“The Purpose”
April 15, 2007
Julie, Bob, Lee and I are still feeling the spiritual high from District Assembly. I think we all agree that things are in good hands. Our District Superintendent is a doing a great job. He no longer is a rookie. He’s into his second year and I feel good about the future with him at the helm.
Our General Superintendent, Dr. Jerry Porter, whom Julie met when she was a student missionary in Puerto Rico, when she was 20 or so, -he was a teenager, is doing a great job, too. There seems to be a clarity of mission I’ve never noticed before. There’s a new debt of understanding that I like. There is a passion for the Lord with real practical wisdom that is wonderful.
One of the things I really liked was the emphasis on “purpose”. Purpose is very important to me. It’s why I came to the Lord way back in 1971. Fresh out of the army; wounded by a sinful lifestyle; angry, disappointed, lonely, aimless – I was looking for a reason to live – or die. I found the reason to live in the bible. It was in the book of Ephesians that I found my purpose for life. It said,
“Because of his (Jesus’) kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Eph 2:8-10 (Living)
Most people read the 8th and 9th verses and stop there. We ARE saved by grace through faith. It IS a free gift from God. But saved for what? Some people think it is a ticket to heaven and permission to live any way they want. But we are saved for a purpose. God has a plan for our lives. And these lives are not to be wasted or used up on ourselves. It is God’s plan that after we are saved, we are to use our lives for the good of others. I don’t know about you, but before I came to Jesus, I only thought about me and pleasing me. Woe to the person who got in the way of what I thought was good for me.
It didn’t take long to realize that self-centered living results in pain. We were not created to be the center of the universe. We were created in God’s image for a loving relationship with Him. Adam and Eve had that relationship and fulfilled that purpose until they fell. From that time on it has been God’s purpose to save us from our self-destructive ways and to help us regain that image of God. Paul wrote:
“… we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.” 2 Cor 3:18 (Living)
“For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him…should become like his Son” Romans 8:29 (Living)
When we come to Jesus, one of the first things we learn is that we need to change. We need to become more like Jesus. And part of that change is to accept the purpose God has for our lives. And that is to spend our lives in helping others. What are we to help them do? Well the first thing is to help them become a disciple of Jesus. And that is where the church comes in. We are to be a part of the church so the church can help us fulfill our purpose. I am glad God led me to the Nazarene Denomination. I won’t go into how He did that – but I clearly know God wanted me to be a Nazarene. One of the reasons is the purpose of the Nazarene Church. The Purpose of the Church of the Nazarene is this: “To make Christ-like disciples in the nations”. I like that, don’t you?
The Church of the Nazarene is in 151 world areas so the statement of purpose needed to be brief and understandable in many cultures and languages. I think it is. And for the more than a million and half members it says, “This is what we are about”. “This is what we stand for.” “This is what we believe”.
First of all, we need to be disciples who make disciples. Do you know that there are a lot of people who call themselves “Christian” and “Disciples of Christ” who have no interest in accomplishing that purpose? They make no effort to make disciples. Now, you need to know that there is a huge system and many methods behind that simple statement. There are many ways to make disciples and many things we can do to have a part in that. I won’t go into all that this morning, but the part I want to impress on you is that we need to have it in our hearts and burned into our brains that THIS is what we are all about. We are all about making disciples.
How do we do that? Prayer. Evangelism. Education. It is so vast that there is room for everyone with their particular talents to have a part in accomplishing that purpose. We need to find what works best for us in our little area of the kingdom. What works for others may not work for us. What works for us may not work for others. So we have a job ahead of us to find out what is most effective in making disciples for us here in Mount Shasta. You have a job to find out your part in this process of making disciples in our church. It’s exciting to have a purpose in life, especially knowing that purpose is from God. Our purpose is to make disciples.
