The Supreme Calling of God

All right. Thank you for that special music. And say Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers tomorrow. I think it's quite appropriate to give honor, as it says in the Fifth Commandment, honor your father and mother, and once a year, just a special day to make sure we give our mothers thanks. Brethren, do you ever feel discouraged or sometimes don't feel worthy of your calling?

It can happen, especially in these trying times that we go through. We don't know what is in store for us in the future. We're going through a period that we have not lived through, and so there's a lot that has changed in our lives. And of course, the devil is always trying to discourage us, to make us feel unworthy, to not go on to say what's the use. What's the use? Yet, God is the great encourager, telling us not to lose hope, that we can make it through His help, as those faithful men and women of faith have done in the past. For instance, Christ's apostles had those moments of discouragement, of feeling unworthy, at one time, the Bible tells us, when Christ was arrested, they all abandoned Him and fled like scared rabbits. Notice what it says in Matthew 26 verses 55 and 56. In that hour, Jesus said to the multitudes, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to take me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize me. But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled, not one state behind to defend Him.

They had been intimidated by the soldiers, they had lost their nerve, and they fled in a panic. How they must have felt afterwards when He revealed Himself to them. They felt a lot of shame, all 12. Then toward the end of John's Gospel, Jesus asked Peter three times, Do you still love me? And of course, one of the reasons was that Peter had recently betrayed Jesus three times.

He had denied Him, so that's why Peter felt so sad, so ashamed.

And yet Christ forgave them all, and instead encouraged them to go on. And He continued using them. They had been called and had to overcome. We also have a supreme calling and must go on. It's encouraging to study the lives of the apostles, to see that they had much in common with us. We will learn a lot of interesting facts today. First, about that high calling and what a privilege it is, let's look at several scriptures of that calling to appreciate it even more. First of all, in Philippians 3, verse 14, Philippians 3, verse 14, Paul says, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. He uses the term upward. The term means the highest, the peak.

And it should say basically the highest calling from God in Christ Jesus. I like the Spanish translations. They say the supreme calling. There's nothing higher than that. Nothing better. Notice in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 11. Paul called the calling another way here. It says, Therefore we also pray always that for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power. So here he says it's a calling that we have to be worthy. We can't neglect it. We can't think it's going to work on its own. It takes effort, sacrifice, commitment, and perseverance. It requires a never give up attitude. And of course, God working in us, he's going to help us to have that. But we have to do our part as well. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 1. After he mentions to Timothy about stirring up the spirit in him, he goes on to say verse 8, Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God. God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. God had planned this out even before time began. It's very interesting that Scripture there, because there is no other religious writing that we have ever come across that mentions that there were things happening before time. Well, in the 20th century, it was discovered that time is part of our universe, that it is the very fabric along with space. With space came time and all the physical laws that govern it. But previous to that, time did not exist as we know it in these four dimensions.

And so here it talks about that God is outside of time. He is not limited or restricted by time as we are. He can enter the universe at whatever time he wants to. And he can exit the universe because that's all constrained and limited by physical things. And so here God revealed that he had a plan with that holy calling that of all the billions of people that have lived to be able to receive a holy calling, a calling from the holy God, it's a privileged calling. We should never neglect it. We should never take it for granted. And then in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 10, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 10, it says, Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call an election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble. So here, here's another angle to this calling. We have to make sure that it's going to happen. Not take it for granted, but reinforce that calling to secure it. Don't let it be lost. So one way we can appreciate our calling much more is to review Christ's calling of the 12 apostles. They were not supermen at all. I'm going to use as a reference a book that anybody who has that e-sword software in the reference section, they have old books. One of them is called the Training of the Twelve by a 19th century writer, A.B. Bruce. And we can go over this book in segments and can note what we have in common with those apostles.

This book was written in a very florid language, which we don't use today. So I have changed some words, modernized it, and added a bit because they're kind of clumsy. They're just sentences that go on and on and on. But all I'm trying to do is make the meaning clear.

