The Cure

Need: The people within the youth group (Junior High through College) of the EFCSB are younger folks who view commitment to Christ as something to be done primarily on Sunday and by someone else of more importance.

The people at EFC-EV and Cerritos and CAC need to see that their lives need to impact people at work, school, and in their families and neighbourhoods. We need to see this as an important focus in our lives.

Objective: The objective of this sermon, therefore, will be to show them what commitment is in light of Andrew's life and that it continues beyond 11:30 A.M. Sunday morning.

Aim: Through knowledge and motivation a desire for them to Rock Their World during the coming years will be instilled.

"Note: The words in brackets indicate what part of the sermon is being delivered; they are not spoken in the actual delivery of the sermon itself" (Dr. Overstreet, Biographical Preaching, 132).

The world has gone crazy and is in need of a cure. People are more troubled over Hollyfield’s comments about God helping him win than they are over their own ills. The world is more concerned with Hong Kong returning to Chinese rule than they are of their own rulership debates in their lives. There are Christians who say homosexuality is okay, that abortion is right, that evolution is God’s way of creating; we have a President who proclaims faith and yet denies the power. The world is sick and Jesus is the medicine.

A. K. Chalmers, in The Constant Fire, tells about two men in China. One was a writer; the other was a common workman who was dedicated to the cause of revolution in China and because of this was trusted as a leader. These two men were captured by the government and tortured. After being released they were soon sought for by the same government. They escaped and eventually reached the coast where a boat was waiting to take them away to a safe harbor. There, at the ocean shore, the worker stopped, held out his hand to the writer and said: "Good-bye." "Why good-bye?" asked the writer. "Because I've decided not to go with you. You must go to America and Europe to interpret to the world by your understanding mind and brilliant pen the meaning of our struggle. But I must go back to face whatever I must with the rest, so that you, dipping your pen into my blood, can make the world understand that we mean what we say." This man was committed to a cause. He believed in his cause, he felt his cause was the answer for the problems in China, and he wanted others to know of his cause.

As we read through the Bible we can see many examples of such commitment: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Paul. Today, I want to bring to your attention another person that we tend to overlook who belongs in that list. He didn't build an ark, he wasn't the father of the Jewish nation, he didn't lead 2,000,000 people out of Egypt, he wasn't a king, he didn't walk on water, and he didn't write a single book of the Bible; but he is mentioned as being an important follower of Jesus. He is referred to in Matthew and Luke, in the list of disciples, second, following Peter, and in Mark second after "the Big Three" (James, John, and Peter). Have you figured out who he is? He is Andrew Jonas, you may know him better as Peter's brother.

Andrew is not mentioned too many times in the Bible. If you look his name up in a concordance you will find he is listed only eleven times: twice in Matthew, four times in Mark, once in Luke, three times in John, and once in Acts. Although he is mentioned only a few times, his life reminds me of that writer from China: a man who was committed to a cause, who believed in his cause, who felt his cause was the answer for the problems in life, and who wanted others to know of his cause.

Today, we shall look at the life of Andrew, to take him out of the shadows of greatness into the limelight of faith. For the next few minutes our eyes shall be turned to Andrew and how he lived his life of faith; a life that took what he believed and reduced it to practice. He took what he believed and, like that workman in China, lived it to show the world that he meant what he believed.

In Andrew, we can see three crucial characteristics of Christian commitment that we need to apply to our lives for Christ.

The first characteristic of a committed Christian is belief in the Bible and the God of the Bible. Belief in the Bible is the process of knowing what God says and taking it as truth. This means believing everything: from God's creation of things to Christ's death on a cross to His coming again. It then takes the truths of Scripture and applies them to life. We can see this in Andrew's life when Christ called and Andrew followed.

[A. Believe when initially asked to follow Christ (John 1; cf. Matt 4; Mark 1).]

The Bible shows us that Andrew was the first follower of Christ (John 1.35f). He was a person interested in God. He followed John the Baptist (John 1.29f). We know that John the Baptist was preaching the coming of the Messiah and that He was at hand (John 1.29). He preached the Messiah was to be the sacrifice for the world (John 1.29). It was at this point in time that Jesus Christ came to be baptized by John the Baptist and that John the Baptist, knowing He was the Messiah, shouted, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!"

