R555 Caring About Those Who Are Not Here Yet

We do care, but do we care about those that are not here yet? That's the challenge from Dr. Don Wilton and our Bible study today. This is the Encouraging Word featuring the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton, and today we head to John. Matter of fact, John chapter 1 beginning in verse 40 about this message, caring about those who are not here yet.

You'll understand more as Dr. Don opens and unpacks this Word of God to you and I in the way that we interact with those around us, and we prepare for those to come. As we do this, know that we're available for you. We'd love to pray with you anytime at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673, and online right now our new website just launched. Drop by and take a look at the opportunity to connect with us there at www.tewonline.org. Now, Dr. Don Wilton with today's message. Now I want to share with you this morning a message that is deeply embedded in my heart. I want you to turn with me to John's Gospel chapter 1. John's Gospel and chapter 1.

And while you're turning in your Bibles to John's Gospel chapter 1, I'm going to ask you a most salient and yet perhaps somewhat ridiculous statement, sadly ridiculous. I'm going to ask you something this morning. I wonder if there is anyone here today who really cares about someone else who is not here yet. I want us to talk today from God's Word about the impact that God calls upon each one of us to make in the lives of those that we care deeply about. I would not be at all surprised to know that there is a wife here this morning who would give anything to have her husband in church and more importantly knowing and loving the Lord Jesus Christ.

I would not be surprised if there is a husband who today loves his wife but would give anything that she too would know the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a parent here today who would say pastor before the Lord it's my son, it's my daughter, it's my father, it's my mother, it's my grandfather, my grandmother, my uncle, my aunt, it's someone that I know, someone that I love, there's an associate, there's a person that I go to school with every day that has just the finest personality and I just enjoy their company but they don't know the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to speak to you this morning for just a few minutes on caring about those who are not here yet and I'm going to read to you from John chapter 1 and beginning at verse 40 and let me say to you that I am going to just stop once every while because there's a lot to talk about here as I read this passage and I want to remind you that John the Baptist had been about the business of declaring that Jesus was about to arrive and here in John chapter 1 Jesus arrives, Jesus turns up in the person, in the flesh and beginning at verse 35 Jesus begins to call his disciples and he begins to single out people just like you and me and say I want you to follow me, I want you to come and I want you to serve with me, he begins to point people out in the crowd and he calls them. Now look what happens in verse 40, Andrew who was one of these, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him we have found the Messiah that is the Christ and Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said you are Simon son of John and from now on you will be called Cephas which translated means Peter and the word literally means rock and you will remember that Jesus was going to tell Peter right there at the mouth of that gaping hole in Mount Hermon in the northern part of Galilee on the Golan Heights he was going to say to him, Peter on this rock that is me Jesus Christ I will build my church and Peter I'm going to invite you to be a part of that rock I'm going to invite you to partner with me in making a difference in the lives of those who are not here yet. Well look what happens in verse 43 the next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee now remember that he was in Nazareth which is just kind of over the hill if you want to watch me for a moment Galilee is kind of down in the valley you go all the way down the hill to the Sea of Galilee a beautiful sea and when you're in Galilee you have to go back up over the hill I mean it's a massive hill it's like going up the Saluda Grade I mean you're going way over the top and Nazareth is over the top and sitting over on the other side and and so Jesus who grew up in Nazareth now was about to go down to Galilee and walk over the edge and down to the shore of Galilee which so much of his activity took place and remember there were little towns around Mary Magdalene came from Magdalena which is right there in Beth Cider and all these different places where Jesus taught the the Beatitudes delivered the Sermon on the Mount and he healed people and and and and he fed the 5,000 and so on and so forth all this activity took took place around the Sea of Galilee it was a hive of activity and there were a lot of fishermen there because there's delicious fish it's to this day they call it St. Peter's fish it's about that size it's not the kind that I caught on vacation which was that size it's about this big and it's very very delicious and so you can just imagine all the different activities that were going on here look what happened verse 43 the next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee finding Philip he said to him Philip follow me Philip like Andrew and Peter was from the town of Beth Cider so Philip now goes to Nathaniel and told him we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote Jesus of Nazareth son of Joseph and watch what happens in verse 46 if ever there is a skeptic we find it in Nathaniel he says Nazareth can any good thing come out of Nazareth now folks watch me back there in those days not only the region around Galilee but places like Nazareth they didn't believe that people of very high standing came out of some of these villages and towns they were kind of kind of regarded as sort of you know those people just the other side the world they thought well you know you come from Nazareth you're uneducated and you you're a little uncouth and you're rough around the edges and you don't quite have the cultural pizazz that we have those of us of course who come from Jerusalem this is not the center of learning exactly and here you are inviting me to come around a man who comes from Nazareth but watch what Jesus does this is this is wonderful Philip says Tim will come and see for yourself don't be so skeptical don't sit at home come to impact yourself watch what he says verse 47 when Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching he said of him here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false now folks watch me for a minute there is a little hint of sarcasm here but you know the Lord Jesus knows our hearts doesn't he knows how to deal with our skepticism and and Jesus looked at him and took the wind out of his sails have you ever have you ever been just a little tad bit miffed with somebody I mean they've just kind of got on your toes a little bit and and so what I know it's never happened to any of you but someone next to you and you you're a little upset and so you decide you know I'm gonna go and give that person a piece of my mind they are not going to do this they I will not allow this is not this is not there they are I'm going to go and give them a piece of my I will not put up with this and you walk over there and you come up boom boom right there boom in front of him and you stand in front of him and this person that you're about to unload on looks at you and says you know I'm so glad to see you thanks for what what you mean to me you know what you did the other day for my daughter was the most precious thing and I tell you I I tell you I just love you and I I just thank you and boy you you're you're a special person and here you are I tell you and you ready and you stop and you say well thank you actually I was coming to tell you how precious you are can you feel this yes Nathaniel he says can any good thing come out of Nazareth I mean is this some kind of character you can get to Jesus Jesus who wants to go to that church anyway they're too many people down there and I don't need all this religion and so here comes Nathaniel to Jesus and Jesus who looks upon the heart looks at him and he says to him now here is a true Israelite this is a man's man I am all look at ah this man has arrived I mean you are culturally on top of the world I want you to know that I think highly of you watch what happens to Nathaniel flabbergasted in verse 48 how do you know me Nathaniel asked Jesus answered I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you then Nathaniel 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 Nathaniel you will see far greater things than these and then he added I tell you the truth you will see the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man Wow what an incredible encounter number one right from what happened here in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ as we think about those who are not here yet number one some of these people will be as close as our brothers and sisters some of the folks that we really care about who are not here yet will be as close to us as our brothers and sisters are that's what happened to Andrew I have two brothers by the way if you don't know that I'm the middle one I'm the middle one I know what it's like to be a middle child and all the things that go on I could give you a whole dissertation on the middle child syndrome my oldest brothers two and a half years older than me my youngest brothers four and a half years younger than me but we grew up pretty close we had a wonderful family we grew up in Africa I tell you what we didn't get up to was nobody's business folks I mean we were we were brothers there was no question about it we did all kinds of things we had great experiences we were out and about all over the place we didn't have television and and motor cars and those types of things that at the age of 15 to distract us we just had home and the basic things of life and and and a whole lot of love I remember one time we went on our annual vacation and we went to a place called Amgazana in Zulu land the closest we could get to the coastline was seven miles up the river the jungle was so thick no roads no people for over 200 miles accepting tribesmen and wild animals I remember getting into a little outboard motor this big with my father and my mother my three brothers with a whole month supply of food and chugging down the Amgazi River to the mouth going in between the crocodiles and all the animals that were there getting down to the mouth and seeing the fins