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.
Frederick Buechner, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
If you can discern what your greatest joy is, what you believe is a real need in our world, and find where the two intersect; you will begin to understand God’s calling in your life.
Your individual call is unique and tailor fit to you personally; but, every call from the Lord shares certain characteristics.
A call builds on one’s spiritual gifts; and it usually feels urgent and persistent. A call is a response to a summons from the King and it is surrendering at the same time to a challenge and a joy.
The first thing we should notice within this passage is that the call of God has nothing to do with personal ability.
Jesus gave this authority and call to all of these men; He even gave it to Judas Iscariot whom Jesus knew would forsake Him.
How did Jesus decide on the twelve misfits? Luke tells us…
Luke 6:12 it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.
Jesus had communion with, and prayed all night to the Father; then He was able to do the will of the Father, choosing people who we would have probably overlooked.
The power promised to believers is different than the Apostles.
After the ascension of Jesus, believers’ were promised to receive power once the Holy Spirit came upon us.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV
Power in Acts 1:8 is “dynamis”; which means strength and ability; inherent power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.
The Lord has called His children to be physically in the world; but, spiritually SET APART from the world.
However, the word for “power” in Mark 3:15 is exousia (Ex-ah-see-ah) and it is different than the power given to Christians.
This special “power” (anointing) means privilege, superhuman, authority, jurisdiction; the power of rule or government (the power whose will and commands, must be obeyed by others).
There is also a difference between being a disciple compared to being one of the twelve Apostles.
The word “disciple” refers to a learner or follower; while the word “apostle” means “sent out one.”
The twelve Apostles were ordinary people whom God used in an extraordinary way, since Jesus gave them power to go out.
The Apostle’s power came from the King of the kingdom giving His royal credentials and authority to His representatives.
Today, there are no Apostles in the original sense because the main criteria to be an Apostle like the original 12 is to be called by God to be one and to have physically seen the risen Christ.
The last Apostle was Paul; he saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus when the Lord revealed Himself in Acts 9. The Lord changed his name to Paul, as He called him as an Apostle.
Christ followers are given “power” to be witnesses; but the 12 Apostles were given specific credentials and Kingdom authority.
What authority did Jesus give to His Apostles?
They Apostles received special Kingdom power for ministry, as an extension of the King.
J. Vernon McGee has said many cult leaders try to use the call of the Apostles to claim to have authority for some particular ministry or conduct they want to have happen.
Notice, vs. 15, “He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons”
David Guzik said, “When someone has been with Jesus, and is sent out to serve Him, they can expect that Jesus will give them the power to serve Him.”
III. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Read Mark 3:16-19
We do not have time for an exhaustive study on each of the twelve Apostles; we will simply touch on who they were.
Simon Peter, who is also known as Cephas, was the first person to confess Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God; which Jesus said was given to Peter by His Father in heaven.
Peter was a strong-willed, impulsive, and brash follow of Jesus Christ; but, after Peter was surrendered to the Holy Spirit, he became one of the mightiest followers of the Lord.
Jesus then called James and John to follow Him and they left behind the only life they knew; the business of fishing, in order to follow Jesus.
Here in Mark 3, they were called, the Sons of Thunder, because these brothers were rough fishermen and colorful characters, who were very aggressive and looked for confrontation.
Later, James was known for his undying faith in Jesus and he was martyred by Herod. John was known as the Apostle of love.
Andrew became a follower of Jesus after he was originally a follower of John the Baptist, who proclaimed that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Andrew was known for bringing people to Jesus and tradition says Andrew was crucified a martyr on an X-shaped cross.
Then there is Phillip; there are four Phillips in the NT. This Philip was from Galilee and Jesus called him to follow after he was a disciple of John the Baptist’s as well.
All we know about Phillip is that he told Nathaniel about Jesus and John records that Phillip spoke to Jesus several times.
How would you like to be remembered as a person who told others about Jesus and that you often spoke to Jesus as well?
Then Mark mentions Bartholomew, who is actually Nathaniel.
In John 1, Jesus promised Nathaniel he would see the ascension of Christ; which occurred and was recorded in Acts 1.
Next is Matthew the tax collector, who we met a few weeks ago.
Even though the rest of Israel looked at Matthew as an enemy of the state and a despicable tax collector; Jesus saw a man who was broken and in need of a Savior.
Next we are introduced to Thomas, who of course became known as doubting Thomas later.
Thomas was a deeply committed follower of the Lord, even though he doubted and had questions.
On the day of the resurrection, Jesus appeared to some of His disciples; but, Thomas was not with them at that time.
When the other Disciples told Thomas about the resurrection, he would not believe unless he himself touched Jesus physically.
John 20:27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" NKJV
Then we see James the son of Alphaeus, who we know very little about.
We know this James served the Lord and did not seek man’s recognition. What a good example for us as well.
Next is Thaddeus. Luke calls Thaddeus “Judas son of James” and the Gospel of John calls him “Judas (not Iscariot)”
The only words we have from Thaddeus are in John 14, after Jesus told his Disciples He was leaving for Heaven.
