The Glorious Mission of the Church

Introduction: We are wrapping up our mini-series, “I Love the Church.” There is so much more that we could say about the church but I don’t want to labor it. I end where I begun saying that I believe we have neglected preaching about the importance of the church. We live in an age when the church is judged on it entertainment capability rather than its discipleship capacity.

Before we launch into this last message, I want to do a quick review.

First, we presented in two messages six portraits of the church.

The pillar and ground of the truth.

The Body of Christ

The Family of God

The Building of God

The Army of God

And, the Bride of Christ

Second, we talked about the visible and invisible church. The universal, heavenly church and the local church that reflects the heavenly. A key takeaway was membership within the heavenly church will be represented by activity in the local church.

Third, or last week we talked about the characteristic, marks, or fruit of a God-ordained church. We gave five characteristics.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Development of a Gospel Community or Family

A House of Prayer

Love Reflected through Generosity

And, the Pursuit of the Lost

Now, the message for today is the Glorious Mission of the Church. As I give this title, the Bible scholars in the room are beginning to turn to Matthew 28:19-20 and for good reason. But it may surprise you that I am not going to start there. We will go there, and it will be very important, but we will not start there. I want to make a shocking statement but don’t judge me until you hear me out: “Evangelism is not the primary mission of the church. It is a great and it is related but not the primary.

I want to ask the husbands in the room, What is your wife’s primary mission? Is it to tell others about you or to love you? To love you of course! Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:37-38

Matthew 22:37–38 NKJV

37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.

Loving God is the first and greatest commandment of the believer, and the first and greatest commandment of His bride, the church.

Now, when and only when you love someone more than yourself can you put their interest first. When a couple love one another they seek the honor and success of the other, knowing that as one is exalted both will be raised.

When we love God with all of our hearts, we will want to see Him glorified in all the earth. Knowing that when He is glorified we are glorified with Him. So let me see if I can put the mission of the church in one statement:

The Mission of the church is to love God with all of our hearts, glorifying His name in all the earth by making disciples who will come to love God with all of their hearts.

This is a more complete way to look at the Great Commission. So often we think of our mission as just proclaiming, but its more. Proclaiming is a key part, but there is a motivation behind proclaiming and a goal ahead of proclaiming. Let’s look at these three parts of the whole this morning. Look with me in Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:16–20 NKJV

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Part 1: Love God with All of Our Hearts

So often when we look at this text we miss what is going on prior to the command that we call the great commission. Look at Matthew 28:16-17

Matthew 28:16–17 NKJV

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

Two things are happening here. One, the disciples are obeying the directives of the Lord. Mark 16:7

Mark 16:7 NKJV

7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”

Second, they worshipped Him. Arthur Pink said:

Worship is the adoration of a redeemed people, occupied with God himself.

AW Tozer say this about worship:

True worship is to be so personally and hopelessly in love with God that the idea of a transfer of affection never even remotely exists.

Love requires a mixture of submission, trust, and obedience.

Listen to John 14:21

John 14:21 NKJV

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Love is expressed through keeping the commandments of Jesus. This is not a rigid legalistic law keeping, but rather an abiding trust in the what Jesus has said.

This is difficult for Americans because we don’t trust anyone. But, have you ever had anyone in your life that you knew cared enough about you, that you didn’t question or fact-check?

Listen, love for God is demonstrated by seeking Him, obeying Him, and becoming like Him.

Listen to 1 John 2:3-6

1 John 2:3–6 NKJV

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

This text reminds us that if we know God there will be a growing:

Lordship (3-4)

Love (5)

Likeness (6)

We will love God and love what God loves. Isn’t that the way loving relationships work?

So, the first part of the church’s mission is to love God with all of our hearts. This is the key motivational part obeying the great commission.

Part 2: Glorify His Name in All the Earth.

This is the part we all like to talk about. In Matthew 28:19 we see the great commission.

Matthew 28:19 NKJV

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 to all nations!

In Acts 1:8 He tells us to be His witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth. We rightly believe that we are to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the entire world. That every people group on the planet should hear the Gospel.

We believe that hear to the core of our being. Our motto is “Changing lives by pointing people to Jesus.” The Gospel.

Have you thought about this in the context of the Old Testament? Listen to a couple passages:

Psalm 86:9–10 NKJV

9 All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name. 10 For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.

Psalm 96:1–3 NKJV

1 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

Habakkuk 2:14 NKJV

14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.

Malachi 1:11 NKJV

11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts.

Do you see the connection between the Gospel and the glory of God? Jesus drew these two together in John 17:1-5

John 17:1–5 NKJV

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the means by which God is glorified in all the earth. God Himself crushes the serpents head, sets the captives free, breaks the curse of death, destroyed sin, and restores paradise lost.

So, how do we glorify God in the earth?

Proclamation of the Gospel.

We go, we share, we proclaim with regularity, accuracy, and passion, filled with confidence that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

But, also we must have a Gospel Posture.

We bare the marks of a transformed life.

Not perfect but a work in progress.

Actively loving God as we talked about earlier.

Our mission is to love God, glorifying Him in all the earth by making disciples who will do the same.

Part 3: Making Disciples Who are Coming to Love God.

The main emphasis in Matthew 28:19 is making disciples

How do we do that?

Baptizing them

Teaching them

Walking with them