Andrew, a disciple of Jesus, exemplifies the importance of bringing others to Christ. After hearing John the Baptist identify Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew immediately followed Jesus and then brought his brother Simon Peter to Him. He continued to bring others to Jesus, including a young boy with loaves and fish and a group of Greeks seeking to see Jesus. Andrew's quiet but effective ministry highlights that one does not need to be in the limelight to do significant work for God. The sermon concludes by suggesting that Andrew's faithfulness led to his crucifixion, where he continued to praise God and draw others to Christ, urging believers to live for God's glory in all circumstances.
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Andrews for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we're going to read, beginning with verse thirty-five. Again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where dwelleth thou? And he saith unto them, Come and see.
They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour, which they about four o'clock. One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first finds his own brother Simon and says unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted the Christ. I'm sure all of us or most of us know that the term Messiah is from the Hebrew, and the term Christ is from the Greek, and they mean the same thing, the anointed one.
and he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah, thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone. The day following Jesus would go forth unto Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew, and Peter. Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did raise. Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. You know, when you try to come up with a title or message, it's quite an interesting experience, you pray, and some titles come very quickly.
And of course, in looking for something that would identify this man, Andrew, there was just a simple thought. Here was a man who invited others to Jesus. Some titles come like that and in others, of course, may be a little more catchy and they help us to remember things. Sometimes if I speak on someone like Jehoshaphat, easy to remember Jehoshaphat as great jumping Jehoshaphat. That's exactly what he did. He jumped back and forth from one side to the other, compromising and taking a stand. But we try to remember things that way. Some years ago, I was trying to come up with a title for a series of messages on the book of Romans.
And, you know, I came up with what I thought was a great alliteration. I titled this series Rambling Through Romans. Well, I decided that perhaps it would be a good idea to look up the term rambling in the dictionary before I used that particular title. And I did. and the term rambling means aimlessly wondering. So I changed my title, of course. Now I'm sure that all of us have heard preachers who have, on occasion, done something that we could perhaps quite justly accuse of being aimlessly wondering.
I trust though that tonight, as we think of this man, Andrew, that our minds will be directed in such a way... at the character before us, and at our Lord Jesus Christ, and then at our own hearts, that we'll get something for ourselves from God's precious word. Very wonderful, practical truths are involved in the character that we have tonight, Andrew. Andrew's name means manly, and he certainly was that, and more. He was a man who had a heart for the things of God. Thus we see this man, Andrew.
When we think of Andrew and how he was it, so often involved in inviting others to the Lord Jesus, I'm reminded of an illustration which I heard many, many years ago from a preacher. Some of you probably have heard a number of times, and I trust you've never heard the illustration, but if you have, I'll refresh your memories with it. It seems that one time... There was a fellow named Mr. Little who lived in a little city. And it just so happened that Mr. Little had a wife, and her name was Mrs. Little. And Mrs. Little and Mr.
Little lived in this little city on a little street in a little house. They also had seven children, and they were all little little. Mr. Little had a job, but he didn't make too much money, so he got a little salary. And one day, Mr. Little was out on the street taking a walk in the neighborhood, and he met a friend coming in the office of direction. And as the friend came to him, they got into a conversation. The friend said to Mr. Little, Mr. Little, there's one thing I'd like to know about you. He says, how do you and Mrs. Little, and those seven little littles get along so well on such a little salary?
And he said, every little helps. And do you know when it comes to the things of the Lord and advancing the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, every little helps. None of us are to think in any way that our effort is of no value. Your work is not in vain. Your labor is not in vain in the Lord. When we think of this man, Andrew, obviously in looking at the text before us, we can see that he was a man who very readily accepted the Word of God.
Here he is standing with John the Baptist. and the Lord Jesus comes into vision and the attention that's focused on him. John has already declared him earlier in this chapter to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. But now he says, Behold, the Lamb of God. Now, when he does that, there were two disciples who were with him. One of them was Andrew. And what did he do? He listened. He believed John. and he left John and followed Jesus. Very early he readily accepted the Word of God.
Many of you were saved years ago. Early you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into your hearts and lives. And I'm sure that many of you have had experiences which were really carbon copies perhaps of some of Andrew's illustrated experiences, at least what they themselves illustrated. And thank God for that kind of thing. But you know, Andrew had a whole life. And one good thing about us is that we're here. So it's as if we stopped in time tonight and we haven't finished our courses. We're not through.
There are still things to do. And, you know, Andrew, apparently, from what we understand from the Scriptures and from other sources, was a man who was faithful until the Lord Jesus said, Come on home. And so it should be with us. Early, though, he readily accepted the Word of God. Here you see, he believed what John said and his Father Jesus. You notice that he did this quite abruptly. Immediately, straightway he followed Jesus. He did this as the Word was given. Sometimes when I have preached the Gospel, I've had people sit and listen to the Word of God for a number of years and never make an open profession of faith.
On the other hand, I've seen people sit and listen, and after one message, express a desire to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. boys and girls will often respond more quickly than adults. But I thank the Lord that we've been privileged to see both respond. Here was a man who was ready, and when he was introduced to the Lord Jesus, immediately he followed Jesus. By the way, when you think of this event, please do not get mixed up in your thinking. that this was where he was called to be a disciple, nor the other individual.
Neither of them was called to be a disciple here. By the way, to clarify that, will you turn back either to Mark one or Matthew four? Let's turn to Matthew chapter four so that you'll see what we're saying. The call of these two men to be disciples actually came later on. In Matthew chapter four, to make this clear, Reading in verse eighteen of Matthew chapter four, we see this. And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew as brethren, a brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishers. And he said unto them, Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Now look back at verse twelve of chapter four. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, He departed into Galilee. In Matthew chapter four and in Mark one, John the Baptist was in jail. He was in prison whenever these disciples were called. In John's Gospel chapter one, the Lord Jesus was on the scene while John the Baptist was still out of jail. And there these two disciples left John and followed Jesus. Evidently, Andrew returned to his occupation and was later called to be an apostle or a disciple.
You'll notice that Andrew very, very clearly acknowledged the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. What did he say? We have found him, in verse forty-one, who is the Messiah. Here is the Anointed One. We recognize Him as who He actually is. We accept His claims. I accept personally the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. Personally, I think it's impossible for one to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and not somehow accept Him, at least partially, with respect to His Lordship.
Now, I want to make that clear by saying this. It is true that many, many people get saved, and at some later time in their experience, they surrender themselves and renew their dedication to the Lord and yield themselves to Him for service. But I believe that initially when one gets saved, that that individual has to acknowledge the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ upon his life. I think there has to be some of that. One has to realize we are not our own, but we are bought with a price. We continue learning that and there will be the yielding of ourselves to him. You remember the film last night, Hudson Taylor?
There was a focusing of attention by the interpreter who helped construct the script for that film on that aspect of Hudson Taylor's experience, that he was desirous of pleasing the Lord. You know, a person can be saved for years, and yet not really yield himself the way he should or she should. to the claims of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. You remember Peter, when Peter saw the vision and he was instructed as to what he should do, he says, Not so, Lord. Well, how could one be Lord and give instructions and there be a response, Not so, Lord?
Many times in practical terms, we unfortunately reflect the same. Now not only did Andrew readily accept the Word of God, but he immediately shared the Word of God. I wonder, as you think of your experience, has there been over the years a real sharing of the Gospel as you think of yourself right now? Are you really burdened about getting out the Word of God? Oh, you say, I'm not able to get out and give out gospel tracks, and there aren't that many people around Keystone Heights to go out and witness to, but I do share the Word of God some.
Do you put them in your letters as you send them out? Do you pray for the radio ministries that are going on? I think of Brother Dan Richardson who's here tonight. Are you exercised about that effort? Are you really exercised about missions? Are you exercised to the point that it affects you? You've heard the individual, the black preacher, I guess, who told his congregation one time when they came to church to bring three books to bring their... Bible, to bring their hymn book and to bring the pocketbook. Do you know, I believe that with all of the instruction and the Word of God about money, that there is something about the human heart which somehow...
causes man to be taken up with this thing of money. It becomes a security element. One becomes attached to it, and even as a believer, one is able to use the language of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, of sharing, of being burdened, and yet, it's all lip service. As you look at yourself, are you generous with the Lord? By the way, I haven't talked with any of the leaders here about this kind of thing. But this happens to be an exercise which comes from experience, from the Word of God, from observation.
I find that Jesus over and over and over re-emphasized how important it was for man to share his material possessions in the work of the Lord. Here is a man, Andrew, and he was interested first in sharing the word literally. And so what did he do? He goes to a relative. That's a good place to start, isn't it? How many of you have ever won a relative to the Lord Jesus Christ? I'll tell you, they're rough, aren't they? Sometimes the hardest people to win are your relatives. And they sometimes will be the last ones to believe what you have to say.
