The Gospel of Luke #25

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Well, let us go to the Lord in prayers. We're going to come 2 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:06.280 to his word here in a moment, and we need to ask God's illumination 3 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:11.320 on this word to let us pray. And now our God and Father again, 4 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:15.880 we do approach you in the name of our one and only blessed Savior, 5 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:20.800 the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us and died for us, 6 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:25.800 that we who were sinners, lost without hope in the world, might 7 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:30.359 be called and chosen by you, even as those will read about in the 8 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:35.159 text this morning, Lord, we thank you that you have called us out 9 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:40.560 of darkness into your marvelous light, that you have translated us out of the 10 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:45.520 kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of your dear son. We're all is 11 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:50.159 light, and so Lord we ask for light. Lord, we ask that 12 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:54.039 your word would be a light to our path. We ask, oh God, 13 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:58.200 that you would just illuminate it to us as we look at a text 14 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:02.399 that is probably very familiar year to us. But Lord, I pray that 15 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:06.239 you would enlighten new truths out of it, that you would speak to us 16 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:11.200 and Lord encourage us in the area of prayer. And Lord, I asked 17 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:14.680 that your blessing would be upon it. As I read it this morning to 18 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:21.159 your people. I prayed in Christ name. Amen. And Luke chapter six, 19 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:26.079 we've moved on and beginning in verse twelve, have a fairly short text 20 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:32.599 this morning that I will be reading to you, beginning with verse twelve and 21 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:37.760 going through verse sixteen. So I remind you again this is God's word. 22 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:42.159 In these days. He went out to the mountain to pray, and all 23 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:47.599 night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called 24 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:53.640 his disciples and chose from them twelve whom he named Apostles, Simon whom he 25 00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:00.959 named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John and phil Betholomew 26 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:06.159 and Matthew and Thomas, and James his son of Alpheus, and Simon who 27 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:09.400 was called the Zellot, and Judas, the son of James. And Judas 28 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:15.159 is Scariot who became a trader. Amen, that's why, and the reading 29 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:23.159 of God's word, and you may be seated. So we moved to uh. 30 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:30.240 Verse twelve. Luke chapter six is we're making their way towards um the 31 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:32.039 I guess I'm not going to get to the end of Luke's I won't even 32 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:37.120 pretend that we only have a couple of weeks left. But nonetheless, I 33 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:40.120 found in my studies this week for this passage of scripture that many of the 34 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:46.080 writers, uh, actually there's quite a bit of material they give on these 35 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:52.439 verses because they kind of use it as a springboard to speak about the different 36 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.879 disciples and the characteristics of the disciples and all of those things. So, 37 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:00.759 um, I found they did that. But I don't want to do that, 38 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:01.919 because, like I said, if I did that, I wouldn't even 39 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:07.080 get through that, and so I would leave not even having finished this text. 40 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:09.199 So I decided not to do that. But I do want to make 41 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:13.919 a few notes about this list as we go through it, and I want 42 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:16.240 to talk about a few things about the disciples that I think are interesting. 43 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:20.919 But there's much more that could be said about all these disciples, but I'm 44 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:24.800 not going to be doing that this morning. So here in verse twelve, 45 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:30.000 as we begin the text today, we see again what we've seen all along 46 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.719 here, which is the indefiniteness of Luke. Luke doesn't give us definite things. 47 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:38.960 He just kind of uh speaks and kind of generality. So he says, 48 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:42.280 in those days well, what days are you talking about, Luke, 49 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:45.680 Well, we don't know what days he's talking about. He goes up into 50 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:49.039 a mountain. Well what mountain, Luke? Well, Luke doesn't want to 51 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.159 tell us what mountain he goes into. He uses the definite article, although 52 00:03:53.639 --> 00:04:00.199 in this passage he says that he went up into the mountain, which would 53 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:03.439 indicate to us it was probably a very well known mountain. But which one 54 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:08.919 of those, we really don't know, because Jerusalem, like Tucson, had 55 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:13.120 a few mountains around it, so we're not sure. And again Luke is 56 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:16.839 not interested in telling us the story of Jesus in a chronological fashion. Now 57 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:23.959 it is mostly chronological, but it doesn't follow an exact chronological order. As 58 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.639 we go through this, he has other things in mind and how he is 59 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:32.600 telling the story of Christ. And through this um we have learned in the 60 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:39.120 passages before this that the enemies of Jesus are increasing. We saw that in 61 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:43.639 the last two stories at the enemies of Christ are increasing. Not only are 62 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:48.480 they increasing, but they are intensifying in what they want to do to Jesus. 63 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:54.600 And so there is much that is happening here. Mark particularly tells us 64 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:59.160 in this account that at this point they were seeking how to put Christ to 65 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:03.759 death, already trying to do that at this point. Now Matthew, Mark, 66 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:09.920 and Luke all record to us the calling of the twelve Apostles, but 67 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:15.680 it is only Luke who tells us that before Jesus did this momentous thing, 68 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:20.600 that he spent the night in prayer. One of the things that Luke is 69 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:27.519 much more interested in talking about than the other gospel writers is the prayer life 70 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:31.120 of Jesus. Not all the gospel writers, of course mentioned prayers of Jesus, 71 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:35.879 and John in particular gives to us the longest prayer we have of Jesus. 