Preaching the Word
Preaching the Word
God's Calling to Lead: The Call of the Apostles
Ever wondered why Jesus chose fishermen to be his closest followers instead of scholars or religious leaders? We look into the calling of the twelve apostles and what their calling teaches us about how Jesus calls men into leadership. Discover profound lessons on church leadership and how Christ has ordered His body, the church.
We unpack the difference between Christ-given gifts outlined in Ephesians 4 and man-appointed offices of elder and deacon in the church. Through personal testimonies and scriptural examples, we highlight the importance of recognizing Christ’s calling in spiritual leadership. Learn from the lives of Apostle Paul and Apostle Peter about how true leadership in the church is sustained not by human effort but by the work of Christ. Join us for an enlightening discussion that promises to enrich your perspective on the spiritual and organizational dynamics described in Scriputre on church leadership.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
Thank you for joining me for this last podcast in this first series on leadership in the church. Today's sermon is called the Calling of the Apostles. I pray today that God will be glorified by all that we hear and do. Before I begin getting into the meat of the sermon, I'd like to read you something I found as I was studying this week. It's out of my book of 10,000 Bible illustrations and it's a letter from what we might consider a modern management consultant firm to Jesus about his disciples. It begins To Jesus, son of Joseph, woodcrafters, carpenters shop, nazareth 2592-2, from Jordan Management Consultants.
Speaker 1:Dear Sir, thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men that you picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests and we have not only run the results through our computer, but we've also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all these tests are included and you'll want to study each of them carefully as part of our service. We make some general comments for your guidance much as an auditor would include some general statements, and this is given as a result of staff consultation and it comes without any additional fee. It is the staff's opinion that most of the nominees are lacking in background education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise that you're undertaking. They do not have a team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Speaker 1:Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, james and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty, and Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel it's our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau, and James, the son of Elphias and Thaddeus, definitely have radical leanings. They're both registered high on the manic-depressive scale. There is one of the candidates, however, that shows great potential. He's a man of ability and resourcefulness. He meets people well, he has a business mind and he has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you success in your new venture. Sincerely, jordan Management Consultants.
Speaker 1:Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we come before you today recognizing you are the King of Kings, recognizing you are the King of Kings. You're the Lord of Lords. There is none beside you. There is none but you. Lord, we pray you would help us to work through our own pride and prejudice, that you would help us to humble ourself before you and understand that it is only in you and through you that we can find our value, our identity and our success. In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:As we study the life of Jesus, it reveals to us the deepest treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In the epistle to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul speaks about how, in Christ, we find the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So let me remind you of an obvious fact Jesus was Emmanuel. He was God with us. As God walked among us and dwelt among us, he was intentional in his ministry to us. Jesus, god amongst us, prayed every morning and he walked in the will of his heavenly Father every day. Jesus revealed to us who God is, as only God could, taking on the form of human flesh.
Speaker 1:We began this series in the Gospels and life of Jesus, and so we'll end it Today. We begin in Matthew 4, 18-22. While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, simon, who's called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen, and he said to them Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. Immediately they left their nets and followed him and going on from there, he saw two other brothers, james, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother. James the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, in a boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets, and he called to them. Immediately they left their boat and their father and they followed him and they followed him.
Speaker 1:Here in Matthew we see Jesus calling the first four apostles as they're in the middle of fishing. Again, in verse 18, we saw that while walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Now, as we saw last week, in a similar fashion to how we saw God call Moses while he was tending his sheep, here we see Jesus calling the apostles while they're casting a net into the sea. Calling the apostles while they're casting a net into the sea. I've mentioned before there's nothing that just happens with Jesus. He is doing the will of the Father. Jesus is intentional in his ministry for our sake, and Jesus calling the first four apostles out of a group of working-class people isn't by mistake.
Speaker 1:Out of these four men, three of them would become Jesus' inner circle, the three men closest to Jesus Peter, james and John. These three men were present with Jesus during very special events in his life. They were the eyewitnesses to his transfiguration, they were witnesses to Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from the dead, and they accompanied Jesus when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. These three fishermen might be considered Jesus' closest friends, his closest disciples. The Apostle Peter and John would go on to write many of the books of the New Testament. So I think it's worth recognizing that these fishermen will lay the foundation for the teachings of the entire church, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. And the fact that Jesus' first pick for his inner circle were fishermen should clue us in on what Jesus prioritizes when he looks for leadership.
