The Gospel of Luke "Jesus Selects His Apostles" 03/12/2023

First Baptist Church Leominster

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The evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

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By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

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By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous.

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God testified of his gifts and through it he being dead still speaks.

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By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him.

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For before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith it's impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

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By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

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By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going.

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And by faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

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For he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God. And by faith

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Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed and she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged him faithful who had promised.

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And therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars of the sky and multitude innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

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These all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

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For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland and truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out they would have had opportunity to return.

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But now they desire a better that is a heavenly country and therefore God is not ashamed to be called their

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God for he has prepared a city for them. By faith

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Abraham when he was tested offered up Isaac and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son of whom it was said in Isaac your seed should be called concluding that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

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By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the things to come. By faith

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Jacob when he was dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worship leaning on the top of his staff.

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And by faith Joseph when he was dying made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones.

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By faith Moses when he was born was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king's command.

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And by faith Moses when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.

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Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches and the treasures in Egypt for he looked to the reward and by faith he forsook

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Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the

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Passover and the sprinkling of blood lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

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And by faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned.

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By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot

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Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace.

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And what more shall I say for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah also of David and Samuel and the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead raised to life again.

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Others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection and still others had trial of mockings and scourging, yes and of chains and imprisonment.

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They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy.

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They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth and all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise,

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God having provided something better for us that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

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What a wonderful chapter. Let's pray. Our Father we read in the book of Hebrews that the just shall live by faith.

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Lord our faith is a living faith. We order our lives in faith in Jesus Christ our

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Lord and Savior and we thank you our God that you were able to bestow upon us great blessing and that we're able to see great victories in our lives

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Lord through faith in Jesus Christ and yet we also see that sometimes our

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God you call your people to endure in faith through great difficulty and hardship and there's some of us our

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God that are in faith living accordingly. They don't seem to receive the blessing that others enjoy, they don't experience the healing that others seem to enjoy and yet Lord they continue to believe and in some ways perhaps they're bringing greatest glory to you.

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We pray that you would help us our God to be faithful living before you. Instruct us and guide us our

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God that we might live for you faithfully in this fallen world and now illuminate our hearts and minds to the truth that's in Jesus Christ as we open your word for we pray in Jesus name amen.

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Well let's turn to Luke chapter 6 please. I realize there's an inordinate number of pages before you we're gonna have to do some skipping over some of them because of the time but I felt that it would be good to have them in print.

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Gospel of Luke and today we want to consider how Jesus selected his 12 apostles.

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Now last Lord's Day we concluded addressing the contents of Luke 5 in which we read of our

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Lord's teaching regarding the distinctions of the practice of fasting between his disciples and the

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Pharisees and scribes and John the Baptist disciples. Jesus spoke of the reluctance and resistance of established

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Judaism to embrace the newness of what he was teaching and bringing them through his ministry.

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You recall Jesus had said no one puts new wine into old wineskins or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled and the wineskins will be ruined but new wine must be put into new wineskins and both are preserved and no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new for he says the old is better.

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Well the very next episode in Luke's gospel records our Lord in conflict with the

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Pharisees over what was lawful on the Sabbath day and that's found in chapter 6 verses 1 to 11.

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The Jewish leaders had first reacted to Jesus and his disciples as they had walked through the grain fields on the

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Sabbath day and his disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them rubbing them in their hands and so the

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Jewish leaders accused them of laboring on the Sabbath day harvesting which was forbidden by the fourth commandment according to the

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Pharisees and then on another Sabbath day the Pharisees and their scribes were angry with Jesus for having healed a man whose right hand was withered and he did it on the

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Sabbath day in the synagogue and the reaction of the Jewish leaders was intense hostility and so we read in verse 11 of chapter 6 they were filled with rage and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

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Hostility toward Jesus was growing significantly as the narrative unfolds.

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The old wineskins were bursting by the new wine produced by Jesus they wanted no part of it.

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Now you might assume this morning we would address the episode of Luke chapter 6 1 to 11 that would be our normal practice but we're skipping over this event to address what follows verses 12 through 19.

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The reason is because Pastor Jason is currently preaching on the fourth commandment and so we thought that it would be best if he addressed this episode of Luke 6 1 through 11 next

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Lord's Day Lord willing and so we've chosen this morning to skip over verses 1 through 11 in order to give consideration to verses 12 through 19 and so let's read these verses.

