(John 1:42)
�And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation; A stone.�
Andrew took his brother, Simon, to meet Jesus. Think about just how simple that sounds. And, it is that simple. That is our job in this day; we are to introduce people to Jesus. We are not called to debate doctrine with the unsaved. We are not called to straighten out the lives of the unsaved. We are not called to attack the morality of the unsaved. We are called to introduce people to the Master.
We in the West have had it too easy for too long. The history of Western civilization for the past fifteen hundred years has been nominally Bibliocentric. It has been a culture that has been seeped in the trappings of Biblicalism. That does not mean that it has been Christian. It just means that the ideals of the man in the street have been based in a cultural system that has been generally attuned to things Biblical.
Now, suddenly in the past thirty to fifty years, we have seen a seminal change in the culture. From being generally friendly to the standards of Biblical Christianity, culture has become first apathetic about things Biblical, and now antagonistic toward them.
Christian, be joyful about this attitude of the world towards us. This is a confirmation of the words of Jesus. �I have given them [the disciples - the Christian entity] thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.� (John 17:14) The hatred of the world is a confirmation of the prophecy of Jesus.
To be sure, we must never act in such a way as to give occasion for the wrath of the world. We must, as did Jesus in His earthly ministry, show a loving attitude toward the sinner even while refusing to condone his sin. This is a tightrope act of which we are not capable. We need to be often in study of the Word, and in prayer to the Lord, to be effective Christian witnesses in the world.
We need, also, to be in an attitude of yieldedness to the Spirit if we are to be usable by God. It is a truism that to be true to our own spirit is, generally speaking, to be untrue to His Spirit.
The point is that we not be upset with the world and her people when we are reviled. We must consider that they are bound in darkness by Satan. We need to display the love of God, and give the message that Jesus died in time so that man might live in eternity, to even those who would hate us the most.
If we can be on friendly terms with those we seek to win, the battle for their souls is more likely to be decided in favor of the Lord. This means that that same battle is also decided in their favor for they have gained eternal life and freedom form the dominion of sin in their earthly lives.
Notice the path to Jesus as displayed in the text verse. �And he brought him to Jesus��
This is a simple act of politeness.
If we see a new person on our job we are just being polite when we greet that person. We are just being polite when we introduce ourselves. We are just being polite when we introduce this new co-worker to our other co-workers.
That, basically, is what Christian personal work is all about. We just want to introduce a person to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit can take over from there.
As an example, there is a lady who is a regular contributor to our local weekly newspaper. Although she is often critical of the Christian people and message, I honestly believe that the Lord is working on her heart.
How do we attack a person such as this. Well, we don�t. An attack provocation invites an attack response. We simply respond with the message of God. We do this in the same manner as did Jesus. We lay out His message firmly, yet politely. We do not attack any person. We lay out the message that Jesus died in time so that we might live in eternity. Before this we need to have prayed, by name, for this person. After this we need to pray again for this person. Double the prayer and half the confrontation means that we are trusting the matter to the Lord.
Folks, that ain�t a bad place to put our trust!
Simple, garden variety, everyday politeness. Just like you�d use to anyone else you might meet on your job.
But, in our politeness we need to have a passion.
The passion is within ourselves. It is a passion to win the lost because of a love for those lost persons. They may show complete hatred toward us. No matter! If I were to knock a person down in the street I would expect them to be mad at me. Later, when they realized that I had knocked them down in order to get them out of the path of a speeding car, they would change their attitude.
Their attitude would change because they had begun to understand the motivation for my action and the danger of any inaction. The person of the world might hate us. They probably will be hostile toward us if we display our Christian nature. This is because they are of Satan and are, naturally and situationally opposed to the things of God. When they are converted they will have that new nature which Christ gives. They will understand the things of God from that spiritual standpoint.
But, the passion lies in the fact of their need. Their attitude toward us is not even a consideration, or shouldn�t be. Their need is the only consideration, or should be! They need the Lord.
Notice, also, that the act of Andrew introducing Peter to Jesus was an act of progression. Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. That means that Simon was somewhere else when he was approached.
It probably took a few steps to get from point �a,� where Simon was when Andrew found him, to point �b,� to the side of Jesus. We can not expect anyone to understand the ethics of the Christian lifestyle who is not energized by the Spirit. They are captives of a sin nature which is orchestrated by Satan. Is it any wonder that their �life style issues� might be different than ours. We, again, do not need to attack their life style; we need to offer Jesus Who will rectify that life style in His Own image.
