Calling Out The Twelve

Step back for just a moment in your mind, and I want you to consider what Jesus was actually doing

at this point in his ministry in Galilee. Everywhere that he traveled, he preached the

message of the kingdom of God, and we are told that plainly in chapter 1. In fact, just flip a

couple of pages over. We point this out often in this study, but it's helpful for us to be reminded

of it again. Mark chapter 1, verse 14. After John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee,

Mark 1:14

and here's what he was doing. He was preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and here was the

summary of the content of that message in verse 15. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent ye and believe the gospel. Well, what was this message of the kingdom of God that he was preaching

as he went from place to place? It was the good news that Jesus had come to provide salvation for

his people. And in response to the proclamation of that good news, he commanded that those who heard

the message would repent of their sin and follow him in faith. Repent and believe the gospel.

And so these people, these Jews mostly, had long awaited a Messiah. In their mind, this Messiah would

come to restore their nation, to deliver their nation from the Roman oppression that they had faced for so

long. But the message of Jesus was different than national deliverance. He had actually come to deliver

them from something far greater, a far greater enemy than Rome, a far greater enemy than Babylon, a far

greater enemy than any other enemy that they may have even to this day. And that enemy was the enemy of their

their nation. And so as you continue to read your Bible, you will discover that the way in which Jesus

provided this deliverance was by taking our place, suffering our death, and conquering death through his

own resurrection. What was taking place according to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 is that as Jesus was dying on

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

the cross, those who would come to believe him, God was imputing our sin onto his own son. God was

looking at his son, Jesus Christ, as if our sin was his sin. And for those who believe, God then looks at

us and he sees the righteousness of his son, Jesus Christ, as if it was our righteousness. And so how would

Jesus come and deliver these people? It wouldn't be through a revolution. It wouldn't be through politics.

It wouldn't be through war. It would be through his own death. And as he died on the cross, he took our sin

and he became, as John wrote in that second chapter that we just read, the propitiation, the full

appeasement of the wrath of God against sin on all who would come to believe in him. That's how he would do it.

And so as Jesus is going from place to place and he's preaching this gospel message, this is what

he's preaching. He hasn't been this clear about it yet. He hasn't said just yet that this is what

would happen when he went to Jerusalem, that the crucifixion would take place in the resurrection.

He's going to, but he hasn't said that yet. He simply said, the time is at hand. The kingdom is near,

meaning he representative of the kingdom is near, repent and believe the gospel.

And out of his perfect love, he satisfied the wrath of God. And this is the truth of the gospel of the

kingdom. This is why it matters. Again, second Corinthians 5 21, for our sake, he made him to be sin,

who knew no sin, that we might have the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And then again, if you've been

reading in 1 John 4, in this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us and has sent

his son to be the propitiation for our sins, the appeasement of God's wrath for our sins.

This was his words, but there was another part to what Jesus was doing. He was traveling through Galilee.

He was preaching the message of the kingdom of God, and that was his primary objective, but he also

performed many mighty works, and we've studied many of those. And what was all of that about? Of course,

an expression of the compassionate heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers, but the purpose of these

works was to point these people back to the message. As he preached the message of the kingdom of God,

he performed the works in order to validate the message that he was preaching, which is why he said

so often as he went from town to town, for the towns that rejected him. Remember, there's the one section,

we'll get to it eventually, woe unto you, Chorazin, woe unto you, Bethsaida, and as is even recorded,

at least in the King James Version here in this particular passage, that even those towns will suffer a

greater judgment than even Sodom and Gomorrah from the Old Testament. Why? Because they saw the works

of Christ. They were witness to the Christ. They heard his message, and yet they still rejected

the message, but that's what the works were for. They were signs of his true identity, and they pointed to

the gospel message. And so Jesus did all of these things to announce that the kingdom of God was near

in him. But as he did these things, there were 12 men that tagged along with him, and they watched him,

and they listened to him. And ultimately, they patterned their own ministry after his.

And what Jesus was going to do with them as he sent them out was he was going to use them and empower them

to preach his words and to perform his works. And so there's no question that Jesus had a special

purpose for these 12 apostles. Was these men that he used to lay the foundation for the church?

