Mark 3:14,15 “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.”
Those who were appointed as God’s messengers were given a four-fold appointment: (1) To BE WITH HIM: to be CONSTANTLY with Him—learning about Him and learning from Him. There was to be a constant ongoing connection. As a result of that connection the appointed ones would also be (2) SENT BY HIM to preach (note that John the Baptist was sent as God’s messenger—“My messenger”—with God’s special preparatory mission!), a work that would be accompanied with power as a result of the time spent with Jesus. They would also have a particular power with God for bringing about (3) healing, and (4) overcoming the power of the devil.
To what degree is the same commission being given to those who are called to preach in our day? That we are called to be with Him in a special way goes without saying. That we are called to share what we have learned also goes without saying. That our work should make a practical difference with others also goes without saying, be it in healing or in an overcoming of the power of the devil.
I suspect the great concern is not so much being God’s agent of healing and overcoming the power of Satan—both of which are dependent upon the indwelling presence of God working in and through us, rather the more important question is whether we have spent the necessary personal time with God that enables the other things. Perhaps we have sometimes slighted the first part and thus had less power for the sharing and practical outcomes part. Accordingly, have we accepted the four-fold nature of his call: to be with Him—to really be with Him, to share what we have learned as opportunities present themselves, and to effect the practical healing and overcoming outcomes?