A Sure Promise

Amen. Thank you, Treg.

Let's open up our Bibles again to Isaiah chapter 55.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

Isaiah chapter 55. We started this chapter last week with this invitation to come and to feast on the goodness of God.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

It was this invitation that was extended to any who would listen and any who would trust in the Word of God.

They could come and find true and lasting satisfaction for their souls.

And this morning we see God make yet another promise here in verses 3 through 5.

So let's open there now. Isaiah chapter 55. We're going to be in verses 3 through 5.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

And I know that the words will probably be behind me, but I encourage you to have a physical Bible in your lap open

because we're going to be hopping around a couple different places.

And I want your eyes there on God's Word.

So Isaiah 55, 3 through 5. Follow with me this morning as I read.

Incline your ear and come to me.

Hear that your soul may live.

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant.

My steadfast, sure love for David.

Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples.

A leader and commander for the peoples.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you.

Because of the Lord your God and of the Holy One of Israel.

For he has glorified you.

Would you pray with me once more?

Lord, this is your word.

And we ask that you would speak now in power.

As we open it up, as we seek your face in what you have said.

God, our desire is to learn from you and be transformed by the power of your word.

So we pray, would you do that now as we open up this passage of scripture.

We pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

But it is Sunday, November 13th.

It's the Sunday after election day.

And many of you, I know, went out to the polls Tuesday or sometime before Tuesday to cast your votes and appoint new leadership.

And you did so generally on the basis of campaign promises.

Regardless of how you voted, regardless of who you voted for, what it comes down to is you cast your vote on the premise that you could trust those names on the ballot to fulfill the promises that they made.

What they would do given your vote.

That you can trust their promises.

And so each candidate on the ballot, they ran advertisements, they ran commercials, radio spots, TV appearances, text message assaults.

Offering certain promises to you, the voter, should they be appointed to their desired office.

And I may be cynical.

And I don't think I'm presenting any new information to anybody here this morning.

But history would show that some of those promises will indeed be kept and will be seen through to their desired end.

But many of them will be broken.

In fact, that's the sad reality of dealing with any human leadership.

They are imperfect.

Their words and their promises only go so far.

In fact, you may be aware of this.

There are certain websites that track campaign promises all the way to the end.

These campaign promise trackers.

They track them from the mouth of the politician all the way to see how they have been completed,

if they have been completed, if they were lies to begin with,

or whether we're still waiting to see if they might actually keep their promises.

Last week, in verses 1 through 3 of Isaiah 55,

we saw that God made His people a promise.

He said,

Come to me.

Come to me, all who are thirsty.

Come to the waters.

Come drink.

Come to me.

Come all who are hungry.

Come feast.

Come all who are poor.

Come all who are needy.

Come to me and satisfy your soul in me.

And here's the promise.

And you will have life for your soul.

That's a promise from the mouth of God.

It's a promise to you this morning.

That if you will listen diligently to the Word of God,

and if you will believe and trust the promises of God,

you will find satisfaction for your soul.

You will receive life in the presence of God.

And unlike us, unlike sinful men and women who make promises and don't fulfill,

who say things and don't act,

God is always true to His Word.

Amen?

We can trust that what He has spoken, He will fulfill.

His promises can be trusted completely.

So here in our passage this morning, God makes another incredible promise.

Here in verses 3 through 5, look there with me.

He promises anyone, even you this morning,

if you will incline your ear and listen to the Word of God,

if you will come and feast on the goodness of God,

He says in verse 3,

I will make with you an everlasting covenant.

That is an eternal promise.

And then He tells us what it is.

What is God offering here?

He says, it's my steadfast, sure love for David.

My steadfast, sure love for David.

And that is an incredible promise that God is holding out for us this morning,

if we understand what that means.

And so this morning, what I plan to do,

what I'd like to do with our time together,

is to trace that promise.

