NAMES AND TITLES OF CHRIST
THE APOSTLE
DR. JIM DIXON
HEBREWS 2:14-3:6
SEPTEMBER 28, 1997
Perhaps you’ve heard of Admiral Foote. You can read about him in your encyclopedia. He is wedged there between football and footnote. Admiral Andrew Hull Foote was perhaps the greatest naval leader of 19th century America. It was Admiral Foote who led the first flotilla (or small fleet of ironclad warships) in battle. It was Admiral Foote who led the naval forces for the Union in the Civil War. Prior to that, from the years 1849 to 1851, Admiral Foote, onboard the SS Perry, commanding that ship, fought the African slave trade along the coast of Africa.
There was also a time when Admiral Foote found himself commanding a ship off the coast of Asia. He invited the king of Siam and the royal court of Siam to have dinner with him onboard his ship and the king accepted. Prior to dinner, Admiral Foote said a prayer of Thanksgiving. The king of Siam said, “I thought only Christian missionaries said prayers before eating.” Admiral Foote said, “Yes, that is true. But all Christians are missionaries.”
Well, unfortunately Admiral Foote was wrong. All Christians are not missionaries, but all Christians should be missionaries. All Christians are called to missionary activity. To understand this, we examine this title of Christ, the Apostle. Now, the title Apostle comes from the Greek word “apostolos.” The Greek word Apostolos comes from the Greek verb “apostolo.” The verb apostolo means “to send forth.” The noun apostolos means “one sent forth.” The Greek word apostolos is the exact equivalent of the Latin word “mission,” from which we get the word missionary. You see, the word missio means “to send forth” and the word missionary means “one sent forth.” When we say that Jesus Christ is the Apostle, we are saying He is the Missionary. He is the One Sent Forth and He was sent forth from heaven to earth. He was sent forth to save.
In John, chapter 20, our Lord Jesus Christ said, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you.” In John, chapter 17, in His high priestly prayer, our Lord Jesus Christ prayed, “Even as Thou hast sent Me forth, even so I have sent them forth.”
You see, we who believe in Jesus Christ share in an apostolic call. We are sent forth by Christ. The word apostolos, the noun which means apostle, is generally used in exclusive sense to describe the original twelve or some of those who followed them. But the word apostolo is used more than one hundred times in the Bible and generally refers to all Christians. All Christians are sent forth. We share in this apostolic call. We are called, therefore, to do the work of a missionary wherever we are. Wherever we live, we are sent forth with the gospel. This is the call of Christ upon all the believing. As He sends us forth and as we share in this apostolic call, Christ reminds us of two things, and these are our two teachings.
First of all, the harvest is plentiful. In Matthew, chapter 9, verse 37, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful.” Now, 4,000 years ago when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans, there were 100 million people on the earth, less than half the number of people that live in the United States of America today. There were only 100 million people in the entire world. Three thousand years ago when David was enthroned in Israel, there were 120 million people on the earth. Two thousand years ago when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, there were 140 million people in the world. One thousand years ago when Otto III ascended the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, when Leif Ericson allegedly stepped foot on the North American continent, there were 275 million people on the earth. Five hundred years ago when Columbus arrived in the new world, there were 450 million people on the earth.
You see, it wasn’t until the year 1848 when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California… It wasn’t until the year 1848 that there were 1 billion people on this earth. Of course, since then population has increased almost exponentially. Today, there are almost 6 billion people in our world and there are more than 3 billion people in Asia alone, more than 800 million people in Europe, more than 500 million people in Africa, and more than 700 million people in North America. You see, we have been sent forth by our Lord, by the Apostle, by Jesus Christ Himself. We have been sent forth to all of these people with the gospel. We have been sent forth because people are spiritually dead and physically dying. We have been sent forth because people are dying in their sin. We have been sent forth because people are separated from God and are in eternal danger. We have been sent forth with the gospel. There are millions of people out there who suspect that something is wrong in their life, millions of people out there who know that they’re separated from God.
