The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "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. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 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). (John 1:35-42 NIV)
When it comes to speaking to others about our faith, two things are true about us. The first... we all desire to see our friends, relatives, and acquaintances come to accept Christ as their savior. The second... we are stymied as to how to make that happen. What do I say? What if I say the wrong thing? When is the right time? Generally speaking, we are intimidated when it comes to witnessing to others about Christ.
Without a doubt all of us have some level of difficulty with evangelism... proclaiming the Gospel to a stranger, a co-worker and to relatives. We’re uncomfortable sharing our faith, even embarrassed at times.
It’s not that we don’t want to share our faith. It’s not that we do not have concern over lost relatives and friends. We do care. Because we care, we feel a sense of guilt over not doing very much to reach them. The task of evangelizing family, friends and even strangers seems to be too much for us. After all, don’t you have to be very knowledgeable of the Bible in order handle the gospel message properly in leading people to Christ?
First we need to be careful not to make sharing Jesus more complicated than it really is. In the Bible, we see many people sharing Jesus who were without formal theological training or for that matter much education at all. In fact, the most effective witnesses Christ were just newly saved themselves. They were novices... new converts filled with awe, passion and enthusiasm to share the message of salvation through Christ. In the passages in the book of John, we see Andrew telling his brother Peter about Jesus. But Andrew was just introduced to Jesus himself. So, if we consider his example, we find a practical method which shows us how to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people we come in contact with.
It is a simple method, yet very effective. As a matter of fact, most often the simplest methods are the most effective. It is the KISS method — “keep it simple saint”. The simpler, the better.
Following on the idea of “keeping it simple”... there are two simple steps that Andrew took to lead his brother to Jesus.
I. He Went and found His Brother
In verse 41...The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. The first step Andrew took to lead his brother to Jesus was to seek him out. We must take the same first step. If we are going to be effective in leading people to Jesus, we must first seek out unsaved people. We must spend time in places where we will be around people we know to be unsaved. There is simply no other alternative.
In order to do this there are four important things we need. The first thing we need is to know where they are. That seems simple enough. But you would be surprised at how many Christians do not take the time to think this through. You may say, lost people are everywhere." True, they are everywhere. But the very fact that they are everywhere sometimes serves as an obstacle to reaching them. We can be overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of lost people in this world. There are so many. Where do we start? How can we reach the world for Jesus? It seems like an insurmountable task! Sometimes you can be so overwhelmed by the vastness of the task that you give up before you begin. You can be so overwhelmed by the everybody that you fail to reach anybody.
The question is... not where are all the lost people, but where are the lost people you can reach? You must know where your mission field is. If you’re going to fish, you must fish where the fish are. After all, Jesus has called us to be fishers of men.
The second thing we must have is information about those we seek out. We must know them by name. Who are the people that comprise your personal mission field? Do you know them by name? Yes, should be your answer. God has given each one of us a mission field. We are all missionaries, called to reach the world for Jesus. But God has called us as individuals, to reach our circle of friends and acquaintances with the gospel message. The typical person has a circle of friends, relatives, and acquaintances numbering about forty people. That number may be slightly more or slightly less depending on your particular situation. These are the people who comprise your mission field. These are people you know by name, people you work with, neighbors and the like. These are the people, God expects us to seek out for Christ.
The third thing we need in order to reach these people, is to care enough about them to go after them. We must understand the gravity of their situation. We must understand that without Christ they are truly lost and under the condemnation of sin. They are condemned people. Without Christ there is no hope for them. This “state of condemnation” is not an abstract concept we can debate or ignore. That is why God commands us to go into all the world. That is why Jesus came. The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son." (John 3:16) God loves all of humanity and so must we. We must care enough to seek them out, and to use whatever influence we have to lead them to Christ.
The fourth thing we must have is something to share. Andrew not only sought his brother, he shared what he had found with him. We see in verse 41... The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). Andrew shared his own experience of discovering the Messiah. That’s how you start... by simply sharing your own experience of coming to know Christ.
Don’t worry about deep, complex, theological stuff here. This is about sharing our own personal experience of how Christ has changed our lives. Most people are not interested in arguing about deep theological truths. Most people already think they know what the Bible teaches, so going down the intellectual path will turn people off before you even get their attention.
It’s best not to argue the Bible with unsaved people. Rather, what you need to share is your own personal experience of coming to know Christ. It’s hard for anyone to argue with a personal experience, especially when they may have known you long enough to have seen the changes in your life and attitudes after you became a Christian. Personal experiences are almost the best way to start a dialog about Jesus Christ. Remember when Jesus healed a certain blind man... then the blind man was questioned by the religious leaders about who Jesus was. The blind man essentially said, "I don’t know about all of these theological arguments, all I know is once I was blind and now I see." We do not have to argue about theological issues. What we need to do is share simply our own experience. Share your new hopes and inner joy at how Christ has helped you cope with life’s challenges. Everyone will be able to identify with such experiences.
II. He Brought Him meet the Christ
We see in verse 42... he brought him to Jesus. Andrew not only sought his brother, he also brought his brother to Jesus. So we must not only seek out our unsaved friends and share with them our own experience, we must also bring them to a place where they can hear more, meet other Christians and experience an environment where they can make a decision for Christ. In Andrew’s case he literally brought his brother to Jesus. In our case, we can at least bring them to a place where they have an opportunity to hear the Gospel and be touched by the power of God. Bring them to church.
For all we do we must not stop short of this. This the key. The objective of evangelism is to evangelize. The objective of fishing is to catch fish. The objective of fishing is not to just bait the hook well... it is not just to see the fish take the bait... it is not just to get the fish on the line, it is to get the fish in the boat.
The Church that Jesus founded is not a fishing society. It’s not about meetings, accurate attendance figures and a membership roll, or to make sure the members pay their dues. Christians gathering together in assembly is much more than talking about evangelism. It is much more than well planned strategies for evangelism, rules to follow when sharing the gospel, regulations concerning the proper attire for do doing so, and so on. Fishermen are people who catch fish. Evangelists are people who talk to others about Christ. If you never drop a line in the water... you can’t call yourself a fisherman. If you never speak to others about your personal experiences of being a follower of Jesus Christ... you can’t call yourself an evangelist... and maybe not a Christian either.
The real issue a simple one. Christians do a lot of talking, strategizing and planning about fishing for lost souls, but what we really need to do is go find them and speak about HIM.
If we’re going to proclaim to our family and friends the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must act with urgency. We must take the time to seek them out, to share with them our own experience of knowing Christ, and bring them to church. Do not be afraid... GOD will be with you.
