Primary Purpose Part 2

Last week we finished up talking about the primary purpose of the church. And we found that Jesus gave us the purpose which is often missed. We tend to follow the thought of Fellowship… serve me, feed me, amaze me. Or we think it is to only Praise God. Then in both these why are we even here? Our purpose is overlooked today with the church. Our primary purpose is to be the light of the world showing and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is spelled out for us in Matthew 28.

[Mat 28:19-20 NLT] 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

AND even better is that Jesus left us empowered by the Holy Spirit to guide us and remind us of all the Jesus said.

[John 14:26 NLT] 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative--that is, the Holy Spirit--he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

So how does that look when we are to follow the mission that Jesus gave us? That is what we are going to talk about today. There are many challenges we face, and the biggest challenge is the unbelief in the world today. There are so many that just don’t have faith in Jesus because they just cannot believe that there is a God. Or they are lukewarm and treat God like a season, or an elf on a shelf. We bring him out for special occasions, and the rest of the year he is in a box…

They use many different reasons for this. Which when you really dig deep into the reasons or excuses, they all stand on a foundation that has nothing to do with God because of separation. An unwillingness to be obedient and build a relationship with our God in heaven.

And this is the deception where Satan wants you to be. And the funny not so funny thing is we act surprised when we have anxiety, or things just don’t seem to be good. Such as how can God let these things happen in this world today? The answer is God didn’t… they were your free will choice to keep God out of it and not pay attention to the plans God has for you. This impact is a ripple effect that impacts you and everyone around you. The family as God has designed when aligned to His plans, there is protection… there is a covering, and there is His peace… This is when you have that relationship and God says…. Ruben…. I got this! Man I love it when God says that to me.

Today we are going to look at the five elements that are the foundation for the mission that Jesus gave us. This is how we get to the place where we hear those words from the Holy Spirit in us… “I got this!”. These behaviors enable the relationship with God to grow in you as you feed the Holy Spirit.

- Availability

- Worship

- Submission

- Obedience

- Power

Availability—

Matthew 28:16 starts by showing that the disciples made themselves available to the work Jesus was calling them to do. Turn with me to Matthew 28:

[Matthew 28:16 NLT] 16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

The disciples went to the mountain that Jesus told them to go to. They were ready. They made themselves available to the calling Jesus was about to give them.

This is the biggest challenge we have in the body of Christ today in my opinion. We have tremendous talents in the body of Christ. But not many are making themselves available to do the work that God has called them and empowered them to do. Remember each of us has been ordained with gifts to use as a part of the body of Christ. When we are available to God the work we will do for the name of Jesus Christ will be amazing.

[Romans 12:6 NLT] 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

[1 Peter 4:10 NLT] 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

Paul continued to write in Romans about using your gifts:

[Romans 12:7-8 NLT] 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

See each of us has been given by the Holy Spirit gifts… empowerment to do the work of the body of Christ. Not all of us have the same gifts. But this element of the mission is to be available as the disciples made themselves to do the work. We all need to be available, ready.

Worship –

Genuine worship of God.

[Mat 28:17-18a NLT] 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him--but some of them doubted! 18 Jesus came and told his disciples

Worship is a way of being energized. As an example I can still remember when I walked into the Promise Keepers May of 1997 in Chicago’s Soldier Field. The attendance was over 350,000 men and as we got closer the amazing feeling I had as I literally felt the air vibrating with the voice of thousands of men worshipping God. I will never forget how excited and energized I was to hear the roar of thousands of men praising and worshiping God! The power coming out of that stadium was incredible….

Worship of God energizes you. Sincere worship. No big band… nothing fancy… just pure worship of God by the lifting up your voice in a closet… or in a large group.

The disciples saw Jesus and they worshipped Him. Just like in Soldier Field… it didn’t matter how educated they were or how much money they had, whether you were white, black, Hispanic, Chinese... none of that mattered… in that moment all that mattered was worshipping God… all that mattered when the disciples saw Jesus was worshipping Him!

I want to point out that as with our studies we have done on Abraham, and Sarah and other bible people and how great they were in doing God’s work, but yet they failed many times. This is something I am thankful to God for because it gives me an understanding that even as great as they were they were still human an made mistakes. Even here in Matthew when Jesus is coming to the disciples, we are told that some were doubtful. They did not believe what they were seeing. I love how Matthew and the other Gospels tell us amazing truth which adds to the depth of the history we pull from God’s word. There were many just like us. There were some that doubted and were lukewarm…

Next is Submission –

[Matthew 28:18b NLT] 18 "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

Jesus here is telling the disciples before he proclaims the mission, He has for them that He has been given all authority. What Jesus is giving them the depth of his authority. The word for authority here in Greek is exousia (ek sue see ya) which means the ability to do as one pleases complete power over and authority over all. Jesus tells the disciples he has been given this power over heaven and on earth.

During Jesus’s time on earth, He displayed for the disciples many of these signs of the power he was given. He healed the sick from disease, he cast demons out with a simple word, he demonstrated authority over sin, and the power over death when he raised Lazarus, and even now as he stands before them walking out of the tomb.

He showed this power to them and explained this to them so they would understand that the needed authority they would need to complete the mission about to be given to them was in Jesus and is about to be given to them in the power of the Holy Spirit. Theirs’s and our submission to Jesus and his absolute sovereignty is not a believers option but his ultimate obligation. We need to submit to his will so that we are enabling this power to work through us in the mission of showing the people the love of Jesus Christ.

Next is Obedience –

Now Jesus gives the foundation of the mission:

[Matthew 28:19-20a NLT] 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.

What we have been looking at up to this point Availability, Worship, and Submission are attitudes which in putting these elements in place in your life opens the gate to Obedience to Jesus Christ. We can see a perfect example of Jesus showing the need to be obedient to His plans in the young rich ruler in Luke 18:18-23

[Luke 18:18-23 NLT] 18 Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: "Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Only God is truly good. 20 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: 'You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.'" 21 The man replied, "I've obeyed all these commandments since I was young." 22 When Jesus heard his answer, he said, "There is still one thing you haven't done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 23 But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.

See it wasn’t the point that this young ruler was rich… it was that the wealth in his life was his obedience and focus. He admired Jesus and was a moral man and generous. But, in spite of all this he was afraid to let go…. He was a prisoner. It was a stronghold for him.

So, we can look at that and wonder in our own lives what is keeping me a prisoner, what is our stronghold that we are not willing to let go of? Each and every one of us have these obstacles, so did the disciples that we just read about… even still some doubted… this is still alive today in our world… people do not apply the word of God to their lives.

So, Jesus now gives them marching orders to “Go” make disciples just as I have given you knowledge and have shown you in my walk with you... now be obedient to the mission and go.

Finally, Power –

[Mat 28:20b NLT] 20 And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

This is the final message from Jesus to the disciples, and it is the most important of all. In this passage which we just read this is in the NLT version. I am going to read the King James Version as there is a key word here, I want you to see which is the foundation of the magnitude of this scripture.

[Mat 28:20b KJV] 20 and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

Lo – idou – ee/duu

Idou is used throughout scripture as a heralding call. This was used when the angel visited Mary and state Behold! And then he delivered the good news of Jesus’s birth. Each time this reference is used it is an introduction. Jesus is saying to all of us “Pay attention!”, and then He tells us I am going to be with you always! Under all situations and circumstances, I am going to be with you. I am going to be with you when you are happy, when you are crying, when you are hurting, when you need healing, when you are depressed, when you are angry, when you need to know there is hope…

Idou… behold!!! I am with you.

Each of us is empowered to do the mission that Jesus called us for.

Let’s pray….