The real mission of the Church in this world
Notes
Transcript
INTRO (Slide)
INTRO (Slide)
What is the largest, richest and most important enterprise on earth?
What is the largest, richest and most important enterprise on earth?
Would it be Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft??
NONE OF THOSE!
NONE OF THOSE!
The largest, richest, most important and meaningful institution on earth is THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST!!
When Jesus was leaving this world after His death and resurrection, He left a mission to His Church. In the beginning of the Church History, even in the midst of many tribulations, this mission was being fulfilled, but with time, it stagnated, and today, it is not even a shadow of what it was before;
Which Mission was that??
Which Mission was that??
The mission was NOT to erect majestic buildings, NOT to have mega-churches, NOT to plan the most beautiful programs and services, it was NOT to have a church centered on entertainment, but TO MAKE DISCIPLES!
Por tanto, id y haced discípulos a todas las naciones, bautizándolos en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo,
That’s exactly what HE DID during his 3 1/2 years of ministry! HE MADE DISCIPLES!
AN IMPORTANT DATA:
The book “The Disciple-Maker Pastor”, from Bill Hull, written in the 80’s, already had data on the topic “Evangelism and Discipleship”, and it shows that only 7% of the members of the Church bring people to Christ and only 2% of Christians make disciples!
NOTE:
When I say about the importance of a large church I am NOT talking about a megachurch that only ENTERTAINS, sometimes thousands of people - that we can have on a CLUB, I am talking about a church filled with Christ-like Disciple-Makers.
To see if those numbers are correct, we can make a quick survey right here, right now, answering in silence: What was the last time you took time to disciple someone?
Now, if discipleship, (or to make disciples) is the main mission of the Church, let’s visit an important passage of the Bible regarding this subject:
Now, if discipleship, (or to make disciples) is the main mission of the Church, let’s visit an important passage of the Bible regarding this subject:
MAIN TEXT
MAIN TEXT
Yo entonces dije: “¿Quién eres, Señor?”. Y el Señor dijo: “Yo soy Jesús, a quien tú persigues. Pero levántate y ponte sobre tus pies, porque para esto he aparecido a ti, para ponerte por ministro y testigo de las cosas que has visto y de aquellas en que me apareceré a ti, librándote de tu pueblo y de los gentiles, a quienes ahora te envío para que abras sus ojos, para que se conviertan de las tinieblas a la luz y de la potestad de Satanás a Dios; para que reciban, por la fe que es en mí, perdón de pecados y herencia entre los santificados”.
»Por lo cual, rey Agripa, no fui rebelde a la visión celestial, sino que anuncié primeramente a los que están en Damasco y Jerusalén, y por toda la tierra de Judea, y a los gentiles, que se arrepintieran y se convirtieran a Dios, haciendo obras dignas de arrepentimiento.
In this text, the apostle Paul is explaining to King Agrippa the episode when He met Jesus in the road to Damascus, and we will talk about that today.
THEME:
LA VERDADERA MISIÓN DE LA IGLESIA EN ESTE MUNDO
LA VERDADERA MISIÓN DE LA IGLESIA EN ESTE MUNDO
(All the topics come from the verses we read)
1. ABRIR OJOS
1. ABRIR OJOS
Every non-believer is blind, and Jesus even says that sometimes is one blind guiding another blind;
Discipleship starts with helping people to see their spiritual blindness;
The same way Ananias removed the scales from the future Apostle Paul...
teniendo el entendimiento entenebrecido, ajenos de la vida de Dios por la ignorancia que en ellos hay, por la dureza de su corazón.
Light starts with the sharing of the Word of God and the news of the Gospel.
Light starts with the sharing of the Word of God and the news of the Gospel.
Another part of the mission of the Church...
2. CONVERSIÓN
2. CONVERSIÓN
The term “conversion” stopped being used like before, (maybe because the Church became afraid of its real meaning), but to convert from what??
A. De las tinieblas a la luz
A. De las tinieblas a la luz
porque en otro tiempo erais tinieblas, pero ahora sois luz en el Señor; andad como hijos de luz
B. De la potestad de Satanás a Dios
B. De la potestad de Satanás a Dios
There is a change of “ownership”
Mas a todos los que lo recibieron,
a quienes creen en su nombre,
les dio potestad de ser hechos hijos de Dios.
We must not deceive ourselves, whoever is not born from the Spirit, is still lost, and under the power of Satan, therefore, not converted.
We must not deceive ourselves, whoever is not born from the Spirit, is still lost, and under the power of Satan, therefore, not converted.
Jesus preached a very hard speech to the Jews, when He said that “they were sons of the Devil himself:
Vosotros sois de vuestro padre el diablo, y los deseos de vuestro padre queréis hacer. Él ha sido homicida desde el principio y no ha permanecido en la verdad, porque no hay verdad en él. Cuando habla mentira, de suyo habla, pues es mentiroso y padre de mentira.
Also, when we preach the Gospel and disciple someone, that person is spiritually transported:
Él nos ha librado del poder de las tinieblas y nos ha trasladado al reino de su amado Hijo,
Then something amazing happens...
3. PERDÓN DE PECADOS
3. PERDÓN DE PECADOS
Here we have one of the most beautiful, precious and exclusive gifts given exclusively to those who come to Jesus, through the preaching of the Gospel.
