A church that engages in evangelism

So the reading is from 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 4 to 12.

1 Peter 2:4–12

And it says this,

As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by humans,

but chosen by God and precious to him,

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For in the scripture it says,

See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious,

but to those who do not believe,

the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,

and a stone that causes people to stumble,

and a rock that makes them fall.

They'll stumble because they disobey message,

which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation,

God's special possession,

that you may declare the praises of him

who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Once you were not a people,

but now you are the people of God.

Once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.

Dear friends,

I urge you,

as foreigners and exiles,

to abstain from the sinful desires

which wage war against your soul.

Live such good lives among the pagans,

that though they accuse you of doing wrong,

they may see your good deeds

and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Amen.

Thanks, Yvonne.

Over the last few weeks,

I don't know whether you've been with us,

but over the last six weeks,

I've been trying to build really a sort of a foundation

for our church family.

The sort of theological foundations for us as a church.

What is it that's going to be important to us

as we move forwards?

So you might remember at the beginning of July,

we started with this idea

that our church is to be centered

on the cross of Jesus Christ.

That the message of the cross of Christ,

which is the message of the whole Bible,

it's right at the center of the scriptures,

is to be at the center of our church life.

It's the message of the cross which makes the church.

It's the preaching of the message of Jesus Christ

in God's word that makes us the people of God.

That's where we started.

We then went on to say that as a church,

we rely absolutely on the Spirit.

We know that we are absolutely powerless in ourselves

to convert anybody, to change people,

or to equip one another for the Christian life.

There is nothing that we can do on our own

to open blind eyes to the truth of the gospel.

If our church is going to be revitalized,

if our church is going to grow by people coming to know

and love and trust the Lord Jesus,

it's going to be because God does it by his Spirit,

not because we do it in our strength.

Following on from that, then you might remember

that we said that we were going to be a local church

that are committed to corporate prayer.

We were startled by the book of Acts

just how many times the local church

gathers together to pray.

It's like breathing for them.

They can't live without it.

We know that in a way that we don't really fully understand,

God, in his sovereign power,

chooses to work through the prayers of his people.

Then we thought next about diversity, didn't we?

The fact that God is bringing us together.

He hasn't made us all the same.

In fact, God is glorified by stitching together

a group of people who are very different to one another,

both in the gifts that they have,

but also that the cultures that they're from,

the languages that they speak.

And so we found that God is stitching together

something that is beautiful and glorious

because of our difference.

Our fifth foundation, which we were looking at last week,

was then discipleship.

And you might remember this.

It's only last week, so I'm hoping that you might.

That our single biggest contribution

to the life of the church is what?

To grow as a Christian.

That's the biggest contribution that we make.

It doesn't matter whether we give thousands of pounds

or hundreds of volunteer hours.

If we are not growing as Christians,

if we're not growing in our love of the Lord

and our Christ-likeness and our eagerness to live for him,

we will fundamentally be damaging the church,

not blessing the church,

because the greatest contribution we can make

is to grow in Christ-likeness.

And now that brings us to this week,

and that is this one, engaged in evangelism.

And that means we've got one more to go,

which I'm going to do when we get back from holiday.

And you might know what that is,

but if you don't,

I'm going to leave it as a surprise for you

for when I come back from holiday.

So this week, we're thinking about evangelism,

telling others about Jesus.

This is the idea that our church exists

not just for itself,

but to be a witness to the world about the gospel.

We want to grow, don't we,

as a church, numerically,

not from stealing people from other churches,

but from people coming from our friends

and our families, our community,

to know Jesus for themselves.

So we're a church that engages in evangelism,

telling people about Jesus.

Now, to tackle that subject,

I want, if I can, to draw your attention

to just a single phrase

in the reading that we've just had.

If I were an old-fashioned preacher,

I would say this is my text for this morning.

Do you remember when you used to go to church

and they used to announce the text for the morning?

Well, that's what we're doing this morning.

We're just looking at a single phrase.

It's there in the second half of verse nine

that we read with the children earlier.

It's this,

that you may declare the praises of him

who called you out of darkness

into his wonderful light.

Now, before we get to all of the detail of this,

I want you to notice that that phrase

is essentially a purpose statement.

It's a purpose statement.

It starts, isn't it,

with that you may.

In other words,

that statement is the outworking

of something that's gone before.

The declaration of the praises of God

is the purpose of what precedes it.

So like a delivery driver

is given a van full of parcels

that she might deliver them

or a student is given an exam paper

that they might answer the questions

or at least try to answer the questions.

So here we see that

the declaration of the praises of God

is the result of something

that has been given or done.

So the declaration of the praises of God

in our passage

are what comes from what comes before it,

which is being a chosen people,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation,

God's special possession.

