The “#expectmore” movement is a call for the lay christian to hold his church accountable to the purpose for which it was called. Not to leave a church because they are not being fed or are unhappy with its decisions or because they have already departed from truth BUT INSTEAD to change it. This is a call for church members to not bow or cower to the desires of the enemy to change the church into something that truth loving Christians don’t even want to be a part of.
The Two Commissions.
The Great Commission
The Great commission is often over simplified to the detriment of many and the focus is very often artificially limited to exclude much of what is demanded. First lets read the commission itself: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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.” Mt 28:19-20
We can back up and see in verse 16-18 that this passage was spoken directly to the remaining eleven disciples that we commonly call the apostles.
“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him:but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’”
It can be and usually is understood to be a commission on all christians and while that can be a good thing we need to remember the context of the passage and take it as whole instruction.
1. Jesus had lived with and taught these disciples for years. He was not sending them out untrained or undescipled.
2. The commission is not to simply spread the gospel as too often is spouted as a reason to be seeker focused. It is specifically to baptize AND make disciples. This means training and teaching. Yes, there is a call for us to share the good news of reconciliation with God through the saving work of his son Jesus Christ, but the commission does not stop with a simple decision of acceptance to this news. Indeed we see the focus is on teaching mentioned twice in the same passage.
Understanding this will guard against the encroachment of all the other gimmicks and ploys of the enemy to get the church to focus on the world. We are as individuals to prepare ourselves and to go in groups to be in the world and to share the gospel and train others. Do not let the church as a organization take this responsibility from you!
The Church Commission
Jesus is the foundation of the church (Mt16:18) so we must look to Him and his teaching on the matter of church purpose (Eph1:22). And according to the Teacher the church was not established to push programs or convince us of new visions (but you knew that). You may be surprised to know that it was not established to be an outreach into the unbelieving community. Believe it or not it was not even formed to win others to Christ. Those things are important and we should not diminish their importance in any way but the purpose of the church as a meeting was specifically for believers to be joined together (Eph2:21). It is God’s provision for those he has called out of the world (Eph4:16). The description of the early church was that they came together for edification, fellowship, communion, and corporate worship (Acts2:42) as a Christ centered body. And finally we have clear instructions as to what the church is to be concerned with “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” – Col 3:16. That’s it, thats church purpose as defined by God. Amazing how complicated things can get after such simple instructions. The church is for us. It is a blessing from God to us. A place to come together in love. A community in and of itself. A place to pray for each other and connect and worship together. God made this provision for us. Let us be grateful for what he provisioned for us and stop trying to turn it into something else!
If your church is focused on
winning the lost instead of feeding the flock….
banning guns…
allowing the unrepentant to serve in leadership…
teaching a love devoid of truth…
teaching platitudes instead of scripture…
…its time to EXPECT MORE.
Do not leave the church because you are not happy with what they are doing. Humbly and graciously communicate on a weekly basis with your Pastor and your elders and your deacons. Reinforce what Christ expects of his church and that you expect his church to align itself with his teachings. You are the church, expect more from yourself.
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