Frontline Ministries International, Inc.  

He was going to turn the world upside down with these twelve men. Was the success of the early church a reflection of the quality of these twelve men? He ordained them for two reasons. First, he ordained them to be with Him. Just to be with Him. He is light; He is love. He would love them and He would reveal Himself to them. What a singular honor. They were called by God Himself. They must have been special, a cut above the rest. Surely, they were men of great character and great skill. They were going to be hanging out with the Son of God. Wouldn't they be representing Him? He also ordained them to send them out to preach the gospel. The sinner is saved by the foolishness of preaching! They must have been imposing fellows, great orators, and men of renown that could draw a crowd. After all, Jesus ordained them. They would come in his Name. But the Biblical record does not bear out the greatness of these men. As a matter of fact they were fishermen, with thick Galillean accents. Probably not the most compelling men in Israel. The Bible records their denial of Jesus, their lack of faith, their fear, their dejection and flight when He was crucified. The Bible records that Jesus died alone. So it can not be that Jesus ordained twelve great men. No, the truth is that because Jesus that ordained them, they were empowered with the potential for greatness. Where formerly, they were with Him, now He would be with them, always. They were empowered to preach by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. They would become great because of the greatness of Jesus! He is with you -- now go and do great things for God!