All the way from the mouth of God Himself,

to David in the Old Testament,

to Christ,

to us,

and through us to the world.

Okay?

So we're going to trace that promise in three stages this morning.

This will be our outline.

If you're taking notes,

I encourage you to take notes,

to follow along.

We'll track this promise in three stages this morning.

God's love was promised to David.

It was fulfilled in Christ.

And now it is given to the nations.

Three stages of this covenant love of God.

It was promised to David,

fulfilled in Christ,

and given to the nations.

So first,

God's covenant love was promised to David.

Look there again to verse three.

God says,

anyone who inclines their ear and comes to Him,

anyone who hears,

not just hears,

but listens diligently,

and trusts,

and believes the promises of God,

anyone can come into this soul-satisfying feast and live.

And then He says,

hear me,

come to me,

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast,

sure love for David.

What is that?

Now what is He talking about here?

David is dead and gone.

Even by the time Isaiah is writing this prophecy,

David is long gone.

So what does this mean,

that God is promising His steadfast,

sure love for David

to any who would come and hear

and feast on these promises of God?

Well, in order for us to understand

what He's offering here,

we need to turn backwards

to the Old Testament

in 2 Samuel chapter 7.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

And so if you have your Bibles open,

please turn there again,

2 Samuel chapter 7.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

This is the passage that was read earlier for us.

We need to turn there and lay eyes on this promise.

So King David,

he had a desire to make a house for God.

He wanted to build a temple for the Lord,

a place of worship for the Lord.

But the Lord said,

you're not going to build me a house.

Instead, guess what?

I'm going to build you a house.

And then he made some incredible promises here to David.

Listen to what he promises David here.

2 Samuel chapter 7.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

I'm going to start in verse 5.

We'll read it and then we'll break it down.

God says,

Go and tell my servant David,

thus says the Lord,

would you build me a house to dwell in?

I've not lived in a house

since the day I brought up the people Israel

from Egypt to this day,

but I've been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.

In all the places where I have moved

with all the people of Israel,

did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel

whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel,

saying,

why have you not built me a house of cedar?

Now therefore,

thus you shall say to my servant David,

thus says the Lord of hosts,

I took you from the pasture,

from following the sheep,

that you should be a prince over my people Israel.

And I've been with you wherever you went,

and I've cut off all your enemies before you.

Now here's the promise.

Listen here.

And I will make for you a great name,

like the name of the great ones of the earth.

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel

and will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place

and be disturbed no more.

And violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly

from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel.

And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.

And when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers,

I will raise up your offspring after you,

who shall come from your body,

and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name,

and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

I will be to him a father,

and he shall be to me a son.

When he commits iniquity,

I will discipline him with the rod of men,

with the stripes of the son of men.

But my steadfast love will not depart from him,

as I took it from Saul,

whom I put away from before you.

And your house and your kingdom

shall be made sure forever before me.

Your throne shall be established forever.

In accordance with all these words,

and in accordance with all this vision,

Nathan spoke to David.

David.

Now could you imagine?

Place yourself in David's shoes here for a moment.

Could you imagine being David

and hearing these promises from the mouth of God?

David knowing how undeserving he was,

knowing that he was just a shepherd

when God called him,

not even tall or attractive in appearance like his brothers,

but God called him to be king,

knowing how much blood he had shed,

how big of a sin he had committed,

how deep he had fallen into rebellion against God.

Yet God says,

without any condition for David to meet,

I will.

I will.

I will.

I will.

I will.

See, this promise was totally undeserved,

totally unmerited,

and God said,

I will do it.

I will be faithful to my word.

So what exactly did God promise David?

We can break it down into four categories here.

Four categories of this promise that God made to David.

First, God promised David he would have a proclaimed name.

He said in verse nine,

I will make for you a great name.

It's a name that would be proclaimed and revered.

God will do it.

He will proclaim the name of David throughout the land.

Second, God promised David a place.

