Bringing and Including

"Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and beheld them following and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi (when translated means teacher), where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came therefore and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah (when translated means Christ)." He brought him to Jesus.

John the Baptist, a fisherman named Andrew and an unnamed man were standing by the Jordan River. John the Baptist was talking to these two disciples, learners of his when his speech trailed off into silence. The two men, following his lead, found themselves looking at a stranger approaching in the distance. Then John the Baptist said it. Not in that booming preacher voice of his that could be heard by an assembly of hundreds of people but the kind of voice you use when you speak, not in authority but in awe. "Look," he said, "the Lamb of God."

John had been telling his followers that he was just the master of ceremonies at God's banquet of life. "I am here to introduce the main man," he said. Now he sees Jesus and says, "Look, that's him, the Lamb of God." Any real minister of the Gospel points away from himself and to Jesus. At first John the Baptist is so enthralled at what God has revealed to him about his cousin Jesus, he didn't notice that the two men had left him and were headed for Jesus.

In the last verse of John 3 some John's followers came and said, "John, this fellow, Jesus' is baptizing too and he's baptizing more than you are." And John said, "Well, that's the way it should be. I must decrease and he must increase." Andrew and his friend followed Jesus.

It is very obvious as we read the Bible about this beginning of Jesus' ministry that he is collecting people. He is bringing people to himself and to each other. We sing "people need the Lord ..." and that is true, but people also need people. Adam was the best of God's creation but he wasn't complete. He wasn't total. He needed someone else in his life.

God gave us family because we need someone else. He gave us the church family because we need others. Sometimes people say, "If I have God, that's all I need". Not so, Adam had God. Adam had not sinned yet. He was in total fellowship with God but he was lonely. He was alone. He needed someone. Jesus was bringing people to Himself and to each other. He is still doing that. He is doing that in Christian marriages. He is doing that in churches.

Look in verse 39. He turned and saw them following Him and asked: "What are you seeking? What do you want?" That is not the question many expect to hear from Jesus. They would expect Him to ask: "What is the matter with you?" "What is your problem?"

Some think that we come to the Lord and He asks, "what's wrong with you?" and you tell Him what's wrong and He forgives you for it and you go your way. His first question to us is not "What's wrong? "What are your flaws?" But, "What are you seeking?" "What are your needs?"

We are told that they talked with Him the rest of the afternoon and all night. What did they talk about? Well, a lot of the conversation must have been in answer to that question: "What are you seeking?" "What are your needs?" "What do you want?"

What would you have answered? He's still asking the same question: "What do you need?" Would you say, "Lord, I need to be loved. I am lonely." "Lord, I need to feel important." "Lord, I have been hurt. My heart needs healing." "Lord, is there any way to have a life worth living?" "Is it possible to be deeply joyous?" Can I really be free from guilt and sin?"

We don't know how the conversation went but Jesus addressed those very things so much in His teaching and preaching. We do know that at the end of the time with Him Andrew was convinced. He immediately sought out his brother, Simon, the son of John. They were the Johnson boys and he said, "We have found the Saviour, the Messiah." And he brought him to Jesus.

Now his brother, Simon, he would be called Peter later, would become one of history's greatest men and leaders of the early Christians. What if Andrew hadn't brought his brother to meet Jesus?

Many of you have heard of D. L. Moody, the great preacher, founder of Chicago's Moody Bible Institution and much more. Do you know the name Edward Kimble? He is the Sunday School teacher who invited Moody to visit his class and brought him to Jesus.

We all know the name Billy Graham. How we thank God for Billy Graham. Do you know the name Mortachi Hamm? He is the one used to bring Billy Graham to Christ.

You don't have to be a Methodist to know the name John Wesley. John Wesley wassaved because he was invited and taken to a prayer meeting by someone whose name is not known. You can be assured God knows it.

Garrison Keeler, the great story teller grew up in church. As a boy he was taken to every meeting. When he went to college he dropped out. He had a lot of good reasons, he thought, for not going to church. Every time someone would ask, "Do you go to church?" he would say, "No." And they would say, "Well, why don't you go to church?" And he would tell them why and they would leave him alone . One day someone said, "Do you go to church?" "No," he said. "Why?" And he told them. And then the person asked, "Would you go to church with me?" And he said, "Yes, I will." And Garrison Keeler has been in church ever since.

I’ll never forget the day, May the 14th, 1973 when a young lady in my high school invited me to come and see. She simply gave me an invitation to join her at the local Crusade that was going on that evening. The tent was up on the football practice field. Everyone could see it. So that night I went, and that night I got saved. Oh the greatest decision of my life was that night twenty-seven years ago. And all because a young girl, a high school student invited me to come and see.

Eighty percent of the people who come to church come because they were invited, not because of buildings or sermons or songs or ice cream suppers, they come because they were invited by someone.

Would you become an Andrew or a Karen? Could you be a teller and a bringer? When you come to church, bring someone with you. Don’t just wait for Friend Day or our Crusade. Bring someone to Jesus every Sunday.

I have a deep conviction that the only hope for our world, especially our Western civilization, is the church. It's message of life is Jesus Christ and He says the scriptures is the Hope of the world. You may not be able to witness one-on-one just yet but you can invite someone to come with you or meet you there. You can make sure no one who visits is ever ignored or feels left out. You can get simply invite them to “come and see.”