Every four years, except for 2020, since 1896, nations from around the world have gathered together in one place or another for the Olympic Games.
And as you know, every country has its own Olympic committee that goes to great lengths to ensure that its very best athletes are chosen to represent the nation.
And for nearly 100 years of that time, participation in the Olympic Games was limited to collegiate or domestic league amateurs.
In other words, professionals weren't allowed to participate.
So these Olympic committees would have to study those who were performing or competing collegiately or in certain local leagues throughout their nations to find someone that could represent them.
But in 1992, as some of you will remember, the International Basketball Federation allowed professional players to participate in the Summer Olympics for the very first time.
And it was a team from the United States that consisted of a group of men that many have considered to be the greatest sports team to ever be put together, ever.
It was replete with superstars like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing.
And we could go on and on and on.
And maybe the one that we would say really shouldn't have belonged on the team was Christian Laettner.
But they needed one collegiate player and Duke was the only place that had someone available.
And so Christian Laettner joined the team as well over Shaquille O'Neal, actually.
What was amazing about this team is that they were absolutely unbeatable.
They defeated every opponent on average by 44 points a game.
Not that they scored 44 points, but they beat everyone by 44 points a game.
And actually, 30 years ago this week, Sports Illustrated, the issue for February of that year, 1991, had a picture of a few of the players on its front cover.
And they dubbed the team the Dream Team.
It was the very best that basketball had to offer, not only in the United States, but actually all around the world.
And so from 1991 until now, that term has become something that we recognize quite often.
Even if you don't like basketball or sports in general, you know what people mean when they say the Dream Team.
Hopefully you know what they mean when they say the Dream Team.
Well, the passage that we're studying today, this text, was also involving the selecting of a group of individuals
that by human standards was more of a nightmare than it was a dream.
In fact, one of the Gospels' themes, as you study through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
one of the themes that characterize the way that they deal and talk about and write about Jesus and His ministry
is they write about Him as the King who was establishing His kingdom on earth in power and in authority.
And if we were to imagine that Jesus was going to put together a team of men or individuals or whoever
that would help Him to establish this kingdom, that would inaugurate this kingdom on earth,
we would assume that that team would be made up of individuals who were brilliant, strong, loyal,
along with many other adjectives that we may assign, that they would be worthy of that calling.
But the men that Jesus actually chose were uneducated, they were weak men,
and they were completely unreliable.
In fact, consider Jesus' life.
Specifically consider His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
This is the night of His arrest.
It's leading into His crucifixion.
These 12 men have been with Him for nearly three years.
One of them at this point has already betrayed Him, which is why He's being arrested.
And you would think, surely at least, Peter would continue and try to be there and support the Lord
and do what he could, but what the Scripture tells us happened is that all of them forsook Him.
All of them.
Now, we focus often, when we're thinking through this time frame, we think a lot about Judas' betrayal, right?
We acknowledge that.
We always think about that.
We think about Peter's denial because it's just so prominent in this gospel story, right?
And we appreciate that so much because of his restoration.
What we don't often think about is the fact that the other 10, they ran too.
In fact, the Scripture says they all forsook Him, every single one of them.
This team of people that Jesus had put together, they were completely unreliable.
But Jesus wasn't trying to build a dream team.
But He wasn't choosing the best out of what was available.
He was selecting individuals that He Himself would transform.
He was going to transform them from nothing.
And He was going to use them mightily in His purpose and in His plan.
And this is a common theme in the Scriptures, isn't it?
God specializes in taking insignificant people from insignificant places
and making them unbelievably useful in His purpose.
If you had heard the rumors about the significant events that were taking place in Galilee
and decided that you were going to go to Capernaum and check out Jesus and what was going on,
you'd have been completely underwhelmed by the team that He had assembled.
But consider for just a moment,
all the people that have come to know Christ as Lord and Savior over the last 2,000 years,
the gospel has transformed millions and millions of people, including us.
