[0:00] Take your Bibles, go to Mark chapter 3. Mark chapter 3. Today's message is going to be a little different. The last couple of weeks, I have been preaching on the sins of Jeroboam.
[0:13] The first week, we talked about the idolatry that filled Jeroboam's reign. And then last week, we talked about how he changed the Word of God. God had given specific instructions, and Jeroboam came along and tried to change all of those instructions that God had given to him.
[0:31] And so I've been preaching pretty heavily on sin and those people who, well, the sins of Jeroboam, like I said, for the next 209 years, every king that came along, it was basically said that he walked in the sins of Jeroboam.
[0:46] On Wednesday nights, we've been talking about Elijah. And with Elijah comes Ahab and Jezebel. And we've been talking about how Ahab and Jezebel, the sin that was in their lives.
[0:57] As a matter of fact, Jeroboam got everything started. Ahab was the pinnacle of sin and the things that were done wrong.
[1:08] He just, everything in his reign was sinful. Today, I want to go the opposite direction. You can see behind me what Jesus sees in you.
[1:20] If you're a Christian, what does Jesus see in you? And I'm going to use a very unusual verse. Look at verse 18. Actually, let's go back to 16.
[1:31] And Simon, he surnamed Peter. And James, the son of Zebedee. And John, the brother of James. And he surnamed them Boranges, which is the sons of thunder. And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him.
[1:52] They went into an house. What do I get out of that? That's a list of names. Well, we're going to talk about one of those names today.
[2:03] The one I'm going to talk about is probably someone that you don't really know a lot about. I talked about him six years ago.
[2:16] He's not a name you usually hear. He's not one of the apostles that just pops out at you. When you say, name the apostles for me, he's probably the one you're going to forget. His name is Thaddeus there.
[2:30] You see that name there. It's like, you know, he's part of one of the most famous groups in the world, the apostles. But we know very little about him. We don't know much about him at all.
[2:43] But he helped to change lives of many people. Now, when we look in the scripture, we don't necessarily see that. But he did, and I'll point that out as we go along.
[2:55] You know, if you're like me, you have a favorite preacher. Now, I know all of you that your favorite preacher is me. But, you know, okay, I got that. But I have favorite preachers too.
[3:09] I would rather listen to Adrian Rogers than anybody else in the world. I love his preaching. I love his voice. I love the way he presents things.
[3:19] I just would like to listen to Adrian Rogers. I like many of you like Charles Stanley. Many of you like David Jeremiah.
[3:34] And I can mention their churches. Bellevue Baptist is where Adrian Rogers was. First Baptist of Atlanta was Charles Stanley. David Jeremiah. I forget the name of his. It's out in California.
[3:45] Shadow? Shadow Mountain? Yeah, I think so. Anyway, we know those names. We know who they are. We know where they are and stuff. But let me ask you a question.
[3:57] Brother Smith, pastoring at Second Baptist Church of Littletown. How many of you know him? He's been pastor there for 20 years.
[4:11] Church has never got much above 40 people. But he's faithfully been serving there for 20 years. How about Brother Johnson? He's been pastoring for a number of years at a little church.
[4:25] He went to seminary, left school with student loans, and he's still paying them off. And to do that, he has to be the pastor of the church, and he also has to work another job.
[4:37] How many of you know him? No. No. See, we look at an Adrian Rogers and a Charles Stanley, and people are like, wow.
[4:50] God has blessed them. God has taken care of them. God has just seen their ministry thrive. These other guys, Brother Smith and Brother Johnson, they're just not as successful as the others.
[5:03] You know, God just hasn't blessed them as much as he has the others. Is that true? No. They're where God wants them to be.
[5:14] Somebody has to minister to those people. Somebody has to minister to people in Hancock, Maine. God has a place for all of us. You know, if you're serving where God wants you, if you're doing what God has called you to do, then you are successful in God's eyes.
[5:36] What did Paul write in Colossians 3.23? And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not unto men. You know, understand today.
[5:49] You could be the head of a multimillion-dollar corporation and be unsuccessful in God's eyes. You could be the janitor in that multimillion-dollar corporation and be very successful in God's eyes because you're right where he wants you to be, where you can be a testimony to the people around you.
[6:11] And they have a witness in their presence by you being there. You know, a lot of times today, churches are measured by how big the building is, how many people are there, how many new members and baptisms they've had every year, how large is the budget, all those type of things.
[6:31] And our society is consumed with that idea of how much. God is consumed with the idea of how faithful.
