3/17/24 The Gospel of Mark: Mark 3:7-19

I Lo are the [Music] you [Music] for e LMA was my persecutor and never would have thought would be together here my name is Alay duala and my home in Denver is a long way from where I grew up I grew up in the northern part of Ethiopia and it is very amazing how God ledb missionaries to my Village they told me about Christ and so I went to my brothers my friends classmates and told them how Jesus saved my life but Biblical religion it is foreign religion so LMA was one of them that pick us and take to the prison after I arrive here and when I see the situation the Ethiopian population the I mean the need we have to use every single opportunity to bring people to draw people to Christ because in Africa you can go to the streets and just share your facei and people will gather it's always a challenge to plant a church in America we have come together so please help us so that I and LMA can make Jesus [Music] known this is not turning okay so I'm G to yell the deacons oh thanks number eight oh there we go hey Gremlins in the system let me tell you hey so yeah this week today starts our week of prayer for North American missions and next week we will be taking up a special offering that goes 100% to support North American missions here in North America and that's just one of the

Thousands of testimonies that you can go on to n.org and check out information about the churches that we've planted and so I would encourage you to be praying about that remember that the special offering is giving over and above your tithe and so you know just be thinking considering God how much would you have me to give to plant churches like the one in Denver Colorado to reach Ethiopians you know God has provided unique opportunities for the world to come to America we don't just have to send missionaries across the globe although we need to but also right here in our own backyard there's a tremendous Gospel need and so you can partner with that couple of announcements for you the deacons have made the decision that we need more deacons and as that's the case according to our constitution they said as the need arises we can we can do this so we will have Deacon nominations at our April 28th business meeting so we got about six weeks to be praying about that's moved up about 3 months from July's business meeting and takes a whole quarter to get all that type of stuff done and present them to you guys and so be praying about those men that you can identify that are already serving in our congregation men that are leading in service in that way men that are qualified and if you would just please be praying about that next week we do have our Unity question and answer in potluck and so if you've if you could make plans to be here for that we've got our elders that are going to be leading those discussions and those questions which we received from the congregation are also printed in your bulletin so you'll see exactly what we're talking about and so that's going to be happening as well let's see here Good Friday service is coming up on March 29th at 6 PM right here in our Sanctuary we've got five preachers from four different

Churches we'll have Brian OG from Potter's house we'll have of course myself and PJ Garten we'll have John book from Buffalo Prairie and also Ray Milton from graceand church we're going to be talking about the Gospel and so if you have a family member or friends or co-workers or someone like that you've been praying about how do you share the Gospel with them bring them and that way you can have conversations about what the Gospel is and why it is so important and you know with this being kind of a multi-church thing makes it very unique where people will go oh it's not just that church it's several churches so it's a great opportunity for you to have Gospel conversations in a very easy way and I want to encourage you to do that we will not have child care available but our rooms will be open and we will make sure that we have some video streaming in there so that parents will have that options if their kids are having a hard time with the service okay Church love you so much if you're new to our church welcome my name's Cody I should have started out with that and if you could just fill out one of those connection cards if you got prayer requests too just fill those out and drop it in the offering place it goes by later on in the service that's a huge way in me being able to pray for you because that's part of my ministry as your pastor and it's my honor to do that as well why don't you just take a moment and maybe find a friend or a neighbor that you haveen been able to shake hands with and say welcome to First Baptist Church Happ for came on e Alabama play Sweet Home

Well good morning church it's good to see you all here this morning it's good to be in the house of the Lord this morning it's good to be back with my church family yeah it's good to be back and I'm I'm glad to see all your smiling faces and hear all those joyful conversations this morning as we greet one another at this point we just like to take a moment to Bow our heads and close our eyes and prepare ourselves for corporate worship this is a special time it's something that's important for us to do with one another we are proclaiming the glories and the majesty and the great works of our God to one another to ourselves to our God in heaven so I invite you now to Bow your heads and close your eyes and ask him to prepare you for worship what Lord we ask you this morning that you would prepare us for worship Lord that you would help us to cast off the distractions Lord that you would help us to repent from the sin that so easily entangles that we might worship you together this morning in spirit and in truth God I pray that you would remind us of who you are of the Great and Mighty Deeds that you have done Lord remind us of the Holy Scriptures that proca CL your majesty remind us of the Providence that has kept us going giving us food to eat and clothing to wear by your good grace and by grace alone Lord remind us of the cross that we might Proclaim our Salvation to one another this morning Lord help us to be so filled with awe and wonder at you that it overflows into worship it's in Jesus name we pray amen I'd like to begin by reading to you out of Ephesians chapter 2 but God being rich in Mercy because of the great love with which he has loved us even when we were dead in our

