Text Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 5:13-16
Focus Every Christian has the responsibility and privilege to share the gospel
Introduction
This morning we are going to begin a time of refocusing in which we will focus on one main question this morning, “Why does the North Hinsdale Community Church Exist, why are we here?”
As we begin to look at the question, I am sure that each person has an answer to this question. There are reasons in which you attend the North Hinsdale Community Church.
The reasons will vary: I have always attended this church; I like the preaching, the worship, and the fellowship. It is convenient.
What we need to understand is that though we may have different reasons for attending this church, God has His purpose for this congregation of saints that gathers here on Meetinghouse road.
Let’s begin answering the question, “Why is the North Hinsdale Community Church here or why do we exist?”
I dare to say that our purpose for being is not that there were 8 Baptists who decided to found a church in 1800.
Nor is our purpose defined by the congregation who returned services here in the early 1930’s.
Every church’s purpose is defined by the Head of the church, Jesus Christ.
The easy answer to this question comes from the West Minster Catechism: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
This is true for every church and every Christian. But I believe that each local congregation is uniquely gifted for a specific purpose. Our job is to find out how God has gifted us, and to begin walking toward that purpose.
As we begin this morning, I would like to read to you two statements which have great importance to this morning’s message. The first comes from The Church’s Constitution and Bylaws Preamble;
“For the purpose of establishing and maintaining a place of worship of Almighty God, our Heavenly Father; to provide Christian Fellowship and to assume our share of the responsibility and the privilege of propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we whose names appear upon the church roster under the above date, adopt the following articles of church order and submit ourselves to be governed by them. In so doing we hereby revise and amend the constitution adopted in 1952.”
The second statement, one that is a bit more familiar, as you have heard me make mention of it over the past several months:
“The North Hinsdale Community Church exists to win, to disciple, and to equip believers into a mature and meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ in Life and service.” Matt 22:37-40 & 28:18-20
“Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 2and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
A Great Commitment
To the Great Commandment
And the Great Commission
Will grow a Great Church!
The Five Purposes of the Church
1. Purpose One: Love the Lord with all your heart
2. Purpose Two: Love your neighbor as yourself.
3. Purpose Three: Go and make disciples.
4. Purpose Four: Baptizing them
In the Greek text of the Great Commission there are three participle verbs: going, baptizing, teaching. Each of these is a part of the command to “make disciples.” Going, baptizing and teaching are the essential elements of the disciplemaking process. At first glance you might wonder why the Great Commission gives the same prominence to the simple act of baptism as it does to the great tasks of evangelism and edification… Why is baptism so important to warrant inclusion in Christ’s Great Commission? I believe it is because it symbolizes one of the purposes of the church – identification with the body of Christ… Christians we’re called to belong, not just believe.” (Purpose Driven Church, pg. 105)
5. Purpose Five: Teaching them to obey
Why do we go to church; why do we bother being Christian?
I want to take a few minutes to look at a series entitled “Cat and Dog Theology”
Go Over Points of Cat Dog Theology.
The first statement legally outlines the purposes of the church while the second outlines the Vision of the church. However, the heart of each statement is quite similar.
In both statements there is mention of our relationship with God, the need for fellowship, the need for instruction, and the need to share the gospel.
I want to focus our attention though, on only one of the aspects or responsibilities of the church which is laid out in these two statements; that being the aspect of Propagating or Winning.
As a corporate body, we affirm that one of the major responsibilities and privileges that we have is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who do not know him as Lord and Savior.
The Word Propagate literally means: to produce offspring, reproduction, multiplying. We are saying that it is our responsibility, both corporately and individually to bring others to life, to produce spiritual offspring to the body of Christ.
Let us know turn to the first recorded command of Jesus following his Resurrection from the dead:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20
It is of great importance that we understand this command very clearly. Jesus did not commission just the disciples who later became the apostles to this ministry of making disciples.
Rather, the disciples were the first preachers of the gospel, but as we go through the New Testament, we will find verse after verse in which we find that the entire body of Christ, both corporately and individually have the responsibility to make the good news of Jesus known to those who do not know him.
It is interesting to study the book of Acts and to realize how effective these believers were in communicating the gospel. Following Peter’s first recorded sermon following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that 3000 were added;
The last line of Acts 2 states: “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved;”
Acts 5:14 “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”
Acts 6:7 “So the Word of God spread.” The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
This past week, Dr. David Jeremiah was preaching on Acts 2 and through his research he was able to discern that within a short amount of time the church in Jerusalem had grown to well over a hundred thousand souls.
How Did They Do It?
Know as we look at the success of the early church, we have to ask the question, “How did they do it?” Lets be honest, the cards were stacked against them. The task was seemingly impossible.
Consider the men Jesus chose to fulfill this work, they were men who for the most part were not highly educated, whose vocations were that of the hard working laborers of the day; for the most part they were not influential, and could rarely agree with one another. Paul’s assessment in 1 Corinthians 1:26 “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” This statement certainly applied to these first followers of Christ.
