From Mark Copeland... The Apostles of Christ Mark 3:13-19

                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                    The Apostles Of Christ (3:13-19)

INTRODUCTION

1. Important to the ministry of Jesus was the appointment and training
   of His apostles...
   a. Men who would follow Him and continue His work after His death
   b. Men who themselves would experience great suffering and martyrdom

2. In our text (Mk 3:13-19), we read of their appointment...
   a. To be with Him and later sent out to preach, heal, and cast out
      demons
   b. Luke tells us that the selection was proceeded by a night of
      prayer - Lk 6:12

[In another lesson (on Mt 10:1-4), attention is given to the identity
and history of each man.  In this lesson, I wish to focus on their
overall ministry for Christ and the world.  To wit, they served as...]

I. WITNESSES FOR THE RESURRECTION

   A. THEY WERE EYEWITNESSES OF JESUS' RESURRECTION...
      1. Jesus had shown Himself alive through various proofs - Ac 1:1-3
      2. Jesus commissioned them to testify concerning Him - Ac 1:8
      3. Peter explained that the apostles were to be witnesses for the
         resurrection - Ac 1:21-22
      4. Thus they testified again and again - Ac 2:32; 3:15; 4:33;
         5:30-32; 10:39-41; 13:29-31

   B. OFFERING A SOLID BASIS FOR OUR FAITH...
      1. Jesus expected us to believe in Him through their word - Jn 17:20
         a. Apart from their gospels and epistles, we know little of
            Jesus
         b. They tell us of His life, miracles, and resurrection
      2. The manner of their lives and death give credibility to their
         testimony
         a. They suffered greatly for their faith - 1Co 4:9-13; 2 Co 11:23-28
         b. All but John suffered martyrdom

[The apostles served the important role of providing reliable testimony
that Jesus arose from the dead, so that our faith in Him might rest on a
solid basis!  They also served as...]

II. AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

   A. REPRESENTATIVES WITH A MESSAGE...
      1. Sent out to preach the gospel to every person - Mk 16:15-16
      2. Given a "ministry of reconciliation" - 2Co 5:18-19
      3. Proclaiming that message as Christ's ambassadors - 2Co 5:20-21
      4. Even when they were bound in prison - Ep 6:19-20

   B. TELLING THE STORY OF SALVATION...
      1. Pleading with all to be reconciled to God - 2Co 5:20
      2. Pleading as co-workers with Christ, not to receive the grace of
         God in vain - 2Co 6:1
      3. Warning of the danger of refusing Christ and His message - He 12:
         25-29
      4. Warning of what will happen to those who obey not the gospel
         - 2Th 1:7-9

[The apostles as ambassadors of Christ revealed the good news of
salvation to the world.  Have we accepted their message in faithful
obedience?  But consider also their role as...]

III. TEACHERS FOR THE DISCIPLES

   A. CONTINUING THE WORK BEGUN BY JESUS...
      1. Jesus did not reveal all things during His earthly ministry
         - Jn 16:12
      2. The Holy Spirit would reveal all the truth to the apostles 

         - Jn 16:13-14
      3. The Holy Spirit would remind them of things Jesus said - Jn 14:
         25-26
      4. This was part of the Great Commission given to them - Mt 28:
         19-20
      5. Declaring the whole counsel of God - Ac 20:27
      6. Teaching all things that pertain to life and godliness - 2 Pe 1:3

   B. BECOMING THE AUTHORITY FOR THE CHURCH...
      1. Continuing steadfastly in their doctrine - Ac 2:42
      2. Receiving their words as the word of God - 1Th 2:13
      3. Accepting what they wrote as the commandments of the Lord
         - 1Co 14:37
      4. Rejecting them is thus paramount to rejecting Christ - 1Th 4:
         1-2,8; cf. Lk 10:16

[Through His apostles, Jesus continues to instruct His church as we
continue steadfastly in their teachings!  Finally, the importance of the
apostles is seen by their role in the...]

IV. FOUNDATION FOR THE CHURCH

   A. TOGETHER WITH CHRIST...
      1. The church is built on Christ, as the chief cornerstone - Ac 4:
         10-12; 1Co 3:11
      2. But the apostles are also part of the foundation of the
         spiritual building - Ep 2:19-22
      3. Their names are even depicted as written on the foundation for
         the New Jerusalem, which is the Lamb's bride (the church) 

         - Re 21:9-10,14

   B. SERVING AS THE BASIS OF...
      1. Our faith, through their eyewitness testimony - 2Pe 1:16-18
      2. Our doctrine, through their teaching - Ac 2:42
      3. Our hope, through their message - Ep 3:5-6

CONCLUSION

1. The world owes a great debt to the apostles of Jesus Christ...
   a. Without whom they would know little of Jesus of Nazareth
   b. Without whom they would have little reason to believe in Him

2. As disciples of Christ, let us be sure to give them the honor and
   respect that is their due...
   a. By continuing steadfastly in their doctrine
   b. By respecting the authority of their doctrine

Indeed, the moment we begin to drift away from the apostles of Jesus
Christ, we begin to drift away from that great salvation made possible
by Him...! - cf. He 2:1-4

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Jim McGuiggan... My brother Alex

My brother Alex

As I write this my brother Alex is in intensive care. He’s been very ill for about a year now. Lost a lot of weight, complained of marked pain in his back, utter fatigue and in recent months he’s had more and more trouble breathing. He’s been a heavy smoker since boyhood and has been about 6 months into recovery—alcohol-free. It wasn’t hard to guess, without ever saying, that he had developed cancer but we only got the definitive word yesterday (24/12/08). I don’t know if we’re now looking at days or a week or so—probably days.

He’s eighteen months older than I am but in many ways especially in earlier years he seemed older than that—a sort of patriarch of the family. You know how it is in families; sometimes you have brothers who aren’t really brothers and sisters who aren’t really sisters and then there are those who hold “family” precious. Alex thought “family” precious. He was always very attentive to our mother and while he was never Jesus I can tell you that, all in all, he was and is a better man than I have ever been or will be in this life. There were things he forgave and needed to be forgiven of—nothing unique in that, is there?

Always intense (all the McGuiggans are I think) except on the day I baptized him into Jesus Christ about six years ago. We went to the water on his confession of trust in the Christ and committed himself to the care and service of our Lord. He listened with the air of a quiet child as I spoke to him about Jesus and he surrendered himself sweetly to all the little instructions his kid brother was giving to him as the baptism took place.

He was already ill then though the severity of it all developed into what this past year has revealed. He and his wife Ann have four fine sons and a sweet daughter. When they were children, though Alex didn’t attend church himself, he did everything to encourage and help Ann get the children out without fail to church and Sunday school. Three of those sons are presently spreading the gospel of Christ; two as local preachers and the other in the Christian publishing business and they’re raising their children in the nurture of the gospel of Jesus. The other two children are well aware of Jesus and maybe before too long will give their lives over to him to complete an entire “family salvation”. They already have such a disposition toward Christ.

I talked to Alex before he underwent surgery the other day and asked him if he was afraid of dying. He said he had concerns about his family, of course. I said that made perfect sense but “what of you, personally, are you worried?” He said he wasn’t because he had the right man in his corner. It’s astonishing (and yet…) how a few words can express a world-full of meaning and images and truth and can transform a tragic situation into something more than tragedy (not less than tragedy but more).

Ah, sin, disease and death—your day’s coming. To hell with you!

Hurry on, Jesus, life, righteousness, reunions and unbroken peace and adventure.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Gary V. Womack... DEFINING OUR IDENTITY (two parts)

DEFINING OUR IDENTITY

Part 1

1. How do we define our identity as God's people - the church?

2. How does the world view us?

These questions we will answer from the scriptures

We are not identified by where we meet

Acts 5:12-13 The church initially met in the open on Solomon's porch.

Notice - These 5,000 were "esteemed highly" by those

outside of the body of Christ.

Acts 5:42 They met in the temple & every house.

Acts 19:5-10 At Ephesus - they first met at the synagogue then in a school

At the time Paul wrote to the church at Corinth from Ephesus: (57AD?)

1 Cor. 16:19 "The churches of Asia greet you. Aquilla and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house."

At the church at Colosse:

Phil. 2 "to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house."

Notice - They met in the house of Apphia (probably the wife) & Archippus who was a minister of the gospel:

Col. 4:17 "And say to Archippus, 'Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.' "

We can become preoccupied with concern about what the world thinks about us

What we need to be concerned about is: What does the world think about Christ.

Mt. 16:13-16 "Who do men say that I am - who do you say that I am?

1 Jn. 3:1 "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called Children of God ! Therefore the world does not

know us, because it did not know Him."

If we want the world to know who we are, we need to let the world know who Jesus Christ is.

This should be our emphasis

Num. 14:1-19 When Israel refused to enter Canaan, God was ready to destroy them, but Joshua pleaded on their behalf.

Notice - he was concerned for what Egypt & the people of the land would think about God if He destroyed the Israelites.

We need to be concerned about what the world thinks about Jesus Christ based on our example as His people.

We can bring reproach upon Christ by improper conduct:

Examples: at Corinth:

1 Cor. 5:1-2 The sexual sin that even Gentiles (the world) did not condone 

1 Cor. 6:1-8 They went to the worldly courts to hear their own cases which they should have been wise enough to judge.

As His children our conduct is to be "honorableamong the Gentiles" (world)

1 Pet. 2:11-ff Our conduct as individuals is to be honorable & patterned by Christ's example.

As His children - individually - we can bring Christ to open shame.

Heb. 6:4-6 "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, (5) and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, (6) if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame."

INVITATION

Our concern should be that for which Paul prayed on behalf of the church at Colosse:

Col. 1:9-14 "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."

vs. 18 "He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."

DEFINING OUR IDENTITY

Part 2

Past questions we asked:

1. How do we define our identity as God's people - the church?

2. How does the world view us?

Past points we covered:

1. We are not identified by where we meet.

2. We can become preoccupied about what the world thinks about us.

3. What we need to be concerned about is what does the world think about Christ.

4. If we want the world to know who we are, we need to let the world know who Christ is.

5. The world needs to see Christ through our example as His people.

We are God's own special people - a spiritualhouse - a holy priesthood

1 Pet. 2:9-10 A peculiar (kjv) people - intended to offer up spiritual sacrifices

Peculiar - [peripoiesis] "An obtaining, an  acquisition, purchased possession."

Acts 20:28 to the Ephesian elders: "Therefore take heed to your selves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to

shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood."

1 Cor. 6:20 "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

God makes a distinction between His own possession & the world

Consider the example of His people (Israelites) in Egypt:

1. God made a distinction between Israel & Egypt in the plague of flies:

Ex. 8:20-23 There were no flies in Goshen - showing who God was with.

2. God made a distinction between Israel & Egypt in the pestilence:

Ex. 9:1-6 None of Israel's livestock died.

3.God made a distinction between Israel & Egypt in the plague of darkness

Ex. 10:21-23 While all Egypt was in darkness, Israel had light in their houses

4. God made a distinction between Israel & Egypt in the plague of death:

Ex. 11:4-7 By this final plague, Pharaoh would know God distinguishes between His people and the people of Egypt.

Because God made this distinction - did this mean Israel was better?

Consider what God warned them before entering Canaan:

Deut. 6:10-7:5 They would be distinct from the nations around them by their submission to God's law which demanded a separation from

the people of the land.

We are to be distinct from the world in action and in purity

Jas. 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted

from the world."

We are to be distinct from the world by a different mindset:

Rom. 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which

is your reasonable service. (2) And do not be  conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Deut 7:6-11 God had chosen Israel & separated them from the nations because He loved them & keeps His promises.

1Pet. 2:1-10 We have come to Christ as a living stone In this we are distinguished from the world that rejects Him.

How do we define ourselves as God's people - the church?

Ezek. 37:15--ff Ezekiel's vision looked to both fleshly Israel & the church. The world would know that God sanctifies (distinguishes) His people.

Compare this to Jeremiah's prophecy:

Jer. 31:31-34 A new covenant wherein is taught forgiveness of sins.

Tit. 2:11-14 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, (12) teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we

should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, (13) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."