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As the gospel of John begins we are introduced to Jesus’ first disciples. Two of those disciples are Andrew and Philip. Andrew’s encounter with Jesus is so profound that he is moved to bring his brother, Simon, or Peter, to meet this rabbi. Philip finds in Jesus the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, and influences the cynical Nathanael to “Come and see” (John 1:43-46). Like these two early disciples, we are called to invite others to meet Jesus.

 

Two weeks ago ZPC put on its annual Vacation Bible School, welcoming hundreds of children from this church and community to learn about God. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who volunteered to help make it an incredible week. Some of you may still be recovering after being in the presence of the collective energy of five hundred children. About mid-week of VBS, Scott Shelton was rubbing his shoulder, thinking he might have pulled a muscle from the previous night’s worship dancing and hand motions.

One of the volunteer families who was in our midst that week was the McDowells. Mark and Ruth McDowell and their two daughters are long-time missionaries in the Philippines, and they led one of the VBS mission pods, teaching our children about missions.

I’ve gotten to know and love the McDowells over the past six years. The way they live inspires me. It’s inspiring how natural it is for them to talk about Jesus with other people. I’ve been with Mark in the Philippines and have seen him share with strangers at basketball courts and gas stations. But I kind of expected that, him being a missionary and all. But, when he’s come back to the States for some R & R, I’ve seen him do the same thing. I don’t why this has surprised me. I guess I was thinking that when he’s home, he’s off duty. That’s not the case with them. They’ve developed an acute awareness of the people around them, and the possibility that some of those people don’t know God. Every time we’re together here in Zionsville, either Mark or Ruth ends up sharing about God with someone. Whether at the climbing gym, or convenience store, or at restaurants, if one of them disappears for a minute, chances are they’re striking up a conversation with someone, eagerly bringing God into the dialogue.

Do you know someone right now who does not know Jesus? Think of that person. Put their face in your mind this morning. Write their name in your bulletin. Could be a co-worker. A family member. A friend. A neighbor. It might be someone you’ve just met or a person you’ve known for decades. We’ll come back to that person.

We all know people who haven’t experienced life with Jesus in it. This morning, we take a look at two of the early disciples, Andrew and Philip. Like many of you, these disciples had encountered Jesus and had someone in their minds who had not. Let’s see how these two followers of Jesus responded.

(Read John 1:35-42, page 1050)

As the text opens focus is moving from John the Baptist to Jesus. He points his followers toward Jesus. Andrew and another nameless disciple of John the Baptist, whom many think is the apostle John who wrote this book, begin to follow Jesus. Jesus says, “What do you want?” to which they respond, interestingly, “Teacher, where are you staying?” Jesus doesn’t answer their question. Instead he invites them to come and see. The two men go with Jesus and spend a good part of the early evening getting to know him.

The time spent with Jesus must have been especially compelling for Andrew because in a matter of hours he goes from calling Jesus, rabbi, or teacher, to recognizing a much deeper reality about Jesus. In his excitement, he rushes to his brother, Simon, or Peter, saying, “You’ve got to come and meet this Jesus. He’s the Messiah. He’s the savior.”

So, Andrew brings his brother, Simon, to Jesus. Jesus looks deeply into Simon and gives him a new name, Peter, which means “rock”. Now, at first, Peter’s character offers nothing like the stability of a rock. He is rash and reckless. But, at their first encounter, Jesus not only sees the man who stands before him; he sees the man who could be. He sees the possibilities.

Bring up in your imaginations that person you thought about earlier, the one who doesn’t know Jesus. Think of their character and personality. And now, think of their potential, the possibilities. Think of who they could become with God. That’s how Jesus sees them. With Jesus, they could be the person God created them to be.

Simon could have never become the great Christian leader, Peter, if it weren’t for his brother Andrew inviting him to meet Jesus. Andrew was an inviter. And you see this trait coming out again in Andrew later in this gospel. In chapter six, as Jesus is approached by a throng of people on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, it is Andrew who brings a boy carrying five small loaves of bread and two small fish, to Jesus, with which Jesus miraculously feeds more than 5,000 hungry people. Think of the power of that encounter for that little boy. And that wouldn’t have been possible unless Andrew had invited him to step forward out of the crowd to Jesus.

We’ve looked at Andrew’s response to Jesus. Let’s look at the disciple Philip.

(John 1:43-51)

On his way north to the region of Galilee, Jesus finds Philip and requests that he follow him. Now Philip was a seemingly practical man. I think he must have been on the disciples’ finance subcommittee because later at the feeding of the five thousand, he’s the one who speaks up and says, “How in the world are we going to pay to feed all of these hungry people?”

Upon meeting Jesus, Philip thinks it only practical that he invite someone else to meet him as well. And he thinks of a man named Nathanael. He hurries over to him gushing, “Hey, Nathanael, you’ve got to come!” “We’ve found the one all the prophets have written about, Jesus of Nazareth!” Nathanael, who seems to be the town cynic, sarcastically says, “Are you crazy, nothing good can come from that two-bit town.” Philip doesn’t argue his case. He simply says, “Come and See.”

Years ago I was in London with Sharon and we walked over to the famous Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, a place where people basically get on their soap boxes and orate about the major, and not so major, issues of the day, to whomever will listen. We ended up listening to a speaker who was vocalizing his opposition to the idea of God’s existence. I made the mistake of trying to answer one of his questions. The conversation became animated and the surrounding group of listeners doubled in size. All of a sudden I was in the middle, everyone, including myself, arguing their point of view. Though very interesting, I don’t think the debate was particularly productive.

While trying to argue someone into the kingdom of God is not often the best way to help someone meet Jesus, a simple invitation, in Philip’s words, “Come and See” is an excellent way. Inviting is something we do all the time in our “regular” lives. When you want to throw your spouse or friend a surprise birthday party you send out invitations. When you start a fantasy football league, you ask people to participate. People will participate, or not, based on whether you invite them or not. Unfortunately, inviting is something we neglect in the spiritual and church realm. Did you know that on average, members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) invite someone to a church activity once every eleven years?

Like Andrew and Philip, the call on each of our lives is to be an inviter, to introduce people to Jesus. You may have the opportunity on a given day to share the complete good news about Jesus Christ with someone, and they may give their lives to him right then and there. And we certainly need to grow in our preparation and readiness to share in that way, but we need to seize the smaller opportunities as well. Inviting someone to church on a Sunday morning, asking someone to consider the Great Banquet, or requesting a friend’s help out at the Habitat for Humanity build are all great ways to help people experience a glimpse of Jesus. Inviting a neighbor to your small group or over to dinner can open up an opportunity for them to learn a little about God. You don’t need to know all the answers. All you need say is “Come and see.” And then pray for them like crazy! This next week provides a great opportunity to practice this. The Middle School Youth will be leading us in worship next Saturday and Sunday. Invite someone to come and see how God is working in young lives.

A helpful thing someone told me way back was, when you want to introduce someone to Jesus, you don’t need to give the complete dissertation on him all at once. Just think of that one thing. If you were sitting next to someone now and you had the opportunity to tell them just one thing about God in your life, what would that one thing be? And now look for opportunities to share that one thing. For me it’s joy. Jesus has brought so much joy into my life. I need to look for ways to tell that simple truth to people. I can do that!

Helping people know Jesus is part of the DNA of our discipleship. But, it takes time. Knowledge of God comes to people little by little. That’s how it happened with Nathanael in our text this morning. At first, he nay-says Jesus. But then Jesus meets Nathanael in his need, right where he is, revealing that he knew Nathanael even before they met. Nathanael is thunderstruck by this, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” Jesus tells him, “You haven’t seen anything yet,” in other words, Nathanael will learn more and more of Jesus as he goes.

That’s the case with the people you will invite. As you help them to meet Jesus, or as you help them to come to places where they have the opportunity to be around Jesus, and as you walk with them, you can trust that Jesus knows how to meet them right where they are in their deepest needs. God will orchestrate that work. And, of course, our prayer is that the more time they spend hanging around Jesus, the more they will come to know him, the more they will appreciate him, and the more they will love him.

I want to introduce you to a special lady, who is part of our ZPC family, a woman who has made introducing people to Jesus a lifestyle. She has personally inspired and challenged me in this. Donna Thomas, would you come and share with us?

(Donna Thomas shares)

In the last verse of our text this morning, verse 51, Jesus says to the brand new believer Nathanael, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” What he is referring to here is ancient, a story from the Old Testament, in which one of the Jewish patriarchs, Jacob, lays his head down on a rock, and dreams about a stairway connecting heaven and earth, with angels going up and down (Genesis 28:12). Jesus is that stairway between heaven and earth, between God and people.

Our friend, Cathie Cowie, one of the consultants of Alston-Kline, which has been working with our church, says, rightly, that heaven is at stake in our work together. Remember that person you’ve put in your mind this morning, the one who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus? God loves that person. And heaven is at stake for them. God has put you in that person’s path. Will you help show them Jesus? He’s the stairway. He’s the one that can bring all the fullness of God’s life and love to them. Let’s pray.