September 23, 2007

Twelve Ordinary Men

Steve Lane

A. God's Plan for You (Review)

Jeremiah 29: 11
1 Samuel 2: 35
Romans 8: 5
Matthew 4: 18 - 22

A change of core purpose
Being outside of God's plan for you equals failure.
Faith is primarily to get and do what God wants, which means we must go beyond ourselves.

Philippians 4: 13
What are you attempting that you cannot do on your own strength?

"Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."
-William Carey

The job of the body is to train, equip and prepare each one to labor for the Kingdom...

Getting in the yoke of Christ - Matthew 11: 28 - 30

Seek God/encourage the body/reach the lost -- Whose "to do" list do you have?

B. Twelve Ordinary Men

When the crowds began turning away
John 6: 48 - 63, 66 - 69
Their hearts were in the wrong place to really believe.
Full identification with Jesus Himself, including His life.

So, who did He choose for this all-important role to represent Him and carry on when He left?

12 very ordinary men.
Acts 4: 13
Matthew 11: 25
1 Corinthians 1: 20 - 21
Peter, James and John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew (Nathanial), Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot

So, why does the church try to compete?
The power of our message is not dependent on our abilities.

Jesus often went alone to the wilderness to pray.
Luke 6: 12 - 13
Luke 22: 39

Official representatives of Jesus - Apostles

C.
The Absoluteness of the Call

"Take Me on completely"
And the pattern was not about to be set - see it in the early church.

How did He train them?
"His example was always before them... it isn't just information that is passed along, it's one life invested in another."
-John MacArthur

They did not just speak truth of knowledge, but out of the yoke - a life that is all about Jesus.

"What are you asking of me?" You are to be a minister inside and outside the church.

2 Corinthians 5: 20
Ephesians 4
Galatians 2: 20
Matthew 28: 19

Matthew 11: 28
We want peace and rest and an arm around us, but do we want His yoke?
Jesus dealt with them deeply about things that reveal the cross.
His purpose as their own, at the core of their being, and intimacy with Him as their strength.