The Twelve Jesus Chose (part 2)

I know there's a fish fry, and my pastor always told me, he said, Tyler, if you're the only thing standing in between men and good food, preach short.

So I'm gonna try to be a little shorter for you today, but we've got something to get through today.

We're in the series the 12 that Jesus chose.

And I just want to tell you, if you're a guest here and this is your first time, maybe you're a skeptic, maybe you're not really sure about this guy named Jesus, maybe you're not really sure about the church.

Um maybe it's you who says that, you know, church is for hypocrites.

Well, we welcome one more.

We're glad you're here, okay?

And so here's what I want you to know is that you, I don't need you to have it all together, and I don't need you to have it all figured out.

Um I just need you to start.

I just need you to have a little bit of curiosity inside you, and and I want you to know that you're not good enough without him and you'll never be good enough, but he helps us, doesn't he?

And that's exactly what he does.

And so we welcome you here today if you're a first-time guest, or maybe you've been here before, maybe you've been here for a long time.

We're glad that you're here.

There are a lot of things happening right now.

We do have our last summer night uh at camp, or I say camp, I call it camp, it feels like camp to me.

Lake Irene, uh, miss uh Mr.

Less and Miss Donna, they allow us to go out there and it's a great time.

I will meet you here at 4 45, 5 o'clock ish um to do that.

But there's a big thing coming up next week called hope and a haircut, and I want you to be a part of it.

Listen, so many times I sit with people who say that there's just not much to live for, there's not much excitement in their lives, there's not, and usually the result of that is because you're not giving.

You're not giving.

You're not doing something that's bigger than you.

You're not a part of something that's bigger than you.

That's why these disciples that we're preaching about, they left everything they had because they realized that their ordinary mundane lives didn't offer much because it was nothing bigger than themselves.

Fishing in a boat day to day, waking up and doing the same jobs, all the things of life just kept dragging them down.

And one day they encountered a man named Jesus that radically changed their life, and they said, I will follow that, because it became bigger than them.

If you want to become bigger than you, be a part of a kingdom that's bigger than you.

And I promise you, God will fulfill your life more today and tomorrow in the years to come than anything else ever has.

And this next Sunday night, we're going to be helping young people get a first and fresh haircut before school.

We're going to give away a hundred plus backpacks with items in it to maybe take off a little bit of a burden for families.

We're going to be serving food.

It's going to be good.

We're going to have tents set up, games set up.

It's going to be a great evening, making sure that we're going to show the love of God in our community.

Amen?

That's what it's about.

The church is not a building designed just to have Sunday services.

In fact, our most important day is not Sunday.

It's a great day.

Our most important day is when Jesus lives through us on a Monday, a Wednesday, or even a Friday, Saturday.

These are important things.

I love Sundays and I hope you attend because it's very important that we do.

We should never forsake the gatherings of the saints.

But we invite you, if you've never been, if you want to come out, if you're not a member, please come out Sunday night.

Please stay today for fish.

Please just become a part of a community that's bigger than ourselves.

We invite you to that.

So let's get into it.

When we talk about the twelve, there's all these different types of disciples.

You've heard most of them growing up in Sunday school, or maybe you go around.

Most commonly know, we know Peter and John the Beloved, and all these different guys, but but there's this one guy in scripture that we don't hear much of.

We don't hear a lot about.

And it's this guy named Andrew.

And I just realized I left my clicker over there.

Give me one second.

This way, Darla doesn't kill me the whole service.

She's already doing enough back there.

All right.

We got this guy named Andrew.

And it's in the scriptures that we understand that Andrew never recorded a sermon.

You know that.

Andrew never preached a sermon that was recorded.

He never wrote a book of the Bible, and he is not the disciple people quote most often.

In fact, I can almost guarantee you that most of you in the room, if I asked you to tell me one thing that Andrew said, you would look at me with a blank stare.

Because most people don't know that much about Andrew.

Yet every time Andrew shows up in the Gospel of John, he is doing the same simple, powerful thing.

