1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:24,540 They're very complicated. In fact, they're very, very simple. This morning, it's just the Scriptures we have listed in the inside of the bulletin. We've been talking about what it means to follow Jesus and how he calls us to follow him, and we've seen Jesus call and be a savior for the skeptical Nathaniel. 2 00:00:24,540 --> 00:00:44,580 We've talked about those who are kind of halfway between hope or struggling with hope to follow Jesus, whether it is the physical things of life or the fears about the future, the comforts that we have right now. We've talked that Jesus is the one who calls us to follow him. 3 00:00:44,580 --> 00:00:55,820 Last week we looked at Matthew as he was called to follow Jesus from his tax booth and how Jesus calls those whom in many times we see as unwanted. 4 00:00:55,820 --> 00:01:07,220 So we're going to pray, and we're going to talk about how Jesus calls the ordinary, or as we've had it and kind of announced it last week, those who are unseen. 5 00:01:07,220 --> 00:01:15,460 And what we mean by that are those who are sort of faithfully following Jesus, but not always with the greatest fanfare. 6 00:01:15,460 --> 00:01:25,860 And so we're going to take a look at the Apostle Andrew this morning. So let's go ahead and have a word of prayer, and we'll dive into it. 7 00:01:25,860 --> 00:01:35,460 Father in heaven, be with us this morning as we open your word, as we look at these three texts from the life of Andrew. 8 00:01:35,460 --> 00:01:47,540 May you help us to see that you have called all of us, that you don't just simply call some, but you call the ordinary. 9 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:55,140 So help us as we look at our faithfulness, that the call to follow you is for everyone. 10 00:01:55,140 --> 00:02:01,860 So give us strength this morning. Encourage us. Help us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 11 00:02:01,860 --> 00:02:13,620 There are times, I think, when it feels like life just throws sort of roadblock after roadblock at you, and this week, at least for me, was one of those. 12 00:02:13,620 --> 00:02:21,940 It seemed like everything that I started to do needed about three things done before I could start to do it, and so it felt like, in a lot of situations, 13 00:02:21,940 --> 00:02:30,420 I was doing the things that needed to be done before I could do the things that really needed to be done, and I was struggling to get over from being sick, 14 00:02:30,420 --> 00:02:36,420 and then some of the kids started being sick, and there was trips to the doctor, and so by the time we got to Friday, 15 00:02:36,420 --> 00:02:48,980 I felt like I was just kind of wrung out. I was kind of done with everything, and I had ordered some groceries for pickup. I went to do that, and to help with the busyness of the week, 16 00:02:48,980 --> 00:02:58,980 I said, "I'll pick up dinner on the way home," and I drive by, and I get the food in the car, and it was ready to go, and I was like, "Right, it's home free. I'm going to come out here, 17 00:02:58,980 --> 00:03:08,260 and I'm going to take a right-hand turn and another right-hand turn, and it's just a straight shot home." And as I was coming down the road to where I would normally turn right, 18 00:03:08,260 --> 00:03:16,740 I look, and there's just a whole bunch of flashing barricades that say, "Road closed," and there's a sign, you know, with all the words on it saying something about it, 19 00:03:16,740 --> 00:03:27,540 "It's closed till next year," and I'm just going, "Well, isn't that just sum up the week? There's nowhere I can go." So instead of the nice, straight, quick route home, 20 00:03:27,540 --> 00:03:36,980 I'm going the other way through the back roads, finding a way across town, and it was fine. It was just kind of summing up the week in one roadblock. 21 00:03:36,980 --> 00:03:49,220 I just want to go this way. I just want to do this, and everything just seems to not work. And when Jesus calls us to follow Him, 22 00:03:50,820 --> 00:03:58,900 there's times where it feels like that. Or we feel like maybe we're not strong enough, or the problems that 23 00:03:58,900 --> 00:04:05,860 are in front of us are too big. And so the struggle is too big, and our strength is too small. Or maybe we 24 00:04:05,860 --> 00:04:14,900 think, like Moses, I'm not qualified enough, or I'm not good enough because when God calls Moses, Moses 25 00:04:14,900 --> 00:04:24,420 immediately begins to make excuses about all the reasons why he is not qualified. And so we have 26 00:04:24,420 --> 00:04:34,100 before us