SHARING THE GLORY
Text: John 1:40-42
As someone has said, “God did not save you to be a sensation; He saved you to be a servant”. (James S. Hewett. ed. Illustrations Unlimited. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers,1988, p, 452). A sensation leaves an impression, but a servant leaves a legacy. With that we have to ask what will be our legacy that will live on in the fruit of our work?
Consider the twelve disciples. Each of them left a legacy about how they served. They planted seeds for the Gospel. Could we be here today, if it had not been for their fruit? When you think of the disciples who do you think of first? Some would say Peter. Others might some of the names of the other disciples. How many would say Andrew? Did Andrew live in the shadow of his brother Peter? The point is that God had a purpose for each of them to serve. The way we serve matters!
Today, we will be installing our officers in the church. You do not have to have an office in the leadership positions of the church to serve the Lord. All of us have been called to serve as Jesus’s disciples by taking up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Andrew did not mind taking second place. Normally, we think of the ones who are the stars of show when something happens don’t we? In the world people shine by striving for the limelight. In the kingdom of God, we shine by serving others! We live in a world where everyone seems to take pride in being the best or the most popular or both. For some the motto is "There are no points for second best”. The motto of disciples should be to do our best by shining for Jesus.
Andrew was not consumed by a spirit of "selfish ambition". There is nothing wrong with having ambition. What happens when we get consumed by selfish- ambition? Consider Lucifer’s story. The name Lucifer means carrier of light. Lucifer, before his fall became consumed with "selfish ambition" as he started withholding glory for himself that belonged to God. As the story goes, Lucifer and the angels who followed him were cast out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-21, Revelation 12:9) . Ambition becomes "selfish ambition" when it is self-seeking or self- serving.
Do we always see the opportunities when they come our way? Isn’t our service in discipleship an opportunity? As someone has said, “The right opportunity is always a gift. The problem is to see it.” (Kingsley Bond. Creative Witness. Nashville: Tidings, 1967, p. 17). How often have we missed opportunities? How many times have we squandered the gift of the right opportunities that were given to us?
Aside from selfish –ambition what is one of the other worst enemies of discipleship? Did your answer have anything to do with procrastination? There is a classic story about procrastination and it goes like this. An American eagle was flying high over the Niagara River on a cold and wintry day, spotting the carcass of a dead young bull floating down river. "What a great feast!" He continued to eat. He decided that he would let go at the last minute. Not long after that he was approaching the falls. He tried to fly away. However, he was in for a rude awakening when he found that his feet were frozen to the carcass. In the end, he fell with the carcass. (Paraphrased: Chaplain Forest D. Davies. Biblical Prisoners. Duluth: Priory Books, 1988, pp. 1-2). If priorities have enemies and they do, then we could say that procrastination is perhaps one of the worst enemies of priorities!
Has procrastination ever paid off? Does what we do as disciples today matter for those who come after us? We would all answer that question with an emphatic “yes” wouldn’t we? The story is told of a doctor who called in a patient to tell him the bad news. He told the patient I have bad news and then worse news. As the man sat on pins and needles he said, please tell me the bad news. He said to his patient, “You only have twenty-four hours to live.” The man jumped up stunned and protested. “How can I have time to get my affairs in order in so short a time?” Then he asked, “What could be worse news than that?” The doctor answered, “The worst news is that I was supposed to tell you yesterday but I forgot.” (James S. Hewett. ed. [paraphrased]. Illustrations Unlimited. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988, pp. 477- 478). I think you see the point. Both what we do in our discipleship and our responsibilities as officers of the church matters!
HUMBLE SERVICE
Andrew was known to introduce others to Jesus. There are three occasions of these introductions.
1) It was Andrew who introduced his brother Simon- Peter to Jesus (John 1:41). Andrew and John were at first disciples of John the Baptist. But, it was Andrew who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus. Arthur John Gossip notes that "Peter was our Lord's closest friend, and it was Andrew who gave Christ that signal gift". (George Buttrick ed. The Interpreter's Bible. Volume 8. Arthur John Gossip. "Exposition: The Gospel Of John." Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988, p. 487).
2) In John 6:8,9 Andrew introduced the boy with the five loaves and the two fish." 3) Andrew and Philip told Jesus about the crowd of Greeks that wanted to see Jesus (John 12:20-22).
Andrew was not one of the inner circle of the disciples. Peter, James and John were with Jesus on three notable occasions. When Jesus healed Jairus's daughter, when he went up on the Mount of transfiguration, when he underwent His temptation in Gethsemane. But, in all of that Andrew remained consistently humble and loyal even though even if he was by the world's standards, "second best". Anybody who knows Jesus Christ as their personal Lord Savior is a winner regardless of his/her social class, education or nationality. It seems that Andrew was one of those who loved to serve behind the scenes.
SHARING THE GLORY
Can glory be a trap as well as a goal? We would have to answer that question by qualifying who is the object of the glory, us or Jesus Christ! That explains why we need to make the necessary changes. As someone (Norman Shawchuck & Roger Heuser) said: “If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed”. (Norman Shawchuck & Roger Heuser. Leading The Congregation. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993, p. 79). What would have happened to these disciples if they had not made the necessary changes?
There are four lessons that we can learn from the life of St. Andrew.
1) "It is only in true discipleship that rest can be found".
2) We do not have to be the best and most popular to serve Jesus. "Although Peter was the spiritual father of the Pentecost converts, but Andrew was the spiritual grandfather".
3) "We must discover our own gift and the gift in others and guide such into the right channels of service".
4) "If we are Christ's ours will be the passion to lead others to him". (Herbert Lockyer. All The Men Of The Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958, pp. 49-50).
We can determine where we are in these four lessons by looking at where we are in our faith. What is the object of our faith? Is our faith in ourselves? Is our faith in our accomplishments? Is our faith in our position of leadership? Or, is our faith in Christ? Just as we are saved and justified by faith in Jesus Christ, so we must walk by faith in Jesus Christ. What will our legacy be for those who come after us? In the name of the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit. Amen.
