Lead Others to the Lamb: John 1:40-42
Please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 1. Two weeks ago our message was to “Look at the Lamb”, last week it was “Live with the Lamb” and today it is called “Lead others to the Lamb.” Next week is the last in this series and it is called “Life Transformed by the Lamb.” All of this comes from John chapter 1 starting with verse 29 and going through verse 42.
I want to begin this morning by asking us to think about an answer to this question: what is the main ingredient to having an effective ministry? What is the main thing in a ministry that is being used by God; that is, where people are repenting of sin, turning to the Lord, where people are beginning to love their Bibles and to love each other. In other words, what is the main thing that makes a ministry fruitful? Or let me make the question a little more personal, and ask it this way: what would make you and I effective in leading other people to Jesus Christ? How can we lead others to Jesus and have them actually follow Him?
May I suggest to you that the answer is somewhat simple? You see, the greatest ministries ever, the most effective evangelists ever are simply people who spend time with Jesus. They are those who get in His presence and experience His forgiveness and discover His power. And out of the overflow of simply being with Jesus, spending time with Him, learning of Him, fellowshipping with Him, ministry is born, people are led to Christ, and lives are changed for the kingdom of God.
Last week we saw from John chapter 1 that two disciples of John the Baptist began following Jesus, and that they wanted to spend time with the Lamb of God. They wanted to find out where he was staying, and they followed Him and the Bible says, “they spent the day with Him.” But what happened immediately after they spent the day with Him? Let’s look and see:
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 spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. 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). John 1:35-42 (NIV)
Well I love to read the biographies of great Christians, people whom God really used, people like Charles Spurgeon who turned all of England upside down with his preaching, or George Mueller who raised up Christian orphanages and cared for hundreds of children without ever asking anyone for money, or Amy Carmichael who rescued numerous little girls from prostitution in India and became famous throughout the world for her love of Jesus and her ministry to His people. And as I’m reading, I ask myself, “what makes these people so fruitful in their ministry?” Is it possible to boil their lives down to a main ingredient as to how they are used so greatly of God?
Well I think I’ve read enough of these biographies that I’ve seen a common thread running throughout most of them. This common theme, the thing which makes these people so fruitful in their ministries, so effective in their service, is simply this: they live with the Lamb. Day by day, moment by moment, they are in the presence of Jesus. Whether they are alone or ministering to hundreds, they are seeking God’s presence. Whether they are healthy or on their sick beds, they are cultivating the presence and power of God. They are simply people who make it their business to be with Jesus. And He gives them their ministry, and He enables them to be useful in it. And this is the pattern of fruitful ministry all through the ages: people spend time with Jesus, He gives them a ministry, and makes them fruitful in it.
Let me read to you what Charles Spurgeon says about his ministry. Remember, God used this man to change the world. He says this: “People ask me what the key is to effective ministry, and I usually shock them when I tell them I do not know. What I do know is that I love to be with Jesus, that ‘better is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere”, and it seems to me that the more I am with Jesus the more effective is my ministry.”
In John chapter 1 what you see is two disciples spending time with Jesus. They go to where He is staying and they spend the day with Him. They live with the Lamb. And out of the overflow of that time spent with Him, they immediately go and bring someone else to Jesus. Look at verse 41. It says, “the first thing Andrew did was to bring his brother to Jesus.” Living with the Lamb enables us to lead others to the Lamb. Spending time with Jesus makes it so that our hearts burn with desire to lead others to Him. And so all true ministry is born out of people simply getting into the presence of Christ and by being with Him they want others to be with Him.
Let me show you a biblical example of this. Turn to Acts 4, and I want us to notice a very fruitful ministry. And by the way, fruitful ministries always have two very important elements: the first is that people are being reached; that is, lives are being changed, people are turning away from sin and believing the good news of forgiveness. The second element that is always in ministries that are effective for the kingdom of God, is opposition. Let’s notice these two in Acts 4 with the ministries of Peter and John:
1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
Wow, what an effective ministry. They’re preaching about Jesus, they’re teaching the people of their forgiveness of sins by the death of Jesus, and they’re proclaiming that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, as He said He would, as the entire Old Testament says He would. And people are believing. They are turning from their sins and embracing Christ. 5,000 of them. Wow! But there is opposition. A little band forms against them. The priests and other religious leaders begin to oppose them, and they have them put in jail. Fruitfulness and opposition always go hand in hand.
