THE GIFT OF APOSTLES

(INTRO) HOW TO TELL YOU MIGHT BE AN APOSTLE (Me/We)

[1] WELCOME: Well good morning everyone! So glad to be with you all today! If you’re new with us, my name is Nic Cook and I’m one of the pastors here at Cornerstone. We’re continuing our teaching SERIES: called 5 based on the list of roles and gifts in Ephesians ch. 4 that said Jesus gave each of us a role as either an apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, or teacher. Today we’re going to be talking about the…[2]

· GIFT AND ROLE OF THE APOSTLE: But before we discuss what exactly an apostle is, I’d like to ask some questions. See if any of these phrases describe how you see yourself: [3]I love new challenges that require me to stretch and change. (aha, some of you are out already) Let’s keep going. [4]People have described me as entrepreneurial. [5]Despite not enjoying the nitty-gritty details of leadership, I still often end up leading. [6]When I’m in a group, I am the one other’s look to for vision and direction. One last one. [7]I’ve always wanted to build a business/organization from the ground up so I can give my specific vision to it. Did any of you feel like those statements described you? Did any of you have a gut reaction and think, not only is that not me, but that would make me uncomfortable to do any of those things? Chances are, if you resonated with any of these statements, God might have wired you up as an apostle. Additionally, if you didn’t like those statements, chances are, people who are apostles are going to make you uncomfortable! And that’s a good thing. We’ll talk about that in a bit. But before we do, if you’d turn in your bibles to [8][Mark 1:29-39], that’s where we’re going to start our conversation. We’re going to look at Jesus the perfect example of serving as an apostle to build the kingdom of God. Let’s pray. [9][Read]

(TEACH/APP) LET’S GO SOMEWHERE NEW! (God)

BACKGROUND: Since we’re talking about Apostles today, let me give you a quick reminder of what Apostle means and what they do. [10]Very simply Apostle means “Sent One.” It is someone that God sends to take the work that God has started and bring it into new places. Let’s look at what we can see about an apostle through the life of Jesus the ultimate “sent one”. In the passage we just read came from the account of the life of Jesus written by Mark. I love the book of Mark because it just dives right into the action like a Michael Bay movie. We hear about Jesus coming on the scene, getting baptized, going out into the wilderness to be tempted and returning and starting his ministry saying, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus calls his first disciples and starts casting out demons and healing sick people. The response is huge as the entire city of Capernaum shows up at the door where Jesus is staying. I’d say that’s a pretty good start to ministry. Draw a huge crowd, change people’s lives. Free them from evil and heal their bodies and tell them that life with God is possible for everyone.

The disciples would have been absolutely elated! Everything they had been waiting for seemed like it was starting to come true. They wake up the next morning, expecting Jesus to continue working with the crowd. The crowd shows up, but they look around the house and can’t find Jesus. Jesus has left before everyone else woke up and has gone out to spend time in prayer to listen and speak to his Father. So Peter and the other disciples go searching for Jesus and finally find him. They tell him “Everyone is looking for you.” It’s time to get back to what we were doing yesterday. There’s a crowd. They need you. Let’s get back to building this movement. And Jesus stuns them and says…[11]

· LET’S GO SOMEWHERE NEW: [Mk. 1:38] says “and he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” I don’t know if you realize this, but Capernaum was home for Peter, James, and John. And Jesus has just started something incredible in their hometown. He’s drawn a crowd. I will tell you that Jesus had just fulfilled the dreams that most people who serve in churches long for. There’s excitement in the air, there’s a crowd, people’s lives are changing. The idea would be, let’s stay here and make this thing even bigger and better. And Jesus says, it’s time to leave this place behind and keep the work of God going in new places. Let me ask you a question, when Jesus says it’s time to go, were there people in Capernaum that were still sick, or that hadn’t heard the gospel yet? The answer is yes! But Jesus knew that if he stayed, that the mission that God had sent him on would not spread to the rest of the world. Jesus teaches us that…[12]

o APOSTLES ARE SENT FOR A SEASON: If you’re going to be a “sent one” that means you have to be a “leaving one” as well. Neil Cole in his book Primal Fire says that while all 5 roles of APEST are needed to make a church healthy, there tends to be a natural progression to the work that they each do. He says that Apostles and Prophets tend to be the “GO AND START TEAM” and evangelists, shepherds, and teachers tend to be the “STAY AND GROW TEAM”. Apostles are called by God to start new things in new places. They often will start new churches, parachurch ministries, new businesses. They are pioneers who blaze new trails for others to follow. When we look at other apostles like Peter and Paul, we see that they had home bases, like Jerusalem and Antioch. However, they were often going from that place and spending time in new places with new people and starting new communities. So, while Apostles may have a place to “stay” they are regularly on “the go” listening for where God would have them build the kingdom in places it is needed. Does that mean that Apostles don’t care about the people they leave behind? No! On the contrary, an apostle is…[13]

