He first finds his own brother
Bible Text: St John i. 41. St John i. 35 – 48
News is for sharing. In 1965 I came over from Scotland to Canada to work in summer mission. I was appointed to Lake Ainslie pastoral charge. I was amazed that everyone around the lake had telephones. In my home village I doubt if more that 3 or 4 people on our street of 40 houses had telephones. I was further amazed that while in Scotland we each had a private line, the people around the lake shared in two or three lines and that each conversation was quite public. Most people had a chair near the phone and they listened in to the conversation. It seemed that news and information – no matter how intimated or sensitive was for sharing ..
Our New Testament lesson this morning is all about sharing the new – the good news of the Gospel.
St. John i:35 – 48 ………
This was big news – Andrew had found the Messiah…..
Philip had found the Messiah ……
No doubts – Andrew knew. So did Philip….
What did they do?
Keep it to themselves and rejoice in their good fortune at having found the Messiah? And when they asked the Messiah where he was staying, He said to them “come and see.” They went with Him and saw where He was staying.
Now what did they do? Well, we know what Andrew did – he went and found his brother and said the same words to Simon as Jesus had said to him: “ we have found the Messiah, come and see .”
The story is repeated the following day when Jesus met Philip and said “follow me.” Philip found Nathaniel – a rabbinical student – we know this because they would use the shade of the fig tree to sit and study and mediate and pray. Nathaniel was skeptical when Philip said “ we have found the Messiah and replied sarcastically “can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip Andrew, Simon and Philip all came from Bethsaida. Like Andrew, Philip went to his friend Nathaniel and said “we have found the Messiah, come and see.”
If we want a micro course in evangelism without all the bells and whistles, here it is: three words “come and see.”
Andrew said it to Peter and Peter came to see.
Philip said it to Nathaniel and Nathaniel came to see.
Basically, these are the two things which have characterized the growth of the Christian church down through the years the invitation to come and to see.
The first is a confession of faith …………………… Jesus said ‘if ye confess me before men I will confess you before my father which is in heaven.’ (St Mat. x. 32)…………….
Andrew confessed his faith to his brother Peter. Philip told Nathaniel ….
It is laid upon us today to tell others where we stand. To acknowledge that we have a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Was Andrew a Christian at this point? Or Philip?
Nobody was called a Christian at that time – but that is what they were and became: followers of Jesus.
That is what we are by our response to our calling. The question is have we you told others about your faith recently?
What did they say? How did they do it?
They said “we have found the Messiah, come and see.”
St John i. 41. He first finds his own brother. St John i. 35 -48
It is not a disease…nothing to be ashamed of… But it should be contagious.
It is a distinction – to be called by the Name of Jesus.
Today we must praise the Name of the Lord for all who have professed Christ and who are still professing him.
Some of them hold exalted positions.
Some of them are in the public eye.
Most of them are like you and me – very ordinary.
But we can still use the evangelistic technique. We can used the words of Jesus, of Andrew and of Philip: come and see. Perhaps they will come. Perhaps they will not. But you tried.
Secondly Philip brought Nathaniel to Jesus, . Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus.
It is never enough just to tell others. If the news is so great, if our love is so genuine then we will want to bring others – if they will come – that they too might share the blessing.
Andrew was always bringing people to Jesus. Three times we are told that he brought people to Jesus.
First, Andrew brought his own brother to Jesus. He did not know the impact Peter would have in spreading the Gospel – his preaching on the days of Pentecost, his missionary travels, his writing. What if he had not shared the good news?
In John 6, Andrew brings to Jesus the boy with the five loaves and two fish. What on earth would Jesus do with 5 loaves and two fish when faced with multitude of hungry people? We are no required to be successful – only faithful ….
And in chapter 12, we find Andrew bringing to Jesus the enquiring Greeks who wanted to meet Him and visit with Him. Who know what seed they planted in Corinth and Philippi and Colosse and Thessalonica
Andrew’s greatest joy was sharing the good news of Christ
and bringing others into the presence of Christ. Having found Jesus, he could not sit still, he could not help it. He had to share Christ with others.
Here is the greatest thing in the world….
Here is the most important event in history…..
Here is the most important person to have walked on earth
Here is the one who can do for you what no one else can do.
Is it not right to tell others?
Is it not right to bring others?
Throughout Jesus ministry people brought others to Him – relatives, friends -4 men with their friend on a stretcher, breaking down the roof.
The centurion coming to intercede for his servant…
The father with the epileptic child…
It is never enough just to tell others. We must go all the way and bring them and show them – here is Jesus.
Taste and see that the Lord is good….
The other and often forgotten point is that we do not know the effect of bringing others to Jesus.
The initial effect is either to accept or to reject him.
St John i. 41. He first finds his own brother. St John i. 35 -48
But what happens afterwards?
