Last season’s new TV reality show “The Apprentice” centering around Donald Trump was a big hit. The 58 year old Trump commands an empire of over 100 companies, billions of dollars, and some of the most illustrious buildings in the world. The newest addition to the Trump kingdom is a massive skyscraper under construction in Chicago and that project is being supervised by Bill he winner of the first season of The Apprentice.
This season began 10 days ago with a new group of business hopefuls vying for the job of a lifetime. The position: Trump is looking for the right person to come and work with him in a high level role in one of his companies. 18 candidates arrived on the scene for a 15 week job interview. They came from all over the country from all walks of life, the best and brightest of what America has to offer: attorneys, stockbrokers, executives, and entrepreneurs. Those who watch the show become acquainted with these candidates and select their own favorites while Trump decides by the process of elimination-- AKA firing candidates each week in the board room--who he will select as one of his inner circle, his leaders, his apprentice.
Almost 2000 years ago there was a 30 year old man who had more power and influence than Donald Trump could ever dream of. And he was ready to begin a three year venture of building a Kingdom here on earth that would alter the course of human history and would stand forever. How did he begin? He began with a search for a team, an inner circle. High level leaders who would take on the leadership of his Kingdom after he completed His mission here.
This morning we are going to begin a brief series in which we will get to know the “Apprentices” Jesus chose. What type of people were they? What does that tell us about the type of person God chooses today?
When I ask you to picture the disciples…which name is the first to come to your mind. Think of one. Take a poll. Just one that you thought of first.
How many:
Peter
John
Matthew
Judas Iscariot
James
How many another name? How many of you were Andrew?
Andrew is not the name that is thought of first. He is not the most famous. The most recognized. But he was the first disciple chosen by Jesus. When Jesus began His mission to proclaim the Good News that He was the Messiah sent to save the world. This was the first man He chose. So this morning we want to look at Andrew to see what we can learn about the type of person God chooses.
1. What type of Person was Andrew?
Andrew’s name gives us some indication of what type of person he was. His name in Greek literally means “Manly”. From everything we know of him he was a man’s man. He was from Galilee where he was a fisherman. He was probably in good physical shape, worked hard at fishing, it was hard physical labor. Sometimes from movies or paintings we have images of Jesus and the disciples that are very milk toast and weak. Well that is certainly not the type of person Andrew was. He was a man’s man.
Another thing we can know about Andrew is that he was very ordinary. Andrew was the first disciple chosen. But as we saw he is not the most renowned. The most extraordinary. What is Andrew most famous for? His brother. Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. There are four lists of the disciples every time Peter is listed first. It was Peter who stepped out of the boat in the storm to walk on water, it was Peter who drew the sword to protect Jesus, it was Peter who made professions of faith in a big way and Peter who denied Jesus in a big way. It was Peter who preached the first sermon in Acts when 3000 came to Christ and were baptized. Peter wrote 2 letters that we have in the Bible by his name, and he is mentioned by name 153 times in the New Testament. Peter was Extraordinary!
Andrew by contrast is only mentioned by name in 12 times in the Bible, and some of those are just the lists of disciples, he is referred to in only four main occurrences throughout all four gospels. Peter always seemed to be in the spotlight. Andrew always seemed to be in the shadows. Peter was extraordinary. Andrew was ordinary. When Jesus chose his first disciple He didn’t choose an extraordinary person. He chose a very ordinary guy.
Andrew was an ordinary guy, a man’s man who communicated a lot more by what he did than what he said. And the third thing we see is that no matter how hard his body was…his heart was soft. His heart was soft and moldable. We know that He was a follower of John the Baptist before he was a follower of Jesus. Now John the Baptist wasn’t the kind of preacher that pulled any punches. John told people the way it was. He was strong, direct and he called them to repent and be baptized in the Jordan River in preparation for the coming Messiah. And Andrew responded to John the Baptist. He repented. He was moldable.
But Andrew didn’t become rigid, or comfortable in his faith. He listened to John the Baptist’s teaching. His heart was responsive.
Luke 3:15-16,18
15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. 16John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." 18And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.
And then John baptizes Jesus and Jesus begins his earthly ministry. And then when Andrew encounters Jesus he leaves everything to follow Him. Andrew was a man’s man with a moldable heart, and he left everything to follow the greatest man who ever lived and ever molded hearts.
Are you the type of person Jesus chooses? You don’t have to be the head of the class or boardroom…you don’t have to be a great speaker or entertainer. God chooses ordinary people like Andrew. Ordinary people like you and me. Ordinary people who have hearts that are moldable. Hearts that are open to Him.
