Introduction:
I. Have you every “bitten off more than you could chew?”
A. What I mean is have you ever taken on a job or task; fully believing that you were able to accomplish it only to find out that it might well take more than you can individually handle?
B. Most especially; have you ever “bitten off more than you could chew” because you attempted to do it BY YOURSELF?
C. I can state emphatically that at the very least, I have individually “bitten off” more than I probably should have.
II. There can be many reason’s for attempting to go it alone, and not all of them are bad.
A. Sure, some people will take on a task by themselves because they don’t want to share the glory of a job well done.
1. You know them
2. They are the ones that take on the job, and then tell you what a great job they did; for the glory of the Lord of course.
B. Some will even take on a task because they have some kind of martyr complex.
1. You know them
2. They are the ones that take the job on, and then complain because no one helped.
C. Some will take on a task because they believe no one could do it as good as them.
D. Some, and this is where I am especially guilty, will take on a task without help because they don’t want to be a burden on other people.
1. Of course the danger here is that someone will be left out who can add a new thought, idea or energy to a project.
2. This can also leave the person taking on the task appearing as if they are uncaring, or inattentive to other.
E. And there are some jobs which really are suited for only one person.
III. Last week we looked at the baptism of Jesus Christ.
A. I stated that one aspect of the baptism of Christ was to mark the beginning of His public ministry.
B. Interesting then that the next step of ministry for Jesus Christ was to call helpers, call them disciples or Apostles to come along side Him, and build upon the ministry after He was crucified.
C. Think with me for a moment, and you may well agree that it was the Apostles that actually began the ministry of the church age.
D. Even Jesus Christ needed help to carry out the mission that God had planned out in eternity past.
E. The song, “Heaven is Counting on Us” was appropriate then, and it is still appropriate today.
IV. Consider;
A. The public ministry of Jesus Christ would last for only three years, more or less.
B. At the end of that ministry, if Christ had not chosen to call, equip and empower the disciples to carry on, the ministry of salvation through faith in the resurrected Christ would never have taken root.
V. In choosing 12 to come along side him, Christ set an example for ministry, and by extension I believe even secular world needs to hear this message.
VI. This morning we will be looking at
A. How To Choose Assistants
B. The purpose of choosing assistants,
C. Some factors in choosing assistants,
VII. Lets look at Mark, chapter 3, beginning in verse 13.
13 And He *went up to the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons.
16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),
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”); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. (If you are using the King James, it states, “and they went into a house” where the NIV and NASB add that phrase to verse 20) How To Choose Assistants (Vs. 13)
13 And He *went up to the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.
I. It is uncertain how much time has elapsed between the baptism of Christ, and the calling of the twelve, but it could not have been too long.
A. Christ has begun to make some waves though.
B. In chapters 1 and 2 Jesus has
1. Begun preaching, with “multitudes” coming to hear.
2. Christ has begun healing, and that is probably even more reason for multitudes to come.
3. Christ has begun making waves by breaking down the traditions of old, including what activities could be done on the Sabbath, and in the Synagogue
II. It is out of these multitudes that were coming that Jesus choose the twelve that would be closest to him, and would carry on the ministry after Him.
III. Now look closely at verse 13 our you will miss this.
IV. Point one - A leader must be free to choose those whom he, or she believes are right for the job.
A. Read verse 13 again.
B. Notice the emphasis on “He Himself.”
1. From the picture of scripture there were multitudes from which Christ could have chosen.
2. BUT,
a. He did not simply choose the most influential of the followers.
b. He did not choose the most popular of the followers.
c. He did not base His decision on what anyone else, expected, desired or even wanted.
d. In fact, if you consider who Christ choose, at least a few of the 12 would have been the very last to receive a vote from most people.
3. Christ choose His assistants based on what He Himself perceived to be the best choice.
C. Have you ever considered how some of the followers that didn’t get chosen might have felt, I have.
1. Some may have been angry, “Why didn’t he choose me.”
2. Some may have been insulted, “I didn’t want to go with Him anyone.”
3. Some may have thought,
a. “Who does He think he is to choose THOSE people;
b. Doesn’t he know who I am.
c. I was here first.”
D. I wonder if some of the women followers might have been angry that the disciples were all men.
V. Doesn’t it just make sense that if you are going to choose someone to come along side you on a mission, you should be free to choose those whom you yourself want?
VI. I am convinced that the traditional church process for filling ministry positions is often done very ineffectively.
A. Rather than choose people based on passion, availability and gifting, we often choose based on who is willing to make another sacrifice of their already full calendar.
B. Rather than allow those who know the ministry best to obtain assistants who can eventually take the leadership, choosing is often left to a popularity contest.
C. We don’t want to insult a long time attender, so we just work them until they can’t work any longer.
VII. Point two however, choose those that are willing to serve.
A. Jesus called, and they came.
B. I am a firm believer that you shouldn’t call the same people for every job, but if you call and they don’t come, you can’t force them.
