A Treacher to Follow

[0:00] Well, great to see you this morning, folks. My name's Graham. If we haven't met, I'm the pastor here of the church, and it's just brilliant to get into God's word this morning. I cannot help be moved every time we sing that song, I cannot tell, because of this line, and I just googled it before I came up.

[0:16] But this I know, he heals the brokenhearted, and he stays our sin, and he calms our lurking fear, and he lifts the burden from the heavy laden, for still the saviour, saviour of the world is here.

[0:32] And that's an invitation to us all today, to come to this passage and have our souls satisfied by Christ. This is what we need today. Whatever's going on in your life, whatever burdens you're bringing in here today, we need him.

[0:46] And he's here. So come with me to John chapter 1 and to these verses. Now, as a preacher, you always start the week thinking, looking at the passage, thinking, what am I going to say about that? You always end the week thinking, in the time that I have, what am I going to say?

[1:01] Because there's so much that goes on in this passage. So come with me, and let's get into this passage together. There's so much to teach us. Here's a saying, though, as we begin and get into this. A saying that we use in our culture all the time, and I think it's wildly off the mark.

[1:14] I think I'm going to offend at least eight people in this room by saying it, okay? But bear with me. It goes like this. Those who can, do. And those who can't, teach.

[1:29] You having that? You having that? I think it's nonsense, right? Here's why I think it's nonsense. Because I reckon that for most of us here today, the people that have made the biggest impact on our lives over the years, those who have left a massive stamp in terms of shaping the direction of our lives, those people are teachers.

[1:53] Yeah? So whether it was at school, whether it was at university, maybe it is at university, whether it was at college, maybe it was when you were learning your trade. When we think about it, I guarantee you that you can still remember the faces and the names of the teachers that have made an impact on your life over the years.

[2:11] I can. I can remember exactly what they look like. I can hear their voices now in my ear. But it just goes to show, doesn't it, that far from being a career and afterthought, teaching is a huge responsibility.

[2:25] Teaching is a massive thing that goes on in our lives day to day. So here's what I want to do. I want to take you from that established truth. I want to zoom out and go big picture on you for a minute and ask you the question that comes at us today from this passage.

[2:40] And it goes like this, okay? In the age that we live today, of social media influencers, of TED Talks, of Netflix binges, of fake news, where our minds are constantly saturated with information coming from every direction.

[2:59] As we think about our lives today, who are the people that are currently informing and shaping the way that you and I understand ourselves and the way that you and I understand the world in which we live?

[3:10] Who are those teachers? Here's a thought for you. Everyone's being taught by someone. And everyone's looking to something to help them make sense of a purpose for their lives.

[3:27] Everyone's got teachers. To paraphrase Christian writer Glenn Scrivener, and I always do this just so you can click and maybe do this in your own time, these people that are really worth reading.

[3:42] In his wonderful little book, The Air We Breathe, to paraphrase what he says, he says this, we're like goldfish. If someone from outside the tank were to ask us if we like the water that we're swimming in, well, we'd simply reply, what's water?

[3:57] Now think about that image for a minute. I think that's quite cool. What's water? In other words, aren't we just so blissfully unaware of the ideas that we're absorbing and the truths we are assuming simply because we happen to live in the day in which we do?

[4:11] Always amazes me when we think about how different we are as a generation to that generation 10 years ago. And what did you think that generation 10 years ago thought about the previous generation of 10 years ago?

[4:21] And you can keep on going back to the fact that culture changes. We're all swimming in cultural waters. Everyone's being taught by someone.

[4:33] Everyone's pursuing some version of the good life. Now I had a night of my own last night. I was flicking through the channels, happened to watch BBC One. Better well watch that. Dermot O'Leary interviewing Robbie Williams. Anyone see that?

[4:44] No? Just me? Lonely Saturday night for one. Okay? Robbie Williams is reflecting on his life. The greatest pop singer I think we've ever produced in the UK. You can argue about that afterwards if you want.

[4:55] Okay? Certainly in terms of successes. And he talks about how he was pursuing this good life that he thought was there. As he watched boy bands in the States get all the glory and all the fame.

[5:06] He thought, I wanted it. I want it. And so he keeps pursuing it. And they're watching clips of him performing at Wembley in front of thousands of people. And he remarks as he's doing his thing on stage that I was in the zone.

[5:19] But behind the scenes, I was crumbling. I was right on that stage having an existential crisis. What is my life about? And in his own words, he was like, I was in the middle of a mental breakdown.

[5:31] And nobody had a clue. And of course, what are all those thousands of people doing as they're watching him? Thinking about the good life. That he's got it. It's interesting, isn't it, friends?

[5:41] And once we get there, the things that we think are going to satisfy our souls never, ever do. And what we need, if we can go back to the goldfish for a minute. Okay, what we need then as human beings swimming in this tank is somebody from outside the tank to speak in.

[5:58] Yeah? Somebody from outside the tank to speak in. We need the eternal. C.S. Lewis had this phrase that everything is not eternal. It's eternally out of date. Okay, that's exactly what John's been telling us in his gospel.

[6:11] Jesus is the voice from outside the tank. If you've got it there, verse 18 of chapter 1, here's what he's been telling us, right? Verse 18 of chapter 1. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father.

[6:29] That word there, he is face to face with God. He has made him known. In other words, Christ Jesus, as he steps onto the pages of human history, is that voice from outside the tank.

[6:43] And so with that set up, here's the key word that's right at the heart of the passage today. Here's the key word that's the invitation of this passage today. And four times we get it in these verses.

[6:55] You probably noticed it as we read through. It's the word follow. Follow. Concept that's right at the heart of the Bible's understanding of what it is to be a disciple of Jesus.

[7:10] It's to be a follower. Let's do a little bit of work on that word. To follow is to do more than tail. This is not tailing we're talking about.

[7:23] This is not like when you go out with your friends and someone shouts everyone back to my place. You say, I don't know where I'm going. I don't know the way. They say, I'll hop in the car in front and you just follow me. And just blindly, you just follow.

[7:35] That's tailing. But to follow in the Bible is an invitation to become a pursuer of Jesus. It's an invitation to become a lifelong learner of Jesus.

[7:50] As Jesus says to us, come and watch what I do. Come and learn from me. Listen to and absorb what I say.

[8:01] Plant yourself in my promises. And as it were, water my words as they took root in your soul. And allow me through my Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit, to shape you more into my likeness.

[8:14] And that's what God is doing in our lives as we pursue Jesus. Our lives are becoming more like his. So when Jesus says, follow me.

[8:27] He's saying, come and let me be your teacher. Come and learn from me. Now in the context of John, you might remember back in chapter 1, John had introduced us to the tragedy.

[8:41] And you get it in verse 11 if you want to look there. Verse 11. Here's the tragedy. The tragedy is that the voice from outside the tank, the creator, stepped into this creation. And the world did not receive him.

[8:54] Do you see that word, receive him? The world did not want to know as Jesus steps in. But he also talked about those who would believe in his name. Those who would receive him.

[9:08] And so says John from verse 35. Let me tell you about four people who received him. And so let's listen, friends, to four men tell us their stories.

[9:23] Okay. Now as John tells us about these first disciples, these men who would become, because they'd been with Jesus, the pillars of the early church, he's clearly establishing their credibility in the minds of the first readers.

[9:37] The section, if you notice it, and again, just look at it, it's full of eyewitness details. Little details that you might just skip over when you first read it. Okay. See if you can spot them as we go through this.

[9:49] John tells you what time of day it was. Okay. Where on the map we are. He's interested in geography. I think that's why we'd get on. Love geography. Love looking at maps. Right. He's telling us about the names of people.

[9:59] He's telling us that someone saw something. He's telling us that somebody heard something. And it's always good to remember at this point that the Bible doesn't belong in the fiction section of Waterstones. Right.

