What is the mission of the church?

For most of my life I had no clue as to what the church is, let alone what the mission of the church is. I just assumed that it was what you did Sunday morning. Put on your Sunday best, don’t play in the dirt and don’t wreck those new pants. Obey your SS teacher, be quiet during the preacher’s sermon and invite someone over for lunch. When I became a teenager, I was warned that you stay away from them movie theatres and bars where they dance and drink booze.

Just attend youth group and don’t hang around worldly people. Bad company corrupts good morals you know! While there was good wisdom, something was missing from the picture. I don’t blame my parents or leaders in the church for their instruction. They no doubt loved the Lord, I love them deeply and honour them. They did the best with what they knew. I then passed that same kind of teaching onto my children.

This is my story of how I came to understand “church”. How about you? Is your story similar to my upbringing? Is church a club that you just show up each Sunday and pay your tithe as your membership dues? Are we to just know the bible stories to see that you are David and you need to conquer your Goliaths? Is church where you develop good morals so that society is better? If you were asked what the church’s mission is, how would you respond?

Let’s see what God’s word has to say about this. If you have your bibles handy, please turn with me to .

So, what is the mission of the church? I want to answer that two ways this morning from God’s word. Briefly, I want to speak about who the church is. Then the majority of our time explaining the mission of the church. If you have your bibles handy, please turn with me to .

To know what the mission of the church is, we need to define what the church is, or better yet, “who” is the church. As we have seen through the gospel of Luke, Jesus is preaching and teaching the good news that he is in fact the Messiah. The one who has long been prophesied as the one who would save humanity from judgement that we deserve.

Jesus, the Son of God used miracles to reveal that he in fact is God who forgives sins. Jesus has called Peter, James and John as his first disciples and as we move along in the narrative, he will gather to himself 12 key disciples. One will betray him, Judas, and be replaced with Matthias (). These would be the 12 apostles that Jesus would use to establish the church. Not a building made with stones and mortar, but with living stones that he hand picks and are precious to him (,). He then shapes these living stones into the living and breathing church.

We will often hear of the Glenbush “church” as the building, but in reality, you are the church, a small part of God’s universal church that emcompasses the globe. Jesus is the head and we who believe are the body.

Our text this morning reveals for us the mission of the church. Jesus models for us how he builds his church.

A tax collector named Levi is sitting at his booth to collect tax for Herod. Some things need to be said about Levi. First, he is a Jew. His business was collecting money from the Jews in order to give to the hated Roman empire that occupied the land. Often times the tax collectors took more than was allowed to pad their pockets so it was a profitable enterprise to work for Rome. But this came at a high cost. You were often a loner and despised by the faith community and even your own family. You may not have had the disease of leprosy, but you were a social outcast just the same.

Jesus sees Levi at his booth and says to him “Follow me”. More than likely Levi had already heard about Jesus and his ministry, so at his call, he closed up shop and followed Jesus. Notice here that there is a cost to follow Jesus. It is turning from sin and following in the footsteps of Jesus. Now we know that all tax collectors were not called to leave their business. Remember from (3:12,13) where upon hearing John the Baptist’s gospel call of repentance, the tax collectors asked what they should do and he instructed them not to take more than they were authorized to collect. As I have said before, following Jesus does not mean that everyone leaves their occupation. But it does mean that everyone who bears the name of Christ lives differently in light of the gospel. Bearing fruit of our repentance.

Now, in Levi’s excitement for being saved from sin and called to follow Jesus, he invites all the other tax collectors and sinners to a huge banquet at his house. Jesus is the guest of honour. Levi wants to share Jesus with the outcasts of society. Maybe no one else wants anything to do with these guys but obviously Jesus does!. He joins with them by sitting amongst them.

Now one thing we need to understand about ancient culture is that if you sat with someone and fellowshipped with them, it was believed that you are in agreement with their lifestyle.

This is exactly what the Pharisees and scribes thought when they saw that Jesus was sitting with these sinners. These guys who may have been present earlier in the house where Jesus healed the paralytic were now grumbling against the Son of God. They went to the disciples of Jesus and complained about Jesus. “Why would he associate with such people who are the scum of the earth?”

Jesus obviously understood their self righteous hearts and said to them “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” This is a loaded statement. If you are well and feeling fine, you have no need for a doctor. Only when you are sick and have exhausted all efforts by yourself do you go to the doctor. I was reminded of when my appendix ruptured a number of years ago. I tried everything on my own, everything pointed to appendix, but no, it can’t be. Well as you know, it was my appendix and it ruptured in the waiting room. If there is no problem, and we think we can solve things ourselves, we will resist and think we don’t need the doctor.

What Jesus is saying here is this. Those who are self righteous and think they don’t need salvation from Jesus won’t come to him. They are fine on their own. The Pharisees were thinking that they were not sinners and thus did not need this Jesus. They were pious and were nothing like these wicked men who sinned by working for Rome and stealing. The Pharisees were indeed sick, but denied it by their hardened hearts.

Jesus came to earth to save the sin sick world like Levi, not the self righteous like these Pharisees and scribes who tried to stand on their good works in obeying the law.

