Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, January 24, 2016 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister MESSAGE 3 in The White Unto Harvest Sermon Series on Evangelism Will You Bring Someone To Jesus? John 1:35-42 (NKJV) Today as we continue with our White Unto Harvest sermon series, please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter one. And let's read verses 35-42. JOHN 1:35-42 (NKJV) 35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, What do you seek? They said to Him, Rabbi (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), where are You staying? 39 He said to them, Come and see. They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated, A Stone).
I N T R O D U C T I O N ILLUSTRATION: The late Lyman Beecher was one of America's most dynamic preachers in the early 1800's. Some one once asked Bro. Beecher, What do you count the greatest thing that a human being can do? Without any hesitation, Bro. Beecher responded: The greatest thing is not that one shall be a scientist, important as that is; nor that one shall be a statesman, vastly important as that is; nor even that one be a theologian immeasurably important as that is; BUT THE GREATEST THING OF ALL, he said, IS FOR ONE HUMAN BEING TO BRING ANOTHER TO CHRIST JESUS THE SAVIOR. Proverbs 11:30b (NKJV) says, He who wins souls is wise. That means out of all the work you do, out of everything you accomplish during your lifetime, the wisest and greatest thing you can do is to bring another soul to Jesus Christ. That is the one thing you can do that will achieve eternal results! And yet, if the statistics are true, 95% of all Christians have never brought another soul to Christ. That means fewer than one in ten Christians has ever experienced the joy and thrill of leading someone to Christ. Is it any wonder there is such little joy and enthusiasm in our Churches?
In today's message we are focusing on a man named ANDREW. We don't know a whole lot about Andrew other than he was a professional fisherman who became one of Jesus' apostles. We also know he was the brother of Simon Peter. In fact, most of the time when Andrew is mentioned in the scriptures he is called Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. Andrew was kind of like ROBERT on Everybody Loves Raymond. He was the brother who didn't get any respect of his own because he always lived in the shadow of his more famous brother. Other than being listed with the twelve apostles in Matthew, Mark and Luke's gospels, and in Acts chapter one, Andrew is only mentioned three other times in the Gospels. And do you know what Andrew was doing all three of those times? HE WAS BRINGING SOMEONE TO JESUS. He wasn't a renowned preacher and author of any New Testament Books like his brother. There's no record of him going on any great missionary journeys like Paul. BUT HE BROUGHT PEOPLE TO JESUS! THIS WAS HIS LIFE'S LEGACY! HE BROUGHT PEOPLE TO JESUS! Let's take a look at these three instances in the Gospels where Andrew brought someone to Jesus.
First of all... I. Andrew Brought His Brother Peter To Jesus (John 1:35-42) 1. For the first thirty years of His life on earth Jesus had lived in relative obscurity in His hometown of Nazareth. In fact, after being left behind at the temple in Jerusalem when He was twelve years old, the scriptures don't tell us anything about the next eighteen years of His life. 2. But at the age of thirty Jesus left Nazareth and traveled to Judea to be baptized by His cousin, John the Baptist in the Jordan river. John had been preaching the message of repentance to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah. And he had gained quite a number of disciples. 3. Now that Christ is on the scene, we are at that pivotal point where John's ministry starts to fade into the background and Christ's ministry emerges into the forefront; or as John the Baptist would later say, He must increase, but I must decrease. 4. The very next day after John baptized Jesus, John is standing there with two of his followers when Jesus returns. John says to his two followers, Behold, the Lamb of God. 5. When those two disciples heard John say that, Jesus spoke some words to the two men and they began to follow Him. Who were these two disciples? One of them was ANDREW, as we will learn in verse 40. And the other is none other than JOHN, the writer of this gospel, who conceals his identity throughout this gospel.
6. In verse 38 tells us, Then Jesus turned and seeing them following, said to them, What do you seek? Jesus was not rebuking Andrew and John or trying to discourage them from following Him, He was simply wanting them to search their true motive in wanting to follow Him. 7. They answered, Rabbi or Teacher, where are You staying? That response told Jesus they were more than curiosity seekers. They sincerely wanted to learn more about Him and the life He was calling them to. 8. After spending the day getting to know Jesus and listening to His teachings, Andrew and John were convinced by 3 o'clock that afternoon, or the tenth hour, that Jesus truly was the Promised Messiah. 9. Now what happens next is very touching. After coming to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, Andrew thought, I can't keep this good news to myself, I need to tell someone. 10. And verses 41, 41a says... He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is translated, the Christ) AND HE BROUGHT HIM TO JESUS. 11. Andrew's action was prompt and his message was simple: We have found the Messiah. Andrew's heart was burdened for his brother. In essence, Andrew said, Peter, I have come to know the Messiah and I want you to know Him too!
