What Are You Looking For? Following Jesus' Call

Jan 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Showing the Love of Jesus Through Our Actions

It is one thing to tell others about the stories of Jesus, but it is far more powerful to show them through our lives. Just as a leader in a game must provide clear examples, Jesus did not merely give instructions; He invited His followers to come and see His way of living. We are called to move beyond words and demonstrate His teachings through tangible acts of caring and sharing. When we help others, we make the path of faith visible and accessible to those around us. This invitation to "come and see" remains the most effective way to share the gift of new life. [21:17]

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:35-39)

Reflection: Think of one person in your life who doesn't know Jesus well; what is one small, practical way you could "show" them His care this week rather than just "telling" them about it?

Day 2: The Humility of Preparing the Way for Christ

John the Baptist stands as a legendary figure of unshakable faith, yet his greatest strength was his profound humility. Despite his fame and the crowds that followed him, he remained focused on his specific calling to prepare the way for the Messiah. He understood that his role was to testify to the Light, not to be the Light himself. By declaring that he was not fit to tie the sandals of the one coming after him, he modeled a life centered on God’s purposes rather than personal notoriety. We are invited to find that same strength of conviction, pointing others toward the Savior who is mightier than we are. [35:24]

John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” (John 1:26-27)

Reflection: In your current roles at work, home, or church, how can you intentionally shift the focus away from your own accomplishments to highlight God's work instead?

Day 3: Asking Ourselves What We Are Truly Looking For

When the first disciples began to follow Jesus, He turned and asked them a question that should stop every one of us in our tracks: "What are you looking for?" This is perhaps the most significant question we can ever contemplate as we navigate our spiritual journeys. We all possess an inborn need for God and a spark of the Holy Spirit that yearns to grow. Often, we search for meaning and purpose in the world, but Jesus invites us to look deeper into our own hearts. By identifying our true desires, we can better understand why we choose to follow Him. [42:39]

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” (John 1:37-38)

Reflection: If Jesus were to stand before you today and ask, "What are you looking for?", what would be your honest, unfiltered answer regarding your deepest spiritual need right now?

Day 4: Finding Spiritual Liberation Beyond Our Material Expectations

It is possible to be a faithful servant of God and still misunderstand the nature of His mission. Even John the Baptist may have looked for a warrior king to overthrow earthly oppressors, yet Jesus came to offer a different kind of freedom. He sought to liberate people from spiritual bondage and bring them into a right relationship with God. While we often look for God to solve our material problems or change our external circumstances, His primary focus is on our spiritual transformation. When we align our expectations with His mission, we find a harmony that transcends the pressures of the world. [46:40]

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” (John 1:29-31)

Reflection: Reflect on a time when God didn't answer a prayer the way you expected; how might He have been working to bring about a "spiritual" liberation in you that was different from the "material" solution you sought?

Day 5: Being the Presence of Christ in the World

As we move through our daily lives, we carry the profound responsibility of being the hands and feet of Christ. You may be the only grace, the only love, or the only peace that someone encounters during their entire week. This calling requires us to unite not only in prayer but also in concrete actions that address the needs of a hurting world. By sharing the spirit of hope and reconciliation, we reflect the light of Jesus into the dark corners of our communities. Let us go forth with strength and humility, knowing that our savior walks beside us in every interaction. [01:00:27]

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). (John 1:40-42)

Reflection: As you consider the people you will interact with tomorrow, who is one person who seems to be lacking peace, and what specific word or action could you offer to be "the only peace" they find that day?

Sermon Summary

Jesus is unveiled as the long-awaited revelation of God’s presence and purpose. The narrative opens with John — fierce, humble, and unmistakably called — whose role is not self-glorification but preparation: he recognizes the Spirit descending, testifies that Jesus is the Son of God, and points his followers onward. The text emphasizes seeing, hearing, and testifying as a pattern of encounter: revelation leads to witness, and witness draws others toward the living Christ. When two of John’s disciples follow Jesus, they stay with him, discover meaning in his presence, and bring others into that encounter, starting the work of forming a community shaped by attention to Jesus rather than by political hopes.

Jesus’ identity is proclaimed with language that carries sacrificial and royal resonance — “the Lamb of God” — yet the expectations attached to the Messiah prove fragile. John, brilliant in conviction and unswerving in calling, nevertheless misunderstands the shape of the kingdom he heralds. He expects a liberator in worldly terms; Jesus offers liberation of a different order: moral and spiritual reorientation that heals relationships with God and neighbor. The crucial turning point is Jesus’ simple, piercing question, “What are you looking for?” — an invitation to honest desire and self-examination that redirects longing from temporal security to eternal purpose.

