We Must Tell Others!

John 1: 42: " And he brought him to Jesus."

This is a short, simple story.
Andrew meets Jesus and becomes His disciple.
Immediately Andrew goes to find his brother, Simon Peter, and tell him about Jesus.
He finds his brother and brings him to Jesus.

Andrew is an example of what we ought to be.
He was a sincere follower of Jesus.
Someone has said, " You can't give away what you ain't got."
If you have been saved, then you can and should lead others to Jesus.
G. Campbell Morgan said: " The very first desire of a new-born soul is to tell others about Jesus."

So, we must first determine that we are a Christian.
We must ask ourselves: " Have I been born again?"
If not, then I must fall on my face and cry: " God, be merciful to me a sinner."

If I can truly say, " Yes, I know that I have been saved," then I must be concerned for the souls
of others as Andrew was.
One day he met Jesus, and the next day, he brought his brother to Jesus.

Every Christian, even a young child, can bring someone to Jesus.
If you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour and know that He has saved you, then you know
that He will save others.
So tell others -- tell them that Jesus saves.
Tell it everywhere and to everyone, and especially tell it to your family and friends that
they may also have eternal life.

We learn that Andrew was a person of average ability.
He was not the brilliant leader that his brother Simon Peter was.
Throughout the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, Andrew's name occurs at the feeding
of the 5000 when he said: " Lord, there is a lad here."
Although his name occurs occasionally he never had the leadership ability of his brother.
But he was useful to the ministry of Jesus, and according to tradition gave his life for Christ
by dying of on a cross, yet his ability was feel depicted as average.

The lesson is clear -- just because we are average is not a reason to excuse us
from our most important responsibility.
And that most important responsibility that we have is bringing lost souls to Jesus.
Every single one of us regardless of our abilities has the privilege of bringing unsaved loved ones
and friends to Jesus.

Another quality of Andrew that we should have is the urgency of bringing our loved ones to Jesus.
After Andrew meets Jesus, he cannot wait -- he is so anxious -- he is in a hurry to bring
his brother to Jesus.
All of us have time to witness.
It doesn't matter who we are or what we do, all of us have time to witness.
It boils down to the fact that we do what we want to do.

Time is passing rapidly, and we must take advantage of every opportunity to witness.
Every morning when we awaken we should pray: " Lord, give me an opportunity today to tell
someone about Jesus."
What will it take for us to get serious and concerned about the lost and dying souls
of our friends and relatives.
Will it take the lost of our friends through tragedy or death before we will get concerned.

If God sent an angel to take us up and down the streets of our city and point out to us
those who would die soon, would that cause us to realize the urgency of witnessing
to them about Jesus.
If God would send an angel to take us up to into heaven and show us the glories and beauties
of heaven, and then, bring us back to earth and feel our heart jump to realize that
we have loved ones who will not be there because they do not have Jesus as their Saviour.

If God would march of us down into the depths of hell, and we saw the horrors of people
dying forever in torment and agony, and we heard their screams, we would come back
filled with horror to think that our loved ones would die tonight without Jesus as their Saviour,
and would be there for eternity.
Do you not think that would cause us to be more urgent in our witnessing to them.
We have a task, and what a task we have.
We have an immediate and urgent mission to pluck perishing people from the jaws
and fires of hell.

We must pray every day for our lost friends and loved ones.
We must take them to God in prayer.
We must mention them in our constant prayers.
We must set aside special times of prayer.
We must pray as we work, and as we drive.

Intercession is a way of bringing our unsaved family and friends to Jesus.
Intercession succeeds when all other means are closed to us.
If your loved one is in another state or another country, your prayer can find them.
No ocean is too wide and no distance is to great for prayer to travel.
Pray that God will have mercy on them.

Prayer is a mighty weapon for those who cannot teach or preach.
Prayer is a mighty weapon when hearts are too hard for a sermon to reach, and when
good advice is rejected, and when we cannot get them to come to church services
to hear the gospel preached.
We can always pray.

