19. Sent Like Jesus

FLASHBACK

What did you experience with God this week?
In the last few days, did you have the opportunity to share an experience with God with someone close to you that doesn’t know Jesus yet? Or could you pray for them or help them practically?
Do you need God‘s help in an area of your life?

■ Pray together: Give thanks for your experiences, ask God for help where you need it.

■ Pray together to learn new things about God and that your relationship with God deepens and gets stronger.

BIBLE STUDY

Read the passage silently. What words or phrases stick out?
One person reads the passage out loud.
One person retells the passage in his/her own words (Bibles closed).
If necessary, the others complement what was said (Bibles closed).

Mark 3:13-19

¹³ 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.

Everyone by themselves:
- What words or phrases stick out now? Are there any differences to what you noticed before?
- Why do you feel drawn to those words or phrases?
- What can you learn about people?
- What could God be telling you?
Share in the group.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS & ACTION STEPS

Why did Jesus call the 12 disciples? List all the aspects you find in the scripture.
Consider the sequence these aspects appear. What comes first and why?
Jesus calls everyone by name. What does that mean for you?
Following Jesus means, first of all, to have a close relationship with Him. Are you close to Jesus, or do you need to let Jesus to get close to your heart again? Is there something standing between you and Jesus that you should confess to Him? (Everyone do this on their own.)
Jesus didn’t invest his life in everyone. He influenced the masses and had lots of other disciples (Luke 6:17), but most of His time He deliberately invested exclusively in just twelve people. These He made his disciples, these He called his friends, with them He shared His heart; they were twelve who “knew the Father”. He knew that to change the world He needed only a few people, but those few must be 100% committed to Him and are ready to be sent. Are you 100% committed and ready to be an envoy for Jesus?
What is our mandate as envoys? (see also John 17:18)

■ Pray together and make yourselves available as envoys.

■ Ask God to fill you fully with His Holy Spirit (you can find practical steps for that in the “Filled” unit).

SCRIPTURE COMMENTS

In the Bible, 12 is a symbol for completion as well as for the 12 tribes of Israel. While walking on Earth, Jesus focused on 12 Jewish men. But after his resurrection, he sent out his disciples to make disciples of all nations, to bring people into a relationship with Jesus and to equip and authorise them as envoys as well.

In earlier times, an envoy did not necessarily need to be a person of high estate, he could also be a servant or a slave. His “natural” estate did not matter, because the recipient or negotiating party did not view him as a servant or slave, but as a carrier of the king’s full authority (within the concerned matter). For example, he distributed royal decrees, negotiated and finalised contracts with other parties. In everything he did, he spoke the king’s words and acted, just as the king acted himself. What an envoy did was binding. Hence, envoys carried the king’s seal, which was necessary to negotiate and finalise contracts.

In the same way, Jesus calls us today to be His envoys, who are in relationship with Him. Jesus is our King and we are His envoys, endowed with all His authority. The Holy Spirit is our seal. He provides us with the spiritual authority of Jesus and signifies to the spiritual realm that we are acting on behalf of King Jesus. This means: As soon as we act or speak in accordance to Him, it has the same effect as if Jesus were acting or speaking himself!

“It is time to live and think supernaturally and do mighty things for the Lord. There is no limit to what our almighty God can accomplish through us in the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Bill Bright)

OTHER LANGUAGES