Audio from Senior Pastor Vaughn Drawdy on Sunday morning October 21st, 2018.
These sermon notes are made available through the YouVersion free Bible app.
https://www.bible.com/events/500878
John 1:35-42 NIV
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).42 And he brought him to Jesus.Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
There is an exciting thrill we get when we discover something great. Facebook is full is people sharing things they’ve discovered, seen, encountered or experienced.
>a great vacation spot
>a new recipe
>a new restaurant
>a beautiful sunset
>mission trips with all the beautiful families
>newborns
>that new item you’ve wanted for a while…
We love sharing what we are excited about. We see this in the passage of John:
vs. 41: “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.”
Andrew had longed for the Messiah. He’d been taught in synagogue that the Messiah would come and end the Roman oppression. He’d learn the prophecies from Isaiah, and Jeremiah. When John the baptist come along, Andrew went with him. Looking and listening to discover the one. Then there He was, Jesus. In verse 38 and 39 we see the encounter. He’d just spent the day with Jesus and was confident that he had found him… He was so sure he had to share the news. The thrill of discovery was all over him.
There is very little the Bible tells us about Andrew but what it does tell us is this… Andrew brought people to Jesus. And like Andrew, we have a message to share.
1. FAMILY
John 1:35-42 – Family
The first thing that Andrew did after he met Jesus was tell his brother.
>Like Andrew, we have met Christ and we need to let our other family members know.
It is hard to witness to family members.
Some reasons why it is difficult (from Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry):
1. Family and friends are those who know us the best. So, many Christians refrain from spiritual conversation with them because they fear being labeled as hypocrites.
2. Family and friends are more comfortable giving Christians a sharp retort or an angry response.
3. Christians are fearful of the repercussions they may face as a result of sharing the gospel with family and friends. Unlike with a stranger who the Christian may see only once in his lifetime, a family member and friend are seen frequently. If a gospel conversation goes bad, the tension created in the ongoing relationship could become very uncomfortable.
4. Christians are fearful of doing anything to jeopardize the friendship or relationship they worked so hard to cultivate. Sadly, this mindset brings to light an inescapable truth. Many who believe they are engaged in “friendship evangelism” care about their friendships and relationships more than they care for the eternal soul of their friend or family members.
Witnessing to family members is not easy; but it is absolutely necessary. Swallow your fears and love them more than you love yourself.
>Be wise in your presentation.
>Be Honest and transparent.
>Pray in preparation and wait for the right opportunity to speak to them.
>Don’t save it all for one conversation.
>Remember who you are speaking to and who you are speaking about. (Programmed evangelism isn’t the best with family). Be aware that asking grandma if she is a Christian at the Thanksgiving table isn’t the best.
Talk with me… I’ve got a lot of good resources and encouragement to give you.
Campus Crusade for Christ Link
Here is a good source with thoughtful ideas regarding sharing the Gospel with relatives.
https://www.cru.org/us/en/blog/share-the-gospel/evangelism/how-to-talk-to-family.html
2. THE YOUNG
John 6:1-14 NIV
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
“Here is a boy…”
We may overlook this simple statement but what was going on? Andrew talked with a young boy, maybe he knew him, maybe he didn’t. What we do see is that Andrew brought him to Jesus.
>We need to do the same.
>We need to engage the young ones, the children, and get to know them… we need to bring them to Jesus.
>It’s not just the parent’s responsibility.
>Each of us driven by the love we have for God and the love we have for others, have been given a wonderful privilege of sharing God’s love with another generation.
If we don’t, what will be the result?(Most likely - Judges 2:10-15)
Judges 2:10-15 NIV
10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
The world is promoting strongly the thrill of everything except a relationship with God. We need to bring these young ones to Jesus. Encourage them, teach them and be a role model, mentor for them. They will become what is modeled before them…
3. OTHERS (OLDER, DIFFERENT - WHOEVER) - We need to bring others to Jesus
John 12:20-22 NIV
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
>Andrew was willing to bring the Greeks to Jesus even when the Greeks were not respected by Jews.
>We cannot limit the Gospel of God to our particular race, culture or convenience. It is for all people.
>We need to engage people with love of God wherever we are and be sensitive to Holy Spirits leading to talk with people about Jesus.
>Unfortunately we tend to be closed off from the potential opportunity because of fear - not knowing what to say, apathy - not caring about the need, or busy-ness- not taking the time to see the need of others.
>Slow down, listen, engage. Share God’s love in the simple ways. Most people are open to being encouraged. Look for those opportunities.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
We don’t have any great sermons from Andrew or really even know a whole lot about him. But what we do know is, he brought people to Jesus. That is quite significant.
We are called to do the same. Again, back to a very familiar passage that has been passage for us to walk out:
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Who are “those” in verse 4?
1. We must bring our family to Jesus
2. We must bring different age groups to Jesus
3. We must bring others to Jesus
We need to get excited about Jesus, who He is and what He has done for us.
Lord help us see and be excited about who we are called to be so that we will share what we’ve discovered.