1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,080 I want to let you know, if you're a grade 12 student, 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,760 Pastor Kirk is doing something in the prayer room right now for 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,280 grade 12 students, just helping them get prepped for what the 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,160 next season of life brings. And so if you want to join him 5 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:14,120 there, we'd love to have you join. 6 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:15,800 I'm happy to have you stay here too. 7 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:18,360 That's great. But if you want to go over and 8 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,160 join Pastor Kirk in the prayer room, he'd love to see you. 9 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,640 It seems like like a recurring theme over the last few months 10 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,400 is that I have been compelled to share some of my nerdy 11 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,120 tendencies. And I'm going to give another 12 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:39,120 nerd confession this morning. For 25 years I have pretended 13 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:43,080 that I am the GM of a make believe baseball team. 14 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:52,920 I play fantasy baseball and football and basketball, and if 15 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,600 you don't know what fantasy sports really is, here's how 16 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,280 nerdy it is. It's a bunch of guys who usually 17 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,080 are well past their own peak of playing any type of sport, 18 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:08,440 picking groups of Major League players that are going to form 19 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:14,360 their team, and it's all based on the stats that they acquire. 20 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:18,160 Playing a real game for your fantasy game and if you acquire 21 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,880 the most stats and the most categories, then Long story 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:26,480 short is you win. There is no way to make that 23 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,080 sound cool. There just is no way. 24 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,800 And you're probably wondering, why am I eating up your time 25 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,520 with this unbelievably useless bit of information? 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,120 What is anything that you just said have to do with the message 27 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:42,720 this morning? Well, let's see. 28 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,880 Turn with me to Luke chapter 6 verse 12. 29 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:49,040 You're using some of the Bibles that are found under the chairs 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:54,640 here in the auditorium. It's on page 914 as you flip 31 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:56,120 over there. I'm going to recap where we've 32 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:00,280 been because this is the last message in this section of Luke 33 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,040 that we've called follow. And so you go back and you 34 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:08,680 remember the very first week we saw Jesus calling Peter and a 35 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,160 bunch of his fisherman friends to become fishers of men. 36 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,240 That's not fisherman's friend. That's not what I said. 37 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,640 Don't pull out a lozenge. He called a bunch of fishermen 38 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:21,520 to follow him. And then a little bit farther 39 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,000 on, we get this call of a guy by the name of Levi, who we also 40 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,560 known as Matthew, who is a tax collector. 41 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,440 And he invites him to begin to follow him. 42 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:38,120 And this whole kind of section is really about an invitation to 43 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,640 follow Jesus. It's a look at the way that he 44 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:45,920 lives life and an invitation to enter into the rhythms of life 45 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,640 that he calls us into. And this morning it brings this 46 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:56,080 section to a conclusion where we have Jesus calling out amongst 47 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,960 all of these people who have begin begun to follow him. 48 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,840 And there's not just those group, but there's hundreds of 49 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,280 people now following Jesus around and thousands often when 50 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,200 he speaks. And out of this, he's going to 51 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:15,600 call 12 guys to become what we know as the 12 apostles and he's 52 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,240 going to have a specific mission for them. 53 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:30,120 Jesus is choosing his roster, his team, and it's not exactly a 54 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,160 fantasy group of players is what we're going to see as we go in 55 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,640 this morning. And I want to look at three 56 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:38,360 things as we examine this passage. 57 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,480 The 1st is this. What is Jesus doing as he 58 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,520 selects these 12 apostles? Why is he doing this? 59 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:52,960 The second thing is, how does he go about making his choice, 60 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:59,400 choosing his draft picks? And the third, who is it that he 61 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,160 chooses? Who are these guys? 62 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,120 What do we know about them? What can we learn from them? 63 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,160 And so let's read this passage together. 64 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,800 During those days he went out to the mountain to pray, and he 65 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,360 spent all night in prayer to God. 66 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,680 When daylight came, he summoned his disciples and he chose 12 of 67 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,360 them, whom he also named apostles. 68 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:31,480 Simon, whom he also named Peter and Andrew, his brother James 69 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:36,440 and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas. 70 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:42,240 James, the son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot Judas, 71 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,760 the son of James and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 72 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:53,200 What I need to understand is this moment that's happening 73 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,720 right here. This is a big moment, and I'm 74 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:03,360 talking like a historically big, huge moment. 75 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:11,400 Jesus has come for a purpose. He's come to live and die so 76 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:16,200 that we might live, it says during those days. 77 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,880 What's he talking about? During what days? 78 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:22,120 Well, remember, we've been tracking through and there's 79 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,440 been this growing tension with this group called the Pharisees. 80 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,960 And so this is during those days where the tension and the 81 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:38,880 animosity has built to a peak. During those days where it is 82 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:45,200 becoming clear that the days that Jesus haves left are going 83 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:51,920 to be coming to an end. Jesus has come to teach people 84 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,440 about God. He show. 85 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,000 He's come to show them God because he's come to show them 86 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,640 himself and he is God. He's come to show them that He's 87 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:06,600 at the center of this entire reality. 88 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:13,960 This entire story of redemption is about Him in Luke 2425 to 27. 89 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,080 We see this as He walks with the disciples after He's risen from 90 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,080 the dead. It says he said to them, how 91 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,680 foolish you are, how slow to believe all that the prophets 92 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,920 have spoken. Wasn't it necessary for the 93 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,840 Messiah to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? 94 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:34,760 And then listen to this. Then beginning with Moses and 95 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,440 all the prophets, He interpreted for them the things concerning 96 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,440 himself in all the scriptures. What Jesus is fundamentally 97 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,920 saying there is the Bible. It was all about me, This whole 98 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,360 thing, the way of redemption. I'm it. 99 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:58,440 He has come so that God could once again be in right 100 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,600 relationship with human beings now and forever. 101 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:08,880 And Jesus in this moment has to select the group who are going 102 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:13,920 to carry forward his mission and message after his death. 103 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:20,360 See the the word apostle, it literally means sent with a 104 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:26,400 mission and message. These are going to be the guys 105 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:33,520 who make sure that the world hears about who Jesus is, what 106 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:38,920 he taught, and most importantly, what he did on the cross to 107 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:46,320 rescue and redeem us. These are the guys who, when we 108 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:52,000 come to Matthew 28 and we get the Great Commission, go into 109 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,840 all the world and make disciples. 110 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,960 It's the, it's eleven of these 12. 111 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,520 So all of them minus Judas, who are there as the direct 112 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,760 recipients of this mission and commandment. 113 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:09,960 They're the guys who formed the foundation of the church. 114 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,040 If they're not there, we're not here. 115 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:17,760 And and you may say, well, what does that have to do? 116 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:19,920 I'm, I mean, I mean, I'm not even really a Christian. 117 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,000 I'll tell you that even if you're not a Christian, no 118 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:28,960 matter what your personal belief in Jesus is, these men have 119 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,120 played a critical role in shaping your life. 120 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:34,559 Love this quote from Tom Holland. 121 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,240 He wrote a book called Dominion that explored the impact of 122 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,440 Christianity and how it's ultimately radically transformed 123 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,520 and created the Western world and Western culture as we know 124 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,160 it. He says people in the West, even 125 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,760 those who may imagine they have emancipated themselves from 126 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,400 Christian belief, in fact are shot through with Christian 127 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,280 assumptions about almost everything. 128 00:08:59,560 --> 00:09:02,440 All of us in the West are a goldfish. 129 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,440 The water that we swim in is Christianity. 130 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:13,920 See, today, if you believe that human beings have innate value 131 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,960 and worth just because they're humans, you believe that because 132 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,040 these men carried forward the mission, mission and message of 133 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,000 Jesus. If you believe that human rights 134 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:30,320 matter, if you believe in the ideal of equality, it's because 135 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,880 of this moment and these men who were chosen. 136 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,000 If you believe that there's a need for the strong to care for 137 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,600 the weak, that comes out of Christian teaching and only 138 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,840 Christian teaching. The value of humility, of 139 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,360 service, of sacrifice, of charity. 140 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,160 Those are innately Christian ideals. 141 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:55,640 If you believe that leaders should serve the people they 142 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,400 lead, not just dominate them, you owe that to the men that 143 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,840 Jesus will choose in this moment. 