12. The true significance of what Andrew did that day wasn't seen until about three years later, when Peter stood up to preach on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 souls were saved. And in the years that followed untold numbers of others souls were won to Christ through Peter's preaching. Think what might have happened had Andrew not brought Peter to Jesus. You see, we never know just what kind of an impact our invitation to one other person will have. ILLUSTRATION Dwight L. Moody quit school after the fifth grade. He couldn't spell and his grammar was atrocious. His manners were very crude and he often got into trouble. When Moody was eighteen years old his father sent him to Boston to work in his uncle's shoe store. There was another man working in the store, a kind, loving Sunday School teacher by the name of Edward Kimball. Kimball deeply loved the Lord and took it upon himself to share Christ with young Moody. Eventually Moody accepted Christ and though he was never ordained as a minister, he became one of the greatest evangelist in the world in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Hundreds of thousands of people were won to Christ through Dwight L. Moody's preaching. 13. You see, this is what lies at the very heart of evangelism. Its not about being able to quote a lot of scripture...or being able to answer tough religious questions...or winning theological debates. Its about one soul caring enough about another soul to bring them to Jesus. Or as one man put it, Its about one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.
Let's move on to John chapter 6. Here we will see... II. Andrew Brought A Young Lad To Jesus (John 6:4-9) John 6:4-9 (NKJV) 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little. 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter s brother, said to Him, 9 There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many? 1. Jesus was always concerned about meeting the needs of others, including their physical needs. 2. This crowd had just made a nine mile journey to catch up with Jesus. As you can imagine, they were tired and hungry. They needed food, but they were out in the middle of nowhere. Where could they possibly buy enough food to feed all those people? That was the question Jesus posed to Philip, just to test him. You see Jesus already had the solution.
4. While Philip is standing there calculating just how much food they would need and how much it would cost to feed that multitude, Andrew steps forward and does what Andrew always did best. He brought a young lad to Jesus. This young lad had five barley loaves and two small fish... which amounted to nothing more than a little snack lunch of crackers and sardines his mom had probably prepared for him. 5. While all the other disciples had serious doubts about how to feed the multitude, it was ANDREW who had enough FAITH that if Jesus was truly the Messiah, He could certainly turn a little boy's sack lunch into enough food to feed thousands of people. And indeed that is what Jesus did. In fact, Jesus created enough food from that boy's little sack lunch that everyone was completely filled and there were still twelve baskets full of leftovers when all was said and done. 6. ANDREWS brought the young lad to JESUS and thousands were blessed as a result! Andrew Brought His Brother Peter To Jesus Andrew Brought A Young Lad To Jesus
And thirdly... III. Andrew Brought Some Gentiles To Jesus (John 12:20-26) John 12:20-26 (NKJV) 20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 1. The setting is the city of Jerusalem. Jesus had already made His Triumphal Entry into the city on Sunday. By Friday of that same week He would be crucified on Golgotha's hill. In the days between Jesus taught and performed miracles in the outer courts of the Temple---- the very courts from which He had driven out the money-changers earlier.
2. Huge crowds are pressing in around Him to hear what He has to say, preventing the Pharisees from arresting Him. Others are hoping to receive healing for various infirmities. And mixed in with that crowd of Jewish pilgrims are a number of Greeks (Gentiles) who have come to Jerusalem to worship during the Passover. 3. No doubt they had heard about the incredible miracles Jesus had performed, most notably resurrecting Lazarus from the dead in the nearby city of Bethany. 4. They desperately wanted to meet Jesus in person, but being Gentiles, they knew their chances of even getting close to Jesus were slim and none. 5. Evidently they had observed that Philip was one of Jesus' followers, so they approached him about getting a private audience with Jesus. 6. Philip didn't quite know what to do, so notice who he turns to. Verse 22 says, Philip came and told ANDREW, and in turn ANDREW and Philip told Jesus. Notice once again, it is Andrew who took the lead wanting to bring these Gentiles to Jesus just as he had done with his brother Peter and the little lad on the day Jesus fed the 5,000.
7. It is interesting that Jesus did not honor their request for a private conversation, primarily because it wasn't the proper time. He must first go to the cross and offer Himself as a sacrifice for Jews and Gentiles alike. It was through His death, burial and resurrection the door to salvation was opened to the Gentiles. 8. But this doesn't negate the fact that ANDREW was eager to bring the Gentiles to meet Jesus. He truly desired that they come to know His Messiah, His Savior! C O N C L U S I O N History tells us that after the ascension of Christ, Andrew traveled far and wide bringing people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. When Andrew was well up in years he traveled to Greece. It was there he befriended Maximilla, the wife of the Roman Proconsul Aegeas ( Eye- Gee- Us) and he led her to Christ. Aegeas became so enraged when he found his own wife had become a Christian he ordered Andrew to make sacrifices to the heathen gods of Rome. When Andrew refused he was severely beaten and thrown into prison for two days before being crucified on an X-shaped cross. During those 48 hours prior to his death, Andrew preached the gospel to all who walked past his prison cell, using his very last breath to bring people to Christ.
That was the legacy of Andrew's life...he brought people to Christ. He used his skill to easily befriend people and turned it into a powerful tool for evangelism. Today, this is still the most effective tool for evangelizing. Do you realize over 80% of the people who come to accept Christ do so through the invitation of a friend? WILL YOU BRING SOMEONE TO JESUS? If not you, who? If not now, when?