The Church XV - The Five Biblical Objectives

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40, 28:19-20

Sermon preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore
by Pastor Dr Paul Choo
on 06 August 2000

Introduction: Last week we learned that a biblically balanced church must apportion its energies on five objectives. These five objectives are given by the Lord Jesus Christ in his two "great" lessons in the Great Commandments (MAT 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (MAT 28:19-20). The first two objectives (namely, worship and fellowship) are taught in the two Great Commandments. And the next three objectives (namely, evangelism, membership and discipleship) are taught in the Great Commission.

Whenever a church emphasizes one of these objectives at the expense of another, it becomes imbalanced. An imbalanced church is an unhealthy church. And an unhealthy church will not grow because it is not God's will to bring in souls into an unhealthy church.

A church's emphasis tends to be biased towards the personality, training or background of its leader or leaders. Therefore, GLCC has been basically a family-type, classroom church. When Pastor Redick, an evangelist, was sent by God into our midst, a new emphasis on evangelism was introduced into the church. GLCC must not focus on the preferences of its leaders but on God's plan for it - namely, a biblically-balanced church.

Worship: We must have a healthy "vertical" relationship - with God. Worship is our expression of love and adoration of God. It comes from the heart. It is experiential - a feeling. Singaporeans are generally reserved and have difficulty expressing themselves. Furthermore, we are so busy doing things that we have little time to feel. The Charismatic over-emphasis on feelings (at the expense of doctrine) has also made many Christians fearful to express their feelings. Because of these three factors, Christian worship is often a boring emotionless and expressionless exercise. God is love (1JO 4:8) and we are created in His image (GEN 1:26). Therefore, we are made to love and to express our love - especially to God. It is one of life's great joys. And "the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." This is what heaven is all about. Let us, therefore, be a spiritual family that heartily worships God - through songs and testimonies.

Fellowship: We must also have a healthy "horizontal" relationship with our "neighbours" (MAT 22:39). God did not create man to live alone (GEN 2:18). Therefore, a "Lone Ranger" Christian will generally have unsaved companions and be "conformed to this world" (ROM 12:2). Therefore, the church should be a spiritual family - not a building where Christians gather together on some days of the week for a few hours. Since the average person is able to know about sixty to seventy people and have about a dozen close friends, each member should be part of a fellowship group and develop close friendships with some in the group. This closely-knit "family," within the spiritual family will provide the encouragement, support and help that we need. However, we must be careful not to form cliques. Friendships within the fellowship group will foster better understanding and cooperation as we serve God together. Let us improve the quality of our fellowship groups and actively participate in them. As we get bigger, we must also get smaller! Fellowship with brethren is heaven's second great joy.

Evangelism: Wherever we are, we are all expected to evangelize those around us (MAT 28:19) by sharing our testimony, telling the Gospel or inviting them to church. Therefore, we must carry tracts, church welcome cards and be able to share the Gospel effectively. As a church, we must make seekers feel welcome by having suitable meetings for them (ie, appropriate time, program). As Jesus came to this earth "to seek and to save that which was lost" (LUK), we must reach out to seekers rather than make them "reach up" to us. Do we care enough to make adjustments for the unsaved (1CO 9:19-23)? Will we do our best to reach out to teenagers, soccer players, restless adults and troubled families? Do we care enough about lost souls, to forsake our comfort, our traditions and man's opinions of us?

Membership: A Christian is saved to belong (MAT 28:19). However, belonging in a church is more than signing a membership register. It is about being of one heart, one mind and one mission. GLCC intends to be an army not a hospital or a hotel. When a Christian joins GLCC, he joins an army - to win souls and defend the faith.

Discipleship: A Christian is saved to serve (MAT 28:20). GLCC intends to train every member to be fully equipped to serve God - in the ministry that God has called him to. GLCC's mission is to lead a Christian from community to core - so that he can effectively reach the community!