Share the Good News

I'm going to invite Liz to come and read God's word for us,

and then I'll hand over to Harris straight after that.

Romans chapter 15, verse 13.

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters,

that you yourselves are full of goodness,

filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.

Yet I have written to you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again,

because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus, the Gentiles.

He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God,

so that the Gentiles might become an offering,

acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me

in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done,

by the power of signs and wonders,

through the power of the Spirit of God.

So from Jerusalem all the way around to Ilequim,

I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known,

so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.

Rather, as it is written,

those who were not told about him will see,

and those who have not heard will understand.

This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

Yeah, it's great to be with you here

and speak to you from this passage.

So it's almost on the end of the book,

and you might be thinking,

why is he preaching from the end of the book

and not the beginning of the book?

But the Lord impressed me with this passage quite a while back,

and I've been developing it

and just thinking about it for myself.

So I'm just bringing this to you

in terms of what the Lord has been teaching me

and hopefully teaching us together.

So let's just pray a bit.

Father, we thank you for your word,

and as we've even sung,

that God, you are great God,

and Lord, in the greatness,

you've given us your holy, inspired, infallible,

without error,

fully sufficient word of God

for us today and forever.

So Father, we pray that this word,

your living word,

by your Holy Spirit,

will instruct us this morning

and build us up in our faith

for worship and witness.

Pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

So, you know, this passage,

I'll just start with this story.

I often get a message,

almost on a monthly basis,

from what we call a diaspora network.

It's almost quite a big number,

almost 60 to 100.

I don't know exactly.

But it comes every almost month,

once or twice,

I get a feed.

And this feed is showing

some clergy of another faith

standing outside a church,

somewhere in remote England.

I don't know exactly the place.

And it signs are that this church is closing

and this guy is brandishing.

This church is closing

and demise of Christianity

as irrelevant

and the rise of this other faith.

And it's going quite

at a vitriolic

and almost passionate way

that Christ is irrelevant,

Christianity is irrelevant,

is on decline,

and this other faith

or other faiths

are the only ones

that will fill

the longing of the human hearts

and souls

in our post-Christian culture.

And my response was,

wow,

this is discouraging.

And suddenly God awakens me

and says,

no!

Christ has ascended,

Christ is reigning,

Christ is sending His Spirit,

and He is changing lives

as you heard and saw.

And as we are here,

even gathered in this small place,

worshiping Jesus

as Savior and Lord.

And I said, no!

So I respond to this person

in a whole narrated text.

This is furthest.

By the way,

this news feed

probably originated

somewhere in India.

They picked up this

from some YouTube,

downloaded it,

and are spreading it.

And I said,

this is the furthest.

And we need to know

the history

of the faith of God's people,

both Old and New Testament,

and the current status.

Yes, we might be

with our backs

on certain things.

But the Savior

is the great God.

And He has given us

a great gospel

to believe in

and to be thrilled

and to have lives changed

and to be His ministers

to see lives transformed

of people

in some of the darkest situations,

even in our great city

and in our neighborhoods.

It is striking

that this gospel

is still the power of God

unto salvation

to those who would believe,

those who would hear,

those who would understand

and believe.

So I was,

in the midst of that,

I was thrilled.

And I shared this whole feed

with some of my colleagues.

and I said,

don't let this news

or any other forms

discourage us.

On the whole,

let it be a turning to Christ

in a new,

fresh way

by His Spirit

to transform us,

as we heard,

changing us now

so that we become

the worshipful community

and the witnessing community.

So this morning,

I have some,

three quick points here.

One is,

first,

that this gospel,

Apostle Paul,

is commanding

the Roman believers

in a very,

as it were,

a dark world,

Roman oppressive,

Roman tyrannical rule,

Roman rule

against the faith

of God's people.

He's commanding them

for their faith.

Then he's,

there is a consecration

to worshipful service.

And finally,

how he's calling us,

his church,

to a continued expansion,

be instruments,

his instruments,

in continued expansion

of Christ's kingdom.

So, you know,

Paul starts there

in the,

in verse 14.

I am myself convinced

of you all,

my brothers and sisters,

that you all,

all of you,

all ourselves,

yourselves,

are full of goodness,

complete,

complete in the knowledge.

Another translation says,

filled with all knowledge.

And are competent

or able

to instruct

or admonish

one another.

So first,

he's giving this

commendation

that these Roman believers

in Rome,

against all odds,

are staying the ground.

