All right, if you would open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10. You'll see in the bulletin the name of the sermon is the Dream Team. Are there any people here who love the NBA and basketball by any chance? You can raise your hand, I promise. It's all good. No, nobody likes the NBA one, maybe? Well, there was one specific team that was called the Dream Team. Does anybody know what it was? That's exactly right. They were called the first dream team while they were the dream team. They were made up of a group of 11 NBA members and one college player. As Doug Van Dorn said, he kind of relates to Judas, but anyhow that's another story. It made Doug and everybody else there laugh. But that's what I'm going to talk about at first was this dream team and what made them so special. okay there was uh... eleven nba players and they're all in the hall of fame now it's michael jordan magic johnson larry bird charles barclay david robinson patrick ewing carl malone scotty pippin chris mullen clive drexler john stockton and then of course number twelve christian latner But again, all of these men, with the exception of Christian Leighton, are in the NBA Hall of Fame. They were known as the dream team for a very good reason. They were meant to bring back the gold medal to the United States. Because it's a game that we invented. It's supposed to be something that we're proud of. But we hadn't won the gold medal four years earlier. And they said, well, it's because we have college players. It's time to get our best playing. And that's exactly what they did. Well, they were so good, they played eight games during that Olympic season in 1992. They won by an average of 44 points per game. That's huge, especially if you don't follow the NBA. That's a huge accomplishment. According to their coach, Chuck Daly, he said, it was like Elvis and the Beatles put together. Traveling with the Dream Team was like traveling with 12 rock stars. He said, that's all I know how to compare it to. The other teams would take plays off just to stand back and watch and see what they would do. There's a story about one team from Croatia. The guy is guarding Magic Johnson and he keeps looking back at his bench and yelling, hey, get a picture, get a picture. Because he's there trying to guard him. Think about this. These men, they're on the floor with the 11 of the greatest basketball players to ever play a game. So it's a memorable moment for them. That's why it meant so much to them, because they knew it would never happen again. And in my opinion, it was honestly the best basketball team ever put together. Really cool. So why am I talking about that dream team? There's a much more important dream team, and that's Christ's dream team. the 12 apostles that he chose. Because one of the things that that team, it'll be forgotten, it will be. Even by the families of those men that played against them, that have it in pictures, their kids and their grandkids are eventually gonna forget that story. But everybody should know God's dream team that Christ chose called the apostles. So we're gonna have a little history lesson today. So that's why I'm gonna talk about this story. The things that we do on earth are fleeting, unless they are for Christ. There's a man by the name of C.T. Studd who put it this way, With that said, here we're going to talk about Christ's dream team. In Matthew chapter 10, 2-4, real simple, real short reading, it's just a list of names. The names of the twelve apostles are these, 1st Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus. Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Now that list is in two other Gospels. It's in Mark chapter 3, also in Luke chapter 6, but it's also in the book of Acts. In Acts chapter 1. Now the difference with the list in the book of Acts, Judas isn't mentioned. Judas Iscariot. But they're all there for us to look at and to learn from. So today, hopefully, we're going to get to understand and know who these men were. And you'll find out at the end why I think it's very important for us to understand who they are. Okay? Again, they're not always mentioned in the same order. However, they always put in the same grouping of four. It's three different groups of four. It's assumed that the first four names, in other words, the first group that we're going to talk about, were the leaders of the apostles. They were the ones that were closest to Him. After all, they were the most known by Jesus and they were also the most outspoken. with one exception, and that's Andrew. On three different occasions, Christ calls Peter, James, and John to accompany him to specific events. The first is the raising of Jairus' daughter in Matthew chapter 5. The second is Jesus' transfiguration in Mark chapter 9. And then finally in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark chapter 14, verses 33 through 42. Well, I think it's important to understand who these men are as a group and individuals. We must never take our sight off of what these men came to realize and understand upon Christ's ascension. It's the fact that life is not about us. Do you understand that? In our culture today, everybody has this, well, that person disrespected me. Well, I deserve this. No. Because when you truly look at the Bible, what do we all deserve? What do we all truly deserve? It's hell. It's hell. These men came to realize that through a lot of hard lessons, being, in a sense, not physically slapped down by Jesus, but being taught by Jesus, it's not about you. It's about me. That's what we need to learn. That's what we need to learn. And again, they got it after many lessons that were taught by Jesus. But even Jesus himself, after his crucifixion, even after the crucifixion, rebukes the apostles for their hard-heartedness in Mark 16, 14. He said, afterward, he appeared to the 11 themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. They had just spent all this time with Jesus, seeing all these miracles. You would think that it would dawn on them, there's nothing He can't do. And He just got done teaching us right before He was crucified, He was coming back. And we would see Him again. Would I be any different? Probably not. Probably not. Just like the Jews in the Old Testament, the reason why the stories are there, and repeated over and over again is because we as humans, as God's children, we have hard hearts. We have hard hearts. We need to be taught lessons over and over again. How many of you as parents have told your kids one time, go clean the room, and they went and did it? Go do the dishes. Take out the garbage. It's normally, go take out the garbage, please. Five minutes later, the garbage is still there. They're still playing the game. Can you please go take out the garbage? Ten minutes later, they're still playing the game. Please go take out the garbage. We're hard-hearted. We're stubborn. And we need to be taught these lessons time after time. And it was no different with them as the apostles. And they witnessed Christ's miracles firsthand. So why would it be any different for us? We should never think that we're different from these men. That's again one of the reasons why I'm teaching on this. Hopefully, the more we study God's Word, we will learn the very same thing and not be so stubborn. Our problem comes when we lose the focus and start thinking that what we deserve or what we want. Don't fool yourselves. Again, never forget it's not about us. If we get what we deserve, it's about hell. Romans 3.10 is very, very clear. There are none righteous. No, not one. So please don't fool yourself into thinking that you're exception to the rule because I'm here to tell you you're not. Neither am I. Before I preach anything to anybody else, I preach it to myself several times over and over again. Okay? So don't think I'm telling you something that doesn't apply to me. So how and why did Christ choose these men? Well, in Luke 6, 12, Christ gives us an example of what it would be great for us to follow. He prayed before calling the 12, and not just for a short time, but all night. When was the last time you prayed all night about something? This was a major decision, and what did he do? He went before his God. And it says, in these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. Something else, and this is kind of a rabbit trail, and I'll be brief, but why did Christ only choose men to be apostles? Because one of the qualifications we're taught about in the book of Acts is in order to be an apostle, you had to follow Christ and actually know who he was. Did Christ have women following him? Yes! He had women following him. So why did he only choose men? The apostles, when they had to replace Judas after he committed suicide, why did they only choose men? They had, again, the same option. They could have chose women too, but they didn't. I think Paul gets a very bad rap when he talks about the roles between men and women. Men are to be the leaders of the church. The reason why it's that way is because Christ was following the mandate back in Genesis. Woman is to be a helpmate for man. Okay? And that's a big issue for a lot of churches nowadays. Now, I know it's not here, but if you have somebody who wants to talk to you about it, say, and they just want to say Paul was a male chauvinist pig, no. Not at all true. Not at all true. Direct them back to Genesis. And then direct them to Christ and what he did. And then to the apostles and what they did. Not only for apostles, but for deacons as well. Okay? So that's one way you can direct them back. So again, why these men and for what purposes? Well, Ephesians 4.12 says, One of the things that I deal with all the time is trying to get the people to understand if they know Christ, they're a saint. Because on the reservation on Moen, if you weren't here for the thing earlier, about 99% of the people say that they're Catholic and they revere the saints. And for me to tell them that they're saints if they're in Christ, that kind of blows their mind. Really? Yes! Absolutely. If you believe in Christ, you're a saint. This is where it's found. Okay? As Christ's ambassadors, they were to continue his teaching and to train others to continue the work as well. They were given their final instructions from Christ at the time of his ascension. And again, that comes from Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20. I won't read it. We all know what it says. But there's a lesson that has been divided by the church and it doesn't need to be. We are all called to be disciple makers and to be disciples of Christ. Not just pastors. Not just missionaries. Not just deacons. Not just evangelists. But each and every person who claims the name of Christ has a responsibility. It's a responsibility. Do you understand that? It's a command by God to share in the hope that you have in you with others. Now that doesn't mean each and every person has to be a pastor or a missionary like we are and get sent across the country or like Trevor Johnson and sent to the other side of the world. You can do it real simply just by going when you go to the grocery store and you go to the same clerk week after week, you know them by name. You can share Christ with them. Hey, you know, we have a great little church not too far from here, great pastor, great preaching. Do you want to come to church with us? Just, you know, just to hear the Word of God. Get some hope in your life. I've noticed that you've been having a hard time. Again, it doesn't have to be simple. I mean, excuse me, it doesn't have to be hard, it can be simple. Remember me talking about God-given roles? Again, it doesn't mean that we're all called to be pastors or elders or deacons in the church, but we all do