Becoming (Like) Andrew and Philip
"One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”
Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.”
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”
Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.” John 1:40-46
Many followers of Christ went on to become great leaders of the church, if not great people of faith.
But there are also the many ordinary people who weren't as popular, or weren't known to have done anything great.
We could put in this category, the apostles Andrew and Philip.
Knack For Inviting People
Nothing exeptional about them, except perhaps that the very first things they did and would have continued to do for God's Kingdom was to invite people to see for themselves who Jesus was.
The quintessential Andrew or Philip wouldn't even have to tell them anything about Jesus. They just would invite others to get to know and to see for themselves who Jesus was.
Now they may not have been known for any thing else besides that. But those they have invited would later on become great people of God.
Kind of like we know nothing about that friend of the young Billy Graham who made it happen for him to come to know Christ.
This is kind of what happened to Andrew (and Philip).
For the most part, the bible says nothing else about them or that they have done anything worth noting.
Except that Andrew, immediately looked for his brother Simon, eager to tell him about the Messiah and to bring his brother to meet Him. Jesus would later call Simon, with his new name -- Peter, and he would become the leader of the church.
Philip did the exact same thing, as the very first thing he did was look for and to bring his friend Nathanael to see Jesus.
These four became the earliest and closest followers and disciples of Jesus and among the twelve apostles.
Changed The World
All of them turned the world upside down after Jesus left for heaven, and they were empowered by the Spirit of God.
We might not be called to be a Peter, or a Paul or a John the Beloved.
But we could become like Andrew or Philip, whose first instincts when they found the Messiah was to call their brother and their friend and share to them the Good News of Salvation, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Will you do the same?
If you read this, I just did it to you.
Come and listen to who Jesus is.
There are several people mentioned in the New Testament named Philip.The Philip we are refering to here is Philip who was one of the twelve apostles. He died as a martyr as well, sharing the gospel.
(One other notable Philip was one of the seven deacons apointed by the apostles).
Nathanael, Philip's friend who he brought to Christ, also was martyred. Some sources indicate somewhere in Armenia.
According to tradition, Andrew went on to preach the gospel to Eastern Europe, where he was also martyred for his faith.
Becoming (Like Them) Series
Pandemic Preaching Series
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”
Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.”
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”
Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.” John 1:40-46
Many followers of Christ went on to become great leaders of the church, if not great people of faith.
But there are also the many ordinary people who weren't as popular, or weren't known to have done anything great.
We could put in this category, the apostles Andrew and Philip.
Knack For Inviting People
Nothing exeptional about them, except perhaps that the very first things they did and would have continued to do for God's Kingdom was to invite people to see for themselves who Jesus was.
The quintessential Andrew or Philip wouldn't even have to tell them anything about Jesus. They just would invite others to get to know and to see for themselves who Jesus was.
Now they may not have been known for any thing else besides that. But those they have invited would later on become great people of God.
Kind of like we know nothing about that friend of the young Billy Graham who made it happen for him to come to know Christ.
This is kind of what happened to Andrew (and Philip).
For the most part, the bible says nothing else about them or that they have done anything worth noting.
Except that Andrew, immediately looked for his brother Simon, eager to tell him about the Messiah and to bring his brother to meet Him. Jesus would later call Simon, with his new name -- Peter, and he would become the leader of the church.
Philip did the exact same thing, as the very first thing he did was look for and to bring his friend Nathanael to see Jesus.
These four became the earliest and closest followers and disciples of Jesus and among the twelve apostles.
Changed The World
All of them turned the world upside down after Jesus left for heaven, and they were empowered by the Spirit of God.
We might not be called to be a Peter, or a Paul or a John the Beloved.
But we could become like Andrew or Philip, whose first instincts when they found the Messiah was to call their brother and their friend and share to them the Good News of Salvation, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Will you do the same?
If you read this, I just did it to you.
Come and listen to who Jesus is.
There are several people mentioned in the New Testament named Philip.The Philip we are refering to here is Philip who was one of the twelve apostles. He died as a martyr as well, sharing the gospel.
(One other notable Philip was one of the seven deacons apointed by the apostles).
Nathanael, Philip's friend who he brought to Christ, also was martyred. Some sources indicate somewhere in Armenia.
According to tradition, Andrew went on to preach the gospel to Eastern Europe, where he was also martyred for his faith.
Becoming (Like Them) Series
Pandemic Preaching Series
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