72 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:43.839 But Luke particularly likes prayer. And when Luke speaks about prayer concerning Jesus, 73 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:47.759 he almost always uses the verbal form of the word for pray, so 74 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:53.560 he doesn't he doesn't use the prayer words so much. And in fact, 75 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:59.639 the noun prayer only occurs three times in the Gospel of Luke, but the 76 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:05.720 verse row forms of pray, pray praying prayed occur twenty times in the Gospel 77 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:13.360 of Luke. It seems whenever Jesus goes apart to pray, that something spectacular 78 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:17.600 or out of the ordinary happens after this takes place here, we're going to 79 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:23.399 see the calling of the twelve Apostles. Later on in Luke nine, when 80 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:27.240 Jesus again goes up to amount of the prey. We are going to see 81 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:32.439 that ended with the great account of the transfiguration of Jesus before the Apostles, 82 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:39.160 which is a pretty momentous event in the ministry of Christ, as both John 83 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:44.160 and Peter mentioned it in their writings, is something that had a great effect 84 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:47.160 upon their life. They both mention it. And of course, who can 85 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:53.360 forget Jesus going to pray that last night in the garden of Caossemite, where 86 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:58.079 he beseeched his disciples to join him in prayer. But of course they slept 87 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:02.279 through that. And the phrase here that Luke uses of Jesus praying, and 88 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:08.399 the Greek not all of the versions translated exactly. Uh. They probably think 89 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:11.759 it they want to do it in a way that is more understandable in English, 90 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:16.279 but the literal standard version actually translates it this way. He was passing 91 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:20.959 the night in the prayer of God, that is literally what it is in 92 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:26.959 the Greek. In the prayer of God. He was passing Uh the night 93 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:31.480 there. In other words, he was praying a prayer that is in conformity 94 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:36.120 to the will of his Father. It seems like in this prayer, and 95 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:42.279 I'll talk about this through the message this morning, that Christ is being received 96 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:46.800 from the Father. He's receiving from the Father the men that he should choose 97 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:49.839 out of these large group of disciples that is following him. That there are 98 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:56.879 twelve in particular, that he is to choose and to call them as apostles. 99 00:07:56.920 --> 00:08:01.079 And so in the morning after prayer he will call the great group of 100 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:07.560 disciples to him, and out of those he will designate twelve to be apostles. 101 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:11.720 And so later on in Jesus's high priestly prayer in John chapter seventeen, 102 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.560 it says this. In verse six, he speaks of these men. He 103 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:22.079 says, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out 104 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:26.920 of the world yours they were, and you gave them to me, and 105 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:31.200 they have kept your words. So it seems like Jesus is referring to the 106 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:35.600 fact that the Father gave those names to him that night in prayer. Now 107 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:39.879 again, I know there's mysteries here with the UH dual nature of Christ and 108 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:45.120 all of that, and I'll address that a little later. On g Campbell, 109 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:48.000 Morgan writes of Christ spending the night in prayer before choosing these men. 110 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.000 He said, I would like to read that in churches where they're going to 111 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:58.919 elect deacons and officers at the church, spends the night in prayer before that. 112 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:03.600 But if the law needed guidance, if our Lord Jesus Christ needed guidance, 113 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:07.240 if he needed to know who that should be chosen, I think we 114 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:11.879 probably need that as well. I think if he needed it, we can 115 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:15.559 say that we need it also. And so we're told that out of the 116 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:18.399 disciples, he chooses a certain number. And I'm not gonna ask you because 117 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:22.240 you know what you're yelling out seven this time, because the number is actually 118 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:26.200 twelve. I know you know that, really, But uh so we have 119 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:31.480 the twelve apostles, which is also very important number in scripture because we read 120 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:35.759 of the twelve tribes of Israel, and there are other twelves that are in 121 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:39.320 the Bible as well, and so it appears that our Lord is gathering together 122 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:43.919 a new Israel is going to follow him, and so we, uh we 123 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:50.720 see this number very important in Revelation twenty one, beginning with verse twelve. 