144 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,840 If you think that forgiveness is a virtue, if you believe in a 145 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,800 justice system that isn't just about retribution but is also 146 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,920 about rehabilitation, that's a Christian understanding and 147 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:20,360 belief. You believe this because these 148 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,920 men were faithful in the mission that God will grant them through 149 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,560 Jesus to carry forward his mission and message. 150 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:33,920 And most fundamentally because the power of new life through 151 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:40,080 Christ was made known and people from all the days from the 152 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:43,080 beginning of the church to now have been transformed by the 153 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,640 Holy Spirit to carry that power forward into the world. 154 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,600 At the heart of Christianity is this truth. 155 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,400 God became man. He suffered a terrible death, 156 00:10:55,400 --> 00:11:01,880 more terrible than you and I can imagine, in order to redeem and 157 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,520 restore humanity, whom he created into a right 158 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,960 relationship with him. That message, that's the message 159 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,640 that has transformed my life. That's the message that has. 160 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,200 It's the reason why I'm here this morning. 161 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,800 It's the reason I do what I do. It's the the reason why so many 162 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:20,960 of you are here this morning. It's the message that's 163 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:25,240 transformed your life, this message, its implications, the 164 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:30,080 power that has been unleashed through the mission and message 165 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,480 that would go forward. It transforms individuals, it 166 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,960 transforms families, it transforms societies, it 167 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:41,160 transforms cities and cultures, and it can transform the world. 168 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:49,360 And Jesus is selecting the individuals that are going to 169 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:54,360 carry forward that mission and message into the world when he 170 00:11:54,360 --> 00:12:00,760 departs from this world. That's what Jesus is doing as he 171 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:02,680 selects these. So you see why this is a big 172 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:06,160 deal. Your life is different because 173 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:11,280 of this moment. So back to fantasy baseball. 174 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,160 How do you decide? How do you pick a team? 175 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,520 Right when I, when I'm choosing the players that I, I'm going to 176 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:24,640 pick, I do a lot of research. I used to buy magazines because 177 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:29,000 that's how old I am. Now I do it on the Internet and 178 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,280 it's way easier. And someday I'll just ask 179 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:35,960 ChatGPT to pick my team for me. I'm sure you, you figure out 180 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:41,160 what you need on the team. You, you look and you prioritize 181 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,920 and, and for most of the decisions that we make, that's 182 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,280 what we do. We, we think and we, we put our 183 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,760 best efforts into it and we prioritize. 184 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,600 We try to use our wisdom and our smarts, whether that's choosing 185 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,880 a school that you're going to go to a college or university, or 186 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,640 whether it's weighing different job opportunities and career 187 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,960 paths or picking the home or the neighborhood that you're going 188 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:07,600 to live in. If you're like me, when you're 189 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,840 selecting any type of big purchase, you just, we watch all 190 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,160 the YouTube videos and the shorts and you read the stuff so 191 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,760 you can make the best purchase possible. 192 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,240 And some of you just ask your buddy who who doesn't know 193 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:23,600 anything about anything and ask him what you should do. 194 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,080 We base our decisions on our priorities and that's what Jesus 195 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,240 does here. Jesus bases his decision on 196 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:37,360 prayer because pleasing the Father was his first priority. 197 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,320 It says during those days, he went out to the mountain to pray 198 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,520 and he spent all night in prayer to God. 199 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,960 And this is not the first time that we're encountering Jesus 200 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:49,720 praying in the book of Luke, right? 201 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:54,920 I mean, if you remember back, Jesus's entire ministry starts 202 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,520 with 40 days of prayer and fasting. 203 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:02,960 This is the foundation on which Jesus builds his life and 204 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,800 ministry. In Luke 516 we read that he 205 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:13,160 often withdrew to pray. One of the constant markers of 206 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:19,560 Jesus life and ministry is a posture of prayer, a devotion to 207 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:26,920 hearing the will of the Father in all times, but particularly 208 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,280 in pivotal moments. I want to ask you, where does 209 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,560 prayer fit into your decision making matrix? 210 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:42,160 Is prayer an anchor or an afterthought? 