Jesus Calls the Twelve

 

"And He *went up on the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons. And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder"); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him."

Mark 3:13-19

 

Good Morning my beloved,
 
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my honor and great privilege to study God's Word with you today. We are so thankful that the Lord lead you join us. I want to let you know how grateful I am for each of you, for your faithfulness, dedication and commitment to share God's Word with others. People all around the world are desperate for the Word of God. It's a tremendous blessing, but it's a blessing that brings a huge challenge. With more people coming to Christ, pastors and church leaders are asking for more Bibles in their native languages. I hope you will prayerfully consider helping us to make a difference by meeting their need.

It is astonishing the number twelve appears in the Bible more than one hundred times, Jacob had twelve sons, there were the twelve tribes of Israel, twelve stones in the high priest's breastplate, there were twelve springs of water in Elim, and at the foot of the mountain Moses built an alter with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. There were twelve loaves of consecrated bread placed on the table in the temple.  Twelve silver dishes, twelve silver bowls, twelve gold pans were used for the dedication offering. There were twelve minor prophets that spoke God’s Word with authority to guide and correct the nation. Jesus was twelve when He said that He must be about His Father's business, even as a child Jesus put a higher priority on "His Father's Business" than on the concerns of His earthly parents, the woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, when Jesus fed the five thousand, they were twelve baskets, on the night of Jesus' arrest He told Peter He had more than twelve legions of angels at His disposal and interestingly enough, there are four seasons in a year, each lasting three months. The number twelve certainly stands out as one of the most significant in Scripture. 

 

In our text today, we see the connection between these twelve ordinary men who were chosen by Jesus to learn what He wanted to teach them to carry on the ministry, so that they could go out and change the world. I believe it’s important to note, that when Jesus deliberately chose those whom He wanted, He called them, and they came without hesitation. Unless we’re called, we won’t come. Oh, if we would only respond to Him as quickly. I believe this also reminds us of the important challenge of pouring into the next generation, training new leaders to whom we can hand over the ministry. We should be asking ourselves, "Who’s going to carry the message after I'm gone?" Perhaps, Jesus is calling some of you today.

Let us pray

Heavenly Father,

Father, we thank You for Your Word. May Your Truth speak to our hearts in ways it has never before. Lord, we pray for those who have been called to serve Christ, to take the responsibility of their calling seriously, to make it the business of their lives to do the work which You began, to proclaim the Truth with a pure heart. Stir the hearts of those who are teaching a watered down, diluted version of Your Word and call them to repentance, so they might change the way they serve You and others. Raise up a faithful generation of teachers, who are committed to preaching Your Word. Help us Lord, that we might be useful to You, in spite of our flaws, in proclaiming Your Truth with courage and boldness in love and compassion, offering others the same grace and forgiveness, that we have received, as we await Your glorious return. For Your glory and for Christ's sake.

In His name we ask and pray

Amen

Today's Message: Jesus Calls the Twelve 

If you have your Bibles, open them and turn with me to Mark chapter 3, verses 13-19. I'd like to encourage you to now follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds. I pray that the Lord would help us to hear and apply what He has to say to each of us today and strengthen our faith. Mark 3:13-19.

 

"And He *went up on the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons. And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder"); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him."

 

It’s fair to say this was a rather strange mix of twelve imperfect ordinary guys, and yet, Jesus personally chose them out of a larger community of followers to proclaim the Gospel to the world, not unlike many of us in the ministry today. Peter, had a lot of zeal, though often quick tempered and emotionally unstable, he was ambitious, and highly motivated. Andrew was not as outspoken, unlike his brother, he had absolutely no leadership qualities to speak of, he was a man of simple faith, who spent much of his life being known as Peter's brother. James and John were brothers, impetuous and selfish, placing personal interest above loyalty, they were given the name "Boanerges," or Sons of Thunder, not because they had thunderous voices that were good for preaching, but because they wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy the Samaritans. Thomas' doubting and questioning attitude could weaken even the highest morale. Matthew, a tax collector, despised by most every self-respecting Jew, was blacklisted because no one wanted to be around him. James and Thaddeus definitely would have registered high on the manic-depressive charts, and had radical leanings. Simon the zealot, a political radical, always looking for ways to annihilate the Romans, had terroristic tendencies. Judas Iscariot, was responsible, outgoing, and had a keen business mind, with contacts in high places, was a thief and a traitor. 