That's what I'll do when I quote them. Now, how many of you know where in the scriptures is the calling of the first five disciples found? Just one chapter, it has the first five disciples that Christ called. It is in John chapter 1.

Notice in verse 35 of John chapter 1, and actually John wrote this chapter. And this year, none of the other gospels has this section, because John was one of those five. And so he added this because this was the time of his calling. And so it starts in verse 35. It says here, talking about John the Baptist calling Jesus Christ the Lamb of God. And then he says in verse 35, again, the next day John the Baptist stood with two of his disciples.

And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. He was signaling and showing that it was Jesus Christ, that Messiah that he had been talking about. Verse 37, the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And John didn't tell him to follow Jesus. Nobody else did. But they impulsively said, well, if he's the Messiah, we want to follow him.

It seems like they didn't even ask John the Baptist's permission. They were John the Baptist's disciples. And John allowed that to happen. But it just says, they followed Jesus. Verse 38, then Jesus turned and seeing them following him, because he didn't have disciples at that time. He was by himself. He said to them, What do you seek? They said to him, Rabbi, which is to say, when translated teacher, Where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. And that was the momentous moment, a momentous instance in their lives, because they came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day.

Now it was about the tenth hour. When they did that, so they made that decision. Now some people would have said, Well, where are you staying? Oh, you're over there. Oh, no, I don't like that. That's going to be hardships for me. No, I better follow John. No, they, they committed themselves. And Christ was impressed with their faith and commitment. They didn't ask a lot of questions. How much do we get paid a month? How long is this going to last? No, they just said, We're here with you, and we're going to stick with you.

And then it says, One of the two who heard John the Baptist speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. So, of the two, we have the name of the first. But guess what? In all of John's gospel, he doesn't use his own name.

He's so humble that when he introduces himself to it, he leaves out his name, or he'll use a term like the disciple that Jesus Christ loved, or something else. And here, typical, since it's referring to him, and I'll show you how that can be deduced in a moment.

Then it says, verse 41, He first found his own brother Simon, talking about Simon Peter, and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus. Notice that Simon Peter, he knew Andrew, his brother, was following John the Baptist. It seems like Simon Peter was close by. He didn't reject that invitation. So, from what is known, Simon Peter was intimately in touch with his brother and what was going on with John the Baptist, and he brought him to Jesus.

Now, when Jesus looked at him, he said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated a stone. And when it talks about Peter in the Greek, it means a small stone. It doesn't mean a huge rock. Even here, it doesn't talk about a rock. Jesus Christ was a rock, but there was something about Peter's character that was solid, that was courageous. And so, Jesus Christ saw that.

Yes, it was really a stone in the rough, but there was substance behind him. And so, here we have Andrew and we have Peter. Verse 43, The following day, Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him, Follow me. Now, Philip was from Bethsaida.

The city of Andrew and Peter are here. They knew each other. He was probably a fisherman, like they were. And Philip found Nathaniel, which was from that same area, 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. Okay, we have three disciples so far. But how about Nathaniel? He was from Galilee, and this was more of a backwater area. It wasn't the urban city of Jerusalem at all.

And so Nathaniel said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Nazareth of Galilee? Could the Messiah come from this backwater area? And Philip said to him, Come and see. So here's again. Are you just gonna think intellectual about this, or you want to check it out for yourself? Well, Nathaniel wanted to check it out. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him, and he said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit.

So he saw. This is a man that's sincere and genuine to the core. There's no deceit. There's no political ambitions here. He was an honest man and sincere.

Verse 48, Nathaniel said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Now, that must have been quite a distance. There's no way Jesus could have seen him by sight. And Nathaniel answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. That was what he needed. That's all the proof he needed. And then Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, Most assuredly I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. So here, in this short little section, we have five of the twelve disciples that Jesus would choose and that they would become the twelve apostles.

