I am not much of a preacher. I'm definitely not talented enough to be a worship leader or play an instrument. I don't teach and don't consider myself an expert on the bible. Also, I am not super comfortable going up at church to receive or give prayer.
When we get involved in a new church or become Christians, we can wonder how we can possibly fit in. Possibly we can feel that if we are not giving a sermon or leading a ministry, we may not have a real role. Or we can feel not qualified or that our "skill set" won't allow us to have any real role in ministry. There are some people who are more comfortable working behind the scenes than being in front of the group. I don't know as I struggle with that myself. I have a degree in accounting, a personality that takes time to warm up to others, and prefers to be quiet. I wondered at times where I might fit in. I do know that God blesses those who serve quietly, just as He does those that lead.
One of my favorite disciples is Andrew, the brother of Peter. He doesn't stand out much in the Bible except in a few locations. He usually appears mostly in the roll call of apostles. But I'd like to discuss the few stories where Andrew stands out.
What do we know about Andrew? First, he was the brother of Peter. Peter likes to talk a lot from what we read, as well as sticking his foot in his mouth at times. Can you imagine having a brother like Peter around the house? Andrew probably didn't get a lot of words in and was probably pretty quiet and observant.
We first meet Andrew in John 1:35-41. We learn that Andrew was originally a disciple of John the Baptist. When John points at Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew leaves John and immediately follows Jesus. After spending the day with Jesus, Andrew's first response was to find Peter and make him aware that they had met the Messiah. Peter, who would become one of the biggest leaders of the early church, was led to Jesus by his brother. What we see is that Andrew loved his brother so much, he couldn't help but tell Peter of his encounter with Jesus and lead Peter to meeting Him. There was no other response Andrew gave as his love for his brother was so strong. This is the first lesson we get from Andrew.
We see Andrew later in Mark 3:14-18, as he is appointed by Jesus as one of the twelve and sent out to preach and the authority to drive out demons. One can only imagine Andrew's response (along with the rest of the twelve) when they received this authority. Plus, how cool would it have been to see these things occur. Andrew trusted in Jesus' words here that these things would happen. How many times have we heard Jesus speak to us and tell us to go and do these types of things? I'm fairly certain, like us, Andrew might have been uncertain that he could do this, but he trusted in Jesus' authority and His promises.
But the Andrew story that resonates with me relates to the feeding of the five thousand with the five loaves and two fish. While we know how the story goes, I reread the story and was struck by Andrew's words and how they relate to me and I am sure many of you. In John 6:8-9 it says "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish but how far will they go'"
This story strikes me in various ways. First, Andrew is willing to look foolish in front of others. Jesus asks how they will feed the five thousand plus and Andrew provides this. Andrew isn't dumb and surely he has done the math here. This can't possibly feed all the people. However, Andrew is willing to make a dent in the problem. I am certain the others could have possibly laughed at Andrew's suggestion since it could be taken as a not serious enough solution. But, Andrew brought it to Jesus. For us, how often do we hold our tongues for fear of appearing "foolish" in front of others as opposed to trusting Jesus? I know I am quite guilty of worrying about my reputation in front of others instead of trusting Jesus.
The second part of Andrew's statement particularly resonates with me. Andrew adds "how far will they go among so many?" He trusts Jesus but adds a disclaimer just in case. We can do this as well. We only go far with our trust or we will make a comment to hedge our bets. We can do this in case the situation doesn't resolve in a way we hope and gives us an out if we are disappointed in the answer from God. Andrew is like us in many ways. Almost getting it, but not fully removing all our doubts and worries and completely trusting Jesus. However, as we know Jesus comes through and the five thousand plus are fed with much left over.
Finally, Andrew is there at Pentecost when all of the apostles are filled by the Holy Spirit. Andrew, like the rest, is then able to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them. As fellow believers, God also has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit equips us in ways we may not know or suspect, but we know God will use them for good. This could be to preach or to teach. We may also be called to help in a food pantry, or maybe to help set up for something else He has planned. No matter how big or small it seems to us, if God is calling us to it - He feels it is important enough.
The lessons we get from Andrew are interesting. You never know when you'll be called to talk to someone about Jesus. It won't be our grand knowledge of the bible or our oratory skills. It may be as simple as saying "Let me tell you a little about how Jesus is working in my life" We may be called to fully trust Jesus in something, much like Andrew at the feeding of the five thousand. Miracles still happen today and we can also be witnesses to them as Andrew was. We have to be willing to speak the truth at the risk of our worldly reputation. Finally, God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. God is going to give us what is needed to be a part of God's ministry.
Don't be afraid if you feel you are not a leader, or are particularly skilled at something, or you feel you are not as good as someone else to be called. Don't think that any service to the Lord goes unnoticed by Him. Go, when called and serve when needed. It may be to give a sermon, or to pray with someone. Maybe it will be to help set up tables or clean up after church or just be a friendly face. The possibilities are endless and the work is rewarding. We can look at the example of Andrew. He was a flawed man, probably a behind the scenes kind of guy (he didn't write any books in the bible, or is written about a lot like Peter and Paul). But the Lord still used him for lots of great things. He kind of sounds like one of us, doesn't he?
