Andrew--The Power Of An Ordinary Life

March 18, 2007

"Andrew--The Power of an Ordinary Life"

John 1:35-42

INTRODUCTION: We don’t hear much about Andrew in the scriptures, but he was the first one of the disciples that Jesus called. He lived in Bethsaida of Galilee and was a fisherman. He was a very ordinary person--more of a behind the scenes person. His brother, Peter, was the one who got all of the attention. When Andrew introduced Jesus to Peter, the focus turned to Peter instead of Andrew. Jesus immediately said, "You are Simon the son of Jonas, You will be called Cephas, a stone or a rock." Had it not been for Andrew, the behind the scenes brother, Peter may never have become the follower of Jesus.

There are several things we can learn from Andrew’s life and apply to our own:

1. Brought a Member of His Own Family to Jesus--He looked for him. He didn’t go by himself. He said, "Simon, we have found the Messiah." Andrew brought Simon Peter to Jesus. He may have had to go out of his way. Might have had to wait until Simon got off work that day.

He had courage to tell his own family members. It is easier to tell a person in China. They don’t know us. Takes more Genuine Religion to witness to your own family than it does to strangers. Why? Family members can point out our inconsistencies. "Remember when you stubbed your toe in the middle of the night and what did you say?"

Andrew was not a public person yet he was constantly working behind the scenes. He probably never did get as much credit as Peter did. He was "a living epistle...known and read of all men" (II Cor. 3:2). There is no record that Andrew ever performed a miracle but his life was a miracle of God. He lived a consistent life and was concerned about his family--he LOOKED FOR his brother Simon Peter. Peter may have been somewhere else and he had to go LOOK FOR HIM. Family members may be off somewhere doing their own thing. Do we LOOK FOR THEM to tell them about Jesus and what He has done for us? Sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t.

ILLUSTRATION: At Dwight L. Moody’s funeral his oldest son, W. R. Moody, stood up to speak. He said, "D. L. Moody won each of his own children to Jesus." That was a great accomplishment in this man’s life. He was a famous evangelist, but he WON EACH OF HIS CHILDREN. How can we win people in our own families today? Sometimes they seem to go the opposite direction no matter what we say or do.

We can live a CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN life before them

We can continue to pray for them,

We can expect the Lord to draw them to Him by His Holy Spirit. It is not the multitude of WORDS we say to people. It is our consistent living over the years.

2. Andrew Brought a Boy to the Lord--The second picture of Andrew is when we see him down by the shore. A multitude of people had gathered to hear Jesus teach and the time got away from them. The people were hungry and there was no place to buy food. It was Andrew who identified a small boy who had brought a lunch with him. He said, "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes" (John 6:9). How do you suppose Andrew knew about the boy with the lunch?

Andrew appeared to be a person who enjoyed being with people, and he was probably talking with this boy in the crowd. Again this is an example where Andrew BROUGHT HIM to Jesus.

Who do we often overlook as being TOO YOUNG, TOO INSIGNIFICANT to bring them to Jesus? We might say, "That person wouldn’t be interested." So WE WALK ON BY. Apparently Andrew had established good rapport with this boy as he was talking with him or this boy wouldn’t have been willing to let go of his lunch--all that he had. Do you know some boy or girl that you can BRING TO JESUS today? Think about it? There may be someone you are not even noticing.

STORY: Years ago there were three girls in a family that lived near us. They went to church with us. Parents used to fight and argue all the time. No Christian influence in this family. The one girl especially went to Sunday school consistently. I had lost contact with her for years and years and she is not going to church in Zanesville and has been a Sunday school teacher for years.

Andrew said, "There is a lad here..." Do we say, "So?" How can we take the next step to bring the unchurched to Jesus? to our Sunday school? to our new youth group? People say, "well, I can’t do anything. I’m not a multitalented person... I’m just an ordinary person."