Ambition - January 26, 2014 Sermon

By Pastor Greg

The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and costly tombs ever built, but there is something fascinating about its beginnings. In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a memorial for her. The shah placed his wife’s casket in the middle of a parcel of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several years into the venture, the Shah lost sight of his original vision. Rather than focusing on a tribute to his deceased wife, he began to focus on the building. And one day while, he was surveying the sight, he reportedly stumbled over a wooden box, and he had some workers throw it out. It was months before he realized that his wife’s casket had been destroyed. The original purpose for the memorial became lost in the details of construction.

The same thing can happen to a church. When something other than the Lord becomes more important, a church runs the risk of losing its purpose and meaning. This is why Jesus stood before His apostles and gave them a clear task. He gave those who would become leaders in the church clear instructions. The Lord looked at them and said "This is your task. This is why you exist. This is what you must do. Keep your eyes and heart focused on this one task - go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you" (Matthew 28:17-18).

The good news is that most of the disciples did as the Lord commanded. Their ambition was to share the Good News with anyone who would listen. And for sure this was Paul's ambition as well (Read Romans 15:14-22).

Do you want to know what really stands out here? It’s Paul’s ambition. His ambition was to preach Good News, not increase membership in the Church. He desired to bring people to the Lord, not find ways to grow the church. He searched for the lost, not those disappointed with a church. And I believe there is an important lesson here todays Church needs to learn. We need to remember that the Lord has called us to proclaim the Good News, not conduct membership drives. The Great Commission the Lord gave the Apostles applies to us as well. The Lord did not command us to increase membership. He commanded that we make disciples.

Far too often we go searching for gimmicks and programs or topics and studies designed to attract people to our church. But Paul, on the other hand, went searching for those without hope; those who had nowhere to turn and nowhere to go. He offered them peace from the conflict within their heart by telling them the Good News found in Jesus the Messiah. Not surprisingly, the Church grew. This is because Paul and the other apostles proclaimed the Good News. They turned to those far from God; those we have a tendency to turn away from, and offered them hope. They proclaimed that God is not looking to destroy them, but that He is trying to save them, which is why He sent His only begotten Son. Maybe this should be our ambition as well.

Although the Good News was the ambition of the Apostles, and especially Paul, over the years it seems the church has lost its focus. It seems the church today is more ambitious about worship styles, music preferences, times of worship, building design, furniture location, and even the style of clothing that is acceptable during worship. And although these things might enable a Church to minister to a particular group of people, these things should not become our ambition. Jesus told us to make proclaiming the Good News our ambition. So maybe the best way to address attendance or membership problems is to simply start proclaiming the Good News. Maybe we should be focusing on hope for the hopeless rather than all these other things. The person looking for healing is not too concerned about the color of the carpet in the doctor’s office. I doubt the sick person cares if the doctor is wearing a tie. They are looking for someone to restore their health. It is the same for those who are without hope. They are looking for someone to help them find spiritual healing. And the only hope for a person’s soul is found in Jesus Christ.

The Church must not lose sight of what Christ has called us to do; what our ambition should be. And I can’t help but wonder how different the American Church might be if it was Good News that we proclaimed.