Our Purpose-2

OUR PURPOSE-II—Mark 12:28-31 & Matthew 28:18-20

Our devotion to the Lord is sometimes not what it should be.

Need:

Every church including Needmore BC has the same overall Purpose...

God’s love compels us

To love, reach & nurture others for Christ.

We may have various means of fulfilling this Purpose, but the actual Purpose is the same.

The Church has a specific purpose.

We know the purpose of the Church.

What is the purpose of this Church?

4 Purposes for the Church.

Previously we discovered that

We fulfill our Purpose when we...

1—LOVE GOD in Christ (Mk. 12:29-31)

2—Our Purpose is to...

LOVE OTHERS in Christ(Mark 12:31)

Explanation:(Mark 12:31)

Our Purpose...

God’s love compels us

To love, reach & nurture others for Christ.

Mk. 12:31—““And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””

From—Lev. 19:17-18—“‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”

‘This 2nd commandment is inextricably/inseparably bound up with the first one & is a natural complement of the first. Without one commandment neither is complete.’

Love—“As Yourself”—

?In what ways do I show that I love myself?

Seek my needs & wants!—Adequate Food, Clothing, Housing, Transportation, Education, Medical care, Rest, Employment, Overall Betterment, etc.

Others—“Your Neighbor”—Anyone, particularly within your sphere of influence.

But, “Who is my “neighbor?” you might ask. Jesus was asked this same question by a lawyer who wanted to justify his own faulty actions. Jesus’ response was the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’(Lk. 10:30-37).

Lk. 10:25-37—READ—:36-37—“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go & do the same.””

Our relationship to God directly effects the relationships we build or don’t build with others.

God’s love for us is un-intentionally & intentionally reflected upon others by our appropriation of His love.

*True godly love for our neighbor cannot occur outside of our love for God.

For Christ—Concern to honor & glorify Jesus

*Living/Fulfilling your Purpose begins with LOVE! Argumentation:

*1Jn. 4:10-11—“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

God so loved us” when we were lost & undone & hell-bound!

1Jn. 3:16-24—“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, & sees his brother in need, & shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed & in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, & shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, & knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments & do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ & love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, & He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

Mt. 18:23-35—““Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife & children & all that he had, & that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ “Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, & forgave him the debt. But that servant went out & found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; & he laid hands on him & took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet & begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ “And he would not, but went & threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, & came & told their master all that had been done. “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ‘Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ “And his master was angry, & delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.””