this roadblock that says in our minds, "I don't know if I can do this." Or maybe even as we get to 27 00:04:34,100 --> 00:04:41,780 the bottom of Moses' excuses, he says, "I don't even know if I want to do this." And so we're called to 28 00:04:41,780 --> 00:04:48,180 follow Jesus. And when we hear those words to follow him, we say, "I don't know if that is for me. I'm not 29 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:55,940 big enough. I'm not strong enough. I'm not important enough. I'm not good enough." And we struggle with 30 00:04:55,940 --> 00:05:04,900 what is in front of us. So very simply this morning, I just want to encourage us. I want us to see as 31 00:05:04,900 --> 00:05:13,060 Christians in following Jesus. We're not stuck. We're not detoured. We're called. No matter where 32 00:05:13,060 --> 00:05:21,540 we are, how important, how strong, how good we are, we are called to faithfully follow Jesus. And I want 33 00:05:21,540 --> 00:05:29,220 to encourage us this morning by looking at one specific follower of Jesus. In John chapter 1 in 34 00:05:29,220 --> 00:05:36,820 verse 35, we find two people who are following Jesus. They've been disciples of John the baptizer, 35 00:05:36,820 --> 00:05:43,780 and they are actually standing with John as Jesus walks by. And John has already made this pronouncement 36 00:05:43,780 --> 00:05:49,700 that Jesus is the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world. And these two disciples 37 00:05:49,700 --> 00:05:58,100 are standing with John, and they see Jesus walk by, and John the baptizer goes, "The Lamb of God." And 38 00:05:58,100 --> 00:06:09,540 these two guys just start following Jesus. The very first disciple that we know the name of to follow 39 00:06:09,540 --> 00:06:21,460 Jesus is one of these two. And John 1:40 gives us his identity, simply saying this. One of the two who 40 00:06:21,460 --> 00:06:30,660 heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He's the first named disciple, 41 00:06:30,660 --> 00:06:38,020 the first named follower of Jesus, and this is the last time that he is at the beginning of any list for 42 00:06:38,020 --> 00:06:46,340 the rest of the Bible. And if you think about how we measure importance, and one of the things we're 43 00:06:46,340 --> 00:06:54,020 really good at is we are very good at conflating fame, how well known somebody is with how important 44 00:06:54,020 --> 00:07:02,660 they really are. And by that measure of importance, how famous and how well known you are, Andrew is one 45 00:07:02,660 --> 00:07:11,380 of the least important followers of Jesus. He's only mentioned a few times, and we're going to look at 46 00:07:11,380 --> 00:07:18,020 those three texts this morning, apart from group settings. In fact, most of the time he's mentioned 47 00:07:18,020 --> 00:07:25,060 is in those lists of the apostles of Jesus, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and in the book of Acts, and 48 00:07:25,060 --> 00:07:35,940 he is never first in any of those lists. He's not the most famous. He's not the well-known. But what Andrew 49 00:07:35,940 --> 00:07:43,860 does is he faithfully brings people to Jesus. He is truly ordinary in all of his ordinariness, 50 00:07:43,860 --> 00:07:55,940 but he has this remarkable testimony of bringing people to Jesus until his very dying breath. So what 51 00:07:55,940 --> 00:08:03,940 I want us to do is to see how this ordinary man, and hopefully he will encourage us as we seek to follow 52 00:08:03,940 --> 00:08:10,340 Jesus. The first thing we find about Andrew as he follows Jesus, Andrew's very intentional about 53 00:08:10,340 --> 00:08:20,340 bringing people to Jesus. I'm going to pick up in John 1:40, and it simply says this: "One of the two who 54 00:08:20,340 --> 00:08:29,060 heard John speak and follow Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother, Simon, 55 00:08:29,060 --> 00:08:36,580 and said to him, "We have found the Messiah, which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus." And Jesus 56 00:08:36,580 --> 00:08:42,500 looked at him and said, "You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter." And 57 00:08:42,500 --> 00:08:48,420 almost immediately we began to see the obscurity of Andrew. One of the two who heard John speak and 58 00:08:48,420 --> 00:08:54,820 followed Jesus was Andrew, and John goes, "You're probably not going to know about him except that he's 59 00:08:55,380 --> 00:09:03,460 Peter's brother." And almost immediately the picture shifts to Peter. But what I want you to see is 60 00:09:03,460 --> 00:09:14,820 Andrew's first reaction upon following Jesus