[6:46] See, when we look at God's word, we find that God doesn't measure success the same way that man does. The world may look at you as a failure. They may see you as not all that important.
[7:00] You're a nobody. Those of you who are with me on Wednesday nights, we've been talking about Elijah going in before Ahab and Jezebel. Before he did that, before he went in to tell them it wasn't going to rain anymore until he said so, nobody knew who he was.
[7:15] He was a nobody. But with the calling of God on his life, he marched into that king and queen and said, this is what God says. This is the way things are going to go.
[7:26] And this is what's going to happen. By the power of God upon his life. You think of Mary. She's a young woman. Angel comes to her.
[7:39] Nobody knows who Mary is. And the angel comes and says, Mary, you are highly favored. Think about that. Who's Mary?
[7:52] She's an unmarried young woman. She's got someone she's supposed to get married to. Nobody really knows who he is. He's a carpenter. But Mary, you are highly favored.
[8:04] This morning, I want us to look at Thaddeus. Thaddeus is someone that God saw as something special.
[8:16] And this morning, I want to look at what God sees in you. So we're going to talk about that. Let's have a word of prayer.
[8:27] And then we will continue talking about Thaddeus. Father, I pray this morning that you would help us to understand that you have a calling on our lives.
[8:39] Lord, if we're sitting here this morning, we know the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior. There is a calling on our lives. Father, you have something for us to do, something for us to accomplish.
[8:53] It may not be known by the world. It may not be known by a lot of people or even around us. But it's something you have especially for us.
[9:05] And so, Lord, I pray this morning that you would help us to look at our lives in the view of the way Jesus looks at our lives. Jesus thought it was enough to come and give his life for us.
[9:21] May we see our lives the same way he does. May we see our lives as important as he does. Lord, may we leave here today not defeated Christians but encouraged Christians because God loves me.
[9:36] God has a calling. God wants to use me. And he will empower me to do whatever he's called me to do. Lord, thank you for your great love to us.
[9:48] Help us to leave here today knowing that you see us in a totally different light than the world. Probably even a totally different light than we do ourselves.
[10:00] Lord, minister to our hearts today in Jesus' name. Amen. First thing I want you to see about Thaddeus and possibly you. People may not know your name, but Jesus does.
[10:15] People may not know your name, but Jesus does. If you're to go through the Gospels, you're going to find lists of the disciples in every one of them. Here in Mark, verse 18, we have Thaddeus.
[10:31] If you were to look in Matthew chapter 10, verse 3, I think it's up there behind me. Notice the word labeus. Same guy.
[10:41] In Luke chapter 6, Judas, the brother of James. In John chapter 14, verse 22, this is the best one.
[10:55] Judas, not Iscariot. Make sure you don't get the wrong one. It's not Iscariot. Why so many names? Well, most scholars believe his name was actually Judas Thaddeus.
[11:07] Labeus was a nickname. Notice it also said there in Matthew, Labeus was also called Thaddeus. So he had a name. People couldn't really settle on his name.
[11:20] He's got this name. He's got this nickname. He's got this name. He's got this name. But he has the name Judas, but not Iscariot. Don't get any mixed up with that one. Can you imagine going through life like that?
[11:33] People go to great lengths to stand out from the crowd. People want to be different. I think of the people that we look at in the world today. And you look at the names of some of them.
[11:46] Elon Musk. Where did he get that name? I have no idea. You know, there's different people, and they have names that are, you know, that set them apart.
[11:59] Can you imagine? Think of it from this background. Think of the fact that your name is Harry. Okay? Simple name. You're Harry.
[12:11] Now, the crown prince of England's name is William. You're Harry. One of you is going to ascend to the throne.
[12:23] William. And then there's Harry. There's the chosen one. And then there's Harry.
[12:34] He's the one that you take just in case something happens to the other one. We got a backup. Can you imagine living like that? Explain some of Harry's problems, maybe.
[12:46] You know, you're always the backup. You're always the... Some of you may understand this, actually. How many of you grew up and you were so-and-so's brother or sister?
[13:01] You've got that. Yeah. I'm so-and-so's brother or sister. Yeah. That kind of a... Isn't it? So here's Thaddeus.
[13:13] Not Iscariot. He's the one that's not the one that's always in trouble. He's the one who did not go against Christ. You go through your Bible.
[13:27] You will never read a sermon preached by Thaddeus. You go through your Bible. You will never specifically see Thaddeus named as someone healing someone. You will never see him casting out a demon.