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Now it came to pass in those days that he Jesus went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God and when it was day he called his disciples to himself and from them he chose twelve whom he also named

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Apostles Simon whom he also named Peter Andrew his brother

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James and John Philip and Bartholomew Matthew and Thomas James the son of Alphaeus and Simon called the zealot

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Judas the son of James and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor he came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all

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Judea and Jerusalem and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon who came to hear him and be healed of their diseases as well as those who are tormented with unclean spirits and they were healed and the whole multitude sought to touch him for power went out from him and healed them all.

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Here we read of our Lord selecting twelve of his disciples to become his twelve

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Apostles. This is a very significant event in the ministry of our

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Lord Jesus. Remember he only recently declared one does not put new wine into old wine skins but rather new wine must be put into new wine skins.

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In our Lord calling twelve Apostles we see Jesus fashioning new wine skins which would be able to bear the new wine of his kingdom to the world.

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It's a significant transition. So let's first consider the calling of the

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Apostles verses 12 through 16. We first read of Jesus at prayer.

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Luke 6 12, Now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.

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Luke's Gospel gives emphasis to the subject of prayer. We'll find it repeatedly as we continue this study.

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Jesus taught his disciples men ought always to pray not to faint not to lose heart.

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And here we see Jesus leading by example for he was always praying. Jesus had much opposition but he did not lose heart.

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He had much to do and in need of his father's guidance and so he was much in prayer.

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He prayed all night. Matthew Henry wrote about this. This Evangelist Luke takes frequent notice of Christ's retirements to give us an example of secret prayer by which we must keep up our communion with God daily and without which it is impossible that the soul should prosper.

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In those days when his enemies were filled with madness against him and were contriving what to do to him he went out to pray that he might answer the type of David.

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David was the type Jesus the anti -type Psalm 109 verse 4 for my love. They are my adversaries but I give myself unto prayer.

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As Christians face hostility toward them for their teaching and practice that offends the fallen world in which they live we must resort to much prayer.

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Probably more prayer than we've ever offered in the past. We must pray for God's guidance and protection as well as his great blessing in proclaiming the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

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Notice Jesus was alone. It would seem, doesn't state it forthrightly but we can assume it.

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He was alone before God his father in prayer. He wished to have privacy. He desired to be in a place of seclusion for a time where there would be no interruption, no hostility, no disruption in his communion with his father and he was long in prayer.

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He continued all night in prayer to God. So as one wrote accordingly it was

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Calvin who wrote accordingly he did not pray to the father in the ordinary manner but spent the whole night in prayer but if he who is full of the

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Holy Spirit implored the father with such ardor and earnestness to preside in the election of Apostles how much greater need have we to do so.

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Amen. If we truly saw the great need we have for the mercy and grace of God in our lives as the body of Christ we would be much more in prayer and much longer in our praying to God.

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I imagine most of us as Christians would say if there's one aspect of our Christian life we could improve upon it would be our prayer life.

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That's a common concern. Well now we read that Jesus as a result of his praying is clear chose 12

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Apostles. Verse 13, when it was day he called his disciples to himself and from them he chose 12 whom he also named

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Apostles. He didn't come down and sleep after praying all night he came down when it was day and called his disciples to himself and of them and apparently there are many of them he chose 12 and so this night in prayer in his human nature he didn't call upon his divine nature always he could have but he didn't he sought wisdom from his father and so the father directed him to select 12 specific persons from among his many disciples in order to appoint them as his

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Apostles and in doing so our Lord extended and expanded his ministry.

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Now although it was at this time and place the Lord called these men to be his Apostles there was no way these men could have possibly known at this stage of life what this calling would entail and what kind of life and ministry to which he was calling them.

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How could they have known? At this time the Lord had many many disciples they could not all follow

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Jesus personally and regularly so on this occasion Jesus chose these 12 that they would be with him continuously from this time until the day he was taken from them and by then he would have taught and trained them to assume their positions of leadership in the spiritual kingdom over which he reigned.

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Luke wrote here both of disciples and Apostles terms that we always use but perhaps we do not fully define and so for better understanding these matters we should define and describe our terms.

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What are they exactly biblically? What is a disciple of Jesus Christ?