was to go home and get his brother and bring him to follow 61 00:09:14,820 --> 00:09:23,860 Jesus. He's intentional with what is around him. He doesn't, like many of us, sort of think about what is 62 00:09:23,860 --> 00:09:31,220 out here. He looks around him and says, "What is close to me?" And then he goes and gets the closest thing 63 00:09:31,220 --> 00:09:39,460 and brings him to Jesus. One of the remarkable testimonies of Andrew was his faithfulness 64 00:09:39,460 --> 00:09:48,260 in the ordinary everyday things of life. And I want you to consider just for a moment the impact 65 00:09:48,260 --> 00:09:56,420 on the kingdom. Because Andrew, immediately overshadowed by Peter, he is the one who brings 66 00:09:56,420 --> 00:10:06,100 Peter to Jesus. Andrew, an ordinary man, but selflessly, runs to his brother Peter with the 67 00:10:06,100 --> 00:10:15,700 good news of Jesus Christ. And we see what a difference it makes. And you have this wonderful 68 00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:21,460 picture of the faithfulness of the guy who is almost immediately overshadowed by the famousness 69 00:10:21,460 --> 00:10:30,420 of Peter, but he is at the heart of bringing Peter to Jesus. And what's remarkable is that this quiet 70 00:10:30,420 --> 00:10:39,620 faithfulness in following and sharing the gospel is not something that ends here with Andrew. Probably 71 00:10:39,620 --> 00:10:46,340 many of you know that out of the last couple hundred years, my favorite and one of the most 72 00:10:46,340 --> 00:10:56,100 helpful pastors to me has been Charles Spurgeon. And I've shared a couple times with you the story 73 00:10:56,100 --> 00:11:07,380 of when he first really sees the gospel. Let me just share with you Spurgeon's story. He said, "I think 74 00:11:07,380 --> 00:11:13,460 sometimes I might have been in darkness and despair now had it not been for the goodness of God sending 75 00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:20,740 a snowstorm one Sunday morning when I was going to a place of worship. When I could go no further, 76 00:11:20,740 --> 00:11:26,980 I turned down a court and came to a little primitive Methodist chapel. And in that chapel there might be 77 00:11:26,980 --> 00:11:34,500 a dozen or fifteen people, and the minister did not come that morning because he was likely snowed in." The 78 00:11:34,500 --> 00:11:39,140 guy who gets up to preach, Spurgeon says this of him, "He was a poor man, a shoemaker, a tailor or 79 00:11:39,140 --> 00:11:45,380 something of that sort, and he went up to the pulpit to preach. And he was obliged to stick to 80 00:11:45,380 --> 00:11:51,380 his text for the simple reason that he had nothing else to say. And the text was, "Look unto me and be 81 00:11:51,380 --> 00:11:58,980 you saved all the ends of the earth." And he did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not 82 00:11:58,980 --> 00:12:08,420 matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in this text. And this man preaching this sermon 83 00:12:08,420 --> 00:12:16,740 says, "My dear friends, it is a very simple text indeed. It says, 'Look, that does not take a great deal of 84 00:12:16,740 --> 00:12:23,860 effort. It ain't lifting your foot or finger. It is just look. Well, a man need not go to college to learn 85 00:12:23,860 --> 00:12:31,620 to look. You may be the biggest fool, yet you can look. A man need not be worth a thousand a year to 86 00:12:31,620 --> 00:12:41,460 look. Anyone can look. A child can look. But this is what the text says. It says, "Look unto me." And he said 87 00:12:41,460 --> 00:12:48,260 in his broad accent, "Many of you are looking to yourselves. No use looking there. You'll never find 88 00:12:48,260 --> 00:12:54,980 comfort in yourselves." Then this good man followed up the text in this way, "Look unto me. I am sweating 89 00:12:54,980 --> 00:13:02,180 great drops of blood. Look unto me. I am hanging on the cross. Look, I am dead and buried. Look unto me. 90 00:13:02,180 --> 00:13:09,700 I rise again. Look unto me. I ascend. I am sitting at the Father's right hand. Oh, look to me and look to me." 91 00:13:09,700 --> 00:13:15,300 And when he had gone on about that for a length and managed to spin out 10 minutes, he was at the end of 92 00:13:15,300 --> 00:13:22,100 his rope. And he looked at me under the gallery, and I dare say with so few people present, he knew me 93 00:13:22,100 --> 00:13:29,300 to be a stranger. And then he said, "Young man, you look very miserable." And I did, but I had not been 94 00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:34,740 accustomed to have remarks made on my