#4 (The 12 Disciples
Series)
"PHILIP -- THE PRACTICAL!"
TEXTS: JOHN
1:43-46; 6:5-7; 12:20-23; 14:6-14
INTRO: Philip
would have made a great American!!
He loved being practical things, WE love practical things. It is the practical people that drive our
market system – and Philip was the practical one in the twelve disciples. Practical people are the ones that
figure out how to get things done, we even have a saying about this, "necessity
is the mother of invention."
There are people who by
their nature are always practical!
There was a Martha among the women who followed Jesus; she was the
practical one in the group of women that followed Jesus. There was Philip among the disciples; he
was the practical guy among the men!
Practicality rules the
planet, take for instance the following:
a. In
b. Exchanging "money" became more
practical than bartering large objects back and forth, hence the development of
the paper currency system.
c. Indoor plumbing and bathrooms were
created to serve the practical need of not having to travel outdoors to deal
with our basic needs!
d. The list could go on and on; cars,
telephones, refrigerators, etc. all exist to serve “practical”
needs.
PROP.
SENT: The
"practical" saint is often hardworking, faithful, and gets things done – but
often they struggle with faith!
God however has a great love for those who are "practical" – they are
valued followers of Christ!
A. Evidence
First
1:43-46
1. Philip was a practical man, his
name means "lover of horses" and he was from
a. These men were practical by nature;
fishing was an occupation that by nature made you
practical!
b. When Philip responded to the call
to be one of Jesus' followers he came as he was, a very practical
man!
2. Notice that Philip refers to Jesus
as "Jesus of
a. Philip tended to see the natural
before the supernatural, this becomes even more evident as we look at other
passages!
b. This was good when getting routine
business done but a drawback when faith was required to do
something!
3. "Faith" is not something that just
forces itself into our lives when we get saved, we must learn to "exercise" it
and learn to practice it!
ILLUS: YES FAITH
IS A GIFT FROM GOD, AND SO IS AIR, FOOD, WATER, ETC. BUT EACH OF THESE THINGS YOU MUST TAKE
IN! FAITH IS AVAILABLE, BUT MUST BE
RECIEVED TO BE ACTIVATED. FAITH IS
NOT JUST SOMETHING WE FEEL, IT IS ACTING UPON GOD'S WORD, TAKING GOD AT HIS
WORD! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. When Philip goes and gets his
friend Nathanael to also follow Jesus, Nathanael responds by saying "can anything
good come from
a. This was the creed by which Philip
lived: SEEING IS
BELIEVING!
b. For Philip the answer came in the
form of SEEING!
c. He was a man who needed
proof!
B. Empirical
Foundation 14:6-14
1. Here we find Philip near the end of
3 years with Jesus, still the practical man in need of learning to live by
faith!
a. Jesus just finished telling his
disciples that "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me. If
you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know
him and have seen
him."
b. Philip's response to this statement
by Jesus reveals the practical man he still is, and the man who was still much
in need of learning what "faith" is!
c. Philip's response ironically was:
"Lord, show us the father and that will be
enough for us."
(1. Notice how Philip assumes that he speaks
for all!
(2. Notice too how Philip relies upon the
"real" ... "Show us..."
2. Philip's life had depended on the
visual, what he could see, touch, taste, hear, and smell – he is having a hard
time getting a handle on faith like many of us!
a. This is so much like people today:
"if only I
saw a miracle I would believe too!"
b. The trouble with Philip is that he
keeps looking at the wrong thing all the time, this can be a painful process,
his focus should have been on the spiritual world which at times is not seen
through "practical
eyes."