Yet, consider, with all of their weakness, with all of their short comings, they had an affect on the world that has forever changed the course of history. A small band of believers began to preach Christ crucified and risen from the dead, and the results over a short span of time was some hundred of thousands being saved and added to the church.
Understanding the Great Commission
The disciples understood the commission. Christ entrusted to each one of them, personally the responsibility to share the good news. They understood this as privilege and responsibility.
We must understand today that we have also been entrusted with the same responsibility and privilege that the early followers of the Lord were entrusted with. We too, have a share in preaching the Word of God and making disciples of all men.
Quite often, the misconception is that it is the Pastor’s responsibility to lead people to Christ. There was a time, shortly after my receiving Christ, that I had been witnessing to a friend named Zane. I couldn’t wait to bring him to church the next Sunday so that the Pastor could lead him to Christ. Pastor Mike looked at me and told me to lead him to Christ, so Zane and I prayed together and he received Jesus.
Another misconception is that we must become a missionary and go to the farthest corners of the earth in order to obey the great commission. We read the words “go and make disciples of all nations…” The literal word for word translation from Greek to English is properly rendered “As you go, make disciples…”
God has clearly called some to go to the farthest, most remote portions of the earth to bring the gospel to folks who have never heard. However, that does not apply to the average Christian. Our command is “as you go…” make disciples of all peoples.
Apply that to your circumstances…
What people do you have daily contact with?
Where is your circle of influence?
With such people, make disciples of Jesus Christ.
We look for programs and events that will bring in a great harvest for Christ. There were certainly some great events for the early church, but for the most part, it was average ordinary Joe’s who went forth with a fervent faith and belief in Jesus Christ.
There is a story of a Missionary who helped to lead some people to the Lord. “In a certain town, a Christian brother was a trouble shooter for the telegraph. His duties sent him 30 miles into the country on horseback to care for telegraph lines. After doing this work for a year, he asked the local missionary to accompany him on his run. He had won two converts to the Lord on a ranch some twenty five miles from town. The missionary went with him and had not gone more than a couple of miles until he asked me to come with him to a little house by the side of the road. As they went in, he greeted people and told them, “Now I have been talking to you about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but now I have brought a preacher and a missionary and he can tell you more.” The missionary didn’t know that he was to speak, but of course took advantage of the ready-made opportunity, and so they sang, explained the scriptures and prayed with the family for the better part of an hour and then went on. Before long he asked us to stop at another house and so the story was repeated all day long. As he had moved up and down the trail he had been witnessing for Christ. At the place where we spent the night the owner of the ranch had been converted by this man’s testimony and also his foreman had been converted. There were only the two of them, but the missionary stayed with them for two or three days to teach them and finally baptize them. Within a year, a church had sprung up and the influence of those Christian people reached for miles around. It seems simple, it really is.
Carmen Salazar, the trouble shooter, was good seed. This is how the church grows, and new churches are born.”
This man, Carmen Salazar, had no delusions of grandeur; he simply remained faithful to the commission, and shared Christ. The results were awesome, and the fruit was abundant.
The Secret of Success
As we look to the early church, we can become easily discouraged as we look at their success. After all, they saw people save every day.
We can also become discouraged when we consider that there are Billions who live with out the knowledge of Christ, and we have a responsibility to reach them.
So how can we be effective, here at NHCC?
First, we must understand that the early church’s commitment was not to programs, rather the Word of God. Acts 5:42 “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
They bolded proclaimed the Word of God with Great boldness and Power. As they remained true to the Word, God honored their message.
Second, I believe that they did not think in terms of great multitudes, rather they sought to touch one life at a time.
I have often dreamt that I would lead multitude to Christ like Billy Graham. However, God has not bestowed that honor upon me; rather I have generally seen a few come to the Lord at a time.
Chances are, you may never lead the multitudes to Christ either. But you can touch one life at a time with the life changing message of Jesus Christ.
I asked a question, “What is your circle of influence?” You can make a commitment to reaching folks, and affecting change.
It might be at your place of vocation.
It might be your involvement in a civic activity.
It will be the result of your reaching out and investing into the life of another. That is were solid church growth comes from.
I am excited about Lorraine and Lynn’s enthusiasm over “Operation… Touching Lives.” For in this approach to evangelism, we will seek to make a lasting commitment to reaching one life at a time and sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
As excited as I am about this new ministry, allow me say this; “Operation touching lives, or any program of the church for that matter is not the answer. The answer is for each and every member of the church to get excited about what Christ has done in your lives, and to begin sharing that with others.”
I believe that people are not going to be attracted to the church because of great programs. Rather, people are going to be attracted to the church because we are offering something that they can not get any place else.
As we come to a close this morning, I would like to leave you with this challenge.
Will you honestly pray and ask our Lord Jesus to help you make the commitment to assume your share in the Great Commission?
Second, will you identify those whom you can share the gospel with, and make a commitment to prayerfully discern the right opportunity to share your faith with others who are in need.
