Apostolic Friends Forum - Greater things for the CHOSEN GENERATION

A little long, I know, but I wrote this to share with some Baptist folks who are hungry for a deeper walk with God. Please read and tell me what ya think.

GREATER THINGS
for the
CHOSEN GENERATION

I’m reading from John the 1st chapter., verses 45 through 50. Quite a lot of reading, but there are several points that I want to address along the way to our main point. I’m speaking on the subject “Greater Things”, and we ask the Lord to add His blessings to the reading of His Word.

John 1: 45-50- 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.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

To write a biography about some noted individual, its necessary to gather as much information about that person as possible. Sometimes, it takes years to gather information in order to write a biography. To write a detailed biography about Nathanael would be impossible because there is very little information about him in the Bible. Nathanael was one of the Lord’s disciples. Nathanael was his Hebrew name, while in Greek, his name was Bartholomew. He was, as evident from our reading, a friend of Philip. While theres a great deal we don’t know about Nathanael, here is what we do know about him. First, he was an Israelite. And, secondly, because Jesus said he was without “guile”, we know Nathanael was an honest and upright man. The third, and last, thing we know about Nathanael is that he came from the town of Cana in Galilee (John 21:2), which, interesting enough, was the place where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine (John 2). That’s it. That’s all we know from the Bible about Nathanael. And, in a few minutes, we’ll talk about what we know, but first, I want to talk about what we don’t know. What we don’t know, in this case, is every bit as important as what we do know.

We don’t know anything about Nathanael’s background. His past, prior to meeting Jesus, is lost to history. We don’t know about his childhood, his education or anything else for that matter. Its like his past doesn’t even matter anymore. And that serves to remind us that, as a child of God, our past, prior to meeting the Lord, doesn’t matter anymore either! Paul wrote: Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Cor 5:17 The Apostle John wrote: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1Jo 1:9 Once we confess and repent from our sins, the Bible says we are to “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” Isa 43:18 Too many times, we allow the guilt and shame of our past sins to consume us, but once our sins are washed away by the Blood of Jesus, we shouldn’t dwell on past sins. We shouldn’t even remember them, because, according to Isa. 43:25, God no longer remembers them! I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Like Nathanael, whose past has been lost to history, our past sins are washed away! As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psa 103:12

As stated earlier, there’s little we know about Nathanael. In fact, the only story about Nathanael in the entire Bible is this reading of John 1:45-50. It seems Nathanael’s meeting Jesus was the highpoint of his entire life. You know, I’ve been blessed to visit a lot of places. I’ve met a lot of interesting people, and have had numerous exciting things take place in my life. But, of all the places I’ve been, and things I’ve done, nothing compares with meeting Jesus at an old fashioned altar somewhere. For the child of God, the highlight of his or her life, was meeting Jesus! I think of Paul the Apostle, facing imprisonment and even death, standing before King Agrippa. He could have defended himself, but he took the opportunity to tell the king about meeting Jesus on the Road to Damascus. To Paul, meeting Jesus there on that lonely stretch of road, was the highlight of his life. (Read Acts 9 and 26) Everything else in the life of a born again child of God pales in comparison to accepting Jesus as their Savior. The Bible tells us in Jhn 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: When we receive Christ, we become His sons and daughters! We are born into God’s family when we accept Jesus into our hearts.

Jesus said Nathanael was an Israelite. Israelites were God’s chosen people. You, child of God are one of God’s chosen people! Jesus said in John 15:16 that He has chosen us! Jesus chose you from out of the world! (John 15:19). Peter said YOU are “…a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” No wonder you see Christians with their hands up praising the Lord…they have been chosen to follow Him! We here of the “Forgotten Generation” and the “X Generation”, but we who follow Christ are the CHOSEN GENERATION!

At first, though, Nathanael was a little skeptical about the Jesus. After all, Philip had said Jesus was from some back-water town called Nazareth. Could anything good come such a place? The world looks at us like we’re a bunch of religious nuts from the wrong side of town. But, we are… what? THE CHOSEN GENERATION! So, Nathanael somewhat reluctantly went to see this Jesus. As he approached, Jesus said, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Now this intrigued Nathanael and he asked, “How do you know me?” Jesus said, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Friend, you can rest assured, the Lord knows who you are and where you are in life. The Bible tells us “The Lord knower them that are His” (Titus 2:19) We sing “He knows my name“:

“And He knows my name
Every step that I take
Every move that I make
Every tear that I cry
He knows my name
When I'm overwhelmed by the pain
And can't see the light of day
I know I'll be just fine
'Cause He knows my name”

Jesus knew and saw Nathanael through the Spirit even before He laid his eyes upon him, and you can be sure the Lord knows and sees you. Circumstances of life may make you feel like you are all alone and forgotten, but God knows and cares about you. Nathanael may have felt that way, but here was a Stranger from Nazareth who knew him even before Jesus saw him. Oh, that touched Nathanael’s heart. He wasn’t alone and forgotten after all. And you aren’t either. That’s all the convincing Nathanael needed. He accepted Christ right then and there as his Lord and King. The Bible says We love him, because he first loved us. 1Jo 4:19

Jesus then said to Nathanael, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And Nathanael certainly saw “greater things”. He was privileged to walk with Jesus for 3 and a half years of His earthly ministry and saw much greater things. Blind eyes were opened… deaf ears were opened. Demons were cast out and the dead were raised. But something even greater awaited Nathanael.

Now, you are a child of God. Your past sins have been washed away by the Blood of Jesus. You have met the Lord and you know that he knows and loves you. The Bible tells us in Acts 2:38 to “Repent…”. And you have done that, and I rejoice with you that your sins are gone and you are a new creature in Christ. And, Acts 2:38 says “…and be baptized….” Many of you have done that, and what a blessing it is to be “buried with Him in baptism” Rom 6:4. But, Peter went on to say in Acts 2:38, “….and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”. Now that’s one of the “GREATER THINGS” that many born again children of God has yet to receive. Nathanael walked with Christ throughout His earthly ministry, but something even greater awaited Nathanael and the other disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus, before He ascended to heaven to be with His Father, had instructed the disciples to remain in Jerusalem and “….wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me. (Acts 1:4) As great as it had been to walk with the Lord, God had something greater for them. And there was Nathanael (Bartholomew), waiting for GREATER THINGS. (Acts 1:13) And they weren’t disappointed. God had promised them POWER, and they receive greater POWER than they ever though possible. Peter, speaking on the Day of Pentecost said “For the promise [ of the Father] is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Act 2:39 You who follow Jesus can expect GREATER THINGS, because Gods promise is to you just as suerly as it was to Nathanael. Don’t fall short of receiving all that God has in store for you. The gift of the Holy Ghost is for all who follow Jesus. Not only is the Holy Ghost with us, but Jesus said He will dwell in our hearts!

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:16-17)

The Holy Spirit teaches us God’s Word:

Jhn 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

He leads us into all truth:

Jhn 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He gives us POWER to be witnesses for Jesus:

Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

You can receive the blessed infilling of the Holy Ghost and be used of God in ways that you never thought possible. Ask god today to fill you with His Spirit and, like Nathanael, you will see GREATER THINGS!