Why Are We In Business?

Focal Verse

John 4:27-39 "And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? [28]  The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, [29]  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? [30]  Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. [31]  In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. [32] But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. [33]  Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? [34] Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. [35]  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. [36] And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. [37]  And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. [38]  I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. [39]  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did."

A pastor I know tells the story of a clothing store he worked at after he graduated high school years ago. It was called Rozier's Clothing store, and a great place to work at. The salespeople were friendly, it was a relaxed place to work, but had one insurmountable problem. When the new fangled "tennis shoes" were introduced he refused to stock them because, after all, it was just a passing fad. When Levi's jeans were the hot item, Rozier's stayed with the old fashioned bib overalls. And, in just a few years, the store had to hang up the "Going out of Business" sign. The owner didn't know if his business was just selling clothes, or if it was clothing people. The two are very different concepts, you know.

We have all had bad experiences with businesses that didn't know what their business was. Years ago I went into a TCBY store to buy myself and my wife a yogurt sundae. I was very clear in presenting my order, but the girl behind the counter ignored my directions and made the sundae the way she wanted to. When she handed it to me I promptly handed it back, and explained, again, exactly what I wanted. She disposed of this sundae and, to my amazement, began to mess up the second sundae by pouring those little colored sprinkles of sugar on it. At that point I and my wife walked out and gave all our business to Baskin Robbins after that. You see, the girl behind the counter at TCBY did not know what the business of the store was. She thought it's business was selling yogurt, but actually it should have been selling the customer what he asked for. Again, a big difference in these two concepts.

Which brings me to the question: Why are we in business as a Church? There are hundreds of Churches, all across America, that have had to close their doors because of non-existent attendance. Yet, on the other hand, the Mormon cult has become one of the fastest growing groups in the world today. The Mormons know what their business is, and pursue it to the exclusion of all else. Mormon missionaries go out, by twos, into the neighborhoods of America for a mandatory two year "mission" to win souls to their "church". Only one out of every hundred households open their doors to them, and out of those invited to temple only 10% become Mormons. Yet that cult is growing while traditional Churches die. The difference, sadly, is that the cult knows it's business, however misguided it is, and pursues that business with a vengeance. What, then, is the business of the orthodox Church in America today?
 

Numbers 33:51-53 "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; [52]  Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: [53]  And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it."

Israel was supposed to conquer the world of Canaan, to rule over it, to push out it's inhabitants. God wanted Israel to reside in Canaan, but He didn't want Canaan residing or influencing Israel. Yet when Israel entered the land they ignored God's direction. They conquered the land but, rather than pushing out the inhabitants, they intermarried with the Canaanites. These Canaanites brought idolatry into Israel and, with it, God's judgment on the nation. When Israel repented they pushed the children of this ill fated union, Israelite and Canaanite, into the area known in Jesus' day as "Samaria". The Samaritans, the children of sin, stood as a stark reminder to all of Israel of the disobedience of their forefathers. No orthodox Jew would socialize with a Samaritan, or even walk through their city. It was socially unacceptable to do so. Yet Jesus not only approached the Samaritans, He sought to offer them salvation.

In our John text, verse 27, we read:

[27] "And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?"

When the disciples came up and saw the Lord talking with the Samaritan woman they were amazed (marveled). They thought, "My goodness, don't the Lord know that that woman is a Samaritan? She's not fit for salvation!". Yet they held their tongues for they were afraid to say anything to the Master. Jesus knew that this woman was a Samaritan, knew what her lineage was, and for all of that He ignored the traditions of the orthodox world around Him and sought to lead her into the Kingdom of God.

If you are trying to please the world and worldly tradition in your faith, you will eventually so water down your faith until the Gospel message is drowned! I just received a Baptist Press News Release that reported the following:

January 15, 1998 "Eighty-four United Methodist ministers will perform a "wedding" for a lesbian couple Jan. 16. The ceremony, scheduled for the Convention Center in Sacramento, Calif., is intended to dramatize defiance against a Methodist law against same-sex marriage. One thousand guests are invited. The couple has lived together for 14 years and already has held a private ceremony. "We believe we are acting in the way Jesus Christ would act," the clergy say."

