Bridge Builders
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What is the mission of the Church?
What is the mission of the Church?
— The Great Commission —
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
If that is true — then what does it mean?
What is the mission of believers?
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
But… What does that mean?
— Are we just supposed to come and sit in a pew and throw some money in the plate so the “ministers” can do ministry?
— Are we supposed to go on “missions trips” 2 or 3 times a year?!
— Are we supposed to knock on doors and “get people saved”?
— Do we create a “sinners seat” in the church so we can focus on the lost during worship?
— Seriously… What does “going into all the nations...” look like? What is the purpose of the Great Commission for us?
I. I think it is different than many of us think.
— we think it means “getting people saved”…
We are not called to “get people saved,” We are called to build bridges.
3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
— Who was this talking about? (John the Baptist)
3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
— What was John’s mission? Was it to get people saved?! (No! John was sent to Build Bridges.)
Look at what He told the Gerasene Demoniac:
39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
Do you see what just happened there?!
— Jesus commissioned this man!
— He didn’t tell him to “go get people saved”…
— He told him to “go tell his story!”
— The village had rejected Him… the people refused to let Him in…
(This isn’t the only time this happened)
Luke 9:51-56 tells us of a Samaritan village that rejected Christ.... (this is where James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven)
— So… Jesus commissioned this man to “Build Bridges”....
He does the same with us!
We are not called to “get people saved”… We are called to Build Bridges — to “pave the way” for Jesus to enter people’s lives.
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.
— “After this...” means we have to look back at what Luke wrote before…
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
— How often do we do that? How often do we hear God calling us — commissioning us — and we make excuses? (I’m to uneducated… I have a past… I can’t speak well… I don’t like people… )
If that is you, can I tell you something God said to me? (Someone here needs to hear this!)
Just as I took you from ashes to beauty, I will take your sin from destruction to salvation…
— Christ will use our lives — our Sin — those things we think disqualify us… to speak His Love into someone’s life — If we will let Him!
Look back at Luke 10:1-12
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.
2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’
6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.
7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.
8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you;
9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’
12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
— Did you notice that nowhere in that passage did Jesus tell the 72 to “get people saved”?
— He didn’t tell the 12 disciples that either when He sent them out...
He told them:
— don’t take anything with you
— stay in the house that accepts you
— you are going out among wolves
— to eat and drink whatever is given to you
But… He never tells them to “get people saved”.... You see… that was His work!
Theirs was simply to “Build Bridges”.
That’s what we are called to do! Build Bridges!
Look at the Great Commission again:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(object lesson — people on one end of table, representation of the kingdom on the other… space in between))
(Jesus said to the 72 — “the Harvest is plentiful…”)
— Do we see the harvest (bring out the people)
— Our job… our task… is to build bridges from the people to the Kingdom… but that means that we have to “SEE” them!!!
— Each of us has a gift… a skill… a testimony… that God can use to build those bridges… (begin building a bridge from the people to the Kingdom)
We are called — just as the first disciples were called — to be “Bridge Builders”.
— We do not come to church to be lifted up… to be exalted… to be made “feel good”....
— We come to church to praise God… and to be equipped by Him to go OUT THERE and BUILD BRIDGES between the Kingdom and the Harvest!
I know… I know… “But Pastor, I don’t know how… I don’t have the training… I haven’t been called to be a pastor or missionary!”
Let me tell you:
You are called by Jesus. Mt 4:19
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
2. You are equipped by Jesus. 1 Co 12:7
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
3. You have been given the Word of God. 2 Ti 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
4. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Eph 5:18
18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
We have been commissioned by Christ to go and “Build Bridges” for Him to enter people’s lives…
“Are we going to be Bridge Builders?”
What is God asking you to do? Who is He asking you to build a bridge to?
3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
We are that voice.
Christ built that first Bridge to us… That’s what Communion celebrates!
The Communion table is where Christ calls us… where Christ heals and restores us… and where Christ says to us:
“Just as I took YOU from ashes to Beauty, I will turn your Sin fro destruction to SALVATION.”
(receive communion)