 With that said, we'll get into our study. We're going to look today at, like I said, verse 6 through 21. What we're going to do is we'll look at verses 6 through 12 together, then we're going to go into verse 13, into verse 21. And as we look at verses 6 through 12, we're going to be looking at a question, and I'm going to introduce the question, and hopefully supply an answer for you, because, you know, there are those who would wonder, what is a disciple? And is a disciple the same as an apostle? What qualifies someone to be an apostle? And those may be questions you've had in the past. These aren't questions you necessarily have all the time, but if we're going to be doing a Bible study, it's always good to supply you with answers, because there are those who are saying today that there are modern-day apostles. Perhaps some of you have heard that they go to a church, or that is quote, unquote, passed by an apostle, or you're watching some Christian program. There are so many that call themselves Christians that are on the air now, and they may say, you know, you've been listening to apostles, so and so. And there are those who go by the title, apostle. And so this is going to be one of those studies that I wanted to be practical, and it will be, but I also want to give you information to help you, because I have had people ask the question more than once, are there modern-day apostles? What qualifies someone to be an apostle is a disciple, an apostle. And so we'll see that. So in verses 6 to 12, we'll look at that in a moment. Then verse 13, and following, we're going to be introduced to the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ in detail in some names, and I'll be looking to make some application as we go through this portion of scripture. So let's begin reading here in Mark chapter 3. We'll begin at verse 6, read to verse 12, get into our study. Mark chapter 3, beginning at verse 6, reading to verse 12. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him how they might destroy him. But Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Edomia and beyond the Jordan. And those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things he was doing, came to him. So he told his disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for him because of the multitude, lest they should crush him. For he healed many so that as many as had afflictions pressed about him to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him and cried out, saying, you are the Son of God. But he sternly warned them that they should not make him known. And so as we've seen as we've been going through the Gospel of Mark, we've seen that Jesus has been performing a variety of miracles. And the verses just prior to the ones that we're approaching today, we saw how he had healed a man who was suffering with atrophy in his right hand. Now, even though Jesus was performing incredible works, he had religious opponents and they were called the Pharisees. And so they are now becoming opponents to Christ. It seems that each work that he did only created more antagonism towards him. And as we've seen, he's been doing several miracles and all he healed, a paralytic, he cleansed a leper. He healed the man with the withered hand. And all of these miracles that we've seen should have softened the heart of even the most callous person. But instead of them being softened, they began to be even more antagonistic. You see, instead of having joy overseeing him, setting these people free, instead of them having joy and seeing these people who are crippled, who are now walking, who are forgiven, who are able to use their hands again, instead of them having joy, they actually have the opposite. Luke chapter 6 verse 11 says they were filled with rage and they discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. You see, what happened is their man-made traditions, their regulations, had hardened them against the Lord. As far as they could see, Jesus Christ was a Sabbath daybreaker and offender of their traditions. He consistently violated their traditions as related to the Sabbath. We've seen this as we've gone from chapter 1, chapter 2 into chapter 3. We saw that in chapter 1, he cast out a demon on the Sabbath. In chapter 2, he allowed his disciples to pluck heads of grain on the Sabbath. In chapter 3, he healed a man with a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath. And so, by now, he's established a pattern of performing works of mercy on the Sabbath. And so the Pharisees are now hardening in opposition. What's interesting as you look at this in verse 6, it says the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him. Normally, when you're reading your New Testament and you're looking at the Gospels, normally you'll see the Pharisees and Sadducees. That's who you'll see most often. Well, here you're introduced to a group called the Herodians. Now, the Herodians are normally at odds with the Pharisees. You see, they were not a religious party, but they were a political party and as a political party, they supported Rome. They had formed in order to support the dynasty of Herod the Great. And so they weren't religious, but they supported Herod. And by extension, in supporting him, they were supporting Rome. And so they were hated by the people. And these two opposing groups became united in one mutual thing. And the thing that united them was their hatred for Christ. The Psalmists in Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2 says it like this, why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. The word anointed would be speaking of Messiah. So they're joining together and they're raging against the Lord and the Messiah. There's an old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And that's what's taking place here. These enemies are uniting because they have a greater enemy that they too hate. And that is Jesus Christ. And so the Pharisees hate Jesus because he threatens their religious power, but the Herodians hate him because he