of Zambezi sharks and the great white sharks and I tell you we would stay there for a whole month and wild animals would get we had no refrigeration no stoves no electricity no running water nothing not a restaurant I'm telling you for probably 300 miles and I could tell we that's how I grew up we just were out there having an incredible time as boys it was amazing fishing and hunting and and and and doing things like that non-stop well we grew up we grew up in a preacher's home but folks we began to struggle with spiritual things just like you and just like me you see we we were we were coming to grips with the fact that God actually doesn't have a family plan for salvation God doesn't say well if your dad knows the Lord you know the Lord doesn't work like that our salvation in Christ is very personal it's one-on-one isn't it and when we give our hearts to Jesus Christ we become a part of the family of God together but we need to make a personal decision for Jesus Christ and I tell you when I when I came out of the military I was one rough diamond because God God wanted to do something on me and I ran into this beautiful girl and she took me and sorted me out in a New York second and that's quick if you've ever driven down Fifth Avenue I mean she got a hold of me folks influenced me and and and I began to love her intensely bottom line the Lord got a hold of my life and I'll never forget that day when my wife and I knelt together I stood up and I turned to her and I said to her Karen God is calling me into the ministry and we agreed together because we both sensed that and we didn't know what God had in store for us and we couldn't even begin to imagine the joy that would come into our lives from that day until this. Forgive the interruption we'll be back with more of today's message with Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment but he insists I interrupt because he wants you to know this is not just a presentation this is a conversation and as we begin to share God's Word together we want you to know we're here to encourage you on a regular basis as a matter of fact one of the things I would encourage you to consider doing is signing up for the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don Wilton you can do on our website right now at TEWonline.org that's TEWonline.org and every morning about 6 a.m. Eastern Dr. Don launches this bit of insight to God's Word application for God's Word in our daily life and a prayer opportunity to just launch you in a powerful way again you can get it on our website TEWonline.org and if you'd like a regular hard copy a little booklet we present every quarter you can ask for that by calling 866-899-WORD that's 866-899-9673 we'd love to put into your hands absolutely free the daily encouraging Word Bible Guide with Dr. Don 866-899-9673 now back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. I remember in 1981 going back to South Africa to visit my family my oldest brother was a mechanical and electrical engineer highly qualified had even studied here in the United States he had the most incredible home right on the beach in Africa I mean 10 foot 20 foot waves windsurfing fishing this incredible river that came out right there near to his home he had everything that opened and shut and standing under a bridge one night in 1981 my oldest brother looked me in the eye and he said to me Don I've got all of this but I am absolutely miserable what is it about you and I looked at him and I said to him Rocky all I can tell you is that I have found the Messiah and all I can tell you is that Jesus has made all the difference in my life and about five years later he wrote me a letter and he said Don I know that I'm 36 37 years of age back then and he said to me I tell you God is calling me into the ministry and I don't know what to do and at that time I was serving as professor of preaching and evangelism at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans Louisiana and I wrote him a letter and I said to him brother Rocky I know the exact seminary where you need to come hold that thought my youngest brother Murray we've all got Scottish names the youngest man in the country to qualify as a CPA brilliant I'm telling you he could turn anything business mind like you don't know understands all the finances of the world doing well when we were over there in 1981 with his brand new bride I tell you they had everything they rode around in convertibles had beautified two homes swimming pools I remember their big old black dogs that would ride in the back of the convertible you ever seen someone does that with sunglasses on I mean he had everything and I'll remember my brother Murray looking at me way back then in 1981 and saying to me brother Don I know you're just visiting us from the United States he said but I want to tell you see all this that I've got you I'm miserable about five years later God got a hold of his life he wrote me a letter and in responding to that letter where he told me God had called him into the ministry I said to him Murray I know the exact seminary where you need to go do you know folks in 1986 my oldest brother my youngest brother not only enrolled at New Orleans Baptist Seminary they out of their own free choice because they had plenty of other professors to choose from enrolled in my preaching classes now they both flunked the course but they both