have that responsibility. And we also need to be urgent. We need to be urgent for the lost souls that we come in contact with, no matter where it is. And we are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling from Philippians 2.12. When we do that, that should give us a sense of God saved me and I need to make sure that I, with my family members, again with the person down at the grocery store, at my doctor's office, whatever the case may be, In Mark 8.38 it says, Don't be ashamed of your calling, of being saved. Christ commanded his apostles to go out and give it out freely. That applies to us as well. Not just the apostles, not just the pastors. Do you think this adulterous and sinful generation, that title still applies to us today? It absolutely does. It absolutely does. Now let's start to learn about these individuals. And if you can, please make sure you pay attention to how God used these different men with different gifts, talents, and personalities. First, Peter. Simon. In chapter 2, the name of the twelve apostles are these. First, Simon, who was called Peter. Now Peter was leader of the apostles. His personality would not allow him to be quiet. He was a typical type A personality. That's me. I'm a type A personality, especially if you get me started talking about the things of God. I get very passionate and my voice goes up. People think I yell. I don't really intend to scare anybody by my yelling about my being passionate about what I believe in the Bible and all that. So if I come across as that way, I'm sorry. I don't truly mean it. I just love God and I love sharing His Word. Okay, so here we go. Peter. In a book called Twelve Ordinary Men. I hope some of you might have read it. It's by John MacArthur. Yeah, there you go. It's a great book. His title for Peter is this, Peter the Apostle with the Foot-Shaped Mouth. Okay, that comes right out of his book. I can relate to that, I know I can, maybe you can too. Yeah, see, there's a few of us here. Sometimes we're too quick to speak and not quick enough to listen. Well, that was Peter. But he was always, excuse me. Oh, I thought somebody said something. I'm sorry. But anyhow, that was me. And it seems like he didn't always know when it was time to be quiet. One of the great examples is in Matthew 17, 1 through 6. And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John. Again, this is when he pulled out them separately. and led him up onto a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. And his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we're here. If you wish, I will make three tents here. One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Peter, you shouldn't have said anything. And while he was still speaking, when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. It's like God saying, it's not time for you to talk. It's not time for you to talk. Because it even says that Peter didn't know what to say, but he had to say something. Come on. God was literally telling Peter to be quiet and listen to Jesus. Or how about when Peter actually gets it right, then horribly wrong just a few verses later. But in Matthew 16, 15 through 19, when Christ says to them, he said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Got it right. And he was the first one to say it. Exactly what all of them were thinking, but didn't have the wherewithal to say. Peter, quick, and he got it right. Christ praises him for it. And then just a few verses later, Matthew 16, 21 through 23, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed. and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him." Could you imagine pulling Christ aside? I would hope I would never do that. But again, my personality. I'm quick to speak. Oh, Peter. Peter, he was up on the mountaintop and now he gets thrown not just down in the valley but under the mountain. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you. But he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. Ouch. He just got praised. He just got praised. Get behind me, Satan. That would be crushing. That would be absolutely crushing. Have you had moments like that? Again, me, I know I have because of my personality. It's a flaw. It's a flaw. But even God uses people like Peter. And hopefully now he's using me. He's all in. Peter is all in with everything he does. It makes for spectacular achievements. It really does. Especially when Christ just praises him. I'm going to build my church upon what you just said. You got it right. And Peter is your name. But then the tremendous lows. Get behind me Satan. This is also the kind of person who will wear you out. And I know I'm that way at times. I wear people out. Especially when you get me talking about the mission and what we're doing there. After a little while, eyes start to glaze over. And I don't mean it that way. I'm just, again, passionate about what I believe. So, again, let me ask you this. When you were little, did you have your mom or dad ever use your middle name when you've done something wrong? For me, it's John Michael Cordy is my name. And I know if my mom used my whole name, I'm in trouble. I did something that I shouldn't have done. Anybody like that? Maybe? Couple? That's kind of like what it was with Peter as well. Because whenever Christ used his real name, Simon, That's what you need to pay attention to. When Christ is talking about Simon Peter or Simon Simon, chances are he's done something wrong and Christ is using it as a way to try and teach Peter. Look, I'm going to build my house on you, but you need to learn this lesson. Pay attention to what I'm saying. Especially when he said, Simon, Simon. Okay? And we're going to talk a little bit about it. First, Luke 22, 31-34. Simon, Simon. Behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you turn again, so in other words, Christ is already telling them, you're