124 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:54.960 It had a great high wall speaking of the new Jerusalem, with twelve gates, 125 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:58.919 and at the gates were twelve angels, and on the gates and name 126 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:05.399 of the twelve tribes of the Sons of Israel were inscribed on the east three 127 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:09.120 gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and 128 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:13.679 on the west three gates. And UH always found it interesting that one of 129 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:18.960 the gates of the of Jerusalem, the UH, the real city now is 130 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.080 the water gate. I thought that was an interesting thing. But nonetheless it 131 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:28.399 says on the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were 132 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:33.120 the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Now that's going to 133 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:35.279 be important as they go. And I want to talk about something else, 134 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.519 because well, in fact, i'll talk about it now. Uh. The 135 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:46.000 The idea is, remember in Acts one, after Judas has betrayed the Lord, 136 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:48.480 and the Lord has been with the disciples, and he's ascended into heaven, 137 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.559 and he has apparently given them some information as to what they should do 138 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:56.879 when they are gathered together. In Acts one, it says they gathered together 139 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:03.399 for the purpose of choose someone who would take the place of Judas. Now, 140 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:05.559 why would you need to do that? You know, Okay, we 141 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:09.639 were twelve or eleven. We're assuming very shortly they're going to be eleven again 142 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:13.200 because James is going to be martyred, and so we wonder, why do 143 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:16.200 you why did they need to do that? But they felt that they needed 144 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:22.080 to in indeed, put the number to twelve, and so this happens in 145 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:24.919 Act one. Peter says, it's necessary therefore, of the men who went 146 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.639 with us during the time in which the Lord Jesus went in and went out 147 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:33.840 among us, beginning from the immersion of John. That's an interesting translation, 148 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:37.759 but nonetheless to the day in which he was received up from us, one 149 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:41.720 of these to become with us a witness of his resurrection. And so, 150 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:45.960 in other words, we need a twelve. We need to fill this number 151 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.120 again that our Lord called to be twelve. Now, I'm not going to 152 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:52.200 get into the argument. I'm sure you're all familiar with the argument. Were 153 00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:54.360 the disciples right in doing this? Should they have cast lots? Is that 154 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.320 what they should have done? Shouldn't they have waited? Because God had his 155 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.759 own apostle the apostle Paul, and he is going to be the twelve when 156 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:05.440 his name will be inscribed on the on the gates and not Matthias. Well, 157 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:09.399 I'm not I'm not going to get into that. That's that for another 158 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:16.279 day. But again Jesus will take these men who are called disciples. And 159 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.360 the word for the cipo in the Greek it's matth taste, and it basically 160 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:26.559 means a learner or a follower. The word has found over two hundred and 161 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:30.919 fifty times in the New Testament, and it comes from a verb that means 162 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:37.960 to learn. We actually get our words mind and mental and those words like 163 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:41.759 that are actually from that Greek word. So then our Lord, out of 164 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:46.679 this group of learners, of people that have learned of Christ, he now 165 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:52.919 chooses twelve apostles. Verse thirteen says that Jesus gave the name of apostles to 166 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:58.360 the twelve men that he had chosen. And the word apostle in Greek basically 167 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:03.919 means a cent one, or we could say someone who has been delegated to 168 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:09.559 go out from somebody else and they are given particular orders that they are to 169 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:13.960 do. That's what an apostle is. It's kind of like an ambassador in 170 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:18.080 that. And so in the Gospel of Luke, we have had the Angel 171 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:22.600 Gabriel was sent by the Lord to come down and speak to Mary. We 172 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:26.759 had John the Baptist, who is called one that was sent to proclaim uh 173 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.039 the word of the Lord and the wilderness. And now the apostles are sent. 174 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:37.919 James Edwards notes that he thinks the word apostle like the word agape in 175 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:43.240 Greek, which means love. That these words were particularly appropriated by the early 176 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:48.960 Church and given a sense that they didn't have an everyday language at that day. 177 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:52.639 So these are all followers of Jesus, learners of Jesus. But now 178 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.639 the Lord's going to choose twelve whom he is particularly going to send. Everybody 179 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:03.399 can be learner of Jesus, but there are these men who are going to 180 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:07.720 be given a special authority. They will be able to do great and mighty 181 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:11.799 works, and they will also be the ones who will write the scriptures that 182 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:16.360 you and I call, and rightly so the word of God. And so 183 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:20.360 they are that. So these men are particular delegates. Now you might also 184 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:26.159 know there's a controversy concerning apostles in the New Testament. There are those that 185 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:33.080 would um divide apostles into two groups, and they would call the one group 186 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:37.720 the capital a apostles and the other group the small a Apostles. In the 187 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:43.000 Capital a apostles, we would have, of course the eleven disciples that were 188 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:46.919 there in Acts one Uh and maybe Matthias as well, and then we would 189 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:52.440 also have Paul included in the Capital a apostles. In the small a apostles 190 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:58.080 we would have people like Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Epathrods, different people 191 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:03.039 like this it are identified as apostles, but did not seem to have the 192 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:09.440 same power that the others did. Um, I won't again make a decision 193 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:13.919 on that one way or another for you. But Jesus calls to disciples. 