threatens their political power and they now join together. Matthew 12 verses 14 and 15 says the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him and he healed all who were ill. And so Jesus is withdrawing from them. They're now plotting with the Herodians how they might destroy him. And so verse seven says again that Jesus withdrew. So he withdrew with his disciples to the sea and a great multitude from Galilee followed him from Judea, Jerusalem, Edomere, beyond the Jordan, those from Tyre and Sidon. A great multitude when they heard how many things he was doing came to him. And so Jesus knows that they're plotting against him and he withdraws himself. He knew that his time had not yet arrived. So he goes to the sea, the sea of Galilee. There was no need for him to unnecessarily antagonize these people. There's no reason to have confrontation with them. And Psalm 109 verses three and four, it says they have also surrounded me with the words of hatred fought against me without a cause in return for my love. They are my accusers. I give myself to prayer. And so what's happening is instead of being drawn by his loving compassion, his ability to heal and forgive, to cleanse lepers, instead of them being drawn, they see him as a habitual Sabbath breaker and an enemy. Herodians think he's undermining their political position. They join together in order to undermine him if they can. And so what's he do? Well, verse seven tells us he, Jesus withdrew, notice with his disciples to the sea. And so he withdraws to the sea of Galilee with his disciples. So I'll begin to answer the questions that I had brought up in my introduction and all of that. And so in his ministry, Jesus had many that would be called disciples. The word disciple, when you see that word, the word disciple refers to someone who learns. That's what it means. It's those who attach themselves to a teacher, to a rabbi. When you go through your scriptures, you'll see that Jesus had many followers and they could in general very often be referred to as disciples. But not all of them became lifelong followers. Some were simply disciples in name only. They listened to what he said. They were curious about his miracles. But the difference between these people and genuine disciples was commitment. Those who were committed to him and his words, Jesus said, would be his disciples. In John 8 31, Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, if you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. So the commitment to Christ in his word, that's what helps to constitute a person as one of his learners. One of his, those who have attached themselves through a lifetime to the rabbi. That's how it is usually determined. And so not everyone who called themselves or even referred to in scripture as disciples are actually genuine disciples. Many of them are simply what you would call fair weather followers. You can see that in the Gospel of John in chapter six. In John chapter six verse two, it says a great multitude followed him because they saw his signs which he performed on those who were diseased. So these people were drawn by his miracles, but not to his message. And so John tells us that a great multitude gathered and Jesus saw that these were people without any food. There were 5,000 men, not including women and children. And we know the story of the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus multiplied lobes of bread and fish and he fed them all. Well after feeding them we're told that Jesus perceived that they would try to make him king by force and it caused him to leave the city. He was in Tiberius and he went across the sea to the city of Capernaum. It was noted that he was gone. So a great crowd followed him to Capernaum and Jesus began to speak. And while speaking to them, he made it clear that they followed him, but they followed him for the wrong reasons. He said, you're seeking me not because of my signs, you're seeking me because I fed you. And then he told them that he's the real bread of life and that they must fully partake of him. And this is where the reality of their faith was revealed because after he said this, John let us know how those listening responded. In John chapter six verse 66, it says from that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. So these were fair weather followers. It's what they were. They had no faith in him. They liked the miracles that he performed and the fact that he fed them and he made it very clear that's what it was like. That's what it's like with you. So not every listener is a learner and not every professor of faith is a possessor of faith. It's those who stand firm in Christ to the end that are genuine followers of Christ. And not everyone who claims to be a Christian is actually genuine. It's those who remain faithful to him no matter what that demonstrates that indeed they truly are his disciples. That's what Jesus said in Luke 22 28 when he says, you are those who have stood by me in my trials. They didn't abandon him, but they remained with him. And it's from these disciples, these true followers of Christ that Jesus selects as apostles. And so it says in verse seven, Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, great multitude from Galilee followed him, which is the north from Judea, which is in the south. Jerusalem is the city of Ido mea beyond Jordan regions. And those from Tyre and Sidon to the north in in modern Lebanon. It says a great multitude when they heard how many things he was doing, they came to him. So people from all around begin to hear of what he's doing. They begin to follow after him. Notice how Mark uses the words great multitude twice, once in verse seven, once in verse eight, to emphasize this. And so this covers the nation of Israel from north to south and includes, as I mentioned, parts of Lebanon. Now in verse eight, it said they heard how many things he was doing and they came to him. And so people were hearing all that he was doing. They heard of his miracles. They heard his message