going to fail. You're going to fail. But when you turn again, strengthen your brothers. Peter said to him in his arrogance, Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny me three times that you know me. And we remember how that turned out. Christ got denied by Peter to the point where Peter was being profane. I don't know the man! And as the rooster crowed a third time, Christ turned around and looked at him. That would be absolutely devastating. Can you imagine the person that you said that you're willing to die for, you just deny him and he knows it? And he turns around and looks at you? How your heart and everything would just fall. Peter needed to learn that lesson though. Peter needed to learn that lesson, but then right after this happens, he goes out and he just not only weeps, he weeps bitterly. I let my Savior down. Oh, how crushing that is. And earlier on the same night when Jesus says to him in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14, 37-8. And he came and found him sleeping and said to him, Peter, Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch for just one hour? Again, he's using that name to try and, you need to pay attention to me when I'm trying to teach you, Peter. Just like when our parents said that to me, John, Michael, Cordy, what are you doing? It's one of those moments. But Christ used these moments to shape him. To take that personality he has and to use him mightily. Even after Peter's greatest failure, the denial of Christ, Christ lovingly calls him back. In Mark 16, 7 it says, but go tell his disciples and Peter specifically, and Peter. Notice he didn't call him Simon and Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. Christ specifically calls Peter to let him know, I love you. Be reassured, I love you and I'm here for you. Even though you denied me, I forgive you. I'm here. What a wonderful Savior we have. And it's just another example of his compassion. This is the same Peter who is now refreshed and edified by his Savior after his ascension that he preaches at the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. And roughly 3,000 souls come to Christ. And is used again in just two chapters in Acts chapter 4 where he leads 5,000 people to Christ through his preaching. It's the same Peter, the one who had denied him. He had learned his lesson well, I think we can say that. Now he wrote 2 Peter, which is the last book that he wrote, somewhere between 64 and 67 AD. This is the history lesson. Now there is no definite record that tells us exactly how Peter died. But according to tradition of the church and the testimony of a man named Clement, Peter was crucified upside down after being forced to watch his wife be crucified as more torture. But as he was seeing his wife being led, basically he told her, just remember, we're going to see our wonderful Savior. Okay. Now, Andrew, his brother. The younger brother, Peter, and a fellow fisherman. Andrew was the quietest of the first four men, or the first four group. But he was also part of that wonderful group of leaders. He seemed happy as a number two man. I'll tell you right now, I'm willing to bet Paul and this church would love to have a bunch of men like Andrew. Because what was Andrew known for? leading other people to Christ, whether it be one-on-one or by groups. Now John the Baptist, excuse me, John the Baptist pointed Jesus out, and both John and Andrew went. They were looking for a Savior. Christ, excuse me, God was working in their hearts. And when John the Baptist pointed them out, they were gone. Thank you. And they go. So much so that they spend the day, both Andrew and John, spend the day with Jesus. And then that night, they leave. And what happens? What's the first thing Andrew does? Hey big brother, guess what? We know who Christ is. And he brings him. That's the first person to bring somebody to Christ. And it was Andrew. He was being a missionary. He was bringing people to the Savior, Christ. So. Andrew is one of the more prominent apostles who never in the Bible has his name associated with any type of disrepute or shameful acts. He was very upstanding and appeared to be slow to speak and quick to learn. That would be a great trait for me to have. I would love to have that trait, but I don't. So he had a heart that was meant for service and did not need the applause of men. Are you the kind of person who doesn't like to be up in front of people doing what I'm doing right now or what Paul does on a weekly basis? Do you want to kind of sit back in the shadows? That's okay. God can still use you. Think of Andrew. And when we get to these other apostles, think about them as well. Now, Andrew, he was martyred by the Roman governor whose wife, Andrew, had just led to Christ. He wanted her to recant, but she refused to. So the Roman governor had him executed for it. It was reported that he was crucified on something called a satyr, basically an X. And to add to his torture, he wasn't run through with nails or with anything like that through his hands or his feet. Thank you, brother. He was basically roped to the thing so he couldn't get down. So he suffered for two days before he finally died. One of the stories or traditions that is taught about the church when it comes to Andrew. What do you think Andrew was doing that whole two days? Well, woe is me. Oh, I'm going to die. That's not what he was. That's not who he was. He was witnessing to everybody that walked by according to church tradition. This is who my Savior is. This is who I'm willing to die for and am dying for. Let me tell you about Him before I die, before it's too late for you. Let me show you where my hope is found for two days. What an amazing, amazing story. How about James, the son of Zebedee? And he was one of the sons of thunder, who was the first of the apostles to be martyred. Now much like Peter, James was an alpha. He wanted to be in charge. He very much loved to be in the limelight. He was driven by ambition and wanted to be recognized. for what he thought he deserved. He was passionate and he was outspoken. Now, when Jesus was disrespected by the Samaritan village, do you remember what James and John did? Well, in case you don't, here it is. Luke 9, 54. Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them? They couldn't stand to have Christ disrespected, but even more important than that, they wanted the power to be able to do that. Let's show people who God is and who we are! Very outspoken, wanted the limelight. Jesus rebukes them, obviously. They show zeal for wanting to protect Jesus' reputation, but again it's misplaced. Mark 10, 35 through 45. And James and John, the sons of David, came up to him and said to him, teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. Do you remember where I'm going with this? In other words, Jesus, let us sit one on your right hand and one on your left while you're in your kingdom. Because in the kingdom, that was the seat of power besides the main king. So everybody else would have to answer to them. They wanted the power for themselves. Again, They're missing the big picture. They still think it's about them. They haven't got it yet. But Christ is teaching them all along the way. And it's the same for us. The more we read His Word, and understand who He is, and understand what is expected of us, they got it. They got it. Their personalities are used mightily by Christ. But this is one of the reasons why he chose the 12. He chose them to give personal training to them and discipleship to them. So that way they would understand that when he's gone, they have a responsibility to take what he has taught them and the lessons that they have learned and go share it with others. And that's what he talks about in the Great Commission. It's the same thing for each one of us, okay? And if he can just use those three men that we've talked about so far, the type A personalities, and then you got Andrew who's happy to sit back, let somebody else have the limelight. But he used them. He can use us. But there's more. Let's talk about John, the one whom Jesus loved. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't tell you how. Let me go back a little bit. I didn't tell you how he was martyred. Roughly 14 years after the incident where he asked Christ, one to sit on our right hand and one to sit on your left, he's martyred. He's run through. James was martyred by Herod for his outspoken and unwavering belief in his and our wonderful Savior. He was beheaded along with the man who asked James for forgiveness. Now this man, was taking James to the judgment seat to be judged. And James is witnessing to him. And then, while he's being judged and James is speaking, he comes to know Christ. And he feels like he needs to apologize and ask James for forgiveness. Because he led him to the judgment seat. They both get led away and they both get martyred. He came to know Christ through James' testimony before Herod. James was very outspoken. He loved his Savior, and he was very happy to share it with anybody who would happen to listen. What an amazing story. And the good thing about it, whereas earlier we had talked about James wanting to rain fire down on people and just have them destroyed, James forgave him before he was martyred. What an amazing story. So now on to John, James's brother, the other of the sons of thunder. He was ambitious and also had a thirst for power and prestige. God had been working in his heart when John the Baptist announced, here is the Lamb of God. Remember we already talked about that. When John said, there is the Lamb of God, James and Andrew, I mean James, John and Andrew went. Okay? This is the John that we're talking about. And think about his amazing transformation because he was one of the sons of thunder. but now we know him as the apostle of love. Do you think Christ changed him? Showed him who he was and really worked in this man's heart to help him to understand who you need to be, who I am, so you can teach it to others. He grew mightily in God's word, but again, he also had his struggles. Mark 9, 38 through 39, God said to him, teacher, We saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him because he was not following us. But Jesus said, do not stop him for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. So even the one whom Jesus loved was trying to say, hey, they're not with us. We're supposed to have the power, not them. Yeah, they're doing it in your name, but no, no, no. They need to be with us. You see John's fault in that? He wanted the power. He wanted the prestige. He wanted them to follow Christ and him. Because remember, him and James wanted to be sitting on the right and the left hand of God. No, no, no. You need to be under me. So even the one whom Jesus loved was rebuked by him for his ambition. Again, though, John learned from his mistakes. We need to do the very same thing. We went from, or excuse me, John went from being arrogant and humble to being trustworthy. I mean, excuse me, from being arrogant to being humble and trustworthy. So much so that Jesus, as he was dying on the cross, told him to take care of his mother Mary in John 19, 26 through 27. Now tradition has it that John stayed in Jerusalem until her death. He died, according to numerous accounts, around 98 AD. He lived a long life where he never compromised on the truth. And you get that if you read through his writings. He grew in love and his temperament was very well tempered by the time he died, but he never ever compromised on the Word of God. That strong personality, he learned to temper it with love, but he never compromised. So now let's look at Philip, the leader of the second group of four, and as we would say, the business pessimist. John