Mark 3:13-15
13Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons.
If you remember the last time we where looking at Mark we talked about crowds, Jesus was attracting large groups of people. People who wanted to be healed, people who just wanted to see what was going on, people who believed he was the messiah and people who wanted him killed.
It’s interesting to me when I look at this passage Jesus is getting ready to ‘unleash’ the gospel onto the world. He could do it by himself, but he chooses 12 ordinary, uneducated, everyday people who merely had the heart to follow Jesus. Four of them where known fisherman, one was a tax collector and rest we are not sure of. One thing I know for sure, these twelve where everyday people, just like you and I.
Jesus has been with these men for a short time, there most likely more than twelve following Jesus around, but he choose these twelve and they came to him (verse 13).
Now there are many verses that refer to the fact of Jesus’ calling an individual. In fact the Bible is clear you cannot know the Lord without first being called by him. God moves in us a desire to know him, and we can choose not to follow or to follow.
Jesus calls and the disciples respond by following him. Jesus then appoints them apostles, representatives of Jesus. The word Apostles means “messenger or authorized representative.” Jesus gives them the stamp of approval, these ordinary men will become his own personally certified “official representatives” of the gospel. But First…
Jesus Calls us to Himself
The first part of this verse is the one that hits me the hardest, “called to him those he wanted”. I am really moved by this verse, we know he was calling together the twelve who would eventually spread the gospel to the known world. But he called those he wanted…
So many people in the world want to be wanted. Isn’t nice to be wanted, We all like the feeling of being wanted by someone. Which begs the question, “who does Jesus want? 1Ti 2:4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1Ti 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1Tim 2:6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men.
Jesus wants all of us to know him; he died for everyone, not just a few people, but for all people. Think about this for just a moment, the creator of the universe, who made everything. Think about the most beautiful parts of nature, think about the complexity of the human beings…the creator wants to know you personally and he calls you to himself.
In fact everything starts and ends with Jesus. In our own personal life, it starts with Jesus, our family life start with Jesus, everything and I mean everything you do has to start with Jesus first. He cannot hold any other position in our lives or we will struggle in our faith. It starts with personal renewal with Jesus. Jesus calls us to him….to know him, to put our trust and faith into him.
But for many of us Jesus is a Sunday event, we love Jesus but he has taken a back seat to our kids, our jobs, or toys. Image church if we were able to put Jesus first in our lives, image how much different our relationship with our spouse would be. Image how much deeper our relationships with our children would grow. Think about how much better together we would be if Jesus was first in our lives…why is that? Have you ever thought that?
Because it’s not about you…In a world that says it’s all about you, the Bible make it clear it’s not, it’s about Christ who is the glory of the father….And when we learn this, when we can take the focus off of ourselves and our desires and when we focus our attention on Christ, to be more Christ like…it changes everything. It frees us from ourselves; it allows us to do for others, to love others instead of ourselves. The second part of this verse is “they came to him”
Jesus calls us but we must respond to him, he doesn’t force his hand. He doesn’t beg you to listen or to obey. He simply calls those he wanted and they came to him. Some of you have received the call and at times you have come to him and other times you have chose not to come to him. He is calling us today, and we need to respond to the call….by answering the call you will discover…
He has a purpose for all of us
Jesus called these twelve to be the messengers of the good news, these twelve ordinary men where set apart for extraordinary work. Jesus’ brought them in close and disciple them. He taught them what they needed to know, for the task they had been given. “They would be with him and he would send them out to preach and have authority over evil spirits”.
It is no different today; Christ lived and died….and ascended into heaven, something he said he had to do so that the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the teacher could come. While on earth Jesus was limited to the twelve, while in heaven he has no limitations…he can call and be everywhere.
So he calls us today, each one of us has a purpose in the body of Christ. Each one of us has a gift or gifts of the spirit to help build the body of Christ. Christ brings us in close through prayer and bible study, through discipleship, through service and obedience to the Holy Spirit. Think of this way he has a purpose for your life and he will equip you, he will send you out.
