BRINGING SOMEONE TO CHRIST

But there is a requirement for this promise, we have to follow Him. Our job is to follow His leading, and He will make us into fishers of men. Even though this is a clear command from God, it is seldom obeyed by the majority.

I have read this in several sources through the years, but 99% of people never win a soul to Christ

People are willing for their family, friends and neighbors to go to a Christ-less eternity, because they never tell them how they can be saved.

This is like knowing a bridge is washed out, and seeing a family member, friend or neighbor come down the road and never warning them of the danger!

Every Christian that has been saved from a Christ-less eternity should have a burning desire to see their family members, friends and coworkers come to know Christ also.

The Institute for American Church Growth asked 10,000 people about their decision to join a particular church. What led them to church? The answers were:

Special need - 2 percent

Walk-in - 3 percent

Pastor - 6 percent

Visitation - 1 percent

Sunday School - 5 percent;

A Revival - 5 percent

Program - 3 percent;

FRIEND/RELATIVE, 79 PERCENT

(Wayne Zunkel, Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 3)

Let’s take a look at Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He was constantly bringing people to the Lord. He is believed by many to be the best example of a soul winner. Almost every time we see him in the Gospel accounts, he is bringing someone to Jesus.

Andrew could not preach or lead like Peter, but he could bring folks to the Lord. This speaks volumes about this man, for example:

We often invite our family members, coworkers and neighbors to come to church and they never come.

Why? Because these folks can not see anything in a positive way that has happened in their life, so why should they waste their time to go to church when it has not done anything for them.

The people that are most successful in life in bringing people to church and to Christ, are people who can show their friends, family and coworkers that the Lord has done a work in their heart for the better.

This is why Andrew was able to bring men and women to Christ. In the life of Andrew, we see what it means to be a Fisher of Men.

John 12:20–22 (AV)

And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.

Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

He was MOLDED BY THE MASTER and had a talent for bringing men to Jesus.

BEING A FISHER OF MEN REQUIRES THREE THINGS: they are things that we must do as well. First, we need to be -

I. HEARING

Notice one of the first things that Andrew did before anything else is that He Listened:

He listened to John the Baptist in verse 33 and then again, he hears the direction of Christ Himself in verse 36. He is not just hearing - he is listening and responding.

There is nothing worse that person that can hear, is hearing, but does not respond and does not react in a proper way. It is a person that does not listen to what is being imparted to them. Who does not care what is being taught to them. Who doesn’t realize the investment that is being made in them.

There are a few names that you could call such a one - but the Bible says it well - as the Bible mentions in

II. SEEKING

John 1:41a “He first FINDETH his own brother Simon…”

Listen, most of us would like to win everyone to Christ, but especially we would like to win our family and friends to Christ. If we truly believe that Hell is REAL and Hell is HOT, we will certainly want to win them to the Lord.

And evidently this is how Andrew must have felt. The Bible tells us the first thing he did after he came to know the Lord, “He first findeth his own brother Simon…”

If we are going to be fishers of men, we have to SEEK the lost to win them, the same way a fisherman seeks to catch fish. Listen, most fishermen are absolutely fanatics about fishing.

Illus: A man that had two buckets of fish was leaving a lake well known for its fishing, when he was stopped by a game warden

The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?" The man replied to the game warden, "No, sir. These are my pet fish." "Pet fish?!" the warden replied. "Yes, sir. Every night I take these fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take them home."

"That's a bunch of hooey! Fish can't do that!" The man looked at the game warden for a moment, and then said, "Here, I'll show you. It really works." "O.K. I've GOT to see this!" The game warden was curious. The man poured the fish in to the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to the man and said, "Well?" "Well, what?" the man responded. "When are you going to call them back?" the game warden prompted. "Call who back?" the man asked. "The FISH." "What fish?" the man asked. (Contributed by Frank Worm)

Fishermen love fishing so much they will do anything to catch fish.

Fishermen will do anything to catch fish, and those who love to win souls to Christ will do all they can to see people saved.

