Following Jesus

Jesus withdrew his disciples to the city and a great crowd followed from Galilee and Judea in Jerusalem and in Umea beyond the Jordan from around Tyre and Sidon the right crowd heard all that he was doing. They came to doing and he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because the crowd less. They crushing three had healed meaning so that all of the diseases pressed surrounding the touching and whenever the unclean spirit sawing, they failed and before him and cried out.

You are the son of God strictly ordered them not to make him known. And he went up on the mountain and called to him, those whom he desired. They call to doing the appointed 12 in the also named apostles that they might be with him. We might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the 12 Simon, whom he gave the name Peter James son of Zebedee John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name though energies that his Sons of thunder. Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew Thomas James son of Althea's and Thaddeus and Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him that with me as we got our Lord in prayer. Heavenly father we come before your throne today with a request Lord that we just asked that you minister to this morning. We pray for my friend and brother call whale who appears to be in the very last days of his life. We ask heavenly father that you be with him and make the transition to heaven via Suite 1. Pray for his wife, Alicia, Lord, that you would comfort her and give her peace that passes all understanding. When father continue to pray for Nicolás as she has discovered that one of the problems that she's dealing with is a horrible case of vertigo. We pray heavenly father that you would give the doctors wisdom and how to help her through this and that is something might be a thing of the past for her heavenly father day we have the privilege of studying the call of Jesus to those who should be or would be the 12 apostles's call is wrapped up into short words. Follow me and was a call to the 12.

It's also called us more there too many in our world today level false sense of security about their salvation. They are convinced that they can claim heaven by just mentally acknowledging the facts of the gospel. I say yes sure I'm saved. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose in the day it father is James the brother Jesus warned us about that when he said in his epistle happily missed in one God, now do is whale the demons also believe in Trimble father. We need more than a demon faith but help us to understand the calling of the gospel message.

May we hear that message today and may we truly follow Jesus. We love you Lord, thank you for your love and goodness to us this in Jesus precious name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. What is sanctification. Sanctification is a process not a one-time event because of the record-high kiosk that means to make holy apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 verse 29, said it this way that we were foreknown and predestined in order that we might be conformed into the image of his son effects. That's what sanctification is. It is God conforming us into the image of Jesus non-count of the picture God like to think in pictures and so when I think about the new Christian the way I picture him as a he's a big block of wood and right there in the center that would is the image of Christ. Sanctification is God removing the rest of the wood and leaving that image of Christ starts off at your salvation God takes is that any wax off big portions of wood. I hate civilians that are like blatant immorality and drunkenness and habitual lying and then as we grow in our faith. Lord begins to deal with other areas.

He takes his woodland knife any whittles away area ascends like jealousy and and bitterness and then as we continue to grow. Lord Texas heavenly Sandpiper and he start sanding down sins, like the fear of man ascends like not having a great enough desire for holiness is all that is taking place were becoming more and more like Jesus and were never going to become perfectly in an image of Christ and in this life because our sin nature is not yet been eradicated and will not be eradicated until we die. Sanctification is the process of God conforming us into the image of Jesus. Now I know way too many professing Christians today who are not very concerned about sanctification.

I don't think it's really important that I think as long as I've been justified, which means that I have been forgiven of my sins and imputed the righteousness of Christ. To me, and my sins have been forgiven, past, present, future have to worry about how live I can do what I want to do.

I can live like I want to do. Sanctification does not matter but that's an absolute lie. If justification is certain, then sanctification. Justification is real and sanctification is certain. Sanctification is not optional. Sanctification is the evidence in your life that true justification has taken place. Nancy Schaffer said it beautifully. He said in sanctification. There are degrees we have said that there are no degrees of justification because the guilt is absolutely gone, but the question of our relationship to our Lord in the present time there are degrees there degrees between different Christians and we must also acknowledge degrees in our personal life at different times. The Christian life is not unbroken inclined plane.

Sometimes it's up sometimes we must all acknowledge. If we are not diluting our sales. It is down while it is not possible to be more or less justified. It is possible to be more or less sanctified. Justification deals with the guilt of sin. Sanctification deals with the power of sin in the Christians lives and they are degrees in this salvation is not just justification and then a blank until death.

