow you. That is how you become a child of God. That is how you receive him into your life. That is how you welcome your neighbour, who was and is God.
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What a lot of people don`t realize is that not only is this the way you become a child of God, a friend of God – Not only is this the way you become a Jesus follower or a true Christian – this is the way that you continue to walk with Jesus.
It always happens the same way. Jesus comes to us, and we have to choose to receive him – or not.
Let me read those verses to you in the NIV
John 1:11–12 (NIV)
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
For those of you who receive him, who believe in him, he gives you the right to become children of God. It is the most important decision that you will ever make. Will you believe in and receive Jesus?
Saying yes to that makes you a child of God. Saying yes to that allows you to be adopted into the family of God. Saying yes to Jesus is what it takes to be forgiven, cleansed, renewed – or, to use Doctor Jesus’ expression – to be made healthy. Spiritually healthy.
Receiving Jesus, believing in Jesus, is what puts you on the road to spiritual health.
But here is what a lot of us who received Jesus forget. Jesus comes to us again and again, and we must continually receive him.
Jesus was speaking to the church in Laodicea. Here is what he said to those who had already received him – here is what he said to those who believed in his name.
Revelation 3:20 (NLT)
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
Not only did he move into our neighbourhood, but now he is knocking on our door. Notice that it is Jesus that always comes to us. He is the one who always makes the first move. He knocks at the door of your heart, and you have the choice – do I invite him in or not.
It is a little intimidating. Some of us are not the best housekeepers. We don`t have everything organized. But he knocks and waits for an invitation to come in.
Notice what he wants to do. He wants to share a meal with us. He wants to walk with you as a friend. Like I said, if you hang out with Jesus, it is going to change you. If you invite him in, he will help you with the issues of your heart.
If you extend that invitation, He will sit down with you and talk with you. He says we are going to work together on you. If you do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it, you are going to change. You can’t change yourself, but I am going to give you the desire and the power to be all that I created you to be. It is not about striving; it is about following. It is not about what you do but what you allow me to do in you. Just do what I say.
He has a way of changing us from the inside out as we hang out with him.
There have been times when I looked at my heart, and I was overwhelmed by the things that needed to change. Sometimes I have tried to take on the heart renovation project myself. Inevitably, it doesn’t work. But when I talk to Jesus about it, he doesn’t ask me to clean up everything at once. He shows me where I need to start.
You wouldn’t know it, but I have had several personal trainers in my life. If you listen to them, they will say, for the next little while we are going to focus on stamina, or strength or your core. They will say things like, “Today is a leg day.” If you do what they tell you to do – it might not always be comfortable, but it will move you toward what you want to be.
When you invite Jesus into your life he comes to you as a coach, or a counselor, or a friend with a lot of wisdom. He will say, let’s start here. But it starts with an invitation. Jesus, I open the door. Come in. Let’s talk.
Finding Jesus in unexpected places. You may be at church or a coffee shop, reading a book or cooking a meal – and your mind travels down a road guided by Jesus – and you hear him knocking. Maybe I should look into this. Maybe I need to connect with this person. Maybe I need to forgive that person. Maybe I need to deal with the emotional, spiritual or maybe even the physical clutter of my life.
When he shows up in those unexpected places – hear the knock. Hear him calling.
Revelation 3:20 (NLT)
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
If you hear my voice. But we have seen that Jesus comes to unexpected places. When you are reading a magazine, and a thought crosses your mind and you wonder if that is Jesus, remember he shows up in unexpected places. You hear a song on the radio, and you say, I wonder if that is Jesus – listen closer. It just may be his voice. Let him in. Turn the radio off. Put the magazine down. Start the conversation. Lord, is this you? Is this your voice? What are you saying to me?
If you are here and have never put your trust in Jesus and received him into your life, it could be that through my speaking, he is knocking on your door. To as many as receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God.
Will you open the door and say, Jesus, come into my life? I believe in you. I trust you for the forgiveness of my sin. I trust you that you will do what you said you would do and adopt me into your family. I want a relationship with you. I want to walk with you and be your friend.
For those of you who have done that, could it be that Jesus is calling you? Is he knocking at your door? Will you invite him and talk with him. Will you allow him access to your heart, even if it is messy? He is the great physician.