And theirs was certainly a unique and unrepeatable role in redemptive history.

But despite the unique nature of their call and their role in the church, the calling of these 12 men

is representative of the task that's given to each and every believer. The mission of proclaiming the

gospel, of preaching the words of Christ, and mimicking the works of Christ is not exclusive to just a few

specially called or gifted Christians. But the Bible actually makes it clear that this is not just a

responsibility for a select few, but this mission is giving to all those who name the name of Christ.

And I want to give you just a few bullet points to support that before we jump into verse 1.

Think about this. Jesus sometimes sent people out in addition to these 12 apostles,

and he gave them the same exact instruction. Go from village to village. He gave them the same

regulations even in one instance. They were to preach the message of the gospel. They were to perform

the works that Jesus was performing in his power, and they were to prepare the way for him. Luke chapter 10

Luke 10 · chapter mention

tells us plainly, after this the Lord appointed 70 others and sent them on ahead of him two by two

into every town and place where he himself was to go about. So even in Jesus's own ministry, it wasn't

just limited to 12 people. There was at least one occasion where he's sending out 70 or more people

to go and do this same exact task that he was sending the 12 to do here in Mark 6. Not only that,

as we study the Great Commission in Matthew 28, Jesus didn't intend for the command to make disciples

disciples to be absent from what they were to teach others to observe. Remember what he said in the

Great Commission. Go therefore and make disciples, teaching them, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.

Well, Jesus didn't expect that what they were teaching and what Jesus had commanded,

that this responsibility of evangelism would be absent from that.

And then we see in Acts, in the book of Acts, and even later in the New Testament,

everywhere Christians went, they carried the gospel with them. In Acts chapter 8, it was Saul before his

Acts 8 · chapter mention

conversion that was persecuting the church, and the church, the Christians were beginning to have to

scatter across the world. And here's what it says, Acts chapter 8 and verse 4,

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. It wasn't just the apostles going about

preaching the word. The impact of the gospel on the world in the days of the apostles was not

limited just to those few men. It was all Christians that were spreading out across the world under great

persecution and taking the gospel with them. It was not just a matter of obedience for these men,

but for every believer. Paul wrote of the necessity of this for the salvation of the lost.

In Romans chapter 10, how then will they call on him and whom they have not heard,

Romans 10 · chapter mention

or have not believed? And how are they to believe in whom they've not heard? And how are they to hear

without someone preaching to them? In 2 Timothy, Paul encouraged Timothy, a pastor in Ephesus,

to do the work of evangelism. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an

evangelist. Timothy was not an evangelist. He was a pastor. He was a representative of Paul in Ephesus,

and yet he is still encouraged to do the work of an evangelist. And Paul says immediately following,

in doing all of these things, fulfill your ministry. And then of course, we know Acts 1.8,

you will receive power. After that, the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in

Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and the other most parts of the earth. John Stott said in

relation to this particular verse, we can no more restrict the command to witness than we can restrict

the promise of the Holy Spirit. And the truth is that God calls and he gifts us each differently,

but the great commission, the mission of taking the gospel of Jesus to the world, and of mimicking the

works of Jesus in the world, belongs to every Christian. And so though this text has elements that

apply specifically to these men at this particular time, it also contains principles that endure for us

today. And so as we use our next two studies in Mark to examine these few verses, we'll see three

things. We'll see that there is a commission to fulfill, that there is instructions that we should

obey, and that there is a pattern of ministry to follow. And as I said, we'll only get to this first

one today, which is this, if you're keeping notes, there is a commission to fulfill, a commission to

fulfill. Look again with me at verse seven. And he called the 12 and began to send them out two by two

and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. So after months of following Jesus and watching him

closely, he's finally sending the disciples out to preach his words and to perform his works. Now let's

think about this in the kingdom language that Jesus so often used. The king, Jesus, was commissioning his

representatives to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. And here in this verse, in this simple verse,

Mark notes three actions that Jesus takes in the process of calling and sending these men. There's

calling, there's sending, and there's empowering. And it's the exact same pattern that follows in the

great commission that is given to all believers. Jesus calls us to himself, he sends us on his mission,

and he empowers us with his spirit to perform the task to which we have been called. All three things

represented here in this summary statement that Mark gives us in verse seven. So let's just look at

the three. First thing we see, and he called the 12. Do you see it there? And he called the 12.