5 The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?" (they are referring to what happened in chapter 3 when Peter healed a crippled beggar. Now I love what Peter does next:)
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple (don’t you love that? Let me get this straight, “you put me in jail for being kind to an old man? I’m being called into account for healing a cripple?”)
10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He—Jesus-- is "’the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone’. 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:1-13 (NIV)
Question: what was it that enabled Peter to have such an effective ministry? How was Peter able to lead 5,000 people to Jesus, to heal the sick and to boldly rebuke unbelievers? “…they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Living with the Lamb enables us to lead others to the Lamb.
And so Peter’s ministry of healing the sick and of preaching the gospel and enjoying the fruit of 5,000 new believers, came as Peter simply was with Jesus. Ministry is born and ministry is made effective as people are simply with Jesus.
And now I just want to give you 3 points that come out of this passage:
Point 1: True ministry is active. It is looking for others. Andrew found his brother, Simon. “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon…” John 1:41 (NIV) Well if he found his brother, it implies that he went looking for him. He was searching for his brother. Spending time with Jesus results in people looking for other people with whom to share the good news. True ministry is active, it enables us to go outside of ourselves and actively look. Andrew found his brother because he was looking for him.
Point 2: True ministry is Christ-centered. Andrew told his brother about Jesus. Verse 41 says, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). John 1:41 (NIV) Listen, there are lots of things we could tell people about in ministry, and we do. We do want to teach about repentance and baptism, about being filled with the Holy Spirit, about the immense value of prayer. We want to teach about election and predestination, but never should we preach or teach or disciple without everything flowing out of and pointing back to Jesus Christ. Andrew told his brother about Jesus. True ministry is always about Christ; Who He is, what He has done for us at the cross, how He rose from the dead, how He is praying for us right now, and how He will come back and get us.
Andrew said “we’ve found the Messiah”, it was a message of exultation, of celebration. We’ve found Him. We’ve found that Pearl of great Price, we’ve found the True Treasure. Look with me at 2 Kings 7 and I want to show you an Old Testament example of what Andrew did. In 2 Kings 7 there is a severe famine throughout the whole land, and let’s pick up the story in 2 Kings 7 verse 3: 3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, ’We’ll go into the city’--the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die." 5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" 7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. 8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. 9 Then they said to each other, "We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace." 2 Kings 7:3-9 (NIV)
So here were these lepers, these outcasts, these unclean men, and they are the ones that found the food, the silver and gold, and the clothing. And they said, we’re not doing right, this is a day of good news and we’re keeping it to ourselves, and they went and told everybody. We’ve found food, we’ve found silver and gold and clothing. That’s the attitude that Andrew has.
You can imagine Andrew in John chapter 1. He spends the day with Jesus and he might say to himself, I’m not doing right, keeping this Lamb to myself, this is a day of good news, the Lamb takes away my sin, and I’m keeping it to myself? Let’s go and tell. And he goes to his brother and tells the good news.
I want to apply this to us today. Today is a day of the gospel, the good news of forgiveness of our sins in Jesus, the good news of the removal of all our guilt, the good news of there being no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, the good news of heaven purchased for us. We lepers have found the Bread of Life, we have found the Treasure of gold and silver, we have found Him Who clothes us in righteousness, and we’re not doing right to keep Him to ourselves, let’s go and tell others. Andrew said, “We’ve found the Messiah” because He wanted to tell somebody about Jesus. True ministry is Christ-centered.
And I want you to notice something else about this second point. Do you know the only thing that was known of Jesus Christ up to this point in time? It was that He was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. That was what was known about Jesus. How, then, did Andrew know He was the Messiah? Think about this. Andrew knew his Old Testament, he knew Isaiah 53:7 was about the Messiah, it said “Like a Lamb led to the slaughter is silent, so He did not open His mouth” and he connected the Lamb of the Old Testament with the promised Messiah.
Ah, that’s the way to minister. Connect everything in the Old Testament with Jesus. Jesus is the Lamb of God. Jesus is the Ark of safety, Jesus is the smitten Rock, Jesus is the Manna from heaven, Jesus is the city of Refuge, Jesus is the Temple of worship, Jesus is our Adam Who was put into the deep sleep of death and had His side opened that He might have a bride, Jesus is the uplifted serpent on a pole, dying to heal us of the snakebite of sin, Jesus is our Jubilee where the debt of sin is cancelled and slaves to sin are set free, Jesus is our Jonah, thrown into the deep waters of sin to save the lives of others, Jesus is our Solomon, our King robed in glory who is passionate about his bride, and writes her love-songs. True ministry is Christ-centered. It is just telling people about Jesus.
