A Passion For The Church

The Mission of the Church

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What is the mission of the church?  In addition to exalting God and edifying one another, the church is to evangelize the world. We do that through proclaiming the gospel, making disciples, and planting churches.

[powerpoint]

The Mission of the Church

Matthew 28:18-20

What is the mission of the church? What in the world are we really trying to accomplish? What are we here for? What is our purpose?

The church has a responsibility toward God, itself, and the world.

Our mission is to Exalt God. One of the purposes the church exists is worship. According to Ephesians 1:3-14, why did God choose us in Christ before the foundation of the world? Why did He predestine us in love to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ? Why did He redeem us through His blood, forgiving us all our trespasses according to the riches of His grace?  Why did He seal us with the Holy Spirit?  The answer is given in verse 6, 12, and 14 – to the praise of the glory of His grace, to the praise of His glory, to the praise of His glory. Why, then, has God give you every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ? He has done it for the same reason He does everything – for the praise of His glory. God has done it for His name’s sake. God has done it to exalt His great and holy name. God has done it to set His people aflame with worship for God’s great deeds.

1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  According to this verse, why did God make us His chosen nation, His royal priesthood, His holy nation, and a people for His own possession?  It was so that we would proclaim His excellencies! One of the reasons Jesus is building His church, is for the praise of His name. And my friends, this is the reason God does everything He does.

Ezekiel 36:22 says, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.”  Now, this text may be an ego deflater for us, because we are accustomed to believe that the reason God does all the things He does, is because He loves us and cares for us so much. Now, it is true that God loves us and has compassion on us. However, it is even more true that He has determined to glorify Himself, and exalt His great name. As John Piper likes to put it, “God is uppermost in God’s own affections.”

So, one of the purposes of the church is to worship God. When we gather in homes, let’s make sure that we come with a God-centered perspective. Let’s sing to Him with all our hearts enthusiastically. Let’s pray fervently. Let’s partake of the Lord’s Supper gratefully. Let’s make sure that our gatherings bring God glory.

Our Mission is to Edify One Another.  We are called to exalt God. We are called to edify the church. That’s what we looked at last week from Ephesians 4. We learned that every member of the church is to be actively involved in the work of ministry for the building up of the body of Christ. We are to strive to attain to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. We are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ. We are to seek the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul speaks about the use of spiritual gifts in the church meeting, especially tongues and prophecy. In that chapter alone, he uses the word “edify” or some derivate seven times. He says in verse 12, “So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.”  He says in verse 26, “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”

The church needs to be built up, to be matured. And another reason the church exists is to build up and strengthen the body so that it becomes fully mature.

Our Mission is to Evangelize the Lost.  This is the third area of the church’s responsibility – the exaltation of God, the edification of the church, and the evangelization of the world. It is this third area of responsibility that I want to talk to you about this morning.

This morning we are going to look first of all at The Sovereign Command of Christ, and then at The Obedient Response of His Church

1. The Sovereign Command of Christ

We consider the last words of an individual to be of the utmost importance. Family members will crowd around a dying man’s bed to catch his last words and then recall them again and again for years to come. Well, I suggest that the last words of Jesus Christ before He ascended to heaven were of the utmost importance. He gives those last words to us in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts. Let’s just read those final words.

Mt. 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Mark 16:15-16, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

Luke 24:46-48, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:8, “…but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Jesus gives the same basic message in four different ways in order that the apostles would have no doubt as to what their job was after He left. He left these words ringing in their ears. He had one thing He wanted to impress indelibly on their minds. It was as if He was saying, “If you forget everything else I’ve taught you, must never forget this!” These texts form the marching orders for the Church until Christ returns.

Last week we used the illustration of spectators at a 49ers game to picture the church. This morning let’s picture the church as an army of soldiers enduring suffering and hardship in order to advance the territory and fame of their king. Think of the church of Jesus Christ as a massive army, deployed all over the world. Then, think of this local church as a small company within that vast army. Our marching orders are simple – invade and take back territory for Jesus Christ that Satan is ruling over, so that Christ’s kingdom grows and His fame resounds throughout the world. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”  Our King has deployed us here in the Rancho Cordova area, and has given us a mission. We are not vacationers on a cruise ship! We are soldiers in Christ’s army, fighting Satan with God’s truth and the power of the Holy Spirit. We shouldn’t think this is going to be easy. It won’t be. It will be hard, exhausting and painful. But He is worth it all.

Now, let’s construct a little chart.  At the top we will put the headings Command, Audience, and Promise. Then on the left side we will put in the Scripture references for the passages cited above. Then, under the top headings we will fill in what we find in Jesus’ final words.

