The Great Personalities of God's Amazing Plan-Andrew

John 1:40-42

John 1:40–42 NKJV

40 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). 42 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).

Prayer

Message

We begin a new year and we come back to our study of the Great Personalities of God’s Amazing Plan and I chose Andrew. You might ask the question, why start with Andrew? Wasn’t Peter the front and center Apostle? Wasn’t Peter the take charge Apostle? Wasn’t Peter the more vocal and is quoted more than any of the others? Why would you begin with Andrew?

More of us can identify with Andrew? Brother Luke, you could identify more with Peter. You are a pastor. You lead God’s people. No, I am very much like you in that I can identify with Andrew. I’ve never enjoyed the Holy Spirit’s anointing like Peter where 3,000 came to know Christ. I have never had 100’s or 1000’s like Charles Spurgeon, Dwight L. Moody, or Billy Graham to come to know Christ by my preaching. Yes, I can relate to Andrew and I believe you will be able to as well.

Interesting trivia tonight. How many apostles were there? Twelve.

Guess how many verses are written about Andrew-12. Guess who was the first Apostle to follow Christ?

Andrew.

We learn that around the text we read tonight.

John 1:35–40 NKJV

35 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?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

We note that Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist. Andrew was under great tutelage. We know that John the Baptist was a country boy. He was not a refined preacher. He wore clothes made of camel’s hair and ate locust and wild honey. Mark 1:6. We tend to follow our leaders and I assume that Andrew was not as polished due to the environment they served in. Andrew learned one of the greatest traits that are needed to be a follower of Christ.

Be a Submissive Follower of Christ

JOhn 1:40 “40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”

You might ask the question, if Andrew was so faithful to John the Baptist, why was he so quick to change his loyalty so quickly to Jesus? Let’s consider that sound teaching he received from John the Baptist.

What was John the Baptist’ message?

Matthew 3:1-3 “1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ””

Matthew 3:11 “11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Our time tonight is not about John the Baptist, but about Andrew.

The point is that Jesus Himself said these words about John the Baptist:

Matthew 11:11 “11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Jesus Himself shared of the excellence of John the Baptist in his time here on earth and his loyalty to the Lord in fulfilling his mission.

Why is this important? Why is this so impacting? Andrew was taught who to follow and who was to give recognition to.

Lets look at John 1:35-39 “35 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?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).”

Please note something important. You get comfortable around someone, you get comfortable with them, you get comfortable sharing someone when you know them.

Ill. Dr. Jay Wolfe is officiating Clay’s wedding Friday night, our youngest son. Jane stated that when Jay called her on the phone that he did not just jump off the phone, but spoke and wanted to learn more about our family. Jane stated it make her “comfortable” with Brother Jay.

We can not enjoy God’s best, we can not learn to be a leader for the Lord until we learn to follow the Lord. And we will not learn to be comfortable sharing Him until we spend much time with Him.

Pastor Rick Warren coined that phrase in his book, “The Purpose Driven Life”, “It’s not about you.”

Andrew realized who to follow and where to place his focus. Dearly beloved, within the bounds of the area and the gifts the Lord has bestowed upon you, He has given them to you for His glory. Everything we do and everything we say should point people to Jesus.

Be Content for being an in the Shadows Soldier for Christ

Notice an interesting thing here. Look at verse 40 again with me and look closely.

John 1:40 “40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”

Matthew 4:18 “18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.”

Matthew 10:2 “2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;”

Mark 1:16 “16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.”

Mark 1:29 “29 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.”

Again-the affiliation is recorded.

Luke 6:14 “14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;”

John 1:40 today’s text,

John 1:44 “44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.”

John 6:8 “8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,”

Notice that 9 of 12 verses-mentioned his ties to his older brother.

Even within the apostleship, James & John “Sons of Thunder”-who will be the greatest.

We know all through the Bible-jealousies, competitiveness, a bitterness building of one being greater, larger, more in the lime light, etc.

Cain & Abel, Jacob & Esau, Joseph’s brothers, King David’s brothers-around the killing of Goliath.

In fact, that can be more the norm.

We watched the movie the “Body Guard” with Kevin Costner & Whitney Houston. The fictional character, Whitney Houston portrayed had a fictional sister in the movie that put a bounty out to have her sister killed because she was jealous of her success.