But not only,

not only just standing still,

but they're gaining momentum.

They're gaining ground.

And this is exciting

because it shows

that the power

of gospel

was at work.

And Paul is calling them

people from a different

religious heritage,

his fellow brothers.

No,

he's not saying,

I'm apostle,

look at me.

And look at all that,

my accolade,

other places,

he does that.

But here,

he's saying,

you,

folks,

fellow brothers,

whom God has called you

from the whole vast world

of whatever could have happened.

And now you are in Christ.

So the gospel

of this Lord Jesus Christ,

his person and work,

was able to transform them

from all the deep-seated brokenness

and religious ideologies

that they were pursuing

to fulfill their lives.

and the class,

caste,

clan divisions

that were so prevalent,

God had broken through them

and brought this good news.

And this good news,

I forgot to get the date,

but I don't know

if the date of Romans' writings

is around 55 or 58 AD.

So you can say

around 20 years

the Roman church

has been in existence.

20 to 25 years

because possibly

the first believers

at Rome,

they were obviously

what they call

proselytized to Jewish

who had gone to Jerusalem

and on the day of Pentecost,

suddenly they heard

in their own language

the good news

of the resurrection of Jesus

and his spirit came on them

and they became devout believers

and they returned back.

So for over 25 years,

combined with the old heritage,

heritage of the Judaism

plus the New Testament faith

in Jesus and his spirit

had combined

and unleashed

an amazing community

of believers there.

And that's what Paul is saying.

You are all filled

with this goodness of God.

God,

the great God,

the true God

who alone is good

and he fills them

with goodness.

And they were quite,

you know,

Paul is here even

as he's saying,

I'm satisfied

or I'm convinced.

He's saying,

you know,

you pass

the ultimate test

of a believer.

you have a sound MOT

or a health check.

You know,

sometimes you go to MOT

and they'll give you caution.

Oh,

your tire is just

one millimeter down

but within few.

There was no caution.

He's commanding them.

What a resolute thing

that turns them

to further,

energizes them

and encourages them

to further live

for this great God

who has saved them.

Secondly,

he points out

in that,

I just want to say

something about

this goodness

because it was

quite evident

in the unique life

that the Roman

or the early

Christian community

as his people

lived out.

Just listen.

Their identity

was in a ridicule way

called resident aliens.

They were not

of this home.

They were not

totally at home

in present Rome

or whatever government.

And it was

because of their lifestyle

and their social reality

that spread

all over the Roman world

and he transcended

about the Roman culture

and religious life.

They were known

as citizens

of another king.

That was Jesus

and not an earthly

Roman Caesar.

The Christian

congregations

expressed their reality

by corresponding

with other churches.

So their vast

Christian communities

were known

to provide

hospitality

for each other

and especially

strangers

and travelers.

And they would

support

their fellow

Christians

who may have

been illegally

imprisoned.

because of

faith issues.

The early

Christian community

were marked

by economic

sharing

and social

care for the poor.

This is what

one of the

Caesars

around 350

AD

says.

He cited

these Jews

and Christians

that though

they were being

disgraced

that no Jew

would ever

beg.

and these

impious

Galileans

that is

these Christians

who were

from the

sect

of Galilee

of this

Galilee

preacher

called Jesus

they would

not only

support

their own

poor

but they

would support

ours as well.

All men

see that

our people

who are

pagans

lack

aid from

us.

There was

no state

welfare.

The Christians

were the

welfare

community.

So these

communities

were known

for their

faithful

work of

gospel

in displaying

this goodness.

Secondly,

they are saying

they are filled

with knowledge

there.

He says

that you

are complete

in knowledge

or filled

with all

knowledge.

Now we

even sung

a lot of

things.

And can

it be

that God

should save

a person

like me?

His immense

and free

grace.

Why are you

able to sing

that?

Why are you

able to hold

even in your

dark days

that very

dear?

the person

of Jesus

Christ that

has been

made known

to us,

revealed us.

Really,

you know,

I haven't

seen the

face of

Jesus,

you know,

but the

person of

Jesus and

his work

is so

real by

faith because

I've heard

and understood

the gospel

and his

spirit has

applied it

to my

heart.

So I

really

understand

and know

this true

living God

the Father,

the Son,

and the

Holy Spirit.

The one

unique God

who says,

I alone

am God

and there

is none

else,

none

besides me,

none

equal to

me.