All of these different texts give us more information and help to fill out our responsibility to the world. What do they teach us? The text in Mark, tells us that we must get this message of salvation in Christ out to every creature on the planet! It also gives us the content of what we are to preach – the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul gives us the content of the gospel in 1 Cor. 15:3-4, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” So the gospel is the Good News that God saves sinners through the death and resurrection of Christ.  The text in Luke tells us that this gospel needs to include the idea of repentance for forgiveness of sins. The text in Acts informs us that we can count on the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great task.  The text in Matthew gives us the most comprehensive picture of our marching orders. The three other texts speak of preaching the gospel. Matthew tells us that our job is more comprehensive than that. We are not only to preach the gospel, but when a person responds to the gospel, our job has just begun. We are then to baptize them, and continue to teach them to obey all of Jesus’ commands. Our job is not done until the new disciple is obeying Jesus’ commands and has become established and equipped and making disciples of his own.

My friends, these are our marching orders. They have been given to us from the Sovereign of Heaven! If we are His subjects, we have no choice but to obey them. To ignore them or disobey them, is to rebel against our king. What would you think of a soldier who was given an order, but just decided he would ignore it? He’s going to find himself in front of angry officer who is likely going to find a very unpleasant punishment for him. What makes us think we can be true Christians and never do what Jesus told us to do? Jesus has given us instructions that are as plain as day. How many church members take them seriously and actually obey them? My friends, when Christ comes again you don’t want to be those who disobeyed His orders for you!

So, there you have it. Jesus Christ, the Sovereign King has commanded that His church preach the gospel to everyone in this world, including urging them to repent, and then form new believers into obedient disciples who make other disciples. That is the Mission of the Church!

2. The Obedient Response of the Church

So, how did the apostles respond to this sovereign command of Christ? What did they do?  Well, basically they did three things.  They preached the gospel, made disciples, and planted churches.

They Preached the Gospel

We find Peter preaching the gospel to the Jews in Jerusalem on Pentecost. Later he preached to a multitude in the temple. In Acts 5:42 it says, “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” Later Stephen preached Christ before the Sanhedrin who responded by stoning him to death. Philip preached Christ to multitudes in Samaria and then to an Ethiopian eunuch. Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius and his household. Later, the disciples who were scattered because of the persecution in Jerusalem, came to Antioch preaching the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul’s usual modus operandi was to go to the most prominent cities of his day, attend the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath, stand up, and preach Christ to the unconverted Jews assembled there. On one occasion, he preached Christ to some women who had gathered at the riverside on the Sabbath, and on another occasion he preached Christ in the marketplace in Athens. As you read the book of Acts, you come away impressed with how zealously these early Christians proclaimed Christ in many different circumstances.

Bridge House Church, we need to be earnestly proclaiming Christ. God has called us to get the gospel to every person. We might as well start right here in Anatolia, as our Jerusalem. We’ve got to figure out a way to bring the message of Christ to these people, all of them. I’m sure there are many different ways of doing that, but we need to come up with a plan and a strategy of how we are going to do it. Be thinking about that, and we can talk more about it in the Q&A time after this message.

They Made Disciples

When you examine the life of the apostle Paul you find that he dedicated a great deal of his life to making disciples. He was constantly traveling with other younger men that he poured his life into. It may have been a Timothy, a Titus, a Silas, a Barnabas, a John Mark, a Luke, or a Demas.  There are at least 35 different men in the Scriptures that Paul ministered alongside of. Now, why did Paul choose to always minister in a team with others? I believe it was because he was using his time wisely to disciple and train and equip younger men.

In 2 Tim. 2:2 he tells Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  Notice this chart that Oleg is going to put up for us. There are four generations mentioned here – Paul, Timothy, faithful men, and others also. Paul was constantly pouring himself into men like Timothy or Titus, who in turn would pour themselves into faithful men, who in turn would pour themselves into “others also.” But, do you see how one man can have a great impact on a lot of people through this method? If Paul poured himself into just three men, who poured themselves into three men, who each poured themselves into three men, in the end Paul would have influenced 27 men!

Now, take a look at this next chart “Making Disciples.”  This chart shows us a process by which we can all be involved in making disciples. There are four stages through which a Christian passes on this chart. He goes from being a lost person to a New Disciple. Then he goes from being a New Disciple to being an Established Disciple. The third stage is going from an Established Disciple to an Equipped Disciple, and then finally this Equipped Disciple becomes a Worker. So, how does the lost person become a New Disciple? Through our evangelism. How does the New Disciple become an Established Disciple?  We must establish him in the truth. How does the Established Disciple become an Equipped Disciple? Of course, we must equip (train) him in ministry skills. And then, finally how does this Equipped Disciple become a Worker, making disciples himself?  We must entrust him with ministry, and release him into the harvest.