As we have opportunity, we must also witness by words -- appropriate words
-- words that are not preachy -- words that are loving and caring.
A half dozen words from a loving mother to a son or daughter will work wonders.
A few sentences from a Christian father to a son or daughter will sow seeds in their hearts.
A wife to a husband -- a brother to a sister -- a friend to a friend might be the key
to that person's salvation.

You don't have to be a scholar or a preacher, but in your own words and in your own way,
tell them about Jesus.
Write that letter, and God will use it.

Andrew also demonstrated the importance of the concern that he had for one single soul.
He used all his energies upon one man.
He valued one soul.
One soul coming to Jesus will have the bells of heaven ringing.
One sinner that repents causes the angels in heaven to rejoice.

Teachers, don't be discouraged when you have a small class.
Remember that one precious soul is worth more than the whole world.
So, don't be discouraged if your world is so small for God will still give you opportunities to witness.

We should imitate Andrew in doing good in our own backyard.
When I was a young man in my home church, my pastor would say that people will go
round the world to do good when there are people all around them who need them
-- who need their witness and their encouragement.
There are those who will be greatly burdened for those on the other side of the earth,
but do not become concerned over lost family and friends.

One pastor said this about a lady in his church.
He said: " I used to hear a lady tell a story about a missionary whom she had read about in a book.
She would weep as she related the difficulties and hardships of the missionary family.
Over and over, I would see her do the same thing.
She would tell about some missionary, and how he was working and bringing people to Jesus.

Time and time again, she would repeat this routine; and she always did it with sincere tears.
But as long as I knew this dear lady, she never personally approached anyone
with the good news of Jesus Christ.
She always ordered her missionary testimonies from the bookstore because she never had any of her own.
She had never wept to see any one come to Jesus through her own witness."

It is our individual responsibility to start our witnessing at home which is our Jerusalem.
It is where God has placed us.
We must especially witness to our own family to whom God has entrusted us.
We are responsible for their eternal souls.

Notice, how Andrew persuaded his brother to come to Jesus.
He did so by telling his brother what had happened to him.
He had found the Saviour.
He had found life and peace, and he just told what he had found.
It's not complicated!
That's all we have to do, and we must do it.

We must tell others about Jesus.
If we are not doing this, then we are not keeping God's commandment found in the great commission.
"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
(Matthew 28:19-20)

Jesus said: "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments." (John 14:15)
How can we not love Jesus after He gave His life on the cross for our sins?
That is unthinkable after all He has done for us.
Without Jesus as our Saviour, we would be lost and dying in hell, forever.
And how could we not love our family when we are not even concerned for where
they will spend eternity.

Andrew was sincere about his experience with Jesus.
There was nothing casual about his experience.
He didn't very casually say to Simon Peter, "Oh, by the way, Simon, I met an interesting man."
Oh, no!
He was excited and passionate.

Christians, get excited about telling your friends the most important news that they will ever hear.
Tell them the news that means life or death for them.
Tell them of your experience, your enjoyment, your peace, your assurance,
and what you believe about Jesus.
Tell them about your sins being forgiven, and how God forgave you and He will never remember
your sins again.
Tell them that you have eternal life and you have a home in heaven forever.
Tell them that you want them to trust Jesus as their Saviour, and live in heaven with you.

Christians, let us pledge this very moment that in the weeks ahead -- in our prayers
--- that we will constantly bring our loved ones to Jesus.
There is no question about it -- Jesus will shower us with such blessings that we will not
be able to hold them all.

Fire crackled and smoke filled the big stucco building which housed dependent and neglected boys
in southwest Houston, Texas.
Suddenly, a slim figure plunged through the smoke.
It was David Sadowski who was a very slim teenager weighing only 115 pounds.

He ran up the stairs, and brought several small boys out to safety.
And against all odds, he went back into the burning building.
He came out caring in his arms, Frank Ramirez, who weighed more than he did.
" Frank's my best friend," David said after the fire.
" I had to get him out. He's crippled and can hardly walk with crutches and braces on his legs."

We must be that determined to keep our lost loved ones out of the fires of eternal hell.
We must bring them to Jesus!

Sermon adapted by Dr. Harold L. White