Title: The Blessing of Progress even in Doubts
<The Gospel of John (14) The blessing of advancing even in doubt (John 1:43-51)
<touch of love>
The three major points that the Lord changed Peter are as follows. First, that the Lord knew, second, that the Lord understood, and third, that the Lord gave hope. How does a soul return to the Lord? You just need to know his heart, understand his dreams, and give him hope. When dreams and dreams connect, the heart communicates. Then I realize "Ah! God is such a person. I have been living without knowing this grace! If you believe in God, you will do great things and overcome any problems!” In doing so, things that were perceived as problems turn into conditions of joy.
Among the Lord's encounters with Nathanael, there was a history of dream and dream communication. Philip, who believed in the Lord first, said to Nathanael, “I have found the Messiah. This is Jesus of Nazareth.” Nathanael said. “How can Jesus of Nazareth, not Jesus of Bethlehem, be the Messiah?” Because Nathanael did not know the story of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, fleeing to Egypt because of King Herod, and then coming back to Nazareth to grow up, Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
When Nathanael was drawn by Philip’s words, “Come and see!”, then the Lord spoke about him. “Behold, this is a true Israelite, and there is no deceit in him” (verse 47). Before Philip called you, I saw you while you were under the fig tree” (verse 48). At that time, the Israelites meditated deeply under the fig tree. After all, the fact that Nathanael was under the fig tree suggests that he was trying to live a life of sincerity and godliness. Jesus recognized Nathanael's sincere heart.
In the end, in those two words of the Lord, Nathanael confesses the Lord as the Messiah. “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, the King of Israel” (verse 49). The best evangelism method is love. See the other person's strengths and praise them. Just as what changed Peter was the word of the Lord's love, it was the word of the Lord's love that changed Nathanael. In the meeting between the Lord and Nathanael, the works of will and will met, dreams and dreams met, and spirit and spirit met. All great things come from an encounter with the Lord.
< Go ahead even in doubt >
Nathanael's heart had doubts about Philip's evangelism, but still, his body was drawn to the Lord by Philip's evangelism (verse 47). That fact is important. In the end, faith is closer to ‘obedience’ than ‘confidence’. It is often said that we will act after thinking, but thinking too much will weaken our ability to act. Instead of saying that you will act after you have reached a conclusion, you need an attitude of thinking and acting and thinking while acting.
There are cases where we believe the truth with a clear understanding of it, but if we move forward while doubting, the Lord is more than pleased with that appearance. So, as soon as he sees Nathanael, he says. “Behold, this is a true Israelite, and there is no deceit in him.” There are times in life when you have doubts. In the midst of such doubts, move forward. If you go to the Lord even if you are not sure, the Lord will see the 'seed of faith in your doubts' and will make that seed grow and bear fruit.