Trespasses made us alive together with Christ by Grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable rich es of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus for by Grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing it is the gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them I invite you now to stand as we sing of this excellent Christ who has loved us even when we were [Music] unlovable let Praises now awake the dawn we'll GRE your mercy with a song your people stand and sing for all youring kindness you carried us in faithfulness of on the path of rightousness our gracious King you Crown us with youring kindness how great is your Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the glad we PR of Grace and sa us of sweet forgi oh how great is your Ling [Music] kindness us the father's hand you shelter us with your commands what heart could fly comprehend your mercies andless you lead us through the Shadows deep where every it seems but as the dark we'll see the morning promise how great is your Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the glad we our Grace and saved us our sweet

Forgiveness oh how great your Ling [Music] kind [Music] a laid down to Res us with arms outstretch upon the cross the greatest gift there ever was ofing kindness a life laid down to Res us with arms out stretched upon the cross the greatest gift there ever was aing kindness your Ling kindness how [Music] great is your Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to see the Glad of Grace that saved us of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your loveing kind how great is your Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the Glad refra of Grace that saved us of sweet forgiveness oh how great your loving [Music] kindness your Ling [Music] kindness [Music] your Ling [Music] [Applause] kindness what a great God we serve this morning that he should lay down his life on the cross for us that is the L the one we call Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who live the perfect life that we couldn't live and died the death that we deserved so that we might bear his righteousness into eternity praise the Lord his Mercy [Music] is stronger

Darkness every our they are his Mery [Music] what remember we have done all KN he counts not there thrown into a sea without [Music] botom our sins they are many his Mercy praise the Lord his Mercy [Music] is stronger than Darkness every our they are many his Mercy what patience would wait as we constantly Ro what father so tender is calling us home Hees the weakest the viest of our sins they are many his Mercy is more praise the Lord his Mercy [Music] is stronger than Darkness every our s they are many his Mercy [Music] is whates of kindness he on us his blood was the payment his life was the cost we stood the we could never aford our s they are many his Mercy is more PR the [Music] Lord his Mercy [Music] is stronger Darkness every our sin they are many his Mercy is more praise the Lord his Mercy is [Applause] [Music] more stronger than Darkness every our sins they are many his Mercy is our they are many his Mercy is you can be seated as our ushers come

Forward your bulletin says that I'm John Wilber but I'm not John Wilbur I'm John Green I'm a lot I'm a lot meaner than John Wilbur is you just ask the rest of the deacons they'll tell you I've been a deacon now for almost 36 years and one of the things that you know we're all those guys are different in there every one of them I've ever served with down through the years are different they're not the same they bring different stuff to the table but they one thing they always have in common always have and I hope will they are passionate about making sure we get the Gospel we present The Plan of Salvation to people that's part of what we do we make sure that nothing gets in the way of that so that being said if you know we're needing some more deacons and if you congregation look at look around you and see if there's anybody that you think could serve in that capacity and go from there okay let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you today for this opportunity to serve and we thank you for this opportunity to give that the Gospel may be put out from here to the uttermost parts of the world and if anybody's here this morning that doesn't know you as Savior that this would be the day maybe that you would go to the pastor and say I'm not saved would you tell me how to be saved we ask these things in Jesus name amen first Peter 22 24 and 25 he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we may die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed for you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls as we continue to worship and song

This morning and as the deacons pass by I encourage you to stand as you're able but also if you need to sit if you need to kneel in prayer do that we only ask that you know we worship together [Music] I not in the strength ofh and Bone but in the wounds of Love At The Cross my worth is not in skill or name in or lose Pride or shame but in the blood of Christ that at the cross IJ in my Redeemer great Welling of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is saisi in [Music] al we fade and fame Youth and Beauty H but life eternal calls to us at the cross [Music] I will not in wealth or human wisdom beding but I will boast in knowing Christ at the cross I rejoice in my redeem greatest Tre well of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in alone Wonders that I confess my worth and my unworthiness my value fixed my rans at the cross IJ in my Redeemer greatest treasure Welling of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in [Music] himone what an awesome thing for us to confess together this morning that our souls can be satisfied in our Savior that the things of this world are not

What defines us but the things of his world the things of his kingdom we're going to end with come th F of every blessing and in this song we ask the Lord to help us to sing his Praises continually we ask the Lord to remind us to set up REM that's what an Ebenezer is to set up reminders of his great works in our lives we ask the Lord to help us to [Music] worship come th of every bless tune my heart to sing thy praise streams of Mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise teach me some song Su by flaming Tong of praise the fixed upon it of redeeming [Music] love here I [Music] Myer by thy help I'm and I hope by thy good pleasure safely to at home Jesus a strer wondering from the F of God to Res me from danger interpose his [Music] precious oh to Grace how great daily to be let thy Grace Lord like a f find th wondering heart to the to I feel it PR to the God I love here's Heart Lord take and seal ital it for th [Music]

