In Search of the Thirteenth Disciple

Pastor Cary Gordan

1Corintians 12:26-31 (NKJV)

“26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers and after that miracle then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are al prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the bests gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”

We are all a part of the body (if you have repented, have been saved, ant turned from sin)

• (v.28) is a person who has a gift of healing, carrying an anointing of healing.
  
• One member suffers we all suffer, on rejoices we all rejoice.
  
• (v.27) we are also members individually, we all have something in common loved equally by our Lord, and we all have different abilities and skills. The Lord has appointed these different abilities in The Church.
  
• There are people who have grace to be apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, administration, and varieties of tongues.
  
• (v. 29) Rhetorical questions; No, not all can be called to have the same graces of abilities. We are all unique and different.
  

Let’s explore two things that will help our local Church (one that is getting stronger and healthier, and more powerful); Ephesians 4:11-16

Question: Why are we looking for the 13^th disciple? Because of Judas.

• Inside the congregation, we have answers and solutions to every problem; Local Church is supernatural!
  
• Go back to the scripture where Jesus is talking about communion (which is uniting individuals into one) the disciples are around Him; He then states that one will betray Him. Who betrayed Him? I was Judas.
  
• There is always the potential of someone among the body of Christ to be the next Judas.
  
• Ask yourself, Is it I? Will I betray Jesus? Will I betray The Church? Betray the unity?
  
• The Spirit of God is always looking for the 13^th disciple. Some one to replace Judas.
  
• There wasn’t just one Judas, there is a spirit of Judas that was there back then is still here today; turning disciples against each other, causing division.
  
• Is it I? I’m I the next Judas.
  
• The enemy is after your thoughts and wants there to be division, offenses, isolation, for you to go missing. Then the Lord has to go into a local Church and find another disciple to replace the guy that left.
  
• Remember, Jesus wants us to be one. Satan wants to tear us apart.
  

“11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the ^[e]edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:11-16

• This is after the resurrection of Christ, Him sitting at the right hand of God.  
  
• First thing He did was (v.11)
  
• (v. 13) perfect man, meaning, mature. Adult maturity in God spiritually. In the fullness of Christ.
  
• (v. 14) why? That we would no longer be like children, immature.
  
• (v.16) joint supplies, referring to the blood. Blood is flowing, keeping us alive.
  
• He gave some these spiritual gifts
  
• He gave some Pastors, not very many are called to be a Pastor. There is one primary pastor and is called Pastor. Sometimes he is also prophetic, or a teacher, or his wife is prophetic.
  
• We need every gift. We could not be a strong church with out all the gifts.
  
• We need you not to be Judas.
  
• Governments (supportive roles): administration, helps
  

***If it good enough for the Holy Spirit, if it is good enough for the third person of the trinity, if it is good enough for the member of the God head, then it’s a good enough ministry for me! ***

• Helps. Everyone can’t be a preacher. It’s a grace to have. Helps.
  
• In every local church, God gives the grace to preach to a couple people and the grace to help to a lot of people.
  
• Be helpful.
  

The Jesus Rule (Matthew 25:21)

“21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

Jesus picked 12 disciples. 12 that would change the world. He had to transform them from being cussing, rough, shallow thinking, mostly fisherman, not educated, bad habits into apostles.

• That’s what pastors do. Take broken people the Lord has called and transform them. But it is impossible without God.
  

How did He do this? What if you were one who was hand picked by Christ, and now He is gone and must replace Judas? How do you pick? There is a way to do it with this principle:

• Good, Faithful, and Servant.
  
• These are the words we want to hear, well done good and faithful servant, not “depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:23).”
  

The only way you will be able to hear these words “good and faithful servant” is if you did well, did good, were faithful and served. Otherwise God would be lying…and He doesn’t lie. So this is how important it is to be helpful.

• Service is a gift.
  
• Helping is a Gift.
  

So how did Jesus do it?

• He taught them to be good, faithful and how to serve.
  
• Remember Jesus feeding the 5,000? Jesus did a miracle work with loaves and fish. After wards He said, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” John 6:12
  
• Help clean up, why? So that the ministry of Christ would not be associated with the smell dirty, rotten fish.
  
• He taught them to help. They collected 12 baskets full of trash. Helps.
  
• Helps; If is good enough for the Holy Spirit, Its good enough for me.
  

What criteria do they use to choose the 13^th disciple? Judas is gone. How does God still make great people out of nothing? How does he choose the next Billy Graham, the next voice that will make a difference and convict people of their sin? Who does He choose who to give the gift of healing too? Or to use vocally with the divine use of tongues and interpretation?

What does God want you to become when you have reached spiritual maturity?

• Jesus Rule: good, faithful, and serve others.
  
• He gives us opportunities to do this in the Church, to learn to be good, to learn how to be faithful, to learn how to serve someone besides myself.
  
• If you are serving yourself, you are serving the devil.
  
• Service, Help! It’s a gift in the Church.
  

Acts 1:15-26

• In this passage in Acts, is showing how they (the 11 disciples) are picking the next disciple.
  
• To make the first round, they had to have been faithful.
  
• They looked at were those who were faithful. Those who had been with them from the beginning (v. 21-22)
  
• Good servants that have faith that had been tested over a long passage of time.
  
• Jesus picked you. Don’t do what Judas did.
  
• Then they prayed to the Lord after two were presented to them. (v. 24-26)
  
• We can only go so far in the picking from the natural: good, faithful, and a servant.
  
• In any true ordination, God chooses through authority.
  
• God sees us from the inside, in our hearts. Serving with a good attitude. Serving with a bad attitude. He sees it all.
  

If it is good enough for the Holy Spirt, it is good enough for me.

Declaration: I am going to be helpful; I am going to serve my church, I am going to be good, I am going to be faithful.

We are in search of the 13^th disciple. God is looking for someone to promote. He has something huge for the whole world, He is going to rule it!

Ending quotation, from the book Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

The moment where the characters are going to meet Aslan. The Lion of Judah, Christ, Jesus. He is being described. And the girl asks, “oh my goodness, is he safe?” and the others say, “Oh dear no, the Lion Aslan is not safe. But He is good.”

• Not good? Teeth for biting, claws for tearing
  
• The issue is are you right?
  
• God is not safe, but He is good.
  
• You are in grave danger if you have not repented. He will throw you into hell.
  

He is not safe. But he is good, and commands us to be good.

If you are good, He will never throw you into hell. He will love you, protect you. He will use His might and strength and power to destroy your enemies and to keep you safe from the bad. But if you are bad, oh, He is not safe for you.

Amen.

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