God Wants His Church to Grow. Matthew 28: Sunday, January 24, Introduction:

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1 God Wants His Church to Grow Matthew 28:16-20 Sunday, January 24, 2016 Introduction: Our subject today is God wants his church to grow. That means that God desires that our congregation grows. It s important that we understand this. There are some Christians who actually don t want the church they attend to grow. Some are afraid if the church grows they will get forgotten or overlooked. Others don t like the idea of a lot of strangers in the church. Still others fear that the church will change in ways they don t like. Finally, there are those who think that wanting your congregation to grow is prideful and wrong. I want to show you from God s Word that if you hold that view, then your attitude is contrary to God s will. God WANTS His church to grow! If God wants His church to grow, then we should want the church to grow as well. So, I want to begin by demonstrating from God s Word that God does want his church to grow, and then I will explain in what ways God wants his church to grow, and conclude by showing you what you can do to help God s church grow. Interpretation: The first place we can turn is our motto verse for this year. The Great Commission expresses this principle. It says go and make disciples of all nations This expresses the idea of duplication which is an aspect of growth. Jesus made it clear that he wasn t content to see the number of his followers remain the same or decline. He instructed his disciples to go and multiply themselves by making more disciples Pastor Darnell Starks - Page 1

2 This is not the only time Jesus alluded to the number of his followers growing. There are several parables that describe the kingdom of God in terms of growth. Some examples are found in Matthew 13: Parable of the sower this parable is about growth and fruitfulness. The Word of God is sown so that it would grow and produce a spiritual crop for harvest. Parable of the mustard seed this parable is about gradual growth. The mustard seed, which is the smallest of seeds, grows into the largest of trees. The same with Jesus followers, although initially very small and insignificant, would one day number in the tens of millions. Parable of the yeast - Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a small amount of yeast. When yeast is first mixed into bread dough, it is not very noticeable, but a small amount eventually produces a large result. Jesus was saying that the kingdom would begin small and inconspicuous, but grow very large. Parable of the yeast the kingdom of God would begin small and inconspicuous, but grow very large. Parable of the yeast the kingdom of God would begin small and inconspicuous, but grow very large. Another example is John 15:8, Jesus said, This is my Father s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. I ve made the point several times that Jesus said that love is the defining characteristic of his disciples. Well, here is another one fruitfulness. There is something wrong with a Christian who is not producing fruit for the kingdom Pastor Darnell Starks - Page 2

3 The first Christians took Jesus words to heart and acted upon them. As a result, the early church experienced exponential growth. The growth of the church is referred to several times though out the Book of Acts: Acts 1:15 mentions 120 believers Acts 2:41 3,000 saved on Day of Pentecost Acts 2:47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 4:4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Acts 12:24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread. All of these scripture texts describe the tremendous growth the early church experienced. God still wants his church to grow. Application: In what ways does God want his church to grow? There are three areas of growth we will look at today. The first is numerical growth by winning souls to Christ. That s one of the main points in Matthew 28: We are to go and make more disciples for Jesus Christ. In Luke chapter 5 Jesus illustrates this point in the calling of some of his first disciples. Jesus told them to put out their nets to catch some fish. Simon Peter explained that they had been out fishing all night and had caught nothing, but because Jesus said to, they went out to try again. They caught so much fish the net Pastor Darnell Starks - Page 3

4 began to break so they called the other boat to come and help. They filled both boats to the point that the boats began to sink. Jesus used this to illustrate that just as they had caught many fish they would catch many people as well. Another area God wants his church to grow is in our love one for another. Jesus in John 13:34-35 and again in John 15:12-13, 17 gives his disciples the command to love one another. There are over a dozen New Testament scriptures that admonish us to love one another. Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, gives thanks to God for them because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. We not only want to see more people saved and become part of the body of Christ, but we want to see real authentic relationships developed and strengthened in the church. The third area of growth is the most important - Christlikeness. The goal of every Christian is to become more like Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter ends his second letter with these words (2 Peter 3:18), But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. He s not talking about head knowledge or biblical education; he s talking about growing in our understanding of how to live like Christ. Peter alludes to this in his first letter as well (1 Peter 2:2-3), Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As we grow in our salvation we become more and more like Jesus Christ and the Fruit of the Spirit become more prominent and evident in our life. We become increasingly more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, and more patient, we become kinder, an Pastor Darnell Starks - Page 4

5 overall better person, more faithful, more gentle, and exhibit more selfcontrol. This is what spiritual growth looks like. These last two points, love and Christlikeness, highlight the fact that church growth is really about church health. We don t just want to see more people coming to church; we want to strive to be a healthy church. If we focus on church health, the church will grow. Conclusion: God wants his church to grow and he wants you to be a part of that growth. He wants you to help it grow in terms of the number of souls saved. Pray for the lost. Witness to everyone you can. Invite people to church. Support those who are working in ministries of evangelism. He wants you to help it grow in terms of our love for one another. Pray for the unity of the body of Christ. Forgive those who have hurt you. Actively seek to restore broken relationships. Be a peacemaker. Help those new to the church to feel welcomed and a part of us. He wants you to help His church to grow in terms of our lifestyle becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. Confess any sin in your life. Pray and ask God to help you to make whatever changes you need to make in your life. Study the Bible so that you can be an example of the believer. Mentor a new Christian. God wants His church to grow and if we will embrace that desire, and cooperate with God, God will do things in our midst that we ve never before experienced. We will see souls saved, lives changed, and make a real difference in our community Pastor Darnell Starks - Page 5