Notice how Jesus ends this passage. He calls sinners to repentance. Same message that John the Baptist preached. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You don’t first clean yourself up and then come to Jesus. That is impossible outside of the grace of God. Coming to Christ in humility means you turn from the things of this world that made your soul sick like drunkenness, sexual sin, hatred and cursing and you turn to what is good and right. Love, peace, kindness and generosity. You turn or repent of what leads to death in eternal hell and turn to what is good in the sight of God which leads to eternal life. At the same time you believe in Jesus who has already done what is right for you. He paid the price of death on your behalf and now you are forgiven and free.

Repentance and faith lead to a new way of living. This is what we see in Levi. This is what we saw earlier in Peter, James and John. This is the mission of Jesus as he calls sinners to follow him through repentance and faith. This is the mission of the church. We as the body are to follow Jesus in all that he does and says as our Lord.

Following means calling sinners to repent and believe the good news about Jesus. God works in the sinner through the gospel message to reveal their sin for what it is by removing the darkness that covered their heart. He breathes spiritual life into their souls and they believe. This faith leads to new living in the love of Jesus who saved them. The desires of the changed heart is new desires to obey all that Jesus commands. Love God and love neighbour.

This reply of Jesus is his mission of earth. It is our mission as the body that follows Jesus.

Friend, are you sick in seeing your sin for what it is? Will you come to the Great Physician for true healing? What hinders you from coming? Do you think that you have sinned so greatly that God could never forgive you? Do you think that you could never do any good for Jesus in his kingdom? Listen closely. This Levi was seen as the worst of the worst as he cheated and swindled people out of their savings. A liar and a thief. But here is one thing you may not know. Levi is also known as...Matthew. He is the one who wrote the 1st gospel of the New Testament. (PAUSE)

Levi the tax collector was changed by the love of Christ and became one of Jesus’ inner 12. No sinner is too wicked or evil to empty the well of God’s mercy. Repent and believe. Abandon the ways of sin and enjoy fellowship at the table of the King forever!

So how does this truth apply to us as believers?

First of all, for us as leaders in the church, we are commanded to preach Christ and him crucified. You must hold us accountable to be faithful to Scripture in how we follow Jesus and set an example for you.

To follow Jesus is to repent of sinful living. Due to our sinful nature, we are daily confessing our sin and repenting. The psalmist writes in ,

[23] Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!

Try me and know my thoughts!

[24] And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (ESV)

and lead me in the way everlasting! (ESV)All of us need to do honest soul checking. Is there is a self righteous attitude? Is there pride? Is there a sin we are just not willing to give up? repent and ask forgiveness of a merciful Saviour. You will never be perfect, that work has already happened in Jesus.

All of us need to do honest soul checking in the power of the Spirit. Is there is a self righteous attitude? Is there pride? Is there a sin we are just not willing to give up? When the Lord reveals hidden sin, repent and ask forgiveness of a merciful Saviour. You will never be perfect, that work has already happened in Jesus. Your desire is to be more like Jesus every day.

In searching our hearts, we need to be careful that we are not dwelling on that sin too long. Godly sorrow over our sin is good and leads to true repentance. But, pondering on it excessively can lead to being crippled under the weight of guilt that Satan uses against you to prevent you from bearing fruit. Cast your burdens at the cross, don’t carry them.

We must be careful never to prejudge someone as too far gone for the kingdom. Drunkards, adulterers, thieves, idol worshippers and atheists are our mission field. Remember Levi. Be compassionate, kind and loving. We were once lost until Jesus found us.

Be compassionate, kind and loving.

Our key to being missional is to build relationships. Engage conversations. Go where the sick are. Play hockey, slo pitch. Go for coffee, town functions. Visit the elderly in care homes. Many will share long held pain that you can administer the healing salve of the gospel.

Speaking of a good way to build trust was given by a wonderful pastor friend: Coffee, supper, gospel. You are sharing Jesus like Levi did.

A simple way of doing this: Coffee, supper, gospel. You are sharing Jesus like Levi did.

One thing you can do, invite one neighbour to watch next weeks message on Youtube. Remember, you do the sharing but God does the saving.

What could happen if we applied this principles to our daily lives?

Our community would see that we are not some people who are the spiritual elites. Rather, that we are humble people that follow the Lord and love to see others come to Jesus for healing of the soul.

By us being careful not to be separate from them, it would build trust and hopefully lead to real conversations about spiritual matters.

They would see that we were once sick and now healed leading to how we have hope and peace even when troubles abound everywhere. Everyone is wanting to know how in the world we will carry on. They need to see our hope and strength that is built on the Rock of Ages.

Brothers and sisters, the mission of the church is to obey the Great Commission that the Lord gave before ascending to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. We are to make disciples of Jesus by calling sinners to follow Jesus. Call people to repent and believe in Jesus. Share him with friends out of a joyous heart that has been set free. We then teach these disciples to follow us as we follow Jesus with good doctrine and solid robust theology. Loving God and loving neighbour.

In doing so, we are fulfilling the covenant made with Abraham to go and bless the nations.

Pray.

Benediction:

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

[23] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (ESV)

[23] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (ESV)