Cour [Music] to wonder I feel to God Heart Take and it [Music] for Lord we pray that you would remind us what it means remind us of th those great moments of Providence in our own also remind us of the great gifts and the great signs and wonders that you've done throughout history as recorded in the Scriptures Lord help us to be changed by that help us to sing your Praises wherever we go and Lord we pray that you would bind us to you Lord because we are prone to wander Lord we pray that you would help us to live as those who are redeemed it's in Jesus name we pray amen well if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to Mark chapter 3 U we're going to be in verses 7 through 19 today so over the last couple of weeks we've seen these contentious arguments arising between Christ and the Pharisees everything from the Pharisees hearing about Jesus casting out a demon on the Sabbath and Jesus going over to Peter's house and healing Peter's mother-in-law on the Sabbath he taught them the word of God that evening as people were gathered about by the hundreds right in that doorway of Peter's home and he healed them every single one of them that came to him the scribes were mollified when he would when the paralytic came descending through the ceiling and he said your sins are forgiven you and Rise take up your mat and walk who can forgive sin but God Alone they said and they got really angry and they had seen Christ heal a man of

Leprosy violating their standards of cleanliness and traditions Jesus was called sinful for calling out people to follow him eating with tax collectors and Sinners and Jesus he wasn't fasting when the religious leaders thought that he ought to be fasting he said who is this he's a friend of sinners and tax collectors and it upset them and then Jesus he claimed authority over the Sabbath him itself and he exercised and demonst demonstrated that authority over the Sabbath and he proved it by healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath and Jesus who was once a curiosity to the Pharisees is now Public Enemy Number One and Christ he withdraws his ministry Into the Wilderness and over the next several weeks we are going to be asking this question what will I do with Jesus that's the question that we're going to be asking asking so we're going to tackle that this week and then we got Palm Sunday next Sunday Easter Sunday and then we'll pick the series back up what will you do with Jesus because battle lines are drawn Christ himself said you were either for me or against me he created that dichotomy not Cody I'm a I'm a very black and white person and I sometimes get told that I'm way too black and white but Jesus makes this issue very black and white okay either you're for him or you're against him that's it and so let's see what God's word has to say about this please stand with me in honor of his word as we read Mark 3: 7-9 God's word says this Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea and a great crowd followed him From Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and aduma and from Beyond the Jordan and from around Tire in siden when the great crowd heard all he was doing they came to him he told and

He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd lest they crush him for he had healed many so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him whenever the unclean spirits saw him they fell down before him and cried out you are the Son of God and he strictly ordered them not to make him known and he went up on the mountain and called to him Those whom he desired and he came and they came to him and he appointed 12 whom he also named Apostles so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons he appointed the twel Simon to whom he gave the name Peter James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James to whom he gave the name boanerges that is sons of thunder Andrew and Phillip and Bartholomew Matthew and Thomas and James the son of alfus and Thaddius and Simon the Zealot and Judas the scariot who betrayed him let's pray father we love you and we just thank you for your word today and we ask Lord that you would help us to answer that question what will we do with you and Lord if there's people that are riding that fence I pray that they would get off of it and come to your kingdom that you would draw us out of darkness and into your Marvelous Light thank you that you do tie us to you that even though we are so prone to wander Lord you are the Good Shepherd and that you seek and save those who are lost and even while we were yet sinners you died for us and that you have such a tremendous love for us and you're so full of grace and mercy and God we're just so undeserving of it of every little bit of it Lord and our heart hearts are just full just so thankful for all of the things that you've done and yet we also were tempted to look at the winds and the waves around us we're tempted to be

Disheartened and we're tempted to build up our own kingdoms God Lord help us to repent of that help us to turn away from those type of things and to be followers of yours God concerned solely with your glory we ask that you would move Among Us today that you would move our hearts to be more in step and in line with your word we ask these things in Jesus name amen well our passage today tells us that Jesus he withdraws with his disciples to the Sea that's the Sea of Galilee and we have to ask that question why did Christ withdraw why did he pull back at that time a couple of different things firstly whenever we see Jesus doing something in Scripture it's because it is the Father's will for it to happen because he was always about the father's business he was always doing what God wanted him to he did that for us that we would understand communion with God to walk and abide in the presence of the Lord but secondly he did this because the Pharisees were just scrutinizing everything that he did he became their biggest enemy and instead of constantly de with religious leaders he drew back because his main task is to preach the Gospel the reality that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and by him withdrawing Into the Wilderness what he's able to do is he's able to accomplish that task and another reason why is that he went into the countryside because the towns just couldn't handle the crowds there was no way that I could accommodate all of these different people and it became dangerous I mean the fact is that the crowd it adored Christ it adored Christ never before had these kind of works ever been done I mean sure there were plenty of fake Messiahs and really good guys and false saviors that cropped up but none of them had the Authority or the power of Jesus Christ and this is one of the things

