Being an Andrew
Last week we talked about John baptizing Jesus. We heard the testimony of John the Baptist, “Jesus is: the Lamb of God; the One who baptizes with fire; the Son of God . We also found out that John the Baptizer defined his role as that of a forerunner. He was a voice to prepare the way for Jesus.
Today, we discover that John the Baptist displays the ultimate aim of the forerunner when he divests himself of followers. He transfers the loyalty of his followers to Jesus. “Look the Lamb of God” John gives his disciples a new Master in Jesus.
Christian witnessing is pointing others to Jesus. And that is exactly what John does. “Look, the Lamb of God.” This transfer takes place when v37 states: “and they followed Jesus.” John accomplished his goal. He got his followers, Andrew and another person to be disciples of Jesus.
When they join Him, Jesus asks them “What do you seek?” The two disciples answer with a question: “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus’ response: “Come and see. This is an invitation for them to get to know Jesus. Come with me and you will see. Jesus calls them to a relationship, to discipleship, to be a witness to Jesus Christ. The disciples answered the call and came, and sure enough, their lives were transformed. As a result, Andrew, decides to share the good news with his brother, Simon. Immediately, he finds his brother and tells him: “We have found the Messiah.
Every time we see Andrew, he is witnessing about Jesus: here he witnesses to Simon Peter; in 6:8— he brings a boy to Jesus; in 12:22— he brings Greeks to Jesus. Andrew brought people to Jesus. While Andrew was never as popular as Peter, he was a quiet but purposeful witness. He brought many to Jesus. He was not in the spotlight. He did not receive the recognition of Peter, but he collected people for Jesus.
Being an Andrew does not involve having to go to theological seminary. Being an Andrew means getting people to know Jesus and the love of God in Jesus. Our own Dr. Sylvester Alforque is an Andrew. He is going to Ethiopia. On Jan. 27, the Dumaguete City Habitat for Humanity will have a dental mission here. They are Andrews. A Christian disciple’s job is to get people to know Jesus by sharing his love with those in need. So you could be a caring teacher like Nelia Anito. Or a loving nurse, doctor or administrator like Jim Palmore at SUMC. And you are Andrews.
All our service glorifies God and not ourselves. We do not witness to ourselves. We are witnesses of Christ.
Obviously to be an Andrew, one needs to be ready to recognize a prospect to whom we witness. There is criticism that our church does not care about prospects. No one looks after the first time worshipper and to make them feel comfortable and loved. Think about them. Is he a fellow student? An alumnus? A neighbor or co-teacher? A friend? Do you recognize a prospect to whom you will witness?
Recognize or never witness. After you identify your prospect, your task is to point them to the Sunday School, to Bible study groups, to the choir, the jail ministry, the ministry for the sick, the pastors. Your words will be simple, “come and see.” Many are searching. Your responsibility is simple: point them to Jesus. You must refer them to Jesus or to persons who know Jesus.
Programs are good, but they do not change lives. A moral lifestyle is good, but it does not change a person internally. Christian Education is good. But they do not change lives unless Jesus is introduced. If we point them to Church and fail to get them to Jesus, we have failed. If we encourage them to live a good life and fail to point them to Jesus, we have failed. If we feed the hungry but fail to get them to Jesus, we have failed. We should get people to a relationship with Jesus because Jesus changes lives.
Jesus takes Cephas and makes him Peter. Jesus takes Andrew and makes him an apostle. Jesus takes the drunkard and makes him sober. Jesus takes Mary Magdalene and makes her clean. Jesus takes the laggard and makes him active. Jesus takes the blind and makes them see. Jesus takes the unclean and makes them pure. Jesus changes lives. We need more Andrews.
We need believers who will by God’s grace, bring one person to Jesus, or witness to the love of Jesus to one person each day. Evangelism is usually one person witnessing to one person. One reaching one, one day at a time. Are you willing to be an Andrew? Without Andrew there may have never been a great Simon Peter, who preached the first Christian sermon at Pentecost which won thousands. Those thousands won hundreds of thousands and eventually millions, to Christ. Who are, by the way, long gone. Millions more today are alive and searching.
Andrew was the quiet disciple. Tradition says that Andrew went to what is now Turkey and happily ministered there, until he died on a cross. He hung on that cross for 2 days, and all the while he was preaching, trying to witness to Jesus. Let’s try to be Andrews.
(Sermon delivered Jan. 20, 2008, SU church, 10 am)