Now, as far as Mark's gospel is concerned, this is now the third time that Jesus has issued a call

to these men. The first one was a call to actually follow him. And Mark tells us about the experience

of five specific disciples. In fact, let's look at it together. Flip back with me to chapter one first,

if you would do that. You'll remember we covered this, I think, back in November.

In Mark chapter one, verse 16, passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew,

the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them,

follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. Already a hint there in this passage of what

he was going to one day use them to do. Now, he hasn't used them to do that yet. At this point,

he's only called them. He's only put them in an observational role, but eventually they would become

indeed fishers of men. And then it says, immediately they left their nets and followed him.

And going on a little further, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were in

their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in

the boat with the hired servants and followed him. So four of them initially are giving a first call.

It was a call to follow Christ in faith. And all four of them abandoned everything that they were

doing in order to follow Jesus. And then flip over to chapter two, and we see this happening once again.

This time, it was not fishermen he was calling. It was actually who the fishermen would have absolutely

hated and despised. It was a tax collector. His name is Matthew. Mark chapter two, verse 13.

He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he

passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. We know his Greek name to be Matthew. He was sitting at the

tax booth, and Jesus said to him, follow me. And what did Matthew do? He rose and followed

him. This was their first call. What is this call all about? This is the effectual call of God to

salvation. Every true believer experiences this call, whereby they hear the gospel message. They are

stirred by the Holy Spirit of God. And in response to that, they abandon everything in repentance,

and they follow after Jesus Christ alone in faith as Lord and Savior. This was their first call.

All of us must come to a point where we hear the gospel message, and we respond in faith and repentance.

These men had been called to that, and they had left everything to follow Christ. But it's not the only call

that we've seen in Mark's gospel for these men. In fact, we see another call. It was a call that set them apart

for a unique purpose. Look at chapter 3, verse 14.

And he appointed 12, whom he also named apostles, so that they might be with him, and he might send

them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. Now, he didn't send them to do that yet.

But he issues this call. He sets them apart. He gives them a unique apostolic call. And that's

really what that is about in chapter 3. But the principle applies to each of us still.

God gifts and calls each of us to serve him uniquely, but the foundation of that call is the same.

He calls us to be with him, and he sends us to go for him. He calls us to be with him,

and he sends us to go for him. Look back at Mark 3, in verse 14. He appointed 12, so that they might be

with him, and he might send them out to preach. Now, listen, this isn't a separate call from salvation.

This isn't different or extreme from the call to follow Jesus. It's actually an extension of it.

Discipleship in this way is not a higher tier of Christian experience.

It's not that only the people that really got it together and only the people that really want to follow Jesus

get set apart for the work of God in some way or another. No, discipleship is not that.

Every believer is called to follow Jesus, is also called to be a faithful disciple of Jesus.

We have the same call. Be with him and go for him.

And he gifts us in different ways, and he puts us in different places, and he calls us to perform that work

in different ways to edify his church and to preach the gospel. But the call, the foundation of it is the same.

Follow me and be with me and go for me. And we do that as we study the Bible, as we commune with God in prayer,

as we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit. As you walk with Jesus in this way, you'll find yourself

being continually enraptured by his love. And this always, always leads to passionately sharing the gospel with others.

Think about what Paul wrote to the Ephesians in Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

He said,

You say, how am I supposed to become enraptured with the love of God?

You get in your Bible, and you spend time in prayer, and you focus on the gospel.

because as Paul looked and he considered the gospel that he had been given when he considered

the great mercy that is in Christ and the great love with which he has loved him he felt constrained

to do nothing but to take that message and to share it to others he found Jesus to be the

treasure in the field and the pearl of great price I love those parables perhaps my favorite

in relation to the kingdom of God you remember him Jesus said the kingdom of God is like this it's

like a man who goes and he finds a treasure in a field and he goes and he sells everything that he

has and he buys that field and then he says it's also like the merchant who is on search for a great

pearl and upon finding a pearl of immeasurable value he sells all of his possessions all of the things

that he has in order that he may buy that one pearl of immeasurable value and Jesus says I am the

