Tues.8.11.15...Who Was The Most Important Person You've Met?...John 1:35-51

Who was one of the most important people you ever met face to face? In 1987 I met Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, it's not as if we sat down and talked. I heard he was in town filming a movie and rode my bike over to that area. We briefly waited in the middle of the street to cross, smiling at each other without saying a word. (He didn't look so muscle-bound with a suit on. He certainly doesn't look muscle bound at age 68 now with a swimsuit on :)

I wish I would have had a Greatest Minimovies card back then. It would have been the perfect time to give him one :) Here's the funny thing about meeting celebrities. We all remember meeting them, but they probably don't have any recall of us. But imagine if you got to meet your favorite celebrity and they asked you to hang out with them for the day. Wow! That would be an unforgettable time. That's what happened to a few lowly fishermen one day. They got to spend the day with Jesus and it changed their lives completely. Read John 1:35-51.

It says in 1:28 that John was baptizing at Bethany by the Jordan River. Where is that? That's a good question, which you as a good Bible student have raised. (And you raised a lot of them yesterday!*) Thankfully, Bible maps can often help us locate such places mentioned. We know there is a Bethany near Jerusalem where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived. But this is a different Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. Frankly, scholars admit they are not sure where it exactly was. Some think it was near the Dead Sea at the far left (Southern end) of the map below. Then it says in 1:43 that Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. That would be a few days journey up the Jordan River valley to the area of the Sea of Galilee, located on the far right of your map. These men were already followers (disciples) of John the Baptist, now they became followers of Jesus. John fulfilled his mission of preparing people to meet Jesus. Those fishermen were probably ready to head back with Jesus to where they were from- the Sea of Galilee. What amazing conversations they must have had before even seeing any miracle yet preformed by Jesus. That would soon happen, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it with them. 

What a wonderful impact Jesus immediately had on these men. After they met him, they wanted their friends to meet him too. May the Lord continue to use you to tell others about the greatest person you ever met. 

1.- Several different names for Jesus are used in this passage and earlier in chapter one. I would encourage you to underline them in your Bible. John the author is intentionally seeking to help us come to realize who this man Jesus is. Pick out one and share why you like it. Then write in on your MP3 card and look for opportunities to share his wonderful name with others.

An interesting and very important name for Jesus is one He gives himself 12 times in this book and repeatedly in the other gospel accounts- it's "the Son of Man." The prophet Ezekiel was repeatedly called "son of man" by the Lord, so is Jesus just saying he is a man, a prophet? Even the crowds asked, "Who is this Son of Man? 12:34. Those who had eyes to see recognized that Jesus, the Son of Man, was the fulfillment of Dan.7:13-14. Read and underline that amazing prophecy. I wrote that cross reference right next to John 1:51. I'd recommend you do the same. What a good Bible student you are! :) The Son of Man is the Messiah. He is also the embodiment of Jacob's ladder (see Gen.28:12), the connection for heavenly things to be revealed to men. 

2.- We learned in 1:35 that John the Baptist pointed two of his disciples to Jesus. One was Andrew (1:40) and most believe the other was John, the author of this gospel, who humbly didn't name himself. He kept the focus on Jesus. Let's be like John the Baptist and John the apostle and keep pointing people to Jesus. Send your fire team brothers the name you picked out regarding Jesus from today's passage. Check to first see if they put points up on the board yesterday and encourage them to do so if they haven't. Let's have each fire team score well this week.

Also make a point to pray for them as you daily Attack in prayer. WAR that they and you would live- 
Worthy of our King, 
Activating sidelined saints and

Releasing the locked up lost.

Sam had to take his 10 year old relative to the ER last week. Fortunately the boy's fall was not serious. But while there, Sam was on the alert. Here's what he wrote-  "While I was waiting in the ER, I noticed a man in his twenties getting wheeled around. I gave him my last card and said that the movies can change his life. It looks like he took a peek on his phone, but not sure if he watched one. I pray that he does."

What does watching a magic show YouTube clip tomorrow have anything to do with tomorrow's passage? You'll see for yourself :)

* You raised such good questions yesterday! There is no way I could answer all of them. But if you want to dig, you can find answers to many of your questions in commentaries or messages that have been given on yesterday's passage- John 1:19-34. Here are three that I would give three thumbs up to:)

Ken  Boa-  http://ift.tt/1WeHC3D

Bob Deffinbaugh- http://ift.tt/1Toj9oe

John  MacArthur- http://ift.tt/1Toj8R1

If you have the time to find the answer to one of your questions there or elsewhere, write it out below. You will get a big gold star!