“The Bringer”
(Andrew)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
Feb. 7, 2010
I. Introduction
A. The story of Edward Kimball
Few have ever heard of Edward Kimball, but he was the Sunday school teacher who led the great evangelist D.L. Moody to Christ.
Kimball was the antithesis of the bold evangelist. He was a timid, soft-spoken man. As he went to a Boston shoe store where the 19 year old Moody was working, he was frightened, trembling, and unsure of whether had had enough courage to confront this young man with the gospel. Moody had begun to attend Kimball’s Sunday school class, and although Moody was crude and ignorant about the Bible, the thought of speaking to him about Christ had Kimball trembling in his boots. Kimball recalled the incident years later.
“I decided to speak to Moody about Christ and about his soul. I started down town to Holton’s shoe store. When I was nearly there I began to wonder whether I ought to go just then during business hours. And I thought maybe my mission might embarrass the boy, that when I went away the other clerks might ask who I was, and when they learned might taunt Moody and ask if I was trying to make a good boy out of him. While I was pondering over it all, I passed the store without noticing it. Then, when I found I had gone by the door, I determined to make a dash for it and have it over at once.”
Kimball found Moody working in the stockroom, wrapping and shelving shoes. Kimball said he spoke with “limping words.” He later said, “I never could remember just what I did say: something about Christ and His love; that was all.” He admitted it was “a weak appeal.” But Moody then and there gave his heart to Christ. His heart was forever changed.
God used Moody on both sides of the Atlantic where tens of thousands were converted. In addition, he founded the Moody Bible Institute where thousands of pastors, missionaries and evangelists have been prepared.
B. Today, the Apostle Andrew
1. A lot like Edward Kimble
2. And a lot like many of you
3. If his brother Peter was “the Rock,” then Andrew was “the Bringer”
C. Review
1. Calling the Twelve
2. Luke 6:12-26
(12) One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (13) When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: (14) Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, (15) Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, (16) Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
II. Background
A. Name: Andrew
1. Always referred to as “Andrew, Peter’s brother”
a. Likely that Peter was the older
b. A hard act to follow
2. The Birth Order Book
a. Source of much jealousy
3. The jealous hermit
a. Demons try to get him to sin
b. Nothing until…
1. “Your brother has been appointed bishop”
2. The jealous scowl
4. Yet we never detect any jealousy
(Barclay…..p.89)
“Andrew was characteristically the man who was prepared to take second place. Again and again he is identified as Simon Peter’s brother. It is clear that he lived under the shadow of Peter. People might not know who Andrew was, but everyone knew Peter; and when men spoke of Andrew they described him as “Peter’s brother.” Andrew was not one of the inner circle of disciples. When Jesus went up to the mount of Transfiguration, when he underwent his temptation in Gethsemane, it was Peter, James, and John whom he took with him. It would have been so easy for Andrew to resent this. Was he not one of the first two disciples who followed Jesus? Did Peter not owe his meeting with Jesus to him? Might he not reasonably have expected a foremost place in the apostolic band? But Andrew was quite content to stand back and let his brother have the limelight; he was quite content to play a humble part in the company of the twelve. To Andrew, matters of precedence and place and honor mattered nothing at all. All that mattered was to be with Jesus and to serve him as well as he could. Andrew is the patron saint of all who humbly and loyally and ungrudgingly take the second place.”
B. Family: Son of John
1. Peter’s brother
2. Andrew was likely not married
C. Occupation: Fisherman
1. The Sea of Galilee
2. Partner with Peter, James and John
D. Ministry:
1. Andrew took the gospel into Southern Russian.
2. The patron saint of Russia…as well as Scotland.
E. Personality:
1. A background guy
2. He did the little things that count
3. He focused on individuals
4. He was a “bringer”
III. Andrew was a “Bringer”
A. Andrew brought his brother to Jesus (John 1)
(John 1:35) The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.