and they're beginning to follow after him. Well, verse nine, he told his disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for him because of the multitude, lest they should crush him for he healed many. So that as many as had afflictions pressed about him to touch him. And the unclean spirits whenever they saw him fell down before him and cried out, saying, you are the son of God, but he sternly warned them that they should not make him known. So there are so many, so many in need that they have become a crowd that could crush him. And so how does he react to these great crowds? Well, the Bible makes it clear. He began to teach them. He began to minister to them, to heal them. That's what he began to do. And so there were many of them who were delivered of possession. And casting out of demons, he was revealing that the kingdom of God was present. In Luke chapter 11, verse 20, he said, if I drive out demons by the finger of God, the kingdom of God has come to you. But notice how it says in verse 11, the unclean spirits would fall down in crowd in recognition of who he is. As we've been reading the mark through mark, I've noticed that Jesus had many encounters with people who were demonized or demon-possessed. That gives us insight. It gives us insight into the incredible number of demons at work. We don't have any idea how many there are, but Jesus' presence caused them to manifest. And it seems that they're everywhere, and they're constantly being confronted by Christ. We know that demons normally like to work in secret, but were often unmasked by Jesus. When in the presence of Christ, they were revealed. They would cause the possessed individuals to fall down, and they would cry out. As I was thinking about this, my wife, Marina, were talking about this particular thing. Demons were being manifest during the time of Christ, and the evil began to show itself for what it is, and how the enemy has a tendency of attempting to undermine what God is doing, and very often through the manifestation of demons or demonic doctrines. You know, when I first got saved, ancient history, here's the story for you. I got saved in 1970, and when I got saved, they called it the Jesus Revolution. And so, I was 20 years old. I'm just getting aware of the things of the Lord and all, and I begin to notice something that I've never forgotten. And so, my wife, Marina, were speaking about this just the other day, because when the Holy Spirit began to move in a modern-day revival, the Jesus movement is actually a modern-day revival that matches any revival the United States has ever had in its history. Hundreds into thousands of young people were getting saved. They were young people. Not to say that the older weren't, they were. But it was a youth movement, and so many young people were getting saved. Just this week, just this last Thursday, I meet on occasion, a regular occasion, with a friend of mine, his name is Bill, and I've mentioned to this church before that in my testimony, the way the Lord worked for me to get saved was through a man named George, George Adams. And George and Bill came and visited me just this week, just this Thursday. There we are. And I was looking at Bill and George, and myself, I said, you know, we have 150 years of experience in this room right now, and most of it is on you, George. And we began to talk about what had happened. And how God had moved. And one of the things I've been thinking about, and I'll share a little bit about demonic activity, is that it's not always manifested through demonized people. It's not always manifested through somebody foaming at the mouth or spitting out guacamole or anything you've seen in the movies. Demonic activity is often undercover. It's hidden. What it is, it is an activity that Paul refers to this as the doctrines of demons. It's the underlying activity through a presentation of ideas, beliefs and thoughts that are normally pointed towards scripture, distorting the scripture the way Satan does when he quotes scripture out of context. Because even Jesus himself, Satan quoted scripture to him, Satan quotes and undermines the word of God through faulty interpretation. That's what he does. And so there are things that can be done that are actually inspired by demons, but can appear to the common person, the unsafe person, as a movement of God. You see, there's an old, and he is old, used to be called rock stars. I don't know what they're called now, but Alton John. And there was a song that he sang where he said, Jesus freaks out in the streets, handing tickets out for God. He was talking about what was taking place on Hollywood Boulevard. Levon's the name of the song. And he was talking about what was taking place at that time because young people were going to Hollywood Boulevard handing out tracks. And it was so obvious, something was going on, that even his writer wrote that line and he's singing of Levon. He says, Jesus freaks out in the streets, handing tickets. That was the tracks, handing tickets out for God. So you started hearing songs that would have application in a Christian way. And what happened is cults began to spring up that had yet to have been known. There was the Children of God movement that a guy named Moses Berg, he called himself Moses Berg. He started what was called COG, the Children of God. And they were going on Hollywood Boulevard and they were talking young people into leaving everything behind, taking their possessions, living with them on communes. You also had the Tony Susan and Susan Alamo Foundation that took place, doing very similar things. You had that stuff going on. That's when the way international began to make an impact. That's when the People's Temple under Jim Jones began to manifest itself. All of this in the 70s, that's when the Beatles got involved with the Maharishi Yogi and they began to introduce a Hinduistic thought into their music. And they had lyrics that people thought were just cool, but they didn't realize that what they were doing, and this was coming