The practical outworking is pastoral and simple: show what following Jesus looks like rather than merely instructing; point people to Christ; expect transformation of the heart to precede societal change. Discipleship is portrayed less as information and more as sustained presence at Jesus’ feet, where life is reshaped and then passed on. The passage closes with a commission to embody grace, to be the only peace, love, or hope someone might meet that week — a sober reminder that revelation requires response, and response requires visible fidelity. The narrative thus moves from revelation to response, from proclamation to embodied witness, urging a faith that sees, testifies, and follows into the work of reconciliation.

Key Takeaways

1. Always point others toward Christ John’s vocation was to remove attention from himself and direct it to the One who embodies God’s presence. Pointing others to Christ means cultivating humility, surrendering platforms, and enabling encounters with Jesus rather than with human personalities. Such pointing is not passive: it requires testimony grounded in experience and credible integrity that invites others to go and see. [35:24]
2. Show faith through concrete actions Teaching without visible practice hollowly instructs; discipleship is taught most effectively by imitation and service. Demonstrating mercy, sharing resources, and receiving others incarnate the teachings of Jesus so that words gain authority and meaning. Presence — sitting at Jesus’ feet, washing, feeding, speaking truth — is the grammar of authentic Christian influence. [21:03]
3. Reconsider expectations about God's deliverance Anticipations of salvation often reflect cultural hopes more than divine priorities; John’s expectation of a political liberator missed Jesus’ work of inner liberation. True deliverance reforms allegiances, heals communal fractures, and dethrones idols of power and comfort. Reflecting on what God actually does recalibrates prayer, activism, and hope toward restoration rather than conquest. [45:12]
4. Ask: What are you looking for? That question stops complacency and exposes desire’s true shape, demanding honest appraisal of spiritual longings. It invites a searching that distinguishes between temporal needs and the deeper hunger for God’s presence and purpose. Answering it reshapes vocation: following Jesus becomes an apprenticeship of love that reorients priorities and relationships. [42:18]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[09:56] - Opening Prayer and Invocation
[13:33] - Confession and Assurance
[18:13] - Children’s Moment: Follow the Leader
[30:20] - Portrait of John the Baptist
[34:08] - Baptism and Testimony of Jesus
[37:29] - “Lamb of God” and First Disciples
[42:18] - Jesus Asks: What Are You Looking For?
[45:12] - John’s Misunderstanding of the Messiah
[56:37] - Commission to Go and Make a Difference

Sermon Clips

41s

#WhatWouldJohnDo

“``I think perhaps a better question to ask would be, what would John the Baptist do? Because I think I can make a pretty good guess at what he would do. John's ministry was about coming into relationship with God, and his baptism was about washing away your sinful deeds, repenting, and opening your heart to God's love. He called out the religious hypocrites. He spoke out against the misdeeds and corruption of Herod, and he pointed the people towards Jesus.”

40s

#PavedTheWay

“But what they came to realize was what they were really looking for was the king who could free them from spiritual bondage, and Jesus was the one to do just that. Jesus, who showed the way to find God and God's promise, was the one who liberated them from spiritual bondage. The disciples asked themselves the question, and they listened to Jesus. And they not only found the path, but they went on to become guides themselves.”

39s

#PrepareTheWay

“John was looking for that mighty warrior king who'd lead a great army in revolt against the oppressors. Jesus didn't do what John was expecting. He knew that he had found the Messiah, but he didn't understand what Jesus' mission was, which is to bring all people together in harmony, to have people live in right relationship with God, and to focus on their spiritual lives as opposed to their material lives.”

44s

#LambOfGodMoment

“I believe that everyone has an inborn need for God and that we all want to have a closer connection to him, even those people who proclaim their disbelief. We all, everyone, have a spark of the holy spirit within us, and I think that spark yearns to grow bigger. We look for meaning in life. We wonder what our purpose is, and it's only through God that we can find that. And Jesus is the one who shows us the way.”

49s

#JohnsUniqueGospel

“John had a somewhat different theology than the others did, and he was driving his point home to the readers of his time, which was much later than the other three gospels. And the point I'm trying to make is that when you read the gospel of John, and you should read the gospel, you need to try and set aside all of those things that you know is right from the other gospels and just concentrate on what he is saying. Because otherwise, you might find yourself going, no. No. No. No. That's not right. And then you miss out on what John's message is.”

51s

#FaithInAction

“So John then sends his disciples off to follow Jesus, or they just do. Depends what version of the Bible you read. And what this says to me is that John the baptizer knows that his role has been fulfilled. He was meant to pave the way for the coming of the messiah. He preached. He baptized. He prophesied. He prepared people for the coming of the Christ. And then once revealed to him, he declared and testified to the arrival of the Messiah. He knows that now is the time for his disciples to move on to Jesus, and he encourages them to do so.”

20s

#SeeHearTestify

38s

#SitAtJesusFeet

“We start off with John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus, kind of. You'll notice that he's never called John the Baptist, just John. And the baptism itself is not described. There's 15 verses here describing John, stressing that he was called by God to prepare the way for Jesus. He's a man of strong conviction and faith who truly believed in the work he was doing.”

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