Andrew believed and began to follow this lamb, Jesus. Jesus tried to discourage him saying He had no place to live nor food to eat. Andrew understood this, but didn't leave, instead he continued to follow. Andrew understood the importance of John the Baptist's words. When John proclaimed Jesus Christ would be the Lamb of God, Andrew understood, to some extent, this was Messiah. He knew his Scripture. His belief was not a gigantic leap into the dark; no, it was a deliberate step forward in light of what he knew of God's Word. Belief, "faith must have adequate evidence, else it is mere speculation." [A. A. Hodge] This was the foundation for his belief: the testimony of the Scripture, the words of John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ Himself; this was his cause to follow.

[B. Believe while continuing to follow Christ (Matt 10; Mark 3; Luke 6; Acts 1).]

Andrew's belief wasn't just inside his head, it flowed to his heart and he followed Christ.

After Jesus had called him, Andrew followed. He followed through "the thick and thin" of Christ's ministry. When the time came for Jesus to depart from Galilee He called Andrew, Peter, John, and James to follow Him (Matt 4.19,20). Whether Peter, James or John would follow or not, Andrew dropped his fishing gear and followed (Matt 4.20). At this point in Jesus' ministry, He was already being persecuted for His message and life (Mark 1), He still had nowhere to lay His head, and His calling them was not to the ordinary discipleship found for He had called for life not words.

Jesus was being persecuted for the life he lived, for the people He associated with, for the miracles He had done, and the words He spoke against the religious leaders of the day. When Jesus called Andrew, then, He was not calling him to a life of lolly-gagging but of active service in the midst of opposition from the leaders of the day. Andrew still followed.

Jesus was without a home and had asked His would-be follower to leave all that he had. It is interesting to note that Andrew dropped everything and left it where it lay. He was asked by that simple request, "Follow Me," to leave his home, his business, and his security. Andrew still followed.

Jesus called Andrew to a life of ministry (Matt 4.19). This life was a life that was only similar to his former life in that he was to be "a fisherman" not of fish, but of men. Andrew was not asked to follow to learn more Scripture. He was not asked to follow his religious mores. He was not asked by Jesus Christ to follow some new, zealous ideal. He was asked to follow Christ, nothing more and nothing less. Andrew still followed.

The Scriptures testify that Andrew held true to his commitment to follow Christ. As was mentioned earlier, he is listed as prominent in the listing of the Twelve (Matt 10.2-4) and is listed as one of the remaining ones in the upper room in Acts 1. This is not to say that he never fell away from following Christ. He was one of the eleven who ran away like a sheep without a shepherd. He was one of the Twelve who discussed who the greatest in heaven would be (Mark 9.33,34). He desired to know the end times rather than the End Person (Mark 13). He returned to fishing after Jesus died thinking it was the end in apparent disbelief (John 21). Yet, Andrew is called a follower of Christ for he had faith to believe.

As Christians we are called to follow Jesus just as Andrew did. Most of us have heard the Bible stories of Jesus, most of us know what being a Christian is about, and most of us "have decided to follow Jesus." A question needs to be asked here, are we still following Him today, even through hardship and crisis, through joy and happiness, are we still following Him?

Most of us, at one time or another, have failed to follow Jesus. If we're totally honest, we'll admit we've questioned His wisdom and love; some have questioned Him to the point where they don't come to church anymore.

Sometimes, we replace God with "things to do and people to see." We feel if we follow our ideas of who God is or are zealous for some social or religious ideal or suffer hardship we are following Christ. When we first gave ourselves to Him we simply believed Him and took Him at His Word. We did because we loved Him. Most Christians in America have, apparently, lost that love to follow Him.

They have left to follow some ideal, not Jesus; to listen to others words, not the Word; the moment we do this is the moment life loses its meaning. The moment His will doesn’t permeate our lives, we are spiritually dying.

Keith Green writes: "My eyes are dry, my faith is old, my heart is hard and my prayers are cold." When was the last time the Bible was looked at in your home? We cannot follow Christ, as Andrew did, unless we know Him and what He has done for us and this is only to be found in the Bible. We cannot see what He is actively doing and actively calling us to do unless we have seen Him in the Bible.