Verse 10,

I will appoint a place for my people Israel

and will plant them so they may dwell in their own place

and be disturbed no more.

So God promised Israel with David as their appointed leader,

their own land.

He promised them a place,

so a proclaimed name and a place,

and within that place,

third, God promised David protection.

Promised David protection.

Verses 10 and 11,

God says,

Israel will be disturbed no more.

Violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly.

Verse 11,

I will give you rest from all your enemies.

So this was a promise,

you see,

of peace and protection.

God's people were no strangers to war.

They were no strangers to attack.

They had enemies on every side.

But here God promises,

I'm going to bring you into a place

and I'm going to protect you from every enemy.

And so far,

if you know your Old Testament,

none of this is new.

And this is all recap.

This is God rehashing old promises

that he's already made to Abraham and to Moses.

He's simply reiterating his promises,

saying,

I have not forgotten about my covenant.

But as you read through the Old Testament,

from Genesis all the way on,

and you see God's plan unfold,

it's like that lens is getting a little more focused.

And so what was blurry at the beginning

is becoming a little more defined,

and we're seeing more and more clearly

how these promises will be fulfilled.

And so here in verse 12,

we get something new.

We get something new.

He promises,

fourth,

a perpetual kingdom.

A perpetual kingdom.

Look there again,

starting in verse 12.

He says to David,

When your days are fulfilled

and you lie down with your fathers,

I will raise up your offspring after you,

who shall come from your body,

and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name,

and get this,

I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

This is a promise of a forever kingdom,

a perpetual kingdom.

David would have offspring to sit on his throne forever.

Now, from the time this promise was made,

every Israelite who knew of this promise

was on the edge of their seat,

just waiting and wondering,

who will it be?

Even as Isaiah spoke these words,

they were waiting to be brought into their own land.

They were waiting to go under the reign of this promised king.

David was long gone.

When will he come?

When will this promised king come?

When will this promise be fulfilled?

When will the king come and reign forever?

Three times he says that word forever.

I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever.

Your throne shall be established forever.

But all these kings keep dying.

All of these sons of David,

they live,

they reign.

David reigned 40 years,

and then he died.

Solomon reigned 40 years,

and then he died.

Is it Rehoboam?

Is it Abijah?

Is it King Asa?

Every king from the line of David

had all eyes on him.

Imagine that pressure.

Will this be the one?

When will the king come?

When will this promise be fulfilled?

And then the pages of the Old Testament close.

The promise is still sitting out there in the air.

There's 400 years of silence.

Did you know that?

400 years of silence between the Old Testament

and the New Testament.

And all the while,

the people of Israel are waiting

and wondering,

who will this king be?

When will he come to reign?

And then the page flips.

In the first verse,

of the first chapter,

of the first book,

of the New Testament,

Matthew 1.1,

goes like this.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

the son of David,

the son of Abraham.

See, this covenant love was promised to David

and it was fulfilled, second,

it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the promised son of David.

And the New Testament writers,

they understood this

and so they wanted to make sure,

they made a big deal about making sure

we understand that Jesus Christ

is the son of David.

Why?

Because they want to be clear

that all of the promises made to Abraham,

all of the promises made to Moses,

all of the promises made to David,

they find their yes and amen

in Jesus Christ.

Church, why do we worship Jesus?

Why is Jesus not just

one religious figure among many?

Why does he receive all of our worship,

all of our devotion?

You may wonder what it is about this man

that we come together

and we sing songs of worship to him

every single week.

We stand up here,

we open up his book,

we read about his glory,

we read his word,

we follow his leadership.

We talk a lot about Jesus.

Why?

It's because Jesus Christ

is the very center

of the fulfillment of the plan of God.

He is the fulfillment

of every promise of God.

If we want to know

whether God is true to his promises,

where do we look?

We look to Jesus.

Think about these promises

that God made to David

with me for a moment.