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The ones from whom Jesus chose these 12 men were disciples. What is a disciple according to the

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Bible? Sadly most evangelicals think that a disciple is some kind of special kind of Christian, a devout or really committed

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Christian, one who's on fire for the Lord, there's a disciple. But this is a wrong understanding.

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Every true Christian is a true disciple of Jesus Christ. If you're not a disciple of Jesus Christ you're not a true

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Christian. This is extremely important for us to understand for in getting this right it'll help us greatly in distinguishing professing

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Christians whether or not they are true Christians or just Christian in name only.

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If you're not a disciple of Christ you're no Christian. First let us be reminded about the

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Great Commission the Lord Jesus gave his church. They were to go forth into the world and they were to make disciples.

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This is simple maybe simplistic but it's important. Matthew 28, go therefore make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the

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Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you and behold

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I'm with you always to the end of the age and thus concludes the Gospel of Matthew. So Jesus said go therefore and make disciples.

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We have a responsibility to make disciples. Jesus did not command us to make proselytes but disciples.

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That is we're not merely to persuade people to embrace our belief system, to convince them to believe like we do.

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Now that's important but that's not what it is to make a disciple. Nor did

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Jesus command us to make believers. That is ones who may only embrace truth but it influences little the way they live.

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We are called to make disciples. Actually our

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Lord's command is for us to disciple the nations. The word disciples in this Great Commission of Matthew 28 is actually a verb.

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Make disciples. Our Lord deliberately used this form of expression, this verb to convey the force of a command.

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Disciple maker. We are to be making disciples. He was telling his followers they must begin at once with this task.

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The Lord was issuing marching orders to his followers. This command of Jesus continues in force today.

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I'm not concerned about making believers. We want to make disciples. There's enough believers in the world.

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Just go ask them. Everybody believes on Jesus. Does it affect how you live?

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Influence how you think? Since this Great Commission to make disciples is our main task as Christians we should be purposeful and diligent in our work.

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But an essential prerequisite to this work is to have a solid biblical and precise understanding what a true disciple is.

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When this is in place then the way to accomplish our task becomes clearer to us. And so let's again answer the question in more detail.

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What is a disciple of Christ? Well the Greek word for disciple has a root meaning of being a learner.

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Not just in the sense of a student to a teacher however but as an apprentice to a craftsman.

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One learns from the master while following his instruction and observing his behavior.

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And so a disciple is a follower or an adherent of another. John the

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Baptist had disciples. They were disciples of Moses we read. Pharisees had disciples.

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We're concerned of course only with what the Bible teaches about being disciples of Jesus Christ.

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But even when you define this group or describe this group it's not always easily identified in the

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Bible. For the term disciple of Jesus is used to describe different groups of people. I've listed a few of them.

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Maybe all of them but these are all the ones I could think of. First the term disciple is used of any and all who followed

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Jesus even if it's a short period of time or secretly. John chapter 6 verse 66 says and many of his disciples turned back and no longer went with him.

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They were temporary believers. They weren't true disciples. Second the term disciples is occasionally used for the twelve apostles.

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The twelve. Third the Lord spoke of true disciples in John 8 if you abide in my word then you're my disciples indeed.

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Which suggests that there were some who called themselves his disciples who were not so actually. Fourth the term is also used of those who believed on him, confessed him, were baptized and obedient to the faith.

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That's a little bit more clearly defined. And then fifth of course it's used of true Christians.

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The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. And so here we see that one must be a true disciple of Jesus Christ in order to be a true

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Christian. How then may we define a disciple of Jesus Christ?

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A disciple of Jesus Christ is a professing Christian. One who has purposed to devote himself to obey the teachings of Christ.

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We just read that in Hebrews chapter 11. The just shall live by faith.

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In Romans when Paul quotes the just shall live by faith he's emphasizing just. The just shall live by faith.

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It's not a works but in Hebrews the emphasis is a living faith.

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The just shall live by faith. The disciple of Christ is one who has purpose to learn and follow all that Christ has commanded of his followers.

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Make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Trinity, teaching them all things whatsoever

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I've taught you, teaching them to observe all things, to obey. Only true disciples of Jesus Christ are true

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Christians and only to them does God grant salvation from sin and the gift of everlasting life.

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So again if you're not a disciple of Jesus you're not yet a Christian as the

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Bible defines a Christian. Again Acts 11 26 the disciples were first called

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Christians in Antioch. Well what about an apostle?

