The Mission of the Church - Sermon from Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Mission of the Church

1. Witnesses to/of/for God’s Glory
1. Witnesses - Martyrs
1. To - We have seen - Witness an event
1. Acts 5:32, “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
2. Of - We tell others - A Witness on a stand
1. Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
3. For - Our lives - A monument/testimony
1. Eph 3:10, "so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."
2. God’s Glory - what about it?
1. Jesus is the Glory of God - His power and presence
2. He was full of and we witness to His...
1. John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
1. Grace
2. Truth
2. Read Ephesians 1:6-14
1. “To the PRAISE of His glory”
1. We praise and witness to what we love
2. We want others to love what we love
2. Our mission exists because of our worship, mission will cease when all that’s left is worship of God
2. In The World - who are we witnesses to?
1. Jesus was sent from heaven to earth
1. Post Resurrection - John 20:21, “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
2. We share Jesus’ mission in the world
1. II Cor 5:18-19, "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling THE WORLD to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."
3. Continuing The Work of Jesus
1. Luke 24:19, “And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,”
2. Word
1. Luke 4:43, “but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
3. Deed
1. Eph 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
4. Phil 2:12-15, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,"
4. The Power of the Holy Spirit
1. It is not by might, nor by power, but by God’s spirit
1. Zech 4:6, "Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
2. The power to do mightier works than Jesus!
1. John 14:12, ““Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
2. John 6:28-29, “Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
3. We get to see people BELIEVE!

Young and Old

Proverbs 20:29, "The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair."

I have been spending a good deal of time in Proverbs lately and this one jumped out at me.  There is an important balance here that either side of the sentence can miss.

On the one hand, you have the picture of a young man, whose greatest asset is his strength.  It is in youth that we are most able to do the things our minds and bodies would like to do.  I think it is important to recognize that the author of this proverb had in mind that young men have both the physical strength and mental strength to endure a great number of hardships.

The value of youth in leadership is that they are willing to do the hard things, they still have the strength to endure a great many trials.  They can carry the load and stand up for what is right.  Any church that discourages the young men from being involved in leadership, will lack the strength to carry out the things that need to be done.

However, the second part of the sentence is as important as the first.  While young men glory in their strength, old men have splendor in their "gray hair."  I don't think this is a fashion statement verse, but rather about the symbolic nature of gray hair.  Wisdom, experience, and life stories come with an older man. He has accumulated life lessons over time that, if heeded, can prevent a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering.

The value of older men in leadership is the ability to foresee potential pitfalls and disasters.  They can speak up when necessary, share stories of similar events, and bring correction when correction is needed.  Without older men in leadership, the church will be left repeating the mistakes of history, leaving a trail of hurt people behind it.

What must happen is that old and young learn to co-exist and lead together.  The younger must learn to respect and heed the counsel of the wise.  The older must use their wisdom to help the younger grow and maximize their strength.  The strong youth should be allowed to move forward, but the older men must serve as guards against false and stray paths.

Pray for your church that they will have a healthy balance of strong youth and wise age.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

John Piper has written a challenge to all of those that care about the ministry of the church entitled, "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals."  You can order the book here.  I felt the need to share a few quotes from the opening chapter (which shares the title of the book):

"We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry.  The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet.  It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ."

"I think God has exhibited us preachers as last of all in the world.  We are fools for Christ's sake, but professionals are wise.  We are weak, but professionals are strong.  Professionals are held in honor; we are in disrepute.  We do not ry to secure a professional lifestyle, but we are ready to hunger and thirst and be ill-clad and homeless."

"The aims of our ministry are eternal and spiritual.  They are not shared by any of the professions.  It is precisely by failure to see this that we are dying."

"The world sets the agenda of the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man.  The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism."

Quoting E.M. Bounds, "The preacher... is not a professional man; his ministry is not a profession; it is a divine institution,  a divine devotion."

Dear God, please save our churches from professionalism.  Return a heart for raw, rugged pursuit of your Kingdom.  Help us to move past the business of running churches and get to the heart of being the church.  Plant your seed among us so that you might grow.  Forgive us when we are not about God glorification and sin mortification.  Save us from the professionalism of your Church!  In Christ's most holy, unprofessional name I pray, Amen.

Bible Studies and American Consumerism

What a mess we have made.  Under the pretense of Bible Studies we have perpetuated a system that Paul warned about in scripture.  We should not be surprised at the direction we have gone, as we all tend towards slavery.  But there is a serious problem plaguing many of our churches.  Formal Bible Studies.

I know, you're thinking "what could possibly be wrong with studying the Bible?"  Trust me, there is nothing I love more than a good discussion over the meaning of God's word and how it should be lived out in my life.  But we have moved away from truly seeking God and His word.  We now seek the opinions of professional teachers, looking for answers to all the questions that escape our grasp.

The question must be asked, "why do we do these formal Bible studies?"  Are they beneficial or just another form of American Church consumerism where I get my fix on knowledge from a pusher?  I'm afraid the tendency is for the students to find the best teacher to sit under.  This inevitably leads to impossible expectations for the teacher and disappointments for the students.  Does scripture have anything to say about a better way?  I believe Paul does.

Ephesians 4:11-16 tells exactly what the goal of teachers and leaders within the body should be.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Notice that the only usage of knowledge in this text refers to "knowledge of the Son of God."  This is not mere intellectual knowledge, it can't be based on the rest of this text.  It must have something to do with an existential knowledge of Jesus that produces maturity, unity, work, and love.  The goal of teaching in Christ is not that we might have all the right answers, but that we might know Jesus more as a result.

This has led me to examine our method for passing on doctrine and Christian living.  I believe we have relegated all of what Paul says to Timothy to the intellectual realm, (II Timothy 2:2-"and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.")  But Paul's instructions to Timothy in both letters deal with how doctrine is lived, not just its content.  In fact, teaching without the above mentioned goals will always reveal itself for what it is:

II Timothy 3:5-7-"having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." 

The church needs Jesus above all else and Jesus has sent one teacher, namely His Spirit.  He has gifted some to be teachers, but these individuals should be leading the heads, hearts, and hands of people into total service of Jesus.

Teachers, if we are engaging people's heads only, then we are producing a consumeristic people hungry for knowledge, not necessarily a knowledge of the Lord.  To all of us, if we are more hungry for a class than to study the word on our own, then we are consumeristic addicts.  If we are full of knowledge but unable to do anything about it, then James says we are actually deceived.  If we continually hear the word of God but never repent, then John says we are liars.  God forgive us of our wanderings and may we feast on You and You alone.