God promised David a name

that would be proclaimed,

but what is the name of David

compared to the name of Jesus?

God promised David a name

that would be proclaimed

throughout all the world,

but Philippians chapter 2,

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

it tells us this.

Although God,

although Jesus was in the form

of God himself,

although Jesus was sinless,

he was perfect in every way,

although he deserved no punishment,

look what it says,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient

to the death,

to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Therefore,

God has highly exalted him

and bestowed on him what?

The name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bow

in heaven

and on earth

and under the earth

and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord.

He's King.

He reigns.

He is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

See,

the name of Jesus Christ

will be proclaimed

throughout the world.

He is Lord.

He is King.

He is God.

God promised David

and Israel

a place,

a promised land,

but guess what?

Jesus has also promised

a place to reign.

What is it?

All of heaven and earth

is under his reign.

His reign is not limited

to one people,

one place,

one time.

He reigns over all.

Universally.

He is Lord of lords

and King of kings.

You see,

this promised land

is not just one patch

of dirt on the earth.

It is all of heaven

and earth,

renewed,

recreated,

restored under his reign.

We don't see that

in full right now,

do we?

We don't see it

as it is,

but one day

we will.

One day,

all of heaven and earth

will be totally

under the reign

of Christ.

This is what we're

waiting for.

It has been promised.

It has been purchased

and one day,

church,

it will finally

come to pass.

So until then,

what do we do?

We pray,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

on earth,

as what?

Help me.

As it is in heaven.

What does that mean?

That means totally,

totally and completely.

As Peter says,

according to his promises,

we are waiting,

waiting for new heavens

and new earth

where righteousness dwells.

In that place,

under his reign,

there is protection.

God promised David protection.

God promised Israel protection.

Church,

we are safe

in the hands

of our king.

One day,

we'll be totally free

from sickness

and death

and suffering.

One day,

we're not there yet.

One day,

that will come,

but even now,

you can know victory

over every greatest enemy,

every spiritual enemy.

Those who are in Christ

are protected

totally

from all of our

greatest adversaries.

Here's what that means.

Christian,

if you belong to Jesus,

you are protected

from the wrath of God

against your sin.

Amen?

Friend,

there is no greater enemy

to you

if you are outside of Christ,

if you do not belong

to the kingdom of Christ.

God is your enemy.

your sin is your enemy.

But our king has come,

and he has lived

in our place.

He has stood

in our place.

He lived perfectly

where you and I

could never live perfectly,

so that all of our enemies

of guilt

and condemnation

are wiped away forever.

Our king has died

in our place.

Friends,

so that the wrath of God

that was against us

because of our sin

is wiped away forever.

Church,

Christ,

our king,

came to crush

the power

of sin,

death,

and the devil.

Every spiritual enemy

is defeated

by this reigning king.

If you belong

to his kingdom,

you are protected.

Why do we worship Jesus?

It's because

in him alone,

we're brought

into the kingdom

of God.

In him alone,

we know

the blessing

of this invitation

to come

and live

and have your soul

satisfied

and live forever

with the goodness

of God.

Do you want freedom

from your sin?

Do you want freedom

from the curse

of death?

Would you come

to Christ

and live?

Do you want freedom

from the guilt

that you have earned

for your sin?

Would you come

and listen diligently

and feast

on the goodness

of God,

listen and trust

his promises

offered to you

this moment

in Christ,

given freely

to any who would come

and submit themselves

to this reigning king

and you will live.

And unlike David

and Solomon

and every other king

who came

and lived

and died

and then poof,

it was over,

King Jesus lives

and reigns forever.

Jesus rose

from the grave.

Why do we worship Jesus?

He is risen.

He reigns forever.

He cannot die.

His reign cannot end.

Jesus is king forever.

Jesus inherits

a perpetual kingdom.

He is the forever king.

I know it's not Christmas.

Everybody keeps telling me that.

Is the hallelujah chorus

not ringing in your ears?

