A Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon # 4
“The Requirements of Following Jesus!”
John 1:35-42
When it comes to sharing our faith, two things are true of us. First, we all desire to see our friends and loved ones come to know Jesus. The second is that we all feel somewhat at a loss about going about doing anything to see that happen. Bill Bright the late founder of Campus Crusade for Christ has said, “Millions of surveys which we have helped to take around the world indicate that approximately 98 percent of the Christians do not regularly introduce others to the Savior.” – [Bill Bright, president of Campus Crusade for Christ, quoted in Why Christians Sin, J. K. Johnston, Discovery House, 1992, p. 140. 9 www. bible.org/illus./witnessing- evangelism)]
When it comes to personal evangelism our biggest hurdle is fear. Fear that I might do more harm than good. Fear that I will not know what to say. Fear that I may invade someone’s privacy.” But perhaps the greatest fear, is the fear that I may fail.
Yet when we are faithful to share Jesus with others, He is responsible for the results. “You may or may not be aware of the story Edward Kimball, a Sunday school teacher. He had a young man in his class who was concern about and he determined in his heart to talk to him about Jesus. But just the thought of talking to this rather crude young man left him trembling in his boots. But he set out one afternoon to the shoe store where he worked. He was a timid and soft-spoken man the opposite of what you think of when you think of a bold evangelist. He went into the shop frightened and unsure whether he even had the courage to confront his young man with the gospel. When Kimball recalled this incident years later said, “I never could remember just what I said: something about Christ and his love and that was all.” He said that it was decidedly a “weak appeal.” But this young man gave his life to Jesus. This young man’s name was D. L. Moody, and he became a best known evangelist of his generation.”
There is another type of evangelism that I want to mention, some call it invitational evangelism. Any one can do this! Statistics tells us that, “70% to 90% of persons who join any church in America come through the influence of a friend, relative or acquaintance. No amount of theological expression from the pulpit can overcome a lack of invitational expression from the pew.” [Herb Miller. How To Build A Magnetic Church. (Nashville: Abington Press, 1987) p. 32 ]
We have a wonderful opportunity to invite our friends, neighbors and co-workers to church. September 10 is our Old Fashioned Sunday. This is perhaps the most non threatening service of the year. You can invite them to come with you to hear the old-fashion singing and enjoy some of Bro. Duane’s fabulous BBQ. In the process they will also hear the old-fashioned gospel. Our goal for the day is 500. I believe this is an easily attainable goal. If each of us invites someone to join us for the service could easily far exceed our goal. Will you pray about who God would have you to invite.
This morning I want to share three things about following Jesus from our text.
First, Following Jesus Required Honest Reflection (vv. 35-38)
Previously in our study of John’s gospel we learned that Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the World. Andrew’s personal encounter with Jesus took place the day after John had announced that Jesus was the “Lamb of God.” (John 1:29).
In verse thirty-five we read, “Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. (36) And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" (37) The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (38) Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"
It is almost as if John the Baptist is presenting his disciples to Jesus and saying to them, “You are prepared. Now go. He is the One we have been waiting for.” What they heard must have struck a responsive chord, for immediately they followed Jesus. Andrew and his companion (who was probably John) were not satisfied hearing about Jesus they wanted a direct personal relationship with Him. They evidently were to shy to approach Jesus directly but followed Him at a distance. They may have been drawn initial to some extent by curiosity, but whatever it was, they must have been drawn on immediately by the question Jesus asked of them. When he saw them following him he turned and said to them, "What do you seek?" Those are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John and they are very remarkable. They are also the very first words Jesus uttered in his public ministry; and they come in the form of a question. These four words go right to the heart of life. In them Jesus asks the most profound question in anyone’s life: "What are you looking for?"
Jesus asks the question not because he desired to know, He already knew, he asks them that they might know their own hearts. Today He would ask, “Why did you come to this worship service today? What did you come seeking?” The question he asked, He also asks of all those who would follow Him. He makes us specify what we seek, if we don’t clearly understand what it is that we seek then how can we know when it has been given.
Their question in verse thirty-eight about where he was staying revealed that Andrew and John did not just want something from Him they wanted Him. They wanted to spend time with Him, to talk with Him about their lives, to learn from Him all that God had for their lives. They wanted more just a little religion in their lives, they wanted a relationship with Jesus.
Not Only Did Following Jesus Mean Honest Reflection but …..
Secondly, Following Jesus Requires Decisive Action. (v. 39)
“He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).”
Jesus’ invitation in verse thirty-nine was “Come and See.” That is an invitation to investigate. "Come and find out.” Take your time; ask what you want; make up your own mind." What a tremendous response to the kind of men that John and Andrew are! They are men who need time, men who do not move quickly; they need to investigate. Our Lord is instantly responsive to that need. Men are still like that today, you cannot push them, or drive them; they need time to make up their minds. All they need is an invitation to investigate. The Lord’s gracious invitation still stands.
John evidently never forgot the day nor even the hour that he first spent time with Jesus. It was the dividing line between before John knew Jesus and after John knew Jesus. Is it not so in your life? If you are a Christian, your life is forever divided in your mind between the time before you knew Jesus and the time after you came to know Jesus. But as important an event as this obviously is in his life he does not tell us any details or even mention his own name but instead tells us only about Andrew.
One night of abiding with Jesus changed their lives. Soon afterwards He issued another invitation to them. "Come after me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mark 1:17), and they never went home again. First He invites us to come to see and know Him, then to come with Him to win others. There is also the wonderful invitation to come to Him for relief from our burdens and cares. "Come to Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). And note His promise to those who do accept His invitation: "the one that comes to Me I will by no means case out" (John 6:37).
Not only Does Following Jesus Require Decisive Action but…
Third, Following Jesus Results in Deliberate
Sharing. (vv. 40-42)
The result of spending time with Jesus was that Andrew realized that he had possession of information that was too good to keep to himself. So Andrew went immediately and found the person he loved most in the world, his brother, Simon and brought him to Jesus.
Verse forty, continues the story by telling us, “One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. (41) He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ)” It is significant that the first disciple to follow Jesus was the first to bring his own brother to Christ. In verse forty-one we are told, “He first found his own brother Simon.”
There are several possibilities in under-standing this verse, John could be saying that Andrew found his brother first “before doing anything else.” Or John could mean that Andrew found “his own brother first,” before he found anyone else. Or he could mean that Andrew was the “first to find his brother” - implying that others also reached their brothers, notable that John also brought his brother James to Jesus. But the point is that Andrew had something had he just had to share with his brother.
You don’t have to memorize some special plan. You don’t have to memorize the New Testament. You don’t have to be licensed or ordained or have the church’s permission. All you have to do is spend time with Jesus and then go and tell someone about it!
There can be no question that the most effective means of bringing people to Christ is one at a time, on an individual basis. Every time we come across Andrew in John’s gospel he is bringing someone to Jesus.
The second time Scripture mentions Andrew it is in connection with the feeding of the 5,000 recorded in John 6:5-13. It was Andrew who brought the boy with the five loaves and three fish to Jesus.
The third time Andrew is mentioned is in John 12:20-23. Here we are told that some Greeks sought out Philip and asked to see Jesus. Philip who didn’t know what to do, took them to Andrew, and Andrew in his usual style took them to Jesus.
Simon Peter’s experience is repeated by each individual who comes to Jesus. In verse forty-two we read, “And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).”
Jesus first sees us as we are, “you are Simon” – the New Testament reveals that Simon was often impetuous, and highly unstable. But Jesus regards Simon not as he is, as he shall become, “but shall be called Cephas or Peter.” Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter which means “rock” which is the exact opposite of unstable Simon. Simon had a new relationship with Jesus through which would change his own personality. This experience is repeated over and over in our day. We come to the Lord “as we are.” He knows all about us, both our good and our bad qualities. He sees us not as we are, but as we can become if we allow Him to control our lives. God sees not only our past but our potential.
Something to think about!
In John chapter one it was Andrew brought Peter to Christ, making him the first home missionary, and in chapter six he brings some Greeks to Christ making him the first foreign missionary.
“Was Andrew an ordinary man? Yes, but he was man whose influence is abiding because of his love and loyalty to Christ. He was an ordinary man of average capacity; he was without outstanding gifts; but he was of sterling character. Though he had no earth-shaking achievements to his credit, through his faithful witness and self-effacing service he left his mark on succeeding ages. The world needs more such ordinary people (men).” [J. Oswald Sanders. Just Like Us: 21 Character Studies from the Bible. Chap 13- Andrew. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978) p. 138]
Conclusion.
I heard of this Game Warden who had a friend who would come back from fishing with hundreds of fish on ice. He was bewildered at how this man could catch so many fish every time he went out. One day when he was talking with his friend, he asked him, "How do you catch so many fish?" His friend said that he should accompany him the next time he went fishing and he would show him how. They set a date, and early one morning they made their way to the lake. The Game Warden noticed that his friend only had a small bag with him. He had no rod and reel, no tackle box. He wondered what he had in the bag. As they arrived in their boat at the right location on the lake, his friend reached into his bag and pulled out a stick of dynamite. He lit the dynamite and threw it into the water. The dynamite detonated in the water scores of stunned fish floated to the surface where the man scooped up and into the boat. His Game Warden friend exclaimed, "You can’t do that! I’m a Game Warden. It’s illegal to use dynamite to catch fish." The Game Warden was beside himself, and went on and on and on about how the man was breaking the law. The man calmly reached back into his sack, pulled out another stick of dynamite, lit the fuse, and handed it to the Game Warden, and said to him, "Are you going to sit there and talk, or are you going to fish?"
The real issue a simple one. We have been called to be “fishers of men” and while Christians do a lot of talking about fishing, what we really need to do is fish.