And by the way, don't think that the Lord Jesus was any exception. Remember that some of his relatives thought he had a few loose screws, to be honest with you. His friends thought he was beside himself. Well, that's a very mild rendering. We believe that those were his relatives who thought, well, he just has become a little bit too overly involved and there's something wrong here. They didn't accept his claims completely, but after his death and after his resurrection, we see that there was a tremendous impact upon his relatives. And it is important to go to our relatives and to witness to them.
Even though it may be hard, even though there may be division, we should go. Here was a man, Andrew, and he went to Peter. And what a catch. You know, Peter could catch the fish, but Andrew caught the fishermen. You should say, or we should say, that it was the Lord Jesus who caught the fishermen. On another occasion, we very, very vividly see that. You remember how that Peter was with the Lord Jesus. And our Lord said, launch out into the deep for a great big catch, and they did. And, of course, Peter thought he knew everything about fishing. You don't catch fish in a net at that time of day.
We've told all night we've caught nothing. This man's no expert on fishing. He doesn't know anything about fishing. I know about fishing, you know. And he comes back in, and when he has seen what has happened, what does he do? Upon his knees, he falls before the Lord. And he makes that statement, which was somewhat of a blunder, as Peter was often capable of doing. Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man. Isn't it wonderful that the Lord didn't do that literally? Depart from me? You know, he doesn't depart from us because we're sinners. He saves us. And then he says, well, oh, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. But Peter... came into a good relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ when he saw himself as he was, and he fell before the Lord Jesus.
And he was caught. The big catch, you know, Peter helped bring it in. But the Lord Jesus caught the man who brought him the fish. And he made him truly a fisher of man, along with, of course, his brother in this instance and others of the disciples. But first there was the relative, but he didn't stop there. You remember Andrew in chapter six of this same book. Andrew goes and there's a little boy. There's a problem situation. There's a great big crowd. They don't have enough money to buy food. There's this discussion going on. But there's a little boy who is brought in and he has a few loaves of bread and some fish.
Enough for one kid, but not enough for a whole multitude of five thousand men besides women and children, possibly twenty thousand people. But enough in the hands of the Lord Jesus. And what happens to that boy? It is Andrew. It is Philip who are involved with that little boy, and they bring the lad to the Lord Jesus. They bring a child. And I like that. Andrew was interested... I like to think that he was interested in children, too. You and I should be interested in all ages. It was the Lord Jesus who said, Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.
one wonderful part of preaching the Word of God to boys and girls is that their hearts are often tender and they're ready. Oh, I know, out there in that audience with as many people, there's some of you who, no doubt, have said over the years, well, I just don't know whether children can really be saved or not. Let me tell you something. If you look at the record, if you look today at those who are in full-time Christian work, the overwhelming majority... of those who are preaching and teaching the Word of God here and on the mission field were saved when they were children, some in their teens but many before they even reached teenage years.
Thank God for that kind of concern. You know, we had a wonderful experience last fall, I believe it was in August. We had a series of meetings in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I'll just divert you for just a moment. There was a group of young couples there who were starting an assembly and they were meeting in the Y. The young man who was in charge of the YMCA got gloriously saved. And I'll tell you, he's been studying the word and witnessing. They approached us about coming down and having something at the Y, having some kind of a program. So I met with them several times. And then they said, well, what can we call it? Well, I said, why don't you just call it Christian Emphasis Week?
So they did. We were going to have something real small. And each time I went down, they had something added to it. One day they said to me, would you mind if some other Christian groups came in? I said, it's up to you. Whatever you want to do, I'm just going to preach the gospel. Now and again, would you mind if certain other groups came? I said, you bring them in. If they need to be saved, whoever needs to be saved, that's fine with me. Well, they put this on television, the announcement. They advertised it in the newspaper, and when we went for that series of meetings, we have hundreds of boys and girls there. And during that week, we saw nearly a hundred professions.
There were also some adults who made professions the last night because parents also came. But what happened? There was a readiness. Some of these kids, I doubt, have ever heard the gospel before. They were open and receptive to the Word of God. Now, you know, here on Earth, some of those kids I'll probably never see again. And many of them, I didn't even know them when they came that night. But thank God for the work of Calvin. He is able to reproduce in hearts and lives as the Word of God is presented. He gives the increase. And so it was with this experience here.