King of kings

and Lord of lords.

King of kings,

Lord of lords.

King of kings,

Lord of lords.

And he shall reign

forever

and ever

and ever.

This is what Gabriel

told Mary,

isn't it?

Do not be afraid,

Mary,

for you have found

favor with God.

And behold,

you will conceive

in your womb

and bear a son

and you shall call

his name Jesus.

He will be great.

It's an understatement.

And will be called

the son of the most high.

And the Lord God

will give to him

the throne

of his father,

David.

And he will reign

over the house

of Jacob

forever.

And of his kingdom,

there will be

no end.

exactly as God

had promised

to David.

But listen to this.

Christ came

and lived

and died

and rose

to share

that love

of God

with the nations.

to scatter

abroad

the love

of God

to any

who would come,

any who would hear,

any who would trust

in these promises

that God makes.

This love

was promised

to David.

It was fulfilled

in Christ.

And third,

it is now

given

freely

to the nations.

Look there

with me

again

back to our passage.

Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55:4

verses 4 and 5.

Verses 4 and 5.

Behold,

I made him

a witness

to the peoples,

a leader

and commander

that is not just

for the Jews,

not just for one race,

not just for one people,

but for the peoples.

Behold,

you shall call

a nation

that you did not know

and a nation

that did not know you

shall run to you.

Why?

Because of the Lord

your God

and of the Holy One

of Israel

for he

has glorified

you.

You know,

this was a

stumbling block

for the Jews.

This Jewish

Messiah,

this fulfillment

for a promise

made to a Jewish

king

on behalf

of Jewish people,

he's going to come

and he's going to reign

on behalf

of the Jews,

right?

He's creating

a forever kingdom

for the Jews,

right?

Absolutely,

yes,

if they listen

and trust

the promises

of God

fulfilled in

Jesus Christ,

but Christ

did not just

come for the Jews.

Praise God,

right?

He was made

a witness

to the peoples.

He was a leader

and a commander

for the peoples.

Gentiles.

Most of us

in the room

are not ethnically

Jewish.

We are Gentiles.

We are the nation

that did not know

God.

We are the peoples

that were outside

of this covenant

love of God

that have now

been brought in

by the sheer love

and sheer grace

of God,

the sheer mercy

of God,

has brought us

as outsiders

into the family

of God

where we do

not belong.

Now here's where

with the time

we have left

I want to make

some application.

Okay?

First,

do you realize

how loved you are

in Christ?

Do you realize

how loved

you are

by God

in Christ?

I cannot think

of a more

powerful statement

of God's love

than this.

God demonstrates

His love for us

in that while

we were still

what?

Sinners.

Christ died

for us.

For us.

Who had

no claim

to Him

whatsoever.

We do not

belong

in this covenant.

We do not

belong

in this

love of God

for David

and for His

people.

We have no

claim to it

whatsoever.

But God

sent His

own Son

to die

to bring us

into His

love

if we would

but listen

and find

soul satisfaction

in Him.

Do you know

how loved

you are

in Christ?

And how

totally

outside of

you

that love

is?

it's not

based on

you at

all.

It's not

based on

me at

all.

It's not

dependent

on us

at all.

And because

He has

brought you

in

and united

you to

His Son

by faith,

His love

for us,

His love

for you

is as sure

as His love

for Christ

Himself.

God can

no sooner

abandon

you,

believer,

than He

could abandon

His own

Son.

His love

for you

is steadfast.

It is

sure.

And we have

all of

eternity

to feast

our souls

on the

depth

of that

love.

Second,

second

application.

when we

grasp this,

when we

grasp that

unmerited,

undeserved

love of

God,

how freely

God has

opened up

His arms

and called

the nations

to Himself

including

little old

us,

how could

we resist

the privilege

of joining

Him in

His mission

to make

worshipers

out of all

the peoples

of the

earth?