194 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.200 Out of them, he he he chooses twelve. So first he calls and 195 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:22.000 then he chooses, just like he does with us in salvation. Were first 196 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:26.000 called by God in the journey past, and then we are chosen in Him 197 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:31.879 again. And these words called and chosen in the verbal form are only used 198 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:37.679 by Luke Uh in talking about these now. Even though Jesus calls them apostles, 199 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:41.879 he never actually refers to them as apostles. The rest of the time 200 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:46.960 he usually says something like he called the twelve to them or the disciples that 201 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.120 are usually referred to that way, but we see here they are designated as 202 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:56.360 apostles. Well, let's look at Versus fourteen through sixteen. In these verses, 203 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:00.879 we have one of the four listings of the hostles that we have in 204 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.440 the Bible. We have a listing in Mark ten except Matthew ten, excuse 205 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:08.440 me. We have a listing in Mark three, and we also have a 206 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:11.679 listing in Acts one, which, by the way, Acts is also written 207 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:18.159 by Luke. And then we have the listing here uh in uh Luke six 208 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:19.759 as well. Now, I told you a lot of the writers like to 209 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:25.080 get sketches, and they might write two chapters of writing just on Peter alone 210 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:26.559 at this point. But I'm not going to do that. But I do 211 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:30.559 want to mention some things that I think are important. It's important that when 212 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:36.559 you compare the four listings in the three Gospels and the Book of Acts, 213 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:40.559 because John doesn't give us a listing, it's important to see that there are 214 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:45.159 some things that are the same in every list, and there are some things 215 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.759 that are different. For example, one thing that is different are the names. 216 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:52.960 They're not the same exact names, uh in each of those listings. 217 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:56.279 And I will deal with that in a moment. The first thing I will 218 00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:00.879 tell you about these lists it is the same and that every single one of 219 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:07.119 the four list there is one disciple who is always listed first, and of 220 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:11.640 course that is Peter. He is the one that is listed first in those 221 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:18.359 in all of those lists, um and in the Gospels list when when we're 222 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:22.519 giving him. In Luke and the other ones he has basically called Simon, 223 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:26.920 who is called Peter because of course Jesus gave him the new name of Peter. 224 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:33.240 And then in Luke and Matthew, the second disciple that is listed is 225 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:37.799 Andrew, and it's mentioned in both those accounts that Andrew is the brother of 226 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:41.680 Peter. In Mark An Acts, however, Andrew is not listed second. 227 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:48.240 In Mark, the second apostle listed as James, and in Acts it is 228 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:52.640 John. In Mark and Matthew, James and John are listed as brothers, 229 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:59.319 but not in Luke An Acts, and Mark also adds to us that Jesus 230 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:04.279 gave the name Sons of Thunder to James and John. However, in every 231 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:10.279 list that we have. The first four disciples that are given in every list 232 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:14.440 are Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Now not in that exact 233 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:18.599 order, but they're always the first four that are given in every list. 234 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:22.920 Then the next four disciples are also always the same, although not in the 235 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:27.559 same order. They are always the next four that are given in every list. 236 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:33.519 They are Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew. And in every 237 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:36.200 single list, like the first one, the order is different, with Peters 238 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:41.599 always first. In this one the order is different, but Philip is always 239 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:47.759 the first one listed in this group. And so of course, if you 240 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:52.559 do your math right now, uh, that means that the last four disciples 241 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.079 are also always going to be the same. But again, uh, they 242 00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:02.200 are not going to be in the same order. But in every list of 243 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.519 the last four, the first one of the four will be James, the 244 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:08.440 son of Elpheus, and then the others. And in case you haven't already 245 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:14.960 guessed it, the fourth apostle in that list always is Judas Scariot. He's 246 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.200 always the one that is listed last. The man that's called Judas the son 247 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:25.480 of James in Luke and Acts is called Daddy Us in the other accounts, 248 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:30.079 and Although John doesn't have a list in the in his Gospel of the Twelve 249 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.279 Apostles, he does refer to a couple of the apostles by different name. 250 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:40.519 The Bartholomew in our list is not mentioned by John, but John instead mentions 251 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:44.759 a man by the name of Nathaniel, the man that was out Uh that 252 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:48.079 said, can anything good come out of Nazareth? The man that Jesus said 253 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:53.000 of such a man, there was no guile in him, and so he 254 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:56.920 asked, as I said, can anything good come out of Nazareth? And 255 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.880 the answer, in case you're wondering, is yes, indeed something good can 256 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:06.880 come out of Nazareth. And then Judas the son of James or Thaddius in 257 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:14.279 UH and John is referred to as Judas Uh, not scary it. Judas 258 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:18.279 not a scary it. That's in John fourteen. So Judas the son of 259 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.799 James is called Judas a son of James, Thaddius and Judas not scary it 260 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.880 in those lists. Now it's interesting to note again that we are told Simon 261 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:33.799 is called Peter UH. And we're told in the Gospels that our Lord renamed 262 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:38.759 Simon as Peter. And everyone knows John three sixteen but Mark three sixteen says 263 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:44.799 he appointed the twelve Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter. Later 264 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:48.759 on, he'll say in Matthew sixteen eighteen, I tell you you are Peter, 265 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.119 and on this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of house 266 00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:56.000 will not prevail against it. And every single time from now on that Luke 267 00:20:56.119 --> 00:21:02.200 refers to this disciple, he will, all ways, with one notable exception, 268 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:07.920 he will always refer to him as Peter. But there's one time when 269 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.480 he is not referred to as Peter. In fact, he's referred to a 270 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:15.960 Simon, not once, but his name is doubled. And that happens in 271 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:21.880 Luke one, where Jesus said, Simon, Simon behold Satan demanded to have 272 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:25.880 you that he might sift you like wheat. And I think it's because in 273 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:30.759 that moment Jesus is telling the time he's named Peter the Rock. But now 274 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:33.200 he's thinking, Peter is coming to time when you're not going to be a 275 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:37.039 rock, and you're gonna fail, and you're gonna deny me, And so 276 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:41.640 he calls him in that instant Simon. But every other time he is referred 277 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:48.599 to as Peter. James and John. It's interesting to note I'd actually never 278 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:51.640 thought of this, and and uh, I kind of feel foolish that I 279 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:53.519 had never thought about it, and maybe you did. But we read and 280 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:59.119 Acts twelve two that the very first I mentioned this earlier, the very first 281 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:04.839 apostle that was martyred was James. And I've always known that, but it 282 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:08.640 never struck me. But as I was reading, it made me think about 283 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:14.519 these things that apparently, because we're told uh an extraal off two he killed 284 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:18.599 James, the brother of John, with the sword. This seems to indicate 285 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:22.599 that James must have had quite a bit of influence, either among the twelve 286 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:27.359 or among the people around them, the people they were testifying to, or 287 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:32.880 perhaps both. That Herod would choose James as the person, you'd think, 288 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:36.039 well, why wouldn't you have chosen Peter, why wouldn't have sen one of 289 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:41.400 the other sort of appears that perhaps James had quite a bit of influence at 290 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:45.279 that time, and so he has martyred. He becomes the first disciple or 291 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:51.079 apostle to follow Jesus into heaven, and his brother John is going to have 292 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:55.240 to wait about seventy more years, and he's going to be the last apostle 293 00:22:55.599 --> 00:23:02.359 that follows Jesus into Heaven of the next or disciples. We know Matthew only 294 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:06.400 by his calling from Jesus, which we looked at earlier, the calling of 295 00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:10.200 Levi, and also the fact that he wrote a gospel. That's all we 296 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:12.519 know about Matthew. We know he was called, we know that account, 297 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:17.240 and we know that he wrote a gospel. But we don't know anything else 298 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:21.319 about Matthew. There's nothing else about him, even in his own gospel that 299 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:26.440 we know of Thomas, we know primarily is doubting Thomas, even though I 300 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:30.759 think that is extremely unfair to Thomas. I don't think if any of the 301 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:34.000 disciples had not been present at that first a period of Christ, I don't 302 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:37.559 think any of them would have believed it. So I think we're a little 303 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:41.680 bit unfair to Thomas in that sense. So I don't like to just refer 304 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.880 to him in a negative way like that, But it is Thomas. Interestingly 305 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:51.799 enough, when Jesus speaks about going to Jerusalem and the disciples think he's talking 306 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:55.359 about going to die, which he will originally, but he's basically talking about 307 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.359 going to raise Lazarus. It's interesting in John eleven, it's tom Us who 308 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:03.319 says to them, to the disciples that Jesus is going. He said, 309 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:08.319 let us go with him, that we may also die with him. That's 310 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:12.960 a pretty major statement, right I think that kind of does the old doubting 311 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:17.599 Thomas thing. I want to give him a little bit of cred right there. 312 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:19.640 I think that that's pretty good. And it's Thomas who asked the Lord 313 00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:23.640 at the Last Supper, we do not know where you are going. How 314 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:30.160 can we know the way? Of these last four lesser known apostles, we 315 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:37.079 actually have one who's mentioned eleven different verses in the Gospel of John, and 316 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:41.599 mostly in a positive light. That is the apostle Philip. It's Philip who 317 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:47.079 found the apostle Bartholomey which I mentioned our Nathaniel, and brought him to Jesus. 318 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:51.400 It's Philip who brings the Greeks to Jesus when they said they wanted to 319 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:55.839 see Jesus. He brings the Greeks to Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip 320 00:24:55.880 --> 00:25:00.480 in turn bring the Greeks to Jesus. That's Philip again. It's Philip who 321 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:06.720 the Lord says, or he says to the Lord, uh two hundred penning 322 00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:11.359 worth is not enough to feed these people in the feeding of the five thousand, 323 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:17.160 that they couldn't buy enough bread for that. And so Philip is um 324 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:22.759 quite often mentioned as well. And Bartholomew, as I said, or Nathaniel 325 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:29.319 is the disciple of whom there is no guile, the three least known of 326 00:25:29.400 --> 00:25:34.559 the disciples. Um Simon. We know he's a zealot, and that's basically 327 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:40.279 it. Mazzella was somebody that believed it was illegal for Rome to be governing 328 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:44.799 their country, and they were willing to engage in a revolution to cause that 329 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:48.559 to stop. Of James the son of Alpheus, he's