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What is an apostle of Jesus Christ? Well the word itself describes the calling and working of an apostle.

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The meaning of the noun apostle is suggested by its

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Greek verb form apostello. You can hear the sound sounds like apostle apostello but it's a verb form.

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The verb simply means to send forth. The verb is used in Matthew 10 5 which reads these 12

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Jesus sent out and so an apostle is one who sent forth by another to represent him.

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An apostle is sent forth with the responsibility to proclaim a message and to accomplish a mission.

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Jesus called these 12 apostles giving them authority to represent him. When they taught the message of their master they taught with and in his authority.

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When an apostle spoke Jesus Christ spoke. Our Lord also gave them authority that enabled them to heal all manner of sickness and infirmity.

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They were given authority over the evil forces of Satan. They were able to cast out demons and heal the sick.

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The word apostle is used however to identify and describe several people in the New Testament other than the 12 apostles mentioned here.

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These 12 were called apostles because they were called by Jesus personally sent by him directly sent forth by him.

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However there were some men who were called apostles because they had been sent forth from churches as representatives of those churches.

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For example the Church of Antioch had sent forth Paul and Barnabas as missionaries from the church and in a sense they were apostles of the church in that capacity.

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We can read in Acts 14 of a reference to them but when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it they tore their garments rushed out into the crowd cried out men why are you doing these things?

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Here Barnabas is called an apostle. Now technically Barnabas was not an apostle of Jesus Christ for the

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Lord had not personally called him to become his apostle. He was an apostle of the

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Church of Antioch. Technically we could refer to missionaries sent out from a church as apostles they're sent forth.

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We don't use that term but it would be biblical to do so. Barnabas was an apostle of the

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Church of Antioch for the church had called and commissioned him to go forth from their church on an evangelistic mission on the church's behalf.

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Paul was also of course an apostle of Jesus Christ because the Lord had personally called him to represent him.

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Paul however in this context of Acts 14 was also an apostle of the church.

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He and Barnabas were sent forth from the church because the church had called him

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Paul called Paul and Barnabas and sent them forth on behalf of the church. In one place the scripture

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Jesus Christ is described as an apostle and again the idea being sent forth is being conveyed

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Hebrews 3 therefore holy brothers you who share in a heavenly calling consider

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Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession who is faithful to him that is the father who appointed him just as as Moses was faithful in all

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God's house. Here we see once again the basic meaning of the word conveyed the father had appointed or had sent

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Jesus the son had been sent in the name of and on behalf of the father the son represented the father did the bidding of the father he came in the authority of the father in the same way that the twelve apostles ministered in the name of that is in the authority of Jesus Christ.

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When Jesus spoke the father was speaking the apostles represented

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Jesus spoke with his authority for he'd given authority to them our Lord declared the responsibility of people to heed the words of the apostles as they would heed him and his teaching he declared most assuredly

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I say to you he who receives whomever I send there is the idea of apostle receives me and he who receives me receives him that is the father who sent me.

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Historic Christianity is apostolic Christianity. Our New Testament is the written testimony of the apostles or an associate of an apostle.

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Mark probably wrote his gospel according to Peter's recollection.

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Luke of course had the Apostle Paul as his as his source but historic

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Christianity is apostolic Christianity. What the apostles taught what they wrote has equal authority with what the

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Lord Jesus taught and that's why it is a terrible error when you hear people argue well

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Jesus didn't say that that was Paul. I heard that when I first arrived here in 1998 over women teachers well that was

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Paul that wasn't Jesus. Look at the red letter Jesus didn't say that well that's a you know complete misunderstanding of the authority of the

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Apostles. When the Apostle spoke Jesus spoke. The Apostle Paul would later write to mostly

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Gentile church at Ephesus so then you are no longer strangers and aliens he's talking to Gentiles but now your fellow citizens with the

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Saints. In other words your fellow citizens with the with the believers of the

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Old Testament with the Saints of Israel and those even before Abraham were fellow saints members of the household of God one household of God built on the foundation of the

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Apostles and prophets there were prophets in the New Testament Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone and whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the

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Lord. Jesus is the cornerstone of the church which is a spiritual temple but the

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Apostles and New Testament prophets are also joined with them as the foundational stones on which this spiritual temple is built.

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This describes the important role and absolute authority of the Twelve Apostles. If people do not receive the witness of the

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New Testament the written record of the Apostles of Jesus Christ they do not receive Jesus Christ.

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If they reject the authority of the New Testament over their faith and practice they reject the authority of the

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Lord Jesus because apostolic Christianity is historic Christianity. The Old and the

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New Testaments are binding upon all people who claim to know and believe on Jesus Christ.

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All scripture old and new are binding for the people of God.

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Now there's great importance in the fact that there were 12 Apostles and frankly there's very few people who really take this to heart or understand it.

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The importance of this may be seen in the fact the term the Twelve became an abbreviated title for the

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Twelve Apostles and this is one place where we can abbreviate ourselves. I'm not going to read all those verses but notice in every one of those verses the term the phrase the

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Twelve is used for the Apostles. He sat down called the

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Twelve and taking the Twelve he said to them when it was evening he reclined at table with the

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Twelve. The Twelve was significant but not only is the importance of Twelve Apostles seen in the number itself becoming an official title of the

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Apostles but that there must be Twelve is also needed the Apostles to replace Judas Iscariot.

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Eleven wasn't enough and so we read in Acts chapter 1 how

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Peter stood up as they were waiting for the day of Pentecost and basically said we've got to replace

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Judas who went out and hung himself. Acts 1 talks about this and so they prayed and they cast lots.

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I won't read that passage but you can read in the last sentence of that block quote they cast lots for them and the lot fell on Matthias and he was numbered with the eleven

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Apostles. I didn't put it in my notes but I thought about poor

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Matthias when Jesus came down the mountain he selected twelve Apostles from all these disciples there.

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I'm wondering what Matthias thought you know why are these men being chosen and I was passed over I wish

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I was one of them. You know why were some of these chosen Simon the zealot

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Matthew the tax collector and I was passed by. Well the Lord had a purpose for him he became one of the twelve in the

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Lord's time. Well they believed it was necessary there should be twelve

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Apostles in number and so they took steps to assure there would be twelve replacing Judah but the question still needs to be answered why twelve

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Apostles? Well here's the short answer the nation of Israel was comprised of twelve tribes.

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The Lord appointed twelve Apostles to become the new leaders of the nation of Israel comprised of all true

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Israelites whether Jewish or Gentile who embraced

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Jesus Christ as the Messiah the Lord through repentance and faith in other words in Christ calling his twelve

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Apostles he was beginning to form spiritual Israel. Our dispensational friends would have conniption bits over this but it's a truism.

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Israel of the Old Testament was the type the church of the New Testament was the anti type to which

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Israel pointed. The Israel as a type foreshadowed and in which the purpose of God was fully realized in the church.

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The New Testament Church is spiritual Israel over which our Lord entrusted twelve

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Apostles Charles Spurgeon declared this he wrote of the twelve Apostles the

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Holy Spirit does not object to truthful statistic there were twelve Apostles. Why? Well this was a complete number neither too many nor too few and a number which linked the spiritual

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Israel with a nation that had typified it. See that the nation of Israel typified the church spiritual

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Israel that's what Spurgeon taught and that's what all reformed people that's what all Christians taught whether Protestant or Catholic up until about 1910 1917 with Schofield's Bible that separated them.

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This was our Lord's intention the old wine skins would not receive that which was new the new wine he'd have to fashion new wine skins and this is what he was doing.

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Our Lord made this very clear he indicated from Matthew 21 here another parable there was a master of a house who planted a vineyard put a fence around it dug a winepress in it put a tower leased it to tenants and went into another country.

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It's describing the Old Testament history when the season for fruit drew near he sent his servants to the tenant to get his fruit and the tenants took his servants and beat one killed another stoned another referring to God's prophets.

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Again he sent other servants more than the first they did the same to them finally he sent his son to them saying they will respect my son speaking of Jesus but when the tenant saw the son they said to themselves this is the heir come let us kill him and have his inheritance they wanted to be the leaders of Israel.

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They took him threw him out of the vineyard and killed him Jesus foreshadowing his cross when therefore the owner of the vineyard comes what will he do to those tenants?

