I’ve been thinking about the people that were on Jesus’ team. Oh, lots of people followed Jesus, but there were twelve who became part of His inner circle. I don’t know if you know, but back in that day, when a rabbi and his students were entering into a teaching relationship, a mentoring or discipleship relationship, the students would seek out their rabbi. They would ask a rabbi to become their rabbi. They would choose their rabbi and hope the rabbi agreed they were “good enough,” prepared enough, impressive enough to follow in their footsteps. Jesus broke the mold because He did the asking. He did the calling for people to follow Him.
I love what He says to the disciples in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” No one was picked by Jesus because of what they had to offer. They were recruited not because of what they could do for Him, but because of what He intended to do for and in them. I love this line from the Chosen, Season Four. “I make people what they aren’t.” -Jesus
Can you testify that Jesus has made you something you weren’t? I know I can. I wonder if many people don’t follow Jesus because they think they have nothing to offer Him. Perhaps they think they have to be impressive, have incredible training, be connected to the “right people,” be able to show lots of religious stats or be able to stand out in a crowd. Maybe they think they are too old or too young or have made too many mistakes or wouldn’t be considered “religious enough.” The truth is you don’t have to be anything special to be on Team Jesus. He will qualify you, train you, condition you, and position you on the field where you can be all He desires for you to be, and today He is calling everyone who hasn’t joined the team!
The recruiting or calling of those early disciples is reflected by the Greek word, proskaleo which is a compound verb. Kaleo means “to call,” and “pros” means, “toward.” Its literal meaning means to call someone toward you so that you are face to face with them.
Jesus wants to live face to face with us. He wants to do life with us. He calls us to look into His face and as we do, to realize we see the face of God. He calls us to turn our gaze toward Him, to listen for His voice, to understand His heart, and to gain our purpose from that relationship.
The stunning thing we read in the Gospel accounts is that when Jesus offered the 12 disciples a spot on the team, they left whatever it was they were doing and followed Him. They weren’t waiting on what they perceived to be a better offer.
Why start a relationship with Jesus? Why help someone start a relationship with Jesus? Because life with Him, being on His team, gives us not only a sense of belonging and a role to play, but because Jesus provides us everything we need to thrive.
When you allow Jesus to recruit you, you gain salvation. You need salvation because each of us is born a sinner. We are born broken, and we can’t fix ourselves. The only One who can fix us is Jesus. By His life, death, and resurrection from the dead, He has secured forgiveness of sins for us and the ability to be in a relationship with God based not on our righteousness, but on His! Salvation gets you on the team. Jesus says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus also says, “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” John 6:37 Y’all, you’ll never be traded to the other team by Jesus. He will take you in and care for you from here into eternity.
Jesus also guarantees you’ll be used on His team. You won’t sit the bench. He told those early disciples that He was going to make them fishers of men. They would win other disciples. You will, too. In Ephesians 2:10 He says He has prepared good works for each of us to accomplish, assignments to give each one of us. He will give us special abilities to fulfill our role on the team.
Let me also say that being on Team Jesus gives you the best Life Coach you could ask for. You see, He promises to send His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to live in you, to lead you in the way you should go. He calls the plays for our lives and gives us the ability to walk in the ways God desires. We will be capable of making godly decisions. We will live with a winning strategy. We will always be victorious. If we mess up, the Holy Spirit will help us get back on the field, back in our rightful place as Children of God. You can’t come up with right plays, winning plays for your life on your own. You need the Holy Spirit.
Know also, that rest and renewal are promises of God to those who come on to Team Jesus. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 There is an energizing, life-giving quality that believers in Christ possess when they connect their life to Jesus, the Author of Life. That life-giving connection will give them endurance and vitality to stay in the game. We don’t have to live stressed out and burnt out. We can be renewed daily in Christ. The Bible says His mercies are new every morning, and we can experience them in a way that transforms the conflict and weariness of this life.
Jesus’ game plan for His team is to live with daily confidence, satisfaction, fulfillment, peace, and joy. He calls it abundant life or life to the full. Abundant life is only found in Jesus. If you want it, you can have it.
To experience the benefits of being on Team Jesus, you first have to join the team. By the way, He is still recruiting. Those who are Christians, you are supposed to be scouts for Him, looking for people to recruit for His sake, right?
Do you need salvation? Do you need a life coach? Do you need rest? Do you need abundant life? Join the team. Today is a recruiting day for Jesus. You simply have to say, “Yes, I will follow You.” He will make you what you aren’t. Do you have someone on your heart to recruit? Bring their name before the Lord in prayer. Be recruited by Jesus! His is a winning team! There’s victory in Jesus!