But there is more to it than that. Jesus said,
“Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…” Matt 28:19-20 (Living)
See, we are to make disciples, get’m baptized, and then TEACH them. I remember when I was a young pastor in my very first church that someone came up with a terrific plan to evangelize the whole world in a matter of days. All we had to do is get all the churches together, divide up every town in the United States, and get workers to call on the phone every single home in the country and share the plan of salvation with them.
No one knows how many people made professions of faith in the program “Here’s Life America”. Thousands of dollars were spent. Billboards with “I’ve found it!” were put up all over America. Whole page ads were placed in newspapers. Commercials were put on the TV and the radio. And I would guess that thousands of people made professions of faith. I know one or two personally who came to the Lord through that program and serve the Lord to this day. But I wonder how much fruit died on the vine. I wonder how many spiritual babies died because of lack of spiritual nurturing and care. You see, the Scripture doesn’t just say to “go and make disciples”. It says that we are to TEACH them once we have birthed them. The church can not be healthy and just be evangelistic. We need to make disciples – then we need to TEACH THEM.
So what are we to teach them? Our purpose says “Christlike”. Jesus said we are to teach them to OBEY. What are we to teach them to obey? EVERYTHING He taught us!
Are you beginning to get it? We are to make disciples – but they are to be a certain kind of disciples. They are to be CHRISTLIKE disciples. WE are to be Christlike disciples. That is our mission. That is our purpose.
So, how are we to know what is Christlike? We need to find out what Jesus is like, don’t we. We do that primarily by reading the Bible. God has given us eye witness accounts of what Jesus was like. Listen to what they said:
“… with my own eyes I saw Christ dying on the cross…” 1 Peter 5:1 (Living)
“Dear friend who loves God: Several biographies of Christ have already been written using as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses.”
Luke 1:1-3 (Living)
“And we are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to all who obey him." Acts 5:32 (Living)
“For we have not been telling you fairy tales when we explained to you the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. My own eyes have seen his splendor and his glory: I was there on the holy mountain when he shone out with honor given him by God his Father; I heard that glorious, majestic voice calling down from heaven, saying, "This is my much-loved Son; I am well pleased with him." 2 Peter 1:16-17 (Living)
“Christ was alive when the world began, yet I myself have seen him with my own eyes and listened to him speak. I have touched him with my own hands. He is God’s message of life. This one who is life from God has been shown to us, and we guarantee that we have seen him; I am speaking of Christ, who is eternal Life. He was with the Father and then was shown to us. Again I say, we are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may share the fellowship and the joys we have with the Father and with Jesus Christ his son.” 1 John 1:1-3 (Living)
Before we can make Christlike disciples we need to be one ourselves. We need to know what a Christlike disciple is. The way we do that is by knowing the Word of God. I do not think it is a coincidence that God has led us to spend the next 40 days hearing His Word. We need to know it – so we can share it. Each one of you should have a New Testament on CD and most of you have committed yourself to becoming a spiritual warrior with me and listening to the Bible for a least 28 minutes a day for the next 40 days. I think this is a necessary step in the process that God is taking our church through. When we saturate ourselves with God’s Word; when we really KNOW His word – then He can lead us to accomplish His will. I believe great things are in store for us this next year. I am excited about the future. We have a purpose. We have a cause. Will you fight with me? Will you commit with me? If so, determine that you will get into the Word for the next 40 days – so we can get out into the world.
It’s exciting to be a Christian Warrior. It’s exciting to be in the Lord’s army. If you want to join us, pray a simple prayer like this:
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for wanting me. Thank you for having a purpose for my life. Forgive me for not fulfilling that purpose in the past. I want to do your will from now on. Forgive me of all my sins. Help me to serve you from this point on.
In Jesus’ Name.
Remember our mission is to make Christlike Disciples. A Christlike disciple must first hear and know God’s Word. Do not let a day pass without hearing God’s Word. I usually just read a chapter in the NT and one in the OT – but for these 40 days I am committed to 28 minutes a day. Join me – and let’s see where the Lord takes us.
“SEEK YE FIRST”
