Now this Philip, the Philip that was mentioned there, evangelized Samaria and won the Ethiopian eunuch, but it's a different Philip. The first three gospels tell us nothing about the disciple Philip. Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Philip's not even scarcely mentioned. They tell us nothing but his name. However, John's gospel gives us three incidents. that let us get acquainted with Philip and also reveals three principles required for feeding your faith, like Philip was fed. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come to you, Lord, just so grateful to have this opportunity to be in your house this morning, Lord, to study your word, to worship you, to sing songs of praises to you. Lord, we just ask that you'd be with us in this lesson. Lord, just help me to stay focused on what you desire for me to say, and Lord, help those that are hearing to have ears to hear, and Lord, take this material into their hearts and to have it bear fruit in their lives. We pray these things now in your son's precious and holy name, amen. So, first God, we need to give God time to make renovations. That's renovations within us, our characters. Anybody need renovations? We all did. We all came to Christ in a, broken and not in the best shape in our characters or in our hearts. The basis for this part of the lesson is John 1, 43 through 46. And I'll go ahead and read that to you now. Starting with verse 43, John 1, 43. The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip and saith unto him, follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. So, very interesting there that the thought of the day and time was Nazareth, nothing worthy came out of Nazareth. Why do you suppose God saw to it that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but was raised in Nazareth? Because it was a complete blind side to those religious Jews. There's no, nothing, nobody, he came from Nazareth, but they failed to see the point he was born in Bethlehem. So the day after Andrew brings his brother Peter to him, Jesus leaves for Galilee. He found Philip and says to him, follow me. Philip apparently knew Andrew and Peter since they were all from Bethsaida. Like Andrew and Peter, Philip was probably a follower of John the Baptist and had come 100 miles south to Judea to hear him preach. According to John 1.45, Philip immediately finds his friend Nathanael. Now, Philip just met the Lord. He's pretty excited about this. Imagine yourself when you just came to know the Lord. You wanna go out and tell your friends. And this is exactly what Philip did. He went to his buddy Nathanael and told him, we found him. This is the guy, but he's from Nazareth. And what disparaging thing did Nathaniel say? Oh, what good thing can come out of Nazareth? This indicates that God was already working in Philip's heart, the fact that he went straight to his buddy. Philip was a seeker who knew the Old Testament and was looking for the Messiah. This incident also gives us great insight into personal evangelism. One of the first things Philip does after accepting Jesus' call is to find his friend Nathanael and tell him about Jesus. Nathanael initially has a negative reaction when he hears Jesus is from Nazareth. When Nathanael heard that Jesus was from Nazareth, he wasn't that impressed, and you know what he said, what thing can come out of Nazareth. Nazareth was a small town, not famous for anything. Philip is wise and doesn't argue or even try to answer Nathaniel's question. He simply says, come and see. I remember having that question posed to me. I mean, come and see that statement. And that's what we all need to hear and we need to be saying it a lot more than we do. Philip knows some people are skeptical. So he wants Nathanael to be exposed to Jesus personally. How do we do that nowadays? We bring people to church, right? This is a great way to win people to Christ. We don't have to answer all their questions or get in over our heads theologically. We can just say, I can't answer all your questions, but I know a place where you can find the answers. Would you come to church with me this Sunday? I'll pick you up. If they are really seekers and we get them under the preaching and teaching of God's word, what wonderful promise does God give us in Isaiah 55, 11? I have it here. I will read it. If you'd like to look it up, you may. But in Isaiah 55, 11, we find, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, and it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Remember the song that talks about my poor stammering tongue This is what we are. We stammer and we don't really present the gospel the way Jesus would present it, but the fact that it's his word is not gonna come back void. That's what Jesus is teaching to Philip here. Philip's approach pays off because after Nathanael is exposed to Jesus, what's he do? Nathanael became one of the 12, he's a disciple. Philip uses his relationship with Nathanael to win him to Christ. Friendships can be built into bridges. One new convert said about his friend who had led him to Christ, my friend built a bridge from his heart to mine and Jesus walked across it. I found that to be fairly profound because that's what happens. Philip knew it takes time for some people to come to faith in Christ. However, he also knew if he could get Nathanael into a situation where he could encounter Jesus, God would take care of all the rest of it. If you want to feed your faith and see God radically renovate people, give him time to work by getting them into places where they can be exposed to Jesus through the word of God. There's no other way to feed it, the word of God. To feed your faith, you must give God time to make those renovations in your own life and in others. The second point, include God in your calculations. This is taken from John six and verses five through 13, which I'll read now. Verse five, when Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this he saith unto Philip, and this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. Yeah, Jesus already knew what he was gonna do, but he asked Philip to think about it. Where am I gonna get bread, buy bread for these people to eat? Philip answered him, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. And then one of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, there is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, make the men sit down. That sounds like he's already ready to feed them. And he was. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about 5,000. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were sat down, and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Now I've read through that, I can't tell you how many times I've read that passage of scripture. It's probably close to hundreds, if not maybe even more. And I never saw something that I saw in there yesterday while I was doing this study. I'll get to that. The second incident we will look at occurs after Philip has seen Jesus turn water into wine at the wedding in Cana and heal the lame man by the pool in Bethesda, as well as many other miracles. Huge crowds of people are now following Jesus because of his miraculous healing ministry. On this day, a crowd of 5,000 men, not counting the women and children, gathers to hear Jesus teach. and see him perform miracles. In this context, Jesus asked Philip, when shall we buy bread that these may eat? And Philip, of course, is a very, you learn this by reading about him and see what he's done and why Jesus is asking him this question. He's a very pragmatic person, very calculating. He's always thinking ahead. And that's why Jesus chose to ask Philip this question. He zeroed right in on him. He says, some believe Philip is in charge of the food for the disciples. That's why they think Jesus said this. This may be true, but the important thing is Jesus knows Philip is analytical. He's calculating and pragmatic in his approach to life. Thus, Philip tells Jesus that 200 penny worth of bread will not be enough food for each person to have just a bite. Philip knows before they try to figure out where to buy food, they must first have the money. Even after all the miracles Philip has witnessed, it doesn't enter into his mind that Jesus could perform another miracle. He's thinking about just the worldly solution. I've got to find some place to buy, and all I got is 200 penny worth here. How am I going to feed 5,000 people with this much bread? Can't be done. But Jesus can do it. Philip is cautiously calculating everything, but without faith. To him, it is all a matter of dollars and cents. Then Andrew speaks up and says he has a boy with a lunch of five small loaves, much like pancakes. These are not loaves like you go down to the store and buy a loaf of Franz bread, the good bread, flavor beyond compare or whatever, you know, they advertise it as. Much like pancakes and two small fish. Jesus tells the disciples to have the crowd sit down. He gives thanks for the loaves and fish. The disciples distribute the food and everyone has a great meal. Jesus then tells his disciples to gather the leftover food so none would be wasted. So how much was left? Look at verse 13 in that series of verses. Therefore they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Why that many full baskets? Do you ever think about that? I had not, until this question was raised in the study I was doing, I had never thought why there was 12 baskets. It didn't even enter my mind to think about why is there 12 baskets. Well, there's a reason. There was one for each of the disciples to carry home so they will never again leave Jesus out of their calculations. That's pretty profound, I think. He was giving them a physical lesson in why they should believe in him and have more faith in him. They each had to carry home a heavy basket full of loaves and fishes. I think that's profound myself. I'd remember after that. Yeah. That day Philip learned, as the old song goes, little is much when God is in it. Too often we make our calculations without including God. We used to have a little flow chart that I had in the headquarters when I was in the Air Force. We had all these things, there's all these steps, and it's got the general standing there looking at this board with all these post-it notes on it. And he's pointing at the very last note on the bottom corner of the board. And he says, I'm a little fuzzy on this point right here. And that post-it note on it said, then a miracle happens. And yeah, he's a little fuzzy on that point. So when we have a financial problem, we need to be careful not to make our calculations without God. When there is a marital problem that seems hopeless, we need to be careful not to make our calculations without God. Why does God need to be a part of all of our calculations? Well, according to Jesus in Luke 18, 27, I'll read that to you now. The Bible says, and he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. That's why we need to include God in the calculation. As we include God in our calculations, we must be sure we know the difference between faith and presumption. Now, how many know that difference? How many people here presume occasionally? Let's see, a show of hands, I put up two. I presume an awful lot in life, and I shouldn't. That's a sin on my part. People of faith do all they can in planning, preparing, and working on the task at hand. and then trust God to do what only he can do. People of presumption sit around waiting for God to do everything. Instead of admitting they are presumptuous and lazy, these people claim they are living by faith. What does Jesus tell us in Matthew 7, 7? Looking at the seventh verse, Bible says, ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. knock and it shall be opened unto you." The verbs ask, seek, and knock are all present tense. Present tense. Meaning we should do our part and keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. You live this. To feed your faith, give God time to make renovations. Include God in your calculations. And the third point, remember the incarnation. Jesus was a real physical being that was indwelled by, let's put it this way, he was not conceived in the same way you and I were. There was a Holy Spirit involvement in Jesus' conception. So this third section about the incarnation is found in John 14 and verses one through 11. I will read that to you now. The Bible here says, let not your heart be troubled. This is one of my favorite verses, because it gives you peace right away. Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. If you believed in God, you already do believe in Jesus because It's the same, he's part of that triune Godhead. And this is what we're gonna get here in this passage. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas then said unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye would have known my father also. And from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus said unto him, and now this is kind of profound here, he says, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the father, and how sayest thou then, show us the father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work's sake. So incarnation, when we look at that in our vocabulary words, simply means God's appearing in human form. It takes Philip a while to realize Jesus is the incarnation of God. In this third incident in Philip's life, Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room. On the night he transforms the Passover into the Lord's Supper. Jesus tells them he will only be with them a while longer and where he is going they cannot go. The disciples are perplexed and begin to panic because they are expecting Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom. And one of those fallacies that they believed in the hopes of fulfilling the prophecies in the Old Testament, but it was not that time yet. To comfort them, Jesus says some of his most famous words, telling them not to let their hearts be troubled, but to trust in God and in him. Finally, in desperation, Philip asked that question. Philip said unto him, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Philip knows Jesus is the promised Messiah. He knows this, the deliverer of Israel, but it's never dawned on him who Jesus really is. They're seeing Jesus as person that's there with them, and they don't see through that shell, the man, to see the Godhood that's inside of him, the God who is inside of him. Philip being so practical and cautious, he has seen Jesus heal the sick, feed 5,000 plus, calm the storm, and even raise the dead, but it had never crossed his mind only one person capital P, has that kind of power. Philip is an example of those for whom faith is difficult because they are so pragmatic and calculating, always wanting to explain things in human terms. We are all forever indebted to Philip for his question because Jesus' answer contains the essence of the Christian faith. Clearly disappointed, Jesus being clearly disappointed, he asked Philip if he has been with him so long and still doesn't know him. What does he say to them then in John 14, nine? And I'll read that to you. Here the Bible says, Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the father. That's pretty clarifying. And how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Jesus says we must believe he is who he claims to be, or we will die in our sins. And that's just simply fact. And in John 8, 24, read this to you. I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Thanks to Philip's question, we know exactly who Jesus claimed to be. Tradition tells us Philip established churches and won multitudes to Christ in Asia Minor, would be modern Turkey. He was martyred by stoning in Hierapolis in Asia Minor about eight years after the martyrdom of James. If you recall, James was martyred in Greece and was, you know, put on the, he was run through with a sword, as I remember, yeah. The major lesson we learn from Philip's life, excuse me, it also is fact that he was among the very first to die for the cause of Christ. God can use people whose dominant characteristics like Philip are being analytical and pragmatic. Major lesson we learned from Philip's life is God can use people whose faith comes slowly. If it comes slowly, it's really hard to break it down later because they really believe it. On your chart of the disciples' characteristics, you can fill in the blanks about the characteristics of Philip that pertain. And feeding your faith then requires you to give God time to make renovations, include God in your calculations, and remember the incarnation of Christ. In which of these ways has God most often fed your faith? And what can you do so he will feed it more? Next Sunday morning, we will be continuing our journey into following Jesus with lesson eight, finding God's purpose for your life. and he does have a purpose for us, each of us. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come to you, Lord, so grateful for your word and for the clarity of your word and making it possible, Lord, for us to see and understand who you are, that you are God in flesh when you came here to earth. We ask now, Lord, that you would Be with us as we go into the after service, and Lord, just give us open minds and hearts and give the pastors the words that you would have him to speak. We pray these things now in Jesus' name, amen. And I think we gotta go over to the house. We gotta, yeah. Morning, brother. You know, I read further down on that same chapter with those 12 baskets. And I often think about those disciples that are on that ship, and they've got those 12 baskets at their feet. And they are fearing that the Lord won't save them in the ship. Right. And he's just, they've got this. That's, that's the whole point of the lesson is that you have to build that faith. I mean, it has to come. They realize it all post-crucifixion. That's pretty much how it works. Man is fickle and this is the problem. We can believe one minute and then something happens and all of a sudden our faith is diminished. Well, I've got to go over and practice a song. All right. Yeah.