A heart that would pray like Psalm 26:2-3
2 Test me, O LORD , and try me, examine my heart and my mind;
3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
What type of person does God choose? Ordinary people like you and me whose hearts are moldable for Him.
Would you pray like that? Is your heart moldable?
2. What type of encounter did Andrew have?
We read the most detail about Andrew’s encounter with Jesus in John 1. John, another one of the more famous disciples was also from Galilee and He encountered Jesus shortly after Andrew so he writes with the most direct information about Andrew’s encounter with Jesus.
Read John 1:35-40
Andrew was one of these two disciples of John the Baptist. John had pointed to Jesus and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” So Andrew and this other unnamed, ordinary guy start following behind Jesus. Now Jesus could tell He was being followed…stops and asks, “What do you want?”
What a moment, here the encounter begins, Jesus, the promised Messiah they have waited for, is here, and they are speaking face to face and He is asking what they want…if you could ask anything what would it be???
What does Andrew say in this big moment? “Uh, uh where are you staying?” Again these words don’t grab you as the most profound question ever asked of Jesus. But here’s the thing. Jesus didn’t need to be impressed with the words, with flowery religious or intellectual language. He met Andrew right where he was and He invites them, “Come with Me and you will see”. And so Andrew walks with Jesus, talks with Jesus, spends the day with Him, encounters Him personally, and He is convinced that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah.
What about you? Are you in need of a fresh encounter with Jesus?
How do you do it? Or how does it happen? What we see here and throughout the New Testament is that there is no formula. There are no simple rituals that you have to follow to encounter Jesus. Rather encountering Jesus is a very personal experience that happens in different ways for different people.
-John the Baptist encountered Jesus when he baptized Him and witnessed the fulfillment of a promise.
-The apostle Paul encountered Jesus as a blinding light on the Road to Damascus.
-A man named Nathanael encountered Jesus when Jesus told him what he had been doing that afternoon.
Encountering Jesus may be different for every one of us according to our personalities, interests, and background. But it will always be in accordance with God’s Word the Bible.
Andrew encountered Jesus when John the Baptist pointed him to Jesus. As Andrew was drawn to Jesus his encounter with Jesus begins with Jesus’ question: “What do you want?” In other words Jesus asked Andrew as He asks you and I today: “What are you seeking?” You’ll never truly encounter Jesus until you’ve answered His first question. Andrew was physically “following Jesus” but what for? You can attend church week after week, you can serve in some capacity, you can be doing all the things “good Christians” do and still not have any answer to this first question. “What are you seeking?” “Why are you doing what you’re doing?”
Jesus didn’t want to just gain a first follower or a groupie, or to have Andrew just doing what disciples were to do but to be just going through the motions. And Andrew didn’t answer the question very eloquently… But he did express a desire to spend time with Jesus. To encounter him personally.
And when Andrew heard the voice of Jesus saying, “come with me, and you will see what you are seeking…” Andrew went. He left behind everything he knew, everything he had and He followed. And when Jesus said “Follow Me”…Andrew followed.
Jesus asked Andrew to leave behind everything, to put it all in its rightful place and put Jesus first. And He asks the same of you. He is not here in bodily form but His invitation to you is still the same: “Come with Me…Follow Me…” Jesus is still inviting you to walk and talk with Him; to sit and hear Him teach, to be in His presence as he works in your life and the lives of others around you. You may not see Him raise the dead or feed the multitudes with rolls and fish, but He is working in the lives of people you know and He invites you to be a part of that work. His invitation is simple, “Follow Me”.
Some of you recognize that there is a longing deep within your heart. You don’t hear it all the time because it gets drowned out by the constant noise of your life. You hear it from time to time, telling you that your life is not what you want it to be…
And maybe when you’ve heard that voice you’ve responded by trying to put something new in your life. You feel that void or that emptiness and you’ve tried to satisfy it with a shopping spree or a weekend getaway, or a new relationship, a new job, a new resolution, or a new hobby… And none of those things can satisfy that longing. The longing deep within your heart is for a long drink from the source of living water. It is a hungering for a taste of the bread of life. It is a calling out for you to abandon your endless pursuits so you might follow Jesus. So you might know Jesus and the power of His resurrection.
This is the type of encounter Andrew had. This is the type of encounter your heart longs for. This is the type of encounter that Jesus invites you into today.
Jeremiah 29:12-13
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Seek a fresh encounter with Jesus today!