personal appearance from the pulpit before. However, it was 95 00:13:34,740 --> 00:13:42,340 a good blow struck. And he continued, and he said, "You will always be miserable, miserable in life, miserable in 96 00:13:42,340 --> 00:13:48,580 death if you do not obey this text. But if you obey now, this moment you will be saved." And he shouted as 97 00:13:48,580 --> 00:13:57,860 only a primitive Methodist could, "Young man, look to Jesus Christ." And Spurgeon says, "Then and there the cloud 98 00:13:57,860 --> 00:14:06,740 was gone. The darkness rolled away. And in that moment I saw the sun. And I could have risen at that moment 99 00:14:06,740 --> 00:14:16,740 and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, the precious blood of Christ." And this wasn't the end 100 00:14:16,740 --> 00:14:23,700 of Spurgeon's journey, but it was the beginning. And he goes on to be one of the most influential preachers 101 00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:33,140 and pastors in the last 200 years, because he shows up at a tiny church in a snowstorm with a guy who's 102 00:14:33,140 --> 00:14:43,060 not the preacher who simply points him to Jesus. This is the legacy of Andrew, faithful with what is 103 00:14:43,060 --> 00:14:50,420 in front of him. What's interesting is the next time we meet Andrew, he's on the other side of the Sea of 104 00:14:50,420 --> 00:14:59,220 Galilee with Jesus, and there is a massive crowd. And what we see is not only is Andrew faithful, but he looks 105 00:15:00,420 --> 00:15:08,580 where it seems that nobody else is looking. Jesus lifting up his eyes then and seeing a large crowd 106 00:15:08,580 --> 00:15:14,580 was coming toward him. Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?" And 107 00:15:14,580 --> 00:15:21,140 he said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. And Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii 108 00:15:21,140 --> 00:15:27,780 are not worth, 200 denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little." One of 109 00:15:27,780 --> 00:15:34,900 his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley 110 00:15:34,900 --> 00:15:47,700 loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?" The problem here is far too big for Jesus's disciples. 111 00:15:47,700 --> 00:15:54,340 Jesus has been growing in popularity, and we learn later on that there are at least 5,000 men, and it's 112 00:15:54,340 --> 00:15:59,700 likely because they're coming and seeking healing. We learn at the beginning of chapter 6, likely they're 113 00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:07,220 bringing their families as well. So most commentators think that in this moment there's 5,000 men, but 114 00:16:07,220 --> 00:16:16,100 the whole crowd could have been anywhere from 15 to 20,000 people. And Jesus turns to his disciples, 115 00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:21,060 specifically Philip, and goes, "Hey, where are we going to get bread to feed all these people?" And 116 00:16:21,060 --> 00:16:26,980 Philip goes, "I can't even do math because the numbers don't go that high. I could work for more 117 00:16:26,980 --> 00:16:39,300 than half a year." And they would only be able to have a tiny bite. And then Andrew does the most surprising 118 00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:48,500 thing. There's a little boy here who has his lunch with him. And that's not a remarkable thing if you're 119 00:16:48,500 --> 00:16:52,420 going to see Jesus and you want to take some food because you don't know how long you're going to be. 120 00:16:52,420 --> 00:16:59,060 It's reasonable to pack some snacks. And so this little boy brings his lunch. It's not surprising 121 00:16:59,060 --> 00:17:06,980 this boy is here. It's surprising that Andrew finds and knows and sees this boy. This boy in the view 122 00:17:06,980 --> 00:17:14,740 of the first century world would have been unimportant. He would have been viewed as a nuisance. If you remember 123 00:17:14,740 --> 00:17:20,260 the times before where Jesus has been speaking and children want to come see him and the disciples 124 00:17:20,260 --> 00:17:29,540 go, "Whoa, he's way too important for you kids." And Jesus corrects them. But here Andrew brings the one 125 00:17:29,540 --> 00:17:35,940 that everybody would overlook. And there's been a lot of people speculating about what kind of person 126 00:17:35,940 --> 00:17:42,740 Andrew must have been to do this. And one of my favorite descriptions is from a commentary written 127 00:17:42,740 --> 00:17:50,420 in 1928. And the author is speculating on the character and the person of Andrew. It was like 128 00:17:50,420 --> 00:17:56,100 Andrew, of course, to notice the small boy. Andrew was the kind of person a little boy could approach. 