from the inspiration of George and Arlene as Hinduism, they were actually bringing in songs that were speaking of Hinduism and all, but people didn't realize that was going on at that time. There's a lot of that going on. So when the Lord Jesus Christ was manifesting through the power of the Holy Spirit through the church, the enemy began to manifest too. So wherever there is good, there's going to be evil exposed. And so what was taking place during the time of Christ was that Jesus would be there. The undercover spirits would say, we know who you are because indeed they did, and they began to reveal these things. And that's why Jesus in verse 12 sternly warned them that they should not make him known. He does not want the impure testimony of demons because his words and his works were speaking for him. You know, Mark, we saw it in chapter 1 verse 34, the second portion of that verse, where it said that he cast out many demons and he didn't allow the demons to speak because they knew him. So he didn't want their testimony. He wanted the pure word and the power of the Spirit to manifest who he was. So this is taking place. He's healing many, there's so many people that he asked to have a small boat, a small boat that will keep him from being crushed by the multitude. Now, out of these disciples, he is now going to select what we call apostles, and I'll give you some insight into apostle in just a moment. So it says in verse 13, he went up on the mountain called to him those he himself wanted, and they came to him. Then he appointed 12 that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have power to heal sicknesses to cast out demons. Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter, James, the son of Zebedee, John, the brothers, the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanegis, that his sons of thunder, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him and they went into a house. Just so that you know when it says Judas Iscariot, most of you would probably already know this, Judas Iscariot. When I first got saved, I thought Jesus was his first name and Christ was his last name because everybody has a first name and the last name, right? They said, no, Jesus is his name. Christ is his ministry. And so I said, oh, and the same thing can be true. The same kind of thought can be true with Judas Iscariot. You may look at the name Judas Iscariot and you say Judas is his first name and Iscariot is his last name and that's not what it is. Judas Iscariot is given name Iscariot is Iscariot. Is is the word man. Cariot is a village. Judas, the man of Cariot, that's what his name is. And so he's to be distinguished from another one in the apostolic band whose name is Judas. But you'll notice that Peter's name, if you ever go through the names wherever you're finding them in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, Peter's name always is the lead and Judas is always the last. And you'll see that when the names are given. And so what we have here is we have the names of the apostles. So let me give you some things related to that and share some things with you about that. These are the men that Jesus appoints as apostles. And these are those who are taken out of the multitude of those who are referred to in Scripture as his disciples. These men, these apostles, become what are called the building blocks of the church. If you take notes Ephesians chapter 2 19 and 20 says, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus the chief cornerstone. And so the church is built on apostolic doctrine, the men that Jesus appointed. And so the word apostle is the simple word apostolos. And in the Greek, it speaks of someone who has been sent. That's what it literally means. It's someone who has received divine authority in the scriptural sense of these men. People who've received authority who are messengers who are representing another kingdom or the one who sent them. So the apostle has been sent on an errand. He's been sent with a message. And he's accountable to the one who sent him and he carries the authority of the one who sent him. And so Jesus, when he was on earth, selected these 12 from the larger group of disciples. And these men were given the responsibility of leading the church into the future. And again, I mentioned this, and this is worth your time to learn because you may very well already have these kinds of conversations. If you haven't, you may in the future have one because there are those who say, are there modern day apostles, modern day apostles who hold the same authority as the original apostles? Well, in scripture, there are certain qualifications that determine if you're an apostle, you see, when Judas betrayed Jesus, there was a need to replace him. So when deciding who to replace him, the qualifications of an apostle were clearly stated. If you're going to be replacing this one who fell, there needs to be some qualification. So when that happened, when when he was being replaced, it's found in Acts chapter one, verses 21 and 22, it says this. It says, it is necessary to choose one of the men who've been with us the whole time that the Lord was living among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. One of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. And so he was to have walked with Jesus. Second, he was to have been an eyewitness of Jesus after his resurrection. In 1 Corinthians chapter nine, verse one, Paul said, have I not seen Jesus the Lord? A third thing is that he was one who performed miracles. In Acts 243, it says, fear came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. So they performed miracles. Later on in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 12, Paul was speaking of his own credentials. And he said, truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance in signs, wonders, mighty deeds. So the apostles were those who were entrusted to do works of power. An apostle was inspired by the spirit to write scripture. In 2 Peter chapter three, verses 15 