This

uniqueness

is a

knowledge by

the gospel

and it's

just not a

head knowledge,

it's a

living faith,

daily

experience in

my heart

as I

live it out

and communicate

with words

and hands

and feet

into his

of who

he is.

So we

know,

we know

now God

personally,

we know

he is

gracious,

he is

compassionate,

he is full

of steadfast

love,

kindness,

he is slow

to anger

because

that's

the reality

that is

dawned by

his spirit

in my heart.

It's just

not a

pie in

the sky,

it's a

reality and

this reality

is so

striking so

that he

commends

them and

you know

friends,

this is

good news,

this is

good news

that the

world is

looking for.

You know,

part of our

work is

just

retraining

the church,

retraining

ourselves

to understand

the gospel

for ourselves

and articulating

it,

saying it,

how this

gospel is

so real

and indeed

it is good

news for the

world,

a world

that has

been,

that is

straying

away,

that is in

an utter

lost condition

and that

a good

shepherd has

come in

the savior

to seek

and save

the lost

even in

the utter

conditions.

And you

know friends,

people are

looking to

hear that.

They are

looking to

hear that.

They are

looking for

people who

will understand

them,

empathize

with them,

journey with

them and

explain this

good news.

as good

news to

me,

but also

for them.

You know,

we say in

our saying,

if God

could save

a Hindu

man like

me for

over 40

years and

keep me in

his path

through many

highs,

but many,

many,

many lows

and depths

of valleys,

he can do

that for you

and for

others outside

here.

and this

is the

commendation

we bring

to our

community.

A Muslim

lady comes

and she's

arguing,

arguing,

arguing,

wrestling,

who is this

son of God?

Why do you

call him

son?

And she

is fixated

in her

faith view

that son

means some

prodigy

of a human

invention,

male,

female,

God and

some human.

And we

say to her,

that is

furthest

from what

the Bible

says,

even Jesus

himself

says as

son of

God.

He's a

descendant of

human,

Adam,

but he's

totally divine.

He's the

eternal

son of

God,

who is

the,

as we

heard earlier,

the atoning

sacrifice for

your sins

and my

sins.

And we

proclaim that.

In a Hindu

view,

a lady

comes and

says,

oh,

I'm seeing

visions.

I had this

money.

I took out

some notes.

They were

all brand

new notes.

I went

home.

I put

them in a

bundle.

And suddenly

when I was

opening them,

I saw this

picture of

one of my

gurus.

And how

do you

explain that?

She's all

into signs

wonders and

images and

all that.

And I

said,

look,

this is

okay.

You might

have some

security or

stability,

but it

won't answer

your deep

seated

questions.

Why?

vision means

you need

another vision

to keep

that vision

above.

You will

need

repeated.

But if

you hear

the words

of Jesus

that I

have come

to seek

and save

the lost,

that in

me is

eternal

life,

I have

come to

give you

fullness of

life.

He that

comes to

me,

even though

he die,

yet shall

he live.

In the

gospel of

John,

we read to

her.

I said,

when you

hear these

words,

the words

of the

Lord and

the words

of spirit,

they can

set you

free so

that you

know God

personally.

And she

says,

oh,

I don't

know,

I don't

think,

you know.

He said,

just help

us to

help you

to see

and understand.

And she's

persevering

with us

for a

while.

So here

we are

filled,

you see,

we are

filled with

goodness.

We are

all with

knowledge.

And then

just in

a short,

they are

able to

instruct

each other.

Now,

friends,

you know,

this is

the hard

bit.

You know,

hard bit.

You know,

I've got

accent,

yeah?

So my

accent,

sometimes,

I don't

know my

V and

my W.

Okay?

So,

Volkswagen

and window.

Okay?

Now,

my wife

particularly

will come

and say,

oh,

you didn't

say that

right.

Or I'm

saying

something,

like I'm

saying,

Jesus is

the true

wine.

I might

have said

it right,

but I

might have

said Jesus

is the

true wine.

So she's

saying,

what did

you say

that?

And I'm

saying,

man,

it's okay,

man.

They got

it.

But she's

trying to

instruct me.

She's trying

to correct

me.

And I'm

getting a

bit jittery

in the midst

of that.

And I'm

saying,

no,

just leave

it.

But friends,

this is a

very important,

if you can

say,

component or

part of

our life

as Jesus.

You

will make

me a

better

follower of

Jesus.

