Mark 3.13-19 Luke 6.12-16
Appointing staff and cabinet members is one of the first
tasks of any president. It is usually a
long and drawn out process that takes several months to accomplish but those
decisions usually determine the success or failure of a presidency. Jesus was not an elected official and He didn’t
have cabinet members; but He did appoint a group of men to be apostles. These men would occupy a key role in history
and contribute much to the growth of the church. Jesus has called these men to be His
disciples and to follow Him, now He is appointing them as apostles. How He went about doing this task is
instructive to us as well as what he called them to do. All ministers must make choices about whom
they will disciple and the people in whom they will invest their lives. The example of Jesus in this passage provides
key insights as to what is important in the process of selecting leaders.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER: Prior to appointing the disciples,
Jesus spent the entire night in prayer.
Sometimes we question the importance of prayer because of the
sovereignty of God. The logic is that if
God is sovereign, He will do whatever He is going to do no matter if I pray or
not. That fatalistic view of prayer
ignores the instruction and example of Scripture. It is also contradicted by the actions of
Jesus in this passage. If there were
ever a man who didn’t need to pray, it was Jesus. He already knew everything and He was in
perfect fellowship with the Father. Yet,
we see Him spend an entire night in prayer prior to appointing the
apostles. This example should assure us
of the importance of prayer in all situations but especially in the leadership
selection process. We need to pray for
wisdom. We need to pray for the people we
desire to select. We need to pray
because it allows us to deepen our own relationship with God.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING PRESENT: When Jesus called His
disciples, it was a call for them to follow Him. He continues this emphasis in this passage as
He calls the apostles to be with Him.
Discipleship is accomplished through time spent together. A life on life experience is vital to the discipleship
relationship. God created us as
relational beings. We were never
intended to live in isolation from God or in isolation from other
believers. Independence is not considered
a virtue in Scripture. God created us to
live in dependence upon Him and on one another.
When we establish a discipleship relationship with someone, we need to
recognize that this is a commitment to being present in the relationship. It takes time, effort, intentionality and
vulnerability.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING: Jesus gave the disciples a
clear job description: they were to preach the Gospel. Jesus has a mission in this world and that is
to have disciples worshiping Him in all the nations of the world. Proclaiming the truth to a lost and confused
world is vital to the mission to which we have been called. Jesus not only called them to preach but He
also gave them the authority to cast out daemons. The Word of God is a manual of instruction
for discipleship but it is also the message with power to transform lives and
liberate people from sin. Leaders are
called to the task of reproducing other leaders. This is accomplished through the instruction
of God’s Word. God’s Word has the power
to save men from their sin, transform them into ministers and instruct them as
to how they are to live their lives. The
only means we have of accomplishing ministry is through the teaching of God’s
Word.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE: Ministry is always about
people. As we read through the list of
the apostles, it is important to remember that they are simply people. It is easy to see them as “bigger than life”
characters. In reality, they are
ordinary mem whom God equipped to accomplish extraordinary things. The first thing that jumps out at us is the
wide variety of people who were called to be apostles. There were Jews, Romans, tax collectors,
fishermen and zealots. None of us are
able to accomplish the mission God has set on our own. We are meant to function as a body that is
described as diversity in unity. The
others thing that jumps out is that there are two or three sets of brothers in
the group. James and John, Peter and
Andrew as well as Thaddaeus (also known as Judas, son of James) and James, son
of Alphaeus are thought to be brothers.
Ministry with family members seems to be a trend in the disciples. Jesus chooses different men from different
walks of life with different personalities to accomplish the same mission of
making disciples of all nations. It takes
a variety of people to do the work of the ministry.
APPLICATION: Spend time in prayer before making
decisions. Pray for the people with whom
we minister. Spend time with
people. We are called to invest our
lives in the lives of others and time is essential to that task. Preach the Word of God because it is the only
message with the power to save and transform lives. Appreciate the variety of personalities and
gifts that make up the body of Christ.
Don’t expect all ministers to be alike or similar to ourselves.
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