pearl I am the treasure and as you come to understand the gospel you'll give everything

up in order to have that treasure you'll give everything up in order to have the surpassing

value that is in Christ Jesus the pearl of great price and as you continually come back to the gospel

and study the word of God and spend your time in communion with him and you become enraptured with

the love of God how can you not share that with others we collect things sometimes things of great

value and when people come to our home what do we do I want to show you this thing that I have it may

not mean much to you but it means everything to me I have in my office a picture that Mr. Quo gave me

last year it's uh um psalm 23 and verse 1 written in mandarin and then right next to it I have he gave me a

uh a Chinese name and he he has that written out and every time people come in my office Mr. Quo I

take them I show them I said you got to see what Mr. Quo gave me I have to use google translate to figure

out what it says but it's so cool for most people it means nothing to them it means a lot to me

and what does that say for our recognition of the value of Christ and the gospel in our lives

Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the love of God controls me and that I have determined in viewing

the gospel that there is such great value in the gospel his love has shown me so much he goes on to

say that one has died for all therefore all have died and he died for all that those who might live

might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised and Paul says

when I consider this gospel and I consider this love I am constrained by it to the extent that it

controls everything that I do it controls everything that I say it controls everything that I do

for the Lord so Christ calls us to be with him what does that mean we study our bible we commune with him

in prayer we focus our attention on the gospel therefore those who are not going out for him

give evidence that they have not been with him

it doesn't mean that every person who doesn't faithfully share the gospel or serve the Lord in

one way or another it doesn't mean that every one of them aren't believers but it at least means

that it's been a while since they've been captivated by Christ's love through the gospel

and I find this incredibly convicting because my witness is weak you would think that it would be

difficult to stand on a platform Sunday by Sunday and preach a message like this but it's actually

not that hard to do what's more difficult is to do it as you step off of the platform

if your evangelistic efforts are weak like mine the first step is to refresh yourself

on the wonderful grace of Jesus Christ in the gospel

I remember times growing up somebody would come in a pastor or visiting preacher whoever it was you go to

youth conference there was always something like this there and there would always be a sermon that was

specifically on the need of evangelism and all of that's good and well but but it was presented in

such a way that I thought okay I'm not I'm not great at sharing the gospel and my first response

is I'm going to grab a handful of tracks off the track rack and I'm just going to start handing out

tracks listen to me if if you are weak in your evangelism the first thing that you need to do is not grab a

bunch of tracks and go hand them out to people in your neighborhood the first thing you need to do is get in

your bible and to get on your knees in prayer and focus your heart on the gospel of Jesus and the

overflow of that as your love for Christ is renewed once again is I can't wait to share with you what

Christ has done and if you will just believe he will forgive you too

he will save you too of course the best way to share the gospel is to be thoroughly convinced of it yourself

effective evangelism does not begin with winning an argument with someone on

Facebook or on next door or whatever it is whatever the venue is that you prefer to argue

it's by demonstrating that you actually believe the things that you say that you believe

how do we do that we do that lots of ways what about the expression of joy that we have day by day in

this life when we get distracted away from the gospel and its impact on our lives we really start to become

such ungrateful people don't we

we don't demonstrate joy in Jesus we demonstrate a love for the world

but when we demonstrate the joy even the deepest darkest moments of our life it gives evidence that

we actually do believe this thing that we say that we believe about eternity and about hope and about

Christ

we show this in our song

I love congregational singing it's my favorite thing

it's my favorite thing when we come together outside of the preaching is that I love when we sing together

and if someone were to come in here that was an unbeliever even if they didn't believe it

even if they didn't believe this message

would they be able to see the way that you sing and know that you actually do believe this

you can't carry a tune worth a lick but man

but man you must

you must really believe this

our passion

our urgency

our commitment to the Lord

our commitment to be obedient to him

our knowledge of him

people may think you're delusional or fanatical

but may they never think that you are insincere

and so what was it what does this have to do with call

well this is now the third time that Jesus has issued a call to these men

and the second one was be with me

in order that you may go for me

and now because they have been with him

they are able to go for him

and so we see calling we'll see the last two quickly

then we see sending

look at verse 7 again

and he began to send them out two by two

so the second action that Mark notes here is the actual sending of the twelve

and again Jesus exercised wisdom as he strategically and methodically sent these men out on this mini mission