One of the hardest things in the world to do, is have good news and no one to share it with. Much of the news we hear today is a combination of GOOD NEWS and BAD NEWS.

Andrew had some wonderful news, and he could hardly wait to share it with his brother Simon. The news that Jesus was the Messiah, was just too good to keep to himself. Andrew went and found someone he loved, someone he cared about, and led him to Jesus!

BEING A FISHER OF MEN involves SEEKING, but also being a FISHER OF MEN involves-

III. SPEAKING

John 1:41 AV

He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

Illus: As Christians, we have all talked with people who were concerned about a loved one or friend. A lost man was telling a Christian man one day that he asked his Dad and Mom not to go fishing in a pond nearby unless he was there. Why? Because he was concerned about them. But listen, his concern was only for the physical part of his Mom and Dad. Because if either one of them were to drown they would go to a Christ-less eternity.

May God help us to see our family, friends, and coworkers PHYSICAL needs, but even more to be able to see their SPIRITUAL needs, and seek to win them the same way a fishermen seeks to catch fish.

A. The Approach was Simple

Andrew’s approach was SIMPLE - IT WAS SHARING THE NEWS OF CHRIST!

Psalm 107:2 AV

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Someone has said, “To keep this good news to ourselves would be in effect to deny its value”

Andrew’s approach was SIMPLE - IT WAS SHARING THE NEWS OF CHRIST!

B. The Approach was Personal

Andrew said, “We have found the Messias”. This was not speculation nor was it second hand information. Andrew was telling Peter what he personally was sure of.

They were fully convinced that they had found the MESSIAH!

C. The Approach was Powerful

When Andrew shared what he knew to Peter, it was powerful. “We have found THE MESSIAS..” in saying that he was saying:

The One foretold by the Prophets

The One long expected by our Fathers

The One of whom John The Baptist was preaching

What a POWERFUL MESSAGE! The Gospel is powerful!

Romans 1:16 AV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

In his 1942 devotional, Abundant Living, E. Stanley Jones, writes: “The early Christians did not say in dismay: ‘Look what the world has come to,’ but in delight, ‘Look what has come to the world.’"

Notice, IT WAS POWERFUL, but also as Andrew witnessed for Christ it was with humility and a godly testimony.

Andrew did not say “I” but “WE” have found the Messiah.

A wealthy man was fishing in the streams of Scotland. He had the best patent pole that money could buy. After hours of effort without even a bite, he came across a country boy with only a switch for a pole and a bent pin for a hook, but he had a long string of fish. "Why is it, I can't catch any?" the man inquired. "Because you don't keep yourself out of sight," the boy quietly replied.

This is the secret of fishing for men as well as fish. Lift up the Lord Jesus Christ. Send the people away talking about Him, instead of praising you.

There were things about Jesus that Andrew didn’t know, but he did know what Jesus had done for him, and he knew that Jesus was the hope of Israel. He simply asked Peter to come see for himself.

BECOMING AN BEING A FISHER OF MEN Starts with HEARING, it requires SEEKING and culminates in SPEAKING - which will result in:

IV. BRINGING

John 1:42a “And he brought him to Jesus....” Andrew realized that the work of salvation belongs to Jesus. He would bring men to Christ and He would do the saving.

When you have moms and dads crying for their children to be saved, you will begin to see them come to Christ.

When you have Christians crying over their lost friends, neighbors and coworkers, you will begin to see them come to Christ.

God’s Word says in

Psalm 126:5 AV

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

We must “sow in tears” if we expect to “reap with joy.” We just need to love the souls of men and bring them to Christ.

A strong horseshoe magnet may be held over an old rust eaten, shapeless nail without any response.

But a new nail will leap to the magnet, attract another, and through it draw yet another, until several are attracted.

That is how Christians are, they are an attraction to the lost. And once they lead men to Christ, those new Christians will then become a spiritual magnetic force that will attract others.

Jesus said, “...Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men....” (Matthew 4:19)

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