 

I say all of that in order to encourage you, if He can use these twelve, unskilled, ordinary men, knowing all of their faults and flaws before He chose them to carry on the ministry, turning the world upside down, He can surely use you to impact the lives of those around you, if you would only surrender to Him. When I was growing up and I would be outside playing, my mother would call me when it was time to come inside. It wasn’t a good idea to linger too long if you know what I mean. When she called, you better come sooner than later. I believe this is at the heart of being a Christian, when Jesus calls, we mustn't wait around until we're good and ready. Better to respond sooner in love than later in regret.

 

Let's look at verse 13, "And He *went up on the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him." Luke 6 tells us that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer. I love that, He prayed before He selected and summoned those He wanted to Himself. Prayer is so critical in making decisions. That's what Jesus did to seek the will of the Father, then He knew what He wanted. This was not just some haphazard list of Jesus just pulling a few guys together without meaning as some of you might think. These were the ones He wanted to be the first generation of preachers to proclaim the Gospel of salvation, repentance and forgiveness of sin by faith in Christ alone. Like salvation, this is a sovereign act of God. I find it interesting that God often uses people like that. Apart from the divine purposes of God, there isn't any reason to imagine them coming together in any other way.

 

Jesus selecting the twelve was more than just a ministry strategy, this closely parallels some of the other things He did at the beginning of His ministry, going back to the temple when He made a whip and drove out the money changers, the buyers and sellers and pronounced judgment on them. Choosing the twelve was an unmistakable statement of judgment on the nation of Israel's corrupt leaders that they are disqualified. Jesus demonstrating that even with their supposed elite status they've been rejected by God, replaced by the most unlikely, lowly group of twelve men. It's a slap in the face to what they thought they knew about God wanted in a leader, but in reality they had no clue. With the new covenant comes a whole new leadership.

 

If you look at Matthew 19, I believe it'll help you better understand. Jesus said "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." They were commissioned to be the new leaders over each of the twelve tribes in the new Israel. Obviously, this is going to be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom. It's important to understand God does the choosing according to His sovereign selection. They didn’t volunteer but were selected. By choosing the twelve, Jesus is pronouncing judgment on them even as they are plotting His murder. Throughout His ministry, Jesus continually indicted their self-righteous spiritual pride, their hypocrisy and vile corruption, calling them white washed tombs, painted white on the outside, inside they stink with dead men’s bones. He told them because they shut off the kingdom of heaven from people, they would not enter in themselves, but would receive greater condemnation. These self-proclaimed experts thought they knew God, nothing was further from the Truth.

You will never understand God's Word if you’ve already determined what God should say.

 

Verse 14, "And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach," These were ordinary men, completely flawed human beings, who God was able to use to develop into godly leaders and use to advance His Kingdom. These were not theologians, they twelve ordinary men, if they were going to preach to effectively have an impact, they had to be with Him to be trained. The power isn't in the messenger, the power comes from God and flows through His messengers. What we learn in private must be shared with the public. God's plan hasn't changed, it's the same today, prayerfully pick a few men and pour yourself into them. They started out as followers, then they became disciples, "mathētēs," learners, they ended up as messengers, "apostéllō," being sent to proclaim the Gospel to the world. The word "apostéllō," focuses back to the source, strongly connecting the one sent to the sender; these twelve ordinary men were personally commissioned by the Lord to act as an official representative on His behalf with all the power and authority that He delegated to them.

