THE PURPOSE OF THE LIGHT
"There is an old story about a lighthouse keeper who
worked on a rocky stretch of coastline. Once a
month he would receive a new supply of oil to keep
the light burning so that ships could safely sail near
the rocky coast. One night, though, a woman from a
nearby village came and begged him for some oil to
keep her family warm. Another time a father asked
for some to use in his lamp. Another man needed to
lubricate a wheel. Since all the requests seemed
legitimate, the lighthouse keeper tried to please
everyone and grant the requests of all.
Toward the end of the month, he noticed his supply
of oil was dangerously low. Soon it was gone, and
one night on the light on the lighthouse went out. As
a result, that evening several ships were wrecked
and countless lives were lost. When the authorities
investigated, the man was very apologetic. He told
them he was just trying to be helpful with the oil.
Their reply to his excuses, however, was simple and
to the point: "You were given oil for one purpose,
and one purpose only - to keep that light burning!"
A church faces a similar commission. There is no end
to the demands placed on a church’s time and
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resources. As a result, the foundational purposes of
a church must remain supreme."
But What is the Purpose of the Church?
1. What is our church known for? Why does our
church exist?
2. What are we accomplishing? What kind of
difference are we making?
3. And what is your role in fulfilling that purpose?
In the Scriptures Jesus gives us two great summary
statements of the purpose of the church.
1. One is the Great Commandment; the other the
Great Commission
[Mat 22:35-40 NLT] 35 One of them, an expert in
religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36
"Teacher, which is the most important
commandment in the law of Moses?" 37 Jesus
replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all
your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38 This
is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second
is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.' 40 The entire law and all the demands of
the prophets are based on these two
commandments."
[Mat 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
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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.
2. I believe that these two scriptures distill and
define the purpose of the church into 5 tasks
that Christ ordained the Church to accomplish.
3. And I believe that a healthy church will be one
that works diligently to fulfill these purposes
with BALANCE!
F. The Five Purposes of the Church (All on one slide)
1. Worship: “Love the Lord with all your heart”
2. Ministry: “Love your neighbor as yourself”
3. Evangelism: “Go and make disciples”
4. Fellowship: “Baptizing them”
5. Discipleship: “Teaching them to obey”
We see these principles reflected in our vision
statements:
SpiritLife is a Place to Begin, a Place to Become and
a Place to Belong
We are not just a church in our community but a
church for our community.
Reach the Lost. Disciple the Reached.
Last Sunday we looked at the first 3…
I. FIRST PURPOSE: WORSHIP
“LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART.”
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1. How do we love God with all our heart? By
worshipping Him!
2. When we express our love to God, we’re
worshipping.
My desire, and I believe God’s desire, is for our
church to be a worshipping church.
II. SECOND PURPOSE: MINISTRY
“LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF”
A. The church exists to minister to people.
“Ministry is demonstrating God’s love to others by
meeting their needs and healing their hurts in
the name of Jesus.”
Each time you reach out in love to others you are
ministering.
We should minister out of our spiritual gifts – not
square pegs in round holes…
I hope that every one of you, if you’ve been a
Christian for any length of time, have identified your
gifting and have found a way to use that gift in
ministry to others.
III. THIRD PURPOSE: EVANGELISM
“GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES”
We are ambassadors for Christ, our mission is
to evangelize the world.
you have a testimony
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a. I once was…
b. Then I met Jesus and He changed my life
c. And now my life is…
What a privilege to know that God has entrusted to
us the great task of telling others about Him.
As long as there is one sinner left in Tulsa, we’ve got
a job to do.
FOURTH PURPOSE: FELLOWSHIP
“BAPTIZING THEM”
A. Have you ever wondered why baptism was so
important that Jesus included it in the Great
Commission - right between evangelism &
discipleship?
1. I believe it is because it symbolizes one of the
purposes of the church: fellowship - identification
with the body of Christ.
2. [Rom 6:3-5 NLT] 3 Or have you forgotten that
when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism,
we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were
buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glorious power of the
Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we
have been united with him in his death, we will also
be raised to life as he was.
“Joined with Christ in baptism”; “Buried with Him
by baptism”; “Planted together”
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- Note connection between baptism and being a
part of Christ
3. I Cor. 12:13, “By one Spirit are we all baptized
into one body.”
B. Baptism is symbolic of Belonging - belonging to
Christ and His Family, His Church.
1. It is not only a symbol of salvation; it is a
symbol of fellowship
2. Baptism says, “This person is now one of us!”
3. Ephesians 2:19 in Living Bible: “You are
members of God’s very own family...and you belong
in God’s household with every other Christian.”
C. The Church does exist to provide fellowship for
believers - but let’s always be sure to keep this in
balance with the rest of our purpose.
V.FINALLY, THE FIFTH PURPOSE: DISCIPLESHIP
“TEACHING THEM TO OBEY”
A. The Church must not be satisfied to simply
evangelize the lost, we must work with equal
diligence to educate the found.
B. Discipleship is the process of helping people
become more like Christ in their thoughts, feelings,
and actions.
1. It is a process that begins when we are born
again and continues throughout the rest of our lives.
2. It is the responsibility of the church to develop
people to spiritual maturity.
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a. For too long we have laid this responsibility
at the feet of the convert.
b. But think about it, “Babes in Christ” - Babes
cannot take care of themselves - it is the
responsibility of the parent to nurture, feed, clothe,
defend and care for the child until they reach
maturity.
3. This is God’s will for every believer
(Eph 4:12-13 KJV) For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying
of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ:
C. I hope you are growing in the Lord
1. Becoming a personal disciple of Christ
2. I hope you are coming to Sunday School or
small groups
3. I hope you are taking advantage of Wednesday
Bible Study and Prayer
4. I hope you are Reading the Word and Praying
Daily
D. But I also hope you are discipling someone else,
especially if you have been saved awhile. That you
have a Paul in your life that is pouring into you, and
a Timothy in your life that you are pouring into.
