Do you want to win over your family and friends? Then imitate Andrew and Phillip!
I’d like to share with you that God prepared and placed an angel in my path so I wouldn’t commit suicide. Many know this story, but others don’t… until now.
I was in high school in my country of birth, Argentina, in the city of Buenos Aires, with huge problems in my heart and in my spiritual life. After having traversed through alternative pathways that seemed good, I only found pain, loneliness, bitterness, alcohol, guilt, religion, and occultism. I was at the train station with the intent of throwing myself in front of a train that was coming at full speed so I could just end with all the pain that I was going through.
But before I continue, I’d like to ask you something: Did you know that God is good? Actually, He is more than good! While I was waiting for the train in order to end my life, a teenager drew close to me to talk to me about Christ. I remember that I answered him: “I’m Roman Catholic,” he just smiled with great peace and the words that came out of his mouth changed my life forever. His name was Esteban and he answered me with confidence: “I don’t want to talk to you about religion, but about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. You know Dario, the Bible says: ‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”
That confession that Esteban made radiated so much love, conviction and tenacity, that it caused in my heart an awakening, a need to discover how a young man my age could tell me that there was a God that loved me with so much certainty; it was almost as if he could talk to Jesus like a friend.
The train arrived and clearly I didn’t throw myself under its wheels, because I could feel that perhaps that Jesus could take interest in me as he did with Esteban. Let me tell you that after several attempts and thanks to Esteban’s perseverance, one day I went to his church in a city called Martin Coronado, that’s where I gave my heart to Jesus Christ; it was Christ who set me free from depression, alcohol, anxiety, and the fear of living and repeating my father’s story.
Did you know that you’re an angel, a person with an assignment, with a set mission for a neighbor, a friend or family member?
You’re very important for God! He decided to entrust His message of salvation to you.
Have you ever heard of a young man called Andrew? Let me paint a quick picture for you here, because you will be a mighty instrument of blessing for others, just like Esteban was for me. Prepare your heart, because you will become an Andrew for those in need.
Andrew is known for being a soul winner for Christ. He was the first out of his whole family that came to know Jesus, and without wasting any time or thinking twice about it, he took his brother Simon so that he could also come to know the Lord. However, he wasn’t happy with just that, because when he saw that there was a hungry multitude, he found a boy with 5 loaves for bread and 2 fish and he brought him urgently before the Master (read John 6:8-9).
Andrew and Phillip understood how great and important it was for any person to come to know Jesus of Nazareth, so they didn’t waste any time or opportunity to win people over for God.
This one time, Phillip found some Greeks that were thirsty to know Jesus; so he went and told Andrew and they both brought them before Jesus so they could know the Lord (read John 12:20-22). They were passionate for evangelism. Both Andrew and Phillip knew that: A disciple that doesn’t evangelize, fossilizes!
Have you asked yourself why Andrew and Phillip practiced the work of evangelism in the mission field? Simply because they had a personal experience with Jesus Christ. For both of them, their personal encounter with Christ Jesus was more than a religion, a social club, or putting up a show of mercy; they actually had a personal encounter with Him, and that was more than enough to help them reach the lost with passion.
Now let’s see, what’s happening with you? Do you have the joy, the passion, the desire to share with your circle of influence what Jesus did with you? Have you forgotten about that unique day in which you received in your heart Jesus’ love and forgiveness? If you look around you and feel no passion, the fire to present Jesus to those around you, then it means that your life has become monotonous, without any meaning and insipid or flavorless.
Remember that salt makes you thirsty. If a Christian doesn’t cause thirst of God in those around him, then it’s because he’s either dead or dying. If you feel like that’s happening to you, ask the person of the Holy Spirit now to heal your heart and to restore the joy of salvation so you can share it with others. Remember: no one can give away what they don’t have.
Andrew was a sponge that absorbed and made the most of the moments that he could be with Jesus and know him in a deeper way (read John 1:38-39). Andrew’s heart burned because he had found the divine medicine for a world that was sick and confused. He knew now that no one could stop him from sharing the experience that he had with Jesus. Andrew needed to urgently tell the world about the remedy he had come to know: Jesus! He was, is and shall be for everyone that will receive him that remedy, that divine medicine that everyone needs to heal their soul. That pushed Andrew to become a transmitter about the message of salvation with whomever he would find in his path (read John 1:40-41).
Andrew never doubted about answering immediately to the assignment, the mission that Jesus had for him, because he was learning to depend not on his own strength, but in the power of the Lord (read Ephesians 6:10). Jesus called Simon and Andrew to evangelize the souls of the city and the surrounding areas (read Matthew 4:18-20). Sharing Jesus with others is a task for all of us that have had an encounter with Him; it’s not just for some, it’s not the pastor’s or the evangelist’s task. Jesus sends all of us to make disciples with and to do a continuous follow up until they reach spiritual maturity (read Matthew 28:19-20).