Apostles of Jesus
Mark 3:13-19
Introduction
1.
In the Bible God has given us the
thrilling stories of those who have believed in Him
2.
David, Daniel and Deborah have
inspired millions of people
3.
Most of all, God gave us the
example of His only Son, Jesus
4.
The choosing of 12 men, to be with
him, to go out and preach
Discussion
1.
Jesus chose twelve men
a.
All were men – Jesus could have
made a statement about women in leadership positions by choosing a woman – he
did not
b.
God’s principle of male spiritual
leadership
i.
Gen 3:16
ii.
Elders are men – 1 Tim 3:2
iii.
Deacons are men – 1 Tim 3:12
iv.
Preachers are men – 1 Tim 2:11-12
c.
It is a matter of differing in
function, not in standing with God or men
2.
They were chosen to be “with
him”
a.
Acts
b.
From Jesus they learned
faithfulness
i.
Faithfulness is the performance of
what is right in the midst of difficulties
ii.
Faithfulness is living up to
commitments
iii.
2 Tim 2:2
iv.
c.
From Jesus they learned the nature
of the kingdom
i.
It belongs to the poor in spirit
and the persecuted – Matt 5
ii.
It is not of this world – John
18:36
iii.
It will grow – Matt 13
iv.
It is more important than food or
clothing – Matt 6:25-33
3.
They were chosen to go “out to
preach”
a.
They were not chosen to rule the
church
b.
They were not chosen to sit in
offices and push papers
c.
They were chosen to be the
foundation for the church and the church is founded on preaching – 2 Tim 4:1-2
d.
As John the Baptist went before
Jesus, the apostles followed after Jesus
Conclusion
1.
The apostles chosen by Jesus are
our examples as disciples
2.
As the universal church has the
apostles as its foundation, so too, every local congregation must have disciples
as its foundation
3.
The future of the church is
determined by the kind of people who are its foundation
4.
Let us commit ourselves to being
disciples like the apostles whom Jesus chose