Jesus Built Church--when Jesus builds a church, it is not a stationary building, but a living,breathing, moving church. Jesus builds the church with the word, go.
In the Bible the word go is found 1492 times, the word stop is found 7 times, the word stay 33 times. It is clear that we are told to go, more than stop, and more than stay.
Matthew 28:19--go ye therefore and teach all nations-- a Jesus built church is a teaching church. Our goal is to make disciples. To train others to walk in Jesus Christ. Duplication---our goal is to duplicate ourselves, what Jesus has done in us, we want done in others. Making disciples, a learner, a follower of Jesus. We don’t just want to have converts, but we want to train and equip people to become solid, mature in the Lord.
Mark 16:15-go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. His church are the sharers of good news. We are to tell the story of Jesus. We share the message of the cross. As a Jesus built church we want to participate in the spreading of the gospel. Years ago we gave 4000 annually to missions, now over 80,000, because we want this gospel preached everywhere. People need good news.
We have a message of hope, joy, peace and eternal life.
Luke 14:23-go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled. In a Jesus built church we go after souls. Compel them, convince them that what you have, they need it too. A Jesus built church is an excited body of believers, who want to make an impact on others. We want Bethel to make a difference in this community. 14 years ago I met a lot of people in Wetumpka that didn’t know Bethel existed. We are the advertisement for the church.
John 15:16--that you should go and bring forth fruit--we are called to be harvesters. There is fruit that is ripe for the picking. We are to pray the Lord of the harvest sends laborers into the field. Much fruit--abundance.
ill) in back of my Gram’s house was a cutover that had millions of raspberry bushes. We picked for days and barely made a dent in the field. Today, we have that type of opportunity, people need the Lord.
Matthew 10:7--as you go preach saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We are God’s warning system in the world. ill) sirens go off when bad weather is approaching, God has made us the alarm system for the world. We let them know that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We are the watchmen.
close: The church is always open, the doors are never closed. It operates 24/7. It goes to work, to goes to Wal-Mart, it goes to the football games. The church can grow every day, not just on week-ends. A Jesus built church can reach to the lowest valley, and climb to the highest mountain. It can touch the rich, the poor, the sick, the bound, red and yellow, black and white.
The demon possessed man wanted to stay with the Lord, but Jesus said, go tell your friends the great things the Lord has done for you.