We have been transformed by this gospel message that Christ died for our sins,
that He rose from the dead, that He is transforming us by the power of His Holy Spirit.
And of all of that, through 2,000 years, it all gets traced back to these 12 misfits.
Because they're the ones that Jesus started with.
It's a motley crew, it really is.
But God used them.
And so we may read through this in Mark chapter 3,
similar to the way that we read through verses 7 through 12 last week,
and we think, really, what really is there here for us to understand?
But we're reminded, what Paul wrote to Timothy,
that all Scripture is profitable.
All Scripture is of profit to us.
And this simple calling of the 12 apostles is profitable for us as well.
I want to kind of wrap our thoughts around just three words.
Calling, commissioning, and then warning.
Calling, commissioning, and warning.
Let's first look at the calling in verse 13.
Would you read it with me again?
And he went up into a mountain,
and called unto him whom he would,
and they came unto him.
That second phrase there, called unto him whom he would,
it's emphatic in the Greek.
It literally means he summoned those that he wanted.
So it wasn't an arbitrary thing.
It was very, very specific.
It was a specialized call.
Let's look, he went up into the mountain.
There's a dramatic shift.
If you were here last Sunday,
or maybe you listened to the audio online,
there's a dramatic shift in the context between the summary scene in verses 7 through 12,
and then what is taking place here with the calling of the apostles.
The chaos of the crowds in Galilee stand in stark contrast to this progression of purpose,
really is what it is, in the ministry of Jesus that's taking place on the mountain.
But Luke adds a note here that Mark omits that I think is significant for us,
and I'd like to just briefly take a moment to look at it.
In fact, would you turn with me there?
Luke chapter 6.
I want you to see it.
Luke chapter 6.
In Luke's account, he also records both of these events together.
He just reverses the order.
The emphasis is not on, you know, which came first.
They're not necessarily dealing chronologically.
The emphasis is on presenting these two scenes together to see the contrast between the crowds
and then the small group that Jesus was actually investing more time in.
Look at Luke chapter 6 and verse number 12.
And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain,
and what did he do?
To pray.
And he continued all night in prayer to God.
And this is significant for us to understand, I think.
Not so much for the sake of Jesus and what he was doing,
but the model, the example that he gives to us here.
The Gospels often present Jesus as going into seasons of earnest prayer
just before monumental moments in his life and in the Gospel narrative.
And we've seen him do this already a couple of times in the Gospel of Mark.
If you'll remember back in Mark chapter 1,
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist,
and there was this amazing scene surrounding that.
And then immediately the Holy Spirit drove him into the wilderness.
Well, what did he do in the wilderness?
For 40 days he fasted and he prayed.
He was tempted of Satan in that,
which is significant to the prayer and the fasting as well.
But he fasted and prayed.
Well, what was that?
That was a preparation stage for his public ministries beginning in Galilee.
It is after he returns from that time of fasting and prayer
that Jesus launches into this public ministry.
And it says in verse 15 that he went about in Galilee,
preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Repent and believe the good news.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
And then we see it again later on in Mark chapter 1.
After Jesus had had that day in Capernaum
where all of those people were coming to him to be healed,
and he healed Peter's mother-in-law,
he got up early before dawn,
and he went out into a solitary place.
And what did he do?
He prayed.
Well, what was he praying about?
To leave Capernaum.
He had every reason to stay.
But his prayer is actually what led him to leave,
which was a significant part.
And of course, we study the life of Christ.
We see this time and again.
The most important, perhaps, being in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Just before Jesus is arrested,
just before he is crucified,
what does he pray?
Not what I will, but what you will.
And what's that all about?
Prayer's not merely about making requests to God.
That's a dynamic of it.
But it's not the sum of it.
Prayer, in summary,
is aligning our hearts to the will of God.
That's what it is.
Now, I'll tell you what my tendency is.