Speaker 1:After Jesus called these four fishermen, there were two other men whom Jesus visited personally and called them by name. Philip was the next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee and he found Philip and he said to him follow me. Philip too, was called by Jesus in Galilee and from what we read about Philip, philip was well read in the scripture, although there's no evidence of him ever having formal training. And there's also another disciple that Jesus took the time to travel toward and call out from his daily life. That was Matthew. And call out from his daily life, that was Matthew. In Matthew 9.9, we read as Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and he said to him Follow me. And he rose and followed him. From what we know from Scripture, matthew was probably one of the most formally educated of the group. But Matthew wasn't trained to be a theologian, he was trained to be a tax collector. In our culture we might say he had a degree in accounting.
Speaker 1:Now, with these first six of his disciples, jesus went to them. He found them working and he called them out of their daily life. With the other six, he appointed them after they came to follow him. And how Jesus calls his twelve apostles can be broken down into those two basic categories Either he went to them basic categories Either he went to them, or they came to him and began to follow him. And again, I believe Jesus did this intentionally, because sometimes Jesus calls men out of the middle of their daily life to follow him. Other times, people start following Jesus, maybe going to church and following some of his teachings before he calls them into leadership.
Speaker 1:Now, the first apostle to be appointed by Jesus after they came to him was Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew. We read about Nathanael in John 1, 45-49, where Philip found Nathanaiel and said to him we have found him, of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathaniel said to him Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him Behold an Israelite, indeed, in whom there is no deceit. Nathanael said to him how do you know me? Jesus answered him Before. Philip called Nathanael. Like Philip is spoken of as a serious student of Scripture, although, again, there's no evidence of any formal training. Nathaniel was also known for his honesty and his faithfulness.
Speaker 1:The last five apostles were appointed out of the people that began to follow Jesus once he became more popular and gained a larger following. The we read in Mark 3 that there was a large crowd that was following Jesus from Galilee to Judea, and then, around the middle of that chapter, we read that Jesus went up on the mountain and called to him those he desired, and they came up to him and he appointed twelve, whom he also named the apostles, so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach. The apostles that are named here include those first six, but also now include Thomas, little James, thaddeus, simon the Zealot and Judas, and these men had come to follow Jesus and then later were called out as leaders after they had begun to follow him. And isn't that exactly what we see in the church? Sometimes Jesus calls men from their daily life to lead. Other times he calls men who've already been in church to follow him and step up into leadership. Now, as we're talking about the apostles, I'd be amiss if I failed to mention the Apostle Paul. As we know, judas was not a true apostle, he was the son of perdition. So Jesus himself later called and appointed another apostle to replace him, but it wasn't until Jesus had ascended into heaven that he appointed this apostle.
Speaker 1:In Acts, chapter 9, verses 3 through 6, we read about the calling of the apostle Paul. Now, as he went on his way, he was approaching Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him and, falling to the ground. He heard a voice saying to him Saul, saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said who are you, lord? And he said I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do. After Saul the persecutor of the church becomes Paul the apostle.
Speaker 1:He writes multiple epistles to the churches, one of which is the epistle to the Galatians, in which he describes his apostleship. Galatians 1.1 reads Paul an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Sometimes I hear that people debate over who was the twelfth apostle, or were there only twelve apostles? Or sometimes people ask about Paul's apostleship. Let me make something clear Apostles are appointed by Jesus Christ himself. Apostles were called by Jesus Christ. In fact, all true leaders in the church are called by Jesus Christ himself. They are not appointed by man, just as Galatians 1 says not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father. I'd like to read you Ephesians 4, 10 and 11, which is the passage that talks about Jesus appointing leadership to his church, and I go further into this passage in a sermon entitled God's Calling about three sermons back.
Speaker 1:Ephesians 4, 10 and 11 reads he who descended is the one who also ascended far above the heavens that he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers. Today we learned how Jesus gave us the apostles, including the apostle Paul, gave us the apostles, including the Apostle Paul. As we have seen through Scripture over the past five weeks, it is Jesus Christ himself that calls and gives gifts of leadership to his church, and he's done this throughout all of history.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it can be hard for us to process what the scripture is saying, even though, as grandma used to say, it's right in front of our nose. But scripture is clear. Christ personally calls and appoints leaders, leaders like Abraham, moses and, as we've seen in the life of Jesus, the apostles and, as Ephesians teaches, all of the leaders of the church, including the shepherds, the teachers, the evangelists. It isn't by men or through men that the leadership of the church is appointed, but it is through a calling of Jesus Christ. So if someone doesn't have a personal calling by Jesus Christ himself to lead the church, they should not be in the leadership of the church. And let me give just a little bit of a personal testimony. Even as I understood that God was calling me personally into ministry, god was personally calling me into leadership, into preaching and teaching, I had never really put two and two together and understood what Scripture taught on this subject. I'd never understood Ephesians 4 or Galatians 1 until I began to study further. But indeed, scripture teaches us that it is through Christ and his personal calling on our life that we are called into leadership.