[10:10] You won't find it in the self-improvement section of Amazon. What we're dealing with here is historical testimony. Which is why I'd recommend if you want to be, if you want to research it, but also if you just want your faith to be furnished by that truth.

[10:26] Can I recommend this wonderful little book called Can We Trust the Gospels by a guy called Pete Williams. Right. One of the smartest men I think I've ever come across. He's the principal of Tyndale House down in Cambridge, interacting with academics all over the place.

[10:38] And he's written this book called Can We Trust the Gospels? And he's looking at this exact thing and why we can stake our lives on what it says about Jesus here. But in addition to that, each of these four individuals in their own unique way are telling us something about Jesus.

[10:58] So let's just quickly get through them. We get Andrew at verse 40. And Andrew's story is that Jesus invited me. Okay.

[11:09] Now just look at the text. What was Andrew doing before he met Jesus? Verse 35. He was a disciple of John the Baptist. Do you see that? And he hears John declare, when John sees Jesus, behold the Lamb of God.

[11:25] Now we heard about that last week. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Behold. That just means get your eyes up and look at him. Behold the Lamb of God.

[11:36] Oh friends, I love John's heart here. He's not in the business of keeping people. Right? He's not in the business of building brand JTB. Is he?

[11:46] He's not hoarding people. What is he doing? He's giving them away. How tempting would that have been for him to hoard people? Who doesn't love disciples? Right?

[11:57] Imagine these guys following you around trying to learn from you. What's going to do for your ego and self-confidence? Right? But he gives away people because he's in the business of being the pointer to the Lamb of God.

[12:09] And again, you get into the text. Okay? The fact that these guys respond so quickly shows us that John has been preparing them for his coming. Doesn't it? Discussing with them God's salvation plan.

[12:22] Meditating with them on the fact that God is going to send a sin-bearing Savior who's going to deliver us from our greatest problem in life. And so when John says, there's the Lamb of God, there's an awful lot of background to that that the disciples are calling upon.

[12:38] Look at him, draw on that knowledge and think, that's where I'm going to spend my life, following him. And verse 38, Jesus invites them to come and see where he's staying.

[12:51] Love that. But do you know what bugged me this week? Because I'm by nature a cat. Right? And curiosity always gets the better of me with these things.

[13:03] We're told, do you see that? Again, the eyewitness detail in the text. That they saw where Jesus was staying. Do you see it? But would you not love to know what they saw?

[13:17] Would you not love to know where they went? What? I often think that the Lord doesn't tell us these details because if he did. Do you not think that somebody would have turned that into a tourist site?

[13:30] Genuinely? Right? For $50? Pounds? Come and sit round the fire where they talked? Become a Capernaum club card holder? Have a cup of tea from the kettle that they used?

[13:41] Do we not have a fine way as human beings? Have having all the facts but completely missing the point? I think that's exactly what we would have done if we would have known exactly where they went.

[13:52] Come and see. Come and see. But the point is, I think, that these disciples, Andrew's mind was so full of truth about what God would do.

[14:03] He was so overjoyed when he met the Lamb that the cost of following him, as he looked at where Jesus was staying. And let's be clear, it's not the Ritz Hotel, right?

[14:14] As he looked at it and as he contemplated the fact that the shape of Jesus' life was now going to become the shape of his life as he followed his rabbi, his teacher. That was nowhere near enough from stopping them from following him because they had found the greatest treasure in life.

[14:32] Do you not love the way that the Bible describes, Jesus describes what it is to find him. That one verse parable we get in Matthew that it's like a man who found treasure in a field. And he went and he hid the treasure and he sold everything that he had so that he could buy the field.

[14:50] Because the treasure was there. And Jesus says, that's exactly what it is to find and follow me. Friends, we've got to ask ourselves at this point, is he the greatest treasure of our lives?

[15:03] Do we love him? Do we want to know him more? Oh friends, Andrew's saying Jesus invited me. Love what he does next.

[15:16] The invited becomes the inviter. Do you see it? Verse 41, Andrew goes and finds his brother Simon. And he brings Simon to Jesus.