God never meant it to be so salvation is a unity of flowing stream from justification through sanctification to glorification as the best way to go about this. I think it's this obey the commands of Jesus to every one of his disciples with two words followed me, followed me following Jesus means obeying his commands and trusting him for power, for wisdom for guidance. Essentially, for life in Matthew chapter 16 verse 24 it was Jesus himself. He said if any man be my disciple living denying sale take up his cross daily and follow me today were looking at Jesus's call to the 12 apostles's call to William and his call to you and me today is the same. Follow me at three points on share with you today.

As we get through this passage in the first one is public acclaim. Look with me and ever. 739, Jesus withdrew his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed him from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and in Umea from the Jordan from around Tyre and Sidon. The great crowd heard all that he was doing.

They came to him, he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd last they crushing.

If you remember from last week Jesus had had a showdown with the Pharisees and Jesus had that made the Pharisees horribly mad because he gave them Scripture to prove that his healing people on the Sabbath was not a sin at all. In fact, it was a very good and very godly thing and then after Jesus did that. He made a statement to.

He said I the Son of Man and Lord of the Sabbath. What was he saying Jesus would say I am the one who gave the Sabbath commandment.

I am the one who gave you the mandate I am creator of heaven and earth.

I am the one who created the earth and the heavens in six days and on the seventh day rested and I gave you that pattern to follow. I am God. There is no other. I am God and there is none like me.

And when Jesus said that the Pharisees were furious and they conspired to killing but this was not God's time for Jesus to be arrested and crucified. So Jesus travels north of the sea.

When people find out where he is. They come from everywhere north, south, east and west. They come there to meet with Jesus, but this is probably the largest prayer that Jesus has dealt with yet and I think it's important to see what's going on as he stated there by the sea. People start pressing the end and with great wisdom, Jesus had put a boat back behind me and he said that both Larry and in the water and if they start coming in where they can crush me off I can get in the boat and protect my life at this time what disciples had already been called to follow Jesus 7-Up and that was Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Nathaniel in Matthew. We look at this passage today. Jesus finishes out the number of 12 because five more of the of the disciples know why was this huge crowd gathering. I wish that I could say to you that they came to hear Jesus preach wanted to hear his message and Emily if they if they heard his message and they would respond to that message by submitting themselves to his Lordship. I'm afraid I can't tell you that's what was going on. They were much more concerned about his miracles than they were.

His message they were concerned about, not their souls there were concerned about their bodies. RC Sproul had some powerful things to say here is that we are like those people. Galilee are prayer request tend to focus mostly on our physical problems and those of others.

We love, of course, God made us physical billions and we see throughout Scripture that God is deeply concerned with the well-being of our bodies. The body is not a mere prison for the sole. It is not something to be despised. As Christians we believe that our bodies will be resurrected reunited to our soul Sunday fruit is good for us to be concerned about the welfare of our bodies and of other people's bodies mutate something when I was sick with pneumonia. I got so many calls from you guys got so many letters so many cards and every one of them you relate to me that you were praying for me that touched my heart and I deeply appreciated. I believe that I healed as a result of your prayers.

So don't ever think that praying for people's physical ailments is somehow shallow or unimportant.

Not a big deal all know it is a big deal price.

It is biblical it is godly and it is right, but our bodies are not as important as our souls. We have a prayer meeting on Wednesday night not take prayer request and some taken those prayer requests. The great majority of them have to do with physical ailments and his work didn't close to the end. There is one young lady who always raises her hand up and she says pastor can we pray for our lost loved ones and when she says that my heart jumped up in my throat. I want to run over there and give her a high five. Only do a little dance. I get excited about that. Yes yes yes pray for physical ailments. Pray even more fervently for the sole so the crowds might not have had the best motives here with the gathered and it's a big prelude. Scripture says that some of them came from Judea around the Jerusalem area.

Some of them came down further south from it. Umea, something came from the east of the Jordan River. Some of them came from the Northwood Northwest up near Tyre and Sidon, and many of them. Many of them were Gentiles was take a moment to picture this in our minds.

Thousands and thousands of people healed thousands. The blinder's lien, the lame walk in the deaf or hearing the lepers have been cleansed 2000 years before the development of modern medicine. Jesus is banishing diseases. He is healing. So many people. People that didn't have arms people that didn't have legs people that were totally paralyzed. These people may totally and completely whale and Jesus didn't just get rid of some some disabilities here and there. It was a completeness here. Not only that there were hundreds of people, perhaps thousands of people that were there and and and they had been indwelt by unclean demonic spirits and Jesus cast them out, but it's the Lord's miracles were public and they were undeniable. That's why people kept coming. No one question whether these miracles real.