That made Jesus of Nazareth so unique and so popular among the crowds but it's very clear that people were there not because he had the bread of life not because he was the resurrection in the life not because he was the way of the truth in the life they weren't there because of that they were there because of what Jesus could do for them in their physical bodies they didn't understand that eternal life was near to them so near that they could touch it and yet we do the same to be honest with you don't we case in point let's look at your prayer list how many times do we spend praying for all of our physical needs or the physical needs of others and we neglect a lot of the spiritual needs I'm not saying that Christ is not concerned about that very clearly In this passage Christ is very concerned about our needs he was incarnate God made flesh and so he understood our weaknesses our sicknesses all of those different things and he was always willing to heal and to do those things but the purpose of his healing not was not so that way we would be healed the purpose of his healing was that way we would fall down as the Apostle said my Lord and my God so we would understand him as our Messiah the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Jesus doesn't treat our bodies as though they're unimportant but God he allows physical trials in our lives lives often times for a purpose I don't know about you guys but when I'm ailing personally I find myself more and more drawn to the Lord that's why I think a lot of our senior Saints are some of the godliest people I know they understand what it means to suffer they understand what it means to endure with patience the Irish missionary her name

Is Amy carmichel you guys might be familiar with her wonderful godly woman and she's Irish and it's St Patrick's Day so there you go but she was a missionary to India and she helped plant a church and ministered to Indian women who were being rescued out of Temple prostitution and after three decades of ministry there she was seriously injured she became an invalid she could not move for the rest of her life for 20 years she laid down and she wrote prolifically even though she was in constant pain and Agony she wrote and she wrote and she wrote missionary support letters poems Bible studies all sorts of things writing songs and stories and her Ministry became even more effective through the suffering but it was only because she sought the Lord and listen to what she wrote she said but God is the God of the waves in the Billows and they are still his when they come over us and again and again we have proved that the overwhelming thing does not overwhelm Once More by his interposition Deliverance came we were cast down but not destroyed the crowds around Christ they were not seeking salvation or anything spiritual in fact here's what Jesus said about the CR he said truly truly I say to you were seeking me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves in other words you are here because of what I can do for you do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life which the son of man will give to you for on him God the father has set his seal and as we seek the Lord he adds the good things to us although not in the way that we often times expect here's what Jesus said in Matthew 6 in the sermon of the mount that seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you what did the crowds

Do with Jesus well they swarmed him they were seeking healing and deliverance not salvation not to worship Christ they were motivated by self and many people they professed Christianity or Christ throughout history for this very reason in much of a American history it was worth being a part of a church it was it's one of the reasons why we see Church attendance going down is because it's it's not worth the political or societal pre pressure to identify as a Christian now and election seasons's around the corner and many of those people are going to be looking for your votes and we might see them here it happens every year so just be ready for it okay that's not nice Cody well no I want you to understand the popularity of Jesus Christ though people they were coming from Galilee all the way to the south in Judea in Jerusalem they were coming as far away as zumia which is like the it's south of Israel it's the land of Edom it's where Esau settled in the Old Testament and that's over a 100 miles away from cerium where Jesus is ministering at this point people were coming from across the Jordan these are the Arabic people and a lot of Jews over in that area they were coming from the most northern part of Israel entire inside where there was a heavily heavy Greek influence and we know that the Greeks were seeking out Jesus and we also know that there were some helenistic Jews up in there and people they were coming from every corner of Israel to seek out healing from Christ and so I think that we should note this point here the authority of Christ I know that's been a recurring Point all the way through it but that's Mark's entire point of The Book of Mark is to demonstrate the authority that Christ

Has and glory to God that he has all authority in heaven and on Earth in Christ he healed them but the crowds they just kind of see him as a miracle worker they've heard all about the things that Jesus has done and so they follow after him and they're pressing towards him just hoping to touch him and get close enough where they can receive healing and be relieved of their sufferings and the crowds they don't understand Jesus they don't understand his mission and Jesus in spite of all their ignorance and the danger that they pose he said this in Matthew chapter 9 this is a parallel passage he says when he saw the crowds this is the humanity that is covered in boils that's sick the lame the deaf the mute the blind the needy he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a Shepherd then he said to his disciples the Harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers to send out laborers into his Harvest and there were just thousands of people with these afflictions that Greek word there talking about diseases here it's actually a very broad term it's the Greek word mastics and what it means is it literally means being tormented or being or suffering because of being beat by a whip in other words these people they were so controlled and so limited by their sickness and God and Jesus says get the boat ready just in case if this crowd becomes unruly still fully God and also man but there's also this demonic presence that's in the crowds that word unclean spirit is atharos so you think of like a cathartic experience right something very peaceful harmonious unifying and wonderful right this is the