And that's bringing someone to Jesus.

Isn't that intriguing?

That while his brother Peter gets the spotlight, Andrew stays in the background consistently, faithfully, and effectively.

His life reminds us that you do not have to be the loudest voice in the room to make an eternal difference.

This morning, as we talk about Andrew, I want to talk about the fact that his first instinct was always to bring people to Jesus.

John chapter 1, reading of verse 40 through 42, we find the account of Andrew.

John 1 · chapter mention

And this is what happens with Andrew's life.

This is what we first see of Andrew.

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

Okay?

So he has experienced with John.

He has seen Jesus.

He has followed Jesus.

And what's the first thing that Andrew does?

The first thing Andrew does is that he went to find his brother Simon and tell him we have found the Messiah.

That is the Christ.

His first intent and focus was not to make himself look big on a pedestal, but it was to go share the most important news that he'd received with the people that he loved the most and the brother that he loved the most.

And that was Simon, which we know is Peter.

He goes and he runs and says, We have found the Messiah.

And it's in this moment that Andrew did not try to argue with Peter into faith.

He just tries to tell him.

He says it like this that he brought him to Jesus.

This is what I love.

So here's the crazy part, guys.

Andrew encounters Jesus.

And the first thing he does is he runs home to Peter and he says, Peter, I don't know how to explain it, but come with me, man.

And so he brings Peter.

And he brings him to Jesus, and Jesus looked at him and said, You're Simon, son of John.

You which will be called Cephas, which means when translated, is Peter.

See?

Here's the thing I love about Andrew is Andrew did not try to impress Peter.

He did not try to tell him how many things he knew from the Torah.

He did not try to tell him how smart he was.

He didn't tell him you have to come with me to force him.

But he said, I've experienced something and I want to tell you about it, and I want you to go with me.

Peter made a choice in this moment to go.

And at this moment, something radically changes because Peter realizes that Jesus Christ of Nazareth knows exactly who he is before he ever spoke a word.

The single introduction that Andrew was willing to make between Peter and Jesus changed, changed the whole course of history.

I want you to understand this morning that maybe you're here and you think that I'm not the smartest, I'm not the brightest.

I just started out in this journey too.

I don't even know the scriptures.

I can't even figure out how to tie my spiritual shoes in the morning.

Maybe you feel like you have nothing to offer.

Could I tell you that the most important thing you can do for someone is to simply be the introduction to Jesus for their life?

How simple is that today for you and I?

See, Andrew didn't have a platform, he didn't have Facebook, he didn't have a microphone.

What Andrew did have was a brother, and he knew that the encounter he had just had with Jesus radically changed him in a moment that he wanted to tell someone, so he chose the person who he was closest to.

And that was Peter.

See, here's the thing that I've learned, and it's this you don't have to have all the answers to bring someone to Jesus.

You just need to know where he is.

You just need to know where he is.

You need to know where his presence lives, you need to know where the well is, you need to know where the spirit is moving.

Because here's the one thing that I can tell you is that God never called me to ministry to change people, he called me to ministry to love them so that they might be enticed to enter into his presence, into which they could have a relationship and he could do the changing.

I couldn't change myself if I wanted to.

How could I expect myself to change you?

I can't do that, but I can tell you who has radically changed me, and it was the love of Jesus Christ.

That's what did the work.

And something that we need to know is that some of the greatest kingdom works happen when ordinary people make simple introductions.

I have to tell you, I can show no great work, I can do no great thing, but what I can do is I can sit down with someone at a Waffle House and I can say, hey man, would you want to come to church with me sometime?

Because God's done something crazy in my life and maybe he could do something for you too.

That's the simplest introduction.

I don't have to quote anyone's scripture, I don't have to be smarter than anyone, I'm not smarter than anyone.

I just have to simply say, hey man, I know what he's done in my life.

Maybe he'd do it in yours too.

Why don't you try?

And I'll leave it in their court.

I leave it in their court.

And this was something that Andrew was so good at.

Andrew noticed what other people overlooked.