began seems to suggest that he staggered their departures

perhaps due to specific assignments

which just reminds us once again

even if you were to study church history

and you would see that all of these men went to different places

and they were used in different ways

even despite being apostles themselves

they were used in different ways in different places

perhaps he staggered this in order to give them specific assignments

to go and to do what he desired for them to do in this moment

it's just wisdom

it's organization

provided security for their journey

it provided encouragement in the work

it provided credibility

as Jewish custom and even law necessitated that

at least two witnesses

be present to confirm a statement or an accusation

Solomon wrote about this in the Old Testament

two are better than one

because they have a good reward for their toil

for if they fall

one will lift up his fellow

but woe to him who is alone when he falls

and has not another to lift him up

again if two lie together

they keep warm

but how can one be warm alone

and though a man might prevail against one who is alone

two will withstand him

what is Jesus doing here?

well he's just practically sending them out

with wisdom

now we don't need to

view this too woodenly

Jesus intention here was not

that we would stagger our times of evangelism

and it wasn't that

the only way to effectively do the work of the ministry

is to do it in pairs

that's not the point

the point is that God has given us each a unique assignment in his work

and our commission is to be fulfilled in partnership

with other believers

particularly the church to which you belong

so not only has God called us and sent us

and empowered us

but he desires that we do that in concert

with his church

and with his people

and then the third action we see

he gave them authority or power over the unclean

spirits

now in the summary

Mark chooses to specifically highlight the fact

that they would have authority over unclean spirits

but we know that that authority

did not limit itself to just unclean spirits

because later on we see that they were actually able to

heal many people as well

and that there was great power as they preached the gospel

as Jesus would preach the gospel

and so the emphasis here is not so much on the unclean spirits

as it is on the authority

and the power

so Jesus not only called them

not only sent them

but he empowered them

to do the work

to which they were called

and this is an important reminder for us

that the fruit of their ministry

was not the result of any power within themselves

but it was the power of Jesus at work

through them

they had no power without God giving them that power

which means the power was not their own

but the power and the authority belonged to Christ

they weren't to go in their own name

they weren't to build their own kingdom

they were to go in the name of Christ

building the kingdom of Christ

and this is the fact that surprised

so many of the enemies of the gospel in the book of Acts

these were ordinary men

common people

they had no theological training

they hadn't been to the rabbinical schools

they were fishermen

and tax collectors

and anti-Roman zealots

yet the religious leaders of the day

were blown away

by the power with which they preached the gospel

remember in Acts chapter 4

Acts 4 · chapter mention

now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John

and perceived that they were uneducated common men

they were astonished

and here's what it says

they recognized that they had been with Jesus

they didn't look at Peter and John

and say what great power is in Peter and John

they looked at Peter and John

and said these men must have been with Jesus

and how did they know that?

by the works they performed

and the message that they preached

it wasn't about them

there was no power in them

it was about Christ

and it was about his work

and Christ empowered them to do the work

that he called them to do

so Jewish custom

it recognized that the sent one

was sent as if he was

the one who commissioned him

in other words

the authority of these men

in proclaiming Jesus' words

and performing his works

was to be viewed as that of Jesus

similar to a modern ambassadorship

they were ambassadors for the king

and though they went in the fullness of Christ's power

the authority was not their own

but the one whom they represented

Paul wrote about this

he wrote about it this way in 2 Corinthians 5

that is in Christ

God was reconciling the world to himself

not counting their trespasses against them

and entrusting to us

that message of the gospel

that message of reconciliation

therefore Paul says

we are ambassadors for Christ

God making his appeal through us

and then he makes his appeal

he says we implore you then

be reconciled to God

what is this ambassadorship about?

we are not representatives of ourselves

we're not building our own kingdom in Cornelius

we're not doing our own thing

we don't matter

one person said

preach the gospel

die and be forgotten

we don't like to live that way

we want everybody to remember us

we all want to have a legacy

we all want to be applauded

for the things that we do

but it wasn't about these men

it was about Christ

they were going with his authority

they were going in his name

and it was only because of that

that they were used so mightily

in the work of God

and Paul said

that's what we are

we're ambassadors

we're ambassadors for him

and what do ambassadors do?

