The Foundation of the Church

Mark 3:13–19 “13 Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, to send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 He appointed the Twelve: To Simon, he gave the name Peter; 17 and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, he gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 Andrew; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”

Intro: The Foundation of a Skyscraper.

At over 828 metres (2,716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records:

Tallest building in the worldTallest free-standing structure in the world

Highest number of stories in the world

Highest occupied floor in the world

Highest outdoor observation deck in the world

Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world

Tallest service elevator in the world

Over 45,000 m3 (58,900 cu yd) of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes were used to construct the concrete and steel foundation, which features 192 piles buried more than 50 m (164 ft) deep.

192 foundation piles, each with a five-foot

diameter; 12-foot concrete mat

A house can be built upon a 6” slab

The taller the building is the deeper the foundation must go.

Jesus appointed 12 Apostles as the workers in the building the foundation of the Church.

Build your faith upon the foundation of the Apostles that Jesus Appointed.

1. The Calling of the Apostles

2. The Character of the Apostles

3. The Commission of the Apostles

1. The Calling of the Apostles

The Appointing

If you wanted to build a building that would make it to heaven, where would you start? How deep would you have to go?

a. V.13 Jesus went up the mountain

i. God Called Moses At Mt. Horeb

ii. God Commanded Moses to gather at Mt. Sinai

iii. Arron Died on Mt Hor

iv. Moses died on Mt. Nebo

v. Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel

vi. Jesus Temptation on a High Mt.

vii. The Sermon on the Mt

viii. Transfiguration on Mt Moses and Elijah

ix. Jerusalem Mount Zion Hill of the Lord The New Jerusalem

b. Jesus seclude himself in the hills to pray All night-.

Luke 6:12–16 “12 During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. 13 When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

i. In the construction of this great building -the Church- Christ starts on his knees to select the workers.

ii. Prayer is an essential tool in building of your faith.

iii. How often do we think we can handle something on our own ? When Jesus the one who know the hears of men takes time to pray about a situation.

iv. If we select another pastor or deacon. We must pray.

c. Deliberate Prayer and Occasional Prayer

i. Special time set apart in our day for prayer and small random prayers throughout our days.

d. V.13 He summoned those he wanted.

i. He called them. He elected them

ii. He superseded there will

iii. They didn’t volunteer to help him out. He called they listened.

iv. He called them to a monuments task. A task that has laterally changed the face of the world.

v. Have you been summoned by God?

e. He has ordained you to be here right now. He has commanded every one of us to stop from trying to build a kingdom for ourselves. And to by faith building block in the Kingdom of God.

f. The tower of Babble they tried to build a structure into heaven. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They fail, God punished them because they were seeking glory for themselves, and they were forced to separate, and their langue went into confusion.

g. They thought they could reach heaven by the work of their own hands. By a foundation that they built and it failed.

h. If you wanted to build a building that would make it to heaven, where would you start? By following Christ and His Apostles.

i. How deep would you have to go? You would have to Search the innermost parts of yourself and see that your kingdom that you have tried to build has left you in confusion and your foundation is crumbling.

j. Listen to the summons of Christ!

Babble became foreigners. And strangers. But look at :

k. Eph 2:19–22: 19 So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

l. Look to Christ! And follow the apostles at they follow Christ

m. Build your faith upon the foundation of the Apostles that Jesus Appointed.

i

2. The Character of the Apostles

2. The Appointed

a. V.14 14 He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,, to be with him, to send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.

b. Background of the Appointing

i. Jesus has been healing and casting out demons. He has been preaching and teaching. He has been a living example of all things Holy. He proves he is God in the Flesh as he is a walking talking representation of Law and the Prophets. He has fulfilled many prophesy

ii. And He has become extremely loved by so many. And extremely hated.

iii. This is mid-point in His ministry 18 months

iv. When has been wildly known around the region – NEWS

v. He pronounces another Judgment on the religious leaders Upon the Jews

c. He Appointed 12

3. V.16-19 Mark 3:16–19 “16 He appointed the Twelve: To Simon, he gave the name Peter; 17 and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, he gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 Andrew; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”

i. 12 MEN

ii. 12 Tribes of Israel

2. Represent all the Jewish people

d. The mostly unlikely

2. Jesus selected these individuals not because of their religious status.

3. The original Motley Crew.

a. A ragged bunch of misfits.

Peter

James and John - The Sons of Zebedee- Sons of Thunder

Andrew

Philip

Bartholomew - Son of Tholomew

Mathew

Thomas

James the son of Alphaey

Thaddaeus

Simon the Zealot

Judas Iscariot

3. V.16-19 Mark 3:16–19 “16 He appointed the Twelve: To Simon, he gave the name Peter; 17 and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, he gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 Andrew; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”

iii. Jesus’ grace - Kindness -forgiveness and visual ability

Revelation 21:9-14

9 Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 He then carried me away in the Spirit, to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations.

The Apostles and prophets are a class apart, and therefore for people to claim that they are as uniquely and directly and divinely inspired as the Apostles and prophets is to contradict the plain teaching of Scripture.

Walking with God, 124

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

3.The Commission of the Apostles

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition Apostle

apostellō to send

Apostle- Sent one

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition Apostle

In NT it is applied to Jesus as the Sent One of God

Hebrews 3:1 “1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.”

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition Apostle

Since apostellō seems frequently to mean ‘to send with a particular purpose’, as distinct from the neutral pempō (save in the Johannine writings, where the two are synonyms), the force of apostolos is probably ‘one commissioned’—it is implied, by Christ.

One to function with the same authority

The status of being an envoy of Jesus Christ commissioned directly by Him or by other apostles; normally someone who has been taught directly by Jesus and who is invested with the authority to speak on His behalf.

TO BE WITH HIM

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition b. The Functions of the Apostolate

The primary function of the apostles was witness to Christ, and the witness was rooted in years of intimate knowledge, dearly bought experience and intensive training.

Peach

The apostles also knew that they were to witness in an extraordinary, supernatural sense. Because they were apostles, God spoke authoritatively through them, so that what they said as apostles carried the force of divine teaching or Scripture.

James Montgomery Boice

The man who is in the direct line from the Apostles is the man who preaches the doctrine of the Apostles, the man who has the spirit of the Apostles in him.

God’s Sovereign Purpose, 324

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

The apostles walked their talk.

R. Kent Hughes

e. William Tyndale

i. English translation

ii. Exile, poverty and persecution 1536 strangled an burned

1. Because the leaders couldn’t remember the apostles Maybe 4 or 5 names

2.

f. Build your faith upon the foundation of the Apostles that Jesus Appointed.