THE CALL OF A DISCIPLE

Scripture Passage: Mark 3:13-19

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. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

The call of twelve disciples is mentioned in the above passage. Mark is the primitive gospel in all four gospels which is written by John Mark, the companion of Paul in his first missionary journey (Act 15:35-41). It was written in AD 70 and became the first ever written gospel with the theme of identifying Jesus as “The Son of Man” (10:45) who came to serve others.

The appointment of Disciples found in this passage. He appointed the disciples with the intention of being with them, preach and do what Jesus did. The gospel is giving a kind of urgency in its way of writing – “Immediately” is the key term found throughout the book. 

Responding to the call of Jesus is the integral part of a disciple’s life. A disciple must obey and follow the commands of a master. We see Isaiah responded positively to the call of the Lord in Old Testament, Isaiah 6:8, “Here I am Lord, Send me.”

God’s call and people’s response resounding throughout the Bible. In this passage God calls whom He wanted and “They came to Him” (v 13). The reason why Jesus chose them is for "following Him", that is the same agenda God has towards us. We are the disciples of Christ Jesus to follow His footsteps and commands that he delivers us to do. What are the commands given to them?

1. TO BE WITH HIM (JESUS) V.14A
 

To Be with him means – To be in intimate relationship with Him. The disciples had the highest opportunity of being with Jesus in understanding every move of Him. They experienced God in their lives – what a great privilege for the ordinary men. Jesus trained the disciples by being with them throughout the ministry.

Acts 4:13, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Jesus takes your nothing – and makes everything when you are with Him. a sculpture or art gets more beauty if it is with the artist long time. if an art is intimate with the artist it becomes beautiful and masterpiece for everyone to see and enjoy. 

Eph 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork (Poiema), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

At most contact with Jesus makes you a powerful person. Power in Greek is Dunamis – power of dynamite to breakdown the power of evil and dynamo – lighting the darkened world. All comes through one means that is being (in connection) with Jesus.

John 15:4-5, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Are you in connection with Jesus –The world will see its difference through your power.

2. TO PREACH (V. 14B)
 

The second purpose of being a disciple is “Sent them out to preach.” – They must preach others of what Jesus was doing. Jesus preached towns and villages about the Kingdom of God. A disciple must go and preach the gospel of His Kingdom through the experiences he gained from the Lord.

They were the sent ones (apostolos) – which means ambassadors of Jesus in His place to proclaim what Jesus was doing with them. Reconciliation agents to bring people unto God – Holy and anointed call to be the apostles. Preaching the living and active word of God which is the seed to bring people unto God. 

The mission of a disciple is to go out and preach the gospel to the people. Preaching is not a technique or coming out of eloquent experiences but through the power of God. A person who spend more time in private (with the Lord), become powerful vessel (of God) in the public. You can easily understand the preaching of pastors and preachers how long they spent with the Lord. More time in God’s presence – powerful preaching in the public. 

Preaching is a duty of a disciple (I Cor. 9:16) Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel. We are the sent ones of God today to preach the gospel to the unheard and unknown.

3. TO DO (DEMONSTRATE) WHAT JESUS DID. (V. 15)
 

Jesus gave them the authority to do (drive out demons) what He did (v.15) – when the power of darkness leave, the Kingdom of God comes there. Jesus empowered / authorized them to do what He did. 

Luke 11:20, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Luke 4:16-21, “¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The Nazareth Manifesto we see about the mission of Jesus who is not sent for preaching but also freedom to prisoners, healing, freedom and proclamation. The same authority is given to the disciples; we are His disciples to continue – carry non that work as a disciple.

As a disciple of Jesus

1. Are you With Jesus (in intimate relationship)?
2. Are you preaching the gospel?
3. Are you demonstrating what Jesus did?

May God enable us to carry on His mission as His disciples!

Scripture Passage: 2 Corinthians 4:1-10

“¹Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

Paul in Romans expressed his desire for all believers’ three important things. Rom 15:14, “I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” All believers have the right to know the word of the Lord – it is their birthright.

·         Full of Goodness (the nature of God)

·         Full of knowledge (the spiritual maturity)

·         Able to teach others (Be expert in Word)

However in 2 Corinthians Paul concentrated on the ministers of God, it is not exclusively to the Pastors and Leaders. Every believer must be ministers of God. The primary duty of a servant of God is “Ministering to the presence of God” then “Ministering for God.” Most of the leaders and pastors reverse the priority and spend their entire time in ministry forgetting to minister the presence of God. As I said it is not restricted to the pastors, it includes all the believers.

The passage talks about FOUR personal and corporate responsibility of a servant of God. 

1. LIVE IN GOD’S GRACE: (V.1)

2 Cor. 4: 1 says, “¹Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart”

75% of pastors in the United States leave their ministries in first 5 years of their ministry which is called as “Burnt Out.” They lose their vision, enthusiasm and passion for ministry due to the frustration / displeasure in the ministry. This is a sad statistics – In India many pastors grow their children not with the ministry intention but to work and earn money. In recent days many pastors send their children to foreign countries for work, in their last stage they sell the church and leave the ministry due to no successors to carry on the ministry. In both cases the strength of pastor is emphasized the grace of God is missing. Obviously the church loses its strength rapidly.

Paul in verses 8-9 says, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” We face troubles but stand firm because we live in God’s grace – in other versions speak of God’s Mercy.

Luke 9:62 says, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

 

The call of God has great emphasis on the “Grace of God.” Because the one who called us is faithful (1 Thes. 5:24) he chose us, not we ourselves for the ministry (John 15:16). Christian ministry is Faith and Grace based, there is nothing that we can do with our energy and strength. That’s why Apostle Paul says to “Live in God’s Grace”

Living is also reminds us of – continuous action. One cannot live without air so also without God’s grace no one can sustain in the ministry.

2. PREACH CHRIST ALONE (V. 2 / V.5)

v. 2, “we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. Paul declares that he made no deception, distraction of God’s word – just delivered the plain truth. (v.2) and not even preached about himself (v.5). Martin Luther in his reformation statements made the following clear,

1. Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”): The Bible alone is our highest authority.
2. Sola Fide (“faith alone”): We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
3. Sola Gratia (“grace alone”): We are saved by the grace of God alone.
4. Solus Christus (“Christ alone”): Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.
5. Soli Deo Gloria (“to the glory of God alone”): We live for the glory of God alone.

The first among the list was “Scripture alone” most of the preaching today stress on the following,

·         Jesus + Something else (Baptism)

·         Gospel + Something else (remove ornaments)

·         Bible + Something else (devotion sermons)

·         Grace + Something else (striving holy life)

This is danger to Christianity, Jesus said you can do nothing without me (John 15:5) – It includes the leaders and pastors. Many today pose themselves as great in their congregation, without me (pastor) you can do nothing. Just Bible / Gospel / Christ alone can do greater things. We do not need anything to it to flavor the Christian life.

Peter in his second epistle says (1:16-21), “¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Preach CHRIST, The Lord – Nothing else

3. UNDERSTAND THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE (vv. 3-4)

We have an unseen battle for everyone who wants to live for the Lord. The battle is not against flesh and blood but against the god of this age – Satan (Eph 6:12)

This passage clarifies it as the gospel is unveiled to unbelievers – it is by the god of this age, the Satan. He is also named as “ruler of the world” (John 14:30). This struggles we think of very hard but have been already overcame by the Lord. Every time we initiate something for the Lord there will be opposition or struggles to accomplish it because there is an unseen battle going on between God’s people and Satan.

Ephesians 6:10-19 lists about the spiritual weapons that enable the believers to overcome the plans of Satan. First the people of God must overcome the schemes of the evil one so that we can conquer the Satan. It doesn’t mean that we must underestimate the warfare but be prepared to overcome it. 