Burma (a country in Southeast Asia which, in 1984, changed its name to Myanmar) on the northeast touches China and Burma on the northwest touches India. It is an exotic country with trained elephants carrying the world’s finest teak wood from dense forests, with oil wells gushing along the banks of the Irrawaddy River, with mines producing jade and precious stones marketed all over the world, with banana trees growing on coastal plantations, with great cities like Rangoon and Mandalay. Fifty million people live in Burma, although Burma is smaller than the state of Texas. Most of those people are Buddhist. Some of them are Hindu, some are Taoists, some are Muslim, but there is a growing community of Christians. In the non-Christian community, Christian sociologists tell us, there is awareness amongst many of the people that something is missing in their life and there’s a sense of estrangement from God. Amongst the Padaung people of Burma, there is a tradition where they put an altar in the corner of their home (and they do this in every home) and the altar is dedicated to “the coming God.” If you ask the Padaung people in Burma, “Who is the coming God?” they don’t know. If you asked these people, “Well, when is the coming God going to come?” they don’t know. But they long to see him. They feel that somehow he’s going to fill the void in their soul.
You see, “the harvest is plentiful.” This isn’t only true in Burma. This is true all over the world and it’s true right here in the United States of America. According to the Barna Research Institute (and this is a highly respected research institute, and George Barna is highly respected) there are 185 to 190 million non-Christians in America, conservatively speaking. Some of them go to church but they’ve not embraced the reign of Christ and they’ve not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Many of them have never really understood or heard the gospel. Some of them go to churches where the gospel is not even preached. They do not know they need to repent and be born anew and receive Christ as Lord and Savior—185 to 190 million non-Christians, which, by the way, makes America the fifth largest mission field in the world. Did you know? We have been sent forth, beginning right here in our community, and we have been sent forth to this nation and we have been sent forth to all nations. We are called to faithfulness.
I believe Americans are spiritually hungry too. Though so many Americans “bend the knee” to the gods of materialism and hedonism and ego and self and ascensionism, most Americans sense that something is missing. Bigger houses, fatter paychecks, thinner bodies, better sex, or more leisure time can’t fill the void. There’s a hunger out there. There’s a thirst out there for meaning. According to the Barna Research Institute, one out of every four non-churched people in the United States of America state that they would go to church if someone they trusted invited them.
Do you realize there are millions of Americans out there waiting to be asked to church and millions more who desperately need to hear of the love of Jesus Christ, who desperately need to embrace His reign? The harvest is plentiful.
But there’s a second teaching this morning and that teaching is this: The laborers are few. In Matthew 9:37, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” This is the problem in the church of Christ as we approach the dawn of the 21st century. The laborers are few. And what a tragedy that is.
You know, on July 25, 1956, the great ship, the luxury liner the Andrea Doria, was racing across the Atlantic. It was two and one-half football fields in length, 29,000 tons of ship, with three beautiful swimming pools, 31 assembly areas and dining halls. This was a massive ship. Seventeen hundred and six people were onboard ship that night and the Andrea Doria’s six turbines were generating 50,000 horsepower and the great ship was moving at maximum speed. The night was dark, and the fog was thick. It was 10:40 PM when a blip appeared on the radar scope of the Andrea Doria. The blip was moving to the center of the radar scope. Something was racing towards the Andrea Doria.
The captain, Captain Calamai, commanded that there be a blast on the foghorn every 50 seconds, and it was done. But 30 minutes later, at 11:10 PM, suddenly, in the darkness of the night, in the thickness of the fog, lights appeared racing towards the Andrea Doria. The Captain commanded that the Andrea Doria do a hard about turn but it was too little and it was too late. A Swedish American luxury liner called the Stockholm, 12,000 tons of ship moving at 18 knots with an ice hardened, razor sharp bow, smashed into the side of the Andrea Doria, penetrating 30 feet inward, opening up a hole 80 feet wide. The Atlantic Ocean just came gushing in and the great ship went down. Forty-seven people were killed instantly at the moment of impact. They were in the area of impact. Sixteen hundred and fifty-nine people remained. What happened to them? Those 1,659 people all survived. They all lived. Why was that?
It was because an SOS went out into the night and people responded. Ships came. The first ship to arrive was a French ship, the Ile de France, and then came an American ship, the Allen. Then came the Cape Anne, then came the William H. Thomas. Even the Stockholm was still seaworthy and able to rescue people. All 1,659 of those people were rescued. Could you imagine a disaster where lives were in danger? Can you imagine a shipwreck where people were drowning, and an SOS went out and there were other ships with the power to save that just refused to respond? Can you imagine people saying, “Well, I know we could help them, but I don’t care.”
The Bible tells us that people in this world are drowning in a sea of sin. People are dying spiritually, separated from God, and you have been entrusted with the gospel and the gospel has power to save, the power to rescue. Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation.” So, you have been sent forth. We have been sent forth with the gospel.