Exact opposite of that this is ceremonially ritually impure unclean divisive violent loud the noun form of this word can be translated also as demon and I want you to understand the irony here that the demons they knew that Jesus Christ was the son of God and the multitude thinks of him only into terms of a miracle worker and they are using Christ only for selfish reasons and often times what Christians are tempted to do is they're tempted to minimize the spiritual realities that are around them the world is more than just stuff demons are real and they are in play around us and here we see demons they're curious about the Son of God they were drawn in because of their hatred of God and they fell down that is an imperfect active tense in the Greek and what that means is that they are falling down not in worship or even in submission but they are collapsing like a defeated enemy still filled with hatred and with loathing toward their conqueror and what they were saying is that Jesus is the son of God and this is not a confession this is not an act of submission this is just stating a fact and Jesus tells them to shut up why because it wasn't the right time for Jesus's real identity to be known and the joy of being a Herald of the Gospel is not for demons it was up to the father and the son to determine the right time to disclose his identity because part of the character of God is his self Revelation he's the one who reveals himself in his time and it's God who shows himself and what did the demons do with Christ well they hated him they wanted to rebel against him they had already tried it once they were trying it again that's why they were constantly trying to say his name to gain authority over

Him still sometimes demons have a little bit better view of Jesus than the crowds do this is why followers of Christ must gain a right view of Jesus a view in which he is elevated as the Lord of all creation the Savior of our souls who is worthy of all of our praise all of our adoration all of our worship all of our focus and then he withdraws even further up onto a mountain and Mark he doesn't he doesn't write about how he got there he's Mark is not concerned about a chronological series of events we've already talked about that a little bit but his purpose is to demonstrate the authority of Christ and so Jesus he goes to this mountain and his disciples are with him now there's a difference between disciple and an apostle disciples they're all followers of Jesus is included men women children that were around they believed in Jesus Christ even maias who was chosen after Judas betrayed Christ he was chosen and in Acts chapter one to be an apostle and he was a disciple of Christ and some people they want to talk about women in Ministry and so I will talk about this real quick and I would like to provide this as an example as to Jesus's desire for the church if Jesus were a gender revolutionary and he were really concerned about making women pastors and authoritarian people in the church then he would have established a female Apostle at this point time why not if that was really Jesus's whole purpose and coming why wouldn't he do that he didn't why not because it's not the father's will for women to be pastors or to have authority over men period which is why Jesus appointed 12 men to the office of the Apostle now why did he do it well Mark here he has this interesting phrase that Jesus says

He called to him Those whom he desired we squirm at that don't we how did he arrive at that conclusion why did he desire some to be Apostles and others not well let's look at the parallel text in Luke chapter 6 it says in these days he went out to the mountain to pray and all night he continued in prayer to God that's a really important detail and when day came he called his disciples and he chose from them 12 okay that's that's a really key passage right there okay because this is a this is an important decision once again you see the father's will being preeminent and it's the same way with Believers too the father elects the son appoints he willingly offers himself as a Savior and mediator the Holy Spirit gives the gifts necessary for regeneration and obedience to the will of God and it's important to note that this choosing is not just some arbitrary thing that Jesus says I like that guy I like that guy I like that guy he spends time with the father and for you and I this is a really good principle for you and I to apply to our lives as we have big decisions that come up in our lives should I go to this school should I go to this trade school once my high school is being completed do I just enter the workforce God what do you want me to do we should spend time in prayer about that God is it your will for me to Foster or to adopt God is it your will for me to have five kids is it your will for me to have 10 be fruitful and multiply amen is God calling you to start a new job or to start this new business is God telling you to sell your home so that way you can be closer to your kids and grandkids there's a lot of things for us to take to the Lord in prayer in Jes Jesus he communes with the father specifically for this decision because well the 12 would all play vitally important roles in history in Jesus he