ILLUS: LIKE A
CARPENTER, HE QUICKLY LEARNS HOW TO DRIVE NAILS. THE SECRET TO DOING THIS IS TO NOT LOOK
AT YOUR FINGERS HOLDING THE NAIL BUT TO LOOK AT THE NAIL! WHY? YOU WILL USUALLY HIT WHAT YOU ARE
LOOKING AT! IF YOU WATCH YOUR
FINGERS YOU WILL LIKELY STRIKE THEM, WATCH THE NAIL HEAD AND YOU WILL HIT
IT! – SOURCE
UNKNOWN
3. Those that look only at the
physical realm will miss out on a lot of great spiritual
realities!
a. This was Philip's problem, his
focus was always on the physical realm and this held him back from great
spiritual insights!
b. Jesus thus explains to him that by
seeing Jesus he had already seen the FATHER – they are the same in
essence!
c. Notice the sense of Jesus'
frustration at Philip's lack of insight, "Don't you know
me Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?" 14:9
d. Jesus then adds for “Philip the
practical” these words, "... or at least believe on the EVIDENCE of the miracles
themselves!"
14:11b
e. Jesus tries appealing to
Philip’s nature at this point, "look at the empirical evidences."
4. Yet, Jesus does not reject Philip,
He loves this practical man, and once Philip gets baptized with the Holy Spirit
his spiritual senses will kick in better!
5. Possibly another insight into
Philip's practical side may be found in MATT.
a. Here a disciple that is unnamed
asks Jesus first "let me bury my father" and then he would come
follow Jesus.
b. Tradition attributes this statement
to Philip – a very practical request!
II. SYSTEMATIC AND BULLHEADED! Jn. 6:5-7;
12:20-23
A. Exiguous
Faith! Jn.
6:5-7
1. Philip's faith was small. (the meaning of "Exiguous" – lit. "Small,
scant, little")
a. Jesus is about to do a great
miracle, to meet the needs of thousands of hungry
people!
b. First however Philip was targeted
for a faith test, who better to test than the most practical man in his group –
thus Philip!
c. Jesus therefore asks, "Philip, where
shall we buy bread for these people to
eat?"
2. Philip, true to his nature thinks
on the practical level first, "Lord 8 months wages would not buy enough bread for each
one to have a bite!"
6:7
a. Philip has the bottom line already
spelled out – “it would take huge sums of money and we haven't got any,
therefore it is impossible!”
b. Philip was thinking practically and
in real terms!
c. What Philip was forgetting however
was who Jesus is!
3. Philip forgot or ignored the power
of God through Jesus, that anything was possible to them that
believe!
a. Philip had a hard time seeing
beyond what his natural eyes saw!
b. If only he could see not only what
his natural eyes saw but what his spiritual eyes could
see!
c. “Faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen!" Heb.
11:1
ILLUS: LIKE ONE
LITTLE GIRL TALKING TO ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL. THE ONE GIRL SAID THAT SHE HAD 10
PENNIES. THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL
ASKED TO SEE THEM! THE FIRST GIRL
THEN HELD OUT HER HAND WITH 5 SHINY NEW PENNIES IN IT! THE SECOND GIRL THEN SCOLDED HER, “YOU
SAID YOU HAD 10 PENNIES, YOU ARE A LIAR, I ONLY SEE 5 PENNIES IN YOUR HAND, YOU
ONLY HAVE 5 PENNIES!" THE GIRL WITH
THE PENNIES RETORTED, "I DO TOO HAVE 10 PENNIES, I HAVE 5 IN MY HAND AND MY
FATHER SAID HE WOULD GIVE ME 5 MORE TONIGHT, SO I HAVE 10 PENNIES!" SHE UNDERSTOOD THAT HER FATHER'S WORD
WAS AS GOOD AS DONE. THIS IS THE
ESSENCE OF FAITH AND SEEING BY SPIRITUAL EYES! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. Jesus however does not kick Philip
out of the discipleship group, Jesus even makes sure that Philip gets one of the
12 leftover baskets, real physical evidence of Jesus' spiritual power and
authority!
a. For Philip's baby faith Jesus does
reach him at the level he is presently at!
b. Later, Jesus will expect more
mature faith with less physical evidence!
c. Jesus meets us where we are at –
and moves us on!
5. This tiny faith would grow, for now
Jesus challenges Philip directly but continues to love him and nurture
him!
a. The days would come when Philip
however will see with spiritual eyes!
b. Indeed he did after Pentecost, he
is later martyred for his faith in Christ and he stands his ground, rooted in
faith trusting God that the spiritual realm is real and greater than the
physical realm!