So we see that there were brothers involved here. In Mark 1.16, I told you, can we tell that John was the one that was there with Andrew? It was because Andrew was his brother. In Mark 1.16, it says, And as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon, and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea. For they were fishermen. So this is very clear. Then Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther from there, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, and also were in the boat mending their nets. Well, it was, he says, And immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him. So it shows us here, Simon and Andrew were brothers, and here's the other fishermen that was called, and eventually it would be James, his brother, that would be called as well.

So they were mostly fishermen and followers of John the Baptist. So they had several qualities that were very important to Jesus. First among them was sincerity. They were looking for the Messiah. There was nothing fake about them. A.B. Bruce writes, Little is said of the first five disciples, but there is enough to show they were all dedicated men.

What they had found in their new friend Jesus indicates what they were looking for. They belonged to the select band who waited for the consolation of Israel, and anxiously looked for him who should fulfill God's promises and carry out the hopes of all godly persons. Certainly two of them, and perhaps all five of them, had been disciples of John the Baptist. This fact is decisive as to their moral sincerity. From such a group, none but spiritually earnest men were likely to come. They were not half-hearted. Bruce goes on, For if the followers of John were all like himself, talking about John the Baptist, there were men who hungered and thirsted after true righteousness. Being sick of the supposed righteousness then in vogue, they fully backed John's withering exposure of the hollowness of the current religious profession and the worthlessness of outward good works to be seen of men. And they yearned for a righteousness that was better than the Pharisaic superstition and ostentation. Their conscience acknowledged the truth found in Isaiah 64 verse 6. But we all are like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. They prayed fervently for the reviving of true religion, for the coming of God's kingdom, for the Messianic king with a fan in his hand to separate the shaft from the wheat, and to put right all things which were wrong. Such without doubt were the feelings of those who had the honor to be the first disciples of Christ. Secondly, they also had the love of the truth, which God instilled in them, and they developed it. Notice in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 32. Paul says here, But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were part of your life. But the last few days, you endured a great struggle with the suffering of the Lord. I want to start with the first thing I want to say is that you were made struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulation and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. And so it says here, when you were illuminated, these apostles had been illuminated with the truth and they recognized they didn't do the illuminating. They needed to be humble, to unlearn so many traditions and wrong views. They did not turn the light bulb of the truth on in their minds, but it had been lit through God's calling. Bruce goes on to say, they were indeed godly men who had already shown the sincerity of their faith by forsaking all for their master's sake. But at the time of their calling, they were still quite ignorant, narrow-minded, superstitious, full of Jewish prejudices, misconceptions, and animosities. They had much to unlearn of what was bad, as well as much to learn of what was good, and they were slow to do it. All beliefs made the communication of new religious ideas a difficult task. They were men of a good, honest heart. The soil of their spiritual nature was fit to produce an abundant harvest. But the soil was tough and hard, and needed much tillage before it would yield its fruit. Christ had a lot to work on. They were mostly poor men of humble birth, low station, and of blue-collar jobs, who rarely ever had the stimulating influence of a liberal education, or of social intercourse with persons of cultivated minds.

And that is the same now as it was then, those that God is calling. Notice 1 Corinthians 1, verse 24. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 24.

It says here, those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, nor many mighty, nor many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised. God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. So again, going to this author, Bruce asks, Why did Jesus choose such men? Have you ever asked yourself that? I certainly have. Was he guided by feelings of animosity toward those possessing social advantages? In other words, was he in this class warfare?

The answer is no.