Now Peter's point is that

the church is like the new Israel

and I would love to,

we don't have time to do it,

but to go into all the ways

that this reflects Old Testament passages.

But Peter's point essentially

is that when you read Israel

in the Old Testament,

now you're looking at church

in the New Testament,

the chosen people of God,

people selected by him

to be his servants,

a royal priesthood,

people who have access

to God's presence,

a holy nation,

people with special status,

before God,

his special possession,

people who are cared for

and protected by God.

They are all of those things,

says Peter,

that they may declare my praises,

praises of God in the world.

Now that means,

and again,

listen,

this is just,

I'm just showing you obvious stuff here,

but it's worth stating this clearly.

It means that the church

is the church

not because they declare

the praises of God.

You get that?

It's not the church

becomes the church

as it declares the praises of God.

It's the other way around,

isn't it?

They declare the praises of God

because they have been made

the church by God.

God makes the church,

not us.

You don't become the church

by coming and declaring

the praises of God.

You become the church

by God being at work in us.

And then he gives us a purpose.

A purpose which,

if you notice,

the purpose of the church then

is not really so much

about me or you.

The purpose of the church

is not that we make cups of tea

for one another,

that we might feel nice about life.

The church's purpose

isn't even about self-help

or self-improvement.

God hasn't made us

a chosen people

and a holy nation

so that we might

get better versions of ourselves.

It's not that, is it?

It's not even that

we might look down our noses

at everybody else.

Oh, I'm God's chosen

and special people,

not like you.

It's not that either, is it?

It's not so that

we might have a nice club

where everyone is like us

and we feel normal.

No, the that of church life,

the so that of church life

is so that you might declare

the praises of him,

of God.

That's why we're here.

That's why God has saved us.

It's about him

and his glory and not us.

Let me try and say this carefully,

but I want to kind of land

this practically for us

if I can.

I want to suggest

that one of the reasons

that you and I struggle

so much with church life,

one of the reasons

why we get so easily upset

and diverted into conflict

with one another

is because we have missed

the point of church life.

Church exists not so much

for the comfort

of the people who come

or belong.

it's not existing

to give them an opportunity

to express themselves.

The church exists

for the glory of God.

Now that's not to mean

that comfort

or opportunity to contribute

are not important.

I'm not saying that,

but rather that they flow

from the glory of God.

The point is,

if you come to church

thinking mostly about

your own feelings

or mostly about

what you need

and not about

the glory of God,

you will leave disappointed

because the gatherings

of the church

are about the glory of God.

Church exists

for the glory of God

so that we might

declare his praises.

Now, there's one other thing

to notice as well here

before we move on,

and that is that

this is circular.

So, let me try

and explain this

if I can.

So, God here

makes the church

to new Israel

that she might declare

the praises of God.

But think about it.

What are God's praises?

What does it mean

to declare his praises?

It's a very Christian phrase,

isn't it?

We might think

we know what it means,

but what does it actually mean?

Well, Peter again

is borrowing a phrase

from the Old Testament,

and the idea is

that this is declaring

what God has already done.

When we praise God,

we are not adding to God

something that's lacking from him.

Do you understand that?

It's not the idea

that we are adding something

to God who would be less

if we weren't doing it.

Rather, we are articulating

something in our praises

that's already true.

God is not like that

year seven child

who just needs lots of encouragement

to get on with their work.

Maybe you were like that

year seven child.

I think I probably was a bit.

Oh, you're doing a great job.

Carry on, won't you?

Oh, look at that.

You've done some great work,

haven't you?

Keep going.

That's not how

we're to talk to God.

That's not what

praising God means.

Rather, here,

the sense is that

the praises of God

are something

that already belong to him

because of who he is.

So declaring his praises

isn't making up

for something lacking in God

so much as it is

saying aloud

who God is

and what he's done.

Listen, this is what God is like.

He is praiseworthy

in his being.

Look at what he's done.

Which, if you notice this,

this is then a giant circle

because if you look down

at our little phrase,

how is it that the church

become the church

to declare the praises of God?

How is it that they become the church?

How do we become a chosen people,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation?

Well, God did it through choosing.

And how did he choose?

Well, he called, notice,

he called us out of darkness

into his wonderful light.

In other words,

God speaks

and calls out his people.

So he speaks the gospel

and calls his people

out of the world,

out of darkness

and into light.

People who are living

in the darkness

of their own sin

and lostness,

people who are ignorant of God,

the God who made them,

estranged from the purpose

of our existence.

God calls those people

through what he says

in verse 8

is a message.

What is the message?

Well, the message

is the praiseworthy deeds

of God.