The man who rejects Jesus will have one of two things happen to him.
a) His heart will get progressively harder…. There will be bitterness and antagonism…. or
He will feel the prompting of the spirit and have no peace until he has his peace in Jesus.
The wonderful thing is that God in Jesus calls all sorts of people into His kingdom. It is not just the beautiful, the wealthy, the intelligent, the socialites. Most are like Andrew and Peter and Philips and Nathaniel.
It is our task to see that they are welcomed and encouraged. You do not know what God cane to when they have come to see and find a loving caring fellowship of men and women welcoming them. It is regretable that many congregations are not welcoming and visitors are regarded with suspicion.
The early church was characterized by love….. Perhaps today it should be said of the church not ‘see how they love one another’. But ‘see how they love themselves.’
There is a whole world in need of hearing the Gospel…
Gary Inrig in “Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay” tells the following story:
In May 1855, an eighteen-year-old boy went to the deacons of the church in Boston. He had been raised in a Unitarian church, in almost total ignorance of the gospel. He had moved Boston to make his fortune and began to attend church. Then, in April of 1855, his Sunday school teacher went to the store where he was working and shared the Gospel and urged the young
man to trust in the Lord Jesus. He did, and now he was applying to join the church. One fact quickly became obvious. This young man was almost totally ignorant of biblical truth.
The deacons decided to put him on a year-long instruction program to teach him basic Christian truths. Perhaps they wanted to work on some of his other rough spots as well.
Not only was he ignorant of the Scriptures but he was only barely literate. The year-long probation did not help very much. At his second interview, since it was obvious that he was a sincere and committed (if ignorant) Christian, they accepted him as a church member.
Years later his Sunday school teacher said of him: “I can truly say that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday school class…. He seemed more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of gospel truth, still less to fill any space of public or extended usefulness.”
Many people agreed and were convinced that God would never use him. In doing so they wrote off Dwight L. Moody. But God did not. By God’s infinite grace and persevering love, Moody was transformed into one of the most effective servants of God in church history, a man whose impact is still with us today.
The mission of the church today is to tell others to bring others.
You can make it as complicated as you like. But it is really quite simple.
Andrew’s message conveyed the conviction “I have found the Messiah.”
His message was simple: “Come and see.”
Here is the strategy for evangelizing our community, our world.
COME AND SEE.
And when they come to see, make sure that you welcome them in the Name of Jesus.
. He first finds his own brother. St John i. 35 – 48
News is for sharing. In 1965 I came over from Scotland to Canada to work in summer mission. I was appointed to Lake Ainslie pastoral charge. I was amazed that everyone around the lake had telephones. In my home village I doubt if more that 3 or 4 people on our street of 40 houses had telephones. I was further amazed that while in Scotland we each had a private line, the people around the lake shared in two or three lines and that each conversation was quite public. Most people had a chair near the phone and they listened in to the conversation. It seemed that news and information – no matter how intimated or sensitive was for sharing ..
Our New Testament lesson this morning is all about sharing the new – the good news of the Gospel.
St. John i:35 – 48 ………
This was big news – Andrew had found the Messiah…..
Philip had found the Messiah ……
No doubts – Andrew knew. So did Philip….
What did they do?
Keep it to themselves and rejoice in their good fortune at having found the Messiah? And when they asked the Messiah where he was staying, He said to them “come and see.” They went with Him and saw where He was staying.
Now what did they do? Well, we know what Andrew did – he went and found his brother and said the same words to Simon as Jesus had said to him: “ we have found the Messiah, come and see .”
The story is repeated the following day when Jesus met Philip and said “follow me.” Philip found Nathaniel – a rabbinical student – we know this because they would use the shade of the fig tree to sit and study and mediate and pray. Nathaniel was skeptical when Philip said “ we have found the Messiah and replied sarcastically “can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip Andrew, Simon and Philip all came from Bethsaida. Like Andrew, Philip went to his friend Nathaniel and said “we have found the Messiah, come and see.”
If we want a micro course in evangelism without all the bells and whistles, here it is: three words “come and see.”
Andrew said it to Peter and Peter came to see.
Philip said it to Nathaniel and Nathaniel came to see.
Basically, these are the two things which have characterized the growth of the Christian church down through the years the invitation to come and to see.
The first is a confession of faith …………………… Jesus said ‘if ye confess me before men I will confess you before my father which is in heaven.’ (St Mat. x. 32)…………….
Andrew confessed his faith to his brother Peter. Philip told Nathaniel ….
It is laid upon us today to tell others where we stand. To acknowledge that we have a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Was Andrew a Christian at this point? Or Philip?
Nobody was called a Christian at that time – but that is what they were and became: followers of Jesus.
That is what we are by our response to our calling. The question is have we you told others about your faith recently?