Andrew... went with Philip and they brought this land. That's not all. In chapter twelve we see a number of Greeks who are visiting and they wanted to see Jesus. Sir, we would see Jesus. And they come and it is Philip and Andrew again. These two men. who ushered them into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. They introduced these Greeks to the Lord Jesus. By the way, if you have never realized before where Andrew got his name, let me explain to you how he got that name. Andrew, first of all, drew his brother Peter, and then he drew the lad.
Afterwards, he drew the Greeks. He drew and drew and drew, and so they called him Andrew. That's a good way to remember this man who was actually a very quiet operator, but he was a very effective operator. He wasn't a Peter boisterous and noisy and saying things, you know, that always got everybody's attention. He wasn't a Peter who stood up and preached to five thousand, you know. He wasn't that Peter, but he was a man who reached the preacher, who preached to those thousands of people.
Thank God for Andrew and for other Andrews. Andrew was a man who also was closely associated with another disciple. We've already mentioned his name, Philip. What I've discovered over the years is that like these two men who came from the same locality, often two believers will develop a very special relationship between one another. They'll be able to share, to share experiences, to talk together, to pray together, to fellowship together in a unique way.
I don't know if you have... an associate like Andrew and Philipad, but it's wonderful if you do. I think of two men whom I know real well. They both love the Lord, and they are like physical and spiritual brothers. They are very, very close together. But let me tell you something. The spiritual is a greater bond than the physical. The physical will one day be severed. The spiritual will one day be sealed for eternity. And you and I ought to certainly develop that spiritual kinship, which will be so beneficial here and certainly will be lasting in eternity.
These two men, Philip and Andrew, became closely associated with one another. Both of them very early came to the Lord Jesus. Here is Philip in this chapter, and here is Andrew. They both come into contact with the Lord Jesus early in his ministry, and both came to know him, and they stuck with it. Thank God for this kind of an example. I wish I could say that about different people whom I've met over the years. that they were saved early and they went on after an early experience for many years for the Lord.
But I'm sorry that I cannot say that. Some of you probably were just saved a short time ago. I've had people say to me, I wish that I were saved when I was a teenager because my whole life could have been yielded to the Lord in service for Him. But here were two men who were saved early in the ministry of the Lord Jesus and they made their years count. But no matter where we are, I believe that most of us can make a good part of our lives mean something spiritually for the Lord Jesus. You know, Brother Manjanya comes from up in Chicago. And I remember some years ago, while I was in Chicago, I met an old gentleman who was saved when he was in his eighties.
I don't even recall his name. But that brother had at one time, before being saved, been in the gangs, and he had been the associates of Al Capone. He was very deeply involved in crime. He got saved later, and he was in his eighties. I remember that we used to go to the assembly and we would break bread. And that old brother, who at that time, I believe, had been saved a couple of years, he was up in years. He was so full of energy and pep, I would see him at the track rack. He stuffed his pockets. You know where he went? After the meeting, he went downtown in Chicago and gave us gospel tracks.
We would have an open-air meeting sometime over in the park, and he always showed up in time for that open-air meeting. He was constantly, and this was a routine with him, trying to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. I've always remembered that fellow because he wasn't saved until he was older, but he was very diligent in his witness and in his testimony for the Lord Jesus. I have a brother-in-law that... We prayed for for many years. I'm sure that some of you have people for whom you've prayed and you've just wondered, now is the Lord going to answer this prayer? Is He going to answer it while I'm alive?
When is this answer going to come? And in some cases you may say, well, this is one of those the answer is no. Maybe that's the way you felt. There have been several people for whom I have prayed for a number of years who have gotten saved in the last five years. This happens to be one of them. I'll tell you, he's one of these cases, which to me was about as hard as nails. And I prayed for him, and others had prayed for him. My sister called our home last fall, and she left word. I was out that my brother-in-law had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I had seen this fellow. He did start going out to the meeting a little bit, and every time he heard the word somewhat and got convicted, he quit going and stayed home.
You know how those kind are. And he'd let it wear off, and then maybe he'd gradually come back again. Well, I called her when I got home, and I said, what happened? And she said, well, she said, he got saved. Your brother-in-law got saved. I said, well, let me talk to him. He wanted to get on the phone anyway. So he got on the telephone and I said to him, what happened? And there was a long pause. And then he said, with all of that prayer, something had to give. That was his response. Thank God for that kind of a concern, not only to witness, but to be diligent in prayer, to be exercised before the throne of grace.