And a

servant of

Jesus.

I need

the fellowship

of the

community,

of the

believers,

to make

me that.

And even

in our

teams,

we have

teams,

I come

across as

something,

and my

colleagues

will come

across

something.

And I'm

thinking,

wow.

And then I

have to go

back and

have to start

speaking the

truth in

love to

address the

situation.

So friends,

brothers and

sisters,

be alert

about that.

You know,

there is two

cultures here,

two or maybe

more.

I was just

thinking of

our very

British

reservedness,

English,

right?

So you

will see

something,

but you

might say,

you already

cross,

the guy is

jumped in

between you

in the queue

in the bus,

and he's

now,

friends,

we need to

find a

framework.

This is

where a

wider

fellowship and

cross-culture or

interculture

plays it.

How do you

address that?

You need to

learn to,

hey,

brother,

sister,

can I just

express something

which I've

noticed?

and you

find a

way.

And you

know what,

they might

just reject

it,

but you

keep at

it in

the spirit

of love

and in

patience

persimacy.

And that

makes a

difference.

Because that,

let me tell

you,

this is very

unique.

This is

absolutely

unique,

even in

11 o'clock

London time.

people from

all different

parts,

almost at

least 6,

8,

10,

12 countries

gather together

to worship

and to

acknowledge each

other as

brothers and

sisters.

This is

unique,

even in

London,

let me tell

you,

many

congregations.

And this

is what we

are trying

to do,

even in

our work

with churches.

How can

we incorporate

outsiders?

Because we

are incorporating

insiders.

You see,

incorporating

insiders,

meaning we

incorporate

outsiders.

Because the

aching void

outside is

the same

aching void

inside me.

They are

looking for

an acceptance.

They are

looking for

a welcome.

They are

looking for

a word

or in

season to

help them

understand

life's

complexity

and things.

so they

are looking

for it.

And we

have it in

here among

us.

So we

can amplify

that.

Anyway,

quickly,

so this is

just in

Paul's

teaching,

how he

is so

commanding

believers.

And through

that

commendation,

literally,

what he's

doing is,

he has

created

almost a

mini

explosion

of the

power of

the gospel.

Boom!

As they

are hearing

this.

Quickly,

I'll just

finish in

this,

is that

how Paul,

it says

that I

glory in

Christ in

my service

to God.

The other

translation,

it says,

I am

proud of

my work

in Christ

Jesus.

Wow!

What

is it?

Paul,

you must

be mad!

You are

a man of

grace,

how can

you be

proud?

But you

can see

he can

boast.

And he

boasts

first here

of a

gospel

service,

which he

uses two

words.

One is

worshipful

service,

a worshipful

offering

of oneself.

That's what

he calls

ministry,

the gospel.

And then

the second

thing he

calls

is how

he

is

priestly,

in his

priestly

function.

He

says,

I am

offering

myself

in my

priestly

duty to

proclaim

the gospel.

And that

is the

priestly

duty,

the royal

priesthood

that is

being

bestowed.

So there

is a

form and

a function.

Form is

doing the

offerings

of yourself,

but the

function,

or that's

the function,

and the

form is

because you

are priestly,

you are

royalty.

Another

place,

the same

word that

is used

of priestly

duty is

used of

officials,

government,

and rulers.

So here

we are

offering

ourselves,

and he's

commanding

them,

or as he

commands them,

he says,

consecrate

yourself to

a fresh

service and

worship of

this God.

and finally

there is

his

commanding,

as he

commands them,

he's also

calling them

to join

with him,

or join

literally with

Christ,

with God,

in his

continued

expansion of

the kingdom

of God.

You see,

as I said,

the Roman

believers were

not standing

there still.

There was

no stand

still moment.

The gospel

was continually

advancing,

claiming

frontiers.

So,

you know,

one of the

things in

our partnership

we monitor

or help

churches

engage with

is crossing

frontiers.

What new

frontier are

we crossing?

And,

you know,

even this

area,

there could

be a

frontier.

For example,

there might

be certain

children that

are being

missed out,

or certain

groups of

people

or certain

areas where

there is

evidence of

a good,

what we

call social

act,

social work,

but there is

no presence

of word.

And we

say,

could you

have a team

just go there

and while

they are

serving,

can they

pray with

somebody on

the side?

Now,

that is

you are

crossing a

frontier.

Here,

right in the

midst of all

these things,

we are crossing

frontiers as

we engage.

