Title Characteristics of Disciples
Contents
Suppose a company conducts a character analysis of the twelve disciples of Jesus in order to recruit talented new employees. If the company had asked for computer analysis by synthesizing their academic and career aptitudes, this might have been the case.
“James and John are very selfish people. Thomas is the owner of a suspicious and negative personality in everything. Peter has a quick temper and is prone to making mistakes. Andre is so introverted that he loses momentum in everything he does. James is a dangerous creature with a revolutionary temperament. Matthew, a tax collector, is a selfish person who only pursues his own interests. Among the disciples, only Judas Iscariot was qualified. He is a man of knowledge and experience, and he has the flair and sociability of a businessman.”
But it was the disqualified disciples who changed the history of Christianity. Judas Iscariot, the most capable of worldly judgment, was branded a traitor. God does not choose the proud. He uses it for our humility and shortcomings.
Today's text is about Jesus calling the twelve disciples and giving them power. What power did Jesus give his disciples?
He has given us the power to cast out unclean spirits, the power to heal the sick, and the power to strengthen the weak. Please believe that the same power that Jesus gave to his disciples is also given to us living today.
The twelve disciples Jesus called and chosen are Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thadeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot. The twelve disciples Jesus made have some characteristics in common.
First, they were all ordinary people. The disciples were all ordinary people of the lower class. There was no one who could be compared to the famous figures of his day. They were mostly of poor fisherman origin, Galileans. There were no chaebols, politicians, social activists, scholars, or anyone in power. They selected ordinary people who were sincere in their work from the lowest positions.
Second, they were all humble and innocent people. They weren't proud of their family or their background. They were relatively pure, pure-hearted, and good-hearted people. We should do our best to be like them and to have a humble and pure heart.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in spirit, and you will find rest” (Matthew 11:29).
“Every day, we made every effort to meet together in the temple together, and broke bread at home, and ate food with joy and sincerity of heart” (Acts 2:46).
Third, they were all obedient people. They weren't stubborn, assertive, or proud of themselves. Especially not those who had any cunning tactics or tricks. They were not ignoring or deceiving others.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as robbery, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, humbled himself like men, and became obedient to the point of death. He was crucified” (Philippians 2:5-11).
Fourth, everyone left everything and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:20-22, Matthew 9:9, Mark 1:18, Luke 5:11).
He said that the kingdom of heaven is like discovering a hidden treasure in a field, and it is like selling all that one owns and buying the field. The key to discipleship is to be able to give up everything for the sake of heaven and follow the Lord.
“In the same way, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
In Luke 14:26-27, the Bible says, "If anyone who comes to me does not hate his father and mother, wife and wife, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot become my disciple, and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot You will not be my disciple."
Also in Matthew 10:37 he said, “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” It's about loving more.
Those who love their parents, wives and wives, brothers and sisters, and their lives more than Jesus do not find it easy to become a disciple of the Lord. If there is anything we love more than God than Jesus, it becomes a stumbling block on our path as disciples of Jesus, and it ultimately causes us to fall.
And he goes on to say in Matthew 10:38, “And he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Those who abandoned their offices, those who abandoned their missions, and those who put their crosses down on the ground are those who have nothing to do with Jesus. They think they have something to do with it, but they already have nothing to do with Jesus.
Taking up one's cross and following the Lord is the right way for disciples of the Lord to go. Let's look at ourselves. Or are you not staying at the level of a church member? Heed the Lord's commands. Let's become disciples of the Lord. Disciples are not made by mouth or ears. You need your own wife. We need to love God more than anything in the world. You need to carry the cross.
“And it was done to the multitude, if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
Therefore, becoming a disciple of the Lord is achieved when we follow the Lord with extraordinary determination, total devotion, and abandoning everything. I pray that you too will make the decision from the bottom of your heart to become a disciple of Jesus and follow it to the end.
* Prayer: Thank you for making us disciples of the Lord. Please help us and guide us so that we can live a mature life of faith with gratitude always. Imitate the heart of Jesus, obey the word of God, and treat everyone with humility, gentleness, forgiveness, and love. So, let us glorify God through who we are. Let us know your concern and perfect will in our hearts. Help me to understand the gospel and live by it, and to share Christ with everyone I meet through the guidance and work of the Holy Spirit and lead me to God. Please bless us today so that our lives will be used as precious tools of the Lord to wipe away and comfort those who are suffering because of suffering and sorrow. We pray in the name of the shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen
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God is looking for people to trust and trust in His work. The people God uses are not people with knowledge and abilities, but people of obedience who gladly follow what He says without saying anything. He is looking for a perfect 'His man' who puts down all of my thoughts and plans and trusts and trusts only God. God wants you to win that person. He wants to hear you.
“Behold my servant whom I hold, my chosen one, whom my heart rejoices in; I have given him my Spirit, and he will do justice to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:1).
/ Chan-ho Ahn, from <Listen to You>