My tendency is to make a decision,
to act upon my will,
and then go to the Lord in prayer
if I need some help to make it right
because something really messed up in the process, right?
Most of us are that way, aren't we?
We get in the business of life, right?
And things are happening.
You don't have time to stop 100 times a day
and pray about every decision
and things like that, right?
And so you go through
and you make all these decisions,
and before long,
you're not really giving any consideration
to the Lord's will
or to the Lord's heart
and what you're doing.
And then something just blows up on you, right?
And what do you do then?
You immediately go to the Lord.
Lord, I'm really going to need your help here.
I don't know what's going on.
And what's going on is that
you didn't spend any time in prayer to begin with.
You were acting on your will.
You were never having a moment
to where you could align your own heart
with the will of God.
Oh, what a difference it would make in our lives
if we first aligned our hearts with God in prayer
before we made a decision,
before we made that decision about a relationship
or before we made that decision about a career,
before we made that decision about our money
or whatever it may be.
perhaps our weakness in prayer is actually a sign
of how little we desire the will of God over our own.
But Jesus modeled something very different than that.
And here again, as he is just on the cusp
of calling his 12 apostles, what did he do?
He labored earnestly all night in prayer.
Well, back to Mark chapter three.
We're told in verse 13 that he called to him
those he desired and they came to him
on the mountain that is.
Now out of all of Jesus's followers,
he only called 12 of them on the mountain.
And I wanna be careful here.
I wanna be careful to hold intention
the fact that these men had a unique purpose
in the work of God,
but that they do not represent
an elite group of Christians
that consists of the most committed followers
or committed believers.
That's not really what's happening here.
Jesus had a lot of followers at this point,
a lot of disciples,
even is what he would have called them.
The calling of these 12 men
wasn't about looking amongst this group
and saying, okay, these are the cream of the crop
and they're kind of rising to the surface.
So I'm gonna choose them.
That's not what's happening.
They weren't an elite group of Christians.
They weren't an elite group of believers.
But God did have a very specific purpose for these men.
And we gotta hold those two things in tension
as we go through.
It's helpful for our understanding,
especially as we apply this passage to our own lives.
But sometimes we get the idea
that there is a difference
between a believer and a disciple.
But the scripture makes no such distinction.
The call to salvation is the same
as the call to discipleship.
It's one and the same.
The uniqueness of these men in this passage
is that they were being called to apostleship,
not to discipleship.
There was a specific purpose that God had for them.
But even still, their apostleship,
which is something that did not continue
beyond these men, was a matter of calling,
not personal value.
Again, Jesus didn't look at them and say,
okay, these are the best.
I'm gonna go with them.
No, it was just a matter of he called them.
He called them and then he was gonna do the work
to make them into what he wanted them to be.
And James Edwards helps us here.
The emphasis in Mark, he writes,
is not on designating a special category
of super followers who are distinct from others.
This is made evident, he says,
by the fact that the word apostle
occurs only once for certain,
and that's in Mark chapter six,
whereas the word disciple or disciples
occurs 45 times in the gospel of Mark
with still other expressions for Jesus's followers.
And here's what I'm getting at.
These men weren't the only people following Jesus.
They weren't the only disciples,
but God did have a specific purpose for them.
The common denominator between these men,
as we've mentioned already,
is that they were utterly ordinary.
There was actually nothing significant about them.
And we constantly have to come back to this question,
why then, if Jesus had all of these followers,
if there were all these people
that were truly believing in him,
why did he choose these men?
And the scripture just doesn't tell us.
We don't know.
It just says that he did.
And then we learn something from that,
that it's not actually what they could offer him.
It's what he would do in and through them.
Though their purpose was unique,
the call and the commission of these 12 men
represent all people who have and will follow Christ.
They did have a unique purpose in the beginning stage,
this beginning era of the church.
But what Jesus called them to,
what he commissioned them to do,
is the same for the rest of us.
And so that's why we care about this passage.
These men represent us as believers.
Their call is the same that Jesus issues to us.
Their job, their role is the same
that God has given to us.
In fact, Paul wrote that they laid the foundation for us.
Think about it in Ephesians chapter two.
Paul wrote, so then you are members of the household of God,
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ being the cornerstone,
in whom the whole structure being joined together
grows into a holy temple of the Lord.
Do you understand that illustration?
There's a cornerstone, that's Jesus.
That starts the whole thing, all right?
Has to start with him.
He's the cornerstone.
If that's not there,
nothing else is gonna work out
in this construction process of the church, right?
And so Jesus is the cornerstone.
And then how did he lay the rest of the foundation?
With these 12 apostles.
Each one of them representing a foundation stone.
And then what happened from there?
Every single believer,
every person that knows Christ as savior
is a living stone that then is put on this foundation of Christ
and the message that the apostles preach.
These apostles, these disciples,
we're not an elite group.
They are representative of all of us.
Jesus calls us the same way he called them.
He commissions us to the same task that he commissioned them.
Now we noted in our study of,
in chapter one of Jesus's call of the fishermen in Galilee,
that rabbis did not typically call students to follow them,
as I understand it.
Instead, students chose to follow a particular rabbi
in the same way that we would choose
to go to a particular college or a university.
It's not so much that we are recruited to that
as we make a choice.
And rabbis, from what I understand,
were careful not to give the impression
that their person themselves superseded the law.
In other words,
the student had a focus on the law,
not on the teacher.
So the student chose who they were going to learn from,
but the end goal was not to be like the teacher.
The end goal was to learn the law
and to understand the law and to move forward.
That is very different than what Jesus does though.
These men didn't choose Jesus.
Jesus chose them.
And what did he call them to?
Notice verse 13.
And he went up into the mountain
and he called unto what?
Him.
He called unto him.
This calling of discipleship and salvation,
for that matter,
is not like we just are in this realm
of choosing religions
and trying to find some philosopher
that we want to kind of pattern after
to get to the greater good
of learning the ideas of life.
That's not what this is.
Jesus has this authoritative call.
He calls us not to the law.
He calls us to himself.
Do you see the distinction in this?
And that's probably why some of the Pharisees
really struggled with him
because this was so unordinary.
This was unusual.
Jesus wasn't calling these men
in order to teach them the law.
He was calling them to himself.
He wasn't saying,
come and learn the law with me.
He was saying,
come and be with me.
Come and watch me.
Come and follow me.
Come and learn of me.
Why?
Well, this is a nod to his identity.
He wasn't just a teacher.
He wasn't merely a rabbi.
He was the one that wrote the law.
He was greater than the law.
And the call that Jesus extends to us
is just the same.
He doesn't call us to a system of religion.
He doesn't call us to Christianity.
That is as a religion.
He calls us to himself.
I thought about him studying this week.
There was a song that we sang a lot
when I was growing up.
You probably know it.
It's called Softly and Tenderly.
Do you know that song?
Softly and tenderly,
Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me.
See on the portals.
He's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Do you know the chorus?
Come home, come home.
Ye who are weary, come home.
Come home.
Earnestly, tenderly,
Jesus is calling,
calling,
O sinner,
come home.
This call is extended
to every believer.
No person will ever follow Jesus
without him first initiating this call.
So these men
are representative of us
in that
Jesus has issued his call
and each one of us
must respond to that call.
But then he's also commissioned us
beyond that call.
Commissioned us to a task.
That's the second point.
Commissioning.
Look with me at verse 14.
And he ordained 12
that they should be with him
and that he might send them forth to preach
and to have power to heal sicknesses
and to cast out devils.
But once Jesus called these men
up onto the mountain,
what took place?
What was it all about?
Mark says he ordained them
or he appointed them.
There's purpose in this.
It's not merely a formality.
It had a distinct purpose.
He wasn't asking them for companionship.
He was appointing them
to apostleship.
Jesus reminded his disciples of this in John 15.
John chapter 15 and verse 16.
He said,
You did not choose me.
I chose you.
And I appointed you.
And here's what he said.
That you should go
and bear fruit
and that your fruit should abide.
So Jesus' call to salvation
and to discipleship
and then by extension,
at least for these 12 men
to apostleship,
this call is not in a vacuum.
It's not purposeless.
It's connected to the rest of life.
He calls to salvation
in order that he may transform
and then commission us,
commission these men
and then to commission all believers
to a particular task.
Jesus has called us to himself
in order that he might commission us
for his purpose.
And what is that purpose?
That we would go,
that we would bear fruit
and that that fruit would abide.
Well, there's three things here
in these verses
that I think show us exactly.
It actually becomes pretty evident.
It's not just the typical preacher
coming up with three things.
There really are three things here.
Look at verse 14.
What's the first thing
that he was calling them to do
or commissioning them to do?
To be with him.
And he ordained 12
that they should be with him.
The foundational element
of discipleship
is time spent with Jesus.
Now, listen.
True discipleship
is a relationship
before it is a task.
Discipleship
is a relationship
before it is a task.
We often think as disciples
that we have a job to do
and we do.
We have a calling.
We have a duty even,
you could say.
But before we ever get to the task,
we are called to a relationship.
And the biblical idea here
behind discipleship
refers to an apprentice.
It's someone who would
learn his trade
over a number of years
by living with
and observing his master.
We don't have
very many things
in our culture
that are equivalent to this.
Perhaps the closest thing
is a residency program
perhaps
in the medical profession.
These 12 disciples,
they traveled with Jesus
for years.
They lived with him.
They saw him.
And he left his mark on them.
In fact,
in Acts chapter 4,
Peter and John
are preaching
to the Jews.
And this is what verse 13 says
the reaction of the Jews were.
Now when they saw
the boldness of Peter and John
and perceived that
they were uneducated,
common men,
they were astonished.
They were amazed
at what they knew
and what they understood.
And then it says,
and they recognized
that they had been with Jesus.
What was the significance
of Peter and John here?
They didn't have
a formal education.
They didn't go
to the rabbinical schools.
None of them did.
None of these men did.
But they had been with Jesus.
And Jesus had left his mark.
And in that,
he sets forth the pattern
for discipleship
for all of us.
That we are not called
first to one another.
We are first called
to him.
To be with him.
And here's the amazing
thing about it.
Relationships go two ways,
right?
Good ones do at least.
Jesus wanted them
to be with him
because he wanted
to be with them.
Did you catch that?
Jesus called them
to be with him
because he wanted
to be with them.
Now think about salvation.
What is happening
in conversion?
We are separated from God
because of our sin, right?
And then through Jesus,
there is this ministry
of reconciliation
that Paul calls it,
I think maybe
in the Colossian letter.
What is this reconciliation?
Sinful man being reconciled
to a holy God.
Well, how does that happen?
That happens through
the substitutionary death
of Jesus Christ
on the cross.
Because of Christ,
we are then reconciled
to God.
Well, that's on God's initiative,
not on ours.
He initiates that.
He initiates that relationship.
He has redeemed us
because he wants us.
And he calls these men
to be with him,
not just because he wants
to show them the ropes,
but because he wants
to be with them.
He wants to have
this relationship with them.
He is setting right.
In this example,
he is setting right,
setting right what was broken
in the fall.
And what did time
would Jesus do for these men?
They were transformed.
Think about the list here.
Look at verse 16.
Simon, he surnamed Peter.
Simon was the leader
of the band.
We often see that.
Jesus gave him
a different name.
Petra, rock, Peter.
Jesus didn't give Peter
that name because Peter
was stable and strong.
He was actually
the opposite of that.
He wasn't stable at all.
He had no control.
Think again on the night
of Jesus' arrest.
What does Peter do?