B. Encouraged by Friend! 12:20-23
1. Perhaps one of the secrets to
Philip's growth comes from the fact that he is paired with another home town boy
that had a greater ability to see faith!
a. Andrew and Philip appear together
in several places, it was Andrew that helped Philip out in the feeding of the
5,000.
b. It will be Andrew here that helps
steer Philip in the right direction.
c. It took a friend like Andrew who
was just as practical but also understood how to see the spiritual realm a
little better to guide him to greater faith!
2. Philip is a Greek name, Philip had
strong Greek connections, so it is quite understandable that these Greeks who
were curious about Jesus came to him first! 12:20-21
a. Interestingly, like Philip these
Greeks seem preoccupied with “SEEING” with natural sight for they asked, "we would like to
see Jesus." (The idea being to interview Jesus or
interrogate him for answers)
b. Philip seems unsure of how to
handle the situation, why didn't he just tell them himself about
Jesus?
c. He goes first to Andrew who seemed
to know better just what to do:
d. Philip knew Jesus came for the
Jews, these are Greek gentiles, should they be allowed to interview
Jesus?
3. Andrew thinking spiritually
understands the nature of Christ's love, it is for all, so he takes Philip with
him to Jesus.
4. It seems to have taken Philip twice
as long to respond spiritually because his practical side sometimes blocked his
spiritual insights, yet, Jesus is quite patient with this disciple even though
at times frustrated with him!
ILLUS: PHILIP MUST
HAVE TESTED JESUS' PATIENCE, BUT NEVER DESTROYED JESUS' LOVE. LIKE ONE LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS A
FIRST-GRADER, SHE SOMETIMES PUT HER TEACHER TO WITS END! ONE RAINY DAY THE TEACHER WAS PUTTING
ALL 32 OF HER STUDENTS GALOSHES ON FOR THEM TO GO HOME. SHE CAME TO THIS LITTLE GIRL LAST AND
PUT ON THE FINAL PAIR OF GALOSHES ONLY TO HAVE THE LITTLE GIRL TELL THE TEACHER,
"THESE AREN'T MY GALOSHES!" THE
TEACHER WAS PUZZLED, SINCE NO OTHER PAIRS REMAINED, BUT SHE PATIENTLY REMOVED
THEM FROM THE LITTLE GIRL'S FEET.
SUDDENLY THE LITTLE GIRL ADDED AFTER THE TEACHER HAD TAKEN OFF THE
GALOSHES, "THEY ARE MY SISTER'S GALOSHES.
SHE LET ME WEAR THEM TODAY."
THE TEACHER JUST QUIETLY AND LOVINGLY PUT THE SAME PAIR BACK ON THE
LITTLE GIRL AND SENT THE STUDENTS ON THEIR WAY! – SOURCE
UNKNOWN
5. Both Jesus and Andrew understood
Philip and they loved him as he was and they helped him
grow!
6. Practical people can sometimes be
frustrating; they are the first to see problems with getting something done for
Christ. They are the first to miss
the “vision” thing. How do we deal
with them?
a. First you appreciate their
practicality; at times this is a great gift and not just a
problem!
b. Second you love them! This is the way they are, down to earth,
seeing the real world!
c. Third, you challenge them to grow
and to see beyond just the physical senses!
d. Fourth, be patient with them – God
loves them greatly and has called them just like He did
you!
e. If you are the "practical" saint –
get a friend who sees by faith better than you do and learn from
them!
f. The best solution to being
able to SEE in the spiritual realm is to be IN THE
SPIRIT!
7. Jesus stayed Philip's friend and
Andrew helped him a great deal also!
8. Practical people need friends to
help them see beyond the physical realm, criticizing them is not the right
approach, love is better!
9. Jesus called all kinds of different
people to follow him and He loved and appreciated them
all.
CONCLUSION: Philip had strong Greek connections; his name
was a Greek name. Thus, he was
deeply influenced by science and Greek philosophy and culture; the Greeks were
deeply rational and practical people.
He was the practical one among the disciples, the "show me"
disciple! This created struggles
with faith more than with some of the others, but he served faithfully and
grew! The Lord never gave up on
Philip, and he won't on you either if you are one of those “practical”
saints!