But, how this forgiveness is given?? Jesus Himself answers:
But, how this forgiveness is given?? Jesus Himself answers:
A. Por la fe en Jesús
What a privilege to hear Jesus saying ''by faith in Me''...
When preaching, the Church needs to make clear that the message of salvation means forgiveness that can only be granted by faith, because of the blood of the Lamb, there is no self-justification!
Pedro les dijo:
—Arrepentíos y bautícese cada uno de vosotros en el nombre de Jesucristo para perdón de los pecados, y recibiréis el don del Espíritu Santo,
It’s noteworthy that forgiveness comes from God alone, but the mission of the Church is to point out to it. If we speak and offer this forgiveness, people will know about it:
It’s noteworthy that forgiveness comes from God alone, but the mission of the Church is to point out to it. If we speak and offer this forgiveness, people will know about it:
A quienes perdonéis los pecados, les serán perdonados, y a quienes se los retengáis, les serán retenidos.
But Jesus promises more...
4. HERENCIA
4. HERENCIA
The beauty of the message of the Gospel is that it points to eternity;
Jesus Himself is talking about our inheritance as sanctified people on verse 18...
How many of you know what is to receive a human inheritance? Probably none of us have.
How many of you know what is to receive a human inheritance? Probably none of us have.
But the Bible declares that we are heirs with Christ:
Y si hijos, también herederos; herederos de Dios y coherederos con Cristo, si es que padecemos juntamente con él, para que juntamente con él seamos glorificados.
Our inheritance can not be measured (or completely understood) in this world:
Antes bien, como está escrito:
«Cosas que ojo no vio ni oído oyó
ni han subido al corazón del hombre,
son las que Dios ha preparado para los que lo aman».
Therefore, the Mission of the Church when preaching affects THE PAST (I was blind, lost and under the grip of Satan), THE PRESENT (I am forgiven), and THE FUTURE (I have an inheritance from my Father);
Therefore, the Mission of the Church when preaching affects THE PAST (I was blind, lost and under the grip of Satan), THE PRESENT (I am forgiven), and THE FUTURE (I have an inheritance from my Father);
Coming back to the main text, after Jesus’ invitation and order, what was Paul’s answer?? (which should be our answer as well):
Coming back to the main text, after Jesus’ invitation and order, what was Paul’s answer?? (which should be our answer as well):
LA RESPUESTA AL LLAMADO
LA RESPUESTA AL LLAMADO
1. NO FUI REBELDE (Disobediente)
Si anuncio el evangelio, no tengo por qué gloriarme, porque me es impuesta necesidad; y ¡ay de mí si no anunciara el evangelio!
2. ANUNCIÉ
First in Damascus, then in all the world. Paul’s commitment to discipleship brought the Gospel to us, and he paid the price with his own life!
APLICACIONES FINALES
APLICACIONES FINALES
The Church of Jesus IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. We are ambassadors of another Kingdom, it is our responsibility to make disciples;
Así que, somos embajadores en nombre de Cristo, como si Dios rogara por medio de nosotros; os rogamos en nombre de Cristo: Reconciliaos con Dios.
A person may be saved, but AFTER THAT, there is a need of growth and maturity that can only come with discipleship. We can have this analogy with the resurrection of Lazarus: he was alive, but needed to be completely free:
And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
It is IMPOSSIBLE to grasp the Word of God and be equipped if the only time we have together for growth is the Sunday Service. Time with our disciples is absolutely necessary, that’s the only way to multiply the character of Christ in this world, person by person.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to grasp the Word of God and be equipped if the only time we have together for growth is the Sunday Service. Time with our disciples is absolutely necessary, that’s the only way to multiply the character of Christ in this world, person by person.
Paul did that with Timothy, Silas, Titus, and many, many others, who later became giants of the faith.
When we look at verse 17, we see a clear commission of Jesus to Paul, and to all of us:
When we look at verse 17, we see a clear commission of Jesus to Paul, and to all of us:
librándote de tu pueblo y de los gentiles, a quienes ahora te envío
Jesus is the One Who still SENDS US, like He did with the 12, then 70, with many disciples after His resurrection and then all of us!
Today, April 18, 2021 at 4pm, at the age of 3 years old, we reach a historic milestone at Unchained Church, because we are officially launching our main platform of Discipleship: “Mi Discípulo.”
In fact, DISCIPLESHIP is one of the 3 main pillars of Unchained, together with True Freedom and Word of God.
That’s why the Devil is so mad right now, because He knows that every time the Church of Jesus starts preaching the Gospel and making disciples, the light of the Gospel will shine, people will be converted and forgiven, and less and less souls will go to hell.
I started the sermon with a question. Let me finish with another one:
I started the sermon with a question. Let me finish with another one:
“If you were called to Heaven right now, and there you were to encounter all the people you won for Jesus while on earth, people you preached the Gospel to, people you spend time with, people you invested yourself on and helped them spiritually...
“If you were called to Heaven right now, and there you were to encounter all the people you won for Jesus while on earth, people you preached the Gospel to, people you spend time with, people you invested yourself on and helped them spiritually...
… How many people would you encounter??”
… How many people would you encounter??”
Preaching the Gospel and discipling is NOT an option for a Christian person, it is an ORDER.
Let’s pray.
Let’s pray.