He just immediately reacts, right?
He immediately reacts
and cuts a guy's ear off.
And I don't think
he was aiming for his ear.
He's just really bad at it.
He was brash.
It was earlier that night
that Jesus said,
all of you are going
to forsake me.
And Peter,
Peter rejected Christ's statement.
Great follower, wasn't he?
He said,
though all of these guys,
he points to the other 11,
though all of these guys
turn their back on you,
I will never turn my back on you.
And what did he do
later that night?
Denied him three times.
Peter was not a rock.
He was not stable.
And after that,
he went through a series
of really being defeated spiritually
and Christ restored him
from that in John chapter 21.
What was the purpose
in nicknaming him Peter?
Peter,
it wasn't because he was a rock.
It was because Jesus
was going to make him
into a rock.
This was pointing Peter
to what Jesus
was going to do with him.
And that's exactly
what he became.
You get into the book of Acts
and it's Peter,
the representative
of the apostles
on the day of Pentecost
that preaches this message
of the gospel
and 3,000 souls
come to Christ.
It is through Peter
that these men were led
to preach the gospel
all throughout the world.
He became the rock.
But then look at the next verse,
verse 17.
James,
the son of Zebedee,
John,
the brother of James.
He gave them a nickname too.
This nickname was
Bonaerges,
sons of thunder.
This wasn't because
that's what Jesus
was making them into though.
It's actually the opposite here.
this is what he was
transforming them from.
Now think about it.
Remember there's a time
in the gospels
that John was upset
about a particular town's
rejection of Jesus.
And John tells Jesus,
why don't we pray
to the father
that he send down fire
from heaven
to consume them?
Like he's a son of thunder.
Sure.
He didn't mess around.
But how do we know
John now?
He's actually
the apostle of love
we refer him to.
Why?
Because Jesus
transformed his life.
Being with Jesus
did something for him
that no textbook
could ever do.
Being with Jesus
made a difference
in his life.
Think about these other men.
You've got Andrew
on one side
who is like
the eternal optimist.
Every time you see Andrew
he just immediately believes
and tries to bring
other people
to remedy a situation.
On the other end
you have Thomas
who's the eternal pessimist.
Who though he was loyal
to an extent
still said
well we might as well
go with Jesus to Jerusalem
and all die with him.
He was just
an eternal pessimist.
And Jesus brings
these two people together.
And then you've got
Matthew the tax collector
and Simon the zealot
the political radical man
that would have sooner
murdered Matthew
than actually live
with him for three years.
Jesus brings
he transforms their life.
He taught them.
Why did he teach them?
Because he had a purpose.
What was that purpose?
Well Acts tells us
again
Acts chapter 1
and verse 8
Jesus says
you will be my witnesses.
Jerusalem and Samaria
and all around the world.
Time with Jesus.
He taught them truth.
He taught them doctrine.
He taught them who he was.
He trained them.
He said watch me.
They saw how he interacted
with people.
They saw how he cared
for the needs of people.
They saw his mannerisms.
They saw his love.
They witnessed
all of these things
and then Jesus periodically
would send them out
like on these little
mini missions.
And they would go and preach
and they would come back
and report to Jesus.
He trained them
for their purpose.
How did all that come to be?
Well it's just because
they were with him.
They were with him.
You say what does this
have to do with me?
We don't have the privilege
of walking through Palestine
with Jesus.
that's the uniqueness
of the call for these men.
We don't have that opportunity.
We have something different.
We have the scripture.
You say how can I be with Jesus?
You were Jesus through his word.
Jesus told the Pharisees one time
he said you go to the law
you go to the scriptures
believing that in them
you have eternal life
but I'm telling you
that what the scriptures
are about
they testify of me
Jesus said.
He said it doesn't matter
where you turn.
You go to the Old Testament
guess what you're going to find?
Jesus.
That's its purpose.
You go to the gospels
you see Jesus.
