Showing posts with label gossip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gossip. Show all posts

Sunday 31 May 2015

YOU CAN BE AN ‘ANDREW’


MEMORY VERSE: And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. John 1:42

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Corinthians 1-3

BIBLE READING: Matthew 28:18-20

Why should we talk about our Christian faith to our unsaved friends, families, work colleagues, etc? First, it is a command of Jesus himself. Mark 16:15 says,” And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Secondly, we tell people because there is a desperate need for people to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. If we were in the Sahara Desert and had discovered an oasis, it would be extremely selfish not tell the people around us who were thirsty where their thirst could be satisfied. Jesus is the only One who can satisfy the thirsty hearts of men and women. As a race we feel empty. Many have tried to fill that void unsuccessfully with alcohol, dress, sex, or money. Only Jesus can feel that void. Thirdly, we tell others because, having discovered the good news ourselves, we feel an urgent desire to pass it on. If we have received good news we want to tell others. Recently a sister shared with me that her younger sister had been cured of cancer. She was bubbling with joy hoping to share this testimony with anyone that cared to listen. This same applies to sharing the good news with our friends and family.

One of the most effective ways of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ is bringing people to hear the gospel explained by someone or invite them to Jesus. Many of us who have come to faith in Christ have lots of friends who have little or no connection with the church. This provides an excellent opportunity for us to invite them to church. There is no greater privilege and no greater joy than enabling someone to find out about Jesus Christ. A brother who stood out when it comes to inviting people to church was Brother Andrew. John 1:42 says, “And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.” We don’t hear much about Andrew except that he was always bringing people to Jesus (John 6:8; 12:22). But Simon Peter his brother went on to be one of the greatest influences in the history of Christianity. 

Albert McMakin was a twenty years old farmer who had recently come to faith in Christ. He was so full of enthusiasm that he filled a truck with people and took them to a meeting to hear about Jesus. There was a good-looking farmer’s son whom he was especially keen to get to a meeting, but this young man was hard to persuade – he was busy falling in and out of love with different girls, and did not seem to be attracted to Christianity. Eventually Albert McMakin managed to persuade him to come by asking him to drive the truck. When they arrived,  Albert’s guest decided to go in and was ‘spellbound’ and began to have thoughts he had never knew knowing before. He went back again and again until one night, he went forward and gave his life to Jesus Christ. That man, the driver of the truck, was Billy Graham. The year was 1934. Since then Billy Graham has led thousands to faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot all be like Billy Graham, but we can all be like Albert McMaken- we can all bring our friends to Jesus.

NOTE: We cannot all be Simon Peters, but we can all do what Andrew did – we can bring someone to Christ.

PRAYER POINT: Father , make me an incurable soul winner.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.