John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
The Bill Rice Ranch was begun in 1953 by my grandparents because of a burden they had to reach their own daughter with the Lord Jesus. Bill Rice was an evangelist. He travelled the world and the country in an effort to get the gospel out to people. His wife, Cathy, was a very capable woman, and together these two began Bill Rice Ranch. The Bill Rice Ranch did not start because of the abilities of some great evangelist or some extraordinary woman. The Ranch was started by two parents who were heartbroken to reach their own deaf daughter for the Lord Jesus.
Therein is a truth we find in John 1: just start where you are. No matter how far you go, whether it is a trip of a thousand miles or winning the world for the Lord Jesus, start where you are. It is fascinating to see the chain reaction of how the good news of Jesus spread during His earthly ministry. In John 1 you see the spread from John the Baptist to his disciples. The Bible says that John saw Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Two of John’s disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus.
John lost two disciples that he wouldn’t have lost if he had just kept his big mouth shut, but John wasn’t about keeping his mouth shut. He was about leading his disciples to the Lord Jesus. One of those who heard John speak and heard Jesus was Andrew. It is interesting how Andrew began spreading the good news. The Bible says, “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” So, how did Simon Peter come to Jesus? It was through his brother.
Now I hope you win the world, but if you are going to win the world, you are going to start where you are. That means with the people you know. That means at work or at your business. If you were to start at the smallest circle, that would be the people in your house. No matter how far you go, you’ve got to begin where you are. That is exactly what you find in the account of John.
Starting where you are is the example given by Jesus. The Bible says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Jesus came to the Jewish people as a Jewish Savior. When Jesus was in His own area, people said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son. Isn’t this the carpenter?” They knew just enough to prevent them from knowing what they really needed to know, and that is who Jesus really is. Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country.” So, if you think that the hardest people to give the gospel to are the people in your own family, there is some truth to that. For the people in Jesus’ area, their very familiarity with Him was a stumbling block.
Another example of this is in verse 46 when Philip came to Nathaniel and said “Hey, we have seen the Messiah.” Nathaniel replied, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Again, there was familiarity with Nazareth and Jesus’ humble beginnings. Philip didn’t argue with him, but just said, “Come and see.”
Do you want to win the world? Just like the proverbial trip of a thousand miles that begins with one step, winning the world begins by winning the part of the world that is in your house. The reason the Bill Rice Ranch is here today is not because of people who were brilliant in Sign Language or were great evangelists. God gifted both Bill and Cathy Rice, but they knew very little Sign Language when they began deaf weeks on the Bill Rice Ranch. God isn’t looking for brilliant people; He is looking for willing people. So, start where you are.