Andrew . . . first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” . . . And he brought him to Jesus. JOHN 1:40–42
Early in his ministry, Billy Graham wanted to mobilize local Christians to bring unsaved friends and relatives to his meetings. The Graham team devised “Operation Andrew,” a simple plan whereby church members listed unsaved friends, prayed for them, and invited them to hear the gospel. Why the name? Because every time we see Andrew in John’s Gospel, he’s bringing someone to Christ. He began with his brother, Peter. In John 6, he brought a lad to the Savior; and in John 12, he led a group of Greeks to Christ. We can do the same. Years ago, a new Christian named Albert McMakin, age twenty-four, loaded his pickup truck with friends and took them each night to an evangelistic campaign in his city. You may never have heard McMakin’s name; but you’ve heard the name of one of his passengers, a young man who was converted that week—Billy Graham. Do you have room for someone in your “pickup”? When you walk in the footsteps of the Savior, you’re walking the path of evangelism—and you never know whose life may be changed. - Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening
We have seen and read from the Bible that you cannot live two lives.
You cannot live for yourself and God too.
You cannot serve two masters. Matthew 6:24 NASB "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
In your relationships to people in this world you likewise either are pointing them to Jesus or you're pointing them away from Him.
We are told in the Bible of what kind of lives we ought to lead. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 NASB "and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we instructed you,"
We are told to let our lights shine before men. Matthew 5:16 NASB "Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Who's works are seen in your life?
Is your life a life of obedience to the god of this world or the God of the Bible? Read the Scriptures well, you cannot do both. You must choose whom will be on the Throne of your heart.
We aren't to browbeat people into submission to lead them to salvation in Christ Jesus.
We aren't to annoy people to death, wearing them down, in order to get them into a church building.
We aren't to use scare tactics in order to prove their need to be saved.
We are to live lives that show the impact salvation has had on us. Pointing people, much like Andrew, to Jesus.
In the last 20 plus years I have been to close to a dozen different churches. Have seen the spectrum of believers from those who do lead a quiet life in obedience to the Scriptures and have seen the overly obnoxious when it comes to life in Christ.
I can remember the first weeks after coming to Christ for salvation. As a child I was wanting to share my excitement at what Jesus did for me. I was met with harsh ridicule by my classmates. I withdrew from speaking up about it. Making matters a bit worse I didn't know who to talk to about it and thus I learned to keep to myself.
In those years I just tried to live life as I understood it before God. Can see places where I got it right and definitely places where I didn't.
Satan piled it on with the guilt and self loathing. I really couldn't see if I was a light shining or a smoldering ember. I am so glad that time in the wilderness came to an end and that Jesus proved that indeed He had never left me nor had forsaken me. A light can shine without necessarily drawing undo attention towards itself. A room with many candles rarely has one outshining the others.
Living our lives we show the world what's inside of us. If all we show the world is the world then they see little to nothing of Jesus in us. When we speak, how we make decisions, who we talk to, who we lean on it all should point to a life in Christ. We don't need to speak at all times about the things of God, we are indeed to live it. We ought to be an example and let the LIGHT do what only the LIGHT can do. The LIGHT is NOT us, it's Jesus in us. We indeed are to be ready to give a reason for the hope we have within us. But we aren't to go around with a bullhorn concerning it.
We will never save anyone. The work of the Spirit of God saves people. The Spirit brings conviction. The Spirit illuminates the sin in people's lives. The work of the Spirit is where salvation is found. The Spirit is what's to shine in us.
What does your life show about you? Are people seeing a life that is consumed with worldly things or do they see Jesus in you? Are the things that come out of your life show a love of the world and the things of this world?
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