211 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:50,480 Is prayer your foundation or is it a nice finishing touch when 212 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,360 you've kind of worked everything out and then you can ask God to 213 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,480 bless the thing you've already decided upon? 214 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:01,160 I'm going to confess myself. There have been a way too many 215 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:06,040 times, including some really big things, where instead of going 216 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,000 to prayer to figure out the Father's will, I've gone to 217 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,320 prayer in order to ask the Father to bless my will. 218 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:18,800 The story of church planting and how Amanda and I started into 219 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:23,280 the process of what ultimately became Forward Kitchener here. 220 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:26,600 When God laid on our hearts that He was calling us to plant to 221 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:32,600 church, I started to think as I do, OK, let me just begin to 222 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,160 reason this out. What would this look like when, 223 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,040 you know, we're in Oakville right now? 224 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,160 We know a lot of people here. You know, I think we've we've 225 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,600 got people who have some resources who could help us in 226 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,680 this city's growing like crazy. And so I sit down to meet with 227 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,880 the guy who's the head of our regional church planting. 228 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,360 And he says, have you thought about where you are going to 229 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,320 plant a church? And we said, yeah, you know 230 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:58,440 what? We just thought it would make 231 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:03,400 sense to do it here in Oakville. And then he said, have you 232 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,040 prayed about where you would go plant to church? 233 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:12,520 And I said, right, that's something that I should do. 234 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:15,560 You know, we entered into a season of prayer. 235 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,800 And the long story that leads to that moment is that we ended up 236 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:20,960 here and planting forward Kitchener. 237 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,640 But that was never going to be my plan. 238 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:31,880 So easy to fall into the reality of not having prayer is our 239 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:38,520 priority, and prayer or our lack of it does reveal priorities. 240 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:45,440 And Jesus starts with prayer because what is most important 241 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:46,840 to him is the will of the Father. 242 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,600 We'll see this later on in the garden as he's about to go to 243 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:56,200 the cross and He knows what's coming in Luke 2242. 244 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,840 He prays this Father, if you're willing, would you take this cup 245 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,599 from me? Nevertheless, not my will, but 246 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:11,200 yours be done. There's a big, big difference 247 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:16,680 between praying prayers that say, Father, bless my will and 248 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,640 Father, your will be done. And it's so easy to fall into 249 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:24,839 prayer as an afterthought because what we're really most 250 00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:27,599 interested in is accomplishing our goals, our agenda, our 251 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:32,040 priorities. But do we ask God, what do you 252 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:37,400 want? As you consider maybe you're in 253 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,440 a spot where you're single or you're dating somebody you 254 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,680 consider who God would have you marry is is your hearts cry 255 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:48,360 consistently. Lord, show me who you have for 256 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,320 me. Lord, show me if you have 257 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,840 someone for me as you, as you consider where to live and where 258 00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:00,000 to work and where to go to school, is that a foundation of 259 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:04,400 prayer when you're on your knees asking the Lord to reveal these 260 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,520 things? Or is it a finishing touch where 261 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:10,160 after you've made all your decisions and plotted out all 262 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,040 your strategies, you ask God to bless what you've already 263 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,000 decided? As you think about your 264 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,320 calendar, how you invest your time, as you think about your 265 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,200 bank account, how you invest your money, as you think about 266 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,800 your retirement, is prayer. The priority is at the 267 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:33,040 foundation. It doesn't just reveal our 268 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,200 priorities, though. Prayer, or our lack of it, 269 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,840 reveals where we believe the power lies. 270 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:47,200 Jesus is not spending all night in prayer at this point because 271 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,600 he's uncertain. He's spending all night in 272 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:56,840 prayer because he's dependent. He knows where the power lies. 273 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,920 See, if I were Jesus and I was making a big decision, the last 274 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:06,160 thing I'm doing is staying up all night if I can avoid it, 275 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,400 because I'm, I'm a prioritize a good sleep because I think the 276 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,000 best thing that I could have going into a big decision is a 277 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:20,280 clear mind. But knowing the mind of God is a 278 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:22,240 lot more powerful than having a clear mind. 279 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:30,000 And the more critical a decision is, the less you can afford not 280 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:35,040 to be praying about it. When when critical decisions 281 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:40,120 drive you to work harder, to try harder, to think harder, and to 282 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:42,760 pray less, you're not going to make the right decisions. 