[15:26] And there's something wonderfully childlike about that, is there not? My kids always do that when they run in from the garden. They did it this morning, just before we came out. Daddy, daddy, daddy, we're blowing bubbles.

[15:38] Like I'd never seen one in my life before, right? Daddy, we're blowing bubbles. But they want me to come and share in their excitement, don't they? Come and share in this. Oh friends, how true is it in life that no one needs to teach us to talk about the things that excite us?

[15:52] How often we overcomplicate evangelism. At his heart, is it not just this? Is it not just the overflow of what excites us?

[16:11] Christ, what we found in him, it excites us. That's what's going on with Andrew here. The joy in Andrew's heart, it bursts over into invitation. And what does he say?

[16:22] Come and see. Here's Peter's story. Andrew says, Jesus invited me. Peter says, Jesus changed me. I love that Peter, as John records it, if you notice it in the details here in the text.

[16:34] Peter doesn't say a word. Do you see that in the text? He does not say a word. Which is quite striking, is it not?

[16:44] Given the fact that from this point on, this man will go on to say a lot of words. Peter doesn't say a word. But Jesus does.

[16:56] Verse 42. What does he say? You will now be called Cephas. Imagine Peter's thought process at this point. Right? Rock. That's what Cephas means.

[17:07] You'll see probably an asterisk in your Bible if you've got it there at the bottom. It means rock. Peter's hearing this rock. What? Gray, boring, inanimate object? Peter doesn't have a clue what's going on here.

[17:20] He doesn't have a clue how much his life's going to change from this point on. But Jesus, as the one who knows the end from the beginning, knows exactly what he has in mind for this man's life as he flips it upside down.

[17:35] And this fisherman from Bethsaida, who Jesus says, come and fish for men and follow me. Because Peter's confession, as he soon declares it, as he gets Jesus' true identity, the first one to get it, will become the rock on which the church will be built.

[17:53] That confession that Jesus is Lord. You're the Messiah. That's going to be the rock in which the church is built. And it reminded me at this point, it reminded me of two things.

[18:04] Actually, one was to keep praying for my brothers. Right? These guys are brothers. Friends, all of us in here have got family who, friends who don't know the Lord, particularly family. But I think this encourages us to keep on praying.

[18:17] Use every opportunity to speak. It was a burden for my two brothers, younger than me, don't know the Lord. Just keep on praying. Let's help one another with that. You come to the Zoom prayer meeting tomorrow night.

[18:28] A great thing to do with that is just to bring the names of people that we can pray for. The first thing that it reminded me of, but the second thing is the fact that I should stop second guessing about which people God will save.

[18:43] I stopped trying to second guess what God might have in store for people's life. Our job is not to second guess the kind of people who God will use in his service. You know, I know a guy called Dez in Glasgow.

[18:56] Before he was a Christian, do you know what he was doing? He was a bouncer at a nightclub. Central Glasgow. Bouncer at a nightclub. And his now wife befriends him. And she invites him to come on an Alpha course exploring the things of the Christian faith.

[19:10] To ask him big questions about life, to explore it. And he hears about Jesus. And he believes in him. And I think roughly 15 or so years later, Dez has graduated from Bible college.

[19:22] He's been the head of Alpha Scotland for a season of his life. And he's now, I just saw the other day, taken up a role, developing Alpha. But as it continues to develop across Europe.

[19:34] Guy was a bouncer in Glasgow. And somebody spoke. And all of a sudden, he didn't have a clue what was going on. All of a sudden, God just turned on the fire on his heart, the lights in his brain.

[19:47] All of a sudden, he understands. And that direction of his life is completely different. Dez, bouncer in a nightclub. Peter, a fisherman in Bethsaida. Neither with a scooby what Jesus is going to do in their lives, let alone heard of him.

[20:01] And yet, Jesus transforms lives. Peter's story is that Jesus changed me. And the sun sets on that day.

[20:14] And the sun rises, verse 43, a new day. Again, eyewitness detail. And we meet Philip. Right? And Philip's story is really simply and quickly that Jesus found me.

[20:28] Right? Have a look at it there. It's explicit in the text at verse 43 of chapter 1. Jesus found Philip. Love the simplicity of that.

[20:39] Jesus came looking for me. Not a chance encounter. Not like you bump into a friend in the middle isle of Aldi and you think, Oh, I happen to be here at the same time. It's great. No, no, no.

[20:50] There's a divine and a determined purpose to what Jesus does here. As he seeks out this man, Philip, who he knows since before the foundation of the world, as he seeks him out and in this moment calls him to be a follower.

[21:06] And this is exactly what Philip would say. You ask Philip how he becomes a Christian, and this guy plays a big role in the Gospels from this point on. How did you become a Christian? Really simply, Jesus found me. I didn't go look for him. Jesus found me.

[21:20] And Philip goes, verse 45, and he finds Nathanael. Right? Verse 45, Nathanael's story is that Jesus knew me. We found the one, Philip says.

[21:33] Track with me. The one that Moses and the prophets spoke about. I love the fact that these two were meeting up daily and talking about the Bible. It's great. Right? But the mention of the word Nazareth seems to kick it off in Nathanael's mind.

[21:48] What good can come out of Nazareth? Do you see that? I love that that's recorded. What good can come out of Nazareth? Clearly there's a little bit of local town pride and maybe even a bit of prejudice that's going on in Nathanael's heart here.

[22:00] As he hears about the town down the road. Delighted him very much. And there's an evangelistic lesson here for us as well.

[22:12] Because Philip at this point doesn't engage in philosophical discussion. Nor does he engage in theological debate. Now there's nothing wrong with those things. And Christianity does have answers to the big questions of life.

[22:24] It's not what I'm saying. But ultimately how is Nathanael going to be convinced that something good has come out of Nazareth? Philip needs to get him to Jesus.

[22:35] It's always the case in our discussions with non-Christian friends, isn't it? We want to love people well and listen to people and their struggles in life. And lovingly listen to their big questions about life.

[22:50] But friends, we need to get him to Jesus. I always love that. The barber shop, people ask what I do. Just go for it. Always aware that someone's got scissors in their hand. I'm sitting down. But friends, let me just ask you.

[23:03] When was the last time you dropped Jesus into conversation? Right? So it's one thing to talk about God. But when you start talking about Jesus, do you find the conversation narrowing? Philip, sorry.

[23:16] Philip needs to get Jesus to... Philip needs to get Nathanael to Jesus. And Jesus, when he sees Nathanael coming, he replies, probably, I think, with his own little jibe.

[23:29] Right? Ah, look, here's coming an Israelite in whom there's no deceit. It probably may be code for, here comes no sin Nathanael. Here comes the guy who thinks he's got life sorted.

[23:40] Right? And Nathanael asks, how do you know me? And Jesus replies, I love this, friends. I saw you when you were under the fig tree.

[23:54] Again, an eyewitness detail there of what has happened. Right? And it's not like Jesus is saying. This is not what's going on. Jesus is not saying, I've seen you around town. I recognize your face from somewhere.

[24:05] I follow you on Facebook. And I've seen all your photos. Okay? That's not what Jesus is saying. Here is Jesus saying to Nathanael as he demonstrates his divine and perfect knowledge.

[24:17] Nathanael, I know everything about you. Wow. Friends, you know, the more I go on life, the more I realize I don't think I know myself as well as I think I do.

[24:31] You find yourself waking up and thinking that. How often in the last couple of weeks I find I wake up and I've got no idea whether today is going to be a day that I'm really excited about.

[24:44] Or I've got no idea whether I wake up and I'm just feeling really low. I can't explain it. But it's only is that the days get shorter and as life gets colder and as the pressures of life keep mounting, I just don't know how I'm going to wake up tomorrow and feel.

[25:01] I don't know if you click with that. I don't think I know myself as well as I think I do. I can't predict how I'm going to react in certain situations. And yet the wonderful truth of this passage, I sometimes don't think I know myself that well, but Jesus knows everything about me.

