Outlaw Church

The Outlaw Jesus Christ

Week Two

Jesus’ Band of Outlaws

Now, if you know anything about the disciples of Jesus, we know He chose them personally. They were unqualified, had issues, didn’t understand their roles, questioned Jesus, and didn’t always reflect their teacher in their actions or words. That kind of sounds like us. I mean, look at me: I don’t feel I’m qualified to be a pastor. If you look at me, I’m covered in tattoos, and I wear band t-shirts with skulls and things that a pastor normally wouldn’t wear. I share stupid memes and goofy things on social media. Why? Because I’m comfortable with who I am. I know I’m nothing without Jesus and I share who I am because it’s a testimony. It’s saying Jesus still allows me to be me and doesn’t strip away my interests or personality. In fact, he uses it to reach people.

1 Peter 4:10-11 States: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

If you look at the disciples’ lives before Jesus, most of the twelve were not educated and would be considered poor or blue-collar workers. That’s not me judging these men, but to think that the Son of God furthered his ministry with them is incredible. He didn’t go grab princes with a ton of money to follow Him around. No, he used people with little or no means to further His ministry. That’s going to be my point of this whole message. It does not matter where you come from or who you are, what your job is, or what you’ve done in the past- we can all serve Jesus and further His ministry on earth.

1-Jesus uses the unlikely!

With that said, let’s look at some of the men Jesus chose to hang around and further His ministry.

· Matthew was a tax collector. He was a hated member of the community. Think of him as the IRS of his day. We all know how we feel about paying taxes. I know I hate it. So, think of someone being a representative of the IRS you had to see weekly or monthly. I’m sure he was unfairly judged by the community, so Jesus accepted him openly.

· Simon Peter was a fisherman along with his brother Andrew. Peter was impulsive and had a temper. He questioned Jesus a lot. After Jesus’ death, Simon, who was called the Zealot, became a member of a terrorist group that spread rebellion against the Roman government.

· James and John were also fishermen. These two were men of fiery personality and nature. Jesus gave them the nickname “Sons of Thunder.” You could probably hear them before they entered a room. I’m thinking they were loud, thunderous men who most people thought were drunk most of the time. I don’t know that for sure, but I’d like to think it. Also, ‘Sons of Thunder’ sounds like an awesome band name, am I right?

Bartholomew was also named Nathaniel. He was a bold man who spoke his mind. When he first heard of Jesus, Bartholomew asked Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”. I’d like to think myself and Bartholomew had a lot in common as far as speaking our minds. Sometimes I can just say what I’m thinking and be very sarcastic.

Judas, the son of James, was also called Thaddeus. This Judas wanted Jesus to be more public, more in the limelight. He did not appreciate how content Jesus was to fly under the radar. I like to think he was trying to be a hype man for Jesus- like his marketing guru or agent. I imagine him saying: “Come on Jesus, we need to go bigger and louder!”

Thomas will be forever known as “Doubting Thomas” because he did not immediately believe in Jesus’ resurrection. He was a man of great devotion, but also deep despondency. He experienced a roller-coaster of emotions. How many of us have doubted Jesus? I know I have.

James, the son of Alphaeus, was also known as “James the Less,” which some interpret as meaning “James small in stature.” It’s at this point I want to bring up a geeky or nerdy reference. Remember Lord of the Rings? There’s a part where the wizard Gandalf says: “I have found that it is the small everyday deed of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." I find that highly profound. J.R.R. Tolkien was Catholic by the way and his best friend was C.S. Lewis, a Christian author you may be familiar with.

Philip lived in the same town as Peter and Andrew. He introduced Nathaniel (or Bartholomew) to Jesus. When faced with 5,000 hungry men, Philip lacked trust in the Lord and informed Jesus that there was no way they could find enough money to buy enough bread.

Finally we have Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. This is the infamous Judas, the false disciple who betrayed Jesus. He was a wicked, selfish, and self-serving man. Judas was a lover of money who mocked the gracious gift of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with her perfume. Having surrendered his heart and will to the devil, Judas fulfilled the prophecies of the betrayer who would sell the Messiah for 30 pieces of silver. But Jesus knew what Judas would do and who he would become when He asked him to join his ministry. He was present at the last supper. Jesus knew and yet He still included Judas.

Clearly, we can see that there really was nothing special about these guys. There were no “big guns” in the group. No high-society influencers. No guys showing off “power ties” at their business meetings. They were just ordinary, run-of-the-mill kind of people. More than that, they had more flaws than you could shake a stick at. But they had something else—or should I say Someone—who made all the difference. Jesus took them in as moldable lumps of clay and built them up in His three years of ministry.
That brings me to my next point…

2-Jesus builds us along the way.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

By accepting Jesus’ salvation, we’re taking His promise that our sins are forgiven. Also, we’re agreeing to allow Him to change us and build us into His image. Let’s say you’re forty years old. You get saved. Everything you’ve done prior is forgiven. But you do have to change and turn away from those sins.

So… you probably ask: “I have to turn away from everything?”

Yes, but it’s not all done overnight. There’s just no way. Salvation happens at once, but it’s also a constant work. By accepting Jesus as your savior, you start with your mind and heart changing. From there, everything goes outward. Remember, Rome wasn’t build in a day. When he tells the woman “Go and sin no more”, I’m sure she had a lot to work on. I’m sure she struggled. I’m sure she doubted. We all do. It’s not easy living for Him, but each day that passes, it gets easier. Think of the disciples. It took them years to accept who Jesus was, fulfill His ministry goals, and become the ones who would carry out His message after his death.

We’re going to mess up. We’re going to fail. That’s part of being human. Jesus understands that. He never once said: “Accept me and be perfect.” That never happened and we need to stop treating Jesus as an unobtainable goal. It’s simple: salvation. Then, we work toward Him.

3- Jesus will transform us.

Jesus will transform us, but we must allow Him to do so. Salvation is nothing without change. We must actively seek Him and pray for transformation. We must pray for change. Then, and only then, we will feel conviction about changing this or that in our lives we feel doesn’t measure up.

We don’t come in from mowing the yard, wash our hands, and then take a shower. No, we just come in and get clean, washing one part of ourselves at a time. We cannot simply become instantly clean. And, when we accept His salvation, Jesus cleans us up one piece at a time. Everything in our lives doesn’t just magically change. That’s not how it works. We have to daily walk with Jesus. That means, reading our Bible daily, praying, and asking God to allow the Holy Spirit to convict us for change.

You see, the Holy Spirit is what guides us, prompts us, and lets us know when we should or shouldn’t do something. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you’ll feel the Spirit. The cleaner your life becomes. Sure, we can ignore the Spirit, but that just results in our lives being messier.

We must actively seek transformation. We must actively seek change for our lives to be examples for Jesus.

Jesus’ Band of Outlaws, or as we all know them: the Disciples- they were dear and precious to our Savior. One evidence of this is the way Jesus prayed for them in the night before He was betrayed by Judas In John 17:6-18, Jesus says:

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.John 17:6-18

These beautiful words give us a glimpse of the tender love and compassion that Jesus had toward these very ordinary men. But He did not stop there. He went on to pray for you and for me in verse 20.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…” John 17:20

This brief look at the disciples should encourage us greatly. God is not looking for superstars. He is looking for common, ordinary men and women who will surrender all for Him and His kingdom. And whenever God calls us to be involved in His work, He also equips us for it. He gives us just the right spiritual gifts. And, of course, He has already given us the Holy Spirit, who is the true power behind anything that you and I accomplish for the Lord’s glory.