I Will Follow Him Series

1. I WILL FOLLOW HIM (JOHN 1:29-42)

Have you heard of the “The Pew Potato Prayer”? The lazy man’s prayer goes like this:

“Dear Lord, please leave me alone! Just let me sit here in my pew on Sunday.

And Lord, guard my seat, the last seat here in the back row. Please don't let anyone else try to sit here. Lord, you know that's my seat. And precious Lord please get me home quickly after the church service on Sunday, before all those church people try and recruit me to actually do something that I don't want to do.

Lord, make them understand that I'm happy and content to just show up on Sunday. Heavenly Father, thank you for hearing my prayer but I've got to go - kickoff to the football game is only a minute away. You understand Lord. Thanks God for putting some great games on this week, and thank you for that all-sports cable channel.

See you next Sunday, Lord. Amen.”

At the onset of his ministry Jesus chose carefully and wisely twelve energetic and enthusiastic apostles and spent three years of his life with them. In fact, He spent more time with them than with unbelievers, and trained them more than he taught others. After training them, he passed the baton of the gospel and the leadership of the church to them. They were strong and weak, ordinary and extraordinary, courageous and cowardly, learners and leaders, imperfect men perfected for the job God entrusted to them. They had different backgrounds, personalities and journey.

Almost forgotten to readers due the coverage given to the inner group of three – Peter, John and James, is that the first apostle mentioned in the Bible is the exemplary, energetic and evangelistic Andrew. Jesus chose him first because he was a religious, receptive, reliable, resourceful and respected person, the kind of person that would make a good mentor, friend and brother to others.

What kind of followers is Jesus seeking? What does He expect of them? How does His plan of reaching, saving and changing the world involve us?

Learn to be a Courageous Witness

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29-34)

Charlie Whittington, the owner of a service station in Texas has an unique and interesting way of witnessing. If customers can quote John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”), they will get a discount on their oil change. The owner advertised a coupon for a discounted $19.99 oil change instead of $46 if the customer could quote a well-known scripture from the Bible, but not everybody is happy with this deal. Some customers felt uncomfortable being forced to quote the scripture for a discount.

The store owner stood by what he was asking customers to do for a deal. “If I’m standing for what I believe, so be it,” he said. “Bring it on.” Whittington said he did it as a conversation starter in an effort to talk to people about what he believes. “It’s one thing about America,” he said. “You can go and do what you want. I’m not making you do anything and I’m tired of people making me do something.” The state attorney general says he did not see any discrimination laws being violated.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/09/28/for-god-so-loved-the-world-for-a-19-99-oil-change/

Of the twelve apostles, Jesus chose as his first the best and finest listener of all. Also, Andrew was the most religious apostle because he had been listening to Jesus’ forerunner for a long time. No wonder Jesus chose him as the first disciple. Besides his day job as a fisherman (Matt 4:18), he was a disciple of John (v 35). Only a person like Andrew, who appreciated John’s teachings, could understand and grasp who Jesus was and why He came.

Why did Andrew initially follow John the Baptist? Andrew followed John because he believed in John’s testimony and the Messiah’s coming. John was the original and foremost witness. The verb “testify” (vv 32, 34) distinguishes the book of John from other gospels and books. It is not found in Mark, listed once in Matthew (Matt 23:31) and Luke (Luke 4:22), but occurs an astonishing 33 times in John, more than any New Testament book, of which an unsurpassed ten instances refer to John testifying (martureo) to Jesus (John 1:7, 1:8, 1:15, 1:32, 1:34, 3:32, 5:32*2, 5:33). John was the most ardent and aggressive of all people in the Bible to witness to Jesus. The verb “witness” (martureo) in Greek is derived from the noun “martyr” (martus). As you can see, John testified in life and death, by his life and death. Most readers associate John the Baptist with the “voice of one crying in the wilderness,” (Matt 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23), but the truth is that there is more record of him testifying or witnessing than the four instances of him crying or shouting in the wilderness. Crying or shouting was replaced by testifying when Jesus came. Crying was short-lived, but testifying is for life. Bear witness implies the person is alive, the event is present, and the waiting is over. The purpose of John’s life, as evidenced by the first appearance of the subjunctive (hina subjunctive) before Jesus came, was to testify concerning that light, so that through Him all might believe. (John 1:7). John’s purpose (hina) now at Jesus appearance was to reveal Him (v 31).