and 16, bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. He went on to say his letters contained some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort as they do the other scriptures to their own destruction. So during that day, they recognized the writings of Paul as scriptural. An apostle wrote scripture and an apostle was chosen by Jesus through prayer and by the leading of the spirit. In Luke chapter six, verses 12 and 13, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, spent the night praying to God. When it was day, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose 12, whom he also named apostles. In Acts 9.15 concerning Paul, the Lord said to him, said to Ananias, Go for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. An apostle is chosen by Jesus. So the question, do we have modern day apostles with the same authority as these are being referenced to here? And the answer is no, because none today meet these qualifications. And so no, there are no modern apostles. The word apostles sometimes can be used as someone delegated with authority. And perhaps sometimes these who refer to themselves as apostles so and so on this and that, they may be using it in that context. It's very confusing to a lot of people. And the biblical words would normally be either pastor, shepherd, or even bishop, but not apostle. Now apostles don't exist today. None of them meet these conditions. None of them have these qualifications. Now let me show you a couple things here, because I want to highlight a few things about the calling. In selecting these men, Jesus was judging the religious leaders of the nation, the Sadducees. When you read your Bible, the Sadducees were infected with Greek philosophy. Their faith had been polluted. When you look at the Pharisees, they were legalists. Jesus said, you strain at gnats and swallow capitals. So the religious leaders were respected by many, but were leading people to strain because of this Christ instituted fresh leadership that hasn't been polluted by these men. These were new wineskins that could hold the new wine of the Spirit and the grace of God. The others, the Pharisees, the Sadducees were unqualified. Jesus in Matthew 1514 called them blind leaders of the blind. In Matthew 23, 27, he said, what do you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you're like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all in cleanest. You see, Israel's religious leaders needed to be replaced, and that's why Jesus brought in his new leaders. He pursued these men, he called these men, and as he's been focusing his attention on the multitudes, he is now training these men to be leaders. Now they came first as a result of the prayers of Christ. I already read Luke 612, but it says that Jesus went out on the mountainside to pray, spent the night praying to God, and then when it was day, he selected these men. I want you to note that they didn't strive to become leaders. They were chosen. Mark says that Jesus called to him those he himself wanted. In John 15, 16, you didn't choose me, I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, that your fruit should remain whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you. So they didn't go to apostle 101 classes until they got their certificate. They were called by the Lord Jesus Christ and appointed. Notice in chapter 3 here verse 14 that he appointed 12 that they might be with him. He's going to mentor them. He's going to give them personal training, first hand knowledge so that they will know the ways of God straight from the mouth of God in the flesh. It says in Acts 413 when they saw the boldness of Peter and John perceived that they were uneducated, untrained men, they marveled and they realized they had been with Jesus. So instead of going to rabbinic training, they sat under the greatest and Jesus taught them and he mentored them in the ways of God. He revealed himself in clear ways to them. That's how he did it. And he intended to equip them in order that he might send them. So they were trained to preach a message, a message of redemption to the whole world. We need to mark this in our hearts guys, I say this often, but the only plan the Lord has for reaching the world is for those who know him to share about him. That's how he reaches the world. In Matthew 28 19 and 20 it says go therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. He said teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Behold I'm with you always to the end of the age. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. When he says go and make disciples, people think while evangelism is what he's saying. No, what he's saying is the main verb is not making disciples. The main verb is not evangelism. The main verb is teaching them to observe. And what the Lord is saying simply is this, when you go, where you go, as you go, make disciples, make learners, make people who are followers. I will be with you to the end of the age. You will have my power. You will have my word. You will have my presence. But it's not just the going. It's the going and giving my word. It isn't the going and giving your opinion. It is not the giving of things that are going on culturally around you 24 seven. What it is, it's my word. Why? Because as we've known this, we've gone through this because it's the truth that sets you free. And the only way you can be free is hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's why he sends us to give out the gospel. And so the responsibility of declaring the message moves us to share his love with others. And he equipped them, he equipped them with a message at Pentecost. He gave them the power and he's also given to us power and the same message. And so in versus 14 and 15, Mark tells us that he sent them out to preach. They were empowered. They perform healings. They deliver the demon eyes. They're sent out to preach. They're bringing healing to those who are sick and they're casting those demons out. None of them are formally trained rabbis. But each one is specially prepared because they have the power of God's kingdom. And God used them that way. So as we look at these men, verses 16 through 20, I'll give you their names. And I have a couple of things I want to share. Some of the names that you see here are very familiar. You read your Bible for a while, read your gospels. You recognize their name. Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Matthew, Thomas, Judas Iscariot. But there are other names that are not quite so familiar. Bartholomew, James of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite. One of the things the Lord has reminded me of many years, and I'm not going to share a long time, but that's just making an observation is that there are a lot of people that are unknown, unknown in the body of Christ, unknowns, who are not known by man so much, but are known by God. You may be, I am one of these, Bartholomew, James of Alphaeus, Thaddeus. Tell me what you know about them, and the answer is not much. Why? Well, because these other fellows get a lot of print. Peter does, and James does, and John, and Andrew, Philip, Matthew, even Thomas. If I say Thomas, people will say, oh, the doubter, even Thomas is known. But if I say, well, tell me something about Thaddeus. It's not a lot of scripture. So guess what? Most of us are the unknowns, and don't have a problem with that, because you may not be known by man, but you're known by God. That's what matters at the end. Listen, it's not when all people know your name. It's when Jesus looks at you and says, well done, my good, and my faithful servant, and that's what matters. I'm sorry, but sometimes pastors forget that. They want to be known by man. It's more important to be known by God, because he knows his sheep, and he calls them by name, and he knows you, and he knows your name, and at the end of the day, man, that's all that really matters. Never forget that. But as you look at this, there's a name here that stands out, and I'll point it out, Simon the Zealot, Simon the Canaanite. The word Canaanite is also the Zealot. He's known as Simon the Zealot. This Simon here was what is called an anti-Rome revolutionary. He was an anti-Rome revolutionary. He was part of a group of people who hated the Romans, and yet he's mentioned as working alongside of a Republican by the name of Matthew, and that by itself reveals the power of Christ and his ability to bring people who would be normally enemies, because Matthew worked for Rome, and Simon opposed it, and yet somehow he brought them together. This shows how Jesus can take two people who are enemies, who don't have anything to do with one another, and can make them into brothers. So as I'm watching Patrick and Carlos up here, I'm thinking that, because the way that Patrick met Carlos is Carlos robbed him. Just kidding. How did God make you guys brothers? How did he do that? He did it by the gospel. He did it by the power of the Holy Spirit. He did it by forgiving you of your sins, by cleansing you, and he took your eyes off of the things that you used to think were important, and he redirected them under the things that are eternal. And when you share those two things, your brothers, you love one another, you serve God. That's what God does. He can take a man like Simon who hated Rome, was a revolutionary against Rome, and a man like Matthew who was a tax gatherer hated by the Jews, and he could make them one white, because they took their eyes off the things that mattered to them before, and they now have them placed on Jesus Christ. And that's how it works. Now, as we look at this, I want to show you something in verse 17 about James and John, just a little bit of a sidelight here, but it's something that you may find interesting. Notice how they're given the nickname, a Boanergis, sons of thunder. That's what Boanergis means, sons of thunder. And that would be what today some might refer to as like a nickname. When they are called sons of thunder, there are different camps related to that title. There are commentators, scholars, Bible scholars who believe that the reason that they're referred to as sons of thunder is because that's a way of pointing them out as being prophets. A son of thunder can be a prophet because it's another way of speaking of God's voice, because in the Old Testament, God's voice on more than one occasion is likened to thunder. In Job chapter 4 to verse 9, the question is asked, do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like his? Or in 2 Samuel 2214, the Lord thundered from heaven and the most high uttered his voice. And so there are those who would say, well, the reason they're called sons of thunder, Boanergis, is because they're prophetic. Well, the other ones were prophetic too, and they weren't called sons of thunder. And so that brings us to another interpretation, which is the interpretation that I lean to. Sons of thunder more likely speaks of the fact that they were extremely passionate. Somebody referred to them as hotheaded, bad tempered. Sons of thunder, why would they say that? Well, because their love and their loyalty to Christ motivated them to service as well as to defend him. How do I know that? Luke chapter 9, verses 51 through 56, it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up, that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and sent messengers before his face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for him. But they did not receive him because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, you don't know what manner of spirit you are of. The Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. God, may we make them into crispy critters? Would you mind if we called fire down on them and smoked them to a drive by? You see a little bit of temper there? Anger. Why? Because the Samaritans refused Christ. So they said, we could just wipe the village out because we know our scripture is well enough to know that's happened in the past. Perhaps it ought to happen again. And so