This is an abomination to God and to the message of Christ! The Law of God specifically prohibits such actions:

Leviticus 20:13  "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."

You cannot modify and add to the message of God without departing from the business of the Church. It is impossible, and counterproductive.
 

[31]  In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. [32]  But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. [33]  Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? [34] Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

If each member of the Church of Jesus made the following commitment in their hearts, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work, the doors of the Church would be bursting at the seams with new converts. Our job is not to broker power within the walls of the Church. We should not be fighting for leadership positions within the Body, nor should we promote ourselves over and above the Will of the Almighty.

America is littered with broken assemblies of believers who internally fought for power, backbiting one another, preferring their own selves over and above the call of the Church. Jesus told Phillip:

John 14:9-10 "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? [10]  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

Jesus so attuned His actions to the Will of the Father that you, if you looked at Him, could literally see the Father. Can the world see the Father in us? Do our actions promote the goals of the Kingdom of God on the earth, or do they promote ourselves? These are hard questions that we need to ask ourselves, because the answer will determine how effective we are, as God's Church, in the 21st century.
 

Matthew 28:19-20  "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20]  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

When Jesus went to Samaria He satisfied the first order of the Great Commission: He went. As a Church we need to be willing to reach out with the message of Christ, the message of the Gospel. Our message must not be restricted to only the best of society, but to all of society. Notice what happened when Jesus went to Samaria in contradiction to all that was traditional in orthodox Israel:

" [28]  The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, [29]  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

Notice that the woman recognized Jesus as the Christ. Christ is not a name, but a title, CHRISTOS, which means "The Anointed One, the Messiah". When Jesus' earthly ministry began John the Baptist was the first one to recognize Him as the Christ (John 1.20-29) by saying "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world". Yet even John had his doubts, and questioned if Jesus was really the Christ when he was imprisoned (Matthew 11.2-3) by saying "Are you really Messiah, or should we look for another?". Even the orthodox Jews:

Luke 3:15  "And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;"

Were not sure that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. The disciples were not fully convinced until the latter part of Jesus earthly ministry (Mark 8.29). Yet notice the response of the cast away, the Samaritan woman. She said "He came to my house, He showed a personal interest in me, and He, Jesus, knew me. He is the Christ!" Because Jesus went into the world this woman accepted Him as Saviour. And even more, she went and got her friends to come and meet the Messiah as well! Again, look at John:

[39]  "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did."

The woman who was saved, though despised by all orthodox Israel, became the first missionary of the Church Age. She went out and told others, who in turn accepted Jesus as their Saviour. When we go and spread the Gospel as a Church we will reap the harvest of which Jesus said Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. The world is dying for the message of Christ, and dying because it is not hearing that message. The world, not hearing the truth of the Gospel, will crawl on their hands and knees through the desert of ungodliness to drink the sand of what they think is truth. The fields are indeed white to harvest: we must be willing to get out in those fields and swing our blades, the truth of Christ!
 

Matthew 28:19-20  "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20]  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

The word teach is used twice in this passage with two different means. In it's first use the word teach is used for spreading the Gospel. We should be out in the world, as a Church, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. But once we get new believers into our door, what should we then do? Again, we must teach. The Church building must become a learning center for the believer, a place to gather and search out the deep truths of the Word of God. We should not seek out truths just so we can say "I know", but seek out and apply these truths to our daily walk with God. To teach one another we must each pray and ask God "What is my spiritual Gift?", and then use that Gift to build up the Body of Christ. First, dear believer, you have to GO. Then you must, along with the new believers gathered, GROW in faith and in knowledge of the Word. The Bible tells us:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

If you would serve God you must grow by studying God's Word both individually and as a Church. Teachers must commit themselves to helping the new disciples apply the Word in their lives. The Y2K problem the media keeps talking about is not the most severe problem that America will face in the 21st century. The most severe problems will be spiritual apathy, a diluted down Gospel, and a Church that seeks to please itself rather than the One who formed it. As Paul told Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:1-4 "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; [2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. [3]  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4]  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

God forbid that we abandon the business that He has called us into!
 

2 Corinthians 6:2  "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"

Please don't put your salvation off another day. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, nor even the next second. Come to Jesus, and He will give you rest!