Point 3: True ministry has a goal. Verse 42 says, And he brought him to Jesus. John 1:42 (NIV) The goal of true ministry is to bring people to Jesus because without Jesus people have no hope. Without Jesus people have no life. Without Jesus people have no eternity. Warning: if you spend time with Jesus you are going to want to lead others to Jesus.
Now, let me apply all this to us for just a minute: let me share my excitement about this with you for just a moment. Do you know what is going to happen with somebody sitting right here this morning? I don’t know who, but I know it will be somebody. Somebody is going to understand, maybe for the first time, that living with the Lamb is where it’s at. Being with Jesus is addictive. And you are going to turn away from video games or shows, you are going to turn away from sports events, and you are going to go get alone with Jesus. And you don’t even care if people think you’re nuts, you are enjoying this Book, and you begin to love to pray, you will pray for hours and not even know it. And you know what is exciting? As you are with Jesus like this, He is going to put a burden on your heart for a ministry, He is. He is going to put a thought in your mind that you will literally not be able to stop thinking about. Go tell your brother. Go tell your friend. Go start this ministry.
And I know how this goes, you start thinking of ways to implement this vision which is burning a hole in your heart and mind, and you’re going to start putting things together, and talking with others about it. And 20 years down the road your ministry has grown world-wide and God has used you like Charles Spurgeon, or Dwight Moody or George Mueller or Amy Carmichael. Why? Why has He chosen to use the likes of you in a world wide ministry? Because you’ve been with Jesus.
And you say, “wait a minute, I’m a woman or a young girl, my dream is stay home and raise my children, that’s not a world-wide ministry.” Oh yeah? Please don’t tell that to Mrs. Judson, mother of Hiram Judson, missionary to China who turned all of China upside down. Or to Mrs. Newton who prayed daily, hourly for her son John until she died when he was 7, and he went on to write Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound. Moms, spend time with Jesus, and pray for your children, ask God to call them to Himself so that they would be with Jesus, so that they would live with the Lamb, and then watch out, because people who spend time with Jesus become bold as a lion and as gracious as the Lion, and God uses them to ignite hearts for Himself and to turn sinners from the error of their ways and to change the world.
Oh yes, I firmly believe that right out of this congregation of believers God will forgive somebody of their sins, and will then call them to be with Him and to spread a passion for His Name that circles the globe. You watch! It might be with 1 of the 7 that are being baptized today. And if you see them reading their Bibles, or praying to God, or you see they really desire to go to church (in spite of the preacher) you watch out. God has His hand on them.
You know that it has been on our hearts to start a gospel ministry here in this area, and we had been praying about this for a long time, and God just opened up a way for it to all fall together and Ohio Valley Church was born. Well it is on our hearts to see revival come, to see people turn to the Lord, confess their sins, and experience new life in Christ. So because of that we pray, long and hard, and we preach our hearts out, and we put up interactive courses up on the Ohio Valley Church website, and these courses go with the sermon each week. They are for people who want more, who want to remember their time at church and reinforce what they learned. Well guess what. We had a gentleman enroll in our study in John last week and I responded to him. He mentions how much Setting Captives Free, our sister ministry had meant to him, and then he wrote this note back:
“I live half way across the globe, in Mumbai, India, otherwise I would definitely be part of Ohio Valley Church. Pastor Mike I would like to share my story with you, but only if you don’t mind. And would you be a friend to me please? It would make a difference to my life. I will wait for your reply.
In Him ....and somehow in a very strange manner, whiter than snow, through Him,
Anand from India”
Now, you know what my plans are; they are to get to know this man, to be-friend him, to encourage his growth in the Lord, and to discuss planting a sister church in India, called Ohio Valley Church East. And we’ll begin to see this little church grow and spread. Because that is what happens when people spend time with Jesus, ministry happens! And maybe some day someone sitting right here in this room will travel to our church plant and minister the gospel to the nation of India.
And all of this because people who live with the Lamb want to lead others to the Lamb.
