After Jesus had gone to a mountain to pray, and He prayed all night He assembled His Dream Team. The following verses tell who that was Luke 6: 12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew(Peter’sbrother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot),16 Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
Our USA Olympic committee assembled what was labeled a Dream Team to compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics. This was the first time they had allowed some of the pros from the NBA to represent the United States, and this was a team for "the ages." The team Jesus put together was not a group of "pros'", in fact, they were super novices at anything to do with spiritual matters. This was important because they were about to be disciples of the Son of God and everything they knew about ministry and the gospel was going to come from the One who was it. The pure and perfect instruction given to them by Jesus was coupled with a lifestyle of what true life really is and they saw it in Jesus. Jesus was the only truth they knew and what a perfect way to empower them to live out that truth by walking with the Savior every day.
This brings to mind the priority we must give to the ongoing study of God's Word and the vital importance of our prayer life in this close fellowship with Jesus. When Jesus went to heaven His promise of a "helper", the Holy Spirit, came to fruition and the Holy Spirit lives in born-again believers today. Jesus walks with us and talks with us through the Holy Spirit just like He did with those He assembled to walk with him. Jesus not only called converts, but disciples, or learners to follow Him and that call is just as fresh today for those who are born-again. Time is important in all of this just as it was for them, Jesus was only with them for a short three years and then His work was done on the cross. Jesus said this in John 9: 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work.
Our time to win the lost is coming to a close again as we look to the second coming of Jesus and the Apostle Paul wrote this in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. We need to be about God's work and the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us as we do the work. Time is short and we need to intensify getting the message of hope out because believe it or not, we are also the Lord's Dream Team. If we were choosing a group of people to follow Jesus, we might choose good looking, driven, extremely gifted people who have a lot of money and position to fight the political battles of the ministry. Jesus chose those who were not anything like that and He changed them to be like Him and they carried on His work long after His ascension, to the point of dying for the message of the gospel.
We have that message and we too are the called, the normal people, the lowly, without much influence in the world. Our only power, our only hope, our only direction is found in God's Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Whether you realize it or not, you are a member of God's Dream Team and with God's Spirit, you will see and do great and mighty things because you are Called! Time to step on the playing field and see what God can do with your life! The Spiritual Olympics are calling. Will you compete?
The Dream Team,
David Warren