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They answered him they knew what he ought to do he will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their season and Jesus said to them have you never read in the

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Scriptures the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone this what the

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Lord's doing it's marvelous in our eyes therefore I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you he's talking to Jewish leaders and given to a people producing its fruits and the one who falls on this stone

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Jesus will be broken to pieces when it falls on anyone it will crush him well when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables they perceived he was speaking about them what could be clearer and although they were seeking to arrest him they feared the crowds because they held him to be a prophet and so the

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Lord Jesus rested the leadership of Israel the professing people of God from the rule and the grip of the wicked unbelieving

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Jewish leaders and he entrusted the leadership of Israel to his twelve apostles they became twelve judges not in the sense of the court judge passing sentence but an

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Old Testament judge leading and ruling the people ruling over the twelve tribes of Israel and the

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Lord spoke directly about his intention to do so before his arrest and crucifixion

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Matthew 19 Peter said in reply we've left everything and followed you what then will we receive and Jesus said to them top of page 7 truly

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I say to you in the new world when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel the twelve apostles were called to lead the twelve tribes of Israel the book of Revelation also describes the church as the full milk fulfillment and realization of the promised destiny and hope of Israel we read in the second to the last chapter of the

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Bible of a vision of the New Jerusalem in which the twelve tribes of Israel are mentioned and the twelve apostles in the same context the one city

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John writes he this angel carried me away in the spirit to a great high mountain showed me the holy city

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Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God having the glory of God its radiance like a most rare jewel like Jasper clear as crystal it had a great high wall with twelve gates twelve twelve gates and at the gates twelve angels and on the gates the name of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed there you have the nation of Israel and on the east three gates on the north three gates south three gates on the west three gates and the wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the

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Lamb Israel so what we have shown here just in the last couple minutes is really devastating to the beliefs of many evangelicals who are dispensational is a term in their interpretation of the

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Holy Scriptures they believe and teach that God's primary purpose in history is for his blessing and exaltation of the ethnic and political nation of Israel and that this church age of grace is basically a parenthesis they believe through this present church age in the plan of God after a future pre -tribulation rapture snatching away the church

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God will return to his first and primary plan and purpose to restore the ethnic and political nation of Israel which will then rule the world in a future thousand -year

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Jewish millennium that is the belief of about I would guess to make ninety -five percent of Bible believers good people but they're wrong in this the

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Word of God teaches however that God's promises to Israel and its purpose in history culminate and find fulfillment in the church which the

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Lord purchased with his life and death those who oppose the teaching we set forth falsely charge us with the pejorative term replacement theology they demonize us in which they accuse us of teaching that the church replaced

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Israel we do not teach that it's a false charge the church did not replace

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Israel rather the church is true or spiritual Israel the spiritual nation to which

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God promised to give salvation Peter wrote of the church as the Israel of God and first Peter to you he's talking a

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Gentile church here you are a chosen generation those are words that used to speak to Israel of the

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Old Testament you were chosen priesthood a holy nation the kingdom of God his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light who once were not a people you

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Gentiles once weren't there but are now the people of God who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy we're members of the

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Commonwealth of Israel according to Ephesians 2 in Christ and so here the Church of Christ is described in terms of what

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God had promised Israel of the Old Testament it's comprised of all true Christians both

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Jews and Gentiles who are saved through Jesus Christ one holy nation the

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Church of the New Covenant is the Israel of God it's the physical nation of it it is the physical nation of Israel reconstituted under a new constitution a new covenant

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God constituted the nation of Israel on Mount Sinai a physical people he reconstituted the people of God under the

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New Covenant the night our Lord was betrayed in drink of this cup and this is the New Covenant my blood physical

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Israel of the Old Testament was comprised of an ethnic people Jewish people physical descendants of Abraham set apart by the physical circumcision of the flesh spiritual

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Israel of the New Testament is comprised of a spiritual people a Jewish remnant and an innumerable number of Gentiles who are the spiritual descendants of Abraham set apart by a spiritual circumcision of the heart those who have the same faith as Abraham are the true children of Abraham to whom

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God's promises of salvation are bestowed as Paul wrote to the Gentile mostly

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Gentiles mostly Gentile mostly churches of Galatia therefore know that only those who are faith or children are sons of Abraham in other words

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Jewish people by ethnicity are not children of Abraham to whom the promises of God are given only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham and the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the

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Gentiles by faith preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand saying in you all the nations the

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Gentile shall be blessed and then so Paul concludes verse 9 so then those who are of faith are blessed with believing

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Abraham. Abraham is our father he's the father of many nations those who believe like him.