C. Look for people that are willing to say, “Yes” without undue influence or coercion.
VIII. We actually have some ministry areas here in the church that I would love to see either begun or enhanced,
A. And I have even asked a few people if they would be interested in serving or taking leadership in some areas.
1. Sometimes they say “yes”, and sometimes they say “no”
2. Where the answer is “yes” you might see some new things taking place.
3. Where the answer has been “no”; we await God to bring in someone to say yes.
B. I refuse to “Make do” with who ever will serve.
C. Each of the twelve said yes,
1. Ten were willing to become martyrs for the call,
2. One suffered exile
3. Unfortunately, one committed suicide, but that’s another story.
IX. A leader must be free to choose those that he/she fills best qualified to serve.
X. A leader must choose based on who says “Yes” and means it.
XI. I am forced to ask myself, “What kind of assistant am I?”
A. Am I willing to come, or do I hold back.
B. Am I willing to serve the cause of Christ, or do I demand that my cause be met first? The Purpose Of Choosing Assistants (Vs. 14-15)
14 And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons.
I. Why did Jesus choose assistants?
A. We see three functions listed in these verses,
1. verse 14 says - “that they might be with Him, AND it also says
2. “That He might send them out to preach and finally verse 15 reads
3. to have authority to cast out demons.”
B. There it is then, a quick answer.
C. Jesus appointed disciples to do the work of the ministry, and that is all true.
II. But the primary reason that Jesus choose assistants, at least in the context of this passage is “In order to build His life into them.”
A. Where does it say that you ask?
B. Look at verse 14 again, “And He appointed twelve.”
III. That word “appoint” is more often translated as “make” as in to turn something or someone into something which they are not.
A. Out of all the multitudes that Jesus could have chosen, he chose these twelve, not because of what they were, but rather because of what they could become.
1. These twelve weren’t really ready to live for Christ.
2. They weren’t ready to preach, or teach, or to go to battle with demons.
3. But because of their willingness to live and learn from Christ, they possessed the all important character trait of potential.
B. It is the same way with us a Christians.
1. Christ did not die for us because of what we already were.
2. From a human perspective Christ did not die for us because of what we are, even if we have been following Christ for years.
C. Christ died for what we would ultimately become.
1. Christ said,
a. “Come follow me, and I will make you something very different from what you are.
b. Through my shed blood, I will make you righteous.”
2. Maybe you have neglected accepting Christ as your savior, because you are waiting to become something.
a. I have to clean up my life first
b. I have to stop sinning.
c. I have to become “good” then I will accept Christ.
3. The dilemma is; you will never be any of that, until you accept Christ, so why not stop fighting it, and come to Christ today.
4. But back to the first disciples.
IV. Notice that Mark says Jesus appointed the twelve to “be with Him.”
A. That is so that they could spend time with Jesus, and He with them.
B. For the next three years, these thirteen men lived, worked, ate and learned together.
1. An informal college education from the master teacher.
2. In all actuality these men weren’t ready to take up the job that Christ had for them, until after He had already died, even until He had ascended back into heaven.
a. Remember Judas betrays Christ.
b. Remember in a conversation, Jesus had to tell Peter, “Get behind me Satan.”
c. Remember they abandoned Christ to the cross,
d. Remember the denials, and doubters until they saw the resurrected Christ ascend into heaven.
e. Then they were ready.
V. And I am forced to ask myself, what kind of assistant am I,
A. Am I living up to the potential that Christ has seen in me?
B. Am I living in connection with Christ, or do I do my own thing, and ask Christ to bless it anyway. Some Factors In Choosing Assistants (Vs. 16-19)
16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),
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”); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
I. These are the names of the twelve; Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Thaddaeus, Simon, Judas
A. If you are interested, I found short biographies pertaining to each of these twelve.
B. I made 10 copies, but if need be I would be glad to make more.
II. I would like to make just a couple of quick points concerning these men.
First - Don’t pick clones.
A. Although it is not evident from this list, one of the few things these men had in common was their ultimate full commitment to Christ.
1. Of the twelve,
a. Tradition states that ten were martyred for their commitment to Christ and His message.
b. One, John was finally exiled to the island of Patmos, and even while in exile he wrote the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
c. One, Judas did betray Christ, and ended up committing suicide.
B. That alone should demonstrate their firm commitment to the message and ministry that Christ had entrusted to them.
III. But consider,
A. Some were fishermen, which is an honest, hardworking profession.
B. One, Matthew was a tax collector
1. Matthew was a Jew, however when Christ called him Matthew had also sold out to Rome.
2. It was his job to collect taxes from his fellow countrymen, and give it to Rome.
3. In doing that job, Matthew would have been despised by all that knew him, probably even those that hired him.
C. One, Simon, was a zealot
1. A zealot was a Jew that was committed to the overthrow of Rome, and the restoration of the political power of Israel.
2. Can you imagine some of the potential conversations between Matthew, the turn coat and Simon the zealot.
D. Three, Peter, James an John are considered to have been closer to Christ than the other nine, yet all worked equally together to advance the gospel.
IV. Having a mix of people, working for a common goal is a good thing.
Item two - Don’t think that everyone will stay committed.
V. Even Jesus himself picked one man that would betray him.
A. I’m not going to get into why Jesus picked Judas.
B. But Judas makes the point that even somebody who walks and talks with the savior, may not necessarily see the need to follow Christ.
C. If even someone that close to Christ couldn’t see the vision of eternal life, how could we expect that everyone we come in contact with is going to see the vision of what Christ is doing in you.
VI. Maybe if we realize that not everyone will see the vision, we will be a bit less disappointed when they fail to buy into what God is doing.
VII. The good thing is; SOME WILL, so don’t give up.
A. Even Jesus only had 11 out of 12,
VIII. The closing question for us is,
A. What kind of disciple are you?
B. Are you a disciple at all?
