Monday: “With Him”
When Jesus called the first disciples on the shores of Galilee, they had already witnessed His power over evil. They had seen Him challenge demons (Luke 4:34-36), heal the sick (Luke 4:38-41), rule over nature (Luke 5:4-6), reveal sin and then reassure Peter there was no need to fear (Luke 5:10).
Image © Kevin Carden from GoodSalt.com
Some time later, after praying all night (Luke 6:12), Jesus assembled His followers (disciples), and from that larger group chose twelve, calling them apostles (Luke 6:13; the Greek word apostolos means “to send out”). Before Jesus sent them out, He spent some time with them giving them instructions (Luke 9:1-5) that were similar to the details He gave to a larger group of 70 some time later(Luke 10:1-16).
Read Mark 3:14. What did Jesus want the apostles to do before sending them out on their own? What important message is in here for all of us?
How many times are modern disciples more eager to race off and work for Jesus rather than spend time with Him? The simple reality is that when we go out to fulfill the gospel commission, racing off with our own to-do list, we bypass the Savior of the world and try to replace Him with ourselves. It is too easy to have a “Messiah complex,” thinking it is up to us to save the world, forgetting that Jesus alone is Savior.
One would not be too hard-pressed to say that so much of Christian history has been soiled by those who, professing the name of Jesus, had not spent time with Him, had not known Him, and had not been changed by Him. The last thing our world or the church needs are those running around in the name of Christ who have not been “with Him.” One of Satan’s greatest ploys in the great controversy has been his ability to co-opt those who claim the name of Christ and to use them to defile that name. Hence, before sending them off, Jesus wanted these men to be with Him in order, no doubt, to learn from Him.
What does it mean to us, today, without the physical, fleshly presence of Jesus, to be “with Him?” What are the practical real-time ways in which we today can have that time with Him?
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Spending time alone with Jesus is essential to building a relationship with Him (Mark 3:14). When the Master ordained the twelve He intended for them to sit at His feet and take instructions, to observe Him and learn of Him (Matthew 11:28-29). Jesus also spent time alone with His Father (Mark 1:35). He too received instructions and learned by observation (John 5:19-20; 12:49-50).
In fast paced societies, especially in more developed areas and cities, people are often busy with money-making and other activities. It may take conscious effort to pause from time to time to learn of Jesus. While some may confess to lacking in regard to this, there may be another deficiency, not quite as noticeable, and that is leaving Jesus in the closet.
Devotional time is not the only time to be with Jesus. The Lord is to be a constant companion to the believer, almost like a shadow tracking its object. The disciples were more likely to compete among themselves for the supremacy when they were not in Christ’s presence, or not within hearing distance of the Master (Mark 9:33-34).
Maintaining a consciousness of Christ’s presence is part of what it means to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). By this approach it is easier to please the Lord, and especially when working for Him believers may expect to be guided by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:20).
Then Christians do not have to depend on the arm of flesh, and devise strategies so detailed there is little room for the Spirit. As Zerubbabel would learn it is not by human resourcefulness that God’s cause is advanced, but by the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). Take Jesus with you everywhere.
I love this lesson, because I strongly believe that before you can put your hands on it (God's work) you must put your heart in it.
Having a personal relationship with Christ i.e. studying and spending time in His words and living those words through us as well as daily communion with Him, will lead us to more effective ways of witnessing to those around us. We cannot just want to introduce someone to Christ if we don't know Him for ourselves.
Lesson that we learn from this lesson is that,we should spend time to study the word God so that we teache other as disciple did,and we should pray so that Holy spirit guide us
We serve the LORD as his Slaves, not as his Volunteers.The Greek work for "SERVE" mean to be enslaved. Their is a difference between Slaves and Volunteers. Volunteers choose when and how they Serve; Slaves are on call day and night, wheather they feel like Serving or not. Volunteers can Quit Serving if they get tired; Slaves are Slaves for LIFE. JESUS illustrated this in Luke 17:7-10. AMEN!