[25:21] And he knows everything about each of us here today. Nothing surprises him. He knows us. Every detail.

[25:31] Every hope. Every worry. Every regret. Every depth. Every angle of my life. He knows that we get tired in our day-to-day lives.

[25:43] He knows that we struggle to comprehend as we live our lives in this world. Struggle to comprehend what the hope is that he's called us to. He knows that we struggle as we think about those that we need to care for in our lives.

[25:56] Parents. Children. Children. He knows what it is to be at university. And we're struggling with course mates who don't want to know. All these things. He knows us. And none of it put him off.

[26:10] saving us. I'm profoundly heartened in knowing that notwithstanding all my sin, all my depth, all my complexity, that Jesus loves me.

[26:25] And he's going nowhere. Isn't that amazing? That somebody would know us that deeply. He would know. The Bible would talk about even the hairs on our head.

[26:37] He knows all that and he loves me. And he goes to the cross. That's where this gospel is heading. He goes to the cross to win me. The words of that song we often sing.

[26:49] I have a maker. He formed my heart. Before even time began, my life was in his hands. Jesus here personifying the words of the psalmist.

[26:59] Go home and read this in your own time if you want. The words of the psalmist. Psalm 139. Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

[27:14] Oh, and such knowledge it just overwhelms Nathaniel. Oh, what comfort there is, friends, in knowing that Jesus knows us and loves us. And Nathaniel declares, verse 49, you are the son of God.

[27:27] You are the king of Israel. Oh, friends, I love thinking about the fact this week. That I'm only following him because he first pursued me.

[27:41] I'm only following him because all four of these things are true for me. As we pursue Jesus, friends, we always have to do so in the knowledge that he first loved us.

[27:53] That he first pursued us. That Jesus invited us. That Jesus changed us. That Jesus found us. That Jesus knew us.

[28:08] Oh, these four men who are telling us something wonderful about Christ. As we begin, as readers in this gospel, to put together a wonderful picture of who he truly is. And from there, really quickly, let's listen to one man make his claim.

[28:20] Jesus says to Nathaniel, I said I saw you under the fig tree and that blew your mind. Effectively, boy, you ain't seen nothing yet.

[28:34] Verse 51. Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven open. Get the language here. And the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Now, Jesus is referring here to an episode that we get in Genesis 28 involving a man called Jacob.

[28:54] And in the encounter, Jacob falls asleep. Right? And in his dream, he sees a stairway between heaven and earth. Effectively. A ladder between heaven and earth.

[29:05] And he sees angels ascending and descending on it. There's a bridge between heaven and earth. There's a touching point between heaven and earth.

[29:17] The bridge. God's presence. The doors of heaven. Almost in the Bible story that have been closed since Genesis 3. Because of our sin. Those doors that have been closed. Here is Jacob getting a vision of the fact that one day something's going to happen to fling those doors wide open.

[29:34] And there's going to be a touching point between heaven and earth. And what Jacob sees in dream form, God is almost saying there, I'm still committed to making this a reality.

[29:46] Making a way again. His covenant promise of blessing the world. The one that will come through this line. He's still committed to making good on that. And he will. He will. And so Jesus, as he quotes this here.

[30:02] He's saying, I am that ladder. I am that ladder. On me. And what I will do as I go to the cross and die for your sin. On me.

[30:12] Friends, you can ascend to the Father's presence. Because I am God. Come down. And so Nathaniel.

[30:25] As you contemplate who I am and learn more about me. That's exactly what you're going to see. That I am the ladder. And the lamb.

[30:37] The ladder and the lamb. Do you see how this episode opens by John the Baptist saying, behold the lamb. And this episode ends with Jesus saying, I am the ladder. The two biggest problems that we have.

[30:49] Imagine if he was a lamb, but there was no ladder. Imagine if there was a ladder, but no one had dealt with our sin. Friends, Jesus is saying, I am the lamb and I am the ladder to take you to the Father's presence. And of course, this is an invitation for John's readers.