129 00:17:56,100 --> 00:18:01,620 And while the other disciples were busy with bigger things, Andrew was chatting with the boy, patting 130 00:18:01,620 --> 00:18:07,380 him on the head, asking him where he had caught the fish. Or did his mother buy them at the market? 131 00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:16,980 A scruffy lad with no special promise, but Andrew, the brotherly type, visits with him and somewhat 132 00:18:16,980 --> 00:18:27,300 ridiculously thinks that his lunchbox will interest the master. Andrew looks to this one, and he even 133 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:33,380 very specifically expresses his doubt. "I've met a boy. He's got five barley loaves, and we're not 134 00:18:33,380 --> 00:18:38,580 talking about big loaves of bread. We're talking about kind of cracker-sized loaves with just a little 135 00:18:38,580 --> 00:18:45,220 bit of fish on top. And Andrew says, "I've met this boy, and he has a lunch, but it's not big enough." 136 00:18:45,220 --> 00:18:52,820 But he still brings it to Jesus. And here is Andrew in the testimony of his life bringing someone else 137 00:18:52,820 --> 00:19:00,660 to Jesus. And what does Jesus do with this lunch? He turns it around and feeds all these people. And not 138 00:19:00,660 --> 00:19:06,580 only does he feed them until they don't want anymore, they pick up 12 baskets of bread that 139 00:19:06,580 --> 00:19:15,780 are left over. With Andrew's faithfulness and willingness to look around and to bring people to Jesus. 140 00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:24,900 You see his intentionality, but you also see that he looks at those who everyone else overlooks or dismisses. 141 00:19:26,180 --> 00:19:33,940 We find that even Andrew is willing to help, even when he is not at the center of what is happening. 142 00:19:33,940 --> 00:19:43,140 In John chapter 12, there is a lot of things that have happened. This is the third Passover of Jesus 143 00:19:43,140 --> 00:19:51,140 in Jerusalem that we have recorded. And if you remember what happens on Sunday, Jesus comes down 144 00:19:51,140 --> 00:19:56,580 the Mount of Olives riding on a donkey where everybody cheers Hosanna. He fights with the 145 00:19:56,580 --> 00:20:02,180 religious leaders. The next day, he cleans out the temple. There's questions. There's people wanting 146 00:20:02,180 --> 00:20:09,860 to talk to him. It's just a fervor over Jesus. And on top of that, he's just raised Lazarus from the dead, 147 00:20:09,860 --> 00:20:15,780 and the religious leaders are plotting to kill Lazarus and to kill Jesus. And it's just chaos. 148 00:20:15,780 --> 00:20:22,740 Everything happening all at once. Everybody wants to see Jesus. Everybody wants to talk to Jesus. 149 00:20:22,740 --> 00:20:30,820 And here comes some Greeks, and they worship the God of Israel, maybe like the Ethiopian. They're converts. 150 00:20:30,820 --> 00:20:38,260 And if they are converts to Judaism, Jesus' cleansing of the temple would have been remarkable for them 151 00:20:38,260 --> 00:20:45,140 because it takes their place of prayer and restores it to a place of prayer, not just simply a shopping 152 00:20:45,140 --> 00:20:51,300 mall or market. And these Greeks want to see Jesus, but so does everybody else. 153 00:20:51,300 --> 00:21:00,100 And they find Philip, a follower of Jesus with a Greek name, and they go to him and they go, "Any chance 154 00:21:00,100 --> 00:21:07,540 we can see Jesus?" And what Philip does is so remarkable. Now, among those who went up to worship 155 00:21:07,540 --> 00:21:14,500 at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida and Galilee, and they asked him, "Sir, we wish to 156 00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:21,220 see Jesus." And what does Philip do? Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 157 00:21:21,220 --> 00:21:27,940 So what does Philip do? He brings him to the guy who evidently historically has a history of bringing 158 00:21:27,940 --> 00:21:33,700 people to Jesus. He says, "Andrew, there's some Greeks who want to see Jesus." And Andrew, it seems, doesn't 159 00:21:33,700 --> 00:21:43,860 hesitate. He just grabs Philip, and they go to Jesus. It's this remarkable, wonderful picture. 160 00:21:43,860 --> 00:21:52,660 Of Andrew, once again, bringing people to Jesus. He brings the guy who's bringing the people to Jesus. 