involved today both of them are pastors both of them love the Lord Jesus Christ both have wonderful families we're all preachers together serving the Lord loving one another yesterday I went through what a lot of parents go through a lot of going through my wife and I had to take our oldest son to college in Chattanooga Tennessee and I'm telling you if you haven't gone through that it's a it's a wonderful experience and it's tough it's joyful and we went up we got up there midnight on Friday night and and then yesterday and of course I'm a pastor of a church so I don't have the luxury of staying over on a Saturday night and being with all the activities today last night they had a big parents thing and banquet and we couldn't stay for it because we had to get back and so we knew that we were leaving and all the other parents were there and they were all doing things and had big plans for today and they were gonna do this and do that and and I didn't even have to explain that to Rob Rob is just incredible and as we were about to leave and say our goodbyes and I looked at him and I said to him son we're gonna do this quick bye get in the motorcar mr. Grady I should have called you sir I you've done this before I look around all these folks here just before I left Rob reached in his pocket and gave me a check and he said daddy he said that checks my tithe said do you think you could make certain that it gets in to church tomorrow we got in the car and you know those first couple of minutes no the mom or dad want to say a whole lot so you just drive and we driving down and amongst the things that we said to one another Karen and I we said you know we've tried to bring him up right and we've tried to provide him with a home and what a church family he's been amongst and what leadership Seth Buckley and Steve Skinner the Mickey Sebesky's miss Rhonda Ron you look around and you say you know we've tried to do everything now it's his time to peddle his own canoe and then you go back to the beginning you think about scripture and I think about the fact that his grandfather gave his life to Jesus Christ and my brothers his uncles and his cousins and his family and I think about caring for those who are not here yet the Bible says sometimes those people will be as close as our brothers and sisters number two sometimes sometimes some of them will be very skeptical to begin with folks skepticism against the church and against the Lord Jesus Christ is ingrained in Scripture but folks I tell you what I have seen Jesus Christ get a hold of the lives of people left and right don't give up on mom and dad don't give up on brother and sister don't give up on those that you love God loves them and so do we but there's a third thing some will receive eternal life those that we care about some will receive eternal life look at Nathaniel look at look at Peter souls on the street addicted to sin selling themselves to survive not understanding the hope they could find in a place where God's love is alive in this year hope seems to be in short supply in some areas of our life but the reality is the hope of Jesus Christ runs eternal and it is overflowing and God's using even this broadcast even this podcast into your life right now to let you know that he loves you God is pursuing you with his amazing love because he wants to see your life become what he created it to be to be the woman of God the man of God that he wants you to be it starts with a single step before we get away closing thoughts from our pastor dr. Don Wilton are you ready would you pray this pray with me right now dear God I know that Jesus loves me and that he died on a cross for me today I repent of my sin and I confess my sin to the Lord Jesus and I give him my heart and my life in Jesus name I pray amen if you've prayed that prayer from your heart and you've given your life to Christ I welcome you to the family of God you are my brother my sister in Christ let's get engaged together because we are connected together forever as believers in Christ if you gave your life to Jesus Christ welcome to the family of God maybe you have questions dr. now with praying and you're not ready to make that commitment let's talk about it give us a call let's pray through those questions together at eight six six eight nine nine word eight six six eight nine nine nine six seven three connects with one of us 24 hours a day to answer those questions to pray and to connect with resources like if you gave your life to Christ dr. Don has wonderful resources to help you take the next steps give us a call eight six six eight nine nine nine six seven three or meet us online at TEW online o RG right now a wonderful bit of both music and Bible study is available here's Liz with all the details at TEW online dot o RG as you reflect upon your life this season think about your friends and family members outside of Christ or those who are drifting away from God could this be you this Christmas dr. Wilton wants to encourage you to make a commitment to meet Jesus every day so you can learn more about him and be able to live a life of trust and not fear with your gift of $30 and support to the encouraging word this month you will receive the Spirit of God within you a beautiful 52 week leather bound devotional written by 52 trusted pastors and leaders including dr. 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