o LAYING THE FOUNDATION AND INVESTING IN THOSE WHO WILL BUILD ON IT: Jesus clearly has a strategy for making sure that the work he has done in Capernaum and the other cities he goes to will be able to be built upon. We see that he has purposefully put together a team of people who will be responsible for building the church. He has gathered around him 12 people of different personalities and gifts. He’s identified them, is training them, and is empowering them and over time will release them to continue the work that he has started. An apostle is often more comfortable with investing in a smaller group of the right people who will be capable of taking what they start and multiplying it. Did Jesus minister to crowds? Yes! But the majority of his time was spent with a small group of people: casting vision, correcting, training, including, and then releasing them. They gather other apostles, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers and show them how to accomplish the mission and then turn them loose. One of Jesus’ disciples named John, near the end of his account of the life and ministry of Jesus by saying this: [14][Jn. 20:21-22] 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus says I was sent to you, now I’m sending you. And that’s exactly what his disciples did. They followed the example of their master and because they did, Christianity didn’t stay in Capernaum, or Galilee, or Jerusalem, but it spread like wildfire from town to town, across empires, oceans, and nations. What started with Jesus the great apostle, was spread by the 12 apostles, The Apostle Paul, and continued with other apostles like Andronicus and Junia (Rom. 16:7), James; Jesus’ brother (Gal. 1:19), Barnabas (Acts 14:4. 1 Cor. 9:5), and Timothy (1 Thess. 1:1, 2:6).

o Before we break out into our time of discussion, I want to run through just a couple more principals about Apostles quickly.

(JC) CRUCIAL, MISUNDERSTOOD, AND MATURITY (JC)

· [15]ARE CRUCIAL TO KEEPING THE CHURCH FOCUSED ON THE MISSION: As we’ll discuss in the next couple of weeks, each role is crucial to making sure that the church is pursuing the mission of God. However, if there are 5 gifts, the “stay and grow gifts” tend to prevail. Churches naturally drift towards meeting the needs of those inside or close to them. But God’s plan was to fill the whole world with his presence like [Eph 4:10] says. It was to expand the garden of Eden from one place across the earth like in Genesis 1 & 2. It was the call God gave to Abraham, when he said “All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” [Gen. 12:3] Apostles and prophets make sure that we are constantly moving forward and listening for the will of God. And because of this tendency towards being inwardly focused, apostles…

· [16]THEY WILL OFTEN BE MISUNDERSTOOD AND MISTREATED: Jesus himself said in [17-18][Luke 11:47-49] Apostles tend to challenge the status quo and are unwilling to embrace old structures that no longer help the church accomplish its mission. Mission comes before tradition for Apostles. And because of this, it makes people uncomfortable and even angry when apostles begin questioning and changing practices and philosophies that have accumulated in a community. Many of these practices may have been good and effective and god-inspired at one point, but no longer serve the build the kingdom. However, they also learn to have thick skin because they often see what is coming before others and are willing to endure it because the mission of God is of utmost importance. While they are crucial to keeping the church focused on the mission, they themselves…

· [19]APOSTLES NEED TO STRIVE TOWARDS MATURITY: An immature apostle make some major mistakes. The first is that they don’t listen well. They see what needs to change but they don’t go about it lovingly. A mature apostle on the other hand will take the council of those with different gifts and seek to move the mission forward in a way that is equally loving of people and obedient to the desires of God to build his kingdom. Additionally, an immature apostle will start lots of new things, but never finish them. Thirdly, either they never move on or they move on too early. Apostles enjoy building things, but sometimes an immature apostle can have a hard time letting go and empowering others. Or sometimes they leave too early when things get hard or don’t work out the way they thought they would. A mature apostle will stay as long as it take to help something be healthy enough to stand on it’s own, and will empower others to take their place when they leave. Lastly an apostle will behave like…

[20]THEY ARE SPIRITUAL PARENTS: The apostle Paul most clearly gives us this picture when he says [21-22][1 Cor. 4:14-16]. Like a parent who starts and begins a family, he loves them deeply, he has taught them, and he is calling them out when they are acting like rebellious children. He’s guarding the family that he has helped create. He’s trying to help them grow up. All because he loves them deeply. He’s reminding them of why they exist. Lastly, if an apostle is a sent one, that means they will eventually leave. So how does a church stay healthy if they lose their apostle? Simply put, following the example of Jesus, an apostle should begin training other apostles to take their place. Identify those who will make sure the church they’ve created will continue pushing into new ground for the kingdom. Just like a parent reproduces, each one of these roles is called to do the same. Apostles train apostles, Prophets train prophets, Evangelists, train evangelists, etc.