 

I believe there are many self-appointed preachers who would do well to understand this in the church today, they are His representatives to act on Christ's behalf, preaching the Word with His authority. A preacher has no God given authority to change the message! Some pastors are confused about how this calling works. You are to commissioned to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to help sinners understand what is at stake, calling them to turn from sin to repentance. There's a lot of misinformed preachers out there thinking their job is to tell Jesus what sin is. They are openly mocking God with their false teaching to make men like them more, guaranteeing their place in Hell. The severest judgement is reserved for the purveyors of false gospel.

Verse 15, "And to have authority to cast out the demons." The word "authority" is the word "eksousía," which means the delegated right or privilege to use power. Only God has power over demons, so if a human being has power over demonic forces, you’re going to know he has the delegated power of God. Matthew adds He gave them the authority "to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." This is so when they went out to preach the Gospel of grace and salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, people would believe because of the evidence of supernatural power that confirmed them. These are displays of kingdom power are the signs of an apostle. There are a lot of self-proclaimed modern healers today who claim they represent God, they make outlandish claims to be able to cast out demons, to heal sickness and disease, they are all heretics preying on desperate people. There are no human beings remaining on this earth that has that kind of authority today. The Old Testament miracles authenticated that the prophets were speaking and acting on behalf of God. The primary purpose of the New Testament miracles was to authenticate Christ's divine identity and in turn to authenticate His apostles were acting on His behalf. 

 

 

I often hear people misinterpret John 14:12, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father," to mean signs and wonders. We simply cannot imagine "greater works" to mean raising the dead, supernatural healings or turning water into wine. While there is nothing inappropriate in seeking miracles, they do still happen according to His divine will, but God doesn’t need to authentic His messengers to testify to His sovereign power. No greater works will prove persuasive than the resurrection of Jesus Christ in saving people from eternal punishment. God is miraculously calling people to Himself as the Gospel is effectively preached. Healing the spiritually blind, that's how we can be confident that God is actively at work in the world. Therefore, I believe that pastors today are called to live authentically as portrayed in Scripture so people can connect the voice of God and the message of the Gospel. That's what validates your walk with God. His life or his message should never be contrary to what God has said in His Word. Beware of hypocrites that claim God has changed His mind, adapting to the modern culture.

 

Verse 16, "And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter)." Notice that the first name on any list is always Peter, that's because he was such a dominant force, a take charge kind of guy, so he's recognized to be the leader over everybody. Peter, James and John are always in the same group, these three were the most intimate with the Lord. This reminds us of two important things: we can’t pick our natural family or our spiritual family and being intentionally close to Christ. As you go down the list, there’s not only a decreasing sense of intimacy but the information we know about them. We know little about group two, Andrew and Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, and Thomas. When you get to group three, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot we know virtually nothing. And Judas Iscariot, is of course last for obvious reasons, and always with a comment, who betrayed Him or who became a traitor.

 

Peter, often called the disciple with foot shaped mouth, acted too hastily, talked too much. He was impulsive, confrontational and bold, who vacillated from arrogantly insisting "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.," to cursing and swearing, "I do not know the man!" At one point Jesus even said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s." Not exactly the kind of guy you’d want leading the church. Yet, we see a very different Peter after Jesus refined his raw leadership capabilities and equipped him to later become the most dominate voice who literally preaches his way through the first 12 chapters in the book of Acts.

