John 1:14 – Come Thou Fount – Bible study

John 1:14 Come Thou Fount This verse is not talking about just anyone. It is speaking of the God who stood out on the balcony of nothingness and called all things into existence with nothing but His words. In this chapter, John has referred to that Person as the Preexisting Word, the Powerful Light, and in this verse, the Perfect Man. That name of that Person is given in verse 17. He is Jesus Christ. But verse 14 does more than just talk about Jesus. It describes Him. It says that Jesus was full of grace and truth. What a marvelous statement that is! He was full of grace and truth, but what does it mean? It means that Jesus was so full of grace and truth that it just poured out of Him. Jesus is like a fountain so full of water that it cannot contain it all and so the water pours over the sides, creating a stream as it collects to run to lower ground. Lets consider that for a few moments. I. Jesus is the Fountain of Truth John 1:14 He was full of truth. A. That means truth poured out of Jesus. B. We are living in a confused world today. 1. This world is confused about many things but one thing it is terribly confused about is truth. 2. So many things are said, believed, and even fought over today with some saying it is truth and others saying it is not. C. With so much confusion about truth in the world, let me take a moment to explain some things about truth. 1. Truth must always be truthful. a. I know that sounds very simple but apparently, it is not know in todays world. b. Truth is (1) a guess (2) a hope (3) a theory (4) a wish. (5) Ill be honest. I dont know many true things, but I do know the Fountain of Truth and I put my confidence in Him. c. Likewise, truth cannot be exaggerated or falsified. If it is, its not truth. (1) Remember, (a) Truth might be misunderstood. (b) Truth might be hated. (c) Truth might even be denied. (2) But truth must always be truthful. 2. I hope that we also understand that truth neither cares which side of the argument it is on or whose feelings are hurt. 3. Truth is only concerned with one thing, i.e. being truthful. D. The Bible says of Jesus, He was full of truth. What truth flowed from Him? 1. If you want to enter heaven, you must be born again. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. a. While most of you probably understand what that means just in case there is one who does not, let me briefly explain. (1) We are all born sinners. That is why we die. (2) But God offers (a) To forgive our sins, (b) To move into us, (c) To make us a new person, and (d) To give us a new life. (3) That life cannot be had by doing better. (4) To get God to move inside of us, we must do two things: (a) We must believe what the Bible says about Jesus. (b) And, the best we know howand I do mean the very best, we must surrender ourselves to God and His will. i. Any attempts to hold out on God and He will know about it and will not move inside of you. ii. If you are going to keep lying, keep living in adultery, keep holding a grudge, or anything else, God will not move inside. iii. Many do not understand the importance of surrendering themselves to God and so they are NEVER "born-again." b. Jesus was not only coining a new term for us when He used that term, it was telling us a truth. Remember, He is full of truth, and so that truth just pours out of Him. (1) He said you will never see the kingdom of God or heaven. (2) Friend, if you never see it, you are certainly never going to enter it. (3) I fully know and understand that there are people today who say there are many ways to get to heaven, but Jesus, the Fountain of Truth, is in fact saying that they are liars. (4) You might say, "Preacher, prove that to me." And I will answer, "I cannot." You will have to look deep into your soul, study this Bible for yourself, and try to hear from God as to what is true, but I have done so and I am convinced that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven. (5) What about you? This is too important to ignore or delay. I suggest that if you have any doubts that Jesus is the Fountain of Truth, you get serious about finding out today. 2. If you want to be a disciple, you will have to follow Him. Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. a. Notice Jesus words in this verse: (1) "If," that is mans choice. (a) That means not everyone is going to do what Jesus was commanding here. (b) Everyone should but everyone must make up their own minds. (c) Think on this: You might live on this earth 100 years, but you are going to live forever in eternity. Whether you are presently saved or lost, do you want to live your 100 years selfishly and waste your eternity or invest your 100 years wisely and reap rewards for eternity? (d) The word "if" gives you that choice. (2) "If any man (woman) will come after me," that is Gods goal. (a) That means if anyone will be saved (born- again) and become His disciple. (b) Jesus was stating a goal He has for our lives and He has at least two goals for every person: i. That they be saved (born-again) and ii. That they follow Him, obey Him, become His