God

is

we spoke

last

Sunday

morning

and then

again

last Sunday

evening

about the

privilege

and the

task

of

evangelism,

sharing

the gospel,

sharing

the good

news,

extending

this invitation

to all

who don't

know the

goodness

of God.

And we

talked about

several reasons

why maybe

we hesitate

to share

the gospel,

maybe we

don't share

the gospel

at all.

Several

reasons

were mentioned.

I see

two here

in this

passage.

One,

we don't

grasp God's

love for

us.

We don't

grasp it,

how free,

how undeserving,

how satisfying

His love

is for

sinners.

And two,

we don't

share God's

love for

others.

We don't

share God's

love for

others.

Why don't

we share

the gospel?

Because we

have not

synced up

our heart

with God's.

God intends

to make

worshipers out

of all

the peoples

of the

earth,

and He

will do

it.

And He

will maximize

the fame

of Christ,

His glory

among the

nations.

And how

is He

going to

do it,

church?

Through

us.

He does

it through

the church.

those who

have known

this

steadfast love

of God

will share

it with

others so

that all

the peoples

of the

world will

join in

worship.

We will

be satisfied,

He will

be glorified.

That's the

mission of

the church.

That's what

we're here to

do.

Did you know

that?

We're here to

be satisfied

in Him and

to share

that soul

satisfying feast

with any

who would

come.

And here,

our mission

is to fill

the earth

with worship.

And Isaiah

says,

as Christ

through us

opens up

His word,

extends this

invitation to

come,

to turn from

your idols,

to come,

to turn to

me,

to listen to

me,

to come

that your

soul might

live,

come,

be satisfied

in me.

He says,

the nations

will run

with urgency

and joy

to their

king.

Church,

this is why

we go

to the

uttermost

ends of

the world.

This is a

promise for

all

peoples.

Do you

desire for

the name

of Christ

to be

known?

Where it

has not

been named

before?

Do you

desire for

God to be

glorified where

He is not

worshipped as

He deserves?

Do you

desire for

those who

are perishing

throughout the

world to

hear the

good news

of Christ

and to

believe

that they

can know

God and

live?

Do you

see the

world with

that vision?

I remember

when I bought

my first pair

of polarized

sunglasses

and before

that I was

just using

whatever cheap

pair of

glasses I

could find

at the

store.

It

didn't

matter

too much

to me.

But then

I bought

a real

pair of

polarized

lenses

polarized

glasses

with

tinted

shade

lenses

and they

came and

I put

them on

and let

me tell

you it

was a

game changer.

Details that

I hadn't

noticed before

were brought

to life

is like I

saw the

world in a

whole new

way.

You know

that's how

it is when

we come

into the

kingdom.

we begin

to see

the world

with kingdom

tinted

shades.

