Sermon - April 14, 2002 Keith Joyce

The Church is a people who are on a Mission. It's the most important mission on the face of the earth. It's God's Mission. It's the same mission that Jesus Christ had and it's the same mission he now sends us on.

Jesus said, in speaking to his heavenly Father, "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." (John 17:18) Jesus is speaking about his disciples. We are his disciples. This is our Mission just as much as it was for those who were with Jesus that first Maundy Thursday.

As we enter into the All Members Visitation in which we will be considering important matters for this Christian congregation, let us remember what we are really about. The significance of what we are doing is only going to be fully realised when we keep in mind, and are directed by, the foundational purpose of the Church. That foundational purpose is Mission.

The purpose of the church is not to meet all needs, it is not to be a fellowship of like minded people, it is not to be a provider of moving religious experiences, it is not to be a self-preservation community, (remember, I'm talking about the purpose of the Church.) It is not intended to be a benevolent society, nor is it meant to be a religious organization. The purpose of the church is to be the Mission Outpost of Heaven. Everything it does is meant to be an expression of that purpose. Simply put, the Church is to do what Jesus did.

Jesus came to this earth because the Father sent Him. The Father sent Him so that the world would come to know God's love for the world and to have that world reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ. Jesus was driven by the will of the Father. His purpose was not to meet peoples' needs, his purpose was not to make people feel good, his purpose was not to start a religious movement - his purpose was to do the Father's will, and the Father's will is that the world believe in Jesus Christ and know life and not death.

As Jesus was sent, so he sends us.

We read in Matthew, on the occasion of His ascension, that he said to his disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [Matthew 28:18-20]

In what has been said so far I have established the Church's purpose. With that in place, we are to set out and do the will of God and be the Church as He intended it to be. What we do then as Church are expressions of that purpose. Our action is the living out and putting into practice the purpose God has for the Church.

We are to seek the lost, we are to reach out to the needy, we are to see how the needs of people around us and in our midst can be met. We are to strive for peace in this world, we are to seek justice in our land and around the globe. We are to worship with all (that we are,?)

We are meant to work together as the church, young and old alike, striving as a pilgrim band of people committed to each other through thick and thin. We are meant to bind up the broken hearted and bring healing to the wounded in body and soul; we are to nurture the young and care for the elderly. We are to look after the wonderful asset God has given us in this Cathedral building; we are to consider ways in which we can add to this building, yes, add a structure to this building so that it is a better vehicle through which God's grace and mission will be exercised. We are to work with other churches in the unity of the faith, we are to provide the sacraments to those who seek them.

We are, in other words to be the Church and to carry out God's purpose for the Church. This is all part of the expression of the purpose of the Church.

This means that we march to a different drummer.

As we seek to be , and live out being the Church , we are always to be God-ward in our thinking and in our inspiration for guidance and in our service and certainly in our worship. That's why it is so important to know God. We get to know Him in Jesus Christ through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

How then do we carry out God's purpose for His Church? Today, I am only going to give two answers to that question.

We do this first by understanding who we are. Who are we then?

We are, each of us, a disciple of Jesus Christ and a member of His Church. That is a foundational first principle. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you do it and go as a disciple of Christ and as a member of His Church. One's family situation may change, one's name may change, one's job or avocation may change but being a disciple of Jesus Christ and a member of His Church never changes. We follow the greatest leader this world has ever seen and we belong to His people, His church. We need to have sink deep into our souls the knowledge and awareness that we belong to the most important entity on the face of the earth, namely the Church. And with that recognition and awareness there needs to be great humility.

The world around us will not agree nor even understand but that is nothing new. The One we follow experienced that so vividly on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. And as I taught in the series on the Church last fall, the Church is not an optional extra and Church is not something we go to, but is something we are , always. By being in Christ through our baptism and by faith, we are in the Church , no matter how we live out those truths.

Secondly, we carry out God's purpose for His Church by strengthening and building up the body of Christ, the Church, and especially the Cathedral congregation, or, if you are guest today hearing this sermon, by building up the church to which you belong. A challenge facing every church is that the bulk of the work in its corporate life is done by far too few people. When it comes to our financial stewardship, roughly 80% of what is given to God through His Church is given by 20% of church members.

Part of strengthening the local church is examining one's commitment to the purpose of God for the Church, and then deepening that commitment so that it has a greater impact on how we live out being disciples of Jesus Christ in His Church.

Much more needs to be said about how this is worked out in our lives and in the Church, but we will leave that for another day.

In closing, the different beat we march to is in fact not a drum but a voice, the voice of the One who knows us and loves us like no one else does. It is the voice of the One who laid down his life for His sheep, for you and for me, Jesus Christ.

Yet it is important to appreciate that in the words of the writer of a daily devotional,

"Jesus never defined His purpose by the opinions of people. Nor did he try to impress them or fit in with their ideas. He challenged them, changed them, and then called them to a life of discipleship. And that's still the way it is!"

We read in the Acts of the Apostles ""Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. " (Acts 4:13).

The world is looking for people who look and act as though they are companions of Jesus.

And that's Mission - to exude, to reflect, and to live out the character of Jesus as His disciples and as His Church.