We all could use some encouragement, and we'll find it together today in the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton on the encouraging word.
Today we continue where we left off yesterday. We are family is this message from Dr. Wilton, giving us perspective on not only our family relationship with each other, but how that helps change the perspective we have as we move through everyday moments of everyday life. As we open the word to John chapter 1 verse 35 in just a moment, know that we're open to talk and pray with you right now.
We're connecting keyboard to keyboard on our website at www.tewonline.org. So many folks asking about the new book on Dr. Billy Graham that Dr. Wilton just released. It's available on our website right there at www.tewonline.org, or you can call for your copy at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673.
And now today's teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Lord, I just want to pray for somebody right now. I just see people. We all are families. There's somebody right now who's really hurting because of a family member.
They so desperately pray that that family member would know Jesus. Show us something today. Please Jesus.
In Jesus' name. Now watch this. I want us to look at this family, okay?
Let's look at this. So this is a story in John chapter 1 about two brothers. So this could be a brother and a sister. This is a story about two brothers. So they both grew up in a place called Bethsaida, Bethsaida, which roughly translated the house of fish.
There are some other translations that you can read. Bethsaida is on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee in what you and I would know today as the Golan Heights. It's just a stone's throw from the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Actually where the Jordan River comes in, that's where the town of Bethsaida goes back centuries and there's so much you can say about it. But these two boys grew up in a religious Jewish home.
So I can tell you one thing about that. They grew up understanding the Jewish religious customs and laws. They grew up with a reverence. Undoubtedly they sat at their mother's feet and she pointed them. They observed the Sabbath. They went to the synagogue. They participated. They understood.
They were taught everything. But evidently when they were grown, one of them came to know Christ before the other. So let's just look at these two. First of all, there was Andrew. Let me tell you a couple of things about Andrew. First of all, his name means the man.
You probably know that. The word Andrew is really from Andrea in the Greek. Roughly translated means man. Interesting that their parents would have given their son that name. He was the brother of Simon, Simon Peter. We know from Matthew chapter 4 and right throughout the scripture that Andrew grew up fishing. He was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, grew up probably as a boy. They ran around and took great joy in sneaking up and cutting the fisherman's nets every now and again and thinking it was very funny.
Got a jolly good hiding for it, I'm sure. But became a fisherman. Andrew was a fisherman by trade. And the Bible says that when John the Baptist made his appearance that Andrew became intrigued. He was a disciple.
He was a follower of John the Baptist. All of us love to listen to preachers and people who share the gospel and say, man, I love to listen to people like that. I love to listen to Dr. Charles Stanley, for example.
One of my great, great friends and precious man wrote the foreword to my book that's coming out, Saturdays with Billy, that we're so excited about. And I love, you know, I can tell you I'm a follower of Dr. Charles Stanley. That doesn't mean to say like Jesus, but I listen to him. He, when he speaks, he ministers to me.
And there are many others like that that I love to listen to. So he was a follower. He was a fisherman. He was a follower. But the Bible also tells us he became the first disciple of Jesus.
Why the Bible wanted us to know that? He was the first one. Jesus said, follow me.
I'll make you fishers of me. Andrew said, that's me. He was number one.
He was number one. We also know that after all said and done that you may be interested to know that Andrew became a missionary. In fact, he served more specifically in Scythia, in Eurasia after Jesus was crucified and had a great impact. But ultimately, Andrew became a martyr for his faith. You may be interested to know that Andrew was crucified and he was crucified with ropes. He would not let them nail him like Jesus.
And another interesting, just giving you a little insight so you can read about this. Do you know that Andrew hung on that cross for three days and the entire time he was dying on that cross he never stopped preaching. He preached the whole time. Can you imagine that?
I can't even wrap my mind around that. Bible tells us a fair amount about Andrew. In John chapter 6, we know that he was there when Jesus fed the 5,000. Andrew was there. We also know in Mark chapter 13 that when Jesus did all his teaching about the doctrine of about last things, end times, how the world's going to end. Andrew's mentioned. He was right there sitting at the feet of Jesus. We also know in John chapter 12 and verse 20 and so on that when Jesus predicted his death and Andrew was right there. The Bible tells us that. Well, what about Peter?
