Be the Church: By Helping People | Matthew 9:35-38
Have you ever wondered why we end each service with the phrase, “Be the church?” If you have, the next few weeks are going to answer that question for you. It is not just something we saw, but it is our mission. Do you see yourself in the picture? A couple of years ago, we were interviewing a couple headed to a country in the Horn of Africa. When we asked about what is the disconnect in the American church for sharing the gospel and going on mission. Here is what they said: The American church doesn’t see themselves in the picture. If someone comes up to you and shows you a picture of a bunch of people and you don’t see yourself in that picture, you look at it, and say, “That is nice” and you just move on. This is where the American church is. They see the picture of the Great Commission, but they haven’t found themselves in it. They think it’s for other people, not them. They don’t see it’s something they are a part of. Why is that? Because most churches have created a culture where you can be a “Christian” without being a disciple of Jesus who makes disciples of Jesus. To be a disciple of Jesus implies looking and living like Jesus. The functional Great Commission of many churches in America is: make more worship attenders, baptizing them in the name of small groups and teaching them to volunteer a few hours a month. But discipleship is more than that. It’s been said that “America runs on Dunkin’s.” Churches run on vision and mission. Our vision has been to reach our “neighbors to the nations.” We do that by being the church. What does it mean to be the church? It is simply, “Helping people love Jesus to live for Him everyday.” Helping people love Jesus to live for Him everyday means that we make disciples of Jesus that make disciples of Jesus. We pray this becomes the culture of our church that continues until Christ returns.
Matthew 9:35-38 serves as a summary of all that Jesus did from Chapter 5-9. These verses have been pivotal in my personal life and confirmed my calling in Naples. Matthew 9:35-38 serve as a foundation for being the church where we live, work, and play by pointing us to both the reality of lostness and the opportunity of a lifetime.