What or Who are we DRAWING ATTENTION TO?

Real Dudes,
A few weeks I was asked to preach at Church. Below is the message God laid on my hear to share that morning. 

John (Book of the Gospel of John)
I’m thankful for the opportunity to be able to share something important with each of you this morning. My goal is to cover the entirety of the Book of John in the time I’ve been allotted. But before I do, believe it or not, this March will mark two years since I came on Staff here. Crazy, right? And in these nearly two years I feel like all y’all have gotten to know some things about me, but to begin this morning, I’d like to tell you a little bit more about me and my family. And trust me…it relates to today’s message. 

Not only am I going to tell you more about my family and I, but I’ll show you some pictures too…First of all…​[these pictures can be seen in the live message]
I’ve entitled today’s message…
What or Who are we DRAWING ATTENTION TO?

When approaching my devotions, I often ask the Lord to show me something I may have been missing during earlier times that I’ve read through certain books of the Bible. With the Book of John…God directed me to the phrase
THIS IS…

Did you happen to catch on to the repeated phrase I used when going through each of the pictures on the screen? “This is…” And you saw the passion and joy in my demeanor when I talked about each because each means a lot to me. 

In the New Testament, the Greek word for THIS is outos…, BDAG pp. 740-741, referring to “as subst., the person or thing comparatively near at hand in the discourse material, this, this one…w. ref. to something. here and now, directing attention to it…as adj., pert. to an entity perceived as present or near in the discourse, this.

“THIS IS…” is a statement I used to direct and draw your attention to what is near and dear to me…to what’s important to and cherished by me. I couldn’t help but want to share THIS with you!!! I can’t help but want to draw your attention to THIS or THESE people who mean a lot to me and are the main focus in the discourse of my life!!!

If you’ve spent some time around me, then you’ve probably heard me use the word “Dude” a lot. 

• “What up dude. Thanks dude.” I don’t even think about it, it just comes out in word and in texting.  
  

I believe Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure influenced that in my generation. 

Same can be said for Biblical writers. They too often had a common word or phrase that identified their writing with them. The Apostle Paul’s writings were identifiable by his common use of the phrase “In Christ.” Paul wanted everyone to be reminded of their position in Christ.

What’s interesting, is that the phrase “this is” is used by the Apostle John more than any other author in the New Testament…and he uses it to point his audience to Christ. To drive this point home…

NKJV: New Testament (108) (John uses THIS IS 40x) Matthew (16); Mark (8); Luke (10); John (23); Acts (7); Romans (2); 1 Corinthians (3); Ephesians (2); Colossians (1); 1 Thessalonians (2); 1 Timothy (5); 2 Timothy (1); Titus (1); Hebrews (4); 1 Peter (5); 2 Peter (1); 1 John (13); 2 John (2); Revelation (2)

CSB: New Testament (144) (John uses it 52x) Matthew (23); Mark (5); Luke (14); John (28); Acts (7); Romans (4); 1 Corinthians (8); 2 Corinthians (4); Galatians (1); Ephesians (5); Philippians (2); 1 Thessalonians (3); 2 Thessalonians (2); 1 Timothy (1); 2 Timothy (2); Philemon (1); Hebrews (7); 1 Peter (1); 2 Peter (2); 1 John (18); 2 John (2); 3 John (1); Revelation (3)

John’s use of “This Is” is significant. That phrase drew attention / directed the attention to what mattered most to him, and should matter most to his audience. Listen to a few examples from the Book of John as I read aloud… 

NKJV: 

• John 1:30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’
  
• John 1:33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
  
• John 1:34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
  
• John 4:42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
  
• John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
  
• John 6:50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
  
• John 6:58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
  
• John 7:26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?
  
• John 7:40 Who Is He? Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.”
  
• John 7:41Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee?
  
• John 9:9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.
  
  

If John doesn’t use the phrase “This is…,” then he uses phrases that are very similar…such as This was…That was…It is…& Behold. Still words and phrases that draw attention to what or who matters most. For example, in…

• John 1:15 we read that, “John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He’” 
  
• John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
  
• John 1:27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
  
• John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
  
• John 9:37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
  
• John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
  
• John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
  
• John 1:36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
  

The apostle John wanted his audience to never forget the main thing or person…in this case – who Jesus is and what He came to do. Lisent, I acknowledge that all of scripture points to Christ, but John seems to really drive it home for us, which is why this is the Book I often start with folks in a Bible study. Once I finish going through the Book of John, I then move on to Colosssians, which drives home for us the preeminence of Christ. These two Books compliment each other in an amazing way. 
If you have your Bibles with you, then please turn to John chapter 3. If you’re using the Bible under the seats, then you can find John 3 on page 604. What I want y’all to see is how John the Baptist is an example of what I’ve been referring to in the Book of John. 
Read John 3:22-30 (CSB) 

From that passage we learn that John the Baptist’s ministry was a success…it could have been easy for him to listen to his disciples, to get jealous, and attempt to embrace the attention – and say, “How dare He, that Jesus – this is my territory and this is my ministry.”

• What I love about the Apostle John and John the Baptist is that no matter what was asked of them or who others thought they were…they always said This Is Who or what is at the forefront of our minds. This is the ONE Who is near and dear to us. It is He…Look to Him…Behold the Lamb of God Who CAN!!! That right there is the Book of John. Everything in that Book points to Christ and what He was sent to do. 
  
• Everything in your life is great…means the world to you…you can talk about your passions all day long. You can say this is my favorite team, my favorite food, my hobby, my family…with no issues, it just rolls off your tongue. BUT when was the last time you drew someone’s attention to Christ in a conversation? What makes that conversation so uneasy for you? Why does talking about Him cause anxiety within you? 
  
• What matters most to you in life is what you think about and talk about most. 
  
• In John 1:27 (CSB) John the Baptist says without hesitation, “He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.” 
  
  • He’s the one…are you drawing others' attention to The One at all? If not, then why? 
    
• And in John 3:30 (CSB) John says that, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
  
  • In your life, who is increasing, you or Christ? Are you attempting to make a name for yourself, or for Him alone in all that you do? 
    

RESPONSES to today’s message…

• Talk about Christ with someone…stretch yourself. 
  
  • If drawing someone’s attention to Christ has been a struggle for you, then allow yourself to be stretched and make it a goal to bring Him up at least once this week to someone in conversation. Don’t force it…just be in prayer for God’s perfect way and time. If He nudges, then act on it. 
    
• Self-evaluation, confession, and forgiveness. 
  
  • If you’ve been making everything you do all about you, then take some time in prayer to the Lord and confess that to Him. Seek His forgiveness, and then ask Him to help you renew the way you think and approach all aspects of your life. 
    
• Spend some time in the Books of John and Colossians. 
  
  • If you’ve been wondering where to begin reading in God’s Word, then let me encourage you to start in the Book of John. See it for yourself…and ask, “What and or Who is John drawing attention to?” Once you finish the Book of John, then start digging into the Book of Colossians and see what God has in store for you in that study. 
    
• Keep me posted. 
  
  • Let me know how this challenge is going for you and if there’s anything I can do to help. Here for you and want to celebrate the spiritual victories in your life. 
    
• Pray for the Staff here at Faith Fellowship. 
  
  • Pray that whatever God’s called us to do and be is always all about drawing attention to Him. 
    
  • That’s my goal. I want to be like John and John the Baptist. I want people to look to Him…all of the attention off of me and onto Him. So please pray for us that He would increase as we decrease.