We’ve seen the type of person Andrew was and the type of encounter he had…
3. What type of influence did Andrew have?
Picture what life was like for Andrew. In Hebrew school Peter probably always blurted out the answers and got the attention, Peter was always got the girls attention, Peter was the head of their fishing business. Andrew was always introduced as Peter’s brother. Andrew always played second fiddle to his brother. And now he has had this life transforming encounter with Jesus. For once Andrew can be first? He can have his own identity make a name for himself. But that’s not Andrew. What is the first thing he does? Jesus didn’t have to twist Andrews arm or make him feel guilty to get him to reach his brother, He didn’t have to give him a class on sharing his faith, When Andrew encountered Jesus he immediately went and got his brother.
Read John 1:41-42
Think about Peter’s response for a moment. Here you have big shot, big mouth Peter. And his brother is coming to tell him he has found the Messiah…How did Peter respond??? Peter listened when Andrew spoke! Or maybe he was bigger and he literally dragged Peter to Jesus…however it took place. It was Andrew who was able to influence Peter. When Andrew did speak, Peter listened. It was Andrew who introduced Peter to Jesus.
Without Andrew we would never have had a Peter. Think of all the influence and impact of the life of Peter. All of that was made possible because of the influence of Peter’s brother Andrew.
The first thing Andrew does is tell Peter about Jesus. Often people today think that telling others about Jesus is the last thing we can do as a Christian. With Andrew it was the most natural thing he could do. He encountered Jesus, He spent time with Jesus and he couldn’t help but tell someone about it, to bring someone else to Jesus! And this wasn’t the only time.
The next time we encounter Andrew is in John 6 in the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000. The setting is Jesus teaching on the shore of Galilee. 1,000’s have come out to hear him teach and it’s getting late and they have no food to feed everyone. What do we see Andrew doing in this account?
He is doing the same thing…bringing someone to Jesus. This time a small boy from amongst the crowd.
Read John 6:8-9
Notice how he is referred to “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother”. It is Andrew who brings the boy to Jesus. It was the boy who brought the fish and the rolls that Jesus used to miraculously feed the multitudes…
The next time we see Andrew is in John 12. The setting here is Palm Sunday, Jesus is nearing the end of His earthly ministry, it’s after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Read John 12:20-22
Notice that Philip doesn’t know what to do. And who does he go to in that moment? Peter, James or John? No Andrew. And once again Andrew brings them to Jesus.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Andrew stayed in Jerusalem and ministered there for several years. History has several references to Andrew as one of the leaders of the early church there bringing people to Jesus. Andrew later left Jerusalem and went to Southern Russia and then to Greece to preach and bring people to Jesus. He eventually was killed as a martyr for Jesus. He lived his life bringing people to Jesus and telling people about the cross that brings life, and then his life ended when he, too, was hung on a cross. And people were brought to Jesus through his death.
This was the type of influence Andrew had. And this is the type of influence you can have. You don’t have to memorize some plan. You don’t have to memorize the New Testament. You don’t have to have a license or ordination, you don’t have to have permission. All you need to do is spend time with Jesus and tell somebody about what you experience. If Jesus has met your need…Then tell somebody who has a need. If Jesus has answered your prayer…Tell somebody.
If you’ve encountered Jesus and been saved by Him…Then tell somebody. If someone brought you to Jesus…bring someone else to Him.
In 1934, Albert McMakin, a 24-year old farmer became a Christian. He was so full of enthusiasm that he filled a truck with people and took them to a meeting to hear about Jesus.
There was a good-looking farmer’s son who Albert especially wanted to get to the meeting, but this young man was difficult to persuade—he was too busy falling in and out of love with different girls. He didn’t seem too interested in Christianity.
Eventually, Albert managed to persuade him to come by asking him to drive the truck. When they arrived, Albert’s guest decided to go in and found himself “spellbound” by the teaching from the Bible. He began to have thoughts he had never known before. He went back each night to the meetings to hear more until one night he went forward and gave his life to Jesus Christ.
Since that day that young truck driver has spoken to at least 250 million people about Jesus and become the spiritual advisor to the last nine Presidents.
The young truck driver was of course, Billy Graham. There is probably not another Billy Graham in this room today. But every one of us can be an Albert McMakin. We can all talk to a friend, bring a friend to Jesus.
The Billy Grahams and the Peters become household names. They write the books and preach the sermons and bring 1000’s to Christ. But there are the ordinary people, the unknown farmer, the little known brother, who bring the Billy Grahams and the Peters to Christ. The “Peters” often get all the attention and recognition. But when Jesus went to chose His disciples it was Andrew He chose first. Everyone can’t be a Peter. We don’t all have his personality, his gifts, his flare…but everyone can be an Andrew. Everyone can encounter Jesus. Everyone can accept His invitation to follow. Everyone of us can bring people to Jesus.
