OUR PURPOSE-I—Mark 12:28-31 & Matthew 28:18-20
We must ask ourselves, “What is my/the church’s Purpose anyway?”
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?
3 Purposes for the Church.
Needmore BC will fulfill her Purpose when...
1—Our Purpose is to...
LOVE GOD in Christ(Mk. 12:29-31)
Explanation:(Mk. 12:29-31)
Background/Setting:
Mk. 12:28—“Then one of the scribes came, & having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?””
“Commandment”—Divine Directive
“The foremost”—That which takes Precedence, holds Priority & is most Important.
‘God’s Love compels us...’
a)*OUR LOVE FOR GOD:
Mk. 12:29—“Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.”—From Deut. 6:4
“Oh Israel”—God’s people—Raised/Wrought them
“The LORD”—YHWH(Ex. 3:14-15)
“Our God”—Personal
my god my people
“One LORD”—Exclusivity/Uniqueness as our God &/or 2)Unity/Wholeness.
Js. 1:17—“Every good thing bestowed & every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.”
Mk. 12:30—“‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.”—From Deut. 6:5
An Intimate/Loving Relationship with God requires the fullest expression of the desire of my “Heart.”
An Intimate/Loving Relationship with God requires the fullest expression of the desire of my “Soul.”
An Intimate/Loving Relationship with God requires the fullest expression of the desire of my “Mind.”
An Intimate/Loving Relationship with God requires the fullest expression of the desire of my “Strength.”
Love & Intimacy is Impossible to do from a distance!
“Love”—We can’t truly love someone we don’t know.
a)Argumentation:
1Jn. 4:15-19—“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, & he in God. And we have known & believed the love that God has for us. God is love, & he who abides in love abides in God, & God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.”
Rom. 5:8-11—“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Jn. 5:39-44—““You[Jews seeking to destroy Jesus] search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; & these are they which testify of Me. “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. “I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father’s name, & you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, & do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?”
Mt. 6:24—““No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one & love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one & despise the other. You cannot serve God & mammon.”
The One you serve is the One you love.
Your daily decision are based on your loves.
(CONT...)1—Our Purpose is to...
LOVE GOD in Christ(Mk. 12:29-31)
‘God’s Love compels us...’
b)*GOD’S LOVE FOR US:
?Why should we Love this God?...
...Behind :29-30 is God’s Love Toward Us!
*Creator—Sustainer—Revealer—Provider—Wisdom—Light—Caring—Compassionate—Patient—Forgiving—True—Faithful—Justifier...
b)Argumentation:
1Jn. 4:9-10—“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Gen. 1:1, 27-28—“In the beginning God created the heavens & the earth”....“And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male & female He created them. And God blessed them; & God said to them, “Be fruitful & multiply, & fill the earth, & subdue it; & rule over the fish of the sea & over the birds of the sky, & over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Jn. 3:16—“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Rom. 5:8-11—“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Eph. 2:1-10—“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses & sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh & of the mind, & were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ(by grace you have been saved), & raised us up together, & made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Titus 3:3-7—“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts & pleasures, living in malice & envy, hateful & hating one another. But when the kindness & the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration & renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Jn. 1:12-13—“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Our being considered as “Children”—Tells us we are loved!
God has given us all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge in Christ Jesus(Col. 2:3).
*To enter & fulfill our Purpose, God must love us & we must Love God.
God’s Love compels us to...
c)OUR COMPULSION:(Mk. 12:31)
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.19:18
?What...goads/drives/prods/pushes/catalyzes/makes us answer God’s Purpose?
The application of personally ‘owning’ God’s love results in Acts of Appreciation/Thankfulness.
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).
c)Argumentation:
Jer. 20:7-9—“O LORD, You induced me, & I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, & have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me. For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, “Violence & plunder!” Because the word of the LORD was made to me A reproach & a derision daily. Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.”
2Cor. 5:14-15—“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; & He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them & rose again.”
Gal. 5:19—6:2—“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, & the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, & so fulfill the law of Christ.”
2Cor. 5:14—“...& He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died & rose again on their behalf.” LOVE GOD in Christ(Mk. 12:29-31)
Argumentation:
Ex. 20:2-17—““I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third & fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me & keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor & do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens & the earth, the sea, & all that is in them, & rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day & hallowed it. Honor your father & your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.””
*To fulfill these “commandments” requires that you & I LOVE God in Christ...Otherwise they are just bothersome rules which we constantly question.
Acts 4:8-12—“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people & elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, & to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””
Illustration:
*Boris Goldin of Chosen People Ministries, is a saved Russian Jew/On the day he got saved Boris was so elated that he called his Jewish mother in Russia with the good news of his salvation/Her response...A long pause on the phone..followed by his own mother’s words, “You are no longer my son....you are dead to me.”/At that moment Boris knew that his Love for God in Christ was real!/We must LOVE GOD in Christ!
A child calling their father-mother by his-her first name rather than by Daddy-Momma/No love relationship/LOVE GOD in Christ
If you love your Mama-Daddy, your Husband-Wife, your Children...Why don’t you spend more time with them?/Then why is it so foreign a concept to LOVE GOD in Christ & respond to that love?
How is it possible to maintain commitment to Christ under threat of death?/
The question is...do you love God?...OR do you rather love...a personalized concept of God?/Islamic fundamentalists(& otherwise) nurture & are driven by a concept of God which is false/We must LOVE GOD in Christ
Application:
?Are we fulfilling Our/Your PURPOSE to LOVE GOD & does that love COMPEL/Drive us?
?Is Needmore fulfilling her Purpose?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
The purpose of this Church is to...
1—LOVE GOD in Christ (Mk. 12:29-31)
Our Purpose...
God’s love compels us
To love, reach & nurture others for Christ.
Song or Lyrics to ‘Jesus Friend of Sinners’ by Casting Crowns
Presented 10/21/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
CHILDREN’S— ‘The Push’
Points 1-4 Presented 01/04/04pm to:
Providence Baptist church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
Points 1-4 Presented 09/02/01am to;
Providence Baptist church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