The Bible that is opened is the Bible that guides us to the right way of life and the Answer to life and to meaning in our life.

Sometimes, when the burdens of life become unbearable, there is a tendency to leave faith behind and rely upon self.

There was a young farmer who had an orchard. The future seemed bright and beautiful when his peach trees were all in blossom. Quite unexpectedly however, there was a frost, and the blossoms on his trees became dead and brown. This young farmer decided not to go to church anymore after the frost. He was angry with God because He had allowed the frost to destroy his peach crop. He wanted nothing more to do with God and seemed to say by his actions, "God, since you did not approve and help carry out my plans, you are not worthy of my worship."

After a few Sundays, the pastor noticed his absence from the church and went to visit him. The young farmer greeted the pastor with the following words, "Don't expect me in church anymore. Do you think I can worship a God who is so little interested in me that He permitted a frost to totally destroy my peach harvest?" For a few moments the pastor was a little baffled as to what answer he should give. Then with a loving voice he said, "God, loves you more than he loves your peaches. He knows that the peaches do not need frost, but at the same time He knows that some people cannot become what He wants them to be unless they have frosts in their lives. God is more interested in people than He is in things."

There are times when God allows us to be in certain situations in which we have no control over. It is at these times that looking out for our own interests is natural, at times proper and other times tragic. If we are men and women of faith and belief, we will let go of that prerogative and let God work through us and for us and to us and in us.

This brings us to the second crucial characteristic of a committed Christian: When life deals us situations we cannot handle where do we go for the answers? As Ghostbusters has asked, "Who ya' gonna call?" Life dealt Andrew some difficult situations, how did he respond?

Mark 1 is the beginning of Jesus public ministry. After being baptized, He tells some demons to leave a person and they left. Now, this just happened and the disciples and Jesus were on their way over to Peter's house. They find Peter’s mother-in-law was sick. Most of us would have made an excuse not to continue on with Jesus. Andrew and Peter could have told Jesus: "We can't follow you today Lord, our family needs us, maybe tomorrow or the next day." But they didn't. When they knew she was sick, they had the Great Physician look at her. When they sought the Lord's bidding on this subject the answer was given: she was healed (Mark 1.29-31). If they had not told Jesus of her ills she may have continued to death in her sickness. Jesus entered into the house and she was cured. In their hour of need Peter and Andrew did not make excuses not to follow Jesus but found all the more reason to follow and seek His answer for illness.

I do not wish you to think that Jesus heals every sickness, because He doesn't. There are times when He will allow things to happen that are, in the long run, beneficial, but in the short term may seem hard to bear. There are some things that are not answerable, except that God is sovereign and is in control. We know this, as we read the Bible, to seek Him for the answers for life situations.

Another hour came and with it another need (John 7.1-15). The sheep were coming to look at the Shepherd. They, the 5,000, had seen Him perform many miracles and desired to cast themselves down at His feet, not for worship but to see another miracle or, better, to become a miracle. Jesus posed a need to His disciples: "Let's feed them." The Twelve stood aghast at the thought of feeding so many with so little, they didn't have anything to give them. They had left everything behind, their ministry was supported by admirers of Jesus, they did not have enough money to feed themselves, let alone these strangers.

Here comes Andrew, he sees the need and, although he does not have an answer, he comes with what was there. He hands Jesus all the food he could find (he "borrowed" a kid's lunch bag), fish-relish and five loaves of bread. Andrew does not have a clue as to how Jesus will feed the 5,000 with so small an amount of food. He could have told Jesus, although he had this amount, maybe enough for the disciples if they ate it sparingly, that there was no food. He could have turned his back on the needs of the people for his own interest.

However, he saw the need, they needed food, and went to the source for the answer, we can't feed them but You can. He turned to Jesus with what little could be found not knowing what could be done. Yet, he knew with Jesus something could happen and it did, he called for the Great Provider. When Andrew turned to Jesus for the answer, the answer came, despite the deficiency: the 5,000 were fed. Not only were the 5,000 fed but the disciples had twelve baskets left over which was more than they began with. Andrew got an answer beyond comprehension (Ephesians 2.20). In turning to Jesus, Andrew's desires and needs were met, as-well-as those around him.

