HUMILITY – Serve in the Shadow God Places You

WARM-UP

A person cannot be in the forefront of every activity, although many have tried.  Some should settle to play supporting roles to get things done effectively and efficiently.  Otherwise, if we are all called to be leaders, then who will be the followers? Who will take charge of the most humbling jobs? These people who play supporting roles, or maybe those in the backroom or sidelines or under the heat of the sun doing the most difficult or lowly part of the job are equally important yet they are often given less value, unrecognized, unappreciated and sometimes even despised or ignored. Some if not many of us maybe in this same situation and we are about to give up.  Before we do, let’s take a look at the life of Andrew and his humility and together let’s learn from him.

ONE BIG  IDEA

Humility comes from really seeing what you are in your attitudes and your actions as God alone knows you to be.

STUDY (John 1:35-42 NIV)

LEARN:

Who is Andrew in the bible?

Andrew, a disciple of Christ, was from the City of Bethsaida, near the region of the City of Galilee.  He is the brother of the famous Peter Simon, the rock. He was a disciple of John the Baptist before becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Both Andrew & Peter were fishermen. The story of his martyrdom says he refused to make sacrifices to pagan gods and so he was first stoned then crucified at Patras in Achaea on an x-shaped cross, commonly known as “Andrew’s Cross”. He felt he was not worthy to be executed on the cross of the same shape on which Jesus died.

Can the name Andrew as a disciple standalone without tagging him as Simon Peter’s brother?  But Andrew must have gotten used to that.  Even the New Testament introduces him as “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother”.  Peter’s shadow is cast over Andrew from the beginning. 

This only showed that Peter was more popular than Andrew.

It is interesting to note however, that Andrew had the more impressive resume to begin with.  He had been a disciple of John the Baptist and we know that John the Baptist came first before Jesus to prepare the way. So basically, Andrew brought more theological training and practical ministry experience to the team than Peter.  Not only that, he was also one of Jesus’ very first disciples along with John. In fact, it was Andrew who went and found his own brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. Yet even at this very first meeting, it became clear that Jesus had plans concerning Simon that were different from Andrew because before Simon had said or done anything, Jesus gave him his new name Cephas (Peter), the rock.

Peter and Andrew were both God’s workmanship.  They were both created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand.  It’s just that God gave a lot of press to Peter’s works and chose not to give Andrew’s works the same prominence as Peter’s.  And so, Andrew served in Peter’s shadow.

What is prominence? It means of relative importance, the state of being widely known or eminent or distinguished above others; stands out or likely to attract attention from its size or position.

But how did Andrew react when he knew he was not given the same prominence as Peter despite the fact that he was one of the first two disciples of Jesus along with John? Did this bother him? He could have easily complained to Jesus, “Can’t seniority & experience rule apply here? ”Did he ever feel left out when Jesus included Peter in important events like resurrecting the little girl in Mark 5:37 or the transfiguration in Mat 17:11 but did not include him. (Mark 5:37 NIV) (Matthew 17:1 NIV).

How did Andrew deal with Prominence, Honor & Publicity? Andrew’s principles as a shadow-servant were:

A. JESUS PROMINENCE, NOT OURS

At some point in our lives, we tend to be more competitive in our group or company. And this was true even with the disciples recurring debates over who was the greatest as written in Mark 9:33-35.This is the paradox in life. God’s ways are far different from ours.

When God gives one disciple five talents, another two talents and another one talent, He has His reasons. We may not understand it why or very likely they are different from what we think but He knows exactly what He is doing.  We can always trust Him.

Andrew had a great shadow-servant mentor in John the Baptist. He learned from John that a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven (John 3:27). John had seen Jesus’ rise and his own decline in prominence and said with joy-filled faith, “He must increase but I must decrease”. He didn’t get jealous with Jesus getting more and more popular & him becoming less prominent. And that is the cry of every true disciple.  Following Jesus is not about our prominence at all. It’s about Jesus’ prominence.  Sadly, we tend to lose sight of this easily like the disciples and sometimes even argue with one another about it. Too often, Christians are more self-centered instead of Christ-centered.

We always think of how things will affect us and not how they will affect Christ.

B. BEFORE HONOR IS HUMILITY

Andrew was not involved in the disciples’ debates as to who was the greatest.  He did not press for a conspicuous place of honor.  His attitude was opposite that of James and John when they asked to be first in the Kingdom.  Andrew was more concerned with serving than building his reputation. Jesus said in (Luke 11:43 NIV) Andrew knew and practiced this kind of humility. A pride-filled person feels overlooked or his accomplishments undervalued. If we continue to harbor pride, this will lead to depression, frustration, self-centeredness, self-pity and even rebellion, totally eliminating God from the picture.  What makes pride so dangerous is that even though we instantaneously see it in others, we seldom detect it in ourselves. “It takes one to know one, remember?” How do you know that a person is prideful? Because you know exactly how it feels to be proud when you were not yet saved. It’s very difficult to touch the topic on humility without relating it with its opposite. . . .Pride.

C. UNPUBLICIZED GOOD WORKS

Andrew did not mind whether his contributions to the ministry is publicized or not.  To him, serving the Lord secretly and even branded as a shadow to his brother Peter Simon is more than enough as an opportunity.  He never did something good with publicity in mind like most of our politicians today.  He exemplifies quiet service from the heart and this is consistent with the book of Matthew 6:3-4 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  So, keep it secret, tell no one about your giving.

GROW:

Application Questions:

1.Humility in the Bible is always a God ward virtue. It is not a comparative virtue. It is not the virtue of those who feel inferior to others. It comes from really seeing what you are in your attitudes and your actions as God alone knows you to be. Take a moment to think about a person in your life that strikes you as very humble. What makes them seem humble to you? How are you challenged by Andrew’s example?

2.In what area are you most likely to struggle with humility? Where do you tend to judge other people the most? In what ways are you overly self-focused, either with anxiety, pride, insecurity, self-promotion, or worry?

3.Do you have a personal life lesson that the Lord has shown you about pride and humility? Share it with your group.

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER IN YOUR GROUP