Everybody knew that they were real. Even his enemies. Need I could and did not like to see it right there in front of them. I didn't want to give them the credit for the exit, the way Jesus is doing this is is by the power of the devil. I do love the wisdom of Jesus fearfully tells the disciples put that little bug behind the and he says if it gets too rough and you just cannot watch. If I start pressing the end. Then I'll jump in the boat you push the boat out this with they did I push Jesus out the water. They hail the boat while they were standing in the water. Jesus sat down in the teaching position and then Jesus begin to teach.

I have to think to myself that when Jesus did that. He said yes. Now I'm getting to do what God has called me to do any preach to that huge crowd.

What did he preach he preached the gospel.

Any preach, telling them how they could know for certain that they had eternal life. That's what he did most of the people that huge crowd were eager to experience his miracles, but when Jesus started preaching his words pierced into their heart and nothing. Most of these people when they came there that day, they would've said yes. We are Disciples of Christ when his words stung their heart walked away from English. Many of them did some of them never to follow him again in John chapter 6 were 63 to 66.

John said Jesus said this is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all the wars of outspoken you are spirit and life, but there are some of you do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning. Those were who would not believe, and who it was who would betraying and he said this is why I told you that no one can come to me… Granted him by my father. After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walk mask is something that very thing. Not happening today. People love the idea of heaven when we die and they hate the idea of repentance. While we live our cultures now rejecting the Lord is rejecting the gospel and is rejecting the Bible you know why because there is no woke position in the Scriptures, netbooks, there is help, there is help for the homosexual there's help of the transgender is help of the sexually immoral is help of the drunkard is help of the drug addict, but there is no help outside of repentance and surrender to the Lordship of Christ is that biblical listen to what Paul says in first Corinthians 69 through 11 you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived, knew the sexually immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, Northeast, nor the greedy nor drunkards nor violators nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you but you were washed, your sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God.

These pastors today that are telling people it really doesn't matter if you're homosexual. It doesn't matter that that's how you identify yourself. The Lord loves us all, but the Lord is very very explicit in telling us that is one of the things that will that will send a person to an eternal heel were not loving when we we tell people it's okay we needed our are very loving.

When we tell people there's hope for you and that hope is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God Cannot only save you can change you and make you a new creation were all things are passed away and were all things are become new. How important is that it doesn't matter what liberal theologians and and what pastors think. It doesn't matter what kind of spin. They try to try to put on the. The Scripture, it doesn't matter what they think the Bible is very clear, very explicit and it says unless you repent, you shall all likewise peers. Matthew chapter 7 verse 21 Jesus is speaking to an agreement and Jesus says not everyone is safe in the me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. The AAA aces but the one who does the will of my father in heaven is the one who will know me and love me and sit on that last day many will come to me, saying, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name that we not cast out demons in your name that we not done many wonderful works in your name Jesus will say to them, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you notice he didn't say I knew you at one time but you lost it. He said I never knew you.

You were never in the right relationship with me, except European shall all likewise perish.

When you stop right here and put this question to you is your repentance, real is a genuine as you genuinely confess your sin to the Lord, have you genuinely repented of your sin. If you genuinely submitted your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and put your trust in what he did for you on the cross and what he did for you through the resurrection. Jesus is talking to these people. In Matthew chapter 21 and the day will come when they will stand before God and the final judgment. And Jesus is a going to be shocked because they put their their their stock in the fact that they had done good works in the fact that they had done things in the name of the Lord Jesus told them, none none none. If you are truly safe there will be real repentance and there will be true. Trust in Christ command a crucifixion and his resurrection is that the imperfection absolutely not, were not going to be perfected until we go to be with the Lord. But it does mean hatred for your sin that leads to repentance and submission to Christ. But so once you get there.

This is what you need to understand if that has happened in your life.

It's not your works is God's grace, God did that not you, not to John 1026 Jesus said but you do not believe because you are not of my flock. Now, why do we believe not because of our wisdom, not because were smart not because were spiritual we believe, because the Holy Spirit of God enabled us to repent and believe, if that.

So in the Bible says that it is and we stand for him at the final judgment gets the glory, not us. But Jesus Jesus gets the glory, like the Texas to point to the power and authority with diversity of the 12, for he had healed many so that all who had diseases pressed surrounding the touching never the unclean spirit sawing. They fell down before him and cry that you are the son of God, and he strictly ordered them not to making nine a been a Christian nail for over 50 years and I have read through the Gospels hundreds of times but I have never been made. So aware of the magnitude and the immensity of healing that Jesus did, until I started going through the study of that I'm teaching on right nail in the gospel of Mark brothers and sisters, let me tell you something. The Bible is a living word.

It is not like any other book you can read any other book, put it down, walk away from it and maybe think about it sometime but it it doesn't have the that kind of effect on you with the Bible. You can't put it down God's children will read it over and over again and you can read a passage 100 times in that hundred and first time you read it Gotto show you something that you never saw before and it will knock your socks off. I mean, it is an absolute amazing thing.

I don't think we really comprehend the healing ministry that Jesus is doing here. I mean thousands and thousands of people day after day after day and and when these people came to Jesus for healing if they got to Jesus and Jesus ministered to them or they just types Jesus. They were made while all time after time after time. Some people he came in.

Didn't get to be with Jesus while they were.

They are midlake lately often they they want healed.

Everybody that Jesus ministered to was healed. Don't you just think about some fermented. What if Jesus could show up here today and he'd say to us on to take me over the Northeast Hospital in going up to the ICU and so we walked over there we go up to the ICU. Their people are lying there in those beds any of them are unconscious. Many of them are authority been told in their people been told that they're not to make it.

Jesus goes from one bed to the next district is over and touch them and all of a sudden always people every single person in ICU they jump up they rip their down off that they start put on their close and then make run out of they are leaping and hopping and praising Jesus.

Sounds crazy doesn't that is exactly what's happening here in Mark chapter 3 is an amazing thing.

John MacArthur said this, those creative miracles required the instant reversal of disease and decay in the immediate restoration of the human body for Jesus, the creator of the universe. No sickness or disability proved too difficult to heal the instantly created new lands and organs restoring eyes and ears, heads, feet, bodies to full health and function. The people pressed tightly around Jesus, hoping just the touching in order to be healed. Mark 656 reports regarding a later point. Jesus ministry wherever he entered villages or cities or countryside. They were lay on the sick in the marketplaces, and imploring him if they might touch the fringe of his cloak, and as many as touched it were being cured. They have learned that Jesus power was so available and effective that merely putting a hand on him could produce instant and total healing Jesus not only healed. He also cast out demons.

The people that work indwelt by demonic spirit. Jesus would cast them out as they were leaving the human body they would speak through that human body and they would make the statement Jesus you are the son of God and Jesus made them punch and make them be quiet what Jesus do that what they were saying there was true they were acknowledging and this is the greatest enemies of Jesus that Jesus is exactly who he said he was that he is the son of God. They were acknowledging that I think they were so afraid. I thought well maybe Jesus will have mercy on us if we just acknowledge his deity. Jesus could have turned to the Pharisees and he could've said say that your lap. These are my worst enemies in the world.

These are the those of the fallen angels that followed Satan and even they acknowledge that I am some of God. Jesus did not do that. He didn't need their testimony, and he did not want their testimony. He had lots of other testimonies. One of those testimonies was God the father, who spoke on the day of his baptism, and several other times from heaven and said this.

This man is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

I think of the heel of the miracles that Jesus did. What a testimony to Jesus. Healings and resurrections that took place claiming Jesus is God. What about the testimony of the disciples.

The disciples done the disciples left everything ahead lucrative jobs. Lot of money families fund stuff that they were doing. They walked away from it all for circuit all that they might go with follow Jesus completely. Why did they do that because they knew that Jesus was the son of God.

They knew he was the great I am. They knew that he was their Savior, their provider, their protector and their defender and they went off and they followed him completely. What a testimony Jesus power and authority shouted to the world let every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.

5.3 is personal appointments.

Verse 13 through 19.

He went up on the mountain.

They called him those who he desired, and they came to him and he appointed 12. He also named apostles so that they might be with the many might send them out to preach have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the 12 Simon, whom he gave the name Peter James son of Zebedee John the brother James, to whom he gave the name blue energies at his Sons of thunder.

Andrew and Philip following you, Matthew Thomas James, a son of Alpheus and Thaddeus Simon the zealot and Judas Iscariot, trading the religious leaders of Israel rejected Christ and they make plans to killing the Sadducees hated Jesus. They wanted to take his life because Jesus had cleansed the temple and he had exposed their greediness and their corruption. The Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus because Jesus had made a mockery of their man-made commandments and rules and he claimed to be God himself. Even the secular heredity and hated Jesus and and they said Pisa agitator and he needs to die. He needs to die. So when the leaders of Israel rejected Jesus. Jesus rejected them. They call them blind leaders of the blind John chapter 8 verse 44 Jesus said to the religious leaders you are of your father the devil, so Jesus turned his back on the religious establishment, and he called himself 12 representatives. These representatives that he call were not part of the religious establishment they were Lehman. Some of them were fishermen. One was a tax collector. One was a political zealot who is the enemy of Rome for Jesus calls 12. This was not an accident is not arbitrary.