Appointed the TW and we learn this final Point here the appointment of the twel and it's a two-fold calling firstly to be with him and secondly to be sent out that's what the word Apostle means it means a sent out one Jesus didn't call them to study the law or science or a trade or anything like that he called the apostles to himself and in the same way he calls you and I we are saved into Christ When We believe We Believe In Christ that's how the relationship works that's how it's designed to be in Jesus he called the ones that he wanted and his call was a sovereign one because every single one of them that were called to that office went to that office and they came willingly see there was a man way back in the day his name was maywin sucket he was born in 387 in Britain to Christian parents and he was captured by Raiders and they sold him into slavery at the age of 16 years old he's taken to a really dark Island called Ireland and maywin he wasn't a Christian at this time even though he was raised in a Christian home he saw this new culture it was filled with Pagan worship nature worship druidism human sacrifice and maywin he remembered what his father who was a deacon at his church and his grandfather who was a bishop at his church he remembered what they said about the Gospel and there in the cold Hills of Ireland he started to pray to God and he and he started to explore this relationship and those seeds of the Gospel that had been sown all through his life finally took root and he received Christ there in that dark land well he had an opportunity to escape and at the age of 22 he escaped on a boat and went back to Britain once he was home he felt he had a dream he testifies we beg you holy youth that you should come and walk

Again among us and at that point he felt that he was called to Ministry in Ireland after being ordained as a bishop he changed his name to Patrick happy happy St Patrick's Day and there he was he went as a free man and as a missionary to minister to the Irish and his ministry was unusually effective I mean clearly the call of God was on this man even though he missed home he grew to love the Irish and he dedicated himself to evangelism into church planting into discipleship and he was met with Fierce opposition he was beaten he was impr imprisoned he was scourged they said if you ever preach the Gospel again we will kill you and he kept preaching and he persevered and in 30 years he baptized 120,000 new Believers he planted 300 churches in Ireland that's just awesome and I tell you the story because it's St Patrick's Day but also it is a good story but also because of what Patrick did with Jesus I mean he trusted in him by simple faith in the cold mountains in Hills of Ireland just simple faith that believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for him it's simple faith that saves and after that God worked mightily through him and God heed the 12 for many mighty works as well and so we have to ask the question what did the disciples do with Jesus well they followed him the disciples that Christ didn't choose for the office they didn't get upset they didn't leave they didn't say well he didn't pick me I'm not going to go gonna take my ball and go home no they followed Jesus not because they wanted status or position that's that's what Judas wanted no they believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God although they didn't understand it at this point they'll get

There but Jesus he chose 12 why did he choose 12 why not seven Seven's that number of completion and perfection in the old test why not why not 30 is a good number too right why did he choose 12 I believe that was because he wanted to establish a symmetry between the Old Testament and the New Testament the Old Testament you had the 12 tribes of Israel with the Lord over them and by him appointing the 12 as a as a mirror to or a reflection of the Old Testament he positions himself as the Divine Son of God over what he's doing here and in this he like I said established symmetry between the Old Testament and the New Testament and he appointed these men to go out because his purpose in calling them in calling them was not just so that way they would be with him but also that they would go and preach and Minister because the call of Jesus to come to me when we come to him his immediate response is now go and tell someone about Jesus and when we come to him he gives us a mission he gives us a purpose we are to go out into the world and preach the Gospel and Make Disciples of all the nations and as we carry that mission out he goes with us we are not alone you see the Lord he would not allow anything even popularity or success to divert him from his primary Ministry which is to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God and what he was doing was he was he was doing exactly what Believers have done for the last 2,000 years which is raising up people to replace him Mark he lists out these men Simon and he's also known as Peter that is a portrait of what someone thinks Peter looks like but you know but he was an unashamed fisherman let's I want to tell you all what I'm doing here okay I want you to notice the diversity of these followers okay you got everyone everything from the ignorant and

Uneducated praise the Lord to the learned and the wonderful praise the Lord to those who are very religious or are politically conservative to those who would be maybe considered politically liberal but here is Peter and I want you to notice the unity that they have but this is our unashamed fisherman he was always speaking before thinking okay and man do I relate to that guy he's the spokesperson he asks some interesting questions he makes some wonderful professions he denies Christ Christ restores him to that Ministry he's the main leader of the early church and he preaches the most important sermons in church history he was used mightily by the Lord and what happened to Peter at the end he was crucified crucified in Rome James and John James and John this is part of that inner three group of the disciples the apostles they're known as the sons of thunder their nickname sounded cool but it actually was kind of a judgment because it showed their hotheadedness and their judgmental attitude towards others that they needed to let go listen to what Jesus says in oh do I have Luke 9 in there Luke 9 52-55 oh okay I missed that listen to what he says in Luke 9 52-55 and Jesus sent Messengers ahead of him who went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for him but the people did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem and when his disciples James and John saw it they said Lord do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them it's that loving grace but he turned and rebuked them okay James would later be killed beheaded by Herod AG grippa in the book of Acts and John exiled to forgotten Island the island of patmas where he was the most loving of all