disciple. (c) You have your own will and may do with your life whatever is within your power to do, but God is the Fountain of Truth, and He is revealing what His goals for your life are. (3) "let him deny himself take up his cross daily, and follow me," that is the price that must be paid. (a) To be a disciple, a follower, of Jesus, we must quit living for our selfish pleasures, desires, and even our needs. We must deny what we want. i. Four pronouns to measure your level of selfishness: I, me, my, and mine. ii. Three more could be relevant: us, we, and our. iii. How often do we use His and Him? (b) To be a disciple, a follower, of Jesus, we must take up our crossevery day. Why take up a cross? There is only one thing you can do with a cross, die on it. Not only are we to deny our selfish selves but we are to die, kill, our desires and goals so that they do not influence us. (c) To be a disciple, a follower, of Jesus, we must follow Him. We must follow His examples, His teachings, and His commands. b. Jesus was not just telling us what was necessary to be His disciple. Jesus, the Fountain of Truth, was telling us that if we do not do these things, we are NOT following Him, that we are NOT His disciple. (1) Now we may not agree with that truth, we may not obey that truth, we may not like that truth, but Jesus, the Fountain of Truth, made it so it is true. (2) You are here this morning because you have a desire to know and follow Godeither that or someone made you come. (a) If you have even the smallest notion in your heart that you want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you need to let this truth sink deep into your soul and then you need to honestly examine yourself. (b) How much of you is living your body and how much of Jesus is living in there? (c) Have you denied what you wanted? (d) Have you nailed yourself to the cross? (e) Are you following Jesus? (f) The Fountain of Truth is before you this morning, but you must believe what He is telling you. II. Jesus is the Fountain of Grace. John 1:14 He was full of truth. A. That means grace poured out of Jesus. B. I believe grace to be the most powerful force on earth. 1. Stronger than fire (video of forest fire), tsunamis, flood, hurricane, tornado is Gods grace. 2. What is grace? My definition of grace is that grace is GOD working in you and through you to accomplish His will. 3. There is no force stronger than God working. None. Not one. 4. John tells us that Jesus was not just the Fountain of Truth, but that He was also the Fountain of Grace. C. That means Gods power to bring people into Gods will just poured out of Jesus like water pours out of a fountain. Did it? 1. In John 4, Jesus passed through a place called Sychar. a. While there, He stopped at a well and met a woman from the area. b. It was no accidental meeting. John 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria. (1) That implies that it was Jesus strong desire and purpose to go through that area. (2) I believe He wanted to go through there to meet this woman and her neighbors. c. What happened? (1) On earthly scales, not much. Just a few conversations. (2) On heavenly scales, a tsunamis hit! This woman was saved and her whole village! d. Isnt it interesting? (1) Jesus passed by this location and before He left, the two goals that He has for every person on this planet happened to the entire village! (2) How is that possible? I am going to say a strong force caused it, the strongest force that the world has ever known, the grace of God came through Sychar. (3) And why not? Jesus, the Fountain of Grace, was passing through. 2. In John 5, Jesus passed through a pool in Jerusalem called Bethesda. a. \#3\ tells us that a great multitude of sick, blind, lame, and withered people sat there. b. But Jesus went up to one man who had been lame for 38 years and asked him a question, "Wilt thou be made whole?" (1) Imagine a man who had never walked being asked if he wanted to be healed. (2) Jesus told the man to get up, pick up his bed, and to walkand he did. (3) Jesus healed that man that day! (4) The crowds rush in and soon Jesus and the man are separated, but Jesus found the man later and told him who he was. (a) The best I can tell, that lame man got saved that day. And while the Bible did not follow up with what he did from that day on, I would hazard a guess that the lame man went on to follow Jesus. (b) That was the powerful force of God; but strangely, grace did not sweep through that crowd and convert others. (c) I think the religious leaders did not want it. c. Lesson: No earthly force can stop the flood of grace, but God will not force grace where it is not wanted. d. Two more truths for lost people about grace. (1) It can and will peak. (2) It can and will end. e. But here, isnt it amazing. (1) God has at least two goals for every persons life, that they be saved and then follow Him, and when Jesus passed by, that lame man surrendered to do BOTH! (2) But then, why not? Jesus, the Fountain of Grace was passing through. But then, why should that be surprising? Jesus, the Living Word made flesh, is full of grace and truth.