He was so good at this.

This is what the scripture says when talking about when Jesus asked how, or when Jesus asked how they were going to feed a massive crowd, the disciples saw an impossible problem.

Andrew saw a small possibility.

And I love this about Andrew, because this is what he shows us here in the text.

He says, another of his disciple, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up in John 6.

He said, Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish.

But how far will they go amongst so many?

This is what I love because we always need an Andrew in the church.

We always need an Andrew.

We always need someone who believes in God and the faith of God.

See, Andrew and these disciples, they had seen God perform miracles before this.

And the problem is they were always looking at the big problem.

There's 5,000, right?

How are we going to feed all of these people?

That 5,000 didn't include wives and children, by the way.

So it was more like probably like over 15,000 people there.

Okay?

Heads of household is what was accounted for theologically.

And so now we're sitting here and they're looking at Jesus because Jesus is teaching and he's doing these things, and people are hungry and they need to be fed, and nobody has a solution because the problem is overwhelming.

How do we do this?

But Andrew, having great faith, goes and he looks for something, and a little boy he finds that has five small barley loaves and two small fish.

And with childlike faith, he says, How far will they go, Jesus?

Let's see.

And this is what we find that Andrew didn't bring a solution.

He brought a boy with a lunch, and that was all Jesus needed.

At some point in your life, you got to quit looking for the solutions, and you have to start bringing Jesus what you have.

At some point in your life, you got to quit thinking that you have the answer because you do not.

And at some point in your life, you're going to have to fully surrender to God so that you can experience him in the way that he's called you to, in hopes that in that relationship, when you walk with him, you will find the answer that you needed.

I want to stop and talk about John 11 real quick when we see the story of Lazarus and Jesus' friend who died.

Mary and Martha love Jesus a lot.

But it's in this portion of scripture in John 11 that we see that Lazarus is dead.

He's dying.

And Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to come, but Jesus showed up two days late and they were sad and they were disappointed.

And here's the thing that we find out about Jesus in this moment is that Jesus sometimes waits and doesn't answer us because he loves us, because we need to understand that our life conditions are not predicated on his goodness.

My life circumstances are not predicated on his goodness.

When I don't get the answer, he's good.

When I do get the answer, he's good.

When I lose somebody, he's good.

When I go through something, he's good.

My situation, because he's gonna work it out for his good, and his good is greater than my good.

I only see a snapshot.

And it's in this moment, it's in this moment, it's in this moment that we see Mary and Martha.

Remember, originally, Mary and Martha, you know, one was sitting at the feet of Jesus, the other one's cooking for Jesus.

They invite him into the home.

But this time in chapter 11, we see that Martha meets him at the gate because Martha has this attitude of, when I cooked for you, you came, but when I cried, you didn't.

And sometimes we treat God the same way, don't we?

And it's in this moment that he didn't come when she wanted him to, but he came when he wanted to.

And sometimes in our life, we think that we need to bring a solution to the issue when really we need to sit at the feet of Jesus for a while and see what he has to say.

Sometimes we need to see what he wants to do.

Sometimes we need to just wait to see what God.

I get curious and excited because I'm just waiting to see what God's going to do.

I have to trust him in this.

And through a relationship, a relationship, the relationship of everything is what's going to lead you to the solution that you need.

If you had the solution, you would use it, but you don't have a solution.

You don't have a solution for your finances, your marriage, your family, the things you can't figure out.

You can't do it on your own if you tried and you've been trying, and maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, we need to be more like Andrew.

And we need to quit looking for a solution and just bring to Jesus what we have because he can do a lot more with what we have than we can do with all the things that we try to gather for ourselves.

Here's where we're at.

Andrew did not pretend the boy's lunch was enough.

He simply brought what was available to Jesus, and Jesus multiplied it.

That's what he did.

That's what he did.

Andrew didn't need to bring a solution.

He brought a boy with a lunch, and that is all that Jesus needed.

And what we think is insignificant sometimes might just be the exact thing Jesus is waiting to multiply.

Some people in here may be thinking, what would God ever use me to do?

You'll never know if you don't bring what you already have.

You'll never know.

Stop waiting for something impressive to offer Jesus.

Quit thinking that you have to have it figured out right now.

Quit thinking you've got to be able to quote the scriptures right now.

Quit thinking that you have to be in a Bible study right now.

Quit thinking that you've had to attend the church for 10 years.

Quit thinking that you have to become a member right now.

Listen to me.

Bring him what you have.

If you want to change your world, if you want to change your world, your world.

I'm not talking about the United States.

I'm not talking about Africa.

I'm talking about the home in which you live in.

I'm talking about the homes in which you pray in.

I'm talking about in the community that you live, because what fills a room always fills a house.

And let me tell you, and I just feel led to say this: if you got marriage problems in this place right now, start praying for your spouse in the bedroom and watch the love of God move from that room into the bathroom and to your living room and to your house and to the whole world to see, because that's how good he is.

That's how good he is.

Often God does his greatest work through those who dismiss the things that are too small.

John 12, 20 through 22 says it like this.

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival.

And they came to Philip, who was in Bethtah, Beth Seddah.

I can't even say it to the right, guys.

In Galilee.

You don't even have to be able to say the scriptures right.

Isn't that awesome?

With a request, sir, they said, We would like to see Jesus.

I love this part about Andrew.

This is so good.

This is so good.

Because we've got these people, they've seen miracles, signs, and wonders.

Jesus doing all these things all over.

Things are happening.

And they're they're they're wanting to visit Jesus.

They're wanting to see Jesus, but they don't know Jesus, right?

They came to Philip and they said, Look, we want to see Jesus.

Could we see him?

Could we could we have an experience with him?

Could we sit with him?

And this is what happened.

Philip went to tell Andrew.

And Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Now this is what I love.

This is what I love about Andrew, guys.

This is what I love about him.

Because you know how easy it is?

You know how easy it is for us to want to take the credit and the glory for everything?

Hey, I really wanna, I really want to see Jesus.

Okay, let me go talk to Andrew.

Hey, Andrew, these people, these Greeks, they want to see Jesus.

And Andrew could have in that moment said, I'm glad you knew I was the guy.

I'm glad you knew I was the guy.

Let me go talk to him.

Hey guys, listen.

Jesus is really busy and I'm his main guy.

Because you come to me, I think I can get you into a time slot.

Okay?

But not a lot of people get close to Jesus, but I get close to Jesus.

So let me work this out.

I'll come back and get you and we'll figure it out.

He could have done that.

He could have done that to make himself look higher.

Because you know what?

People always want to make themselves feel more important, don't they?

Don't they?

It's the age we live in, it's the world we live in.

People always want to feel like, ugh, you know?

It's the thing.

And so it's in this moment, it's in this moment that Philip and Andrew instead go and tell Jesus because they don't want to make it about themselves.

They want to make it about Jesus.

And it's in this moment in verse 22 that we say Jesus has a direct correlation and a direct connection that Andrew realizes they don't need me to figure this out.

Jesus will figure this out.

And at some point in our life, we have to understand that faithfulness in the background often outlasts the spotlight.

I don't need everybody to see me.

I know I preached on a Sunday and I thank God that He gives me the opportunity to do it when I don't deserve it.

But here's what I know Faithfulness in the background often outlasts the spotlight.

Man, I have need for those that pray when nobody else can see.

I love people that don't care about themselves, but they care everything about the kingdom of God.

God help me.

My great-grandmother always told me, Tyler, if you can't handle a broom, you better never pick up a microphone.

At some point, you've got to know what he's called you to is bigger than you, and that I must decrease so he can increase.

And the thing I love is that Andrew never needed the microphone.

He just kept making the introduction.

That was what he was called to.

I don't gotta preach a sermon.

I don't gotta be in the front.

I don't have to have everybody looking at me.

I just have to stay faithful in the background.

And I know that if I keep making the slight introductions, that he'll begin to do a work and a revival greater in my life, my family's life, the church's life, the community's life, because that's all I've got to offer.

That's it.

That's it.

That's it.

Andrew never wrote a gospel, but he brought a man to Jesus who preached at Pentecost.

I want you to think about that.

I want you to think about that.

I want you to think about that.

Who would have thought that he would have brought someone to Pentecost?

I need you to quit underestimating the power of a quiet disciple who keeps bringing people to Jesus.

Maybe you think that you don't have much value in the kingdom.

That's a lie from hell.

You do.

Maybe you feel like you're not talented or you don't have a lot, you do.

God has the perfect plan for your life.

But the first thing you have to do before you do anything else is you have to actually have an introduction with Jesus.

And you know what?

I don't have much to offer you today.

Except Jesus.

I want to give you an introduction.

I want to tell you a story first.

Brooke, can you get the guitar and things ready?

I remember a story, I'm gonna read to you here for a moment.

As a 24-year-old farmer, young farmer, just starting out near Charlotte, North Carolina.

Albert McMain.

Anybody ever heard that name?

Albert McMain?

Okay, let me show you a picture.

Do I have the picture?

I don't have the picture.

Never mind.

Sorry, guys.

I got excited that you don't see the picture.

Well, too bad.

Um Albert McMain.

No one's you probably never heard that name in history.

Like, you probably haven't.

Just a young farmer that was passionate about sharing his newfound faith with his friends.

He was just a farmer.

24, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Had an encounter with Jesus, loved Jesus with everything that he had.

And so he just wanted to make introductions to Jesus for his friends.

And when a traveling Evangelist came to the area for a crusade in September of 1934.

Albert invited some of his friends to come out to the meetings and to hear the gospel.

One of them in particular had very little interest in the matter.

And as the time, and at the time, he was preoccupied with becoming a professional baseball player and too busy chasing pretty girls to consider spiritual things.

But McMaken street sweeten the dill by allowing the young lad to drive his truck, and this kid could not resist.

He got to drive the truck.

After attending one service, the lad was hooked.

Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, he recognized that he was a sinner in need of a savior.

And just six days before his 16th birthday, that teenager surrendered his life wholly to Jesus.

And that teenager was named Billy Graham.

Who later wrote in his autobiography that growing up in a Christian home and attending church grudgingly left him restless and resentful until he realized the depth of his sin and the dilemma that he was spiritually dead.

When he bowed the knee to Christ that November night in Charlotte, North Carolina, he rose a brand new creation and set out on a path that would change the course of human history for millions upon millions of lives.

See, Billy Graham's legacy has reached the end of the earth, but the story is incomplete apart from the faithful courage of a simple and relatively obscure farmhand named Albert McMahon.

Few people may know the name Albert McMahon, but I assure you that his legacy is rich where it matters the most in the light of eternity.

Everybody wants to talk about Mordecai Ham, who preached the revival that Billy Graham was at.

But most people don't know the Andrew that first said, hey, if you'll come to church with me, I'll let you drive my truck.

Your life, your legacy, will not depend on how much money you have or how many cars you drive or what's nice or what's not.

Your life, your legacy is going to depend on the presence of God that you allow to lead with your life in.

You know, I'm not a great singer by any means.

I'm barely a guitar player.

But I promise the Lord that if you would teach me guitar, I would play and sing for his kingdom.

And I want to tell you today that I want to give you an opportunity here at the end of the service to just introduce you to Christ.

I believe that when I start playing, that the Lord is listening.

I believe his presence move.

I believe he's music is the only thing on earth that wasn't created on earth.

Music was created in heaven.

I love it so much.

There's an introduction for you today.

I don't know where you're at.

I want you to know that Jesus is for you and that he loves you, and that he wants to use you.

And whether that's in the spotlight in the background, there is no difference in this really for the kingdom of the God.

This is not about me, and this is not about you.

Can you hear me?

Darling, we good.

I want to pray for you for a moment.

And then we'll get into the song, okay?