MacArthur, I'm going to quote him again, puts it this way. Pessimistic, narrowly focused, sometimes missing the big picture. Often obsessed with identifying reasons that things can't be done, rather than trying to figure out ways to do them. I know people like this, because at times that's me. I am. It's that Yankee side of me. I'm from Pennsylvania originally, and every once in a while that comes out. I try to keep it down, but it comes out every once in a while. My wife is laughing at me, because she knows it's true. Well, this is the first recorded person that Jesus went to find. Now, he knew exactly where he was going to find him, but it talks about it in John 1.43. Now, when Jesus told him, follow me, what did he do? He got up and went. He didn't hesitate. Again, the Holy Spirit was working in him, and he's looking for his Savior, so he gets up and goes. Now once Jesus called him, he sought out his friend Nathanael. So he's also doing the exact same thing that Andrew did. He goes and gets Nathanael. Hey, come and see. And we'll talk about Nathanael next. But again, he was very outspoken. Hey, come, let's see who this is. So he was ready and willing to lead people to Christ. But he also had a downside. And this is where John MacArthur and others get their idea of who Philip was. It comes from John 6, 5, and 7. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing, talking about Jesus, lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, specifically Philip, where are we to buy bread so these people may eat? And he said this to test him. He knew what Philip was going to say. But again, it was trying to get him to wake up and learn the lessons that I'm trying to teach you. That's why he singled them out at times, okay? Philip answered him, 200 denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little. Now again, remember that Philip was with Christ when he turned the water into wine. His very first miracle in public, Philip was there. He should have understood Christ has the power to do whatever he wants with this. But instead he says, we don't have enough money to even get them a snack, let alone to fill them up. He didn't learn that lesson yet, or at least he didn't learn it well enough. Christ knows our strengths and weaknesses, and he uses us to glorify him, which is our whole purpose in being here. Okay? Remember also that Philip is the one who took the Greeks to Andrew, though. So he had a fine heart. He was doing his best to lead others to Christ. He just needed a little refining, like most of us. In all honesty, probably all of us. Acts 8 tells us of him preaching in Samaria, where many came to Christ, and also at the time leading the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ. He obviously learned the lessons extremely well. Tradition has it that he was one of the earlier apostolic martyrs. He was stoned to death in Asia Minor, what is now Turkey, as it's known today. And it was about eight years after James's martyrdom. Next, Bartholomew, a.k.a. Nathaniel. In each case that he is mentioned among the list of the apostles, he is referred to as Bartholomew. There is almost nothing that we know about him. But again, remember the Bible wasn't written to teach us about these men. It was about to teach us who God is and who his son is. But we still get a little bit of a sense of who he is. There's almost, again, nothing written about him except when the Bible mentions that he returned to Galilee after Jesus' death and before his ascension. It says in John 21, 2 through 3, that he went out fishing. When Simon said he was going to go fishing, he was one of the ones that went. So it is expected, or not expected, but believed that he is one of maybe seven fishermen that were apostles. Because we know about the four definitely, James, Andrew, John, and Peter. But this is another one of them. And Philip is also another one that they believed that was a fisherman. So that's where that comes from. It is also obvious that he knew the scriptures. And the reason why we say that is because of the way Andrew, not Andrew, excuse me, Philip called him in John 145. Philip 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. He had to know the scriptures to understand where the Christ was coming from, to understand what the books of the law are. He had to know the scriptures in order for Andrew, excuse me, I keep saying Andrew, I'm sorry about that, in order for Philip to tell him these things. But Nathaniel has a heart problem. Nathanael has a heart problem, and to be fair, most of the apostles did as well. But he plainly voices it in John 1 46. Nathanael said to him, when Philip calls him and talks to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, come and see. He had a heart problem. He was prejudiced. Nazareth, that's the other side of the tracks. That's where the podunks live. Nothing good comes out of there. He had a heart problem. Now, to his credit and the other apostles. They get their hearts right and even accept us, Gentiles, eventually. What an amazing thing. Now, his most redeeming feature is that Christ has already chosen him and called him. And it's so much so that Christ says, "...and an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit," from John 147. What an amazing way to be introduced. Christ is telling the other ones, here's a true Israelite and there's no deceit in him. What an amazing story. What an amazing way to be introduced by Christ. He was honest and loyal and he was also without hypocrisy. He only abandoned Christ when the other apostles did in the garden. Other than that, he was all in just as well as the other ones. Now there's no accurate record of actually how he was martyred. One suggestion is that he was thrown into the sea and drowned while tied in a sack. So there's no way he could come up. And the other was that he was crucified. But here's the truth. He took the Word of God to what is now Armenia. And they believe that's where he died. And he was faithful to the end. How about Thomas? Or Didymus? Or the twin? Same person. No one can say for sure what his vocation was before following Jesus. Again, it doesn't matter. But at the same time, it's one of those things that I find fascinating. But just about everyone knows his nickname. How many of you know Thomas' nickname? I bet you just about everybody. Doubting Thomas. It's a bad rap. It really is. It's a bad rap, but it's also true what he said. So, John 11, 16. So Thomas called the twins, said to his fellow disciples, let us go that we may die with him. Do you understand by him saying that? He understood who Christ was and he was willing to go. Even though for a brief moment he was so lost in his hurt and the fact that Christ has died to the point where unless I see him and stick my hand in his, the nail prints in his hands and his feet and my hand in his side where the spear went in. He was saying that because of such a deep love for Christ and a loss. But yet, he also is the same one who, when he sees Christ, and Christ says, you can do this, what does he say? My Lord and my God, standing right in front of him. What an amazing statement. He knew who Christ was again. It's interesting, and I don't know any other way to say it, but it says that he was martyred by being run through by a spear. The same man who said, unless I put my hand in his spear-pierced side, gets martyred by being run through by a spear. How about Matthew, the tax collector? Levi, again, he's one of the ones that we don't have to doubt at all about what his job was. He would have been one of the most hated men in all Israel. He would have been a traitor to the Jewish people. Now when Jesus talks about the public and praying in the temple versus the Pharisee, I often wonder if this is who Jesus was talking about. It doesn't say, but that's who his job was, how he's beating on his chest, I am not worthy, I am not worthy. But that's who I think of. And think about this, he knew the Bible as well. He mentions the Old Testament 99 times in his Gospel. More than the other three Gospels combined. He knew the Scriptures. And when Jesus comes up to him and says, follow me, he didn't have a heart issue with money. He gave it up. A very lucrative business where he would have been well taken care of. And what's the first thing he does after Christ calls him and he gets up and leaves? Come to my house. And he invites the other tax collectors. Come and see who this is. He's leading others to Christ, even from the moment he meets Christ. What an amazing man. What an amazing man. Now, we don't have any reliable record exactly how or when he was martyred, but again, tradition, you'll keep hearing me say that, was that he was burned at the stake. Now we come to our final four and things will go a lot faster. James, the son of Alphaeus or aka James the Less. The son of Alphaeus or the Less were used to distinguish him between James the son of Zebedee and himself. The scriptures are almost completely silent about him. Some evidence suggests that he took the gospel to Syria or Persia. What a deadly place nowadays. Now there are many different stories about his martyrdom, but they are all speculation. Some say that he was stoned, some say that he was beaten, and another says that he was crucified. But again, there's no reliable record. Thaddeus, the man with three names, Labaius, or Judas, not Iscariot, Thaddeus and Lebeus were basically his nicknames, which is the speculation that comes from about his heart that he was very loving and almost like a childlike heart because Thaddeus generally invokes the idea or a picture of a mama's boy. And then you got Labaius, basically means a childlike heart. So the speculation about him was he was very simple-minded and very loving and very open. Judas was his given name, but not wanting to confuse him with the son of perdition, that's why he went by these other names. And again, this man shows his humbleness when he asked Christ in John 14, 22, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us? and not to the world. He understood what had been given to him, to know his Savior face to face. And he's like, Lord, why me? Why not them? What a heart. What a heart. He understood, I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy, Lord. Now, It was an amazing, insightful question to ask. And he traveled to what is now Turkey and is recorded to be as a healing of a King Abgar in Edessa. Now sometime later, tradition states that he was martyred by being clubbed to death. And if you go to modern day Turkey in one of the Orthodox churches, if you see a picture of a club there, this is generally who they're thought to be talking about, the reference, because he was martyred in that way. Next we got Simon the Zealot. Can you understand why Simon would want to follow Jesus in the beginning? Simon the zealot. The zealots wanted to get rid of the Romans. To have the Jewish nation be a Jewish nation again. So the idea that the prospective Savior is there and wanting to kick out the Jews, I mean kick out the Romans, it would make sense. Yeah, I'm following you. We want the power. We want to get rid of them. So it made sense for him to follow them at first. That's amazing enough, though, that he would want to be an apostle, or a disciple, and later an apostle with Matthew the tax collector. Because he was hated, and he would have wanted that killed him. But yet, it goes to show you through God's grace, how through his grace, two men who would have never gotten along, not only get along great, but work together and do it for God's glory. Not either one of their own, but for God's glory. Now some sources say that he traveled as far north as what is now the British homelands. And again though, there is no accurate