The Choosing of the Twelve

The Choosing and Sending of the Twelve And Us Mark 3. 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. This event happened to ensure the foundation and continuation of the work of Jesus. He prayed all night (Luke 6. 12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and He prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of His disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.) We call the Twelve “Disciples” and they were. Jesus designated the Twelve to be “Apostles” apostle=sent. Look what Jesus did with the Twelve. These things speak to us today. We are the children of God. What blessings and joy we have in God our Father in Heaven. The things Jesus did with the apostles He continues to do today. * They were with Him. We have talked a lot about this lately. Amos 5:13
Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. We don’t want to argue politics, policies, foolish interpretations of the Scripture. This is a time for thoughtful and careful words. God has called me aside. Matthew 20.25 But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.…” He wants us with Him. He wants us to be with Him each day, early. Mark 1.35 Henry Nouwen wrote, “ The more I read this nearly silent sentence locked in between loud words of action, the more I have the sense that the secret of Jesus‘s ministry is hidden in that lonely place we went to pray, early in the morning, long before dawn. “ He wants us to fellowship with Him, pray to Him, converse with Him throughout the day and night. Luke 5:16
But Jesus would often withdraw to desolate places and pray. We have talked about ocean time, beach time, alone time, time to just “be” with God. solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited, a desert, wilderness, deserted places Get away from the phone, the television, the newspapers, people. Sit with your Bible, journal and God. Listen. He speaks to us in the middle of life, even serving Him and the busyness that often accompanies it. The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6.31 The Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus said would be with in us, directs us each step of the way. John 14-16 He wants us to be with Him in Heaven. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am…” John 17.24 Not only were they with Him… * They preached the Good News. Our lives… II Corinthians 2. 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men Our lives speak with us saying a word. People see what our priorities are. They see how we react when things are done against us. They see how we handle our successes as well as our failures. They pick up on the Master Passion of our life. Carl Leth “The Christian faith is grounded in the incarnation. God revealed who He is and what He is like. Going out into the world, then should not just be an activity we do, but an acting out of God's nature and heart in us, being like Him." Oswald Chambers wrote… Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed. But the first thing that will hinder this joy is the subtle irritability caused by giving too much thought to our circumstances. Jesus said, “…the cares of this world,…choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). And before we even realize what has happened, we are caught up in our cares. All that God has done for us is merely the threshold— He wants us to come to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim who Jesus is. When necessary use words… We speak when God prompts us, in the power of His Spirit. Remember it is the Good News. So many people need hope today, lots of broken-hearted out there. Lots of people are lonely and in pain. Isn’t preaching for the Pastors and Evangelists? Numbers 11:29 But Moses said, “Are you jealous for me? Would that all GOD’s people were prophets. Would that GOD would put his Spirit on all of them.” Now He has Acts 2.16 …this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams. 18  Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy. 19  I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20  The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21  And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ We can all share the Word. Here is a thought to those watching us by Livestream… Invite people you know who do not attend church to join you in your home. You can say, “I would like to invite you to come over Sunday Morning or Evening to my house. I will make some coffee. We watch a service online from Bay Shore, Long Island. Would you come and watch it with me?” If you have someone open their heart to you about the pain in their lives here is a great opportunity. We become like Jesus as we see people as He did. Matthew 9.36 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. * They cast out demons I do not believe we have a large amount of demon possession here in the United States. I have seen some on the Mission Field. I do believe we will have more as our nation moves further away from God. I do believe we have Satan’s minions, demons, fallen angels at work around us, tempting, harassing us. Ephesians 6.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We do have authority over them. Jesus has given it to us. We have been given power to break the strongholds of the enemy. II Corinthians 10.4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We ought to ask the LORD to cover souls and homes with His blood in the event of demonic activity. Don’t rejoice that the demons are subject to you. Rejoice that your names are written down in Heaven. Oswald Chambers this week, Jesus Christ is saying here, “Don’t rejoice in your successful service for Me, but rejoice because of your right relationship with Me.” The trap you may fall into in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service— rejoicing in the fact that God has used you. Yet you will never be able to measure fully what God will do through you if you do not have a right-standing relationship with Jesus Christ. If you keep your relationship right with Him, then regardless of your circumstances or whoever you encounter each day, He will continue to pour “rivers of living water” through you (John 7:38). And it is actually by His mercy that He does not let you know it. Romans 12.21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Spend time with Jesus, be with Him. Share the Gospel… always. When necessary use words Fight the good fight of the faith.