Above all the leaders must “Be on guard – Stand firm – Be courageous – Be strong in the Lord” (1 Cor. 16:13) not giving up by the “seems to be defeat” situations.

4. HAVE AN ENLIGHTENED HEART ( V.6)

Paul says, “God made His light shine in our hearts.” Enlightenment comes when we are open to the Lord and seek the guidance of the Lord. Many of times pastors and leaders restrain to open their hearts and minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit. the spirit of God is refreshing the minds of people when we are obedient listeners.

It is good to be traditional bondage pastors – who hold on to what their pastors or pastor’s pastors said and taught. God enlightens the heart of His people every day to new ways.

“Everything starts within me.” Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to be.”

Jim Elliott, a missionary to South American tribal groups said, “You cannot give something you do not have.”

The following questions are to be answered from heart,

·         Do I have the touch of God?

·         Do I know and see His power?

·         Do I have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit?

1 John 1:1, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Something that the apostle heard, saw, touched and proclaim it to others.

Only enlightened heart can enlighten others just like a burning candle lights other candles, a tuned guitar can tune other guitars.

Conclusion:

·         Do I live in God’s Grace

·         Do I preach Christ alone?

·         Do I prepare myself for the spiritual warfare?

·         Do I have an enlightened heart?

May God bless you all.

Pastor. S. Asap Singh

Lord’s Prayer is found in two passages Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-13

This prayer is not for mere repetition but has rich meaning in its shift based on relationship towards God and human practices that are different from the Old Testament.

This prayer is not just another prayer to the Old Testament practices. Jews practiced praying three times a day (morning 9 am – third hour; noon 12 pm – sixth hour and evening 3 pm – 9^th hour). We see this practices from David (Ps 55:17; 92:2; 5:3) and Daniel (Dan 6:10) and in the New Testament (Act 2:15; 3:1; 10:9). There was prayer in the synagogue in the absence of the Temple of the Lord.

Disciples understood the value of this prayer which is different from the Jewish prayers so that the disciples asked Jesus “Lord, Teach us to pray.” This prayer Jesus prayed made great impact in the lives of others by means of miracles and wonders.

I observed three unique elements in the “Lord’s Prayer” and examine how it has been reflected in our lives as we had seen the above as theme for a year (2017).

1.      “OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN” (Mat 6:9)

God is in Heaven – A Transcendent God, as for as the Jewish belief, the name of the LORD is most sacred (YHWH) – people never pronounce the name neither writes it in an unworthy manner. The Lord is transcendent God that human beings can never match His holiness neither utter His name. The scribes who copied the scriptures do not use the name YHWH for God rather they used as “Elohim” to refer God – Even to write that they have to wash their pens that they are using, and then they will be washing again to write the other words of the scripture. Everybody who pronounces that name in blasphemy shall be put to death.

Jews regarded that name so high that they fail to realize that the Lord is their father. There are expressions about God as Shepherd, Almighty, Creator, Holy …etc. Even though God calls His people as his children but nobody in the Old Testament called God as their Father. The concept of God’s imminence was found in some passages like Deut 4:7 and Ps 145:18 – God is near to the broken hearted and God’s people are privileged to have God closer to them.

Jesus identified that transcendent God as “Our Father” who is accessible (Imminent – close to you). The prayer Jesus taught gets higher importance because the prayer addressed to God as “OUR FATHER” (in Greek Abba) – He is not only a father to Jesus but also everyone of us. That puts us as believers equally importance before God. We should treat everyone as brothers and sisters in Christ (John 1:14). We can approach God anytime for any of our needs.

Challenge: Think of those who feel lonely, rejected, isolated and in need of Father’s Love – What are you going to do for them?

Question: Since God as our Father what are the advantages you have?