We do not read in any recordings of the Word of God that Andrew struggled with the more front and center role that Peter played. Peter ministered to the masses and Andrew was a one on one guy. You hear a statement these days, “stay in your lane.” Use the gifts God has given you and do not try to mimic someone else’s talents or gifts or abilities. Be who you are in Christ Jesus. Andrew did not have to be first, Andrew had no struggle whatsoever being in the limelight.

Mark 10:31 “31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.””

Andrew was a great shadows saint for the Lord. Do you think about all the shadows saints that serve the Lord on a weekly basis for you to enjoy what you come to here at Mt Zion?

Worship leader, instrumentalist, laying out the order of worship, the practice, the laying out of the multimedia, the cleaning of the building, the counting of the money, the opening, closing, setting the heating and air, the turning on and off of lights, locking the buildings, cutting the grass, blowing off the parking lot, paying the bills, the maintenance on the little incidentals that come up on an almost weekly basis-replacing lights, fixing commodes, etc. Do you think about the cards written to you, the Facebook communications, the texting communications, the Order of Service printed, the prayer list and I could go on and on. The shadow saints of the Lord make those things happen week in and week out. You know why you never hear about it or even know who performs those duties-because it is not about them. It is about Him and glorifying our Lord and Savior. They serve each week from an attitude of gratitude for God’s amazing grace in their lives.

Let me ask you a question. How do you measure one’s offering to the Lord over another? And I ask that question because I do not believe we have capacity to measure one’s offering over another.

Luke 21:2 “2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.”

We know that Jesus made that statement based on the widow’s level of sacrifice. But I believe there is another reason.

Show People to Christ

John 1:41-42 “41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 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).”

Look with me at Mark 1:16-18 “16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”

I can tell you that the Holy Spirit was all over Andrew when Jesus made the statement, “I will make you fishers of men.”

He learned more theology, more life mission, more vision, more focus for daily living than any statement that could have been stated to him.

Firstly he had again as we discussed Sunday, he had the same God given DNA of practical skillsets that the Lord had given him from birth. We see that Andrew was reared in a fishing family. He lived in a fishing region.

I watched “Forest Gump” the other night. I am just blown away what a great actor Tom hanks is. He was introduced to Bubba and shrimping. Bubba knew every thing about shrimping and he started listing all the things you can make with

shrimp, shrimp cocktail, blackened shrimp, fried shrimp, coconut shrimp, shrimp creole, and the list went on forever. he knew all there was to know about shrimping and Andrew knew one thing, he knew how to fish.

Let’s break down that statement:

“I will make you fishers of men.”

I meant that Andrew knew the source of success. He was only to cast the net, Jesus would land the fish. Dearly beloved, there are people that are great at bringing people to Jesus, and there are others that are gifted about sharing about Jesus. Remember, stay in your lane. Serve the Lord where you feel he is best blessing your ministry.

Now let’s go back to how do we measure how one functions in ministry and the result. Let me give you a few examples. Let’s start with Andrew.

He brought Peter to Jesus. All Andrew did was bring one of the closest people that he loved and was close to. Do you believe Andrew had any idea how Peter would be used to impact the kingdom? We know the first time out of the shoot when Peter was saved, but later anointed of the Holy Spirit, 3,000 were saved plus women and children.

2. The Lad with the two sardines and 5 pieces of flatbread. 5,000 were fed.

John 6:8-9 “8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?””

3. The Greeks

John 12:20-26 “20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”

Ill. Edward Kimball-Dwight L. Moody-shoe store in Detroit-1854, Dwight was 17 years old. Dwight L. Moody was one of the greatest evangelist ever known, sharing the gospel to 100 million people and founding the Moody Bible Institute and the Moody Church in Chicago.

Ill. Tom Smith, Associate Pastor here in Montgomery at Ridgecrest Baptist Church on Vaughn Road shares this story.

We went to Seminary together. He carried his youth group to an Enclave in Gatlinburg, and Casting Crowns is playing at the concert. Mark hall, the lead singer, and founder of the group shares that a guy named “Finkelstein that owns a pawn shop in Montgomery, AL” led me to Christ. I relate to Andrew. I do not believe I have ever had more than 5 come down when I have preached. But my question or point is this. Only God knows the one you might impact and what they can do for the kingdom.

Let’s pray.