You get it?

God calls his people

into existence

as they hear

the declaration

of his praiseworthy deeds.

So, let me try

and put it on the slide.

The deeds

of the praiseworthy God

are declared.

You hear them

and it calls out

God's people.

Oh, God is the God

who saves his people.

He's saving me.

And as he calls you,

you then become somebody

who declares

the praises of God,

which does what?

It calls out

the other people of God.

So in this giant circle,

generation upon generation,

declaring the praiseworthy deeds

of God,

calling out the people of God

who will declare

the praises of God,

which will call out

the people of God,

which will declare

the praises of God,

which will call out

the people of God,

which will declare,

and it goes on

from generation

to generation,

from city to city,

from nation to nation.

The message has been heard

and God's people

have been called out.

Here's the thing.

Jesus says that

that circle is so solid

and unbreakable

that the gates of hell

will not prevail against it.

No one will be able

to stop it

from generation

to generation.

Now, put all of that

together for a moment,

and I think the point

of our text is this,

that hearing the message

of Christ creates

a church who exists

to declare the message

of Christ.

I'll say that again.

Hearing the message

of Christ creates

a church who exists

to declare the message

of Christ.

That's how God

gets glory in the world.

Now, there are literally

thousands and thousands

of implications of that

for us this morning,

but I'm going to be kind

to you.

I'm going on holiday

tomorrow,

and so I don't still want

to be here on Monday morning,

and so I'm going to give you

three rather than a thousand.

Let me show you three ways

this particularly relates

to evangelism,

particularly relates

to our evangelism.

First one is this.

Evangelism is leaky worship.

Evangelism is leaky worship.

In other words, evangelism,

this idea of telling other people

about Jesus,

is what happens

because we are unable

to keep the gospel

to ourselves.

Churches quite often,

I think,

will nag their church members

into doing evangelism,

won't they?

Say, listen,

if you're not going

to share the gospel,

then you're not really

a proper Christian.

If you're not going

to tell other people

about Jesus,

you're not a proper Christian.

You need to sign up

to be involved

in this evangelistic crusade.

You need to give out leaflets

with me on this street corner.

But our text this morning

shows us that that approach

is not quite right,

not because evangelism

and telling others

about Jesus is not important,

or because handing out

leaflets is wrong.

Of course it's not,

but rather because it's

putting things

the wrong way around,

isn't it?

The cart before the horse.

Our text this morning

reminds us that the purpose

of the Christian life

is not evangelism

so much as it is

praising God

for who he really is.

And Peter's point here

is that praising God

for who he really is

leaks into evangelism.

It pours out of us

in lots of different ways.

It spills over.

Look down at verse 11.

What does he say?

Dear friends,

I urge you as foreigners

and exiles

to abstain from sinful desires

which wage war

against your soul.

Live such good lives

among the pagans

that though they accuse you

of doing wrong,

they may see your good deeds

and glorify you on the day

when God visits us.

You see, the idea is

that they are spilling over

into the world.

Read across in chapter 3,

verse 15.

He says it again there,

doesn't he?

But in your hearts

revere Christ as Lord.

Always be prepared

to give an answer

to everyone who asks you

to give a reason

for the hope that you have.

How do you prepare

to give an answer

for the hope that you have?

Not simply by swatting up,

but by what?

Revering Christ as Lord

in your heart.

Christ will spill out.

This is what I was trying

to illustrate with the kids

this morning.

As our Christian lives

are full to the brim

with the glory of God

and the goodness

of the Lord Jesus,

we are spilling it

all over the place.

You know, declaring

the praises of God,

you'll spill it out

at work,

in your family,

you'll spill it out

with the people

who live in your block,

on your social media posts,

at your mates at uni

or at school.

Because this worship of God,

this amazement

at the greatness of God

and his works in Christ,

he doesn't switch off

when you walk out

those doors at the back.

He's there all the time.

Now, let me try and suggest

this means there's

a principle at work.

It's at work in us corporately,

but it's at work in us

individually as well.

So this is at work

in you and me this morning,

if we're a Christian

this morning.

And that is

our evangelistic usefulness,

our effectiveness

at telling other people

about Jesus

is a direct function

of how excited I am

by what the Lord Jesus

has done for me.

Do you get that?

My effectiveness

in evangelism,

sharing the gospel

with my friends,

my family

who don't know Christ,

is directly related

to how encouraged I am

or how enthusiastic I am

or how excited I am

about what Jesus

has done for me.

And that means

that for us as a church,

we don't encourage evangelism

so much by starting

new activities

as we do by reminding

one another

of the greatness

of the Lord Jesus

and making sure

that we are all excited

by what Christ

has done for us.