[13:40] You'll never say Thaddeus cast out a demon. But can I say that Thaddeus did all those things? How do I know that?
[13:52] You're still there in Mark. Go to Mark chapter 6. Mark chapter 6. And look at verse 7. And he says, Drop down to verse 12.
[14:13] And they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils and anointed them with oil that were sick and healed them.
[14:23] Who did that? The 12. Who's one of the 12? Thaddeus. See, you never read about him doing any of these things. But he's one of the 12. He's one of the ones that was able to do that.
[14:37] Read through Peter, James, John. Oh, yeah. Andrew. Yeah. Thaddeus. Thaddeus. Who? Yet Thaddeus was used of God just like the others.
[14:50] He had a ministry. He was an apostle. There's no gospels written by him. There's no epistles written by him per se. But can I say Thaddeus was a very special part of those apostles?
[15:06] See, Jesus already had a Peter, James, and John. And an Andrew. He wanted Thaddeus to be Thaddeus.
[15:18] Not everybody's the same. As much as I would like to preach like Adrian Rogers. As much as I'd like to have the things that Adrian Rogers did and watch as I watch him and stuff and listen to him. That's not who I'm supposed to be.
[15:31] I'm supposed to be me. Sometimes hard to hear. Sometimes hard for people to comprehend sometimes. But God is looking for someone to be just who he created them to be.
[15:49] You know, I look at other preachers and teachers and singers and things and stuff. Oh, man, if I could be like them. Nope. God wants you to be you. God created you as you.
[16:01] And the best path you can possibly follow is the path that God created for you. Just to be exactly who he wants you to be.
[16:13] You know, when you stop and think about it, the fact that Jesus knows your name should be a great encouragement to you. He knows who you are.
[16:25] Not only does he know who you are, but people may not realize your worth. But Jesus does. You have worth to you.
[16:38] You're there in Mark still. Go to page chapter 3. Chapter 3 again. Look at verse 13.
[16:49] For whatever reason, he doesn't go into a long thing about how he chose these men.
[17:13] But he did choose 12. And you think about it. Jesus' ministry, there were thousands of people following him.
[17:24] You remember the one where he fed 5,000 people at one time? There's another time he does 4,000 people. He had thousands upon thousands of people following him.
[17:36] And yet, he selected 12 that he was going to take the time to teach, spend time with, let them see the things that he did, let them hear the things that he said.
[17:51] Just 12. And Thaddeus is one of those 12. There's something special about him. Something that Jesus saw in him, that Jesus said, Thaddeus, I want you to be with me.
[18:03] I want you to be following me. I want you to hear the things that I say. I want you to be ready to take on a ministry you're going to get. See, whatever your service is, whatever your task is that Jesus has chosen, it is an honor to serve him.
[18:16] We have some ladies around here. Kathy, Charlotte, Trish, Angela.
[18:31] Who? Okay, not for what I was going for, but yes, Amanda. She does the food and stuff, okay. But the ones I was talking about, you come in here every Sunday, it's clean.
[18:46] Nobody knows that they do that until now. They come in and they take care of the cleaning and make sure it's all set. They have a service that they are doing for the Lord, and they do it well.
[19:00] They make sure it's taken care of. Don't let the world tell you that your place of service is insignificant. You have been chosen by the creator of the universe to accomplish something.
[19:14] Whatever it is you're doing, wherever it is you are, God has chosen you to be used by him.
[19:24] You know, think about it. There's over 7 billion people in the world, and God knows who you are. Is this encouraging you today, hopefully?
[19:38] God knows you, and he knows all about you. Whether you've been called to be a pastor of a church somewhere, some of you may be before you're done. Whether you've been called to be a Sunday school teacher, to have an impact on kids.
[19:54] Whether you've been called to be a mom or a dad or a grandparent, you have an eternal impact on children that are around you. Maybe he's placed you at a job where you have an opportunity to witness to coworkers in the lunchroom.
[20:13] Maybe alongside somebody that you work with every day, to be a testimony to them. Wherever the situation is, we have an opportunity to serve God and answer the calling, to be a testimony and a witness for him everywhere we go.
[20:29] You know, even before Jesus called Thaddeus, he knew what Thaddeus was going to do.
[20:40] He knew who Thaddeus was. You know, even before you were saved, think about it. Jesus came and he died on the cross for you. He knew about you, he thought about you before you ever knew who he was.