 

Then in verse 17, "And James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder"). That nickname defines James’s and John's passionate personalities in very vivid terms and serves as a reminder of what Jesus didn't want them to be. We're all familiar with the incident when Jesus and His followers intended to pass through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and the Samaritans were being deliberately inhospitable, the outraged "Sons of Thunder" had a remedy in mind, they wanted to command fire to come down from heaven and burn them to a crisp, just as Elijah did in the confrontation with King Ahaziah and his soldiers in the same region. Jesus made it clear that it was not a time for judgment but a time for the proclamation of the Gospel. We often tend to think of John as shy, quiet and meek, because James often appears to be the more dominant and aggressive one, I hasten to add, he was nearly as explosive, intolerant, ambitious and zealous as his brother. But as we see later in Scripture, he also had a tremendous capacity for love. In fact, he always spoke in judgement against those would twist and pervert the truth in love. I believe that's why he out lived the others, God knew he would ultimately be the greatest source of truth and love in the New Testament. It's interesting to note, that James is the only apostle whose death is recorded in Scripture, he was executed by Herod Agrippa.

 

Verse 18, "And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot." Andrew, a native of Bethsaida, a village in Galilee, lived with Peter and like his brother, was a fisherman. He was a God fearing Jew, who had been a follower of John the Baptist. Immediately after he heard John the Baptist exclaim "Behold, the Lamb of God," he announced to his brother Peter "We have found the Messiah," and he began following Jesus. Believing there was no problem Jesus couldn't handle, when they needed to feed the hungry crowds, he's the one who went looking for anyone who had a lunch. Even though it was Andrew who had found the Messiah, he spent much of his life in the background, being known as Peter's brother. I believe Andrew was one of those rare individuals who were willing to take second place for the greater good of the cause. We don't really see Andrew begin to emerge from the background until the fourth Gospel of John. When Philip is approached by the Greeks, who wanted to see Jesus. Who does Phillip go to? Andrew. Whenever you see Andrew in Scripture, he is in someway involved in bringing someone to Jesus.

 

Then there's Philip, a fascinating person who was the leader of group two. He growing up in the same town as Peter and Andrew, it's possible he may have already known them because they would have went to the same synagogue being a small town. We don't know who his parents were or if he was a fisherman like some of the others. He was after all, unique, unlike his buddy Nathanael, or Bartholomew as he's called, unlike Peter, James and John or Andrew. He's really not like any of those guys, except that he and Andrew were both followers of John the Baptist, and that he said to Nathanael, "We have found Him, the One Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote about. It's Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." It's interesting that no one brought Philip to Jesus, Jesus found him. In fact, he is the first one to whom Jesus actually went out to find. A student of the Old Testament, he was waiting for the Messiah, when Jesus said "Follow Me," there was no reluctance, he was so elated he went and found his buddy Nathanael. His faith was real, but it was weak. I believe that's why when the crowd started moving near, in feeding the five thousand, Jesus asked him "Hey Philip, you're usually in charge of arrangements, where are we going to buy enough bread to feed all these people?" But Philip being a materialist, was always worried about the possibility of everything, answered Him and said, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little." In other words, it can't be done. Jesus knew what he was thinking, He was looking for an opportunity to teach him the supreme essentials of leadership, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!" That never entered into in to Philip's mind.

 

Then there’s Bartholomew, a God fearing Jew, whose name was actually Nathanael Bartholomaios, bartholomaios means the son of Tolmai. Nathanael means God has given, a gift of God. It's interesting, that on every list he’s always next to Philip, though the two were very different. He was contemplative, a searcher, hungry for truth, he was in awe of the supernatural and perceived everything as clear from the very beginning. He was from Cana, a small village in Galilee. He's probably most remembered for saying to Philip, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Nothing but trouble ever came out of Nazareth, it was the last stop before the Gentile world, the people were uneducated, unrefined, and known for having no class. Cana was small, but they had a little class. Whether you realize it or not, Nathanael was demonstrating the sin of prejudice, based on feelings of superiority. It's interesting that when Jesus walked up to him He said, "Behold, an Israelite for real, in whom there is no hypocrisy." What a commendation, but even in a man as good as Nathanael, there was the sin of prejudice. Jesus saw him sitting under a fig tree, with his heart wide open, He knew he was searching for God, yet when Philip said "We found Him, he said, "You've got to be kidding me, nothing good can come out of Nazareth!" But as soon as he saw Him, he knew immediately, this is the Son of God!