That Jesus is the answer for the physical needs of life cannot be denied. That He heals the lame, cures the sick, exorcizes demons, feeds the hungry, and walks with the lonely is not denied; but, is He the hope and answer for the future, our future? Andrew knew that Christ could heal and work miracles, but what of tomorrow? Could He help with tomorrow? Andrew did not know if He could. There they were, Jesus and the Twelve, walking away from the Temple that they saw Jesus weeping over, cleaning out, and healing in. As Jews, they had thought their hope was contained in the Temple. Then they heard Jesus utter those unspeakable words: "Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down!"

As a Jew the hope was in the Temple and its service. If it were to be destroyed what was left for Israel? Andrew had these questions in mind and, along with Peter, James, and John, asked Jesus: "When?" Their despair can only be imagined. "Where do we go when the center of our worship is gone," could very well have been their question for their Master. Upon hearing Jesus' words they could have been disturbed and asked what is it all for anyway. Why did we forsake all to follow, if it comes to this? They had just heard Jesus tell the scribe the greatest commandment is love for God and man, they had watched the widow drop in her mite as they were in the center of the Jewish religious world. We read (Mark 13.34) that no one ventured to ask Jesus any more questions. But then their world and future hope began to crumble. What will they do? What could they do?

The natural thing was to lose heart and let the situation go by known only in their hearts. Andrew, and the other three, knew they needed the answer and went to Jesus the Guide and Shepherd for the future. Jesus told them the end would come, not necessarily the destruction of the Temple but of the time He was to return. He laid before them the challenge that the Temple does not matter but the Christ does. He assured them that they were right and proper in coming to Him to satisfy the queries of their souls.

Faith makes all evil good to us, and all good better; unbelief makes all good evil, and all evil worse. Faith laughs at the shaking of a spear; unbelief trembles at the shaking of a leaf, unbelief starves the souls; faith finds food in famine, and a table in the wilderness. In the greatest danger, faith says, "I have a great God!" When outward strength is broken, faith rests on the promises. In the midst of sorrow, faith draws the sting out of every trouble, and takes the bitterness from every affliction. [Cecil]

When we are following Jesus times will become difficult, He said they would (John). The questions we need to answer are: How will I respond in those difficult times? Do I know God's Word enough to trust Him? Do I know my Jesus enough to see He has the answers? Do I see Him at work around me? The hymn It is Well with My Soul has a true story behind it of the writer, a man named Horatio G. Spafford.

As a young man Spafford had established a most successful legal practice in Chicago. Despite his financial success, he always maintained a keen interest in Christian activities. He enjoyed a close and active relationship with D. L. Moody and the other evangelical leaders of that era.

Some months prior to the Chicago Fire of 1871, Spafford had invested heavily in real estate on the shore of Lake Michigan, and his holdings were wiped out by disaster. Just before this he had experienced the death of his son. Desiring a rest for his wife and four daughters as well as wishing to join and assist Moody and Sankey in one of their campaigns in Great Britain, Spafford planned a European trip for his family in 1873. In November of that year, due to unexpected last minute business developments, he had to remain in Chicago; but he sent his wife and four daughters on ahead as scheduled on the S.S. Ville du Havre. He expected to follow in a few days. On November 22 the ship was struck by the Lockhearn, an English vessel, and sank in twelve minutes. Several days later the survivors were finally landed at Cardiff, Wales, and Mrs Spafford cabled her husband, "Saved alone." Shortly afterward Spafford left by ship to join his bereaved wife. It is speculated that on the sea near the area where it was thought his four daughters had drowned, Spafford penned this text with words so significantly describing his own personal grief - "When sorrows like sea billows roll . . ." It is noteworthy, however, that Spafford does not dwell on the theme of life's sorrows and trials but focuses attention in the third stanza on the redemptive work of Christ and in the fourth verse anticipates His glorious second coming. Humanly speaking, it is amazing that one could experience such personal tragedies and sorrows as did Horatio Spafford and still be able to say with such convincing clarity, "It is well with my soul."