[31:02] To read on. To read on. And he's inviting them in. To see, come and see more of who this man Jesus is. Because the truth is.

[31:14] We're all being taught by someone. We're all being taught by someone. And John is saying, come and follow this man Jesus. Friends, just as we close.

[31:25] And as we think about the application of this. Do you want to hear about one of my neighbours? First, her name is Vivian. Right? And we see her.

[31:36] She lives just around the corner from us. We see her every morning when we're walking to school. Just about. Vivian. There she is. And I met Vivian for the first time when I was on sabbatical. She goes to Chalmers Church down the road to where we went when we were in Edinburgh.

[31:50] Vivian's an older lady. I don't want to speculate on that, but we'll leave that one there. Vivian's a legend. I can't tell you how much the Lord encouraged me through Vivian. Because one of the things I love most when I get to know someone from an older generation.

[32:05] I love listening to their stories. And that's why we do this cross-age thing at Brunsford. We encourage this because there is so much life experience to be passed on.

[32:16] And to learn about if you're young here this morning. And wondering what life is all about, friends. There is a wealth of experience here in the Christian life that you can tap into. So I love listening to people's stories.

[32:29] Because an older generation have been through so much in life. You realize that we are generation snowflake. When you think about some of the things an older generation have gone through. Live through wars.

[32:41] Death of friends. Losing a spouse. Raising children. Dealing with unemployment. Dealing with loss. I always love listening to somebody explain to me what life has taught them at their age.

[32:55] And so I'm asking this exact same question as I sit down one Sunday morning at Chalmers Church. Sit next to Vivian. We exchange pleasantries. The service starts. I'm asking the same question.

[33:06] What has life taught Vivian at her age? And I watched as we went through the service. It comes to just before about the sermon when we're doing the reading. And Vivian reaches into her handbag.

[33:17] And she brings out a tattered, dog-eared ESV study Bible. It's fallen apart. I can see that she's scribbled all over it.

[33:28] And I think there is something in the truth to the statement that a Bible that's falling apart is normally owned by a Christian who isn't. There is a kernel of truth in there if you look hard enough. Vivian's got this Bible out.

[33:39] And I can see that she's devoured it over the months that she's had it. And soon enough when the sermon starts, she brings out a pen out of her handbag. And she's sitting there, eyes up, scribbling away.

[33:51] I thought, Vivian, you're a legend. Because what has life taught you? At your age, going through all these things that you've been through in life. Life has taught you that you need the words of your teacher.

[34:05] You need him. Your soul longs to sit under and be satisfied by his words. Oh, friend, I love that.

[34:16] Because Vivian inspired me as I looked at her and I thought to myself, no, following Jesus is a lifelong pursuit. Right? It's not a young man's game. It's not an old person's club. It is a lifelong pursuit of following our King and our Saviour.

[34:32] Oh, friends, how often the Lord teaches us things. As we look at other Christians further on in the Christian life, everyone's being taught by someone.

[34:42] And so the invitation this morning as we wrap this up is to come and follow this man. Come and investigate. Maybe that's something you've never done in your life before. Maybe at your university something like that. You've never ever thought about the claims of the Christian faith.

[34:53] Friends, there are people here who would be so game for reading the Bible with you and lovingly walking through life with you. Come and explore him. Come and follow him. Come and follow him. Come and follow him. Come and follow him. Come and follow him.

[35:03] Come and follow him. Come and follow him. Let's pray. And so, Father, we're just so thankful this morning, Lord, for your word. Thank you, Father, that you are a God who has revealed yourself in the pages of Scripture.

[35:20] Father, I pray for those here this morning who are struggling, who are perhaps doubting, who are hurting. Amen. Oh, Father, thank you that Jesus is the one who's come to reveal the Father to us, is the one who's come to draw us to himself.

[35:37] Thank you that he says, come all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Oh, Father, help us this week to be fully satisfied in the words of our teacher.

[35:53] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.