John 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to 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 home with him. NKJV
Next is Simon the Canaanite; also called Simon the zealot
He is called Simon the Canaanite in Hebrew—not because he was from Cana; but, that word, when interpreted, means precisely the same as the Greek word Zelotes.
Some people believe he was a member of a very fierce and fanatical political sect of the Jews called the Zealots, who were terrorists against Rome.
And finally, we meet Judas Iscariot, who is known for selling Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests.
Judas was always interested in money over Jesus; he was also the treasurer for the Apostles.
After they crucified Jesus, Judas felt guilty about what he had done and returned the money to the Chief priests.
We are told In Matthew that the chief priests took the “blood money” from Judas and bought a potter’s field as a place for burying foreigners, fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah.
People argue whether Judas repented and was sorry for his sin; but, later we find out that Judas hung himself on a tree in the potter’s field that was bought with the thirty pieces of silver.
A man once asked a theologian, “Why did Jesus choose Judas Iscariot to be his disciple?” The teacher replied, “I don’t know, but I have an even harder question: Why did Jesus choose me?”
If you are in Christ; God’s not done with you yet!
The Holy Spirit made sure the Bible recorded this list of the good, the bad, and the ugly; 4 different times within the Gospels.
These men were nobody’s; but, once empowered by the Spirit of God, they set the world on fire with the Gospel of Christ.
Jesus will choose people like these men, people like you and me, to send us out, filled with His Holy Spirit to reach the world.
IV. Characteristics of the called.
When I first got saved, I could not imagine that the Holy God of heaven would accept me, let alone choose to use me.
Jesus tells us that those who were forgiven much, love much.
Thomas Carlyle said, “The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder; a waif, a nothing, a no man.”
Being used by the Lord is how a Christ follower experiences true satisfaction and fulfills their purpose. Many Christians lack fulfillment because they have not answered the call in their life.
The Sovereign, Creator, King of the universe has called us to serve Him; everyone in Christ has been called to service by Him
Christians are called to worship and serve the Lord; and the universal call is to Follow Him; know Him, and make Him known.
But when the Lord calls a specific person, it is to a specific work and purpose. Once the person is called to a specific purpose, the believer’s job is to surrender to that calling.
1 Corinthians 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; NKJV
The people God called and used for His service were not wise, mighty, or noble. God did not call them because of what they were, but He called them in spite of what they were!
God always uses imperfect people to fulfill His perfect plans.
So let’s list some of the characteristics of the called.
1. A person must be called by Jesus and know they are called.
God calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things for the Kingdom. In our passage, Jesus called those men to follow.
So it is the Lord who calls us; but, then we must realize our mission here is a calling. If we forget it is a calling, when trials come we will run away from the task the Lord called us to do.
We run away because of trials or not getting our own way, etc.
Many times, I have hear people say, the Lord called me to do such and such; but, when things don’t go their way, they end up walking away from the call.
Did God change His mind, or is the person disobeying in sin?
2. A person must respond to the call from the Lord.
This is true faith; hearing what the Lord has called you to do and then trusting Him to provide, protect, and guide you in the call.
If we learn to hear the voice of God, we will hear Him calling us. When the Lord calls, we should answer, and that is real faith.
3. A person must stay pliable.
This is why Jesus told His followers, to first count the cost, and then to follow Him. Things will never go the way you expect if you are truly following Jesus.
God constantly chooses unexpected people, unexpected journeys, and He provided an unexpected redemption in Jesus.
4. A person must stay humble.
When a person understands it is the Grace of God that saves them, they realize all people are the same height at the cross.
No one is saved due to their nobility, might, looks, or anything else, except by God’s Grace!
But if God has never humbled you, changed you, and done things in your life that only He could do; you do have cause to question whether or not you are in the faith.
1 Peter 5:5 Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." NKJV
Again this is the Sovereign, Creator, King of the universe and we are told He will resist the proud; how can we fight God?
So when the Lord uses us in any way, we need to be sure to give Him all praise and glory!
1 Corinthians 1:31, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." NKJV
When something of eternal value happens through one of Christ’s servants, Christ alone deserves the glory.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
We should boast about the Lord; all the great things He has done
5. A person must be patient.
The Lord’s timing is always different than our timing, because He is outside time and space. The Lord isn’t in a hurry, because He knows everything He plans will happen.
We should not get ahead of the Lord while serving Him; it will never go well for us.
But we should boast about His great attributes, about what He has done, what He is still doing, and then we should be sure He will do all that He has promised to do.
My position and standing before God; along with my eternal destination, is all determined by the Lord because I have died and my new life is hidden In Christ.
As a love to response to all Jesus provides for us, we should live for Him today and give the Lord the Glory for all He has done.
Throughout scripture we can see that the Lord has been involved in history, directing their steps of His people to fulfill their Call.
But when the Lord calls a specific person, it is to a specific work and purpose. Once the person is called to a specific purpose, the believer’s job is to surrender to that calling.
Christians are to respond to the Lord and discern through His Spirit, what our specific call is; because every Christ follower has a specific call for their life.
If you are still alive here on Planet earth, the Lord is not done with you and you have a calling, first as a Christ follower to Follow Him; know Him, and making Him known.
And then to fulfill His specific purpose for your life!
If you are in Christ; God’s not done with you yet!
