The church’s main business.
Matthew 28:16 -- 20. 08/15/04
In your opinion, what is the church’s main business? Why has this church been sitting in Sandy Ridge for a number of years?
Any organization, institution or business justifies its existence only in so far as it carries out the purpose for which it was founded. A grocery store justifies its existence if it continues to make groceries available to people. If the grocery store doesn’t have groceries, then it doesn’t accomplish the purpose for which it is intended. That is true about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, what is the main purpose for the church? What is this church here for?
Now you need to follow me here. I would say about all of us would give the right answer as to why this church is here. If there is a heaven, and there is, and if there is a hell, and there is, and if Jesus died on the cross for man’s sin, and he did, then the most important business of the church is to let people know that and not go to hell. The main business of the church is evangelism.
Now the Word evangelism is taken from a verb, which we use, evangelize. That means to tell a story. The noun is the Word evangel, which means gospel. So, evangelism is the telling of the good news that Jesus died, he was buried and that he raised again and those who accept him will go to heaven. That my friend is the main purpose of the church.
It is easy for us to misunderstand the main purpose of the church. I want to tell you, when something other than the telling of the gospel is the main business of the church, that church is in a lot of trouble. They fuss among themselves and major on the minor, and the work of the gospel goes lacking if done at all.
I was reading about a business that was started years ago. They were making and selling buggies. At that time business was going real well. Then later on Mr. Ford invented the Ford car. The people in the buggy business decided it did not matter they were going to continue to make buggies. It wasn’t long till they went out of business. You see folks; they made a crucial mistake of thinking that they were in the buggy business when they were in the transportation business. It is real easy at times to get sidetracked from the real business at hand.
Jesus, the founder of the church knows what the main purpose is supposed to be. He gives it to us in these vs. I have read to you this morning. It is called the great commission. Unfortunately, in a lot of churches, it is the great omission. But Jesus has told us what we are to be about.
Can you find someone here this morning because of you? You told them the story of the good news? You say preacher that is hard, it is hard for me to tell them about Jesus. I just have trouble witnessing to people. Let me ask you; if you passed by their house and saw it burning with fire, would you stop and warn them to escape sure death and destruction?
Let me tell you something that the Word here teaches us about witnessing, telling the story, we GO IN HIS POWER.
Jesus said in verse 18 all power is given unto me in heaven and Earth. You see folks, when you knock on the door and say I want to talk to you about my church and Jesus you don’t go alone. Don’t you think that Jesus will give us the power to do what he has commanded us to do? There were just a handful of disciples, just specks on the earth compared to the world but Jesus said go into the world and make disciples. He never asked us to do something we cannot do with his power. The question is, have you yielded yourself to the authority of Jesus? I want everyone in this building to say Jesus you are my savior and my authority. I yield myself to your authority.
Secondly, when we go, we not only go in his power but we GO IN HIS PLAN. Jesus in verse 19 and 20 gave us the plan. There several parts to this plan of telling the good news.
The first part is go ye therefore. The first part is going. Now the meaning here is as you go because we are going to be going, but as we go make disciples.
This black preacher was talking about what the church needed to do. He said, if we will do what we should, we need to walk. They said amen, let the church walk. Then the preacher said, if we do as we should, we will have to run. Amen preacher let the church run. Then he said if we follow the Lord we will have to fly. Amen preacher let the church fly, let us fly. He said if the church follows the Lord and does what he wants, you are going to have to give more. They said amen preacher let the church walk. Everywhere that Jesus went he told people the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus was true to his commission. I want to call on every one of us to get busy of telling the story. It is time for us to get into an organized visitation. It’s time to knock on doors and talk about Jesus in the power and the plan of Jesus. Why do we do this? Because Jesus said as you go.
When we go out to tell the story, we not only go in his power and his plan but also we GO IN HIS PROMISE. Listen! I am with you always even unto the end of the age. What a promise!
What are you willing to do to see people come to Jesus? Are you willing to go and tell? You ask God to lead you to one this week and you go. The business of the church is to win souls. A church’s existence is only so far as to carry out its purpose. Do you know Jesus?