Or, on the other hand, was he showing favor to men of his own class? In other words, was he just gathering people that were neighbors and people from his area? The answer is no. His choice was made in true, godly wisdom. If he chose mainly Galileans, it was not from a provincial prejudice against those of the South in Judea. If he chose unlearned and humble men, it was not because he was moved by any petty jealousy toward those of knowledge, culture, or good birth. If any rabbi, rich man, or ruler had been willing to yield himself unreservedly to the service of the kingdom of God, no objection would have been found. The case of Saul of Tarsus, the pupil of Gemelio, proves the truth of this statement. Even Gemelio himself, the chief rabbi, would not have been denied if he would have humbled himself to become a disciple of the supposed unlearned Nazarene, Jesus Christ. But neither he nor any of his order were willing to lower themselves and lose their privileges. The truth is that Jesus was obliged to be content with fishermen, publicans, and zealots who eventually would become the apostles. They were the best that could be had under the circumstances. Those who deemed themselves better were too proud to become disciples, and thereby they excluded themselves from what now is seen to have been the highest calling possible to be apostles and later kings and priests in God's kingdom. So, I'll just highlight that the main point of this is that these men had their struggles, but they wholeheartedly accepted that high calling of God in Christ. We, too, have the high calling of Christ. They have successfully finished their race, and now we are running ours. Let's be encouraged and be thankful for the privilege to be called by God, although we don't deserve it. Continuing on, Bruce says, A few men of high positions were sincere sympathizers of Jesus' ministry, but they were not so dedicated in their commitment to be eligible to be apostles. Nicodemus was barely able to speak a timid apologetic word in Christ's behalf at his trial.

Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple, as it says, secretly for fear of the Jews. These were hardly the persons to send forth as missionaries, so bound by their social ties, party connections, and so enslaved by the fear of men. The apostles of Christianity must be made of sterner stuff. And so, Jesus was obliged to fall back on the rustic but simple, sincere, and energetic men of Galilee, and he was quite content with his choice, and deeply thanked his father for giving him even such as they. Those with learning, rank, wealth, refinement, who would have freely given up all to serve him, he would not have despised. But he preferred sincere, devoted men who had none of these advantages to those undevoted men who had all the privileges. And with good reason, for it mattered little to him, except in the eyes of the contemporary prejudice, what the social position or even the previous history of those twelve men had been. The important thing was that they were spiritually qualified for the work to which they were called. For what is ultimately important is not what a man is on the outside, but what he is on the inside. That's what Bruce comments.

And I'd like to also mention this question. What kept them so humble after receiving such authority and power? Again, Bruce has a classic line that I've never forgotten. I was so struck by it. Bruce says, in the end, what made these men marvel the most was not so much about Jesus' miracles as of the incredible depth of divine mercy, love, and compassion which these miracles showed. Indeed, there is no trace of the emotional thrill of the marvelous miracles, either in the Gospels or in the Epistles. The disciples may have experienced such a feeling when the era of wonders first burst on their astonished view, but they had lost the initial excitement in the end. Throughout the New Testament, miracles are spoken of in a sober, almost matter-of-fact tone. How is this possible? The explanation is that the apostles had seen too many miracles while they were with Jesus to be continually excited about them. Their sense of wonder had been deadened by being satiated with them. But though they ceased to marvel at the power of their Lord, the miracles, they never ceased to wonder at His unmerited mercy and grace toward others. The love and mercy of Christ remained for them throughout their lives as a thing surpassing all knowledge and understanding. And the longer they lived, the more they fully acknowledged the truth of their Master's words as He grew larger and larger in His example in their lives, and they grew smaller and smaller. The Master's words that they remembered, blessed are the eyes which see these things that you see. In other words, as time went by, the example of Jesus Christ grew more and more in their minds, and their own image of themselves and the accomplishments that they carried out became less and less important. Would that everyone thought that way? It would be a much better world, and we would have a much better church as well. So, let's conclude. Let's go to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. Verse 1. The example of these men, and you can go beginning all the way with Abel, the first righteous man that we have recorded. We have Noah. What did Noah do before? He built an ark. Nobody knew him. He didn't have great possessions. All of these men and women of God who were called, they came not from the most important parts of society. He didn't care about their nationalities, age, and level of intelligence. He was looking for those people that are wholehearted and dedicated, that are not going to give up. In Hebrews 12, verse 1, it says, And let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He's still up there in heaven. He's still ahead of the church. We're under His authority, under God. He says, You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. We have a big responsibility to God to continue in this holy calling He has given us. So this examination of the twelve disciples should encourage us in these trying times to follow and be faithful in that supreme calling of God. Let's continue to get it done.