But I just want you to spend time with Jesus in this moment.

And I just want to introduce you to him if you don't know him.

He's here to listen to you.

God, I thank you for your goodness.

Say it every week.

I can't do this life without you.

And I don't want anyone to feel that they have to do it without you either.

This life is an easy gun.

We need you.

I need you as much as Billy Graham needed you, if not more.

Every person in this room needs you.

God, I pray that they would see you the way you see us.

That you accept us in our faults.

Our struggles.

You walk with us, God.

God, thank you.

You take my imperfections.

You take all the things I do, all the things I struggle with, God.

That you love me through it.

God, let this not be about me today.

Let this not be about anybody else today, but let this be about you today.

Thank you for the children, God.

Thank you for their hearts.

I want them to know and believe that you are who you say you are.

Lord, and I just pray that you would move in this moment, the last few moments that we have together before we go eat.

Lord, I pray that you would just speak to a heart and use it for your glory.

Amen.

More than anything that just won't stop.

I open up my heart.

Yes, yeah, we do, we love it, father.

I just want to see everybody of the pin.

Jesus, you don't know me.

But I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I open up my heart.

I just want to be done.

Oh, I'm not beautiful.

More than anything.

I just want you.

She's a step per center of it all.

From beginning to the end.

Jesus, that the center of it all.

Jesus, that's an of it all.

From beginning to the end.

Nothing else not.

Nothing will do.

I've seen it all, God, I've seen it all.

Jesus, you're the center you are.

Everything revolves around you.

Jesus you Jesus be the center of mine.

Jesus be the center of my life.

From beginning to the end.

There will always be.

It's always been you, Jesus.

Jesus.

I want to sing this quietly for a moment.

Nothing else matters.

Nothing in this world will do.

You believe that?

Hold on a second.

Hold on.

Your car payments, your struggles, your house, everything that you worry about that's keeping you awake at night.

Can I remind you that nothing else matters?

Nothing in this world will do.

That new thing you want that you think is gonna make you happy?

Ah no, it's Jesus, man.

Jesus, you're the center.

Everything we both are about you.

Jesus.

It's all about you.

Yes, it's all about you.

From my heart to the heavens.

Jesus be the center.

It's all about you.

Yes, it's all about you.

It's not about me.

It's not about the guitar.

It's not about the microphone.

It's not about the people singing.

It's all about you, God.

So we thank you.

We worship you and we praise you, God.

We thank you for your goodness.

Let us be more like Andrews.

Nothing else.

Nothing else matters.

Nothing in this world will do.

Jesus, you're the center.

Everything revolves around you.

Jesus, you at the center of the law.

It's Jesus.

It's always been Jesus.

It's always gonna be Jesus.

God, we lift you up, we glorify you, we honor you.

Thank you for your goodness.

Thank you for your love.

Thank you for your mercy.

Thank you for using someone so messed up and so imperfect like us.

God, we love you, we glorify you.

Thank you for the children.

Thank you for your kingdom.

Thank you for showing us the example of who Andrew is.

Thank you for showing us that it's not your perfection that you care about, but it's our impossibilities that do show that authenticity of who you are.

God, we love you and we glorify you.

We praise you.

In Jesus' name.

Somebody say amen.

Amen.

This morning I hope that you realize that he wants to use you.

But he has to become the center of everything.

Would you stand with me?

That was my remote for you.

I don't have it together.

I don't have it all figured out.

When he becomes the center of your life, your whole world will change.

I'm gonna pray for you one more time, and then we're gonna go eat a lot of fish, okay?

Alright, here we go.

Oh, they're gonna sing some more songs.

Two more songs.

Well, well, that's good.

You'll forget about me.

Alright.

Let's pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, we love you.

Lord, thank you for these children.

Thank you for your kingdom.

Thank you for your church.

God, we ask you to bless these people.

Lord, let us worship you in the spirit of truth, and let us be reminded that the kingdom of heaven and heaven is that of children.

Lord, let us rejoice in that.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Welcome the children back up.

Amen.