 

Prejudice is used by Satan to blind people, to keep them from hearing the Truth, and holding them back from coming to Christ, on both sides. People often think that Christians believe that they're better than everybody else, and Christians often think certain groups of people aren't worthy to be saved. Isn't that why Jonah ended up in the belly of a great fish? He was prejudice against the men of Nineveh. And, it's what caused the Jews to reject their promised Messiah, and brought judgement on the nation of Israel. All people need to be exposed to God in order to know Him. God hates prejudice, especially when it keeps others from hearing the Truth about His salvation. 

Then we come to Matthew, the despised tax collector, a traitor, hated by everybody, including the eleven. He would have been considered to be one of the most vilest persons in Capernaum We don't know if Jesus passed by Matthew's tax collector's booth before calling him to follow Him or if he ever heard Jesus teach. Only that when Jesus said said "Follow Me,"and that he immediately did so, leaving a very lucrative job and everything he owned behind, indicating that that his heart was ready to believe and follow Jesus. I love the way Luke puts it "He forsook all." What a tremendous response. When someone seriously wants to follow Jesus, there's no grumbling or complaining about what he must give up, he willingly walks away and never looks back. I believe that we of all people, must be willing to admit that churches are filled with flawed, imperfect, broken people who recognize just how flawed and broken they are and are ready for a Savior. The point is, there’s not one sinner who cannot be forgiven. I see many people in the church today who act like that, they think they're too "good" to be around those they consider to be "lesser" people. They don't need your self-righteousness judgement, they need your help. 

 

Next we come to Thomas and what's the first thing you think of? Doubting Thomas, we even call some people "Doubting Thomas's" today. I believe there are many Christians today that are like that, even though some won't express it. I often hear them say they're "too blessed to be stressed," yet their faces are riddled with anxiety. I believe Thomas has really gotten bad kind of a bad rap. I mean, I believe can all agree that negative people can be a real pain, always anticipating the worst possible scenario in every situation. While it's true that Thomas could only seem to anticipate the worst of everything, he also had some redeeming qualities. 

 

In John chapter 11, we're all familiar with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. When Lazarus was sick and the sisters sent word to Jesus, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was, just to make sure that Lazarus was dead so that He could go and display His glory in a resurrection. Then, after the two days had passed, Jesus said "Let us go to Judea again." And the disciples *said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  And after that He *said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep." And the disciples thought that He was speaking of literal sleep  said "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Look at verse 16, "Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." Now, you've got to admit that's a pretty courageous guy, especially for a pessimist.

Thomas was devoted to Christ, he'd rather die than live without Him. Eventually, his greatest fear came to pass when Jesus was crucified on the cross. Being a pessimist, he was sure he would never see Him again. That's why I believe Thomas wasn't there when Jesus appeared to the disciples the first time after the resurrection, he was so heart broken, devastated that Jesus left him, he really didn't feel like being around anyone or socializing. I'm sure any one of us who has ever lost someone very dear to us can identify with that. Thomas gives us a good reason not to miss church, you never know when something really exciting is going to happen.

 

Now we come to James the son of Alphaeus, we really don’t know much about him because Scripture doesn't really say anything except for a few small details, his fathers name we know is Alphaeus, but we don't know anything about him. Though it's interesting that Scripture doesn't distinguish between the two Alphaeus's since Matthew's father was also named Alphaeus. Could it be that James the less and Matthew were brothers? It wouldn't be uncommon, Peter and Andrew were brothers, James and John were brothers. However, there's never any indication given in Scripture Matthew and James were referred to as brothers.

