John 1:45-51

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote -Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

 

Nathanael is a normal guy, living a normal life, who goes about his business as a benefit to society.  He is honest and hardworking and true to his faith.

 

But this is not enough.

 

It is not enough for others.  And, more importantly, it is not enough for him.

 

Without Jesus, life simply will never measure up.  We can have seasons of fun, seasons of work, seasons of success.  But ultimately, without Him, we begin to lose our way.

 

As Peter will later tell Jesus:  “You and You alone, hold the keys to eternal life”.  This is not just a statement for later….it is a statement for now.  Jesus is the only anchor that we can truly hold onto.  He speaks into our lives just like He did Nathanael’s.  You see….Nathanael was a broken man.  A sinner.  A man who was destined for Hell.  His sin had infected and broken him.  It had tainted his views of what life was and what the Lord had in store for him.  It had made him a sitting duck for Hell.  And his destiny was to lead a ruined life into a ruined eternity.  Nathanael was broken.

 

We are no different.  We are broken from the inside and when we begin to look at what the issue is in our broken way, we soon begin to discover the problem.  It is US.  We are the problem.  I once told my team that we were not playing well and that they needed to “Take a Look Inside and Make It Right”.  This is because the Lord wants us to come to the end of ourselves, as Peter did, and confess our absolute and unadulterated need for Him to come in and complete us.  The beauty of this partnership is unequaled.  Not only does He make it whole and beautiful, He makes it right.  The Lord warns us in scripture to not partner with others.  It has never been more clear why He says that than it is today:  He wants us to partner with no one but Him.  You see, when you have the keys to a perfect plan, you don’t bring in something that contradicts that.

 

What will you choose this day?  Where will you choose to be in your life?  He sees you just as He saw Nathanael.  And the beauty of that sight is He sees good in you!  He loves you for who you are.  And He wants to come and join you in your walk and bring meaning and wholeness to it.  It is a deal breaker.  He breaks off the deal with the enemy, the deal with darkness, the deal with your mortal enemy.  He brings a Kingdom to you that can change the brokenness of others.

 

Your Hope is in Him and Him alone.

 

Your Faith is in Him and Him alone.

 

Your Love is in Him and Him alone.

 

Realign your hopes.

Refocus your vision.

Rejuvenate your soul.

Reassemble your desires.

Redeem your losses.

Request your dreams.

Refine your plan.

Remake your life.

 

The Lord of the universe has a different plan than what you might have….but it is so much better than the one you will attempt on your own.

 

In The Name of The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.