These days, modern ministers emphasize numbers. Take a look in a Christian bookstore. The popular authors are typically pastors of mega-churches or huge para-church ministries. Our Christian sub-culture recognizes and even idolizes men who lead large ministries. It seems that numbers matter.
Of course, in one sense, numbers do matter because each number represents a person. People matter. However, numbers can easily become an idol that diverts a minister's attention to men rather than the Master. Instead of worshiping God, we can easily focus on the size of the congregation.
Think about our Lord's ministry. Early in His ministry, He chose men to be His apostles. He only chose twelve. Why not fifteen or twenty? Why not a hundred or a thousand? By today's standards, bigger is always better. Or is it?
In Luke 6:13, the Bible says that the Lord called his disciples and chose twelve to be His apostles. Yet consider the ones He chose. He chose rough fishermen and a tax collector to be among His apostles. These weren't highly respected members of the community. A tax collector, for instance, would be a very unpopular man in his neighborhood. Jesus did not go to a college or among the wealthy to choose His apostles. From a worldly perspective, the choices He made didn't make sense. Many modern ministers would balk at His choices. Yet eleven of these men would be used to turn the world upside down.
Just twelve men were chosen by Jesus. In spite of the large crowds that followed Jesus at times, their devotion was often fickle. They liked to see the miracles, hear His teaching and get free food from Jesus. There was a time when His teaching was so strong that all of them forsook Jesus. All that remained were the twelve apostles.
Ultimately, Jesus would die, rise again and ascend back to heaven. The message of the Gospel would be entrusted to His apostles. They were given the Great Commission. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, these men took the Gospel to the world. Despite their limitations and imperfections, they were used to make a powerful difference that is still being felt today.
It is time for us dismiss our worldly thoughts about ministry. God does not need huge crowds to accomplish His work. He is just looking for a few devoted people. When Gideon was about to go to battle, he had many soldiers at his disposal. Yet God chose just three hundred men to go into battle so that when victory was achieved, only God would get the glory for it.
I think there are lessons to be learned from our Lord's choosing of twelve apostles.
First of all, God can use small numbers to accomplish great things. It isn't the size of the crowd but their willingness to obey that makes a difference. God will use one surrendered saint more than a thousand fickle followers. D. L. Moody once said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” Moody was used in a mighty way to spread the Gospel in the 19th Century. God is not impressed with large numbers of people, but He loves to use a few consecrated followers.
Secondly, God uses weak people more than strong people. Strong, powerful and proud people tend to receive and enjoy the accolades and praise that only belong to God. The twelve that Jesus chose were not brilliant, popular, or powerful men. These were weak and flawed men. Through their weakness He showed Himself to be strong. He can use weak people like you and me.
Third, God sees more than a man's outward appearance. He knows our hearts. He knew, in advance, that one of His disciples was a thief and would eventually betray Him. Think about this for a moment. Judas walked close to Jesus, heard His teaching and saw the miracles. Yet He still rejected Jesus. The Lord knows who is really devoted to Him.
After our Lord ascended back to heaven, the apostles were unleashed upon an unbelieving world. The Spirit used these men to spread the Gospel and impact many lives.
He can use us to do the same today.
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