NO HIDDEN AGENDA, PLEASE!

TEXT: JOHN 1:35-51.
KEY VERSE “Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?” (JOHN 1:38)

Many people are often masters of their emotions and passions. They expertly mask their true feelings and motives thereby deceiving those who judge them from outward appearance.

Jesus, of course, can read all hearts. But often, he wants to be sure of the conviction of those who come to Him. Here lies the reason for His question to Andrew and his companion. They did not know Jesus until John the Baptist pointed Him to them, raising their curiosity about Him. Perhaps, taken aback by His question, they only wanted to know where Jesus lived. That initial encounter had a massive impact on them; hence, they began to tell others about Him.

Andrew brought his brother, Simon, to Christ who promptly gave Simon a new name, Cephas, or “a stone.” The next day Jesus personally called Philip to follow Him, and, he too, was so excited that he brought his friend, Nathaniel to Jesus. Nathaniel had no excuse but to bow to the lordship of Jesus. Hence, he confessed, “thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”

Our motives matter before God

Oblivious of this fact, many people often think that following Jesus in itself is enough.

We must never seek to use following the Lord to simply fulfill our own purposes, for then we would be asking Him to follow us. Seeking His glory must be our goal; for only then can we receive all that we would ever need in life. We must project His agenda not ours. And His agenda is for souls to be brought into the Kingdom.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Seeking God’s glory secures our interests.

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 SAMUEL 6-7.

MEDITATION

Lessons on soul-winning

1. The soul winner points his contacts to only Christ not minding his personal losses and reputation vv35,36.
2. His effectiveness is measured by who of his contacts really follow Christ v37.
3. Andrew brought Peter to Christ who became more used of God than Andrew “his father in the Lord”. Any lesson? vv40-42.
4. The soul winner is not satisfied until his contacts start enjoying personal and direct relationships with Christ v42.
5. A truly converted person, who has encountered Christ no matter how recent, will be enthusiastic about winning others vv43-45.
6. The older saints should assist a newly converted soul winner like Jesus assisted Phillip in winning Nathaniel vv45-49.
7. Faith provokes Jesus to do ” greater things” for the believers. Therefore develop your faith vv49-50.
   8 Any other lesson?
   Lord give me zeal and enthusiasm for soulwinning
   Lord teach me to follow you and be an effective soul winner
   Lord, awaken your children to effective soul winning lifestyle
   Pray for converts in the Lord that they will be experiencing Christ in the midst of lock down

HYMN Win them one by one

1 If to Christ our only king
Men redeemed we strive to bring,
Just one way this may be done—
We must win them one by one.
Chorus:
So you bring the one next to you,
And I’ll bring the one next to me;
In all kinds of weather, we’ll all work together,
And see what can be done;
If you’ll bring the one next to you,
And I bring the one next to me,
In no time at all we’ll have them all,
So win them, win them, one by one.
2 Side by side we stand each day,
Saved are we, but lost are they;
They will come if we but dare
Speak a word backed up by prayer. [Chorus]
3 Only cowards dare refuse,
Dare this gift of God misuse;
Ere some friend goes to his grave,
Speak a word his soul to save. [Chorus]
4 Not for hope of great reward
Turn men’s hearts unto the Lord;
Just to see a saved man smile
Makes the effort well worth while. [Chorus]