OUR PURPOSE-II—Mark 12:28-31 & Matthew 28:18-20
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?
4 Purposes for the Church.
Previously we discovered that
We fulfill our Purpose when we...
1—LOVE GOD in Christ (Mk. 12:29-31)
2—Our Purpose is to...
LOVE OTHERS in Christ(Mark 12:31)
Explanation:(Mark 12:31)
Our Purpose...
God’s love compels us
To love, reach & nurture others for Christ.
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. 19:17-18—“‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”
‘This 2nd commandment is inextricably/inseparably bound up with the first one & is a natural complement of the first. Without one commandment neither is complete.’
Love—“As Yourself”—
?In what ways do I show that I love myself?
Seek my needs & wants!—Adequate Food, Clothing, Housing, Transportation, Education, Medical care, Rest, Employment, Overall Betterment, etc.
Others—“Your Neighbor”—Anyone, particularly within your sphere of influence.
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).
Lk. 10:25-37—READ—:36-37—“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go & do the same.””
Our relationship to God directly effects the relationships we build or don’t build with others.
God’s love for us is un-intentionally & intentionally reflected upon others by our appropriation of His love.
*True godly love for our neighbor cannot occur outside of our love for God.
For Christ—Concern to honor & glorify Jesus
*Living/Fulfilling your Purpose begins with LOVE! Argumentation:
*1Jn. 4:10-11—“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
God so loved us” when we were lost & undone & hell-bound!
1Jn. 3:16-24—“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, & sees his brother in need, & shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed & in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, & shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, & knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments & do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ & love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, & He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
Mt. 18:23-35—““Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife & children & all that he had, & that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ “Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, & forgave him the debt. But that servant went out & found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; & he laid hands on him & took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet & begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ “And he would not, but went & threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, & came & told their master all that had been done. “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ‘Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ “And his master was angry, & delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.””
Your ability to forgive is a direct result of your love for your neighbor.
Jn. 13:33-35—““Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; & as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””
Jn. 15:13—““Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
Illustration:
When we lived in Whigham, GA in the pastorium at Due South Ln./Dwight Patton(next door neighbor) mowed our yard while we were on vacation/We didn’t ask him to/LOVE OTHERS in Christ
Take out neighbor’s trash/LOVE OTHERS in Christ
Return someone’s dog which has strayed/LOVE OTHERS in Christ
The pastor(Oscar Ramirez in Salisbury, NC) who took someone in who was having financial & addiction troubles/Eventually the person left his home without so much as a ‘Thank you’/Can you-we do the same simply because we LOVE OTHERS in Christ?
Application:
?Your PURPOSE to LOVE OTHERS for CHRIST?
If we don’t purposely meet other’s needs, then we won’t fulfill our Purpose.
?Will you allow your LOVE to go beyond your prejudices?
?Needmore fulfilling her Purpose?
3—Our Purpose is to...
REACH OTHERS in Christ (Mat. 28:18-19)
Explanation:(Mat. 28:18-19)
:18—“And Jesus came & spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth.”
Jn. 14:16-20—“And I will ask the Father, & He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, & will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, & you in Me, & I in you.”
:19—““Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
“Go”—Participle—‘In your going’—‘While you’re going’
Going is Transformed to an expected activity with an expected purpose!
“Make(ing) disciples” is the focal response expected of His followers in light of Jesus’ authority.
“Of all the nations”—None are exempt!
“Baptizing”—
1Pet. 3:21— “And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ...”
“In the name of the Father & the Son & the Holy Spirit”—
Not an invitation to mere social work...But to lead people to Christian Baptism. Personally accepting & appropriating all that the Gospel of Christ encompasses...NOT for quick membership adding people to the church’s rollbook. But that they may truly be saved & discipled properly.
Christian baptism—2Cor. 13:14—“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, & the love of God, & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
*Initial commitment to Christ & His Church!
Win the Lost—Evangelism—
Incorporate/Involve/Integrate/Merge them into commitment to God’s Church.
Argumentation:
*Acts 13:47—“For thus the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU SHOULD BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’”
Mat. 5:13-16—““You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out & trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. “Nor do men light a lamp, & put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; & it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, & glorify your Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”
Mt. 9:35-38—“Then Jesus went about all the cities & villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, & healing every sickness & every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary & scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.””
*Lk. 5:3-11—“Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, & asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down & taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep & let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered & said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night & caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, & their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come & help them. And they came & filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he & all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; & so also were James & John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all & followed Him.”
*1Cor. 9:19-23—“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; & to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law(not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”
Illustration:
Tōhoku(Japan) Earthquake & Tsunami(Mar. 11, 2011)/Many missing/Many will never be found/Pains taken to search for the wounded, dead & missing/Why?/They are important to us—Human Dignity/Many days expended to rescue any remaining/REACH OTHERS in Christ
U.S. Soldier’s Creed—“I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.”/Never leave a brother/Risk life & limb to bring back their companion/All men are fallen comrades if they have not heard the Gospel of Christ/REACH OTHERS in Christ
We must have a Protracted plan to reach others—Center point, Distance limitations, Street names & house or apt. numbers, Identify those new to the community, Sunday School(Bible study) in place &/or home Bible study, Laborers, etc./REACH OTHERS in Christ
Application:
?Your PURPOSE to REACH OTHERS for CHRIST?
?Needmore fulfilling her Purpose?
4—Our Purpose is to...
NURTURE OTHERS in Christ (Mat. 28:20)
Explanation:(Mat. 28:20)
:20—“...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; & lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
“Teaching”—Explanation, Exhortation, Encouragement, Reproof, Praise, Direction
Foster continual growth
Argumentation:
Col. 1:28—“And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man & teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.”
1Thes. 5:23—“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; & may your spirit & soul & body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Eph. 4;11-16—“And He gave some as apostles, & some as prophets, & some as evangelists, & some as pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here & there by waves, & carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted & held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
Illustration:
Farmers nurture their crops/Strawberrys—Raised rows, Black plastic, Fertilization, Specific planting times/Tomatoes—Staked, Fertilization, etc./Corn—, Peanuts—Soil, Spacing, Weeding, Sweet Potatoes—NURTURE OTHERS in Christ
Parents nurture children/Prepare them to succeed in the world by Christ’s determination/FORMAL EDUCATION—Graded, College, Graduate; MORAL EDUCATION—Awareness of objective morality & its relation to others culturally & civilly; HOME EDUCATION—Observe relationships among family members & participate; WORK EDUCATION—Commitment to ideals, tasks, service, promise/All these minimally require time & effort!/NURTURE OTHERS in Christ
Application:
?Your PURPOSE to NURTURE OTHERS for CHRIST?
?Needmore fulfilling her Purpose?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
The purpose of this Church is to...
2—LOVE OTHERS in Christ (Mark 12:31)
3—REACH OTHERS in Christ(Mat. 28:18-19)
4—NURTURE OTHERS in Christ(Mat. 28:20)
1—LOVE GOD in Christ (Mk. 12:29-31)
Our Purpose...
God’s love compels us
To love, reach & nurture others for Christ.
Presented 10/28/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
CHILDREN’S— ‘The Push’
Presented 01/04/04pm to:
Providence Baptist church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
Presented 09/02/01am to;
Providence Baptist church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