account for his death, but tradition again teaches that he was martyred for preaching the gospel. The final one, Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. I was actually asked a question not too long ago. Was Judas Iscariot an apostle? The biblical answer is yes. He was an apostle. It talks about Christ giving him power when he sent the apostles out to preach and teach and to heal. He had the same gifts. He was doing the exact same thing that all the other apostles were doing with one very major exception. He was trying to do it for himself instead of for Christ. We all know how he died, so I won't go into any specifics about that. And then finally, so what does all this mean? Why have I gone through a short history lesson about who these men are? Why have I given you a brief survey of these apostles? Well, it's simply this. If Christ can change a bunch of uneducated, non-politically connected, and ego-driven men and turn them around to show them who he was and to take it out and teach it, he can do it to any one of us without exception. doesn't matter your gifts. God can use those gifts to take who you are and teach it to others. Whether it's one-on-one style, which is great, there's a great little book if you want to talk to us afterwards, we'll give you the name of a book that'll help you to sit down and be able to go and teach somebody through the scriptures one-on-one. Or if you want to learn how to do it in a bigger group setting, come talk to us about Christianity Explored. I actually used that at First Papago Baptist Church in Sells to try and get their people to go out and be more than the community instead of just the four walls of the church. God can use any one of us. He can. He did it with these men. A political zealot and a tax collector who hated each other. But now, through God changing their hearts, through the lessons that they had learned, through Christ teaching them one-on-one, and as a group. It's all right here. It's all right here for us to learn if we just take the time to do it. And go out and do what He has called us to do. Now again, I'm not saying that all of us need to give up everything we have and go be missionaries, or go to seminary and be pastors. God can use you right where you are, whether you're the homemaker in town, Whether you're working at a boys counseling clamp, whether you're a dentist, a doctor, the people that come into your office, whatever the case is, He'll use you right where you are. You just have to be willing to talk to people about the hope that is in you. One of the things that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were so upset about, here this man Jesus is telling them they've got it wrong. Who is he to be telling us? He's uneducated. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks. And now he's got these fellows following him as disciples, and they're doing what they're not supposed to be doing on the Sabbath, even by trying to get some food by rubbing the wheat in their fingers. Who are they? We're the trained ones. They're from the wrong side of the tracks. We're from Jerusalem, just like Paul was. Paul was trained in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel. Jesus never did that. None of his disciples ever did that. So they just dismissed them out of hand. Don't do that. Don't think you have to be college and seminary trained to share the Word of God with somebody. You don't. You just have to be faithful and open up the Word of God with them. Jesus chose the right man for the job, so it doesn't matter if you have a type of personality or not. Look at Andrew again. I'm sure Paul and the other elder here would be glad to have a church full of Andrews who are willing just to bring people to church to say, hey, come church. Let's see what Paul has to say today on teaching through the Gospels or whatever he's teaching about. Just come in here. It's real simple. It's real simple. You just need to do it. 1 Corinthians 127 says, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. You don't have to be that type A personality. I keep harping on it. But again, the same stories are in the Bible over and over again. Why? Because we're a stubborn and hard-hearted people. And again, I preach it to myself just as much as I preach it to anybody else. You've got to go out and do what Christ has called you to do, if you love Him. And you should. 2 Corinthians 2, 9, But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." You have no excuse. None of us do. We have no excuse. We have to go do what he has called us to do. And we need to remember, it's not about us. 1 Corinthians 2, 5. So that your faith may not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Again, it's all about God. It's all about Christ. Not about us. The results aren't up to us. Again, if you weren't here for the presentation earlier when I talked about the Atham Nation, I thank God it's not up to me because I would have no hope. I've preached to so many different people in so many different places. But I'm faithful. The reason why I'm faithful is because I know it's not up to me to change their hearts. I can't. I can't see their hearts. But God can. And it's the same with you. You just need to be faithful and speak. Tell people of your hope. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we do thank you so much for this day. We thank you for this time in your house and for opening up the scriptures to learn more about you and who we are and who you are, more importantly, and how you could even use us. The weak things of this world confound the wise. Father, please use us in any way you choose to draw your people to you. Help us to be bold when we need to be bold and to speak the truth and love to the people that we come in contact with. We thank you so much for all your wonderful blessings Father. In Christ's precious name we pray. Amen.