Maybe you’re saying, “Well, you know, I give money to missions, and I give money to the local church and that enables preachers to preach and missionaries to evangelize.” It’s not enough. It is good that we give and most of us need to give more but pastors and missionaries can’t carry the load. We need the laity to rise up like an army and shake the foundations. That’s what we need. Most people who accept Christ in this country do not accept Christ through the speaking of an evangelist or through the preaching of a pastor. Only one out of eight people who accept Christ in this nation accept Christ through preaching or through mass evangelism. Most people who accept Christ in this nation accept Christ through friendship evangelism, through a lay person who shares their testimony and shares the gospel and the love of Christ with them.
And yet the tragedy is, only one out of every ten Christians EVER evangelize. You see, that’s why the laborers are few. Jesus said, “Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send more laborers out into the field.” You have been called. You have been sent forth into this field called the world, beginning right here in south metropolitan Denver. You have been sent forth in an apostolic call that the gospel might go forth in power.
Gene mentioned the purple sheet in your Grace Notes. You see, we want to mobilize you. We want to help you do the work of a missionary where you are and so we’re going to be offering a class on “Becoming a Contagious Christian.” We want you to take that class. It will show you how to share your faith naturally and powerfully. It will show you how to share your faith with sensitivity. It will show you how to share your faith lovingly. We want you to sign up for an apologetics class which will begin Wednesday night, October 29th, at 7:00 PM here at the church. This class will teach you how to answer many of the questions that non-Christians ask. Wouldn’t you like to be able to answer the questioning that unbelievers ask. Wouldn’t you love to know how to answer those questions on the basis of biblical authority. This class will train you.
We want you to make a commitment beginning today that you will become a bringer. If it’s true that one out of every four non-churched people would be willing to go to church if someone they trusted would invite them, we want to encourage you to become bringers and inviters. We’re going to begin to have on occasion, what we call friendship Sundays. The first one will be on November 2, when we’re going to particularly focus on bringing friends to church, that they might hear the gospel here. We’re going to have classes that will train you how to follow up on those people that you’ve brought. This is because we love people. This is because Christ loved people. He died for people, and He has sent us forth with the gospel and it is the hope of the world.
We want you to be involved in prayer ministries. We want you to be involved in outreach events. As Gene said, we’d like you to fill out the bottom of this sheet and drop it in a basket as you leave the sanctuary this morning. In the name of Christ, we invite you and call you to this ministry of evangelism.
I think some of you know how, in the 13th century, in the year 1263, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, the father and the uncle of Marco Polo, went forth from Venice, Italy. They went east and Niccolo and Maffeo Polo traveled eastward that year, 1263. They went all the way to China where they met Kubla Khan. They told Kubla Khan about Jesus. You’re not going to read about that in your history books in the public schools, but it’s true. They told Kubla Khan about Jesus and he was excited. He said, “Go and bring back 100 missionaries. We’ll lead my kingdom to Christ.” It never happened. Niccolo and Maffeo Polo went back to Italy. The missionaries simply didn’t come. It was two generations later when three missionaries showed up. It was too little, too late. What would Asia be like today if China had embraced Christ in the 13th century? God only knows, but that generation was not faithful, and we don’t want that to be true of our generation. We want to be faithful.
In May of 1789, King Louis XVI summoned to the Palace of Versailles the Estates General. The first estate consisted of 300 clergy. The second estate consisted of 300 nobles. The third estate consisted of 600 commoners. Years later, Edmund Burke stood before the House of Commons in England. He looked up at the press gallery assembled and seated and he said, “There sits the fourth estate, and they are more powerful than all.” Certainly, in this country, the press is very powerful, and I would acknowledge that in this culture and time, certainly in this age of the world, the press is more powerful than the clergy.
Certainly, that’s true in the United States of America. But I would submit this to you: The press is not more powerful than the laity. Nothing is more powerful than the Christian laity, if men and women who believe in Jesus Christ would rise up like an army. Nothing is more powerful. You see, Christian men and women rose up in the First, Second and Third Centuries and shook the foundations of the earth. It could happen again if the laity would ever be mobilized. We feel the call of the Holy Spirit of God.
I think the problem in this nation is that pastors have failed to challenge and train and equip and mobilize their congregations. So, we want to challenge you and equip you, train you and mobilize you, and we want to shake the foundations of our community and of this city and of this nation and of the world because the gospel is the power of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples.” Jesus said, “You shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” “The harvest is plentiful. The laborers are few.” He is the Apostle, the One Sent Forth, the Missionary come from heaven to earth, and He sends us forth in an apostolic call to take the gospel to the nations. We would be faithful. Let’s close in a word of prayer.