283 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:49,400 Don't get me wrong, we ought to give our best to God. 284 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:54,680 So I, I, I'm all for those of you who love a good pros and 285 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:59,720 cons list, go for it. Do it, sort it out, research, 286 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:06,120 use all the giftings that God has given to you, But always 287 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:13,000 remember the best that you've got will never end up as the 288 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,400 best that God's got unless you give it to God. 289 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:23,760 John Bunyan said this. You can do more than pray after 290 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:29,040 you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have 291 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:32,520 prayed. Yes, God wants you to do more 292 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,120 than pray, but you can't do that till you prayed first. 293 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,600 Prayer is not a substitute for work, or for thinking, or for 294 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:42,920 watching, or for suffering or giving. 295 00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:46,840 Prayer is a support for all of that. 296 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,480 So Jesus first selects A-Team that's going to carry forward 297 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,600 the most important mission and message in the world. 298 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,440 Then he goes about praying and making prayer the cornerstone of 299 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:03,600 this decision as he chooses, because the Father's will is his 300 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,440 priority. Now, who does he end up 301 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:10,680 choosing? Simon, whom he also named Peter 302 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,280 and Andrew, his brother James and John, Philip and 303 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:19,680 Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas. James the son of Alpheus, and 304 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,000 Simon called the Zealot Judas, the son of James and Judas 305 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:31,720 Iscariot, who became a traitor. So other than a couple different 306 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,240 James's and a couple different Judas's, what do we know about 307 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,280 this? First, just notice the fact that 308 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:43,560 Jesus chooses names. They could have just wrote, 309 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:49,320 Jesus chose 12 individuals, but we get their names because they 310 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,240 are individuals. I mean, we live in this world 311 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:57,400 that reduces people to numbers and statistics and metrics all 312 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,240 the time. This is such a refreshing 313 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:04,160 reminder that God knows people by name, that he cares about 314 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,480 individuals. He cares about you as an 315 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:10,520 individual. We know a little bit about the 316 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,880 employment background of some of these characters. 317 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:18,760 So we know that Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen 318 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:21,800 who Jesus called to be fishers of men. 319 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:27,360 We know that Matthew, as we saw a few weeks ago, he's a tax 320 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:31,640 collector. We find out here that Simon is 321 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:36,080 called the Zealot, and we happen to know that Zealots at the 322 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,640 time, they were a group of people who were political 323 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:43,120 activists and they were active against Rome. 324 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:50,080 They, they, they were doing all in their power to get Rome out 325 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:55,560 of the promised land. And so do you see the contrast 326 00:22:55,560 --> 00:23:00,640 there is that you have, on one hand, Matthew, who was in line 327 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,320 and in league with the Roman government, working on their 328 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:09,440 behest and behalf, and you have Simon, who is vehemently against 329 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:13,640 the Roman government. The others, we don't really get 330 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:15,680 a record of what they did beforehand. 331 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,560 In the Bible. You get a picture as you meet 332 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,320 some of these characters of very different personalities. 333 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:29,520 So you got a guy like Peter, very outspoken, impulsive. 334 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:34,440 He's the guy who's always leaping before he looks, 335 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:39,840 sticking his foot in his mouth. Then you got a guy like Thomas 336 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:45,640 who's a skeptic, right? I won't believe that it's Jesus 337 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,200 and that he's risen from the dead until I can touch the 338 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:54,400 wounds myself. You have John, who as we go 339 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,800 through his reading, it's apparent he's a thoughtful guy. 340 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,840 He's a deep thinker. He's, he's got a he's got a deep 341 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:10,960 well of emotion in his soul. We can tell that Matthew is a 342 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,640 guy who apparently had a ton of contacts and was a great 343 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:16,960 networker, had lots of people around him. 344 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:21,160 Some of these guys, they are well known. 345 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,040 Others, this is all we hear about them like this is it. 346 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:29,760 I'm, I'm telling you, these are some of the most important men 347 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,000 in the world in human history. And yet the only thing we know 348 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,600 about some of these individuals is their name. 349 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:44,680 What they have on common is that on their own, there was nothing 350 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:48,040 notable about them. There was nothing that would 351 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,800 make you or I want to choose them for our team. 352 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,920 Like, we got pick of the litter. Yeah, first round picks. 353 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,160 None of these guys are first round picks. 