Perhaps I miss your point so I comment for clarification. I don't believe I am a slave, for 1 Corinthians 7:12 shows that if one was/is able to gain freedom from slavery then to do so - when my husband and I were married, I did not become his slave, nor he mine because we did for each other that which was each of our wishes. We did for each other that which was asked out of love and respect. I do what he asks of me, not out of obligation, but have been "obedient" because I love him, I do for him what he likes instead of doing my own pleasure. Neither did Jesus ever appealed to people out of guilt or obligation. He invited people to come to Him " see John 6:37 "All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away."
Read Romans 6:16,17,18.I know the better word for Slaves is a Servant, but the scripture in Romans refer us as Slaves. It would take me a lot of writing to explain why I said what I said. Thank You!
John 15:15 – I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father, I have made known to you.
I thought the whole point of the lesson is about spending time with Jesus...developing and improving a relationship. We can be a slave to sin as you have suggested (and not even know that we are slaves). But our friend Jesus points this out. In my humble opinion, we can be a slave or a friend.
The good thing about being Christ's slave is that His yoke is light. Being a slave to Jesus is having rest and peace.
It is very important to spend time with Christ that we may be able to hear and know His voice. In order for us to go for Christ, we need to first come to Him and learn of HIM (Matthew 11:28-30).
"The last thing our church or the world need are those running around in the name of Christ who have not been with Him." This is a powerful statement because of the consequential truth that is in it. From the age of the crusades to missionaries driven by the wrong motives, to televangelists hawking oils,cloths, and financial success for money, Christianity has suffered tremendous damaged in the eyes of the world. Too many of us who have not known Christ, or been with Him so that our hearts burned within us, have gone out in His name.
This is a sobering message to me this morning. If I accept to work in the church and claim in my community or on my job to be Christ,s disciple, I had better make sure that I am spending quality time with Him. This quality time will allow the Holy Spirit to transform my heart.
Whenever a well known person who professes Christ has a public fall, it is not only fodder for late night comedians, it hurts the name of Christ and holds the gospel up to ridicule. While we do not condemn those who for various reasons have allowed themselves to be tricked by the enemy who leaves them always in open disgrace, we can be cautioned by their experiences and commit ourselves to spend more time knowing our Savior so that we can rightly represent Him. If we do not do thus, who will.
In these last day, heaven is counting on us.
Jesus knows everything and invites us to come and learn from Him. When we know Jesus we will be ready to tell others who Jesus is.
we want to do things with our own wisdom, without consulting Jesus,when we fail that is when we remember we have a Savior to run to,here we are learning to completely trust in him ask for guidance before we can act on anything,allowing him to lead our footsteps and that can only happen if we develop a strong relationship with him,we always have a sense of his presence in our lves
Since the time Jesus came to earth as a babe "Immanuel", God with us,He has never left us. When it came time for Him physically to depart this planet, after successfully completing His Messianic rescue mission of our lost race, He made to His disciples this promise - "... I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16). He has kept His word for we have seen the powerful workings of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and throughout the Acts of the Apostles, spreading the gospel all over the regions and nations of their time and what an explosion that was!
God is still "with us" through His Spirit today (we experience His presence in our lives each day) and that same dynamite power which attended the missions of the disciples long ago, is readily at our disposal right now. Therefore when we spend time in study of the word it is He who guides us "into all truth" (John 16:13), and shines the light on our paths. It is He who abides with and empowers us to overcome sin and transforms us into the likeness of Christ and restores God's image in us so that we are effective witnesses to share the special truths for our time to those around us. When we spend time in meditation and prayer it is the Spirit of God who takes our petitions before the Father for we even fall short in our praying - and I am so glad to know that Jesus is right there making intercession for each of us.
If God has done so much in order to be "with us" , the only response we should have is to spend time "with Him". All successful relationships require an investment of time and ours "with Him" is no different. In the Garden of Eden, God came down and communed with Adam and Eve. Jesus spent much time communing with His Father while here on earth, even whole nights on the mountain praying (Luke 6:12). That's where He found strength to overcome daily temptations and finally to win the battle (in the great controversy) against the evil one. If we should heed these words it would be our joy, always, to be with Him:
Take time to be holy
Speak oft with thy Lord
Abide in Him always
And feed on His Word
Make friends of God's children
Help those who are weak
Forgetting in nothing
His blessing to seek.
Have a blessed day! "with Him" as we all sing this great hymn together!!
Is it possible to be "with Him" if we have not surrendered ALL? To be "with Him" means to separate yourself/ourselves from the crowed. We know we cannot serve two masters (Mathew 6: 24). Let us the Holy Spirit to teach us on how we can be with Him fully and wholly. Let us commit to studying the scriptures in order to increase our faith (Luke 17:5)and as we know faith comes from hearing the word (Romans 10:17).
Well, to add a little salt to the discussion perhaps an advanced class in practicing the presence of God would do us all a world of good. I am saying that we talk so much about what Jesus did when he was here and how he connected to his Father, is it not better and easier for us to walk with God considering that He never leaves us and says never will. That ears to me that grace covers whatever I choose to do with my day to start with and even if I run away from Him (psalms) or seek to hide from Him (Genesis) He is there. The point is, He is the diligent and consistent One not myself and however privileged we are to have communion with Him and His angels all the emphasis needs to change from our securing a place in His Kingdom by works to our receiving the gift of His power and presence by faith (which works...by the way)
By spending time with Christ reading the word (bible) having time to listen and applied the word (bible) to our lives. To have the Holy Spirit teach us and change our life..by also listening to sermons and other who minister the word of God and song and just quite time with Christ on our mind and in our heart.
All relationships require time to grow. Human intimacy involves time spent alone with your partner. The Bible tells us that from the time God created us He "knitted us in our mothers' wombs" (Ps 139:13). So it is palpably clearly that He desires time alone with each one of us. He wants a personal relationship with us, individually and collectively as a Church. He calls us to come to commune with Him as can be read in Isaiah 1: 18 + Rev 22: 17.
Clearly to be a Christian requires time spent alone with our Lord and Master and in this way our relationship with God will be fostered. It is through Bible study, prayer and meditation that we can grow this relationship.
In response to a question as to which is the most important commandment of all, Jesus in Matthew 10: 29-30 captured the Ten Commandments and used the word "love". He'd said if you LOVE Me keep My commandments (John 14: 15). Read also (Ps 1: 2-3). We need to know Him to love God. Love is relational. He wants us to know Him in order to love Him. You can not love God if you don't know Him. Further, as we journey through this world its vital for us to establish a deliberate connection with God Almighty in order to receive guidance and directions.
Unless we are immersed in God's love our sojourn is bound to find our lives engulfed in havoc and a remorseless decline into devastation. The psalmist says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good." Its like putting a bit of sugar upon the tongue to know the sweetness in it. When as the psalmist says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good" he's calling us to experience the sweetness of spiritual and celestial things which are "His words..... and yea, are sweeter than honey....." It is indeed our privilege to walk in the presence of God and live in holy communion with Him and by doing so we get empowered to tell others about Him from a practical point of view. How else are we going to witness about Him if we don't know Him and fail to walk with Him daily? As it is vital for us to keep our bodies healthy and strong by eating proper food and excercise, we can only improve and strengthen our spiritual being by prayer, daily walking with Him, meditation and living in His presence and propagating the gospel.
Before running off to save the world, Lord please help me to know you like your son Jesus knows you Amen.
I think that there is an error in today's lesson. If you read Mark 3:14 it doesn't answer the question that they answer about this. I believe that they meant to have the verse that says not to take money or anything more than you can carry but I don't know where that is in the Word. Is that the verse that they wanted to use? It's not in Mark 3 at all.