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Of course having spoken of the importance of the 12 Apostles we recognize the New Testament speaks about a 13th

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Apostle this of course is the Apostle Paul he described himself in this manner last of all as to one untimely born he the risen

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Lord appeared also to me for I am the least of the Apostles unworthy to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the

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Church of God and then in Romans 11 he said I'm an Apostle to the Gentiles so the 12

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Apostles were primarily directed initially to Jewish Christians although their authoritative message is binding on all

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Christians everywhere whether Jewish or Gentile but Paul is principally the Apostle to the

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Gentiles although he would seek to bring the gospel first to Jews wherever he went he'd first go to the synagogue.

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Now let's consider the identification of our Lord's Apostles according to Luke when it was day he called his disciples to himself from them he chose 12 of whom he also named

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Apostles I'm not going to read them all here the fact is these are a very unlikely group of men to be chosen to such a high calling our

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Lord commonly does this in his plans and purposes you and I wouldn't have chosen these 12 men the

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Lord chose them after praying all night long he commonly calls people into his work that have had some serious prior deficiencies as the world would assess them and if we had time we could stand up each of us

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I imagine give testimony about how we're disqualified to ever stand up and represent the

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Lord but he called us anyway God chooses people of no account so that when people look at them they must conclude that only the grace of God can account for them.

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Sunday school we're talking about Scientology how they're after celebrities because L. Ron Hubbard said you know you get celebrities to embrace your religion everybody will

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Christianity is just the opposite this is what Paul wrote 1st

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Corinthians 1 you see your calling he's talking to his church at Corinth you see your calling brother not many wise according to the flesh there's a few not many mighty not many noble are called but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise

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God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty the base things of the world the things which are despised

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God has chosen the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are why here's a purpose clause what purpose so that no flesh should glory or boast in his presence that's why these 12 were chosen

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John Calvin wrote of these rather unlikely men chosen by Christ as recorded in Mark's Gospel he called to him whom he would by this expression

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I have no doubt Mark conveys to us the instruction that it was to the unmixed grace of God and not to any excellence of their own that they were indebted for receiving so honorable in office for if you understand him to say that those who were chosen who were more excellent than others this will not apply to Judas it couldn't have been the basis of choosing them the meaning therefore is the apostleship was not bestowed on account of any human merits but by the free mercy of God persons who were altogether unworthy of it were raised to that high rank and thus will fulfill what

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Christ says on another occasion you have not chosen me but I've chosen you to the same effect

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Paul frequently speaks extolling the purpose of God and bestowing on him the apostleship page 9 each of the three synoptic

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Gospels have the same 12 listed but with different slightly different names they're listed for you most of them are in the same order but there's a little difference in order and again this these men were quite a gathering when you consider them they're not ones who would obtain recognition or distinction given their background nobody would have given them any regard in and of themselves how does a tax collector

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Matthew have a good relationship with a Jewish zealot Simon they're not compatible somewhat like us thrown into a church you know we might not have anything in common except for Christ and that's enough that's all there needs to be one once wrote it gives one pleasant surprise to think of Simon the zealot

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Matthew the publican men coming from so opposite quarters meeting together close fellowship in the little band of 12 in the persons of these two disciples extremes me the tax gatherer and the tax hater the unpatriotic

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Jew degraded himself by becoming a servant of the alien ruler Rome and the Jewish patriot who chaffed under the foreign yoke and sighed for emancipation this union of opposites was not accidental but was designed by Jesus as a prophecy of the future he wished the twelve to be the church in miniature or germ and therefore he chose them so as to intimate that as among them distinctions of publican and zealot were unknown so in the church of the future there should be neither

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Greek nor Jew circumcision nor uncircumcision bond nor free but only

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Christ all to each and each to all Christian tradition tells us aside from Judas Iscariot each of these

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Apostles met violent death for the sake of the gospel that is except for John the youngest of the twelve only the death of James son of Zebedee is described in the

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New Testament Herod killed him the other details of the other

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Apostles death of course are subject of legends to various degrees of authenticity we don't know if they're true or not

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Peter is crucified in Rome upside down apparently in AD 64 at his request he didn't feel worthy to be cross crucified like Jesus James the son of Zebedee beheaded of course he was the first of the twelve to die that's recorded for us in Acts John the son of Zebedee there's no biblical record of death he's believed to have died of natural causes due to old age that's