2.      “YOUR KINGDOM COME” (Mat 6:10)

There was no idea of “Kingdom of God” found in the Old Testament. Kingdom is something a domain under the ruling of a King. God portrayed as the King of the universe – He is the sovereign ruler of the earth – the establishment of the Kingdom concept found in the New Testament.

When an evil king/ruler rules the nation the nation get ruined, poverty increase, bribe, scandal, crime and all evil things happen because the ruler is evil. On the contrary God’s Kingdom is of God is filled with positive impact on the people. (Romans 14: 18) “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus came not to establish a Church but to establish His Kingdom (God’s Kingdom) we see lot of verses in the gospels where Jesus says to establish His kingdom…

Matthew 10:7-8, “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”

Luke 4:43, “But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.””

Luke 10:9, “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”

John 18:36, “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.””

The disciples misunderstood the teaching of Jesus as Kingdom of God as an earthly Kingdom, we find it in

Acts 1: 3, 6 “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

v. 6, “Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?””

Jesus responded about the spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God – God rules the heart of the people. The hindrances to His rule to be removed from the hearts to prepare the way. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers and drove demons (Mat 10:8) because the Kingdom of God is perfect which do not have sick, death, diseases, demons…etc. Jesus gave the foretaste of the Kingdom of God. In God’s kingdom material possessions cannot help (Mat 10:9).

The Kingdom of God is HUGE than the CHURCH aspect. Church gives spiritual importance where as the kingdom of God gives holistic growth of a person under the leadership of our Lord Jesus Christ. It must be started from our hearts – examine what are the things in my life that are NOT under God’s reign? Our prayer should be “Let Your Kingdom Come”

Challenge: Is your aim to establish your Kingdom / your church OR the Kingdom of God – Because God’s Kingdom is huge in size?

Question: Since God’s Kingdom is huge – What practice should I do/change to bring the Kingdom of God in my society?

3.      “FORGIVE OUR SINS – AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US” (Mat 6:12)

We all wanted to be forgiven by God for all our short comings (KJV says forgive our debts – not only the financial debts but referring all short comings) but not ready to forgive the mistakes of others??

Forgiveness of man to man is hard thing to find in the Old Testament – God in his nature forgives the mistakes of the people – or covering the sins of the people. It was not the specific command given in the Old Testament to forgive others but we see the revenge approach (Eye for eye – Tooth for tooth – Ex. 21:24).

Forgiveness is lacking everywhere – that leads to suicide and revenge. God calls us for forgiveness, when you forgive others you will be forgiven as well. We see the parable of Jesus in Matt 18:21-35 about forgiveness of God must lead to forgiveness of mankind. The preceding verses after the Lord’s Prayer say, “If you don’t forgive of other’s mistakes you will not be forgiven as well” (Mat 6:14-15)

Challenge: Am I able to forgive others of their sins/mistakes? What are the stumbling blocks in my life that prevent me to forgive others? As you say “Lord teach me to pray” did you also pray “Lord help me to forgive others?” (Eph 4:32; Col 3:13)

Question: What are the qualifications required for forgiving others in general?

Three Questions for Discussions (Group Discussion)

1. God as our Father what are the advantages you have?
2. God’s Kingdom is huge – What practice should I do/change to bring the Kingdom of God in my society?
3. What are the qualifications required for forgiving others in general?

Matt 28:6, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Resurrection of Jesus is the key doctrine in Christian faith. Paul says about it as “If Christ has not risen, our preaching is vain.” (I Cor. 15:14). But throughout the history of humanity people tend to refute the resurrection of Christ more than any other doctrines in Christian faith. Why it is hard to digest, here are few reasons…

• Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection or life after death (Act 23:8; Mat 22:23-33)
• No evidence from people in human history other than Christ
• Christ’s resurrection account differ in all four gospels
• The post resurrection appearances of Christ to only familiar people whom Jesus had relations during his ministry (Not to Pilate or the high priest…)

The above reasons led people to conceive false theories on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will look into few of them and find refutation from the word of God.

