The Fourth Disciple

Info

Series: No Series

Title: The Fourth Disciple #mission

Preached:

  • 2006-08-05: Marshall
  • 2006-08-12: Linden
  • 2010-08-14: East Mountain
  • 2016-07-30: White Rock Lake
  • 2020-10-17: Birmingham First Church

Songs:

  1. 371: Lift Him Up
  2. 363: Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service (Alt. Arr.: 634)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Slides:

Earlier Version: Operation Andrew

Scripture: John 1:35-42

  1. Introduction
  2. About Andrew
    1. Don’t know much about him
    2. From Bethsaida (home also to Philip)
    3. Disciple of John the Baptist
    4. Peter’s brother
    5. Not noted for any special abilities
  3. John 1:35-42—Andrew brings Philip to Jesus
  4. John 6:8, 9, surrounding verses—Andrew brings boy with lunch to Jesus
  5. John 12:20, 21—Andrew brings Greeks to Jesus
  6. The most effective way of evangelism is through relationships
    1. Truth for the sake of truth
    2. Not anymore
    3. This is Jesus’ method—witness the twelve disciples
  7. Operation Andrew in preparation for evangelistic meetings

Mission Report

  1. @ Greetings (Happy Sabbath: 행복한 안식일 입니다)
  2. About Korea
    1. South Korea slide – follow text on screen
    2. @ Korea is often dwarfed by its larger neighbors, China and Japan, but Koreans are very proud of their country, and with good reason. Here are some internationally successful Korean companies that you might have thought were Japanese.
    3. @ History
      1. Long history
      2. Historical records go back to the time of the Exodus
        1. Became a single country in AD 918
      3. Because of its location, frequently was controlled by Mongolia, China and Japan
    4. @ People
      1. Homogeneous
      2. Strong work ethic
      3. Always in a hurry
      4. Cliquish
    5. @ Religion in Korea
  3. @ About the mission (follow slides on screen)
  4. Mission needs

Main Sermon

References

  1. Andrew bringing Peter to Jesus: Jn 1:40-42; DA 138.4-139.5; RH 1873-01-21;
  2. Andrew and the boy’s lunch: Jn 6:8, 9; DA 365.3
  3. Andrew and the Greeks: Jn 12:22
  4. Barnabas: encouragement (Acts 4:36)
  5. Others
    1. “ ‘And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting their net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Thus Christ called his first disciples. They were not chosen from among the Pharisees, but from among humble fishermen. With these lowly men he could co-operate, educating and training them to the highest work ever given to mortals.” RH 1899-08-15
    2. “Here I wish to impress upon all interested in missionary work that the truth is first to be presented and the warning given to the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” Nothing will so impress minds as the uplifting of the Saviour. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” In the wilderness the word was given, sounded by the trumpet, caught up by appointed men; and those who heard in faith and looked toward the uplifted symbol were saved. Today those who are bitten by the serpent are to look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” All who look upon him will live. Then the question, “What must I do to be saved?” is answered.” RH 1899-08-15