The disciples but he was just left there pretty much stay here and die Andrew Andrew this is the guy that was always bringing people to Jesus he was a follower of John the Baptist before he followed Jesus but he heard John the Baptist say Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and Andrew is like well why am I following you I'm I'm going to follow that guy and so he did he's a very first follower of Jesus and he was always bringing people to him even Peter he brought to Jesus he brought a boy with Five Loaves and two fish to Jesus in John chapter 6 he brought a group of Greeks who wanted to see Jesus in John chapter 12 this man he was an evangelist always bringing people to Christ and that's how he died he died shortly after ministering and sharing the Gospel with a Governor's wife who came to know Jesus Christ and he was really mad about it and the governor said okay either my wife recants or you die and the wife did not recant praise the Lord and he was crucified in x-shaped Cross and for two days he hung there and while he was there for those two days he just preached the Gospel to anyone passing by and he died Phillip Philip is from Betha I bet you can guess how he dies he carrying a cross by the way that's the same Hometown as Peter and Andrew Philip he was a thickheaded one who really only came to understand the fullness and the deity of Christ after the resurrection he was recorded as wondering a lot like you know how are we I wonder how we're going to feed these 5,000 men and their children and wives he wondered what it meant to see the father and he asked Christ show us Philip also he went and he evangelized planted churches preached the Gospel and was crucified

Bartholomew he's got a knife in his hand all of these guys they're depicted with the instruments have you noticed that were used to kill them Bartholomew his name is also Nathaniel it means given of God and Jesus when he saw Daniel he said behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit in Bartholomew he went and he preached in turkey and other parts of the world and he was fled alive and beheaded Matthew also known as Levi he was known as being an awesome children's Minister that's why he's got a little kid right there in the background Oh wrong one but he was always bringing kids to Jesus he's the former tax collector friend of the Roman government he was an enemy of the community that was radically changed by the grace and call of Christ he left his money his job his friends to follow Christ he authored The Book of Matthew and eventually he was killed in Ethiopia by being impaled Thomas we know him as doubting Thomas an unfortunate nickname his nickname is also dimus which means the twin people were always kind of talking about Thomas how pessimistic he was when Jesus was going to Jerusalem he said well let's go to Jerusalem to die with him and after the resurrection he said I will not believe that Jesus rose again until I can put my fingers in the holes of his hands or put my hand in his side and then when Jesus revealed himself he said my Lord and my God and he went all the way to India preaching the Gospel where he was killed and run through with a spear James the son of alfus we don't know much about James or his father but James his mother was also named Mary and she was also a follower of Jesus he was he preached the Gospel all throughout Israel at that time he was thrown off the temple wall he survived he was

Clubbed as you see he's holding the club there and he was stoned to death in Jerusalem Thaddius he's holding an axe he's also known as Judas the son of James or as Judas not a scariot that's why it goes by thus by the way because he didn't want to be associated with Judas very little known about him is there's very little bit little that's known about him except that he knew the Messiah he knew Jesus Christ and he went he planted a church in turkey and through the preaching of the go gopel he was asked to death Simon the Zealot is a anti-government revolutionary a lot of our guys will relate to that he hated the Romans and anyone that followed them and the fact that he and Matthew former tax collector for Rome were both members of the 12 illustrates the diversity of this group Simon the Zealot was sa in half that's why he's got a saw there and then we get to Judas Judas is scariot he's always mentioned as the last in the list of Apostles because he betrayed Jesus the tremendous betrayal of Jesus it was a surprise to everyone except Jesus Jesus he said did I not choose the 12 and yet one of you is a disciple or a devil Jesus he knew all along that Judas would betray Jesus but it was all a part of God's divine plan and why all these men why are we talking about this why you know I mean yeah it's the passage but firstly I want to illustrate exactly what God turned these men into they were at one time just going through life going through the motions they're working they're doing their things and then they met Jesus and God made them into a group that would literally transform the globe through the preaching of the Gospel and each of them died a martyr's death or were left alone on some little island in the Mediterranean but we need to ask what

Did these men do with Jesus well they spent their lives for him except for him Judas they were all chosen by the Lord to accomplish the work that God had for them and some of them were establishment guys some were revolutionary some were honest some were Liars some were hot-headed and judgmental others were Evangelistic and patient and we've been talking about Unity as a church for weeks and months and you know we got this opportunity next week for you guys to continue going on down that road and I just think that this is a wonderful way to illustrate the unity in the midst of diversity for the sake of our church different people different preferences different backgrounds but they all said let's put all of it aside for the sake of following Christ and reaching the world for Jesus amen and if you can't say Amen better say ouch we don't have all the time in the world like days go by and days turn into weeks and months and years and before you know it we let a generation slip by because we're arguing about hymns or praise choruses just stop you know Moses he got he got worn out because of people complaining stop I understand it and some of you hear that and you're just thinking you know pastor's getting really angry about that yeah CA because you're not ministering we got to let it go we got to be willing to because there's a generation of people that all always hear about the disunity and what does the Scripture say they will know that we are Christians by our love for one another I think aon's doing a fantastic job I think I think that our church is doing a fantastic job of reaching people 11 baptisms last year praise the Lord yeah it's not 30 40 but those 11 are still