What did they say? How did they do it?
They said “we have found the Messiah, come and see.”
St John i. 41. He first finds his own brother. St John i. 35 -48
It is not a disease…nothing to be ashamed of… But it should be contagious.
It is a distinction – to be called by the Name of Jesus.
Today we must praise the Name of the Lord for all who have professed Christ and who are still professing him.
Some of them hold exalted positions.
Some of them are in the public eye.
Most of them are like you and me – very ordinary.
But we can still use the evangelistic technique. We can used the words of Jesus, of Andrew and of Philip: come and see. Perhaps they will come. Perhaps they will not. But you tried.
Secondly Philip brought Nathaniel to Jesus, . Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus.
It is never enough just to tell others. If the news is so great, if our love is so genuine then we will want to bring others – if they will come – that they too might share the blessing.
Andrew was always bringing people to Jesus. Three times we are told that he brought people to Jesus.
First, Andrew brought his own brother to Jesus. He did not know the impact Peter would have in spreading the Gospel – his preaching on the days of Pentecost, his missionary travels, his writing. What if he had not shared the good news?
In John 6, Andrew brings to Jesus the boy with the five loaves and two fish. What on earth would Jesus do with 5 loaves and two fish when faced with multitude of hungry people? We are no required to be successful – only faithful ….
And in chapter 12, we find Andrew bringing to Jesus the enquiring Greeks who wanted to meet Him and visit with Him. Who know what seed they planted in Corinth and Philippi and Colosse and Thessalonica
Andrew’s greatest joy was sharing the good news of Christ
and bringing others into the presence of Christ. Having found Jesus, he could not sit still, he could not help it. He had to share Christ with others.
Here is the greatest thing in the world….
Here is the most important event in history…..
Here is the most important person to have walked on earth
Here is the one who can do for you what no one else can do.
Is it not right to tell others?
Is it not right to bring others?
Throughout Jesus ministry people brought others to Him – relatives, friends -4 men with their friend on a stretcher, breaking down the roof.
The centurion coming to intercede for his servant…
The father with the epileptic child…
It is never enough just to tell others. We must go all the way and bring them and show them – here is Jesus.
Taste and see that the Lord is good….
The other and often forgotten point is that we do not know the effect of bringing others to Jesus.
The initial effect is either to accept or to reject him.
St John i. 41. He first finds his own brother. St John i. 35 -48
But what happens afterwards?
The man who rejects Jesus will have one of two things happen to him.
a) His heart will get progressively harder…. There will be bitterness and antagonism…. or
He will feel the prompting of the spirit and have no peace until he has his peace in Jesus.
The wonderful thing is that God in Jesus calls all sorts of people into His kingdom. It is not just the beautiful, the wealthy, the intelligent, the socialites. Most are like Andrew and Peter and Philips and Nathaniel.
It is our task to see that they are welcomed and encouraged. You do not know what God cane to when they have come to see and find a loving caring fellowship of men and women welcoming them. It is regretable that many congregations are not welcoming and visitors are regarded with suspicion.
The early church was characterized by love….. Perhaps today it should be said of the church not ‘see how they love one another’. But ‘see how they love themselves.’
There is a whole world in need of hearing the Gospel…
Gary Inrig in “Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay” tells the following story:
In May 1855, an eighteen-year-old boy went to the deacons of the church in Boston. He had been raised in a Unitarian church, in almost total ignorance of the gospel. He had moved Boston to make his fortune and began to attend church. Then, in April of 1855, his Sunday school teacher went to the store where he was working and shared the Gospel and urged the young
man to trust in the Lord Jesus. He did, and now he was applying to join the church. One fact quickly became obvious. This young man was almost totally ignorant of biblical truth.
The deacons decided to put him on a year-long instruction program to teach him basic Christian truths. Perhaps they wanted to work on some of his other rough spots as well.
Not only was he ignorant of the Scriptures but he was only barely literate. The year-long probation did not help very much. At his second interview, since it was obvious that he was a sincere and committed (if ignorant) Christian, they accepted him as a church member.
Years later his Sunday school teacher said of him: “I can truly say that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday school class…. He seemed more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of gospel truth, still less to fill any space of public or extended usefulness.”
Many people agreed and were convinced that God would never use him. In doing so they wrote off Dwight L. Moody. But God did not. By God’s infinite grace and persevering love, Moody was transformed into one of the most effective servants of God in church history, a man whose impact is still with us today.
The mission of the church today is to tell others to bring others.
You can make it as complicated as you like. But it is really quite simple.
Andrew’s message conveyed the conviction “I have found the Messiah.”
His message was simple: “Come and see.”
Here is the strategy for evangelizing our community, our world.
COME AND SEE.
And when they come to see, make sure that you welcome them in the Name of Jesus.