He teaches us through the Spirit to be his witness, to the ends of the earth…because…
We are to share the Good News
We are equipped and trained for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to share the good news. Your ultimate purpose is to share Christ with others. We can do this a verity of ways, but ultimately it is to share Christ with those you know. Through your actions, through relationships with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers…we make Christ known.
But it all starts with Him, if you are unable to share Christ with someone, you need to look at your relationship with Christ. The closer we are to Christ, the more we will want to share Christ. It is impossible not want to. It starts with him, he calls us, we respond, he teaches us and sends us out to preach the good news…but it all starts with Christ, that is why Paul says to keep your eye on Christ…all through scripture this theme is echoed.
By sharing Christ through the way we live, showing the world how much he means to us. The closer we walk with him the more kind we are, the more patient we are, the more joy we will have, the love we have will grow for all those around us, he’ll give us peace and so much more.
One last point…Scripture names the twelve and verse 19 says 19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Remember the enemy was in the camp, he is always in the camp. Right in the middle of the twelve, the twelve closest to Jesus was a representative of Satan. We too have an enemy who wants you and I to be silent about your faith, not to draw near Christ, who is content with you being ordinary….Don’t let him have his way and rob you. Answer the call this morning. “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you, resist the Devil and he will flee”.
This morning let us stand and pray for a right relationship with Christ. Let us pray he would be center of our lives…
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sermon: Crowds
Crowds
Read Mark 3:7-12--Pray
Crowds can be interesting to be part of, I mean they can become expressive and load. Or a crowd can be passive and quiet. Crowds can very in size, from small to thousands. But the ability to control a crowd is another thing entirely.
I sat in a crowd of 70,000 people once and gathered to watch a U2 concert, and Bono the lead singer of the band had the ability to capture and hold every person, it seemed at will. I have been to a promise keeper rallies, Joe White was playing the part of Peter. In the morning session he chased and captured a rooster…holding that rooster by the neck…he began to lament how that roosters crow reminded him of his betrayal of his Lord and savior…and I watch 30,000 men…biker, nerd, athletes…men from all walks of life…cry like babies!
I believe Jesus must have had these same abilities; …because the crowds he dealt with was very diverse. Think for a moment, what kind of people would have been drawn to Jesus.
Some would have those looking for the messiah and try to forcefully place in charge. These same people where looking for a king to break the Roman rule and restore Israel’s place in the world. The zealots of his time longed for this to happen, but Jesus came with a different message.
Jesus withdraws to the lake with his disciples, and large crowd follows him. The crowd came from all over Israel (v.8). In fact the crowd became so large Jesus was afraid of being pushed into the lake, so he had a boat readied in case he needed to get away.
The needy pushed forward to be healed just waiting for a chance to be healed by Jesus. Reading this make me think about crowds of people, who would have made up this group who was here to see Jesus.
By now many had heard of the miracles Jesus had performed and I’m sure some came out of curiosity. I call this crowd the…
The Spectators
They came to see the healing and the miracles. They had heard the rumors and they need to come see for themselves. Many of these people have no intention of ever becoming a ‘follower’ of Christ, they simply where curious.
These same people exist today. They are the “rubber neckers”, they come to church not because they themselves believe, but maybe their spouse does. They like to see what is happening, they enjoy the show or the fellowship. They absolutely have no intention of ever becoming a Christians. They are neighbors who look into your life and watch to see what you do differently. They watch to see if you follow the stereotypical thoughts about Christians. Sometime they will ask questions and they’ll make comments like, “I’m glad you have found what works for you”. But nothing more, nothing real serious, they are simply Spectators…
The Needy
The next crowd are those in need, the sick and the diseased, those who where without hope of a cure. They are mentioned in scripture, they struggled to get to the front of the crowd, twisting turning they had nothing left to lose. For most of them it didn’t matter who Jesus was they just wanted to be healed. They wanted relief.