Here praise the Lord and when we come to Christ he sends us out as ambassadors of his kingdom when we're when we're working on the task that God has given to us we see the Delight that God has in the work of God that's around us and that's the big point the big point is that Christ he sents us out as ambassadors of his kingdom because of our new position not because of our back Ground God he takes enemies and he makes them family he takes animosity and he brings peace he takes the unforgivable and he brings forgiveness and this is done by his work in our lives where we become obedient followers to his will I think that this also shows another principle for us because Jesus he appointed these men to carry out his work and I've already alluded to this but by Del ating the work of ministry he empowered these men to carry out the mission after he was gone you see you and I we ought to be doing the same thing too many times we make ourselves Irreplaceable and what that does is it cripples the church because if something happens well that's a huge hole that's why that's why you know I let a lot of men preach from this Pulpit how are we going to raise up preachers unless we give people opportunities to preach it's what other pastors did for me and we have to be willing to do that for others I mean where do you serve and are you raising up people after you and empowering you for Ministry or empowering them for Ministry see as we've been called into Christ we've also been called to make disciples and as we make disciples we also go so that way we can Reach This World see it's not missions isn't just giving money to the North American Mission

Board missions is a lifestyle it's what we're called to do that's why we're Baptists okay it's because we care about the lost and we want to reach them with the Gospel by any means that's that's why we're Christians that's why we're Disciples of Christ head heart hand head I want you to know that you must do something with Jesus we've asked that question constantly you can't can't leave him alone the question must be answered is Jesus worth following and you have to answer that question is he worth following for every believer in here we say yes absolutely he's worth following he's the one most wonderful of Wonders the best of the best he's the Great and the Almighty king of all creation and he is worthy of everything heart I want you to believe that the answer is to follow Christ Jesus he'll take you doesn't matter where you're from it doesn't matter what your background is Christ he receives people who come to him by faith he may heal you he may work a sign but the sign of a disciple is being a follower not a consumer like the crowd and hand I want you to decide where you stand with the crowd or as a disciple if you're with the crowd you really just want to use Jesus Christ for your own or as a disciple where you just want to be used by the Lord say God I just want to spend my life For Your Glory because you are worth it come my life or my death I'm going to follow you would y'all please stand with me bow your heads as we just respond to the Lord in prayer and in worship God we just thank you so much for this day we thank you for your kindness and your mercy I ask that you would just move among us today and that you would help us to understand what it means to

Follow you Lord if there's anyone here that maybe they need to take that step of joining the church or even coming forward saying pastor I want to follow Christ Lord let today be that day that they enter into your kingdom not because of the conversation with the pastor but because of your Holy Spirit moving in their lives God we give ourselves to you because you are worthy of all of it we just thank you for your mercy in Jesus name [Music] amen join me as we sing Come th F of Every Blessing come th found of Every Blessing tune my heart to sing thy praise streams of mering never ceasing call for songs of loudest prise teach me some melious Son sung by flaming tongues of Earth praise the Mountain Time fixed upon it Mount of thy redeeming love here I raise my Neer hither by thy help I come and I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home Jesus s me when a strer wondering from the fold of God he to resue me from danger interpose his Precious [Music] Blood oh to Grace how great [Music] a daily I'm constrained to be let thy Grace Lord like a f bind my wondering Heart To Thee prone to wonder Lord I feel it PR to leave the God I Love My Heart Lord take seal it seal it for thy courts [Music] above prone to

Wonder Lord I feel it prone to leave the God I love Here's My Heart Lord take and seal it seal it for thy [Music] courts amen if you guys could be seated I just want to introduce to y'all a person that wants to come forward as a candidate to be a church member Angela if you would come on forward she has com completed her new members class and gives good testimony of being a believer in Christ she would join by statement of faith and she's just excited about what God's doing and so members if you would receive her into the fellowship here at First Baptist Church would you give us an affirmative amen all right any opposed all right there we go got to do that it's good seeing [Applause] you be sure to give her a hug she's in the bright yellow so be sure to give her a pinch too so that's how we do it so hey I love you Church let's pray and the more we've empowered for Ministry today Father we love you thank you for this day and we just ask that you would help us to consider that question even more what will we do with you day in and day out we are your people you are our God and you have commanded us to go and make disciples so let us do it well for your glory in Jesus name amen