Close Counts

Help me finish this common saying: “Close only counts…”

In horseshoes and hand grenades…

But it turns out that close counts with God the Father, Jesus the Son, & God the Holy Spirit too!

A great read is Dr. Mark Barclay’s book:

6 distinct groups of people mentioned in the Bible:

1. The Multitude

- were fickle and came around to watch miracles happen and watch the spectacle then left largely unchanged.

2. The Disciples-

Did you know there were a lot more than 12 disciples?

An unknown number, but there were many and much more than 120.

John 6:60 NKJV

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

John 6:66–68 NKJV

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

3. The 70

- These were commissioned and sent by Jesus Himself to do what He wanted them to do with signs wonders and miracles

They didn’t make their own ministry with their name on it because of the success that Jesus gave them.

Luke 10:1 NKJV

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.

Luke 10:17 NKJV

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

Jesus is calling some of us to be sent out, to have success under the One(s) who have sent us & then to come back and be supportive rather than starting our own named ministry.

4. The 12

- Got the inside scoop and special attention in understanding the parables that Jesus was preaching.

Luke 8:9–10 NKJV

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

People could tell that they had been with Jesus.

They had been significantly affected and changed by their time and proximity to Jesus.

Acts 4:13 NKJV

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

5. The 3

- Got to accompany Jesus in the most critical times of His ministry and were present to support Him personally in the toughest time of His life

Mark 14:32–35 NKJV

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.” He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.

These 3 got special ministry opportunities.

Luke 8:49–51 NKJV

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.” But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.

6. The 1

John the Beloved got to lay his head on Jesus’ chest & feel and hear the Heartbeat of the One he loved

John 13:23 NKJV

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

This closeness with Jesus must have affected John significantly.

Tertullian in AD 200 wrote, "at Rome, the Apostle John, having been immersed in hot oil, suffered no harm at all from it" It is said that Roman emperor Domitian commanded that the apostle John be boiled to death in oil, but John only continued to preach from within the pot. Another time, John was forced to drink poison, but, as promised in Mark 16:18, it did not hurt him. Thus John, the head of the church in Ephesus at the time, was banished to Patmos in A.D. 97.

Closeness Matters

How many of you have a phone charger pack or brick & cable with you right now?

Hold them up

Why do you have that with you? Are you afraid of running out of power & connectivity?

When I travel, I see people searching for power outlets.

I see people running around with power banks & even putting their phones in charging lockers in department stores.

We have to stay plugged in to the Source

John 15:5 NKJV

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

We cannot get too far away or we will run out of power & eventually die.

When we get super drained from disconnection, it takes time to even become barely functional again

Even global ministers need to be a contributing part of a local church and connected to the body of Jesus Christ.

Remember: Jesus, The Living Word, is THE Source.

Luke 4:4 AMP

And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.

Acts 17:28 (NKJV)

for in Him we live and move and have our being,

Just One Thing:

Stay close & stay plugged in to THE Source constantly! Fight for constant closeness this week.

Discussion Questions:

If you couldn’t be convicted of any one type of crime, what criminal charge would you like to be immune to?

How would you describe your day to day & week to week closeness with God?

Please read John 6:60 & John 6:66-68 and share about how you respond to hard things that you hear from the Lord. (i.e. Many disciples left - Some saw the necessity of their relationship with Jesus)

What can you do to stay connected to Jesus & filled up better than your mobile phone?