they represent the king

and what are we to do?

represent the king

how?

by preaching his words

and doing his works

just like these men

you say what does that mean?

well for Paul it meant

looking at the people

to whom he was preaching

he's saying

therefore I implore you

be reconciled to God

and that may be all that it means for you

that as you go to your family

and your friends

and your co-workers

and whoever it is

that the Lord sends you to

that that's what you say

I'm an ambassador for Christ

therefore please

be reconciled to God

share the message

and urge people to respond

we're his representatives

in this place

at this time

and he's commissioned us

to go in his power

and in his authority

and it's easy for us

to be timid in this task

but this truth actually comes

as a great comfort

because he didn't tell these men

go from village to village

and figure it out

no

no

he gave them authority

he empowered them

and later on

he's going to tell them

the night before his arrest

the night of his arrest

he's going to say

I'm going to leave

and when I leave

I'm going to send a helper

and the helper

is going to remind you

of everything that I've taught you

and he's going to open your mind

and he's going to empower you

and then we get to the book of Acts

and that's exactly what he did

the Holy Spirit came

and empowered them in a way

that they would have never dreamed

why?

in order that they may perform the work

that God had called them to perform

you don't have to have it all together

to be a witness for God

you just need to be with Christ

you just need to be with Christ

and if you're a believer today

you already have the Spirit

so go in the power of that Spirit

trusting him to be fruitful in the work

as you are faithful

remember that great commission

in Matthew 28

go ye therefore

and make disciples of all nations

baptizing them in the name

of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Ghost

teaching them to observe all things

that's a heavy command

it's overwhelming isn't it

but we can't understand

that commission

without the promises

on either side of it

because Jesus opens up

in verse 18

and he says

all authority is given to me

in heaven and earth

go therefore

because of this authority

I give it to you

I'm going to go with you

and then at the very end

of the command

what is it that he says

and behold

I am with you always

even to the end of the age

you say

how am I supposed to go

and do this

how am I supposed to be

a faithful witness

how am I supposed to do anything

as far as mission is concerned

you do it because God

has empowered you to do it

and you rest in the promise

that he has given

that I will not leave you

I will be with you

so we go with his message

and his power

and we trust him

to fulfill his promise

and let me just close like this

Jesus and this is really the point

of spending so much time

on this verse

Jesus is still calling

he's still calling

he's still sending

he's still empowering

this wasn't limited to these men

this matters for us

he is calling us

he is sending us

and he will empower us

to do the work

and we think back in history

and we think about

all of the people

that we have seen this

so glaringly in history

Julie and I

we were all sitting

in the living room

last night

watching a series of videos

of I think it was

Tim Challies

was going around the world

and he was finding

historical artifacts

that would communicate

the unique way

in which God

had used different people

in Christian history

throughout the world

and he was doing

and he was going

to all these missionary places

he goes to China

and he sees

the work of Hudson Taylor

and he goes to India

and he sees the work

of William Carey

and of Amy Carmichael

and we can think of others

we can think of people

like Adoniram

and Ann Judson

who went to Burma

and we can think

of other people

who have gone

across the world

and across the seas

and the Lord

has just used them

they were called

and they were sent

and they were empowered

to do a great work

and it wasn't a matter

of going for a couple

of years

and going home

they gave their lives

for that

they're buried

in those places

because God

had called them

and it's

listen God

still calls people

and he still

sends people

and who's to say

that he's not

sending you somewhere

he's at least

sent you here

he's at least

sent you to your

neighborhood

and to your family

don't forsake

the call

go in his power

but think of all

the thousands

and thousands

and thousands

of people

throughout Christian

history

whose names

you will never know

whose faces

you will never see

who have given

their lives

to be empowered

by Christ

to do this work

and they have

served in obscurity

and they have

served faithfully

and they have

glorified God

in the same way

that these 12 men

glorified God

because it's not

about these men

it's not about us

it's about him

and his gospel

and he's still

calling

and he's still

sending

and he's still

empowering

so the question

is not

is Jesus

still doing

these things

the question

is

are we

answering

and are we

going

and are we

going

and obeying

in his power

for