You go to the epistles
you see Jesus.
You want to be with Jesus?
Get in the word.
It's a living book.
Hebrews tells us
that it is
it is
a living book
that it is sharper
than any two-edged sword
it pierces to the dividing
asunder.
It reads the thoughts
and intentions
of our hearts.
That's what it does.
Jesus does his work
through his word.
That's why when we come
to church on Sunday
we're committed to the word.
That's why we spend
so much time praying
that the word would increase
and prevail in our lives
because that's how
we spend time with Jesus
through the word.
You say I don't feel
like I know him well.
I don't feel like
I have this understanding
and I don't feel like
I have this training
to do what he's called me to do.
Well just get with him.
Just spend some time
with him
every day
in the word.
And guess what?
He's going to transform you too.
Because that's what he does.
He doesn't call us
because we're capable.
He calls us
and then he transforms us
into what he wants us to be.
So they were called
to be with him.
Secondly,
they were called
to preach the gospel.
This just makes sense,
doesn't it?
They were called
to preach the gospel.
Look at verse 14.
And he ordained the twelve
that they should be with him
and that he might send them
forth to preach.
Preaching
was Jesus'
primary purpose.
So it doesn't come
as a surprise for us
that it was to be
the priority
of his followers as well.
While he remained on earth,
they preached the gospel
of the kingdom
that he was preaching
in chapter one.
But once he ascended
back to heaven,
their message
was to be about
the crucifixion
and resurrection.
Flip with me
to Acts chapter 10.
Would you just do that quick?
I know I've had you
turning a lot,
but it's just good.
So turn to Acts chapter 10
with me if you would.
Acts chapter 10.
Look down with me
at verse 39.
So Peter has gone
to this
Gentile man
named Cornelius
and he begins
to preach the gospel.
And listen to what Peter
says in verse 39.
He says,
We are witnesses
of all things
which Jesus did
both in the land
of the Jews
and in Jerusalem
whom they slew
and hung on a tree.
Him
God raised up
the third day
and showed him openly.
Not to all the people,
but unto witnesses
chosen before of God.
Even to us,
Peter says,
who did eat and drink
with him
after he rose from the dead.
I saw him
with my own eyes.
I witnessed it.
And he commanded us
to preach unto the people
and to testify
that it is he
which was ordained of God
to be the judge
of the living and the dead.
To him
give all the prophets witness
that through his name
whosoever believeth in him
shall receive remission
of sins.
What was it they were
supposed to preach?
This is it.
That Jesus is the son of God.
That he died
for the sins
of man.
That he rose
on the third day.
And that all
who come to him
in faith
will receive
forgiveness
of their sins
and eternal life.
that's the message.
That's what Jesus
had taught them.
That's what he had taught them
not merely
in his own teaching
but through the example
of the prophets.
Did you notice
what Peter said?
That even the prophets
witness of this
and he just goes
through what?
Not his own thoughts
or ideologies.
He goes through
the word.
And as he preaches
the word
he inevitably preaches
the gospel
and Cornelius
and a bunch of other people
get saved
and they receive the spirit
and they are baptized
in that moment
and it's amazing.
Guess what?
This wasn't a commission
only for these 12 men.
It's a commission
for you.
It's a commission
for me.
That we take
this same gospel
and we share it.
Somebody told me
recently that
you'll never find
evidence
in the New Testament
of the church
exhorting people
to evangelize.
Well that's foolish.
Jesus himself said
in Matthew 28
all authority
in heaven
and on earth
is given to me.
Go therefore
and make disciples.
It wasn't just
the disciples
the 12
that were gathered
at that moment.
There were lots of people
gathered around
when Jesus made this statement.
Go therefore
and preach the gospel.
Baptize them
in the name of the Father
and the Son
of the Holy Spirit.
Teach them to observe
all things
whatsoever I have commanded.
And then he gives
this great promise.
I'll go with you.