[20:59] You were precious to him. Ephesians 1.4 says, According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
[21:10] If you accepted Jesus Christ, he had a plan for you as soon as you accepted him. He knew all about you. You are worth enough to him that God sent his son to die on the cross for you.
[21:24] You are worth enough to him that Jesus said, I will go and die in your place. That's how much he thought about you. When Jesus went to that cross, we think, oh, he just went and he died for the sins of the world.
[21:36] I believe Jesus knew every one of us. And was dying for us. Giving his life for us. When the world says you're nobody, God, even before the foundation of the world, said you're somebody.
[21:53] You're somebody. Number three. People may not recognize your effort. But Jesus does. You know, Jesus chose Thaddeus.
[22:09] Other than me. How many of you have heard a sermon on Thaddeus before? Other than hearing me to preach one, maybe. He's just kind of left out there.
[22:21] He's one of the twelve. He's just kind of, eh. There he is. Thaddeus. Oh, yeah. Him. Okay. Peter, James, John. Thaddeus.
[22:34] Oh, yeah. Thaddeus. You know, he's just kind of there. But Thaddeus knew that he had a special place in God's heart.
[22:46] He had a special place in Jesus' calling. And the Bible, again, says in Colossians 3, 23 and 24, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Jesus.
[23:06] Whatsoever ye do, do it unto the Lord. And Thaddeus did. I'll tell you some more about that before we're done. Whatever you do, do it with all your heart.
[23:19] A preacher back in the olden days by the name of F.B. Meyer. He said, Don't waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunities, which may never come.
[23:30] But faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention. I want to do big things for God. You do? Really?
[23:42] Then do the little things. The little things add up. I can do one great big thing for God, or I can do a whole bunch of little things that affect a whole lot of people. That affect their lives as I do it day by day by day.
[23:56] And I show them Christ by the life that I live. You know, we don't have all the back story on Thaddeus' life. You know, we know a whole lot more about Peter, James, and John and those.
[24:08] But we can learn some things about Thaddeus by watching what these disciples did. One of them, Matthew chapter 19, verses 27 and 28. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee.
[24:26] What shall we have therefore? Stop there. I'm a little disappointed in Peter. But I can't really say that because we've all done the same thing. I'm serving God.
[24:37] I'm doing what God wants me to do. I'm doing this Sunday school class. I'm doing this thing. I'm doing that thing. God, what good is it? God, what am I seeing out of it?
[24:49] God, what am I getting out of it? God, what? We say things like that, don't we, sometimes? Verse 28. Jesus said unto him, them.
[25:00] Oh, you notice that. Peter asked a question. But did you notice what it said in verse 28 there? And Jesus said unto them. They were all thinking it.
[25:12] Just like us. We're all thinking it. We go to church every Sunday. We go to do this. We go to do that. What do we? Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
[25:36] Whoa. Now they're going, oh, this is a pretty good deal. Look at that. We're going to get to sit on thrones and judge people. For a human, what better thing can there be than to be able to judge people, right?
[25:50] You know, we love judging people. It's not quite what it means. You know, the world may not recognize the things that you do, but God says, look, you do the things that I've asked you to do, and you will be rewarded.
[26:08] Matthew 6, 19 and 20. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves do not break through.
[26:26] Do what I've asked you to do, and you fulfill it, and you do it without any, you know, questioning like Peter was doing there.
[26:38] He says, you're building up treasures in heaven. Every deed done in the name of Jesus will have blessing upon it. Mark, chapter 9. You're right there. I don't think I put it up on the screen, because you're right there in Mark.
[26:50] Mark, chapter 9. Look at verse 41. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
[27:06] God says, you're going to get rewards, and there are going to be rewards given to you. Do not feel that everything you're doing is in vain. Do not feel that everything you're doing is a waste of time. Do not.
[27:19] Throw your hands up and say, oh, I quit. I'm done. I have been there. I know that feeling. Don't let it, don't let the devil persuade you.
[27:31] Keep on going. You know, the devil's going to say, yeah, you're right, you should just give up. The world's going to say, yep, yep, you should give up. You're going to think, yep, it's just time to hang it up.
[27:48] Don't go there. God says, there is reward coming. Matter of fact, if you're with me on Sunday afternoons, we had been talking, and we talked about 2 Corinthians 5.10, where it says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
[28:13] The judgment seat of Christ, what is that? That is where we receive the rewards for what we have done. What kind of rewards?
[28:24] I mentioned this last week in Sunday school, and I mentioned it in Sunday afternoon services, but let me, for the rest of you, let me mention them real quickly. What are the rewards we receive? First of all, an incorruptible crown.