161 00:21:52,660 --> 00:21:59,460 You and I, we like to set up kingdoms and territories, right? This is mine. This is yours. I'll deal with 162 00:21:59,460 --> 00:22:06,820 my stuff. You deal with yours, but not Andrew. If there was someone he could bring to Jesus, he would. 163 00:22:08,180 --> 00:22:16,500 Not selfishly. Not caring about status or greatness. Just wanting people to see Jesus. 164 00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:23,940 We don't know a lot about what happens next in Andrew's life. In fact, in terms of Scripture, 165 00:22:23,940 --> 00:22:28,180 he's mentioned in the book of Acts as being part of the list of the disciples and the apostles. 166 00:22:28,180 --> 00:22:35,940 What we do know from church tradition is that Andrew continues 167 00:22:36,740 --> 00:22:46,020 this habit of bringing people to Jesus. And at one point in his sharing of the good news about Jesus, 168 00:22:46,020 --> 00:22:57,460 a wife of a provincial Roman governor becomes a Christian and infuriates her husband. And so he 169 00:22:57,460 --> 00:23:06,580 demands she recant her devotion to Jesus, and she says, "Absolutely not." And he goes to Andrew, 170 00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:18,020 and in revenge for sharing Christ to his wife, Andrew is then crucified on an X-shaped cross. It's the symbol of Saint 171 00:23:18,020 --> 00:23:27,060 Andrew, the X-shaped cross. And the historical tradition passed down through the church is that while Andrew 172 00:23:27,060 --> 00:23:36,660 suffered for two days, dying on that cross, with every breath, he proclaimed the good news about 173 00:23:36,660 --> 00:23:46,420 Jesus. From the beginning in John, chapter one, where his. To seek to bring people to Jesus. 174 00:23:46,420 --> 00:23:55,220 To his dying breath. Andrew sought to bring people to Jesus. 175 00:23:55,220 --> 00:24:02,580 I want us to see this morning as we follow Jesus, sometimes we can feel pretty small, 176 00:24:03,620 --> 00:24:12,740 pretty unimportant. And I simply want to say this, we don't overlook smallness when we have a great God. 177 00:24:12,740 --> 00:24:19,380 And that's what Andrew does. In fact, it doesn't even seem that he thinks about himself. All he can think 178 00:24:19,380 --> 00:24:26,980 about is the greatness and the goodness of Jesus and helping everybody that he comes in contact to see him. 179 00:24:29,380 --> 00:24:39,380 Also, don't minimize the power of consistent faithfulness when your faithfulness is to a great God. 180 00:24:39,380 --> 00:24:47,140 Andrew, although he's never at the beginning of a list except in John chapter one and immediately is 181 00:24:47,140 --> 00:24:57,060 superseded by his brother, his faithfulness is a testimony to those who trust in Jesus, who are 182 00:24:57,060 --> 00:25:06,500 strengthened by Jesus, led by Jesus, and seek to steward what God has done for them. This picture of simple, 183 00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:13,860 intentional, faithfully willing and seeking to bring people to Jesus, to trust in the power of God for 184 00:25:13,860 --> 00:25:24,740 your own strength and for the hope of their salvation. And as a church, what's around us? What 185 00:25:24,740 --> 00:25:34,820 are we called to be faithful to? We don't know much about Andrew other than he brings people to Jesus, 186 00:25:34,820 --> 00:25:44,020 an ordinary man inviting ordinary people to follow Jesus, their savior. And maybe this morning, 187 00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:50,980 whether you're a Christian or not, you look at that call to follow Jesus, and the simple thing is not 188 00:25:50,980 --> 00:26:00,820 strong enough. Well, God is. And maybe it's like Moses, "Well, I'm not articulate enough, or I'm not smart enough." 189 00:26:00,820 --> 00:26:08,660 But the good news of the gospel says that you aren't, but Jesus is, and that he leads you and he strengthens you. 190 00:26:08,660 --> 00:26:19,060 So I would say both to those of us who are Christians and those who are seeking, 191 00:26:20,980 --> 00:26:29,860 that the one who calls you is faithful. He is faithful in your salvation. He is faithful 192 00:26:29,860 --> 00:26:36,900 in equipping you. He is faithful in leading you, and he will bring you safely home. Let's pray. 193 00:26:36,900 --> 00:26:44,660 Father in heaven, thank you for Andrew. May you encourage us this morning with his life 194 00:26:46,980 --> 00:26:53,540 that we would put all of our hope and trust in you, and then like Andrew, let it overflow into sharing 195 00:26:53,540 --> 00:26:59,860 the good news to bring people to Jesus. Thank you for Jesus and for grace. It's in your son's name we pray.