What is the Purpose of the Church?

Saints, 

What is the purpose of the church?

I love what David Platt teaches in his sermon entitled Unstoppable. He shares that based on the example of the church in Acts, our assumed purpose is to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The purpose of the church is to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.

He continues to explain that this means that our purpose as believers is not to merely attend church. Our purpose as believers is not to merely have a good family. Our purpose is not to merely have a good marriage. Our purpose as believers is not to have a healthy spiritual well-being. Our purpose is not to have good health.

Please don’t misunderstand me, these things are good—we should pursue them, but they our not our driving purpose. Our purpose is to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Let’s wrestle with this a bit today. Let’s take this idea before the Lord. Let’s ask God to show us if our lives truly line up with this kind of thinking. 

Dear friend, please answer honestly.

What is your life passion? What is the most important driving force in your life?

My answer is different today than four years ago. I praise God for His amazing grace in my life! What is your answer? Honestly? If you are an American citizen, you may have a retirement-oriented answer. If you are from Uganda, maybe you desire a “better life.” An Asian person might desire to be rid of shame. An Iranian, might desire to have religious freedom. Some simply desire enough food for another day.

What is your driving desire?

Friend, may our life purpose be centered in Christ. When asked to teach his disciples to pray, Jesus gave us the answer…Heavenly Father, may Your name be glorified, and may Your kingdom come. Our prayers and our lives should focus on Him. This begins in each of our hearts. Our ultimate satisfaction will come from our utter surrender to this purpose. Somehow, we don’t really believe this. Remember, we live what we believe. The evidence of our lives seems to support that we hang on to stuff, plans, and other purposes. Friends, let’s take Jesus’ instruction on prayer seriously.

Let this simple illustration help us see our own hearts…

How much do you think of God?

Do you think of God much beyond Sunday? Or even beyond Sunday morning? If not, then you have a “divided” heart. God does not allow Himself to be found by those with divided hearts.

Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)
¹³ You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

This brings up another question, “Do we want more of God?” Or, are we satisfied with how much we have of God right now?

We seem to gravitate toward security, safety, comfort zone, and comfortableness. I submit that Jesus calls us to something completely different. Yes, we have security, but an entirely different security than we spend our lives seeking. Jesus gives eternal security, we seem to want a “here and now” security.

In his book Radical, David Platt explains,

“The reward of the American dream is safety, security, and success found in more comfort, better stuff, and greater prosperity. But the reward of Christ trumps all these things and beckons us to live for eternal safety, security, and satisfaction that far outweigh everything this world has to offer us.” P172-173

“Though you and I find ourselves surrounded by the lure of temporary pleasure, we must fasten our affections on the one who promises eternal treasure that will never spoil or fade. If your life or my life is going to count on earth, we must start by concentrating on heaven. For then, and only then, will you and I be free to take radical risk, knowing that what awaits us is radical reward.” P179   

“The danger in our lives will always increase in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ.” P167

Sometimes we act like we don’t want a deep relationship with Christ. If this is where you are today, I pray that God will show you how truly satisfying He really is. Friends, Jesus is life--He alone satisfies. If you do not believe this it is because the enemy has done a good job of deceiving and distracting.

Friends, our hearts can beat for Jesus. Let’s ask Him right now to fill us with a passion for Him. Let’s ask God that our whole being will love Him more than everything—ourselves, our jobs, our families (yes, even our families), our future, even our next breath. (Remember Daniel chose praying over breathing.) This is a prayer He will answer.

Remember the assumption from Acts…

The purpose of the church is to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.

As Jesus explained, He is to be our priority…

Mark 12:28-31 (ESV)
²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I submit to you, we have forgotten our first love. Let’s return to Him. Please let the “here and now,” the temporary, or simply the stuff-that-is-going-to-burn drop off our plates. We don’t have time for those pursuits. The cost is too high. Souls are at risk. May every day of our lives be spent on God’s kingdom for His glory—advancing the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Father, please grant us undivided hearts for You. Spend our lives on Your purposes. Glorify Your name in our lives, in our families, in our churches, in our jobs, and in our countries. Teach us to pray like Daniel did with arresting purpose and passion effectively impacting Your kingdom. Please help us to practice Your presence. Make us obey radically. In Jesus name and in the very character of God, Amen. 

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve