Good Morning Friends,
“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called
to him those he wanted, and they came to him.
He appointed twelve — designating them apostles-that they might be with
him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive
out demons. These are the twelve he
appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his
brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder);
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus,
Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” (Mark 3:13-19)
What a privilege it would have been to be
chosen by Jesus like the twelve were.
Jesus chose them for three things:
First, to be with Him. More than anything else, the choosing of the
twelve was about relationship. Jesus
wanted to know them and He wanted them to know Him. He wanted to spend time with them. God has always been interested in
relationship. He was with Adam and Eve
in the Garden of Eden. Relationship was
a significant part of the stories of Abraham, Moses, and David and others. And more than anything else, relationship is
what God wants from us. He wants to know
us and for us to know Him.
Second, to send them to preach. A relationship with God is never just about
God and the person. God is always
interested in working through a person with whom He has relationship to draw
others into relationship with Him, too.
That was certainly true of the apostles as Jesus sent them out to preach
while He was still with them and then sent them out to the world after He ascended
to heaven. That’s still true about our
relationship with God – He still wants to send those who have relationship with
Him out to draw others toward Him.
Third, to give them authority. The authority that Jesus gave the apostles
wasn’t just authority in a human organization – it was authority in the spirit
world. They had authority over
demons! And even though none of us is an
apostle and so we don’t have the authority that they were given – still we are
promised that even now we reign with Jesus in spiritual realms and will for
eternity.
It would have been a privilege to live in the
days Jesus walked the earth and to have by Him as one of the twelve. And it’s still a privilege to live in the
days that we do – and to be chosen like we are to know Him, serve Him, and
reign with Him.
What a privilege!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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