Your Backstory is Your Power

Phil Jackson, legendary coach of the 1990s Chicago Bulls, once said, “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.” That is not just true for basketball. It is true in your marriage, your workplace, and certainly in the church.

Jesus did not call isolated individuals to do random acts of goodness. He built a team. A team He trusted. A team He empowered. A team that would go out into the world to proclaim the kingdom of God.

Jesus Was Moved to Action
In Matthew 9:35-36, we see Jesus moving through cities and villages, teaching, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and affliction. But then comes the turning point:

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

That word compassion means to ache deep within. Jesus was not distant. He was moved. He did not just feel something. He acted on it.

Step One: Prayer Before Action
Matthew 9:37-38 records Jesus saying to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Before we do anything, we must pray. Before we go, before we serve, before we deploy, we must seek the Lord of the harvest.

You may be invited to pray at the end of this message. Whether you kneel or stand, come forward and join in asking God to send workers into the harvest, this week and this summer.
Step Two: Jesus Assembles His Team

Now we move into Matthew 10:1-4, where Jesus recruits His team:

“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.”

The list follows:
●Simon (called Peter) and Andrew
●James and John (sons of Zebedee)
●Philip and Bartholomew
●Thomas and Matthew the tax collector
●James (son of Alphaeus) and Thaddeus
●Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him)

These men were called and empowered to do what they had already seen Jesus doing, healing, proclaiming, casting out spirits.

A Closer Look: Their Calling and Authority
Mark’s Gospel offers a slightly different angle. In Mark 3:13-15, it says Jesus appointed twelve “so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”

So in Mark, we see:
●They are named apostles, sent ones.
●Their mission includes preaching, not just healing.

And why is this important? Because faith comes by hearing. Not just by reading or observing, but by hearing the proclaimed Word of God. Around the world, many pastors and congregants do not even own full Bibles. Many cannot read. Yet God moves through the proclamation of His Word.

Team Jesus: A Group with Testimonies
Let’s look again at Matthew’s list of apostles. Notice the descriptions:
●Simon, who is called Peter — the rock, the bold one who declared, “You are the Christ.”
●Matthew the tax collector — a man forever changed, now bearing his past as testimony.
●Simon the Zealot — once zealous for political revolt, now zealous for the Kingdom.
●Judas Iscariot — “who betrayed him.”

These names are not random. The descriptors matter. They tell a story. Matthew identifies himself as a tax collector, not to shame himself, but to proclaim, “Look at how Jesus changed me.”

Your Backstory Is Your Power
You may feel disqualified from ministry. Your past may make you hesitant to step up. But your backstory is not a weakness. It is your superpower. It is the very evidence that Jesus has changed you.

“I was lost, but now I’m found. I was blind, but now I see. I was dead, but now I live.”

If you bring it to Him, Jesus can use your past to minister to others.

Judas: A Warning to Stay Faithful
Judas Iscariot was part of the team. He held the money bag. He was trusted. Yet in the end, he betrayed Jesus.

Why? Because he was enticed. That is how the enemy often works, not through brute force, but through subtle enticement. Just a foothold is all it takes. A desire. A compromise. A whispered temptation.

Judas loved money more than his Lord. The enemy knew it and used it.

Staying Ready for the Fight
Spiritual warfare is real. Sometimes it is a direct attack. But often, it is through enticement. That is why you need a team. That is why you need people who will walk with you, pray with you, and hold you accountable.

You need spiritual disciplines, truth, and brothers and sisters who will help you stay faithful.

Three Questions to Consider
1.Is your “me” bigger than your “we”?
 If so, pride may be in the way. Jesus built a team, not a group of solo acts.

2.Are you being enticed away from Jesus?
 Look closely. What are you flirting with that may ultimately pull you away?

3.Are you building spiritual disciplines to resist the enemy?
 The enemy hates you and wants you to fall. Are you prepared for the fight?

Join the Team and Stay Faithful
Jesus calls us into something bigger than ourselves: He calls us into a team, into His mission, into His church.

You may feel unqualified. You may feel broken. But so did Matthew. So did Peter. So did every single apostle.

You may feel like you have messed up, but you still have a choice. You can stay faithful, resist the enemy, or bring your story to Jesus and let Him use it.

The harvest is plentiful. The laborers are few. Will you join the team?


This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Check out the full message below!