This is

what Paul

says in

2 Corinthians

he says

this

from now

on

therefore

we regard

no one

according to

the flesh

that's what

we used

to do

even though

we once

regarded

Christ

according to

the flesh

we regard

him thus

no longer

therefore

if anyone

is in

Christ

he is a

new

creation

the old

that's

passed away

behold

the new

has come

all this

is from

God

who

through

Christ

reconciled

us

to himself

and gave

us

the ministry

of

reconciliation

that is

in Christ

God

was reconciling

the world

to himself

not counting

their trespasses

against them

and entrusting

to

us

church

the ministry

of

reconciliation

therefore

we are

ambassadors

for

Christ

God

making

his

appeal

through

us

calling

the

nations

through

us

we

implore

you

on

behalf

of

Christ

be

reconciled

to

God

you see

when we

come into

the kingdom

of God

we begin

to see

the world

differently

it's not

about

us

it is a

mission field

for the glory

of God

we see

we see

our identity

and our

citizenship

differently

we're not

primarily

American

citizens

did you

know that

we're

citizens

of the

kingdom

of God

who has

placed us

providentially

here

in America

our

priorities

are no

longer

of this

world

the day

to day

concerns

of life

the things

that mess

us all

up

and stress

us out

our

priorities

and our

concerns

are

kingdom

concerns

how can

I

bring

glory

to God

today

our

mission

is no

longer

about

self

church

it is

to make

disciples

to bring

fame

to the

name

of

Jesus

so let

me close

with a

story that

I heard

last week

and this

is a

story

about

people

who see

the world

through

kingdom

tinted

lenses

there are

ordinary

people like

you and

me

I don't

know

them

Amanda

showed

me a

video

of their

work

last

week

they live

as

missionaries

in

Papua

New

Guinea

but their

aim

is not

to reach

Papua

New

Guinea

generally

it is

focused

in

on

one

specific

people

group

unreached

people

group

there

in

Papua

New

Guinea

called

the

Maliali

people

God

said

all

the

peoples

of

the

earth

will

know

me

that

includes

the

Maliali

people

so

they

went

believing

the

promise

of

God

believing

that

promise

offering

it

to

this

people

here's

what

they

said

in

the

video

they

said

this

the

Maliali

so far

as

we

know

have

not

had

access

to

the

gospel

and

there

is

not

a

single

known

Christian

among

them

our

purpose

there

is

to

see

a

mature

church

planted

among

them

and

we're

going

about

this

work

in

four

ways

let

me

pause

there

unreached

people

group

not

a

no

Christian

among

them

in

the

history

of

their

people

their

goal

is

to

plant

a

mature

church

you

see

that

going

about

that

in

four

ways

first

learn

their

language

and

their

culture

these

are

English

speaking

missionaries

English

speaking

missionaries

who over

the past

few

years

have

have

gone

and

immersed

themselves

in

the

language

they've

become

fluent

in this

Malayali

language

and the

Malayali

culture

to

second

to develop

an alphabet

in their

unwritten

language

language

they

they don't

have

a

written

language

they

have

a

spoken

language

they

learned

the

language

through

their

ears

they're

formulating

an alphabet

a

written

language

and they

desire

to teach

them

to read

and to

write

in their

own

language

so these

missionaries

they've

gone

to understand

their

language

with a

purpose

that they

can

write

it

so they

can

communicate

with

these

people

in their

own

language

so they're

teaching

literacy

classes

there

why

why

so they

can read

so that

they will

one day

be able

to read

God's

word

for

themselves

in their

own

native

tongue

see these

missionaries

won't last

forever

they will

come

they will

die

God's

word

will last

forever

so they've

come

to formulate

a language

formulate

an alphabet

teach them

how to

read

so that

they can

read

and

understand

God's

word

in their

own

native

tongue

so third

they're

working

to

translate

the

Bible

into

the

Malayali

language

and make

an alphabet

translate

the entire

Bible

into

that

language

for

this

one

little

people

group

raise

your

hand

if

you

had

heard

of

the

Malayali

people

before

this

morning

not

me

but now

they can

hold

in their

own

hands

a copy

of

God's

word

and read

it

for

themselves

pass

it down

from

generation

to

generation

that's

how a

healthy

mature

church

is going

to be

established

there

is through

the word

of God

and then

they're not

going to leave

because fourth

they plan

to stay

and teach

the Bible

and make

disciples

as they

preach

and teach

and explain

the word

of God

for as long

as the Lord

would have

them

stay

why

would

they

do

all

that

why

would

anybody

do

that

give

their

life

away

leave

your

home

country

go

live

in the

middle

of a

bush

in

Papua

New

Guinea

go

where

nobody

knows

you

nobody

speaks

your

language

you

might

be

welcomed

you

might

not

the

only

reason

for

anyone

to go

do

something

like

that

is

that

they

believe

the

promises

of

God

that

any

who

call

upon

the

name

of

the

Lord

will

be

saved

they

know

that

love

of

God

personally

and

second

they

share

the

heart

of

God

for

others

that

all