All of us are at one of those 4 places on the chart. Either you are at Home, first base, second base, or third base. Where are you?  If you are an Established Disciple, an Equipped Disciple, or a Worker, I want to encourage you to be on the lookout for a younger believer you can begin to disciple. What is it you are supposed to teach them?  Obedience to all of Jesus’ commands. Actually, just a few months ago I finally completed a Discipleship Training Manual with 24 different lessons in it. It is designed to help a new believer obey Jesus’ commands. I would be happy to give you a copy of that manual so that you can begin to use it in discipling others. If we get serious about proclaiming the gospel to every creature like Jesus said, some of His elect will come to faith. At that point it is up to us to take them under our wing, and begin to help them walk with Christ in obedience. I do quite a bit of this kind of ministry. What it usually involves is meeting with another brother regularly to help them in their walk with Christ. We’ll usually meet at a restaurant or coffee shop and study together. We’ll spend time praying together, and working on Scripture memory. Really, more than anything else, it is simply a commitment to be a friend to another believer, and seek to be a good example for them. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was 5 or 6 different discipling relationships going on in this church?

They Planted Churches

Now, it’s interesting to me that Paul didn’t just go into a city, preach the gospel, and then leave the new believers on their own. No, he formed them into communities of disciples. He would eventually appoint Elders to watch over, teach, and care for the rest of the church. These churches, then, would seek to proclaim Christ to the people of their city. Paul planted churches in Cyprus, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and Cenchrea, among others.

Now, why did Paul have this commitment to plant churches? It was because he knew that disciples can only grow and thrive in the context of the local church. Disciples need other disciples. We need each other’s example, encouragement, spiritual gifts, love, care, concern, exhortations, and rebukes. Paul knew that if believers tried to live out the Christian life on their own, they were much more likely to get picked off by the devil. I like watching these animal shows on TV. They will show this huge flock of wildebeests.  As the huge group of animals make their way across the plain, there are lions lurking behind bushes. Which ones do the lions pick off? They pick off the weak, the sick, and the stragglers that are not following along with the rest of the pack. So, which ones does the devil seek to pick off?  Believers who are straggling behind the rest of the pack. We need to stay together for our own spiritual protection.

Noted Missiologist, Peter Wagner has written, “Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.” Paul’s strategy was to go into the leading cities of his day, and plant a church there. Then he would leave, and expect that church to fulfill the job of getting the gospel to everyone in that city.

I believe there is good evidence from Scripture that the churches that Paul planted knew and fellowshipped with each other when possible. The Bible speaks of the church that meets in so and so’s home. However, it also speaks of the church of the city.  Acts 8:1 speaks of the church in Jerusalem. However, we know that there were thousands of believers in Jerusalem, who were meeting from house to house. There may have been hundreds of house churches in Jerusalem, but they all thought of themselves as “the church in Jerusalem.” We find the same phenomena going on in Antioch and Ephesus. We have every indication that these churches were very large, probably in the many hundreds or thousands. Yet the Bible speaks of the “church in Antioch” in Acts 13:1, or “the church of Ephesus” in Rev. 2:1. Each house church was a real church, but it was related to and saw itself as part of the whole church in that city.

I think there is an important lesson there for us as well. It would be easy for a small house church to cut itself off from the rest of the body of Christ and become isolated, ingrown, stagnant, and ineffective. In order for that not to happen, we need to take opportunities to fellowship with other believers when possible. Our goal is to plant another church in 6 to 12 months. When that happens, there will be two churches in our Fellowship, and we will find ways to continue to fellowship together. We’ll hold monthly All-Church gatherings, and mid-week All-Church bible studies. Here’s the phrase, “Every church, plant a church, every year.”  Now, we may not be able to accomplish that goal, but it is a good goal that we can all have. We can do more for Christ’s kingdom networking together, than we can in isolation, all by ourselves.

Conclusion

So we have seen the biblical mission of the church.  In addition to exalting God, and edifying the church, we are to evangelize the world. What does that mean?  It means preaching the gospel, making disciples, and planting churches in healthy networks.

This is how we state our mission here at The Bridge, “Our Mission is to make disciples who make disciples.”  Will you embrace that mission as your own? Are you willing to work and labor to take back territory from Satan and extend Jesus’ kingdom that He might be glorified!  I hope so. Let’s pray.

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