“The belief of Christ’s second coming, of which he has given us the assurance, is an excellent preservative against trouble of heart” (Matthew Henry) We are told many times in God’s Word that the coming of Jesus is near (Php 4:5; James 5:8).  What a wonderful promise! Note also that the happiness of heaven is being there with Christ (Joh 17:24; Php 1:23; 1 Th 4:17), or, as Barclay states it, “for the Christian, heaven is where Jesus is.”

Philippians 4:5  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

James 5:8  You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

John 17:24  “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

Philippians 1:23  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

1 Thessalonians 4:17  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.

John and Andrew sought Jesus after being pointed in that direction by John the Baptist; Andrew brought his brother, Simon to Christ; but Philip wasn’t looking for Christ and wasn’t brought to Him by anyone else. Jesus sought him out, much like He did Paul on the road to Damascus. It shows that Christ cannot be bound by our thoughts or by our methods.

Philip means “lover of horses.”  He may have been named after Philip the tetrarch who rebuilt Bethsaida.  He seems to have no special abilities; he is quite ordinary.  Every time we see him he seems to not know what to do.  When faced with the problem of feeding the multitude, he pointed out that it would take a great deal of money; when the Greeks came to him, he had to ask Andrew what to do; and when in the upper room, it was Philip who asked Jesus to show them the Father.  He is at best ordinary, and yet in this verse we see that Jesus went out of His way looking for him for the purpose of asking him to join His group of disciples, and if He did that for Philip, He will do that for you.

This shows us the completeness of the love of God for us. He has sought each one of us out. That was His whole purpose in coming to earth (Luke 19:10). Jesus didn’t come to earth because of our prayers to Him; He came because of His love for us. His mercy is like a fountain that flows on its own, not a well that needs to be pumped. He goes after the lost sheep — not because it is bleating — but because it is lost.

Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

“Follow Me.” Was this a demand or an invitation? It was both and it still is today. It was the beginning of a journey for Philip as it is for us — an incredible journey filled with excitement and joy and fulfillment — a journey filled with trials and hard times which are tempered with wonderful victories and spiritual growth. Most of all it is a journey of relationship. Man walking with God and God choosing to be Mentor, Counselor, Friend, Confider, and Father to man. What a wonderful journey!

Philip could have chosen to not follow Christ but he made a decision right then to do so. We, too, may choose to not follow Him. There are many reasons for us to make the wrong decision. We may, like the Pharisees, think that we don’t need to follow someone else — that we are self-sufficient. Or we may put off the decision, like the young man who wanted to go bury his father first (Luke 9:59). But procrastination is not just putting off the decision until later; it is saying “No” to the Lord’s invitation to follow Him right now. What about you? Have you said “No” to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him or have you been putting it off? Now is the day of your salvation (Heb 4:7). Won’t you make the right decision right now?

Luke 9:59  He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Heb 4:7  Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”