Sermon

  1. Intro - Mission:
    1. @ Mission – we know it’s important; we hear about it regularly
    2. Often we don’t get involved
    3. Frequently, we feel unable or unqualified
  2. Intro - BFC
    1. This Thursday - 176th anniversary of an important date in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
      1. William Miller had been studying the prophecies of Daniel and had concluded that Jesus would return about the year 1843.
      2. He started preaching, telling others about Jesus’ soon return.
      3. The movement grew and many people were converted as they awaited Jesus’ Second Coming.
      4. Eventually, the expected date was refined to October 22, 1844.
      5. Obviously, there was an error, as Jesus still hasn’t returned. But the Advent believers continued studying and reaching out to others, and they eventually formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
      6. Our church was founded on people sharing Jesus.
    2. Have you ever felt awkward talking about God?
      1. “Don’t discuss religion or politics”–yet people in church keep saying to do so.
      2. Missionary English and Bible teacher in South Korea
        1. In training: we were to start English classes with a Bible verse written on the board, a devotional thought based on the verse, and a prayer
        2. My first day: Felt awkward about doing this: Korea is a secular country and I was used to talking about God to church people.
        3. Over time grew comfortable with this; when I returned to the US it seemed strange not to start classes with a devotion and prayer.
        4. Learned to find ways to talk about God in the workplace and found that opportunities arise when people know that you’re a Christian.
    3. We’re going to look at someone in the Bible who was known for bringing people to Jesus.
  3. @ Andrew: The Fourth Disciple
    1. Andrew—a disciple we don’t know much about
    2. Here’s what we do know
      1. @ Andrew and John were the first two disciples to follow Jesus (DA 138)
      2. @ Not well-known; only mentioned 12 times in Scripture
      3. @ Peter’s brother—and always in Peter’s shadow (2/3 of the time when Andrew is mentioned, it is also stated or implied that he’s Peter’s brother)
      4. @ Virtually ignored in the synoptic gospels (“synoptic” == “seen together”)
      5. @ In John, we see him as a missionary leading people to Jesus
  4. Andrew’s missionary experiences
    1. Andrew meets Jesus
      1. @ John 1:35-40 (the day after Jesus was baptized; John the Baptist had just been testifying about Jesus)
        1. Unlike most other people, Andrew went out of his way to spend time with Jesus.
        2. This is the first requirement of mission service. All successful missionaries do this.
        3. @ “They had responded to the Holy Spirit’s call in the preaching of John the Baptist. Now they recognized the voice of the heavenly Teacher. To them the words of Jesus were full of freshness and truth and beauty. A divine illumination was shed upon the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. The many-sided themes of truth stood out in new light.” DA 139.2
      2. @ Vv. 40-42a: The natural outgrowth of spending time with Jesus was to share the good news with his brother.
        1. Spending time with Jesus is the starting point
        2. Trying to share God without spending time with Jesus is backward
    2. @ John 6 – Feeding the 5,000 (Passover-bound crowds)
      1. vv. 5-7 Read from the Bible for context
      2. @ Vv. 8, 9 – On the screen
        1. Again, Andrew is bringing someone to Jesus
        2. He didn’t have a lot of faith, yet even mentioning the boy took some faith
        3. How did Andrew know about the boy? He must have been mingling with the people–getting to know people
        4. Andrew didn’t need any special skill; he simply brought what he knew
        5. But, he wouldn’t have known anything if he hadn’t been spending time with Jesus.
    3. @ John 12:20-22
      1. Why didn’t Philip go directly to Jesus? (maybe because they were Greeks)
      2. I can’t say for sure, but it seems as if Andrew encouraged Philip.
      3. Encouragement is another critical aspect of discipleship
        1. When everyone was afraid of the newly-converted Paul, Barnabas supported him (Acts 9:27)
        2. Barnabas’ name means “Son of encouragement”
      4. Encouraging others in mission is part of mission
  5. @ How should we respond when we feel unable, inadequate, or unwilling?
    1. While there’s certainly lots of room for knowing all the doctrines, and while there’s room for preaching and other public endeavors, they’re not the key to mission.
    2. @ The disciples “were not chosen from among the Pharisees, but from among humble fishermen. With these lowly men he could co-operate, educating and training them to the highest work ever given to mortals.” RH 1899-08-15
      1. God wants ordinary people. It’s not about what you have to offer God, but what He wants to do through you.
    3. @ 1 Corinthians 2:1-5—Paul, one of the greatest missionaries, placed his emphasis squarely on Christ. It’s the only thing that’s effective.
    4. @ “I wish to impress upon all interested in missionary work that the truth is first to be presented and the warning given to the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” Nothing will so impress minds as the uplifting of the Saviour. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” In the wilderness the word was given, sounded by the trumpet, caught up by appointed men; and those who heard in faith and looked toward the uplifted symbol were saved. Today those who are bitten by the serpent are to look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” All who look upon him will live. Then the question, “What must I do to be saved?” is answered.” RH 1899-08-15
  6. @ Conclusion
    1. Our church has a mission to be a light to our community–here in Hoover, and also in all the areas where our people live.
      1. Recent examples: Providing food to those in need
      2. Expanding our online footprint to reach more people during the pandemic
    2. There’s an essential role, however, for everyone who is a part of our church to play. Will you make these commitments?
      1. Spend time with Jesus every day.
      2. Ask God for divine appointments.
      3. Be a part of our church’s outreach efforts.