1.      Swoon (Resuscitation) Theory

The theory says, the disciple saw the fainted (swooned) Jesus on the cross. In fact He did not die on the cross at all. The tomb in its pleasant healing climate healed Jesus, after few days Jesus regained his strength back and came out of the tomb.

Refutations:

• The death of Jesus was confirmed by Roman soldiers and then handed over to the disciples. Romans would never let a person removed undying.
• Linen wrappings were unwrapped in the tomb – Jesus would not have escaped in the unwrapped linen bondage. (Mat 28:6-8)
• Physical condition of Jesus after cruel beating, crucifixion and hours of hanging would never let anyone to walk after three days.
• Therefore the resurrection is true it is not resuscitation.

2.      Hallucination (Ghost) Theory

The theory says, “The post resurrection appearances were only supposed appearances (subjection visions), not the physical resurrection because it never happened.”

Refutations:

·         Thomas had to touch and confirm the physical resurrection of Jesus (John 20:27)

·         Disciples initially thought Jesus was a ghost (Luke 24:37)

·         How do more than 500 people can see a ghost during his ascension (I Cor. 15:6)

3.      Impersonation Theory

The theory says, “The post resurrection appearance said in the scriptures are not Christ at all, someone with the identical face represented Christ after his death. That is why in some cases the disciples were not able to recognize Jesus.”

Refutation:

· The disciples were with Jesus for more than 3 years they could easily identify a stranger replacing Jesus.

·  Thomas has to put his finger in the wounds of the cross (John 20:27)

·  In all occasions disciples were able to accept Jesus because of their intimacy.

4.      Theft The Body Theory

The theory says, “The disciples of Christ had stolen the body of Christ and proclaimed that He is risen.”

Refutation:

· That was the statement made by Roman soldiers to escape from execution. They paid money to affirm this claim as the scripture says (Mat 28:13)

·  The guards outside the tomb were to watch it over for three days to disclaim the words of Jesus – It is impossible to steal the body from their security.

·  Huge stone was placed in the entrance of the tomb.

· The ladies burial preparation near the tomb and angel’s appearance (Mark 16:1-4)

5.      Wrong Tomb Theory

The theory says, “The disciples did not know the original tomb where Jesus was buried, so they went in search of a wrong tomb. Therefore they were not able to find the body of Christ.”

Refutation:

· The disciples loved Jesus and it is impossible to find him in a wrong tomb after three days

·  The tomb was brand new – it is not possible to go into a wrong tomb.

What is the Evidence of Resurrection?

 

Resurrection of Jesus from all through the history brought anger and anxiety to the rulers and people (Act 4:1-3). The above theories and refutations are not just the soul reasons to prove the resurrection of Jesus. The disciples after witnessing Jesus resurrection were able to be strong witness for Christ (Act 4:31), who were once feeble.

Act 2:23-24 and Act 4:10 Peter boldly confessed that it is because of the resurrection of Christ people are healed from sickness and saved from sin and darkness. Peter even quoted after experiencing this power from above "God has raised this Jesus to Life, to which we are all witnesses" (Act 2:32) and “You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact.” (Act 3:15).

Paul was so firm in his faith as he writes the resurrection chapter 1 Corinthians 15:13-15. We read some important verses here, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God...”

Resurrection of Jesus is so important in Christian faith, preaching and practices. We believe that we will one day raise like Christ with the resurrected, incorruptible and eternal bodies to live with him forever.

Today we the believers are the witnesses of Christ’s resurrection – Must share this fact to heal and save people who are in bondages. In fact the above theories are man made theories, but the power of God in us can prove the resurrection of Christ more clearly than any refutation we provide for. May God strengthen and empower us to share this good news to all people in this resurrection day.

WE PROVE CHRIST IS ALIVE…

WE ARE THE WITNESSES OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION

AMEN.