Let's just switch. Just a few little snippets about Andrew. What about Peter?
What about this brother that he went to? Well, Peter's name? The Rock. So you had the man and the rock. Two boys, huh?
I'll tell you. The man and the rock lived in the same house. Of course, Jesus made that designation. He was the brother of Andrew.
We know that. By the way, who was the other disciple from Bethsaida? Philip.
There were only three of the disciples who came from Bethsaida. Philip, Philip, Andrew, and Simon came from Bethsaida, this little fishing village not too far from Capernaum. He was a fisherman. Peter was a fisherman. We know that. Jesus said, follow me.
Lay your nets down. He was the disciple of Christ. He was called the beloved disciple. He was a leader. He was the leader. Everybody said who was the leader of the disciples.
I don't think anybody had any question about the fact that this man became the leader. He was the pillar, the pillar of the disciple group of people. I mean, he was the strong man.
Some people called him the Incredible Hulk and all other kinds of stuff. He was an interesting character, but he was also a great preacher. You know, in the book of Acts when after Pentecost, who was the one who stood up and began to preach Jesus?
It was Peter with the 11. He stood up right there on the southern steps of the temple in front of all those people with all the nations coming in and out. And he said, men and women, let me tell you about Jesus. This is Peter. He was a visionary. Many times through the Acts of the Apostles, you read about the fact that God worked through him and gave him great spiritual visions. He was the water walker.
I love that. You know, how can you not talk about Peter other than he's the water walker? I mean, I think that's a mark of distinction, don't you?
That beats getting a PhD. I mean, you look at Peter, you say this is the guy that got out there and walked on water. I think that's a pretty good thing on his resume. But he was also the coward, you know, this bombastic man. He was the coward. He denied Jesus right there at the foot of the cross.
So he became the ultimate discipleship lesson because even though he denied Jesus, Jesus went back and found him right there outside of his hometown, right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Never once chastised him, never once got at his finger and pointed at him. Never once said, I'm telling you, I'm going to get you. You abandoned me.
You let me down. You sinned. Jesus never did this. You know what Jesus did? He said, do you love me, Peter?
He said, go and feed my sheep. That's what he said to Peter of all people. So this great discipleship lesson and ultimately, of course, Peter became a martyr and we know that Peter died.
Peter was crucified upside down and he died a terrible death for the cause of Christ. And so it's in this context that this incredible passage takes place. It's a fantastic story. So let me read it to you again.
You ready? Let's read this again. Let's do something unusual here. The next day, John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, look, the Lamb of God. And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, what do you want? And they said, Rabbi, where are you staying?
Jesus said, come and I'll show you. And they went and they saw where he was staying. They spent that day with him.
It was about the 10th hour. Now, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two that heard what John had said and followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his own brother, Simon, and tell him, we have found the Messiah. That is the Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus. Forgive the interruption. We'll be back with more of today's message. We are family from Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment. But our pastor insists I remind you that we are here not just to present this to you. We are presenting the gospel. Dr. Wilton is presenting great teaching on the scripture and straight from God's word. But we also love the conversation part of this.
Perhaps God has already stirred some questions and you'd like us to pray with you about the answers in God's word. Here's how we can do that. We can connect on our website at www.tewonline.org or on the phone at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. Our website has been overwhelmed lately because of this new book Dr. Wilton just released on his time with Dr. Billy Graham.
It's called Saturdays with Billy. As a matter of fact, we'll tell you more about it at the end of the program. But you can take a look right now or even order your copy online at www.tewonline.org. And though we're primarily here for prayer on the phone number, it's also to connect you with resources like that book. The number again is 866-899-WORD.
That's 866-899-9673. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Three action words here. First is the first thing he did. And I'm telling you folks where you and I have got to start, right in our own family. First, he found him. By the way, when your brother, your dad, your mother, when you grow up and your family begins to leave home, you've got one of your family members who don't know Jesus, you've got to go find him. As a general rule, people who don't know Jesus are not just going to say, oh, I just think I'd love to go back to my family and hear about Jesus.