It was purposeful. Jesus called 12 there were 12 tribes of Israel. In the old covenant. Now the 12 apostles in the need. This was a powerful message to Israel. John MacArthur said by selecting 12 apostles Jesus was sending unmistakable message to the leaders of Israel, that they were spiritually disqualified and therefore shot out of his kingdom.

He confronted them directly, publicly and repeatedly with such denunciations instead of repenting their determination to killing increased Jesus neither hatred would eventually lead to his death as the father had planned. The cross was looming near as Jesus set his face toward Calvary. He also made preparations for what would happen after his death would carry on the message of the gospel to the world after he, the Messiah been killed. Answer that question started with these 12 million none of these apostles came to Jesus with an application or resume if they had.

It would've been utterly distant, utterly unimpressive, but religiously, educationally and socially. These 12 men that Jesus is calling to be his disciples were just unqualified commoners and that that that was to me. If Jesus selected them. That was a very powerful statement. One.

Jesus was saying that he doesn't mean those people who the world thinks are the elite need that Jesus Jesus can take common, everyday people can feed them the word of God fill them with the spirit of God anoint them with the power of God and use them for the glory of God.

Verse 13 tells us that Jesus went up the mountain to call those the desired in the Gospel of Luke we are told it that night before this that Jesus got in his face the whole night seeking the father's guidance that who we should call now. I told you a while ago that Jesus had already call seven.

Now he calls five more work and this brings the number 212 and he commissions them all, not just his disciples but is apostles and what is he calling them to do the calls him to go out and to teach and to preach in the cast out demons. Up to this point time Jesus is been spending a lot of time with the crowds and now is going up at least a little bit back away from the crowds is going to spend his time focusing on these 12 disciples, they can live with day in day out 24 hours a day they eat together, they sleep together there with each other all the time. Mark tells us that there were two reasons for this. I think these are important.

Number one. Jesus just wanted them to be with him. Why so they can watching so they could see how we operated I can watching teach. They could watch and pray they can watching minister to people they could see his compassion for people who are hurting, they could learn from how he dealt with people with broken hearts and people are going to depression people going through hard times and if they did that then when Jesus ascended and into heaven. It was gone. Then when these things came up in their lives and they saw it, they didn't have to wonder what would Jesus do, they could remember back to what Jesus did to.

Secondly, they were called to preach.

They learn to preach like Jesus preached at Jesus preach he preached the word to preach the Bible. He was faithful, not fanciful. He let people know this book, this Bible is not like any other book is the word of God is infallible.

It is an errant in every jot and every tittle you can trust it and he did like Ezra the prophet, and he taught them how to make sense of the word to take the word of God explained to them in opening up to what it really means, and then he applied it. He gave them illustrations illustrations from life so they could understand how to live out these biblical principles. They learn to preach listening to Jesus preach, help, put yourself in the shoes of one of those disciples you're sitting down on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and you're listening to Jesus preach what we call the sermon on the Mount, Jesus turns Randy look you right in the eye, said you've heard it said by them of all and shall not commit adultery but I see in you.

If you even look upon the woman as to lust after her committed adultery already with her in your heart, they learned as a set at the feet of the greatest preacher who ever walked the face of this earth only's place with this distinctive piece of motivation is Jesus can use fishermen and tax collectors and political zealots. And guess what Jesus can use you and Jesus could use me what she's command to us.

The command is this follow me, follow me, follow me.

Now here's a question will you obey spring heavenly father we study today. The calling of the apostles.

There are no more apostles today.

They had special gifts and powers that no Christian possesses today when God inspired them to write books like first and second Peter in the Gospel of John, the book of Revelation.

They pin those words down infallibly and errantly and perfectly as you wanted.

The New Testament was completed in the Canon was closed is never been that kind of inspiration sense we in 2022 are not called to pin down inspired Scripture. We are not called to be apostles but we are called to follow Jesus helpless to do that. Lord we won't do it perfectly will mess up often. May our hearts be said on being obedient and loving Jesus with all of our hearts mind so and strength. We as his prayer Jesus precious name. Amen