The needy are with us today, some of them get to the point where they will say anything to get some relief of their pain. Many in the group in Jesus time wasn’t interested in what Jesus had to teach, but merely saw Jesus as a means to end. Some in church fall into this category, the church is a means to end. It meets some physical, of psychological need. But that isn’t what it’s all about. They visit a church as long as they benefit in some small way and then move one to the next church. Another crowd is the one not mentioned…is the
The unbelievers
This group isn’t mentioned but you know they are there. The unbelievers, the skeptics, the Pharisees and many other fell into this group. They where watching very close, looking for a way to disprove Jesus and his work. Jumping on every opportunity to show the world Jesus is a fraud. They hate the ideas he brings, how he toys with them, and how he speaks with authority…”who doses this Jesus think he is”. Some watch up close, some watch from afar, but all are waiting.
The other part of the unbelievers was the evil spirits; these spirits recognized Jesus and fell before him! They know who he is, but still would not submit to him, they even obeyed him when he told them not to tell anyone who he was v.12.
Why where they there? They where there to stir up opposition too Jesus ministry…they are still doing this today
In fact this stirred up crowd is at work today. Many still gather to try and disprove Christ and his teachings. They will say and do anything to destroy Him, to discredit his work. They will relentless go after those who believe and try to pick them off one by one. They like to corner you make you feel stupid for following your faith, they call Christianity a crutch of the weak. They hate the idea that Christians believe the Bible and actually apply it to there live. They stand on street corners and call us “homophobic bigots”…They mock us in movies and on news programs and loath our impact on society. Last group in this crowd is the…
The True Believers
They are no mentioned either in the scripture, but you know they are also there. They are watching everything Jesus does and says. He has them captivated; they can’t get enough of him. He has them in the palm of his hand; he can see in their eyes…this crowd has left everything behind; all that matters now is following Jesus. He has touched them in such a way, a way they were so surprised. They never dreamed they would be following him around like a hungry sheep, wanting to be feed. His words priced their hearts and his looks soothed their pain. He understood them, when no one else could. Jesus was more than miracle worker, he was more than a gifted orator…He was the Son of Man, God in flesh.
He had made them realize the sin in their lives and latter he would hang on a cross, as way to provide a forgiveness of that sin. Jesus lived and dies so that we might live…The true believers had to learn this and at times struggled with the idea…but in the end they would embrace Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit change the world.
This crowd is very much alive today, many of us in this sanctuary fall into this category. For whatever reason, Jesus has grabbed us and held us captive…he has shown me my sin and I have accepted his forgiveness, he has put to death the old life and has raised me to walk in the newness of life! And when I die I can sing….
We are trav'ling in the footsteps
Read Mark 3:7-12--Pray
Crowds can be interesting to be part of, I mean they can become expressive and load. Or a crowd can be passive and quiet. Crowds can very in size, from small to thousands. But the ability to control a crowd is another thing entirely.
I sat in a crowd of 70,000 people once and gathered to watch a U2 concert, and Bono the lead singer of the band had the ability to capture and hold every person, it seemed at will. I have been to a promise keeper rallies, Joe White was playing the part of Peter. In the morning session he chased and captured a rooster…holding that rooster by the neck…he began to lament how that roosters crow reminded him of his betrayal of his Lord and savior…and I watch 30,000 men…biker, nerd, athletes…men from all walks of life…cry like babies!
I believe Jesus must have had these same abilities; …because the crowds he dealt with was very diverse. Think for a moment, what kind of people would have been drawn to Jesus.
Some would have those looking for the messiah and try to forcefully place in charge. These same people where looking for a king to break the Roman rule and restore Israel’s place in the world. The zealots of his time longed for this to happen, but Jesus came with a different message.
Jesus withdraws to the lake with his disciples, and large crowd follows him. The crowd came from all over Israel (v.8). In fact the crowd became so large Jesus was afraid of being pushed into the lake, so he had a boat readied in case he needed to get away.