Speaker 1:As we're wrapping up this series, I'd like to talk about one more thing I've noticed people struggle with, and that's the difference between the leadership that Jesus appoints to the church and elders of the church. Now, there's quite a bit to talk about here, and I'm sure that I could give another entire sermon series on the five different leadership gifts that Jesus gives and is described in Ephesians, chapter 4. And then compare that to how there are only two official offices in the church, one being elder and the other deacon. However, I simply want to give you a basic understanding of the difference between the official church offices of elder and deacon and someone who's been gifted by Christ.
Speaker 1:The first thing we should recognize is that an elder is an office in a local church for governing the local church. This is not a gift given by Jesus to be an apostle, a prophet, a shepherd, an evangelist or a teacher. Rather, it's an appointment to a local church by men and through men for the spiritual oversight of that local body. Therefore, this man-appointed office of elder is distinct from the gift that's given by Christ and through Christ for equipping the saints and building up the body into maturity. Let me explain that a little more in detail. For example, the Apostle Paul was personally appointed and gifted by Christ as an apostle to the Gentiles on the road to Damascus. We read about this appointment earlier. We read about this appointment earlier. However, it was the Apostle Paul who appointed elders in the churches, and Paul, of course, would tell you he is just a man and he, as a man, is appointing men to be leaders of local churches. We read in Acts 14.23,. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. This is the primary difference. An elder is a man-appointed position to oversee and shepherd the flock of a local church, while a gift of leadership is from Christ himself.
Speaker 1:There's one further point of discernment I want to make as we learn to discern the word of God on this subject matter. Scripture teaches that the elders of a local church are to shepherd the flock. 1 Peter 5.2 reads Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you. Do not for shameful gain, but eagerly. When Peter exhorts the elders here, he's using the imagery of a shepherd. Therefore, all of the elders are to be considered shepherds or pastors to some degree of the local church. They're not simply members of an advisory board board. We also see in Acts that the Apostle Paul uses the language of shepherding to instruct the elders on their roles in the local church. Acts 20, 27-28 says For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God Pay careful attention to yourselves and all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God which he has obtained with his own blood. The Apostle Paul uses the imagery again of a shepherd and he exhorts the elders again to pay careful attention to themselves and to the flock. So the role of an elder includes this oversight and shepherding of a flock.
Speaker 1:However, there is a distinction to be made between the role of an elder to shepherd. In Ephesians, we had learned that one of the five gifts given by Christ is that of a shepherd. Ephesians 4.11 read he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and the teachers. The gift from Christ of being a shepherd is listed as one of those gifts that come through Christ. Therefore, it is distinct from being an elder who is appointed by men, even though all of the elders are to fulfill the role of a shepherd. The gifting of a shepherd is given by Christ, and the purpose of the gifting of a shepherd is so that the one who is gifted will be able to equip other members of the body with what it looks like to be a shepherd.
Speaker 1:I want to conclude this discussion with one final point. It's very likely, and even ideal, that men who have been gifted by Christ will find themselves on an elder board in a local church. However, that's not always the case. An elder may or may not have one of the gifts of leadership given by Christ, and a man gifted with leadership by Christ may or may not be on an elder board appointed by men. For example, the Apostle Paul, who was appointed as an apostle by Christ is never described in scripture as being an elder of a church, but the Apostle Peter does define himself as an elder.
Speaker 1:In 1 Peter 5.1,. The Apostle Peter says so I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. The apostle Peter was an elder in a local church and his role as an elder was appointed by men. However, he was called as an apostle by Jesus Christ himself. As we continue to consider these distinctions and how our Lord Jesus has organized his body, let us be reminded it is not through our efforts, our ingenuity, our political savvy or our wit that we are saved or that Christ's church will endure. It is through the work of Christ himself. John 17, 17 says Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. God bless you this week.