ON PURPOSE—Mark 12:28-31 & Matthew 28:18-20
An elderly woman went into the doctor’s office. When the doctor asked why she was there, she replied, "I’d like to have some birth-control pills."
Taken back, the doctor thought for a minute & then said, "Excuse me, Mrs. Smith, but you’re 72 years old. What possible use could you have for birth control pills?"
The woman responded, "They help me sleep better; You see, I live with my duaghter & son-in-law & their 6 children.”
The doctor thought some more & continued, "How in the world do birth control pills help you to sleep?"
The woman said, "Simple, I put them in my daughter’s orange juice every morning & I sleep a lot better at night."
The woman had a very definite purpose to her actions.
Likewise, The church of God must have a definitive purpose.
Providence Purpose...
God’s love compels us
To love, reach & nurture others for Christ.
The Church has a specific purpose.
We know the purpose of the Church.
What is the purpose of this/Providence Baptist/ Church?
4 Purposes for the Church.
Providence BC will fulfill her Purpose when...
“28 And one of the scribes came & heard them arguing, & recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”
“Commandment”—Divine Directive
“The foremost”—That which takes precedence. Most important
1—Our Purpose is to...
LOVE GOD(Mk. 12:29-31)
—Explanation:(Mk. 12:29-31)
GOD’S LOVE:—God’s Love compels us...
*OUR LOVE FOR GOD:
:29—“Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;”—Deut. 6:4
“Oh Israel”—God’s people—Raised/Wrought them
“The LORD”—YHWH
“Our God”—
“One LORD”—Excusivity/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.”
:30—“AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’”—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 love someone we don’t know.
*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...
—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.”
To meet our Purpose God must love us & we must Love God.
OUR COMPULSION:(Mk. 12:31)
God’s Love compels us
?What...goads/drives/prods/pushes/catalyzes/makes us answer God’s Purpose?
In Appropriate & Own God’s love>>> Thankfulness
—Argumentation:
1Jn. 4:19—“We love, because He first loved us.”
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.”
John 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.”
“Children”—Tells us we are loved!
—Illustration:
—Application:
?We here On Purpose/Task?
?Will this Church fulfill her Purpose?
2—Our Purpose is to...
LOVE OTHERS FOR CHRIST
—Explanation:(Mark 12:31)
Mk. 12:31—“The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
‘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,
Others—“Your Neighbor”—Anyone.
Who is my neighbor?
Lk. 10:25-37—READ—
Our relationship to God directly effects the relationships we build or don’t build with others.
God’s love for us is to be intentionally reflected upon others. 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.”
—Illustration:
—Application:
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?
?We here On Purpose/Task?
?Will this Church fulfill her Purpose?
3—Our Purpose is to...
REACH OTHERS FOR CHRIST
—Explanation:(Mat. 28:18-19)
:18—“And Jesus came up & spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth.
Orphans—
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 & make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & the Son & the Holy Spirit,”
“Go”—In your going—While you’re going
Going is Transformed
“Make(ing) disciples” is the focal response expected of His followers in light of Jesus’ authority.
“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”
Christian baptism—2Cor. 13:14—“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 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:
Ps. 98:2-3—“The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”
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.’”
Illustration:
—Application:
?We here On Purpose/Task?
?Will this Church fulfill her Purpose?
4—Our Purpose is to...
NURTURE OTHERS FOR CHRIST
—Explanation:(Mat. 28:20)
“...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 and 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; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Eph. 4;11-16—“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and 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, and 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 and there by waves, and 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 and 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:
Parents nuture children
—Application:
?We here On Purpose/Task?
?Will this Church fulfill her Purpose?
CONCLUSION
—Visualization:
?Is Providence Baptist Church On Purpose?
Meeting your purpose begins with LOVE!
—Action:
The purpose of this Church is to...
LOVE GOD(Mk. 12:29-31)
LOVE OTHERS FOR CHRIST(Mark 12:31)
REACH OTHERS FOR CHRIST(Mat. 28:18-19)
NURTURE OTHERS FOR CHRIST(Mat. 28:20)
CHILDREN’S— ‘The Push’
Providence Purpose...
God’s love compels us
To love, reach & nurture others for Christ.
Presented 09/02/01am to;
Providence Baptist church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
