WHAT’S THE POINT? - TO SHARE A MESSAGE
Luke 24:45-49 - Sunday AM - August 10, 1997
INTR: When George Bush and his military advisors determined to engage Saddam Hussein and his military forces they first poured all the military might of the United States onto the Saudi Arabian peninsula. The coalition forces numbered 500,000 men with the most technologically advanced equipment available; the best missiles, the best planes, the best tanks, the weapons.
They held back nothing because they understood their purpose; to win a war.
Viet Nam was a different story. The strategy, if you can call it that, was "limited warfare." The problem with limited warfare is that your opponent is probably engaged in all out war, so your already at a disadvantage. Because the US lost sight of the purpose of the military, to fight and win wars, we suffered an overwhelming and embarrassing defeat in Viet Nam.
Not so in Desert Storm. With clear purpose, the coalition forces devastated Iraq.
TRNS: It is important to keep purpose in mind. The purpose of any organization should be its guiding principal and should influence everything it does. If certain activities do not reinforce its purpose, they should be abandoned. "Limited warfare" is not in accord with the purpose of the military and should forever be abandoned. If other activities contribute to the fulfillment of purpose they should be undertaken. But every activity should be measured against the purpose. The purpose of the military is to fight and win wars.
So what is the purpose of the church? Why was it established? What is the purpose against which we should measure everything we do?
READ: Luke 24:36-49 . . . It seems clear from this passage that the mission that Jesus left with his disciples was to proclaim repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus. The purpose God assigned his disciples, and ultimately the church, was to tell the world that their was a better way than that the world has to offer. And that way was, and is, the way of Jesus Christ.
In the first century, during the protestant reformation of the 16th C., in the great awakenings of the 18th C., the church was vibrant and alive with purpose. The church was directed and focused and great growth issued and hundreds of thousands of people came to understand the message the church has to share.
But we are not seeing that kind of growth today and many people have begun to question the relevancy of the church. They think it has little purpose in society today. The church is quaint, a good place for a wedding or funeral with all of the traditions associated with marriage and earthly departure. But why in the world would anyone attend on a regualr basis. Many believe that the church, by way of its teachings, serves to impose a narrow-minded intolerance upon people. We are known these days far more for what we are against; Homosexuality, Abortion, and Disney; than what we are for.
When the world asks the question of the church, "What’s the point?", many don’t find a good
answer. That is why it is imperative that we ask the same question of the church, "What’s the point?", and we must have a clear answer that will make a difference in the world in which we live. That answer is "To share a message!" that Jesus Christ lived and died so that mankind might know God and be assured of eternity! We have a purpose, to share the message of Christ!
But before the message can be shared . . .
1. THE MESSAGE MUST BE UNDERSTOOD.
a. Jesus told the 11 disciples, "everything that was written about me had to be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds so that they could understand the scriptures.
b. The scriptures bore a clear message about what was to happen to Jesus; that Jesus would suffer, die, and rise from the dead.
c. Here, in the midst of their mourning, the resurrected Jesus appears and says, "See, I’m alive. Now, understand why I had to suffer and die."
d. Minds are most open retrospectively:
i. The disciples could have examined Is.53 100x.
ii. They could have read v. 10 where it says, "It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer;"
iii. They could have read v. 11 where it says "After the suffering of his soul he will see the light of life;"
iv. They could have read all the OT passages that spoke of the messiah, the plain and the obscure, and still not have associated the fulfillment of those prophecies with Jesus.
v. But knowing how Jesus was brutalized, how he was crucified, and now looking at his resurrected body with the nail scares so visible; looking at the physical fulfillment of the prophecies, everything became so plain, so easy to understand.
vi. Their minds were opened wide to an understanding of why Jesus came . . . to suffer and die for their sake . . . and then to rise from the dead defeating death and hell for all time, securing for you and me eternal life.
vii. The flood of understanding must have been overwhelming.
ILST: Sometimes I wonder today how many people truly understand the message and its implications for them. Jesus showed the disciples that you didn’t have to be rich to enjoy life. He showed them that you didn’t have to be part of the cultural elite to make a difference. He showed them how to live a life that was full and meaningful. And as the resurrected Jesus stood in front of them he showed them that death and hell even could be defeated. Jesus brought a message of life.
APLC: The message is understood as God opens the mind. As the disciples looked at a risen Lord who had gained victory over death, as he opened their minds, they understood the message and its application to them.
In order to share a message those sharing must first, have their minds opened to understand the message . . .
And second, they must have their minds opened to the strategy for sharing it.
2. PEOPLE MUST PROCLAIM.
a. Jesus said that "repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name."
b. The Greek. word translated "Preached" is a word which would refer to a herald or a town crier, someone who announced the news (Paul Revere).
c. The word means quite literally, "to proclaim."
d. God’s strategy for sharing the message that Jesus Christ has suffer and died in the place of sinful man so that man could have a relationship with God . . . God’s strategy for sharing the message was for people to proclaim it.
e. In order for the message to be shared, people must understand the message and the strategy for sharing it, and then, with clear purpose in mind, they must proclaim the message.
