Drama of Scripture: Church Takes Up Jesus' Mission

Drama of Scripture: The Story in Six Parts


REVIEW:
Act One: God Creates His Kingdom
Act Two: Rebellion in God’s Kingdom
Act Three: Promise of Restoration of Kingdom: Israel’s Mission
Act Four: Kingdom Restored: Jesus’ Mission
Act Five: Kingdom Tasted and Displayed: Church’s Mission

I. Jesus has stunning intentions for the church.
a. He said that we were to finish his work.
i. His work was…
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
What was lost?
a. Adam, Eve and all their offspring.
b. Creation and all that Adam and Eve were charged to look after.

ii. His work is our work…
John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”


iii. He said that we would do greater works than he.
John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

Matt. 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.“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.”

Luke 10:17-19 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.

iv. He said that he would build his church.
Matt. 16:18 “…I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
1. We believe in Jesus as the king, Lord of all.
a. Our faith releases the resurrection power of Jesus in our souls.
i. We are transformed by the Spirit.
ii. We are corporately transformed by the Spirit.
iii. We fulfill the call of Jesus by the Spirit.
2. We believe in the Church.
a. If Jesus said he will build it.
b. then we know that he will do that through us.
3. We must be the Church. Acts 2:42ff
Acts 2:42-47 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Goheen & Bartholomew
a. We are the church in our devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer; in that, we experience the life of the KINGDOM.
b. We are the church when we live out the life of Christ singly and corporately.
i. Signs of saving power—2:43
ii. Justice and mercy—2:44-45
iii. Joy—2:46
iv. Worship—2:47
c. We know we are being the church when we see the Lord use his presence in us to draw others to himself.

Overlapping Story---G&B: This too fulfills OT prophecies about God’s kingdom. The prophets picture the drawing power of a renewed Israel (Isaiah 60:2-3; Zech. 8:20-23): “A decisive element of the prophetic conception of the pilgrimage of the nations to Zion is that the Gentiles, fascinated by the salvation visible in Israel, are driven of their own accord to the people of God. They do not become believers as a result of missionary activity; rather, the fascination emitted by the people of God draws them close.” This newly formed community of the early church is attractive to outsiders. The life of the believing community radiates the light of the kingdom and thus draws people from darkness (cf. Ephesians 5:8; 1 Peter 2:9).
…he promised to gather his people again one day, pouring out his Spirit on them so they might at last fulfill their calling. The prophets looked forward to the day when Israel would be regathered. Now, in Jesus, the regathering has begun. He has appointed twelve apostles, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, to be the foundation of his kingdom, the new nation of God’s people. At Pentecost, in response to Peter’s preaching and the power of the HS, three thousand people are added to that foundation. The remainder of the book of Acts tells the story of how this new community of believers continues Jesus’ mission of gathering the lost from within Israel, then moves beyond old ethnic and cultural barriers to gather Samaritans and Gentiles into the kingdom.

Jesus has stunning intentions for the church
This is the work of the church!!

Today, we wrestle to have faith in the church at all.
II. We fulfill the INTENTIONS of Jesus by being the Church.
a. The Apostles Creed says “I believe in the holy catholic Church.”
b. Our greatest challenge is NOT to convince people that there is a God, that Jesus was a real person, but that the church is trustworthy.
i. Many say that they are “spiritual but not religious.”
ii. Another way of saying this is “I don’t believe in ORGANIZED RELIGION.”
iii. Or, “I don’t trust the INSTITUTIONALIZED CHURCH.”
iv. All this to say that the church has let them down.
G.K. Chesterton—by far the most powerful argument against the truth of Christianity are Christians.

HOW CAN WE BE THE CHURCH? HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY DRAW PEOPLE TO JESUS WHEN THEY HATE THE CHURCH?
v. The way we live together makes the church believable.
John 21—placed here to show us what the church should be in the world.
a. Contrast Luke 5—put your net in over here, one more time.
b. He’s in the boat, now they find fish!
c. John 21—no fish; then Jesus says, try over here and they are overwhelmed. What’s the difference? Now, JESUS IS NOT IN THE BOAT [not even recognized], though he had been in the boat in Luke 5.
d. Keller: Even if you don’t recognize me, even if I am not physically present, I still want you to do my work in the world, and I will see that it is done.
i. I want you to bring people from one realm into another realm, not merely fish! You are a city on a hill.

* Jesus has stunning intentions for the church
* We fulfill the INTENTIONS of Jesus by being the Church.
We are to be the kind of community where people can see what they long to experience. We are called to be the Community of the King.

III. We as a congregation are on the front lines of spiritual & social combat; Jesus has stunning intentions for us.
a. What did Jesus do?
1. He offered himself for Israel and as Israel.
2. He gathered TWELVE DISCIPLES, a renewed Israel, and charged them to take the story of his Mission, his Redemption, and his Promise to all peoples.
3. He sent his followers into the world to be the Church.

b. What can we do? THE SAME: offer, gather, send
We could grow faster if we were to abandon the marginalized.
We could draw more middle class folk if we were in a safer place.
BUT,
God has sent us to Hamilton to make a beachhead in the struggle for lives.
We send others to dark places in the world where their quality of life is challenging, their possessions are stolen, for some, even their lives are threatened. Rather than shrink from our call, let’s make sure that we have not HIRED OUT others to fulfill God’s intentions for us.


What’s next?

Tonight: Rachel Tulloch, apologist with RZIM, Answering the Hard Questions

Next week: Act 6: The Return of the King: Redemption Completed


Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.