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John who wrote the Revelation however there is a tradition that says that in Ephesus he got the authority so upset they tried to execute him and they put him in a pot of boiling oil that did him no harm and therefore they exiled him to Patmos where I don't know if that's true or not but it is it is a solid tradition

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Andrew Peter's brother was crucified upon a diagonal or x -shaped cross Philip crucified

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AD 54 Bartholomew also known as Nathanael was flayed alive first skin then beheaded

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Matthew was killed by a halberd a pole with an axe head Thomas was killed by a spear in India he was the

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Apostle to India to the east James the son of Alpheus was beaten to death by the club after being crucified in stone and Jude was crucified that probably not our

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Lord's half -brother and certainly not Judas Iscariot Simon the zealot was crucified and Matthias the replacement of Judas acts one was stoned and beheaded all of them the

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Apostles were faithful men who gave their lives for the cause of Christ just as the people of God suffered and died in Old Testament times we read about them in Hebrews 11 will not reread that scriptures tell us that when we live a godly life and it's fallen word world we will encounter opposition to hear about the young man up in Canada teenager who was arrested recently he was in a

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Roman Catholic school and he was arrested by the Canadian police for declaring that God created man male and female he was arrested a teenager all that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution and the

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Lord one time said to his Apostles they shall lay their hands on you persecute you delivering you up to the synagogues into prisons being brought before kings and rulers from my namesake and it shall turn to you for a testimony and then the like night our

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Lord would betrayed he said it to his Apostles if the world hates you you know it hated me before it hated you this whole ministry philosophy if we can get the people of the world to like our church and what we do here that we're going to win them no if we're faithful to the

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Lord they're not going to like us we're not going to win the world by looking like them and becoming like them but rather we'll win the world by our distinctiveness from them it's a whole different philosophy of ministry well we have to wrap this up we read in verses 17 through 19 the conclusion of his of his ministry he came down with them stood on a level playing with a crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all

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Judea Jerusalem from the seacoast of tired sidon who came to hear him be healed of their diseases as well as those who are tormented with unclean spirits they were healed and the whole multitude sought to him for power went out from him and healed them all so Luke recorded

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Jesus came down with them that is with the twelve and had more fully into the school of Christ with him what's implied as his

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Apostles were now with him would be observing and participating with him more directly in his ministry

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Matthew right after the calling of the Apostles he sends them out in a short -term mission we don't have that recorded for us in Luke's gospel there was present with them a crowd of disciples but in addition there was in addition there was this great multitude of people they came to hear him he was principally a teacher but also to be healed by him but notice from where they came they were in Galilee but they came from Judea and Jerusalem hundred miles to the south but not only that they were from the seacoast of tired side and that's

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Gentile lands out on the coast of Mediterranean Sea our Lord was beginning to expand and enlarge his ministry even as he was training his

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Apostles to carry out his work after he left them we'll conclude with these words of JC Ryle regarding our

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Lord's selection of these twelve there is something deeply instructive in the fact which is now before us it shows us that our

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Lord Jesus Christ kingdom was entirely independent of help from this world his church was not built by might or by power but by the spirit of the living

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God it supplies us with an unanswerable proof of the divine origin of Christianity a religion which turned the world upside down while its first preachers were all poor men most needs have been from heaven if the

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Apostles had possessed money to give their hearers or been followed by armies to frighten them or an infidel might well deny that there was anything wonderful in their success but the poverty of our

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Lord's disciples cuts away such arguments from beneath the infidel's feet with a doctrine most unpalatable to the natural heart with nothing whatever to bribe or compel obedience a few lowly

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Galileans shook the world and changed the face of the Roman Empire one thing only can account for this the gospel of Christ which these men proclaim was the truth of God and so we may take heart in this truth if God could call and use these men to shake the world well he can also use you and me don't you think to serve him acceptably in our efforts to expand his kingdom may he do so may he raise up many sinners converting them in such a manner calling them to follow him so that they may bring glory to him in this fallen world amen amen as we were singing these hymns today several of them spoke about Christians as being a military force as it were an army of God and this last hymn that we've selected am

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I a soldier of the cross in the Blue Hymnal again hymn number 482 ask that question am