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We all Need to keep growing - maturing - we’re not
there yet. But by God’s grace we will make it one
day.
LET ME SEE IF I CAN SHOW YOU THESE PRINCIPLES
FROM A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT ANGLES TO HELP
MAKE IT EVEN MORE CLEAR AND WORTHWHILE
A. If you examine the earthly ministry of Jesus, it
is apparent that he included all five of these
elements in his work. Jesus summarizes this in his
prayer in John 17
1. [John 17:4 KJV] “I have glorified thee on the
earth: I have finished the work which thou gave me
to do.” - “glorify” - WORSHIP
2. John 17:4 “work” - MINISTRY
3. John 17:2 KJV]2 As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him. “give eternal life” -
EVANGELISM
4. [John 17:9-10 KJV] 9 I pray for them: I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given
me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine,
and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
“mine” “thine” “one” - FELLOWSHIP - “belonging”
5. [Jhn 17:8 KJV] 8 For I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me; and they have received
[them], and have known surely that I came out from
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thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
“I have given unto them the word...” - DISCIPLESHIP
B. The Apostle Paul fulfilled these purposes in his
ministry and explained them in Ephesians 4
1. Verse 1 - “Walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called” - WORSHIP (Also a
sense of worship to God permeates chapter)
2. Verse 2 “in love”; 11,12 - MINISTRY
3. Verse 7 “given grace” - Vs. 11, “evangelist” -
EVANGELISM
4. Verses 3-6 “ONE” “one body” - FELLOWSHIP
5. Verses 13-15 “knowledge”, “perfect man”,
“fullness”, “no more children”, “grow up” -
DISCIPLESHIP
C. But perhaps the clearest example is seen in the
first church at Jerusalem described in Acts 2:41-47 –
[Act 2:41 NLT] 41 Those who believed what Peter said
were baptized and added to the church that day--
about 3,000 in all.(Evangelism)
[Act 2:42-47 NLT] 42 All the believers devoted
themselves to the apostles' teaching (Discipleship),
and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including
the Lord's Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of
awe came over them all, and the apostles performed
many miraculous signs and wonders (Ministry). 44 And
all the believers met together in one place and shared
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everything they had (Ministry). 45 They sold their
property and possessions and shared the money with
those in need (Ministry). 46 They worshiped together
at the Temple each day (worship), met in homes for
the Lord's Supper (fellowship), and shared their meals
with great joy and generosity (fellowship)-- 47 all the
while praising God (Worship) and enjoying the
goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord
added to their fellowship those who were being
saved.(Evangelism)
D. This isn’t just a fluke, church.
1. It isn’t just an attempt to pull something out
of context
2. It is the undeniable, repeated principle of
God’s Word
3. You can call it the 5 “W’s” and say that The
Church is to:
a. Worship the Lord
b. Work in His Fields
c. Witness to the Lost
d. Walk together in Unity
e. and study the Word.
4. You can call it the 5 “D’s” and say that the
Church’s purpose is:
Devotion,
Duty,
Declaration,
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Dependence, and
Discipleship
5. You can call it the 5 “E’s” :
Exalt,
Equip,
Evangelize,
Encourage and
Edify
6. You can say that we are to
Grow Up,
Grow In,
Grow Out,
Grow Together, and
Grow More
7. How about the 5 “M’s”:
Magnify,
Minister,
Mission,
Membership and
Maturity
8. Do you remember the old Snicker’s
commercial: “No matter how you slice it, it comes
up peanuts”
9. No matter you describe it - the Church exists
for 5 reasons - and that’s the purpose by which we
should measure and evaluate everything we do.
CONCLUSION:
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A. Which brings me to my final point: If we are
doing anything else we need to stop.
1. Any activity that doesn’t help us reach one of
these 5 purposes is a waste of our time and God’s.
2. God give us ears to hear what the Spirit is
saying to the Church
3. And not only hear and define our purpose of
existence, but may we truly achieve and fulfill our
purpose.
One of the most important things in anyone’s life
is to have a sense of purpose. To know that you
matter. To know that you are making a
difference. There’s something about walking out
our purpose that brings JOY to our lives like
nothing else can.
FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE
I read about a missionary couple in Germany who
bought a toaster. When they got home, they plugged
it in, placed some bread in it, and then waited for
the toast to pop up a few minutes later. Well, the
toast never did pop up from it because...well, it
didn’t work. It just sat there, all nice and shiny. Oh,
it was real pretty, all right, matching the decor of
the kitchen perfectly. It had that brand new look
about it...[PAUSE] but it wouldn’t toast bread.
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Well, they packaged it back up to take it back, but
since they couldn’t find their receipt, the German
store wouldn’t exchange it, so they were stuck with
it. So they brought it back home and tried to figure
out what they could do with it.
Now let me ask you a question: What good is a
toaster that doesn’t toast? Absolutely nothing! It’s
too big for a paper weight; too ugly for a doorstop;
and it would rust if you put it out as a law
ornament. So they ended up throwing it in the trash
and buying a new one that worked. It was USELESS
because it didn’t fulfill the purpose for which it was
made.
The same is true of the Christian who doesn’t fulfill
the purpose for which HE was made. You see
everything has a purpose, and it’s of little or no
value if it’s not fulfilling that purpose.
God has given each of us a purpose, too. We can
choose to work for God’s glory and make disciples
for Christ, or we can choose to be decorations in the
church. What purpose are you serving in your
relationship with Christ?
Prayer and Invitation