In fact, in some cases, they can be awfully aggravated by that fact. He found him. The third operative was a family member.
I mean, it's just so precious. What did he do? He did three things. Very simply, he did three things. Number one, he invited his brother. Folks, I'm going to tell you something. I think the single most difficult people to share the gospel with, to invite are family members.
That's the hardest thing in the world. I think Jesus wanted us to know this. He went and invited his brother. I could read all kinds of things into this. By the way, Simon, Simon Peter, I don't think he was a walkover.
This was one. Listen, if he was a pretty rough customer after he met Jesus, what do you suppose he was before? I can just see Andrew saying, you know, hey, I'm going to go and find my renegade brother, you know.
I think, I don't know, it doesn't say it, but I wouldn't be surprised. Andrew was a little bit nervy about this, man. My brother's going to bite my head off. It's only before he'll do it again. Peter was a bombastic. Who knows, you know?
Listen, when people don't know Christ, the language that comes out of their mouth, it's like it can be. He invited his brother. Number two, he accompanied his brother. He accompanied him. He took him with, come, let me go, hey, brother, come on. He brought him. He accompanied him. And number three, he introduced him. Simon, this is Jesus. Jesus, this is Simon. It's so, I mean, it's so there.
He invited his brother, he accompanied his brother, and he introduced his brother. So here's four keys, folks. Just take this here. This is what's in my heart today. Four keys that I want to share with you as we pray with one another.
Here's, as you and I think about these things, and specifically about our family, here's four keys I want you to hold in your heart. Number one, give away what you know to be true. Give away what you know to be true. You know, I really believe Andrew, he heard the message from John. John was preaching about Jesus. He was coming to take away the sin of the world, and then he met Jesus. And Andrew's life was just changed.
He became a new man, and he gave it away. Number two, go after those you love most. Go after those you love most. Jesus wants us to know this.
Go after those that you love most. God will give you, he'll give you the inner ability to be able to do something that sometimes is so difficult, isn't it? Talking to that wife, that husband, your son, you just love your son, and he grew up in your home, didn't he? Your son grew up in your home, didn't he? Just like these boys. And today your son lives in some other state and has nothing to do with the Lord Jesus.
It's right here, isn't it? You pray for him, you pray for your daughter. Maybe they got sideways. Maybe your daughter, your son, got involved, got messed up, and is really hurting today. And you know better. You know how Jesus doesn't condemn. You know that. You know how Jesus forgives us when we come to him. He cleanses us. You know, you know, you know the truth.
Give it away. You know that your family member can begin again, can have peace, joy, can be forgiven. You know.
I had a man say to me three or four weeks ago when I called him to tell him how sorry I was and praying for him because a family member had gone to Christ and he said, oh, yeah, we did this, that, but my family member never knew Jesus and the saddest thing I have to come to grips with is that I probably won't ever see him again. You know better. So here's a third one. Stick with them all the way. Stick with them.
Ask the Lord Jesus to give you an extra sense of stickability. Stick with your husband, stick with your, stick with your son, your daughter, your grandkids. How many of you have got grandkids? And Spirit, you love them, man. They're the best thing since bubble gum.
You can't get enough. They love you, but they don't know Jesus. You're watching them right now, you're seeing them on that campus, you're seeing them at that beach, you're seeing them, you're listening, you're reading their social media and you're saying this is my grandkid. This is what they do. This is how they live.
This is who they hang with. Give away what you know is true. Go after those you love most.
Stick with them all the way. And one more. Let me leave this. Celebrate the journey. I wish, I wish we knew the rest of the story. Can you imagine Peter and Andrew and the book they could have written? Can you imagine all the places they went to, the ups and the downs and how they heard Jesus and they went to this and they saw that and wow, how did we manage to see 5,000 people get fed on such a little small plate of food? I mean, can you imagine all the struggles and the hardships and the ups and the downs, but they were family. They were together. They did life together. You know, only the Lord knows the two of them sitting up in heaven. I think when you and I get to heaven, we're going to have to say, excuse me, can I just have something to say to you two boys? Is there anything like family?