1. John the Baptist was baptizing down in the Jordan River
2. With two of his disciples…..v.35
a. Andrew…..v.40
b. John, the brother of James….next week
3. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and told them to follow Him
(36) When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (37) When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. (38) Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” (39) “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. (40) Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
4. When they heard Jesus speak…Andrew and John became believers
5. Andrew’s first concern was his brother’s salvation
(41) The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). (42) And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
6. Spots Peter in the distance
a. Peter may have been out fishing
b. “We’ve found the Messiah!!!”
c. Implies they were looking for the Messiah
7. Each time you read about Andrew he is bringing somebody to Christ
a. The “first” thing he did was bring his brother to Christ
b. Evangelism starts with your own family
B. Andrew brought “undesirables” to Jesus
1. John 12:20-22
(20) Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. (21) They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” (22) Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
2. “some Greeks”
a. Not accepted by the Jews
1. Undesirable
b. The Irish in New York
1. “No Irish need apply”
3. Philip didn’t know what to do
a. But he knew Andrew would
b. So he went to Andrew
4. And Andrew brought them to Christ
a. He brought the “undesirables”
C. Andrew brought a child to Jesus
1. Feeding the 5,000
2. John 6:5-9
(5) When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (6) He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. (7) Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (8) Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, (9) Here is a boy with five small barley leaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
3. The simple act of bringing a boy to Christ
a. He didn’t know what God would do with the boy
1. Only Jesus saw the potential
b. But he faithfully brought him nonetheless
4. The importance of bringing children to Christ
a. Moody and the 2 ½ lives saved for Christ
b. Our passion for the children
1. Running over kids at the roller rink
2. The unbelievable potential in each child
3. Family ministries
c. And we never give up on them
1. Regardless of age
5. Getting kids to church
a. Carolyn and Jeananne Osterhouse
1. 2 ½ years
2. Got Carolyn’s parents eventually
b. The story of Jennie Karnes
1. Packed car
c. The impact of bringing a child under the influence of the Gospel
6. The unseen heroes of the church
a. The other “moms” of Newhall
b. My mom…40 years in the toddlers
c. Won’t know their true impact until we reach heaven
d. Kids on the roller rink:
1. The woman in each little girl
2. The man in each little boy
e. Only God sees the full potential
7. What if the Karnes & Osterhouses had not gotten Carolyn and me to church?
a. Would I be doing what I’m doing today?
b. How so many lives would have been altered
8. The moms of Chapel Pointe…today
a. Laboring in the trenches today
1. Nursery…toddlers…KidZone
2. High school retreat
b. Your spiritual legacy
c. What these kids will become
1. Only God knows the full potential of each child
IV. Summary
A. Andrew teaches us some critical lessons
1. Doing the little things in life matters
a. Smart routines
2. Be alert for people to bring to Christ
3. God can use all kinds of people….a “bringer as well as a rock”
4. Investing in people pays great dividends
a. Especially in children
b. Some investments take a long time to mature
B. Next week “The Sons of Thunder”
1. “What’s holding you back?”
2. Identifying your “rough edges”
C. Andrew’s death
One account says Andrew infuriated the governor of Southern Greece when he led the governor’s wife to Christ. He demanded that his wife recant her devotion to Jesus but she refused. So the governor had Andrew crucified.
By the governor’s orders, Andrew was crucified by being lashed to a cross instead of nailing him, in order to prolong his sufferings through exposure and exhaustion. Tradition says it was an X-shaped cross…now called a St. Andrew’s cross.
The governor even expressed the hope that Andrew would be gradually torn apart by the wild dogs that foraged about the seashore. The dogs, however, never had a chance, because the news of Andrew’s crucifixion attracted a huge crowd which surrounded the cross day and night. Despite his torments, the aging apostle managed to summon the strength to talk about the things of God. Tradition contends that more than 2,000 people were converted by Andrew while he hung on the cross for two days.
A huge crowd gathered around the governor’s mansion and demanded that the governor (Aegeates) free this man who was innocent of any capital offense. Finally, the governor agreed at least to speak to Andrew, whom he had never met before.
The governor offered to cut him down if Andrew would stop preaching Christ. Andrew refused the offer. The governor finally agreed the spare Andrew unconditionally, but while being cut down, the old, exhausted Apostle murmured these dying words of triumph “Jesus Christ, whom I have seen, whom I have, whom I love, in whom I am and will be, receive me in peace.”