they had a hot temper. Now, I want to share a couple things with you because this is something that I think is very application. And it's applicable, I think. And I wanted to make this part of our message, almost its conclusion. Their reaction is extreme. There's no doubt. But it also gives us insight into the kind of men that God uses. These men have a passion and these men have intensity. What is needed is it has to be directed. They have a passion and an intensity. They have a loyalty. In ministry, as long as I've been, it's always wonderful to have people who say that, oh, I really love and I want to serve and all. That's one thing because it's easy to say that. But I've been blessed many times to see that those who have a passion and an intensity, they're the ones that are going to get things done. And so these men have the qualifications and qualities of doing something with passion. But they need that passion to be directed in the right areas. You see, when you read your Bible, you're going to discover that this kind of zeal is part of every great believer. Moses, Moses signed justice. Moses saw that one of his fellow Jews was being mistreated by an Egyptian taskmaster. And the Bible tells us that it got him so upset that Moses looked to the left and he looked to the right and then promptly just disposed of this taskmaster, buried his body in the sand. And that shows to us an intensity in the heart of Moses and a desire to remedy an evil that had taken place. And so when Stephen was speaking about this in Acts chapter 7 verses 24 and 25, our first martyr in the church, Stephen said, seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, avenged him that was oppressed, smote the Egyptian. He supposed his brother and would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not. So he took them out. And if you know anything about the taskmaster, you would know that they were amongst the elite within the Egyptian forces. They were not just regular military type guys. They were a special forces type guy. And yet Moses sees what this guy does and the scripture says he looked to the left and right, meaning that he was just making sure the coast was clear because he had no hesitation whatsoever in dealing with this guy. He had an ability and a passion, but as a result of that, he also had to go into a wilderness so that that prideful arrogance and thinking that he's going to deliver by the arm of flesh is taken away from him so that he can realize that the only way he can deliver is through God. That's what happened. But he had a passion that needed to be directed. When you look at King David, King David, when you're introduced to him in his earlier days is a young man. And as a young man, he comes and he sees a giant nine foot nine man by the name of Goliath, taunting the armies of God. And when he sees this taking place, it says in 1 Samuel 1726 that David asked the men standing near him what will be done for the man who kills this Philistine, removes this disgrace from Israel. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? That's a man of passion. He came and he sees that nine foot nine. He says he can come in the name of his own God. I come in the name of my God. And today I'm going to cut your head off. That was David, a man of passion. And he said in Psalm 144 verse one, praise be to the Lord my rock who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. Elijah. When you look at Elijah, this King Ahab called him a troubler, a troubler of Israel. And Elijah responds and says, you're the troubler of Israel. You have abandoned God and you've introduced Baal. And as a result of that judgment came upon them through the hand of God. Well, God used his hand to bring judgment or Nehemiah. Nehemiah, look at this old man. Nehemiah 1325. These people were violating the law of God. And it says in Nehemiah 1325 that he slapped people and pulled their beards. It's kind of old man who got bad temper. And again, I mentioned Simon the zealot. He wanted to incite the people to rebel against Rome and use force. And then you have the apostle Peter who cut off Malchus's ear in his attempt to defend and protect Jesus Christ. And then you have Paul. And Paul spoke to the high priest Ananias. And Ananias said, ordered that Paul gets slapped and Paul looks at him and said, God will smite you, you whitewashed wall. This man had some passion. Jesus revealed his indignation when he cleansed the temple. And John chapter two, he cleansed it out, had whip and drove him out twice. And his disciples remembered Psalm 69 verse nine, zeal for your house has consumed me. So what am I trying to say, trying to get all these men mad right now? No, God isn't looking for angry carnal men. God is looking for determined, disciplined men with passion. And I believe that God in these days we're living in is calling us to stand up for righteousness. And that the church needs to awaken from its lumber. And he's looking for passionate people who know it is right to do that, which is right to make his name glorified once again in this nation. I believe that God wants to do a work. And I'm going to say something at this point. I'll close and then I'm going to add something to my clothes. I believe that the Lord is calling us men, especially to stand up. It's not difficult fellas for the women to it's not women stand up. I love our women. I love women who they love God and men. I'm going to stand up for God. It's the man who sometimes say, well, I'll let the wife do it. No, God has called you. God has called you. And it's time for us as men to say, you know what, we're going to take our place, our rightful place. And we're going to lead the way God has called us to because it's our time. It's our time to stand up for righteousness. And I don't mean to be carnal. I don't mean to go out and yell at people and scream at people about how bad things are. It's just if there has ever been a day that we need to stand up and say, this is true and this is right. It's today. And what we need to be is united