When we get involved in a new church or become Christians, we can wonder how we can possibly fit in. Possibly we can feel that if we are not giving a sermon or leading a ministry, we may not have a real role. Or we can feel not qualified or that our "skill set" won't allow us to have any real role in ministry. There are some people who are more comfortable working behind the scenes than being in front of the group. I don't know as I struggle with that myself. I have a degree in accounting, a personality that takes time to warm up to others, and prefers to be quiet. I wondered at times where I might fit in. I do know that God blesses those who serve quietly, just as He does those that lead.
One of my favorite disciples is Andrew, the brother of Peter. He doesn't stand out much in the Bible except in a few locations. He usually appears mostly in the roll call of apostles. But I'd like to discuss the few stories where Andrew stands out.
What do we know about Andrew? First, he was the brother of Peter. Peter likes to talk a lot from what we read, as well as sticking his foot in his mouth at times. Can you imagine having a brother like Peter around the house? Andrew probably didn't get a lot of words in and was probably pretty quiet and observant.
We first meet Andrew in John 1:35-41. We learn that Andrew was originally a disciple of John the Baptist. When John points at Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew leaves John and immediately follows Jesus. After spending the day with Jesus, Andrew's first response was to find Peter and make him aware that they had met the Messiah. Peter, who would become one of the biggest leaders of the early church, was led to Jesus by his brother. What we see is that Andrew loved his brother so much, he couldn't help but tell Peter of his encounter with Jesus and lead Peter to meeting Him. There was no other response Andrew gave as his love for his brother was so strong. This is the first lesson we get from Andrew.
We see Andrew later in Mark 3:14-18, as he is appointed by Jesus as one of the twelve and sent out to preach and the authority to drive out demons. One can only imagine Andrew's response (along with the rest of the twelve) when they received this authority. Plus, how cool would it have been to see these things occur. Andrew trusted in Jesus' words here that these things would happen. How many times have we heard Jesus speak to us and tell us to go and do these types of things? I'm fairly certain, like us, Andrew might have been uncertain that he could do this, but he trusted in Jesus' authority and His promises.
But the Andrew story that resonates with me relates to the feeding of the five thousand with the five loaves and two fish. While we know how the story goes, I reread the story and was struck by Andrew's words and how they relate to me and I am sure many of you. In John 6:8-9 it says "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish but how far will they go'"
This story strikes me in various ways. First, Andrew is willing to look foolish in front of others. Jesus asks how they will feed the five thousand plus and Andrew provides this. Andrew isn't dumb and surely he has done the math here. This can't possibly feed all the people. However, Andrew is willing to make a dent in the problem. I am certain the others could have possibly laughed at Andrew's suggestion since it could be taken as a not serious enough solution. But, Andrew brought it to Jesus. For us, how often do we hold our tongues for fear of appearing "foolish" in front of others as opposed to trusting Jesus? I know I am quite guilty of worrying about my reputation in front of others instead of trusting Jesus.
The second part of Andrew's statement particularly resonates with me. Andrew adds "how far will they go among so many?" He trusts Jesus but adds a disclaimer just in case. We can do this as well. We only go far with our trust or we will make a comment to hedge our bets. We can do this in case the situation doesn't resolve in a way we hope and gives us an out if we are disappointed in the answer from God. Andrew is like us in many ways. Almost getting it, but not fully removing all our doubts and worries and completely trusting Jesus. However, as we know Jesus comes through and the five thousand plus are fed with much left over.
Finally, Andrew is there at Pentecost when all of the apostles are filled by the Holy Spirit. Andrew, like the rest, is then able to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them. As fellow believers, God also has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit equips us in ways we may not know or suspect, but we know God will use them for good. This could be to preach or to teach. We may also be called to help in a food pantry, or maybe to help set up for something else He has planned. No matter how big or small it seems to us, if God is calling us to it - He feels it is important enough.
The lessons we get from Andrew are interesting. You never know when you'll be called to talk to someone about Jesus. It won't be our grand knowledge of the bible or our oratory skills. It may be as simple as saying "Let me tell you a little about how Jesus is working in my life" We may be called to fully trust Jesus in something, much like Andrew at the feeding of the five thousand. Miracles still happen today and we can also be witnesses to them as Andrew was. We have to be willing to speak the truth at the risk of our worldly reputation. Finally, God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. God is going to give us what is needed to be a part of God's ministry.
Don't be afraid if you feel you are not a leader, or are particularly skilled at something, or you feel you are not as good as someone else to be called. Don't think that any service to the Lord goes unnoticed by Him. Go, when called and serve when needed. It may be to give a sermon, or to pray with someone. Maybe it will be to help set up tables or clean up after church or just be a friendly face. The possibilities are endless and the work is rewarding. We can look at the example of Andrew. He was a flawed man, probably a behind the scenes kind of guy (he didn't write any books in the bible, or is written about a lot like Peter and Paul). But the Lord still used him for lots of great things. He kind of sounds like one of us, doesn't he?
Thanks for sharing those thoughts, Chris!
ReplyDeleteAround Easter I was showing part of the Jesus film to the boys, the scene with the feeding of the multitude, and I was also struck by how Andrew behaved. He's got the guts/faith/hope to do something about the situation, yet it isn't a kind of gun-ho "oh, I totally know Jesus will take care of this" belief... and I think it's rather reassuring Jesus still uses that small bit of faith Andrew has.