25 Jun LOVE = REACH Day 14

I Corinthians 1:26-29: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh would glory in His presence.”

The 12 apostles, you’ll find, are very fascinating, but yet, incredibly ordinary. As a matter of fact, so ordinary, it’s really hard to wrap your mind around that these 12 kind of men could have the kind of impact they’ve had on the world as we know it. When you look at their lives, you’re going to find, there’s not a lot of talent. You’re going to find, there’s no standout intellectual capabilities in these men’s life. The opposite is true. You find, the Bible is full of their faults, of their poor attitudes. You find a lot of failures. They were remarkable in spite of the fact that they kind of were messed up.

The Bible says, in Acts 17, that in their day, they turned the known world upside down. And again, they’re just so common; they’re so ordinary. They’re so like you and I. What’s better is that Jesus knew their faults, He knew their failures, and He chose them anyway.

These men had spent 18 months with Jesus learning – Many people say three and a half years, but we know the first year and a half of Jesus’s ministry would have been primarily to the crowds and the masses. After He feels that His execution is imminent, He decides He needs to go ahead and find the guys He’s going to pass everything on to. And so, He gets His 12 and He spends 18 months with them.

During this time He’s teaching them about prayer. He’s teaching them about forgiveness. He’s teaching them on how to overcome, how to be generous. Not only is He teaching them verbally, but also He’s allowing them, now, to partner with Him. These men are right there with Him wherever Jesus was ministering. They’re watching the whole thing. And after He teaches the masses, He pulls back, and He privately teaches His disciples.

He then empowers them, gives them the authority to go out in His name, and do the same things that He did. So, now they’re out laying hands on the sick, and they’re recovering. They’re out casting demons out. They’re out doing great miracles, and they’re doing all of these things. For 18 months, they are spending this kind of time.

Yet, on the night that He was betrayed, the Bible says in Matthew 26:56 that every one of them forsook Him and fled. Now, Jesus is not only arrested and in prison, but He’s going through court cases. He’s being accused of crimes He did not commit. Sentenced to death and being beaten. He’s hanging there on the cross, dying, and bleeding. And guess where all these men are? All of them are back doing the jobs that they were doing, except one, before Jesus called them in the first place.

Jesus has to get up out of a grave, go find the guys that He spent a year and a half with. After 40 days, He has to reassure them and remind them, “Hey, it’s still good. It’s still on. The plan is still as it was before. It’s good. We’re still close. I love you. I know you love Me. “ And then, He empowers them with the Holy Spirit, on the Day of Pentecost. And He passes the baton of the future of His Church on to a bunch of nobodies, failures –and let’s go even one step further: a bunch of deserters in His most desperate needed hour.

And 2,000 years later, we find ourselves in the same place, in the same way. Jesus chooses us. We’re unlikely; we are undeserving. We’re the ones who find ourselves deserting Him, when He needs us the most. But yet, He gives us His message to carry on into a dark and hurting world.

Frankly, nobody meets the standard, and no one is ever qualified. God Himself chooses, in His sovereign will, to save sinners, people that are separated from Him, people that are undeserving. He chooses them. He then graces them. He forgives them. He loves them. He cleanses them. Then, He empowers them with His Spirit. And He chooses to use us, in spite of us. The Bible says that the apostles had a nature just like ours. We should take this privilege with care and show others grace and LOVE, just as it has been shown to us.

ACT:

Dive into the New Testament and begin reading about the lives of these apostles, which apostle do you see yourself in the most?

REACH:

Who needs extra grace in your life? Who can you begin to pour into like Jesus did with the 12?

Take someone under your wing and develop him or her into men/women who are sold out and passionate about their faith!

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