Hi Bruce,
Since the verse says, " Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach," I think the author meant us to focus on the "with them." In other words, Jesus wanted the disciples to spend some time *with* Him before He sent them out to tell others the Good News. 🙂
All relationships require time to grow. Human intimacy involves time spent alone with your partner. The Bible tells us that from the time God created us He "knitted us in our mothers' wombs" (Ps 139:13). So it is palpably clearly that He desires time alone with each one of us. He wants a personal relationship with us, individually and collectively as a Church. He calls us to come to commune with Him as can be read in Isaiah 1: 18 + Rev 22: 17. Clearly to be a Christian requires time spent alone with our Lord and Master and in this way our relationship with God will be fostered. It is through Bible study, prayer and meditation that we can grow this relationship. In response to a question as to which is the most important commandment of all, Jesus in Matthew 10: 29-30 captured the Ten Commandments and used the word "love". He'd said if you LOVE Me keep My commandments (John 14: 15). Read also (Ps 1: 2-3). We need to know Him to love God. Love is relational. He wants us to know Him in order to love Him. You can not love God if you don't know Him. Further, as we journey through this world its vital for us to establish a deliberate connection with God Almighty in order to receive guidance and directions. Unless we are immersed in God's love our sojourn is bound to find our lives engulfed in havoc and a remorseless decline into devastation. The psalmist says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good." Its like putting a bit of sugar upon the tongue to know the sweetness in it. When as the psalmist says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good" he's calling us to experience the sweetness of spiritual and celestial things which are "His words..... and yea, are sweeter than honey....." It is indeed our privilege to walk in the presence of God and live in holy communion with Him and by doing so we get empowered to tell others about Him from a practical point of view. How else are we going to witness about Him if we don't know Him and fail to walk with Him daily? As it is vital for us to keep our bodies healthy and strong by eating proper food and excercise, we can only improve and strengthen our spiritual being by prayer, by daily walking with Him, in meditation and living in His presence.
We need to have an intimate relationship with Jesus. Don’t rush to use the name of Jesus and yet you do not fellowship with Him otherwise you will end up like the sons of Sceva the JEWISH CHIEF PRIEST read Acts 19:14-16.You need to know your story because you will be asked questions out there and you need to be able to be ‘…be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” 1 Peter 3:15.Yes you might be a son or a daughter of a Pastor but you need to have a personal relationship with the Lord. From Acts 19 the demons told the sons of Sceva that ooh yes Jesus we know and Paul we know too but WHO ARE YOU? ‘Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all.He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. ‘What an embarrassment and a shame. How well do you know Jesus ?
Everything has its own procedures that must be followed and observed, so an individual has to be with his master or lecturer. We may do less quantities and low qualities unless we choose to be with Jesus who by then strengthens us.
Please note that before Jesus chose the 12 Apostles, He had an all-night prayer (Luke 6:12). May the Lord help us to learn that we ought to pray for everything? Before we can give people positions in our Church, let us pray about it first. At times we become too quick to choose without getting into the closet to pray about it. We need to take the work of God seriously like the way Jesus did. We cannot do anything on our own. The Title is saying WITH HIM. Apart from Him you cannot do anything (John 15:5). We need to be Spirit filled and Spirit led.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Like many other verses that depict Christ as 'commander in Chief' he sends us out into the world. I appreciate the fact that we need to be with him as we labour we need to always remember that we have been sent out for a specific purpose thus we are labouring for him who is our master. The appreciation of the fact that we are labouring for him will always remind us of the true owner of this work, we are like servants working for him. FOR HIM
God has made Himself known to us when we accepted Him. He is with us always. The awareness of this makes the relationship possible. He,only,by His power and by the Holy Spirit, can we become close to Him. Every moment of our day, He is with us, so what's the big problem? If we love Him and trust Him, everything else will flow, because of His continual work with us, not because of our work. What a powerful, loving Judge! Let's put our trust in Him all the way. "If God is with us, Who can be against us? "