Isn't that the worst thing
about evangelism?
Is you're worried
that you won't know
what to say
and you're worried
that you're going to be
asked a question
that you won't be able
to answer
and then you're just scared
because people are just
sometimes malicious
and you're not sure
if you want to stick yourself
out there like that.
But then you think
back to this promise.
Jesus says go
so it's a matter of command.
He commissions us
to do it as believers
but then he says look
I'm going to go with you.
I will help you.
And what you'll find
is the more
that you share the gospel
it's amazing Marty.
It's amazing how
when you share the gospel
Jesus helps.
He brings to your mind
exactly the verses
that otherwise beforehand
you wouldn't have been
prepared to share
but he brings them
to your mind.
Why?
Because you've been with him.
You've been with him.
And in the process of that
he's given you
a burden to share
and then he's also
taught you what to share
and I should share
this truth.
He brings it on
and then sometimes
people are going
to be aggravated
and they're going
to ostracize you
for the message
and guess what?
He's still with you.
To the end of the age
he says.
We could go on
and on in the New Testament
but look this wasn't
just a call for these men.
This is a call
for every one of us.
Anyone who names
the name of Christ
preach the gospel.
Thirdly
to do good
and oppose evil.
To do good
and oppose evil.
Look with me
back at Mark 3
verse 15
and to have power
to heal sicknesses
and to cast out
devils.
Now
the Holy Spirit
did empower
these men
to do supernatural
things.
Healing sicknesses
we see it in the scripture
casting out demons.
In the gospels
it was an extension
of Jesus' ministry.
In the book of Acts
it was
a sign
of this
apostolic age
in which
the Holy Spirit
was empowering
these men
as a proof
of the gospel.
Now
God doesn't call us
to heal people
and he doesn't call us
to exercise demons.
You'll never find that
in the New Testament
anywhere.
How does this apply
to us?
Do good
and oppose evil.
There's plenty
of instruction
in the New Testament
for that.
I can't heal anybody
but I can help them.
I can see a need
and try to make
a difference
in their life
and the resources
that God has given me.
I can't cast out
a demon
but I can stand firm
on the truth of God
and stand against
the cultural evils
of our day.
Both of these things
are accomplished
first when we
faithfully share
the gospel.
It's just by nature
how it is
but Jesus did
much more
than preaching.
Preaching was his purpose
but he put a significant
amount of time
and effort
into helping people
loving people
opposing
the evil
of his day.
James Edwards
again
disciples are not
simply defined
by what they stand for
but also
what they stand
against.
They're commissioned
to confront
demonic and evil powers
however they manifest
themselves
and to confront
them not only
in thought
but in word
and action.
Remember what
James said
in James chapter 2
what good is it
my brothers
if someone says
he has faith
but does not
have works
can that faith
save him?
That is the important
thing there.
Can that kind
of faith save him?
If a brother
or sister
is poorly clothed
and lacking
in daily food
and one of you
says to them
go in peace
and be warmed
and filled
without giving
them the things
needed for the body
what good is that?
So also
faith by itself
if it does not
have works
is dead.
It's dead.
What's God
called us to?
We'll be with him
share the gospel
and then do good.
Do good
and oppose evil
in whatever way
it may manifest itself.
As we close
I just want to say
discipleship
is not about
what disciples
can do for Jesus
but it's about
what Jesus
will make
of disciples.
You say
I've come to Jesus
because I have
so much to offer him.
No you don't.
You may have
a lot to offer me.
You may have
a lot to offer
our church
but there's nothing
you can offer him.
But the grace
of Jesus
is exemplified
in the fact
that he wants you
anyways.
No matter what
your qualifications
he'll transform you
into what
he desires
for you to be.
The commission
given to these men
is unique.
There's no doubt
about that.
We are not apostles
but they're
representatives
of every disciple.
Church
we have a call
to be with Jesus
to preach
his gospel
to do good
and to oppose
evil.
.