Not only did Andrew come to Jesus for the answer to life's questions (mortality, daily needs, future hopes) but he knew that Jesus was the answer to the ultimate question: who is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world? He had already found the answer in Christ and that answer was re-affirmed in his daily continuing with Jesus; but now he wants others to know the answer.

This brings us to the third characteristic of a committed Christian, that is he shows that the follower of Christ must bring others to Christ.

Andrew understood the importance of who Jesus was almost at first glance. He realized the need to tell others who were looking for the Messiah that He had arrived. With this in mind, Andrew ran to the person closest to him, Peter, his brother. He went to Peter, the text tells us, "at the very first" (John 1.41). Exclaiming: "We have found Messiah!!!" He was interested in bringing others to the Good News of Life Himself. He desired what was utmost on Jesus heart and mind, to seek and to save the lost. Peter, who evidently held Andrew in high esteem, came with him to see Messiah - and he believed.

This is important and should not be overlooked, Andrew had good relations with his family. His relationship with his father was good enough for him to leave the business suddenly. His relationship with his brother was strong enough for Peter to believe the wild story that Messiah has come. His relationship with Peter's mother-in-law seems to be strong for he lived under her roof (or she lived with Peter and Andrew). Through good relationships and active utterance of Messiah his family, at least Peter, came to follow Jesus as-well.

Andrew did not stop there he felt compelled to reach out to others outside his family for Christ. He must have talked to Philip about Christ (John 1.44) who in turn told his brother Nathanael (John 1.45), both in turn followed Jesus from Andrew's active service for Christ. He reached his family and his neighbours and he possibly was instrumental with James and John following Christ as-well (they may have been business partners and John may have been the disciple with Andrew who followed Jesus initially - John 1.37).

Andrew went beyond reaching to the point of being influential, at least in Philip's life. In John 12 Philip is approached by foreigners, the Greeks, who wanted to see Jesus. Who did Philip go to? Jesus? No, he went to Andrew, then they brought the Greeks to Jesus. It is amazing that at this point Jesus calls His life and ministry to be glorified (John 12.23). Andrew may even have been witnessing to the little boy who had the five loaves and two fish in John 6. He was active in service to bring others to know Christ because he was a follower of Christ.

In looking at his ministry of bringing people to Jesus we notice that Andrew did it actively and passively (he told Peter and was called by Philip). In any event, he was ready in season and out of season to present His Saviour.

Andrew never wrote a book but he brought people to the Word, Jesus. He never, that we know of, performed a miracle but brought people to the Miracle Worker. How did he do this? His attitude of his faith is key:

Faith is not only a means of obeying, but a principle act of obedience; not only an altar on which to sacrifice, but a sacrifice itself, and perhaps, of all, the greatest. It is a submission of our understandings; an oblation of our idealized reason to God, which he requires so indispensably, that our whole will and affections, though seemingly a larger sacrifice, will not, without it, be received at His hands. [Young]

Andrew was a committed Christian whose very life was a testimony of Jesus Christ in his life. He impacted his world and the world that would continue after him. Andrew was a humble fisherman who had allowed his experiences and the teachings of Jesus to equip him to be a fisher of men. As with the Twelve, he was eager, had potential, was available, willing to give up all to follow a Man who had no place to lay His head. He, along with Peter, James and John, gave up a lucrative fishing business to follow this Man. He sought Jesus for all the answers to life. He was a man others sought (the Greeks and the boy with the loaves and the fish). He was a man who sought others (Peter, Philip and John). He was an ordinary man used of God.

Andrew, like the workman in China, was committed to his cause and would not allow circumstances to deter that commitment. He believed the Bible, he sought Jesus guidance and he sought to bring others to Christ.

Do you want to affect your world and help turn it over for Jesus? Let me challenge you with this: Andrew did not commit himself to Christ Sunday mornings. He helped changed the world by allowing his faith, his commitment, to be carried over into Monday morning. That is the exciting thing about our faith-it is good beyond these walls. It is effective for tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, with its trials, will you be prepared to bring them to Jesus. When you see others who need to know about Jesus, will you be prepared to bring them to Jesus. When temptation starts to role and you desire to give in, will you be prepared to bring them to Jesus. I pray you will, I pray I will. Yes, for this world and for us, commitment to Christ is the cure.

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