[28:36] It's awarded to those who are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. First Corinthians 9.25 says, and every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.
[28:49] They used to have races and Olympic type games and things, and the winners would get a laurel wreath put on their head as the winner. They get a laurel wreath that will fade away.
[29:03] It'll die. But he says, you get an incorruptible crown. You get one that will never tarnish, one that will never go away. Number two, crown of life.
[29:14] A crown of life for the person who endures and overcomes temptation. James 1.12, blessed is the man that endures temptation, but when he has tried, he shall receive a crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
[29:28] See, God's promised. You stick with him, you stay faithful to him, there's a crown of life. Number three, a crown of rejoicing. Some people call this the soul winner's crown.
[29:41] 1 Corinthians 2.19, For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
[29:53] He says, Thessalonians, what is the crown of rejoicing? For me, Paul says, it's all of you who have come to Christ, who have given your life to him.
[30:07] Those of you who will be ready at his coming, that's a crown of rejoicing for me because you are ready to meet Jesus. It's the soul winner's crown. Crown of righteousness, number four.
[30:19] Crown of righteousness will be given to those who anticipate and live in the light of Christ's return. Are you looking for Christ to return? Are you watching for him to come back? Do you expect him at any time?
[30:33] Paul's writing about, I fought a good fight, I finished the course and all that, and then he says there in 2 Timothy 4.8, he says, Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day, not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
[30:51] Are you looking forward to Jesus coming back? Are you saying, I cannot wait for him to come back? And I am watching every day, every moment of the day, I'm anticipating, because it could happen like that, and we could be gone.
[31:07] Are we ready? Number five, a crown of glory. This one is for faithful ministers who give themselves to lead and feed the flock of God.
[31:21] verses 1 through 3 should go along with 1 Peter 5.4, but in 5.4 he says, And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
[31:33] Before that, it talks about who gets it and why they get it. Now, we may not know a lot about the details of Thaddeus' life and his story, but I can assure you he stored up treasures in heaven just like any of us can.
[31:52] If we will just look forward to his appearing, if we will be a testimony for Jesus Christ, lead people to the Lord, whatever we do, he says, do it. Let me kind of end this up and wrap it up with a story.
[32:07] An elderly preacher was being rebuked by one of his deacons one Sunday morning before the service. Pastor, said the man, something must be wrong with your preaching or your work.
[32:21] There's only been one person added to the church in a whole year and he's just a boy. Pastor listened, his eyes filling with tears, his hands trembling.
[32:33] I feel it all, he replied, but God knows I've tried to do my duty. On that day, the minister's heart was heavy as he stood before his flock.
[32:46] As he finished the message, he felt a strong inclination to resign. But everyone else had left, after everyone else had left. The one boy came to him and asked, do you think if I worked hard for an education, I could become a preacher, perhaps a missionary?
[33:06] Oh, that did that minister's heart good. He said, Robert, I see God's hand on you. May God bless you, my boy, and yes, I think you can become a preacher.
[33:18] Many years later, an aged missionary returned to London from Africa. His name was spoken with reverence. Nobles invited him to their homes.
[33:29] He had added many souls to the King Church of Jesus Christ, reaching even some of Africa's most savage chiefs. His name, Robert Moffitt, the same Robert who years before had spoken to the pastor on that Sunday morning.
[33:48] Lord, help us to be faithful and give us grace to leave the results with God. Do what God has asked you to do.
[33:59] Stay with it. Don't give up. Let God work in you and through you and through others.
[34:10] The world may not know your name. They may not realize your worth. But Jesus does. According to Fox's Book of Martyrs, Thaddeus was crucified for his faith in a death sentence, A.D. 72.
[34:28] Others say he didn't know he was stabbed with arrows. Either way, he was a martyr for the Lord Jesus Christ.
[34:38] He stood boldly. He was faithful. He was somebody. You have an opportunity to stand boldly.
[34:50] You have an opportunity to go forward where you are right now to do what God has asked you to do. Don't let anybody ever make you feel unworthy.
[35:03] you know, if you walk away, chances are you were never in the service of the Lord for the right reason.
[35:18] You need to be faithful in doing what God has called you to do. You know, remember who called you. Remember who sent you out.
[35:31] Remember who gives you the enablement to do the work. His name is Jesus. So when you think you're nobody, God says, I know exactly who you are.
[35:45] You are my child. You're a servant of mine. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, I pray this morning