April 18, 1993
by J. David Hoke
Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31)
Sometimes I do not feel like grappling with the basic questions of life. You've heard of the man with both an identity crisis and an energy crisis --- he didn't know who he was and was too tired to find out. But some questions are worth answering.
One of the basic questions you encounter in Philosophy 101, if you don't encounter it on your own before that, is the question, "Why am I here?" The usual form is: "Where did I come from? --- Why am I here? --- and Where am I going?" These are fundamental questions which have concerned the mind of man for centuries.
Christians believe they have the answer to these questions. Indeed, they do. All too often, however, the church experiences a lapse of memory in regard to the reason why we are here. At least it seems that way by our behavior. It is very easy to become involved in so many programs and plans that we neglect the reason why we were put here in the first place.
Usually, when this happens, God is faithful to speak to us in order to remind us why we are here. In fact, that has been happening right here at Emmanuel. Many of us in leadership have been sensing the Lord leading us in a specific direction. It seems as if the Lord is speaking a similar word to many of us. It is a word intended to refocus our attention on the reason why we are here.
Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing with you what we discern the Lord to be saying. We want you to pray about it. We want you to seek the Lord's leadership and direction for how you fit into His plan. And we want you to block out the weekend of June 12-13. On this weekend we hope to have a church-wide event to seek to hear God and experience His presence in a significant way.
This brings us back to the reason why we are here. To those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, it is apparent that we are here for a purpose.
Our God is a purposeful God. He has a reason for doing everything He does. Now, it is true that we often do not understand His reasons. I'm not surprised at that. Sometimes I don't understand the reasons why I do some of the things I do. That I do not understand all of God's reasons is easily attributable to my lack of intelligence. I know that comes as a shock to many of you. The truth is that we being of finite intelligence have some difficulty understanding a God of infinite intelligence. But while my finite intelligence has difficulty understanding God, my experience of Him tells me to trust in what He is doing. He has a purpose for everything.
Jesus Christ came for a reason. There was a purpose in why Christ came to planet Earth. We all know that purpose. The purpose for Christ's coming was to redeem lost humanity. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus came to die for sinful mankind in order to offer forgiveness for sin. That was the whole reason for His Incarnation, sinless life, sacrificial death, bodily resurrection, literal ascension, and soon to be second coming.
There were many opportunities for Jesus to do a multitude of other things. The opportunities were there to become a significant rabbi in Israel. He could have chosen to expand His ministry to the poor and sick. He could have led a rebellion against Rome. But He chose instead to fix His purpose singularly on the reason why He came. The Cross was His prime directive. Nothing would deter Him from accomplishing that purpose.
John tells us that even the signs recorded in his book have been recorded for a purpose. He says in verse 30 that Jesus performed many other signs . . . which are not written in this book. John did not record everything that Jesus did. He had a purpose in recording the signs that are written in his book. His reason is clear: these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
John's purpose was the same as Jesus' purpose. In fact, the Holy Spirit directed John to write with this purpose in mind. Jesus came so that people might experience new life. John wrote so that people might experience new life. This is the reason why Jesus came, and the reason why John wrote.
The church is also established for a reason. There is a reason why we, the church, are here. Jesus tells us in verse 21 of this same chapter that we are here as those who are sent. He has sent us just as the Father sent Him. The prime directive of the church is summed up in what we know as the Great Commission. That commission is summarized best in the last two verses of Matthew's gospel. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus says: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
This is the church's Great Commission. It is our prime directive. It is the reason why we are here. Certainly, there are other reasons. The other reasons are secondary, however. This is the primary reason. It is the one thing we will not be able to do in eternity. Here we find the primary reason why Christians are left in the world. And this is what God is emphasizing to us right now.
The reason why Jesus came must become our priority. That is the reason why we are here. And most of us would agree with that.
This is nothing new. Most of us already understand that the reason why Jesus left His church on the earth was to spread the good news and to see people saved. Our problem is not understanding that fact, it is implementing that fact.
The challenge we constantly face, and the reason why God is emphasizing this to us now, is how to live in such a way and design our programs in such a way so that we reach out to people where they live. This has always been the challenge for the church throughout history. As cultures change, the church must adapt its outreach to speak to that culture. The message never changes, but the methods must. And we cannot afford to be utilizing methods that are behind the times. This is why we must grapple with how we can best reach our community and make outreach our first priority.
Because reaching people is our prime directive, we must evaluate all that we do in light of that priority. Does what we do help us or hinder us in our effort to reach out to people?
When you think about it, there really are very few things that we do that are just for Christians only, where unbelievers should feel uncomfortable. Most of what we do, with the possible exception of the Lord's Table, should be of such a sort that people who do not know Jesus would be attracted to us and to Him. It should meet some need in their life, as well as minister to the saints. If it doesn't help us to reach people then perhaps we should quit doing it.
We must regularly and periodically evaluate and re-evaluate all that we do in light of the Great Commission. From the kinds of programs we offer to the times of our services, we must attempt to put ourselves in the place of the person who needs to be reached. We must be brutally honest, and ask God to give us wisdom in reaching our community.
Finally, we must develop a mentality for outreach. The prime directive, the Great Commission, must be integrated into our consciousness. We must begin to see ourselves as those who are sent. We are people on mission for Jesus Christ. We must begin to see ourselves as missionaries. We are full-time outreach agents. Outreach is not something that we do on Tuesday evenings. It is not a program of the church. It is what the entirety of the church is all about. Everything we do is outreach. Every activity, event, program, service, and ministry that we have is an opportunity to reach out and touch someone for Christ. This has to become the way we think.
Jesus Christ came so that people would believe. John wrote the many signs which Jesus performed so that people would believe. The church is sent so that people will believe. We have morning worship so that people will believe. We have Home Cell Groups so that people will believe. We have Sunday School so that people will believe. We have choir so that people will believe. We have children's programs so that people will believe. Whatever we do is so that people will believe. If it does not accomplish that, or help us to accomplish that, then it's not worth doing. And if we believe that it does help us to accomplish that, then we must begin to use it to that end. We must find ways to plug people into these ministries which meet their needs.
Jesus came to give people life. He left us here to be used by Him to accomplish that purpose. May He speak to each of us personally about our part in that plan, and may He create within us an outreach mentality as a church.
Copyright © 1997 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.
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