through a love for Jesus and a reception of him so that we can proclaim a message and do so with the passion that God has given to us for Jesus Christ. With that said, I'm going to make this quick because it's time for me to close. But with that said, anybody in this fellowship who's been here for a while knows my way of doing what I do. I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the message that transforms lives and therefore I remain faithful to the gospel. And so when you come to church, you can come expecting to get a Bible study on occasion. And I believe this is a right occasion. I feel the spirit of the Lord lead me to say things that I ordinarily wouldn't say. If you're a visitor here, visitor here for the first time, I don't do this often. As a matter of fact, once in a very long time. But I'm going to share some things with you right now because as a country, as well as a state, we've gone through some very difficult times. And I'm going to take my liberty to share with you a couple of things before we pray. When we look at this beautiful state, I born and raised here, I've lived here every second of my life since being born outside of a few trips, etc. This has been my home and my state. But we have gone through the worst lockdown of any state in the nation. And during this lockdown, thousands of businesses have been closed, jobs have been lost, and people are leaving California. We have the second highest unemployment in the nation. We've had an incredible spike in crime. We have thousands of criminals being released on the streets. We have a crisis of homelessness. We have the highest taxes in the nation. We have the second highest prices for gasoline. Our forests have been mismanaged, wildfires are out of control. We're going through droughts, blackouts, no plans for reservoirs or dams. Schools have been closed. There have been moves to involuntarily mask children. Mandatory vaccines have cost people their jobs. And as for our national government, we have failed our American citizens and allies. I'm very grieved. I hate to close with this, but I'm very grieved at what has taken place in Afghanistan. I was a military. I spent my time in the Army. All of you know that. If you don't know that, I served in the Army, 82nd Airborne. I was trained in certain things about loving my country, loving my country. And there was something that was almost an unspoken law in the military, and that is you never leave one of your brothers behind. You leave no American behind. And when I, when I saw the news, forgive me, I don't want to be angry, but I am. I'm trying to be cool, but I'm not. I'm upset. Oh, you carnal pastor. Okay, fine. I'm carnal. I am upset because we left Americans. You don't do that. You don't do that. Am I wrong in this? Am I by myself in this? And so I want to remember by name those 13 members of our armed forces who died because I believe that they deserve the honor of being remembered. And I'm going to mention their names here right now. I want to remember Marine Corps Lance Corporal David Espinosa. Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole G. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Darren Taylor Hoover. Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Gnauss. Marine Corps Corporal Hunter Lopez. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Riley McCollum. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoi. Marine Corps Corporal Dagan Williams Tyler Page. Marine Corps Sergeant Johanny Rosario. Marine Corps Corporal Umerto Sanchez. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz. Navy Hospital Corpsman Max Sobiak. I want you to remain standing because we're going to pray in a moment, but I want to say it and I'll close this way prayerfully you'll understand the heart that's speaking. We live in a country where we can vote and I already have. I'm going to vote the poor leaders out and I think we know who those poor leaders are. It's time. It's time. And I ask that the Lord, Father God, I ask that you would speak to our hearts today and that Jesus, we would understand that these concerns that are being brought out in the conclusion of this really relates to having passion for that which is right. This is not a Democrat, independent or Republican kind of thing. This is an American thing. And Father, I just ask that you would show mercy to us. Father, show us mercy. We the church are on our knees before God forgive us or our sins. Lord, ignite in us a passion for the lost and Lord bring comfort to the families of those military personnel because they receive knocks on the door and the news that their loved one would come home never again. Hearts are touched by that. Father, I believe that what we're seeing is really just what was, it's just wrong. It's just wrong because Lord forgive me for this but it seems pretty obvious that this is a photo op for 9-11. People's lives were lost because of it. I can't help but believe that. Forgive me if I'm wrong but Lord I ask that you would bring comfort to those families, to parents and loved ones and wives and children and they were young so many of them. I just ask for your comfort but I also pray that this would unite us Lord to do the right thing. May the church awaken in these last days and may we proclaim a message that changes hearts and even as our eyes close one last thing perhaps there are some right now we need to get right with the Lord before I close if you do would you raise your hand let me pray for you right where you're at just raise your hand. Father you see these hands you know the reason they're being raised to you in Jesus name I pray that you would reach and touch these now washing cleanse them and Father fill them and make them into warriors for you people who stand up for what is right who know your word and are willing to stand to be counted we lift this to you now Father we will yield ourselves to you now thank you Lord you can put your hands down in Jesus I ask that you keep moving in all of us in your name to your glory amen