I. Introduction
A. This is another of Pastor Tim’s clean Jokes. The day I immigrated to the United States, I was given an alien ID card that featured a cute photo of me at age 15. Years later, when I went to the courthouse to become a citizen, a clerk confiscated my card. "What will you do with it?" my wife asked. "We burn it" was the answer. "Could you please cut the photo off and let us keep it?" asked my wife. "Certainly not," said the clerk. "This card is official U.S. government property. As such it cannot be mutilated before it's destroyed."
B. This passage applies to the call of the twelve Apostles who were sent to the lost sheep of Israel.
1. In many ways this passage does not apply to the church
2. However, there are lessons to be learned which can be gleaned from even this Scripture.
C. In Matthew 4:18 - 22; Matthew 9:9, and John 1:35-51 Jesus called various disciples
Matthew 4:18-22 (NKJV)
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. {19} Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." {20} They immediately left their nets and followed Him. {21} Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, {22} and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
1. These four men, fishermen, became fishers of men, evangelists
a. And so spread the net to catch men, to win souls to Christ
b. As we are to be soul winners as well
Matthew 9:9 (NKJV)
As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
2. This one man came to Christ and the first thing he did was invite his acquaintances to meet Jesus
a. Phil Lutz worked for me in Hawaii. He had been saved one week end and the first thing he wanted to do was share his new faith with me
b. And so ought we all
(1) We do not have to allow our ardor to cool
(2) Christ can and will rekindle the flame we once had if we ask
John 1:34-43 (NKJV)
And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." {35} Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. {36} And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" {37} The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. {38} Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" {39} He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). {40} One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. {41} He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). {42} And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone). {43} The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me. {44} Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. {45} Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." {46} And Nathaniel said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." {47} Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" {48} Nathaniel said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."{49} Nathaniel answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" {50} Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." {51} And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
3. The disciples were called earlier to be "fishers of men"
a. Each one had been called in his own special way from his environment
b. Christ was now calling the Apostles to go forth in the fulfillment of their first call
c. I am going to share with you again the statistics of how people come to Christ:
(1) These figures trace back to the Institute for American Church Growth, which asked 10,000 people about their pilgrimage. What led them in? Answers were: Special need, 2 percent; Walk-in, 3 percent; Pastor, 6 percent; Visitation, 1 percent; Sunday school, 5 percent; Evangelistic crusade, 5 percent; Program, 3 percent; Friend/relative, 79 percent.
4. The disciples were called earlier to be "fishers of men"
a. Each one had been called in his own special way from his environment
b. Christ was now calling the Apostles to go forth in the fulfillment of their first call
(1) In a sense we may say they were called twice
(a) Lets turn to Mark 3:14
(2) You may notice that Jesus called the 12 that they might be with Him
(3) And that He might send them out to preach the gospel
Mark 3:14 (NKJV)
Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,
(a) The word might does not indicate that the sending is optional or only a possibility
(b) The word might in this case means “In order that He could”
5. Jesus first wanted these men to be with Him
a. It was their pre-apprenticeship
(1) They received their commitment call
(2) They were to receive formal training, learning how to become "fishers of men."
b. Then Jesus called them to their apprenticeship
(1) They were to receive practical training, actually go out to "fish for men."
(a) Lets turn to Matthew 10:1-4
II. Body
A. The commissioning call
Matthew 10:1-4 (NKJV)
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. {2} Now the names of the twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; {3} Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; {4} Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
1. Karen Weaver of Huber Heights, OH in Today's Christian Woman wrote, “Last summer, I taught a vacation Bible school class on Judas' betrayal of Jesus. After the lesson, I went over the review questions and asked, "Who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver?" Without hesitating, my 7-year-old son, Kenny, replied, "I know! It was 'Judas the Scariest!'
2. Now listen to this, there are several important facts given about their commissioning call.
a. They were called "to Him"
(1) Even today we are called to Christ, first
(a) Turn to Acts 19:13-15
b. The Apostles were given power and authority
(1) Power over demons
(a) Now we have authority over the powers of hell by the applied blood of Christ Jesus
(b) We have no power over demons in our own strength
(c) Our power comes by the blood of Christ through the Holy Spirit
Acts 19:13-16 (NKJV)
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." {14} Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. {15} And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" {16} Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
(2) The Apostles were given power over bacteria and viruses and all other sorts little critters
(a) Today, the Lord has given the medical community knowledge and skill to heal many things
(b) A recent survey at a meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians revealed the following, Percentage of family doctors who:
i) Are convinced that religious belief can heal: 99%
ii) Believe the prayers of others can help a patient's recovery: 75%
iii) Believe faith-healers can make people well: a very small percentage
(c) Turn to Luke 6:13
(3) Notice this there were many people following Christ
(a) He called them to the ministry
Luke 6:13 (NKJV)
And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named Apostles:
(b) We know their names, they are listed in the next verses
Luke 6:14-16 (NKJV)
Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; {15} Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; {16} Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
(c) Jesus called these twelve and called them Apostles
i) Apostle means one send with a commission
ii) An appropriate English word would be ambassador
a) Turn to Matthew 28:18 - 20
b) An ambassador is one who is sent to another country with all the authority of his government behind him
c) Now I know that many will tell us that there were only twelve Apostles and there will never be any more
d) But Scripture tells us that we are sent with a commission
e) And we have all the authority of the Lord behind and with us
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. {19} Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
c. Our authority comes from this and other passages which comprise the Great Commission
(1) And what is the Great Commission?
(2) Well, here it is in a nut shell go forth with the message of salvation.
(a) The Apostles had been with Jesus for some time and had touched, talked, shared, communed, prayed, meditated, and fellowshipped with Him
i) They had shared and been taught the Scriptures by Him and probably had been taught how to preach and teach.
a) Turn to 1 Timothy 3:10
3. Every believer needs to be with Jesus
a. We must all learn to quietly meditate and study His Word and commune with Him in prayer.
b. Every servant needs to go through a period of preparation and training before being sent forth
c. A servant must first be proved
(1) The word deacon comes from the Greek and it means, “servant”
1 Timothy 3:8-10 (NKJV)
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, {9} holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. {10} But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
d. A personal relationship with Christ, being with Jesus day by day, is essential for ministry
(1) There is no substitute for the training a person receives at the feet of Jesus studying His Word and learning from His Spirit and communing with Him in prayer
(a) Turn to Matthew 5:1 - 2
4. Think about this
5. A person must first be trained, then he can become qualified to serve
Matthew 5:1-2 (NKJV)
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. {2} Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
(1) Now the twelve received the Word directly from Jesus
(2) Things are a little different these days
(a) Turn to 2 Timothy 2:2
b. We are taught by men and women who have been trained by those who were trained by men and women in a straight line back through Christ
2 Timothy 2:2 (NKJV)
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
(1) Turn to 2 Timothy 1:7
6. The major prerequisite for ministry is to be "with Jesus" learning from Him and His Word and communing with Him in prayer and in quietness
a. The major lesson in this passage is that we must be with Jesus
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(1) That we get by being with Christ
(2) That we get by asking of Christ
(3) That we get by study, meditation and prayer
B. Apostles
1. I said earlier that many preachers will tell you that there were never more than 12 Apostles
a. Apostle means sent with a commission
b. To do the with of the one who sent us
c. To carry the message given to us by the one who commissioned us
2. In reality
a. Preachers
b. Teachers
c. Evangelists
d. And us
e. We are Apostles
(1) Our mission is the same
(2) Our authority is the same
(3) Our master is the same
(4) Our duty is the same
3. While you are going make disciples
a. And hopefully Apostles
