God’s Church
Luke 4:18 KJV
Many Christians can suffer from a lack of identity
An older sister was sitting next to her younger brother in Church one Sunday morning unsuccessfully trying to keep him still and quiet. Finally she said, I wish you would calm down. I can’t, he said, it’s just so boring. With that his sister turned and said, It’s supposed to be boring.
Our Lord came here with a purpose.
He came for the helpless, the humble, the spiritual, morally, and emotional hungry.
To heal, forgive, restore, and empower His Church to be courageous.
We have received His mercy and experienced His help.
Luke 4:18 KJV
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Jesus came because the people of that day were helpless, hungry, downtrodden, and discouraged.
The Lord’s emphasis was on the condition of the heart, more than just the outward circumstances.
1. preach the gospel to the poor
Their life on earth is the hardest; it is often one of unremitting toil; often one of severe privation, almost destitute comfort and enjoyment; often one of serious and hard oppression, in which the strong will of another robs of all liberty of action.
The past is sad, the present gloomy, the future dark.
There are no pleasures in recollection, and there is no relief in hope.
2. heal the brokenhearted
Here it stands for crushed and hopeless ones, who have lost all spirit, and think there is no light, no cheer, in this life for them.
3. preach deliverance to the captives
The moral suggestion is of those who are mastered by old evil habits, easily besetting sins.
He is Burden-bearer and Burden-lifter.
Satan is a defeated enemy
Deliverance is preached to the captives, Luke 4:18. Those that are bound under the unrighteous dominion of sin,
Jesus invaded Satan’s territory, destroyed his armor and weapons, and claimed his spoils
Christ’s miracles show that the kingdom of God is present, not the kingdom of Satan!
4. recovering of sight to the blind
Sight to the blind. What a change that can place!
Mark 10:46 KJV
Blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
Isaiah
35:5 KJV
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
He went from darkness to light, from begging to follow Jesus, and from crying to praising the Lord.
5. to set at liberty them that are bruised
a) Those who are chafed with the worries of life.
b) Those who are perplexed with the problems of life.
c) Those who are smitten by the persecutions of life.
d) 4. Those that are worn with excessive toil.
e) Those that are wounded by the heavier sorrows of life.
Jesus came to establish his church. To establish the purpose of his church.
What has made an impact on you lately? Your family? Your neighbors? Your town? Your world?
How many would say the Church has impacted their lives?
Some might answer with the affirmative. But the greater question is not has the church impacted you, but?
Have you as the Church made an impact in someone lately?
The church has forgotten it’s identity, and mission!
1. Elton Trueblood wrote,
"It used to be that Christianity was a revolutionary faith that turned the world upside down. But today Christians sit in Sunday morning church services looking at their watches, wondering what time dinner will be served, or thinking about the kickoff. And we hope that church won’t interfere with the things we would really rather be doing."
2. "The longer a church has been in existence, the more its resources go toward its own preservation rather than toward outreach and evangelism. Our tendency is to design ministries that meet our own needs as opposed to the needs of those who have not yet entered the kingdom."
3. Well organized, but accomplishing little.
A German soldier was wounded. He was ordered to go to the military hospital for treatment. When he arrived at the large and imposing building, he saw two doors, one marked, "For the slightly wounded," and the other, "For the seriously wounded."
He entered through the first door and found himself going down a long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked, "For officer" and the other, "For non-officers." He entered through the latter and found himself going down another long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked, "For party members" and the other, "For non-party members." He took the second door, and when he opened it he found himself out on the street.
When the soldier returned home, his mother asked him, "How did you get along at the hospital?"
"Well, Mother," he replied, "to tell the truth, the people there didn’t do anything for me, but you ought to see the tremendous organization they have!"
The soldier’s comment describes many churches in our day: really organized, but accomplishing little.
Believers are sent by Christ, just as the Father sent Christ
-John 17:18.
"As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."
We have authority
Matt 28:18-20 KJV
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We have a guarantee
Ps 126:6 KJV
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
We have an example
Have we forgotten it?
Illustration Regarding Lack of Passion for the Great Commission:
A Christian Research Group in a nationwide survey conducted in the first quarter of 2001 asked this question: Please describe your goals in life.
The survey found that almost 9 out of 10 adults classified themselves as a Christian, by the following definition, I am personally committed to Jesus Christ and have confessed my sins and I believe that I will go to heaven when I day because of God’s love and grace through Christ.
STRONG DEFINITION!
Yet not one of those who said they were Christians declared that their life goal was to be a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ and to participate in making Christian disciples.
We have a purpose
Illus.: The Forgotten Letter Drop
Several years ago the city of Pittsburgh constructed a large, new post office at the cost of several million dollars. On the day of it’s opening, the Governor made a speech, the bands played and the people cheered. It was quite a celebration.
But when the first man entered to mail a letter, to the embarrassment of the engineers, it was discovered that in the rush to meet the deadline, they had omitted the usual letter drop. Here was a costly new post office, but no place to mail a letter! It was a slight omission, but it negated the very reason for it’s existence.
That brings me to the very point of this message: WHEN ANY CHURCH LOSES THE SPIRIT OF THE GREAT COMMISION, IT SURRENDERS THE VERY REASON FOR IT’S EXISTENCE.
Missions is not a side line! It is the LIFELINE of the church.
We need a vision for God’s church
From a leadership seminar given by Dale Galloway:
A bunch of fleas were hanging out on a blanket, just jumping up & down having a blast. And then someone came up and put a jar over them. Not knowing what happened they still keep jumping BUT after hitting their heads a few times they got the message and stopped jumping so high. Though they still jumped they stopped an inch from the top of the jar. After an hour the person removed the jar lid. BUT the fleas never knew the difference, because they had fixed into their minds an imaginary ceiling. Though they could now jump higher they never did because of the imaginary barrier that they had placed in their own minds.
Listen - We need to remember that as a Church of God the lid is off we need to think big!
We can be a Church with a great Impact?
Where we collectively make an impression on others with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Where people reach people (not programs)