called James Celeste or 330 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:52.000 James the Younger, and a couple other places, but we don't know anything 331 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:56.279 else about him. The other Judas, we only have one thing written of 332 00:25:56.359 --> 00:26:00.440 him. It's in John four two, or John says Judas not a scary 333 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:04.000 It said to him, Lord, how is it you will manifest yourself to 334 00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:08.680 us and not to the world. And then we have the disciple that, 335 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:12.759 unfortunately, outside of Peter, has probably mentioned more than any other disciple, 336 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:18.079 and that of course is Judas, called scariot, and is oftentimes referred to 337 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:23.480 as the betrayer of the Lord, and uh scariot most people think is referring 338 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:26.640 to the fact that he came from the city of Carryas, and so he 339 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:32.039 was Judas from Caryas, or Judas is scariot. Others take the more literal 340 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:37.079 meaning, which would be a scariot would translate into dagger man, so Judas 341 00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:41.200 would be the man that puts a dagger into Christ, not literally, but 342 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:47.799 basically ends up in that way. There are contrasts between these men, but 343 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:51.000 the only one I'm gonna mention because I found it the most interesting in thinking 344 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.960 about it, that had our Lord not called these apostles, had they not 345 00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:59.599 been brought to him, it could have been very likely that Matthew would have 346 00:26:59.640 --> 00:27:03.799 been murdered by Simon no Zella. That could have that could have actually happened, 347 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:07.559 since the Zealites were people that wanted to do that, and since Matthew 348 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:11.079 was of the most hated class of people in that area. Who knows what 349 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:12.720 would have happened. Of course, we don't know, but it's at least 350 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:18.880 interesting to kind of think about that. So let me mention some things now 351 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:22.279 an application as to close this morning, I mentioned the word called and chosen. 352 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:26.079 I just want to reiterate again that's every believer is. In that case, 353 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:30.599 we're not necessarily called to be apostles. In fact, we're not called 354 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:33.559 to be apostles outside of the maybe the small a sense that we are set 355 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:40.440 ones with the Gospel. But every believer is both called and chosen of God. 356 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:45.440 But I really want this morning to apply in the main thing, as 357 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:48.759 I mentioned earlier in the beginning of the service, that our Lord was certainly 358 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:55.519 a man of prayer. As I said, he spent the whole night in 359 00:27:55.640 --> 00:28:00.759 prayer. The result the next day, he's able to spare end or to 360 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:04.960 choose exactly twelve men whom he knows are to be those men that would be 361 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:08.279 with him for the rest of his life and ministry, and would be those 362 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:14.200 that would be delegated to carry the Gospel of Christ to that then known world. 363 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:18.279 Eleven of those twelve would become pillars of the Church. They would be 364 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:23.279 the original evangelists who would spread the word of God. The other one would 365 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:27.240 also serve the purpose of God, but in a completely different way, in 366 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:34.400 facilitating the death of Christ upon Calvary, thus making salvation possible. After choosing 367 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:37.880 the twelve. We didn't get that far in the text. Jesus will also 368 00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:42.640 minister to a multitude of people, and he'll preach the Gospel to them, 369 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:48.359 and heal many of them. And then he will preach probably the most famous 370 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:52.200 sermon and Matthew, known as the Sermon on the Mount in Luke, sometimes 371 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:56.759 called the Sermon on the Plane or the Sermon on the Level, and that, 372 00:28:56.839 --> 00:29:00.960 but yet very very similar to of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. 373 00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:06.079 What a wonderful thing is prayer. The prayer has put our Lord to 374 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:10.640 this place that he does all of these things following this night in prayer. 375 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:17.160 If there was anybody that would be upon the earth that we would think could 376 00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:22.839 exist and do great things without praying, it would be the Lord Jesus. 377 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:26.960 We would think he could do it. Charles Spurgeon said, if any man 378 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:32.759 or woman born might have lived without prayer, it was surely the Lord Jesus 379 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:37.720 Christ. And there are parts of prayer that we do, and we pray 380 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:41.720 that the Lord Jesus wouldn't even needed to include in his prayer. We might 381 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:44.440 need to spend a couple of hours, and we were going to spend the 382 00:29:44.519 --> 00:29:47.680 night in prayer, we might need to spend two hours just in confession, 383 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:49.799 and sin well knocked that off. Our Lord didn't have to do that. 384 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:53.279 There are a lot of things he doesn't have to pray about that we did 385 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.759 spurgeon again, says yet Mark carefully, although our glorious Master did not rea 386 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:04.279 wire to pray in some of these respects in which it is more needful for 387 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:08.079 us. Yet, never was there a man who was more abundant in prayer 388 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:14.839 and in supplication, nor one in whom prayer was exercised with so much vehemence 389 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:21.640 and persistence. Kent Hughes rights. There too often we engaged not independent prayer, 390 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:27.920 but in obligatory or routine prayer. Jesus didn't say, apart from me, 391 00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:33.960 you can do something. Jesus said, apart from me, you can 392 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:40.799 do nothing. Have you ever spent a whole night in prayer? Now, 393 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:44.079 please don't misunderstand me at this point. I'm not here to condemn. I'm 394 00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:48.119 not telling you you're condemned if you have under you're lesser Christian or anything like 395 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:51.079 that. I'm just asking the question, and you don't have to answer out 396 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:53.519 loud or raise your hand at all. But I'm just asking the question, 397 00:30:55.319 --> 00:31:00.640 because in challenging you to do so, I might be opening up one of 398 00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:06.160 the greatest nights of your life that you will ever have. In V. 399 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:11.359 Two that was a few years ago now, But I, along with a 400 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:15.640 number of young people, scattered together in a convent in my city of home, 401 00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:21.240 city of Rochester, Minnesota, for the purpose of spending an entire night 402 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:26.880 in prayer. We basically went from seven to seven in prayer that night, 403 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:32.720 and so for those hours we prayed and we prayed. I can tell you 404 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:38.119 personally that for me it was probably the most life changing event in my Christian 405 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:42.200 life. My wife was also present that night, and she can talk to 406 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:48.359 you about it as well. But during that night I went from perhaps some 407 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:52.000 of the deepest loaves in my life to the highest highs of my life that 408 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:56.119 I had during that night. I may have referred to this earlier, but 409 00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:00.039 I prayed the prayer for the first time, and I prayed, Lord show 410 00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:05.079 me my heart, and I didn't like what I saw. But the Lord 411 00:32:05.160 --> 00:32:08.000 showed me my heart, and I saw, among other things, the hatred 412 00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:14.519 I had in my heart from my own brother. Now I'm not telling you 413 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:19.160 that whenever we pray we should be praying a long time, and that's always 414 00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:22.480 the way it should be, and there's no call for short prayers or anything 415 00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:24.799 like that. Spurgeon again staid, I do not think we are bound to 416 00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:29.640 pray long as the general rule. I am afraid, however, there is 417 00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:34.599 no great need to make that remark, for most of Christians are short enough, 418 00:32:34.920 --> 00:32:38.039 if not far too short in private worship. I thought that was good. 419 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:40.680 I don't say you have to do it, but I don't think there's 420 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:45.119 any need for me to make that remark anyway. Prayer is important. Why 421 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:49.920 is it important to us? Well, it's important for us in one way, 422 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:52.519 for the same reason it was important for our Lord, because we need 423 00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:57.400 to know the will of God for our lives. It's important to know God's 424 00:32:57.400 --> 00:33:01.079 will when you when you look at this group that Jesus chooses, it's probably 425 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:05.720 not the group we would have chosen to be the Apostles. We probably would 426 00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:07.920 have picked other people whose names we don't even know anymore. But our Lord 427 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:13.880 chose exactly. There isn't one religious leader in that group. There isn't one 428 00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:16.839 scribe, there isn't one Pharisee, there's none of those people. There's fishermen, 429 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:21.720 there's tax collectors, there's all of these other people that are Lord chooses. 430 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:24.160 There's no as far as we know, there's nobody that was rich in 431 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:28.000 that group. We don't read of any of them that were at all. 432 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:31.960 But yet they were, though they were those whom the Father willed our Lord 433 00:33:32.039 --> 00:33:37.680 to choose. If our Lord needed that night in prayer to discern the will 434 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:43.920 of God, how much more do we need prayer to discern God's will in 435 00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:49.160 our life. I think prayer is also important because it's one of the greatest 436 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:54.160 things we can do towards the salvation of the lost. Jesus said in Matthew 437 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:59.519 that we should pray the Lord of the harvest would send forth labors into the 438 00:33:59.559 --> 00:34:04.720 field. Now, probably, like you, I don't remember every sermon I've 439 00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:07.239 ever heard, and I've heard a lot of sermons, and I don't remember 440 00:34:07.280 --> 00:34:12.079 every one of those sermons, but some sermons, like I'm sure with you 441 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:15.679 as well, stick out in my mind that have always been with me. 442 00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:20.079 In one sermon, that's that way is one of earlier ones I heard. 443 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:23.400 It wasn't the earliest, but it was when I was in Bible College and 444 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:28.440 I was working in a church in Northfield, Minnesota, and my pastor preached 445 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:34.760 a sermon that he entitled Neglected Prayers, and I love that sermon. He 446 00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:38.119 talked about prayers we are commanded to pray in the Bible that we often don't 447 00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:45.440 pray. And one that I remember particularly that he used was Jesus UH telling 448 00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:51.840 us to pray the Lord of the harvest that he would send labors into the 449 00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:54.679 vineyard. Now, I don't know how often you pray that prayer. Maybe 450 00:34:54.679 --> 00:34:59.760 you're very regular in that prayer. Could be I don't know. I know 451 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.960 I'm not as regular as I should be in praying that prayer. But it's 452 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:08.119 important for us to pray that for the in gathering of the lost. And 453 00:35:08.199 --> 00:35:14.719 so we see that what God does in prayer towards that. When the disciples 454 00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:17.159 gathered together on the day of Pentecost for prayer, and they are already an 455 00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:22.159 extended prayer, we read in next chapter one it says the next one fourteen, 456 00:35:22.440 --> 00:35:27.679 all these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, and the first 457 00:35:27.719 --> 00:35:31.840 thing they needed prayer for was who were they going to choose to replace Judas 458 00:35:31.880 --> 00:35:37.599 as the apostle. Just as Our Lord spent the night in prayer to determine 459 00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:44.280 who those twelve men would be. And but yet immediately after these prayers that 460 00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:47.360 we read about an next one, the Holy Spirit comes down upon them on 461 00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:52.400 the day of Pentecost, and Peter gets up, like Jesus got up after 462 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:55.559 Luke, and pray and preach the famous sermon, the Sermon on the Plane. 