Christ emphasized the individual. He surrounded himself not with the rich of the world, or those upon whose shoulders had fallen the mantle of political power, but with just the ordinary. Worldly honor and true humility rarely run in the same veins. So today, God still seeks men of service rather than those who aspire to honor and power.
Such a man was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
Little is said of Andrew except he was a fisherman by trade. No, don’t feel sorry for Andrew… he was one of the first to answer the call of the Master, and before his conversion he was a disciple of John the Baptist. He had heard no lectures on personal evangelism, nor did he have special instructions on soul-winning. He had no degrees from a Bible College or a Certificate from a Preacher’s School. However, John, in his gospel, seems to fear no one would know just who Andrew was, so he is introduced as “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother”.
Few would recall that it was Andrew who brought Simon Peter to Jesus. What was Andre’s ‘secret method’ of soul winning? How many would love to ‘find’ a ‘Simon Peter’ today who would later be a elder in the church, a preacher, writer, and later give his life for Jesus.
What indeed was the method of Andrew? Here it is in John’s words, 41 “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41-42). He did more with five words than many do with thousands. Then “he brought him to Jesus.”
Things learned: Soul winning is not about programs, (although they are helpful to an extent). Not about making sure people know “what we are against” or “having the right answers to all the issues.” Come to think about it, these things just seem to ‘get in the way’ and have little to do with “bringing someone to Jesus.”
How many have tuned away from Jesus, simply because we have clouded the way with other things which are secondary, and can be answered after one comes to Jesus?
Andrew simply went and found his brother, and told him about the greatest thing to ever happen to him, “WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH”. As Charles Hodge repeats over and again in his book, “Amazing Grace”, “Tell people what God did before you tell them what to do.” What a message, what a mission!
After Andrew, and Peter, there was Phillip, and then Phillip meets Nathanael, who doubts anything good can come out of Nazareth. Overcoming prejudice is a big problem for the soul winner. There are many things to overcome without bringing in additional ‘issues’ to make sure people understand and believe everything. Be patient with people, give them a chance to grow in grace. Just think about those who are saved throughout the Book of Acts… were these made to wait until they understood everything about worship, church organization, Lord’s Supper before being saved? Of course not… it was just ORDINARY people sharing JESUS with others. Jesus commission to disciples is to “go”…”make disciples” and then “teach” all that Jesus had commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).
Soul winning is about bringing the lost to Jesus. Jesus is NOT ORDINARY… He is the Great Healer, the only Savior. Jesus can use ordinary people. Just ‘go and find your brother and tell him, “I have found Jesus!” Tell him the good news that Jesus has come. Remember… “Tell people what God did, before you tell them what to do!”