354 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,400 At best, they're like round 25, I got to pick somebody and I'm 355 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:07,080 going to throw a dart. None of them were part of the 356 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,800 religious elite, hadn't had the religious training and 357 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,080 upbringing that the Creme de la Creme would have had. 358 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:18,720 None of none of them are people of reputation or or stature in 359 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,840 the world. One of them isn't even really 360 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:28,920 one of them. He's going to be a betrayer, and 361 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,280 ultimately he gets replaced by another apostle when we come to 362 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,200 Acts one. But guess what, these men 363 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,920 excluding Judas because of their faithfulness to the calling that 364 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,320 God gives them, the message that they were to take out. 365 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,400 Do you know that these guys get this? 366 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:51,040 They have an eternal tribute in glory for all time. 367 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,280 Because if you flip to Revelation 2114, you go to the 368 00:25:54,280 --> 00:26:00,360 end of the story. It says that this new Jerusalem, 369 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:04,920 this new city where God comes down and heaven meets earth, the 370 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:09,760 city wall had 12 foundations, and the 12 names of the 12 371 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,280 apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations. 372 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,680 You may not know who they are today, but if you're going to 373 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,280 spend eternity in heaven, you're going to see their name every 374 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:23,200 day. That's what they got. 375 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:31,720 This also is not an exception to how God makes his calling, that 376 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,520 he chooses a bunch of guys that we wouldn't choose. 377 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,200 Look at First Corinthians one, we were just there and you know, 378 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,600 in the last year or so, we covered this passage. 379 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:45,400 Paul says, where's the one who's wise? 380 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,520 Where's the teacher of the law? Where's the debater of this age? 381 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:52,480 And he's looking around. He's saying they're not in the 382 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,520 church. He didn't pick those guys. 383 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:58,920 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling. 384 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,160 Not many of you were wise from a human perspective. 385 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,160 Not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 386 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,680 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame 387 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:15,120 the wise. God's chosen what is weak in the 388 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:17,240 world to shame the strong. God's chosen what is 389 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,280 insignificant and despised in the world, what's viewed as 390 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:29,000 nothing, to bring to nothing what is viewed as something so 391 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,760 that no one may boast in his presence. 392 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,360 Title. This morning's message was who 393 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:37,720 Jesus calls. The answer is this. 394 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,280 And Jesus calls the unqualified, the unexpected, the 395 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,200 undereducated, the unlikely and the overlooked. 396 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:50,400 That's what Jesus calls the ones who may never have been at the 397 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,400 top of any headhunters list or recruiting list. 398 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,640 The ones who assume they'd be the last ones to be picked. 399 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:01,640 And if you and I are choosing the team to change the world, 400 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:06,160 this isn't it. But Jesus chooses them not based 401 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,080 on their resume, but based on their readiness to follow. 402 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:11,160 Because that's how Jesus chooses. 403 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:17,680 That's still how he chooses. If you're out there today you 404 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:27,000 think just can never use me, my resume, it would go in the 405 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,320 circular file as soon as Jesus saw it. 406 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,120 If that's where you're at, I would suggest you you may be in 407 00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:38,040 the best spot to be picked and used by Jesus if I'm reading my 408 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:43,560 Bible right? Because it's not about you, it's 409 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:47,480 about him. Did you see what Paul said there 410 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,080 at the end of that section in First Corinthians? 411 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:55,560 Why does he choose this way? So that no one may boast in his 412 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,800 presence. Because it's not about our 413 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:02,880 glory, it's about His glory. Jesus doesn't call the 414 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,080 qualified, He qualifies the called. 415 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,960 The church wasn't built on perfection, it was built on 416 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:15,640 obedience, wasn't built by professionals, it was built by 417 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:21,120 followers. And if he could use them, then 418 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:27,280 the great news is he can use us. He wants to call you to what 419 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:32,840 those first 12 were called to. Listen to Mark's version of 420 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:37,240 this. In the Gospel of Mark, he 421 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,680 records this moment. He says he appointed 12, whom he 422 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:47,640 also named apostles, to be with him to send them out to preach. 