We know his mothers name is Mary, who is a follower of Jesus. We know he's always the first name in the last group and is sometimes called James the less or "mikrou," it means little or small in stature,which may indicate that He may have been a little guy or young in age or wasn't particularly powerful. Again, we don't know. The early church fathers say he preached in Persia, or modern day Iran, and they refused to hear the Gospel and crucified him. Maybe if they had listened, the Muslim religion wouldn't dominate that area today. May I say something, it’s wonderful to be a vessel fit for the Lord’s use, but I'm replaceable, I'm never the focus, Christ is, as it should be. I believe that why we have so little information in Scripture about the men God chose to use, human instruments are not the issue. Christ is and shall always be the issue. Therefore, the focus must always be on Him. 

Then there’s Thaddaeus, who's real name is Judas son of James. He's also called Lebbaeus which means heart child. Perhaps that suggests he was a gentle soul with a tender, childlike heart. Jerome, a fourth-century Bible scholar, dubbed him "Trinomious," meaning the man with three names. In John 14, he wanted to know why Jesus would treat the disciples differently from the world. Like most Jews in during that he expected the Messiah to reveal Himself in power to the world. I love the answer Jesus gave him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me."

 

Next we come to Simon the Zealot, a political revolutionary, the man full of zeal for the law of Moses. A zealot is anyone who fervently supports a particular cause, primarily overthrowing the oppressive Roman occupation. They were so zealous, they even murdered Jews whom they believed compromised with Rome. In the original language the word "Kananaios," is used which has been unfortunately translated as a Canaanite. But that is not a correct, it comes from the root word "qanna," which means zealous. Josephus recorder that the Zealots activity was the primary reason for the destruction of Jerusalem. Simon the Zealot  is mentioned four times in the New Testament, in the same four lists of Apostles as the other disciples. The name Simon the Zealot may have been kept simply to distinguish him from Simon Peter.  We can safely assume that his priorities dramatically changed after his encounter with Jesus. I believe what is most important to remember about him is that He was chosen by our Lord to be a better Leader for a far greater cause. 

 

Judas Iscariot, certainly one of the most infamous characters found in all the Bible as the disciple who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The tragic story of the greatest wasted opportunity ever in the history of the world. He hung himself, the rope broke, and he landed on a bunch of rocks that burst his insides. Acts 1:25 says "Judas turned aside to go to his own place" implies a choice to be separate from the Eleven and implies his judgment in Hell. There are some people who don't believe Judas would never be sent to Hell what he was directed to do. But in Matthew 26:24, Jesus plainly said "The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." God knew his heart, his motivation, just like He used the scribes and Pharisees wicked hearts to accomplish His divine plans.

 

In Closing..

 

It's amazing, that Jesus summoned just about every kind of man you can imagine, four smelly fisherman, a doubter and a tax collector who worked for Rome and a Zealot who hated Rome, a pessimist, a materialist,

a betrayer, each with their weakness, sinful proclivities and character flaws, with no backup plan. I imagine that's because that the only kind of men there are. Who would have ever predicted that they would change the world. God can use anyone who is willing and available. I find it encouraging, that with all of my flaws God can still see something in me that is useful to Him. That's exactly what is in my mind, every time I preach the Gospel. Do you know, the Lord continues to build His Church every time the Gospel is proclaimed?

 

Did you know, the Lord continues to build His Church every time you share your testimony? I find it deeply disheartening, that we have in our hands the power of the Gospel with the greatest ability to bring people to Christ like never before in history, and we're afraid to share the message because we might offend someone. We're all brothers and sisters, we all need each other and the lost and the deceived desperately need Christ. 

 

I believe that if you are with us today, God sees something useful in you. He wants to use the unique gifts that only you have been blessed with. But the only way that can happen is if you're willing, He won't force you. However, He may strongly encourage you by removing all the excuses. That's what He did with me, when the doctors "offended me" by telling me the truth that I had stage 4 cancer with at best, weeks to live. My only regret is I didn't give in sooner. The Lord continues to build His Church today, are you willing to say, "Lord, I am willing! Use me, in spite of my flaws, use me.."

May it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

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