We DO have a mission! Over the years, the mission of the church has become unclear to many, and today I would like to clarify.

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH is to build the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

We do many other good and wonderful things, important things: we feed the poor, we build hospitals, we visit the sick and widows and orphans, we teach English to immigrants, we establish preschools and colleges, and so on. But all of these things MUST NEVER BE DONE AS ENDS IN AND OF THEMSELVES. The purpose of all these must be to build up the Kingdom.

Defining terms: What is the "Kingdom" of Jesus Christ?

The Kingdom is the area over which the King has authority.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Christ can and does mean a number of different things.

1) The entire universe is the Kingdom of Christ, including all the earthly nations. Daniel 4:34-37

• 34 ¶ At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives for ever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
• 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No-one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"
• 36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honour and splendour were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.
• 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

2) The Old Testament nation of Israel was the Kingdom of Christ. Theologians sometimes call Israel the "Theocratic Kingdom."

3) The New Testament form of the Church is the Kingdom of Christ (I Peter 2:4-10).

• 4 ¶ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—
• 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
• 6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
• 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"
• 8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
• 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
• 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Christ is the Head of the Church. Christ is the Rock of Daniel that struck the Roman empire, and which is now growing and filling the earth. Jesus said the Kingdom would be like a mustard seed, or like leaven. (Matt. 13:31-33)

• 31 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.
• 32 Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
• 33 He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

4) The future fullness of the Kingdom spoken of in Revelation 11:15-19...

• 15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."
• 16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,
• 17 saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
• 18 The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great—and for destroying those who destroy the earth."
• 19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

The mission of the Church is building the Kingdom of Christ, and we do that in three different ways:

Note: Jesus said "I will build my church..." We recognize always that we have power only as we work together with Jesus Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches. We must remain in Him to bear fruit. He must direct our work, and send the Holy Spirit to empower our work. We are "laborers together with Him."

I. We build the Kingdom by preaching the Gospel and winning people to faith in Christ.

Mark 16:15

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

Note well: They say "charity begins at home." It is certainly true that "evangelism must begin at home."

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says:

• 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
• 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
• 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
• 9 Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates.

Who will evangelize your children? Who will teach them Bible knowledge? Who will speak to them of Christian character and living like Christians in the world? Who will give your children a Christian world view? Don't rely on even Sunday School teachers, and certainly don't rely on the public school to do the job for you. Parents, it is up to YOU to do all these things, and God says that plainly.

Matthew 28:18-19

• 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
• 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
• 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Every skyscraper goes up one piece at a time. But in the end is a very large building. People come to Christ one person at a time, but when enough people turn to Christ, the nation becomes a Christian nation. Let us not be satisfied with 10% of our population. We must plead with God in prayer to turn the hearts of Americans to Christ. Our present percentage is too small to have much of an effect on morality and law. Pray! It is God that can bring revival, and no one else can do it.

Acts 1:8

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

And people from every tribe and tongue will come to Christ. See Revelation 5:9-10...

• 9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
• 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

II. We build the Kingdom by establishing and strengthening churches.

There are many people who drop out of church, and see nothing wrong with that. Obviously they don't read their Bibles, or they don't care what the Bible says...

2 Co 11:27-28

• 27 I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
• 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Why did the Apostle Paul suffer so much? Why was Paul so in earnest with the Ephesian elders?

Acts 20:25-31

• 25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.
• 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
• 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
• 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
• 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
• 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
• 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Why did Paul leave Titus in Crete to ordain elders in all the churches? Titus 1:4-5

• 4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.
• 5 ¶ The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

Ephesians 4:11-16 Who gave church officers: Apostles, evangelists, teachers etc to the Church?

• 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
• 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
• 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.
• 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
• 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
• 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Do you think Jesus was just kidding around when He established a VISIBLE church body with officers? May we just ignore His will and get away with that?

Hebrews 10:25 Is it OK for Christians to ignore this verse?

25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 13:17

17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

NOTE: Christ wants every Christian to do two things: 1) Grow. 2) Help your brothers/sisters to grow. You can't grow all by yourself. An ember removed from the fire goes out. We are each of us responsible to live together with other Christians, to allow them to influence us, and to influence them in our turn.

III. We build the Kingdom by being salt and light in the earth.

America needs a big dose of salt, and a giant spotlight. Saturday's newpaper had a lengthy article showing that the average American knows the recipe for a big mag better than he/she knows the 10 commandments. Why is that true? Because MacDonalds spends billions on advertising, and because we won't take the time to teach the Bible to our kids and to ourselves. Can YOU name the 10 commandments in order? (Exodus 20) Let's try:

• 1. Have no other Gods before Me.
• 2. Don't make any graven images for worship.
• 3. Don't take God's name in vain.
• 4. Keep the sabbath day holy.
• 5. Honor your parents.
• 6. Don't commit murder.
• 7. Don't commit adultery.
• 8. Don't steal.
• 9. Don't bear false witness against your neighbor.
• 10. Don't covet.

Matt 5:13-16

• 13 ¶ "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
• 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
• 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
• 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Colossians 4:5-6

• 5 ¶ Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
• 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

2 Cor. 10:3-5

• 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
• 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
• 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

We ARE IN A WAR. Are you convinced? Are you willing to do battle? Can you wield the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) to demolish arguments and pretensions?

Paul is our example (see Acts 18:1-5; Acts 26:24-29)

• 1 ¶ After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
• 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,
• 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
• 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
• 5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

• 24 ¶ At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defence. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."
• 25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable.
• 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.
• 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."
• 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"
• 29 Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

We may not have Paul's abilities and gifts, but we have the same mission: to be salt and light as we have opportunity.

Conclusion: The mission of the Church; our mission, is to build the Kingdom of Christ. We do that in three ways:

• 1. We preach the Gospel, and win people to faith in Christ.
• 2. We establish and strengthen churches.
• 3. We act like salt and light in the world, irritating, preserving, informing, preaching, guiding...