And I believe that that is too a part of being exercised as Andrew was exercised before the Lord and drawing others to the Lord Jesus. He brought a relative, he brought a child, he brought these people who were really, you might say foreigners from another land, and we should be concerned about those near home, we should be concerned about the young, we should be concerned about those in other lands, we should be concerned about the whole world. The Bible says God so loved the world, and so should we. We should take that message to all and be concerned about the entire world as we think of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You'll find that both of these men Andrew and Philip were occupied with bringing others, for Andrew did bring his brother, but Philip brought Nathaniel. He went and he witnessed to Nathaniel, and he tells Nathaniel about the Lord Jesus. And the wonderful story of that is found right here in this chapter. They were both involved in discussions. You find them with the Greeks and you find them with the lad. They discuss things together. And we see Philip and Andrew forming this special bond, which we have already mentioned. But something else about Andrew.
He was a man who obviously was not always in the limelight. He wasn't the most important character. someone at Park of the Palm has to be in the limelight. You know, it's very possible, especially in a group like this, that some of you may say, well, you know, for many years, I had responsibilities in my local assembly. I'm not in the limelight like I would like to be. Well, if God wants you in the limelight, He'll put you in the limelight. But here, there was a man who wasn't in the limelight, and understand that one does not have to be in the limelight to do a work for God.
Sometimes He allows certain people to be in the limelight. He uses them, but also He uses other people who are not seen so frequently. And most of us, who sometimes are seen standing before groups either leading singing or speaking or leading in other ways, We very, very humbly realize that the greatest work for the Lord Jesus Christ is being done by those who are not seen in those particular positions. Thank God for that kind of a quiet. But effective ministry, what do you find about this man who is before us tonight?
He's mentioned most by John. And why would that be? John says a great deal about Andrew. But, The other disciples, Peter, James, and John, are the ones who seem to get the limelight attention. Why, there they are, and they're on the Mount of Transfiguration. There they are, and they go into Jairus' daughter where she was dead, and she's to be called out of the dead. There they are, and they're in a special place, as Jesus prays, in the Garden of Gethsemane, repeatedly, Peter, James, and John. But Andrew... Not in the limelight.
If you ever ask yourself the question, why is it that John, who was in the limelight, and we believe wrote this book, and who really won't even use his own name as he writes the book, keeps himself sort of out of the limelight on purpose, talks so much about Andrew, but you know what I think it is. He is the one who tells us most of these little details that we wouldn't have otherwise. It seems to me that the answer is this. The missing disciple who was with Andrew, whenever Andrew left John the Baptist and followed Jesus, was John the Apostle.
And John the Apostle knew Andrew real well. And John the Apostle is going to tell us some very private things about Andrew. And the Spirit of God says, I want you to know about Andrew. And I want you to know that Andrews are important, that I can use Andrews, and that a great work can be done through the Andrews. And so we have this man here. who was mentioned by John the Apostle. He's not seen, as I said, with those main disciples. And as we look back over his life, as is presented to the Gospels, it seems that we should add one element which is not found in the Gospels.
You may wonder what that is. Now I realize that tradition certainly... will have its own faults and that there are many contradictory stories told. But on occasion, some traditions seem to have some credibility, and it's very possible that the one which is told of Andrew is credible. It is said that Andrew went to Akaiah and that while he was there, he was forbidden to preach, but he continued preaching anyway. Then they said, Andrew, you are to sacrifice and you are to bow down before the idols. Andrew refused to do that.
They said, okay, Andrew, since you're not going to denounce your convictions and your faith in that gospel that you present, we're going to get rid of you. We're going to give you the same thing we gave to the one whom you are talking about, Jesus of Nazareth. So they took Andrew and they crucified him. But they said, we don't want him to die too quickly. We want to torture him. And instead of putting spikes or nails through his hands and feet, they used ropes to bind him to the cross. By the way, the cross that has been suggested is the X called Andrew's cross, different kind of cross.
And it is said that by tradition, that Andrew was hanging on that cross, suffering immense agony for two days. But while Andrew was there, people heard him praising God and trying to draw others to Jesus Christ to trust him. Andrew, I like that story and I certainly think it would be in keeping with the rest of Andrew's experience and testimony that we have. Paul said that the Lord Jesus Christ might be glorified in my body, whether it be by life or by death.
And may that be true with each of us. That as we are where we are now, we will be what God wants us to be for his glory. Shall we pray? I'm going to ask Brother Dan Richardson if he will dismiss us with a word of prayer, please. Brother Dan.