Imagine the life experiences the two had. This is family because in family, folks, there's a fellowship that's just so precious. It's the place where you learn to resolve conflicts together. It's where family matters can be discussed, where confidentialities can be kept. You never have to fear sharing with a family member. They're not going to go and tell everybody else about it.
You can wear your pajamas around there and it doesn't matter. Imagine the laughter and the tears and the joy. Can you imagine the unconditional love?
How much you love each other. So do you know Jesus? I'm standing here today saying, look, there's Jesus.
He is the Christ. Today I have great honor in pointing you to the Lord Jesus. Would you give your heart to him today? Would you bow your heads with me for a moment?
It's the most important question of the day. Would you like to give your life to Jesus? Perhaps there are questions you have and you'd like to talk with someone or pray with someone. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD. We're also connecting keyboard to keyboard on our website at www.tewonline.org.
That's www.tewonline.org or 866-899-9673. But perhaps the most important conversation you need to have is directly with the Lord. Would you stick around for just a moment as Dr. Wilton asks perhaps the most important question of the day? Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?
I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much. And I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today I repent of my sin.
I confess my sin to you. And I invite you to come into my heart and into my life by faith. In Jesus' name I pray. If you prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.
This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey.
And in just a moment I'm going to come back with a final word. If you were praying along with Dr. Wilton moments ago and have given your life to Jesus Christ, welcome to the family of God. We would love to encourage you. As a matter of fact, Dr. Don has specific resources to encourage you in the next steps. Whether you gave your life to Christ for the first time or rededicated your life to Jesus today, we want to put these resources in your hands absolutely free. So call us at 866-899-WORD.
That's 866-899-9673. It would be our joy to connect you with individuals that would love to pray with you and for you and connect you with those resources. And speaking of resources, today is the official launch day of the brand new book, Saturdays with Billy with Dr. Wilton.
Here's Dr. Don to tell you more about it. Hello everybody. You know my friends know me as Don Wilton, pastor, friend, neighbor, dad, husband, grandpa. But I'm going to tell you people all around the world just like you know and identify Dr. Billy Graham as that man that God used to reach so many people around the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Graham in a very personal and intimate way, both as his friend and as his pastor. In fact, for many years, I drove up to his home in Montreat, North Carolina, and visited with him every Saturday. Just like friends do everywhere, we sat together and ate together, walked, talked. We discussed politics, friends, places, people. We laughed our heads off. We did everything one could possibly imagine. That's why I wrote this wonderful book, Saturdays with Billy.
It's all about a personal relationship. And I hope and pray that Saturdays with Billy will be a blessing to you, will inspire you, and will encourage your heart, just as Mr. Graham encouraged my heart and changed my life. God bless you, my friends. Again, we're equally excited about this great new book from Dr. Wilton. You can call us right now and get your copy at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or order online at TEWOnline.org.
TEWOnline.org or 866-899-9673. And of course, we're excited to put these resources in your hands, but we're not about just getting you great resources. We'd love to pray with you and for you. And before we get away, a closing thought from Dr. Dine. You know, I want to say something to you personally.
Are you ready for this? Thank you. It's a powerful word, isn't it?
Small one, powerful. I want to thank you. You see, the sun hardly rises or sets in a day that we don't see people coming to know Christ through this broadcast ministry every day. And you make that possible through your prayers most of all and through your financial giving. God is doing something great. And in our world today, this medium of television, very important folks.
This is very, very important. God is allowing us to go into more and more homes across the United States of America. Thank you for helping us make this possible. And let's never stop praying that people would come to know Jesus. God bless you. Our time's gone for today, but oh, tomorrow, a great message coming up from 1 John 1-8. We're excited to study that word together. And between now and then, let's stay connected on our website at www.tewonline.org. I hope you've signed up for the daily email from Dr. Dine. If not, you can do it right now online at www.tewonline.org.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-12-02 10:56:15 / 2023-12-02 11:06:28 / 10