Or you

might say,

hey, it

was great

meeting you.

I would

like to

hear more

about you.

Is there

any time

we have

in the

week?

Or I

could come,

we could

have coffee

in Costa,

wherever,

you can

charge it

to pastor.

And,

you know,

over a

cup of

coffee,

you will

explain.

I want

to just

understand

you and

I want

to help

you understand

love of

God in

Christ that

can change

you.

And,

you know,

friends,

let me tell

you something.

By more,

I'm more

to admit

each day

that there

is more

opportunities

for gospel

than meets

the daily

presence of

Christians.

So many,

so every.

And you

are just

being used.

So that

is the

final call.

Paul is

saying,

look,

you have

seen how

I have

preached the

gospel all

the way

from Jerusalem

to

Illichram.

Illichram is

the present

day,

if you can

say,

the Soviet,

former Soviet

states of

Czech Republic

and all that,

including Greece

and Albania.

So even he

didn't include

there Rome.

But he had

preached there

everywhere and

there was no

soul, he

thinks,

that was left

unpreached.

Why was that?

Do you know

that?

Because he

had established

worshipful

witnessing

communities that

were able to

carry on and

sustain the

work.

So that is

another part of

our mission's

goal, that as

we work with

churches, there

will be a

sustainable

witnessing work

to those who

are least likely

to hear about

Jesus Christ

because they

have no

single friend

or family

member to

tell them

about this

love, this

great God

who loves

them and

who is there

to wonderfully

change them.

And he, we

are there.

We will be

there with you

and then you

will be there

along with the

church for an

ending season,

a new season.

So friends, I'll

just leave you

with this.

We had a

great Thanksgiving

service on

Thursday.

This is our

annual celebration

of God's

goodness.

189th year of

LCM.

It happened in

Westminster.

Vanessa and

Pastor Stephen

were there.

There were

a thousand

registrations.

Some were

had to go

online.

But for the

first time, that

church, Westminster

Chapel, probably

in probably a few

decades, even

50 years, it

was almost

full.

And we need

to have that

vision.

God, expand

our vision for

you and your

kingdom here and

regions beyond.

I'll leave you

with that.

And there are a

few questions that

you can ask

yourself.

I had two

questions.

In closing is

this, as you

think, and I'll

just pray a bit.

How is God

using you and

I today or

this week to

further strengthen

each other as

our body of

Christ?

Christ.

So this is

internal dynamics,

IA.

And then how

is God or

how am I

seeking to

be a minister

of the gospel

to further

King Jesus'

kingdom here

in Kilburn,

West Kilburn,

and beyond?

I pray those

questions will

help you

understand this

passage by

his spirit to

live out and

serve him.

So I'll just

close in a short

prayer and then

hand to a

pastor.

Father, we

thank you for

this morning.

We thank you

for the eternal

Son of God,

even a

descendant of

David, who

came amongst

us, the

living Lord

Jesus Christ,

and that he

is the good

news for us

and for our

needy world

around us.

We pray that

you will further

strengthen us

and make us

able as your

servants and

able to

teach each

other about

your greatness

and goodness,

about all the

things that

who our God

is, about all

the ways that

you've loved this

world and us,

and that will

further strengthen

us for a lively

witness in this

needy community

around us.

We pray this for

Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thanks so much,

Harish.

Let me tell you

one reason why I

love Harish and

I love the work

of LCM is

because you

can't but catch

that excitement

for telling other

people about

Jesus.

I think one of

the easiest

things for us

as a church,

and even just

for us as

individuals,

is to become

really inward

looking and

really insular

and think,

oh well,

yeah, I

believe in

Jesus and

it's kind of

good news for

me, but I

don't think

anyone else

wants to

know.

And I hope

you're impressed

from what

Harish has said

to us this

morning and

from the

ministry of

LCM more

generally,

that actually

the good news

of the Lord

Jesus, which

in our hearts

we love and

we trust for

ourselves, is

good news not

just for us,

but is good

news for every

single person in

London, and we

want them to

hear that actually

the ache that

they have inside

will only be

met and can

only be met by

the good news

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

There is no

one out there

who does not

need to hear

this brilliant

news as

there, and if

it's good

news for

Harish, and

good news for

someone like

me, and for

you, it's good

news for others

that you meet.

So let's pray

that the Lord

would continue

to help and

encourage the

ministry of

LCM and our

church.