463 00:35:55.800 --> 00:36:00.039 Peter gets up and preaches his perhaps most famous erman on the day of 464 00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:06.400 Pentecost, and we are told as a result of that sermon that three thousand 465 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:13.800 people were brought into the kingdom at that time. And so we see how 466 00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:20.039 important prayer is. In Jesus praying, we see one of the great mysteries 467 00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:23.960 of the incarnation and the two natures of the Lord. We'd say, well, 468 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:27.679 as a second person of the God had, of course he would want 469 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:30.159 to commune with the Father and the Spirit and have the triune counsel. Of 470 00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:35.880 course they would. But what about his man? He also needed to pray 471 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:39.320 as man. And again it's hard for us to totally unwrap the mystery of 472 00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:44.800 the two natures of Christ, but nonetheless identifying with us, he needed to 473 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:49.440 pray and pray he did, and pray intently for us, and how many 474 00:36:49.480 --> 00:36:54.280 times we see Jesus praying, and sometimes he's praying extremely intently. We read 475 00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:59.440 in Hebrews Chapter five it says in verse seven, in the days of his 476 00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:06.079 flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplication, with loud crying and tears to 477 00:37:06.199 --> 00:37:08.320 him who was able to save him from death. And he was heard because 478 00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:14.519 of his reverence incausemite we are totally prayed, so intently that he sweat as 479 00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:19.920 it were drops a blood. Hartley Coleridge wrote in one of his sonnets about 480 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:25.039 Christ, why craven prayer? What was his own? By might vain? 481 00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:30.559 Is the question? Christ was man, indeed, and being man, his 482 00:37:30.760 --> 00:37:37.239 duty was to pray. Kent Hughes says, though Jesus was the eternal son 483 00:37:37.280 --> 00:37:40.519 of God, though he created everything, though he is the elfin Omega, 484 00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:45.920 though everything is moving toward and will culminate in him, he could not live 485 00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:52.519 his human life apart from dependent prayer. I mentioned earlier that these disciples were 486 00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:59.880 basically ordinary men, and that should give all of us hope. I don't 487 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.199 know how many of you are extraordinary here this morning, and how many of 488 00:38:04.280 --> 00:38:07.079 us are ordinary, but we could look at ourselves and say, well, 489 00:38:07.920 --> 00:38:12.360 I'm certainly not going to be a Peter or a John. No way I'm 490 00:38:12.360 --> 00:38:15.519 going to achieve to that. I'm not going to be the apostle Paul at 491 00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:20.440 all. You might remember Abraham Lincoln said that God must have loved ordinary people 492 00:38:20.519 --> 00:38:24.599 because he made so many of them. Oswald Chambers wrote, God can achieve 493 00:38:24.760 --> 00:38:31.559 his purpose either through the absence of human power and resources or abandonment of reliance 494 00:38:31.599 --> 00:38:37.760 on them. All through history, God has chosen and used nobody's because their 495 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:44.920 unusual dependence on Him made possible the unique display of his power and grace. 496 00:38:45.559 --> 00:38:52.079 He chose and used somebody's only when they renounced their dependence on their natural abilities 497 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:58.400 and resources. We have this treasure, Paul said to the Corinthians and Jars 498 00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:02.760 of Clay. He said in Second Corinthians twelve that God said to him, 499 00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:08.440 my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 500 00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:12.800 He said, therefore, I will boast all the more gladly and my 501 00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:16.239 weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the 502 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:21.960 sake of Christ. I'm content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, 503 00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:29.079 and calamities, for when I'm weak, I'm strong. Paul asked in First 504 00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:32.480 Corinthians, one, where is the wise? One? Where is the scribe? 505 00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:37.519 Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the 506 00:39:37.559 --> 00:39:44.039 wisdom of the world. It is the ordinary people of this world, touched 507 00:39:44.039 --> 00:39:49.880 by God, called chosen, and have learned the secret of private prayer that 508 00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.280 God uses you. See, it's not your giftings. It's the ability for 509 00:39:54.320 --> 00:39:59.000 you to rely upon the Lord, to pray to the Lord, to spend 510 00:39:59.039 --> 00:40:04.920 time with him that causes God to use us. And so don't look down 511 00:40:04.960 --> 00:40:08.239 on yourself, don't think it's hopeless, because you can pray as well as 512 00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:14.000 any other believer in this church, and God can use you in ways that 513 00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:20.199 a way beyond our understanding. Let's pray, Father me thank you for your 514 00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:23.719 word. We thank you for the fat God that you've called us as a 515 00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:29.199 people chosen us. And part of what you've called us to is for a 516 00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:34.079 life of prayer. Lord, I would say I fall so far short, 517 00:40:35.599 --> 00:40:40.960 so far short. But Lord, just I would pray you ignite in all 518 00:40:42.039 --> 00:40:46.960 of us a desire for prayer in our own lives. Perhaps are those here 519 00:40:46.960 --> 00:40:52.719 whose prayer life is exemplary that the rest of us should imitate and follow. 520 00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:58.239 But for those of us who feel a lack help us, Lord, because 521 00:40:58.239 --> 00:41:01.960 we who are people that have been brought to the cross, we who realize 522 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:07.599 there was no works we could ever do to save us we have all people 523 00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:13.519 should understand that we are lost without you, that in order to do what 524 00:41:13.559 --> 00:41:15.840 you would have us to do, we must go to you in prayer, 525 00:41:16.920 --> 00:41:22.719 even as you did that night on the mountain. So help us, Lord. 526 00:41:23.519 --> 00:41:27.159 If there are those who have never called upon you, who do not 527 00:41:27.320 --> 00:41:30.239 know your name, who have never trusted in the blood and the death of 528 00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:32.719 Christ for their salvation, Lord, I pray that they may do so this 529 00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:39.039 morning and now find the power that they may have in prayer and changing their 530 00:41:39.079 --> 00:41:45.840 life and the life of others. We thank you God, make us above 531 00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:50.599 all the people. Let's seek your face. So when you say to us, 532 00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:54.960 seek my face, we will respond Thy face, Oh Lord, I 533 00:41:55.000 --> 00:42:00.280 will seek. I pray God you would add your blessing to this heard in 534 00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:02.199 Christ's name. Amen. Amen,