423 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,760 Why don't you notice that first word He calls them to be with 424 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:56,920 him. The first calling of Jesus is to 425 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:01,680 be with him. These are individuals not just 426 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:05,520 that Jesus was going to teach, but that he was going to be 427 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,560 with. They were going to live life on 428 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,600 life with him. He was going to be in front of 429 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:14,360 them. They were going to see how He 430 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:19,280 lived, not just how He taught. He was going to invest in them. 431 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:24,160 Jesus, first of all, he's calling us to be with Him. 432 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:35,000 He's calling you personally, specifically by name, because He 433 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,120 doesn't just call types, He calls names. 434 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:44,080 What do you need to know in order to direct other people to 435 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:48,280 Jesus? One thing, Jesus, that's all you 436 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,200 need. What? 437 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,440 What do you need in order for the world to be changed? 438 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:57,640 Well, if I look at the qualifications and gifting of 439 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,120 this group, not much. You just need Jesus. 440 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,320 Jesus is calling you and he's calling you to be with him and 441 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:07,120 then to take his message to the world. 442 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:13,320 If you've been around here at Forward, you better know this, 443 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:19,480 that we as a church, our mission, we exist to make 444 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,440 disciples of Jesus who love God, love others, and serve the 445 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,600 world. That's why we do what we do. 446 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:31,160 All of it, every bit of it is about that Jesus is calling you 447 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:39,680 to be a part of that, Of calling others to know Jesus, of calling 448 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:45,560 others to be transformed by Jesus, to grow in loving God and 449 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,680 loving others and serving the world. 450 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:53,040 To give your whole life to it, To find life in Him and find 451 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:57,000 what truly matters. And He doesn't need you to be 452 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:01,120 impressive. He needs you to be available. 453 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:14,720 And when you fail, and you and I will fail, remember this when 454 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:16,880 Jesus disciples failed, Jesus remains faithful. 455 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:24,680 Look at the guys that he chose. Jesus chooses guys like Peter 456 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:30,720 who denied, Thomas who doubted, Judas who betrayed. 457 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,080 But Jesus still went to the cross for them. 458 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:42,800 He goes to the cross for us. Bunch of misfits, bunch of 459 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:46,760 people whose resumes don't measure up, bunch of people who 460 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:48,840 will fail even after he chooses us. 461 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,360 Because the gospel isn't about what we do for him. 462 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,480 The gospel is about what Jesus did for us. 463 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:03,000 Who does Jesus call? He's calling you. 464 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:08,880 He's calling me. We going to pick up the phone? 465 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:11,960 Heed the call. That's the question. 466 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:22,260 Let's pray. Father, thank you for choosing 467 00:33:22,260 --> 00:33:27,500 these guys, for giving us hope that you could use us. 468 00:33:30,060 --> 00:33:34,620 God, thanks for extending an invitation for us to be with 469 00:33:34,700 --> 00:33:39,100 you. Lord, I pray that if there's any 470 00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:42,460 here today who have not yet received that initial invitation 471 00:33:42,460 --> 00:33:48,200 to be with you, to be with you through what Jesus has done on 472 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:55,760 the cross, to trust in his atoning sacrifice, His blood 473 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:59,800 poured out for the forgiveness of our sins on the cross, that 474 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,880 he did what we couldn't do, that today would be the day they 475 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,240 would receive that invitation to be with you. 476 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:11,760 And I'm praying for all of us. Maybe some of us have wandered a 477 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:17,320 little bit away. I started to think that after 478 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:19,480 the things that we've done, Jesus wouldn't really want to be 479 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,280 with us. I pray that if there's anyone 480 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:25,400 here who's in that space today, they'd hear fresh and anew again 481 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:27,800 that Jesus wants to be with them. 482 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:31,480 He's still waiting, their arms wide open. 483 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:38,239 Father, thank you for the invitation into the the mission 484 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:44,760 of World Change that you've invited us into a world change 485 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:48,120 that starts with having our world, our lives change in such 486 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:54,480 a way that it radiates out in our families, to our friends, in 487 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:59,720 our neighborhoods. And as Jesus works on us and he 488 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:04,240 works out through us and the world is transformed such a 489 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:08,480 different pattern than the way that we understand power in this 490 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:13,040 world. It is a inside out, up from the 491 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:15,720 bottom to the top type of change. 492 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:20,760 God help us to be changed and be transformed so we can be world 493 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,960 Transformers. And thank you that even when we 494 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:29,080 fail and even when we fall, and we will, you'll remain faithful. 495 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:34,920 You are sufficient. God, we love you, we trust you. 496 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:39,280 Help us to follow you in all our ways and in all our days. 497 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:40,040 Amen.