Due to sound issues with the Face Book Live segment, we are posting my notes for this segment of “Take Ten with Pastor Don” for May 11, 2021. We apologize for the sound issues but hope you are blessed by the notes.

May 11, 2021

What Happens When God Calls You Out?

If you are reading through the Gospels with us each month, you have already read the following or you will before the end of the day.

In Mark 3:13-19 we find the list of disciples that Jesus “called out.”

Mark 3: 13-19 “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

These were young men, for the most part, that Jesus selected to be His disciples.

Because we know the rest of the story, being called to be a disciple had no guarantees of riches, or a life of ease attached to it.

Again, because we know the rest of the story, we know that one of those He called out betrayed him. Being called out did not guarantee success either.

Being called out did not prevent failure. How many times in the Gospels have you read about the disciples arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest?

And how many times did they fail the test of faith? When you read about the time when Jesus fed the 5,000 or a little later when he fed the 4,000 note that it was disciples who wanted to send them away.

And then even after they had seen Jesus feed these multitudes, they had problems believing that God could supply their needs when they left their own bread at home.

And being called out by Jesus didn’t keep the disciples from being afraid. Remember the time when they were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee and the winds and the waves started up? They were afraid they were going to die.

And there was a time, again on the Sea of Galilee, that Jesus came walking out to them and they became frightened because they thought He was a ghost.

We really don’t know what it was the drew Jesus to these men. They weren’t particularly educated. It appeared most of them, or the ones we know about came from religious homes. They knew enough to be looking for the Messiah.

When you read in Luke 6 about the time Jesus called His disciples, we are told that Jesus prayed “all night” before selecting the 12.

It would seem Jesus got His marching orders for whom to select from His time in prayer.

Tomorrow night on the Ask Pastor Don segment, we will talk about what the disciples did after Jesus returned to the Father and about how their lives ended. I think it will be interesting for you.

In thinking about the disciples, I don’t know that it was so much about them as much as it was about the power of God at work in their lives.

Jesus poured Himself into them. When they came to faith in John 20, God poured the Holy Spirit into them. And from the Day of Pentecost on, they were empowered by the Holy Spirit like never before.

They still weren’t perfect. But they were empowered to do what God had called them out to do.

God is calling you out. He has a unique task for you to do. I don’t know what it is, or when it will come about. But I do know the same God who called out 12 young men and empowered them to “turn the world upside down” will empower you.

Always in Pursuit!

Don