ILST: Mormons - 2-year missionary requirement of young people who bike the streets of America goping door to door to share their message . . . Jehovah’s Witnesses - like the Mormons, out weekly going door to door to share their message . . .
APLC: They understand their purpose clearly. As they act on their purpose they condemn those who follow them to hell. Others that they don’t reach are condemned to hell already. The church has the only message that can change that outcome, the only message that can truly make a difference in peoples lives. And our purpose is to share that message of God’s love, in order to make a difference.
But we’re doing a poor job of sharing the message. If I were to ask "how many of you, within the last year, shared with someone how they could have a relationship with God and eternal life," there would probably be less than a dozen hands raised. If I were to extend that to the last five years another 5 or 6 hands might go up. I might get a little better results if I were to ask "how many of you have shared with someone a personal testimony about how you came to have a
relationship with God." But for the great majority of those who count themselves as Christians, they have never shared that fact with anyone else. Those around them don’t even know of their faith.
ILST: B-2 bomber, has a low profile, narrow silhouette, made of materials that radar cannot detect, even the engines are muffled, much more quiet than other jet engines. It is designed to fly undetected. The stealth bomber.
APLC: That is an apt description of many people’s faith. Many people have a stealth faith. Radar can’t even pick it up. And no one around them knows they’re Christians.
I have spoken to you on the subject of God’s sovereignty for the past six weeks. Let me apply God’s sovereignty here. It is no accident that you are part of the family of which you are a part, no accident that you work where you work, no accident that you have the friends you have. If you are a Christian, in God’s sovereignty he has established relationship with you and now he wants you to share with those around you the news of God’s gift of life through Jesus Christ. That is the purpose for which God created you. That is the prime directive of the church.
For the message to be shared, The message must be understood, and people must proclaim, but first the
3. POWER MUST BE IN PLACE.
a. Jesus told his disciples to stay in the city until you have received the power from "on high"
b. When the disciples began to share the message of life through Jesus Christ they had incredible results. Their were days when they saw thousands of people accept the message and establish relationship with Jesus.
c. But before they began sharing the message God empowered them with his Holy Spirit.
i. God’s Spirit not only empowered the message they shared, the Spirit of God empowered their lives.
ii. When people observed the way the disciples lived they saw proof of the validity of the message the disciples shared.
iii. The Spirit of God made the disciples bold as they spoke, but the Spirit of God also made them compassionate towards those in need, content with what they had, the spirit of God made them men of the greatest integrity, men who sought after God, men who desired to know and understand God and his ways, men who lived their lives by God’s rule and found the greatest fulfillment because they followed God.
ILST: If I could have any car in the world I would want a Corvette. It’s an adolescent male thing. But I think your car says something about you. Debi drives a mini-van, it says she is a mother of children. A friend of mine named Ken drives an Altima. It says he’s practical. Perhaps you drive a Mercedes, it says your successful, or a Lesabre, it says your conservative, or an Explorer, it says your rugged. What you drive says something about you. A Corvette says your just plain cool.
But suppose someone gave me my free Corvette and I couldn’t afford to put gas in it. Gas is what fuels the car. Without gas the car has no power. Without gas it sets in the driveway and no ever knows how cool I am.
APLC: Without the power of the Holy Spirit of God, your faith will go nowhere. God gives you his spirit when you come into relationship with him. The spirit of God is who prompts you how to live. The spirit of God directs you how to respond. When the flesh says get angry, the spirit of God says show compassion. When the flesh says look out for yourself or be greedy, the Spirit of God says, "put others first." When the flesh says, "my spouse is not treating me the way she should, the spirit says, "put the interests of your spouse ahead of your own." But we must submit
ourselves to the leading of God’s holy spirit. When he prompts we must respond.
The spirit of God is the power by which we will live lives so full that others will long to know what makes our lives different. They will want to hear about our faith. But without the spirit of God your faith is just sitting in the driveway. It’s going nowhere.
And without the spirit of God to make us bold we will never share the message that others so desperately need to here.
CNCL: We have a purpose, to share the message that God wants relationship with men and women. That Jesus came and lived, died, and rose from the dead that we might have life in all its abundance. But before the message will be shared we must first understand fully its meaning for our own lives. We must understand that God’s strategy is for each of us to be sharing the message with those whom God has sovereignly placed around us. Finally we must be submitted to God’s
Holy Spirit so that our lives will reflect the fullness that God offers and so that we will be courageous enough to share the message with others.
Our prime directive as individuals and as a church is to be sharing with a lost world, the message of life in Christ. As a church, it is our purpose and everything we do must be measured by it.
Is impacting others with the news of life in Christ an important to you?