The needy pushed forward to be healed just waiting for a chance to be healed by Jesus. Reading this make me think about crowds of people, who would have made up this group who was here to see Jesus.
By now many had heard of the miracles Jesus had performed and I’m sure some came out of curiosity. I call this crowd the…
The Spectators
They came to see the healing and the miracles. They had heard the rumors and they need to come see for themselves. Many of these people have no intention of ever becoming a ‘follower’ of Christ, they simply where curious.
These same people exist today. They are the “rubber neckers”, they come to church not because they themselves believe, but maybe their spouse does. They like to see what is happening, they enjoy the show or the fellowship. They absolutely have no intention of ever becoming a Christians. They are neighbors who look into your life and watch to see what you do differently. They watch to see if you follow the stereotypical thoughts about Christians. Sometime they will ask questions and they’ll make comments like, “I’m glad you have found what works for you”. But nothing more, nothing real serious, they are simply Spectators…
The Needy
The next crowd are those in need, the sick and the diseased, those who where without hope of a cure. They are mentioned in scripture, they struggled to get to the front of the crowd, twisting turning they had nothing left to lose. For most of them it didn’t matter who Jesus was they just wanted to be healed. They wanted relief.
The needy are with us today, some of them get to the point where they will say anything to get some relief of their pain. Many in the group in Jesus time wasn’t interested in what Jesus had to teach, but merely saw Jesus as a means to end. Some in church fall into this category, the church is a means to end. It meets some physical, of psychological need. But that isn’t what it’s all about. They visit a church as long as they benefit in some small way and then move one to the next church. Another crowd is the one not mentioned…is the
The unbelievers
This group isn’t mentioned but you know they are there. The unbelievers, the skeptics, the Pharisees and many other fell into this group. They where watching very close, looking for a way to disprove Jesus and his work. Jumping on every opportunity to show the world Jesus is a fraud. They hate the ideas he brings, how he toys with them, and how he speaks with authority…”who doses this Jesus think he is”. Some watch up close, some watch from afar, but all are waiting.
The other part of the unbelievers was the evil spirits; these spirits recognized Jesus and fell before him! They know who he is, but still would not submit to him, they even obeyed him when he told them not to tell anyone who he was v.12.
Why where they there? They where there to stir up opposition too Jesus ministry…they are still doing this today
In fact this stirred up crowd is at work today. Many still gather to try and disprove Christ and his teachings. They will say and do anything to destroy Him, to discredit his work. They will relentless go after those who believe and try to pick them off one by one. They like to corner you make you feel stupid for following your faith, they call Christianity a crutch of the weak. They hate the idea that Christians believe the Bible and actually apply it to there live. They stand on street corners and call us “homophobic bigots”…They mock us in movies and on news programs and loath our impact on society. Last group in this crowd is the…
The True Believers
They are no mentioned either in the scripture, but you know they are also there. They are watching everything Jesus does and says. He has them captivated; they can’t get enough of him. He has them in the palm of his hand; he can see in their eyes…this crowd has left everything behind; all that matters now is following Jesus. He has touched them in such a way, a way they were so surprised. They never dreamed they would be following him around like a hungry sheep, wanting to be feed. His words priced their hearts and his looks soothed their pain. He understood them, when no one else could. Jesus was more than miracle worker, he was more than a gifted orator…He was the Son of Man, God in flesh.
He had made them realize the sin in their lives and latter he would hang on a cross, as way to provide a forgiveness of that sin. Jesus lived and dies so that we might live…The true believers had to learn this and at times struggled with the idea…but in the end they would embrace Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit change the world.
This crowd is very much alive today, many of us in this sanctuary fall into this category. For whatever reason, Jesus has grabbed us and held us captive…he has shown me my sin and I have accepted his forgiveness, he has put to death the old life and has raised me to walk in the newness of life! And when I die I can sing….
We are trav'ling in the footsteps
Of those who've gone before
And we'll all be reunited,
On a new and sunlit shore,
Oh, when the saints go marching in,
Oh, when the saints go marching in,
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Lord how I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)