A Church for Every Person

Who is Jesus’ Church For?

Is the church for the saints (pure, blameless, consecrated), or is the church for everyone else?

The answer is YES!

Ephesians 4:11–12 NKJV

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

Matthew 9:10–13 NKJV

10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

“those definitely known to be especially wicked” (AMP)

“other sinners stained with certain vices or crimes”(Wuest NT)

The church is intended to be a hospital for the broken & an equipping facility for the saints

to be able to do Jesus’ Great Commission.

Jesus’ Plan & Commission to His Church:

Matthew 28:19–20 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, 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.

Romans 10:11–13 NKJV

11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Matthew 11:28 NKJV

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

When we actually do what Jesus commanded us to do, we will encounter the entire spectrum of sinners.

Jesus’ church is a place of healing for EVERY KIND of sinner!

The Murderer

The Rapist

The Abuser

The one who claps on 1 & 3

The Liar

The Addict

The Drug Dealer

The Unnatural

The Adulterer

The Prostitute

The Disrespectful to their Parents

The Thief

The Hypocrite

Hypocrites need Jesus too & we want them to be in church!

Somehow the church often experiences missional drift towards being a bless me club of saints & eventually is so exclusive & elite that it doesn’t resemble what Jesus intended for His church to be.

The church often ends up being a place for Christians to insulate themselves from the rest of the world rather than a launching pad to reach every person on the face of the earth with the message & love of Jesus Christ!

My old nature of pride and narcissism wants to have a “nice church” with “perfect people” (or at least perfect looking on the outside people) and never have any problems.

But here’s the problem for my attitude, Jesus doesn’t have a role in that church & with those people.

Jesus came for the broken sinner who is burdened and heavy laden.

Here’s the real honest issue:

I don’t want THAT kind of person sitting next to me, my family, & my children!

1 Corinthians 6:8–11 NKJV

8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

We were ALL that kind of person (Romans 3:23) - have we forgotten?

Jesus is after THAT KIND of person with love & forgiveness of sin!

Matthew 10:16 NKJV

16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

We are going to use wisdom and vigilance, but we are also going to demonstrate love, grace & mercy.

I believe all the way to the very core of my being that The Ark Christian Church is meant to be a church for any person & every person who will come.

I believe that Jesus died & carried every sin for every person so they could be forgiven & accepted by God and welcomed in as a part of His glorious church.

I believe that we, as a church community made up of individuals, can corporately and personally authentically live this out.

Are you Jesus’ Bouncer?

Mark 10:13–16 NKJV

13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

No one should ever feel like they cannot come to this church!

If you ever make someone feel like they don’t belong here at The Ark, you’ve missed the point of the cross & you need to have a fresh encounter with Jesus!

Even if you have openly & royally messed up, you should feel so comfortable knowing that you can come to The Ark & find support, encouragement, healing and forgiveness.

Even if you’ve made terrible life choices:

You are welcome here!

Everyone has a spiritual rap sheet, some may also have a natural one, but God is the judge not us!

& there is only 1 sin that God will not forgive - you haven’t done it or you wouldn’t even come to Jesus.

Just One Thing:

We are a church for every person who will come - embrace that!

Discussion Questions:

What’s something that everyone agrees we should change, but somehow it never changes?

Where, in this sermon, did you see yourself (maybe your heart or thoughts) & what was your response to seeing yourself in the “mirror of the Word of God?”

Please read Matthew 10:16 & Romans 3:23 and share about how you can practically live out the consequences and instructions of these verses.

What, if anything, has stopped you from inviting someone to church or to Jesus? How are you going to overcome that obstacle to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus?