Hear The Call

Hear the Call

Mark 3:13-19

Good Morning,

Steven Cole asked, “Have you ever marveled at how the Lord launched the worldwide movement called “the church”?

I would have asked, “What were You thinking when You came up with these men to launch this movement?”

They should be graduates of the most prestigious theological institutions in the world. They need to have a track record of impressive results in the ministry. But not so with the Lord...

Every time I hear the account of Jesus calling the twelve Apostles, I cannot help but hear Garth Brooks singing in my mind, “Now I’ve got friends in low places”.

Think about the Apostles; Simon Peter was emotionally unstable, Andrew had no qualities of leadership, and James and John put personal interest above loyalty to Jesus.

Thomas demonstrated a negative, questioning attitude, Matthew was an enemy of Israel, and the list goes on from there.

Please open your Bible to Mark 3 as we continue in the verse by verse study of that Gospel.

Last week we learned how Jesus was angry with the hardened hearts of the religious leaders.

Then the religious leaders aligned themselves with a group of their enemies to defeat Jesus. And finally, Jesus once again told the unclean spirits to keep His true identity from the crowd.

Today, we are going to learn how Jesus took the necessary steps to rest and recharge while fulfilling His purpose and then, after that He chose His twelve Apostles and gave them a purpose.

I. Need to get away?

Read Mark 3:13

We have already read about different times Jesus went away to pray and spend time with the Father in order to sort of recharge.

Luke 5:15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.

Luke 5:16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. NKJV

Here again, after serving such a large crowd of people, Jesus retreats up on a Mountain and calls His Disciples to Himself.

In Luke’s account of this time, Luke 6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. NKJV

This demonstrates the unique dual nature of Jesus Christ;

Yes, Jesus is fully God and always has been; but, He is also fully man, who desired to spend time with the Father.

Jesus often left to be alone and focus on His Heavenly Father, in prayer and fellowship.

C. H. Spurgeon said, ““He withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”

“No doubt it was the constant habit of Christ to pray, but there were certain special times when he retired into lonely places, and his prayer was peculiarly fervent and prolonged.”

What a great example for us; when pressured, tired, burnt out or just simply needing to get away; we must take undisturbed, private time, with the Lord in prayer and fellowship with Him.

Just as our human bodies need water, food, rest, and oxygen to survive; our spirit needs sustenance from Jesus to thrive.

We live in a very selfish society and we often hear things like, I just need some ME time. Although that maybe a selfish statement, we do need some me alone time, with Jesus.

Jesus came, not to be served, but to serve and to give Himself as a ransom; but, He still needed to be away from people at times.

We need quiet times with the Lord where we can meditate on the Lord and examine our lives in the light of God’s Word.

Psalm 119:15 I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.

Psalm 119:16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. NKJV

The Puritan preacher, Thomas Watson said, “Meditation is the soul’s retiring by itself, that by a serious and solemn thinking upon God, the heart may be raised up to heavenly affections.”

Living as servants of Christ with a mission, will bring us into contact with needy, ill, and broken people in this world.

When we serve the Lord in any capacity, we will experience pressure and weariness; so we need to seek the Lord and recharge by having private time with Him in prayer and study.

We were never designed to do this life alone; we need Jesus.

If you are pressured, tired, burnt out or just simply needing to get away; maybe it is a sign that you need to be alone and focus on your Heavenly Father, as well.

II. The special call.

Read Mark 3:14-15

If you’re a Christian, you have “a specific call” in your life as well as a Universal call that is common to all Kingdom Citizens.