It is not our job to police the world for Jesus. It is our job to proclaim the message that Jesus died in time so that we might live in eternity.
Look at the perception of Jesus. ��And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona��
When Jesus looked at Simon He saw a person.
So, also, should we see people in need of the Lord. It is wrong to look at another as a deviant life style. It is wrong to look at another as a being below us. It is especially wrong to look at another and see a potential �notch� on our Bibles, or as another number on our Sunday School Board.
We need to look at others and consider their position. They are sinners, even the �best� of them, in need of the Lord and the salvation He offers - just as were we before we came to Christ. We are no better; they are no worse. The only real difference is that the Lord has saved us from our sins. These others need that same opportunity.
What has changed us, and what will change others, is a pronouncement from Jesus. When Jesus comes into the heart of the sinner and makes him a new creature, a miracle has been accomplished that has changed a sinner into a saint, a child of Satan into a child of God, a natural man in a natural world into a spiritual man who aspires to a spiritual realm.
Jesus looked at Simon and said, �You are Simon; you are going to be Cephas.�
When Jesus looks at us He sees a potential that we might not understand. He gives us a purpose in life that we couldn�t have understood.
�Simon, you are the son of Jona.� That is a natural situation for man. �But, you are going to be Cephas.� Jesus gave this fisherman a calling that was eternal. I used to work for a company that made steel buildings. When I look at one of their building I can say, �I had a hand in making that structure.�
Jesus gives us an eternal profession, not just of faith but also of endeavor. We are partners with God in the eternal salvation of immortal souls. Think of the glory, the wonder, the prestige of such a situation for one such as ourselves!
It is a majestic consideration!
Finally, look at the prophecy from Jesus. ��thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.�
This was a personal message to Simon.
That is the manner by which Jesus speaks to each of us. Now, I don�t begin to understand how this is accomplished. It is accomplished through the spiritual realms. Jesus is the Constant Companion, the Constant Contemporary, the Constant Consoler of all who come to Him in faith.
That is, to each and everyone individually. He was no more proportionately to Simon Peter than He is to me. That same statement could be made of every single Christian of every single age.
That is not to say that each of us is proportionately given, of ourselves, to Him. Therein lies the problem with so many of us in our work for Christ. He is there for us; we are often AWOL in our duty to Him.
But, He is there for us.
He has, for each of us, a place of special service. We have the need to find that place and fill our position.
I like the guy that drives the bread truck. He brings a lot of good things to the grocery store. But, the guy that brings the vegetables is pretty important as well. I can�t forget the guy in the dairy truck. Then there is the guy that brings all those good cans full of food. Just think of the things we�d lack in our weekly shopping if any of these men were not reliable in their deliveries to the grocery!
In such a situation as that above, we�d not be able to properly feed our bodies. We�d lack some essential parts of a well rounded meal. Our bodies would be the worse for the lack of fidelity of these delivers drivers if they were not committed to their rounds.
Folks, we each have a part in the work of God in this world. We are causing other souls to hunger for our lack of delivery of our own selves into the work which God has for us.
We need to be at our place of service for the Lord. It may be prayer. It may be personal work. It may be friendship evangelism. But, it is something that we are capable of doing with the help of the Lord.
This, the place of service, should be our plan for living in this world as we prepare for the next world.
This world can be more than simply working for fifty weeks, for fifty years, and then spending ten years on retirement before we have that little motorcade to that little plot of land out at the edge of town. We, as Christians, have an eternal purpose! We are part of the plan of God. We are co-workers with God!
That ought to get you excited!
But, there is another plan for living. That is the plan for an eternal living space.
A couple of years ago I had a speaking engagement in Toronto. Linda and I had reserved a room in a hotel. When we arrived we found that our room had not been kept open. The man at the desk was apologetic. He said that he would give us the �Bridal Suite� for the same price as we would have gotten on the room we had reserved.
It was a very nice room in which we ended up staying those few days.
Jesus will never make a mistake in your reservation. Still, he has a pretty special place reserved for you. �In my Father�s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.� (John 14:2)
What about you? Have you made your reservation with Jesus? Are you on your way to Heaven? Is Jesus your Savior?
Accept Him today!