Because if we are excited

by Christ,

it will spill out

all over the place

and you won't be able

to stop it.

Let me try,

if I can this morning,

to try and motivate us

for evangelism

in the way that Peter's

trying to get it

to happen.

Look down at verse 9

and let's just

have a think about it

with me.

Let me ask you,

if you're a Christian

this morning,

have you really reckoned

with this idea

that together

we are God's chosen people?

Just ponder on that

for a moment.

God has chosen us.

Not because there's

something worthy in us,

not because he saw

that we were good people.

That's the great

stumbling block

of the previous verses

that Yvonne read to us.

That's why hell

will be full of

religious people

who relied on

their own efforts

and thought they were

better than other people.

That is not the gospel,

is it?

The gospel is that

God has chosen us

because God

in himself

loves.

He loves us

because of his own

loveliness,

not ours.

And he has chosen us

out of the world

to belong to him

as his people

for a reason

that we cannot explain.

A people who then

get described

as a royal priesthood.

People who have

access to God's

very presence

through the work

of Christ's cross.

So much so that

if you're a Christian

this morning,

at any time,

any of us

in any place

can call out to God,

the God who made us,

the God who rules

and governs the world,

and know

that that God

hears us.

We have access to him

like a child

has access to a parent.

And then we find,

what does he say next?

That we're a holy nation.

That means that we are

outside of the condemnation

that our world faces

for its sinful rebellion

against the God

who made us.

We are free

from the fear of hell.

Death has no claim on us

because through the action

of the Lord Jesus Christ

on the cross,

God has made us

despite our sin

holy,

perfect,

justified,

and sanctified.

But I wonder

if maybe best of all

is the next phrase,

isn't it?

What does he say?

You are God's

special possession.

His treasure.

I don't know,

if you're a young Christian

or maybe you're

a new Christian,

it's easy to think

that maybe the blessings

of being a Christian

are the stuff

that God gives you.

Maybe you think

the blessings

of the Christian life

are mostly things

that God might give you.

Maybe he might give you

good health

or a nice family

or a nice job

or whatever it is.

Actually,

the blessing of the gospel

is that God

gives you himself

and calls you

his treasured possession.

You're mine.

You belong to me.

Of all the things

that I have,

says God,

and God owns everything,

right?

Of all the things

that God has,

you are my treasured

possession,

he says.

Can you imagine that?

I'm not going to let you go.

I'm not going to let

anything snatch you

out of my hand.

I want you to know,

says God,

that there's nothing

that can separate you

from my love.

There's no height,

nor depth,

no trouble,

no hardship,

no persecution,

no poverty,

no danger,

no sword,

nothing in all creation,

even angels or demons

that can separate you

from my love

in Christ Jesus.

And listen,

if you're a Christian

this morning,

that's true for you,

right?

That's true of you.

And I defy you

to keep it to yourself

if you understand it.

You just won't be able to.

I bet you.

If you really get this,

you won't be able

to stop talking about it.

You'll be like a new parent

who just can't shut up

about their child

or the colleague

who's returned

from that fantastic

holiday of a lifetime

and is just constantly

showing you photos

on their phone

of, oh,

did I show you this one?

Oh, what about this one?

What about that one?

Or the guy on the bus

who's just won 100 pounds

on a scratch card

and is going around

high-fiving everyone

on the bus?

You'll be like that guy.

Let me tell you,

I'm God's special possession.

He loves me.

He gave his son for me.

I'm holy.

I'm free from the condemnation

that the world faces.

God loves me.

It will leak out of you

all over the place.

Right, second implication.

We need to move

a little bit faster.

Evangelism requires the church.

Evangelism requires the church.

Now, I think this could

be misunderstood here,

so I want to be very careful

and you need to listen carefully.

I'm not saying

that individuals

cannot engage

in evangelism,

nor am I saying

that all you need to do

is drag your

non-Christian friends

to church

and I will do the rest.

That's not right.

If you're a non-Christian friend

this morning,

you've been dragged here,

I'm very sorry.

That is not our intention.

I can only apologize.

The truth is,

as individuals,

we do need to make

the most of the opportunities

that God gives us

to share the gospel.

You know,

whether that's

over the dinner table

with an unbelieving spouse

or walking to school

with a child

or on the bus

with a stranger.

But I think the point

of our text this morning

is that there is a sense

in which the most

evangelistically effective

thing that we have,

or, if you like,

our sharpest tool

for gospel declaration,

if you like,

is our life together.

Yeah?

The church itself,

the church corporate,

is evangelistic

in its leaky worship.

In other words,

the evangelistic strategy

of our church

can't just be,

hey, listen,

go and tell as many people

as you can about Jesus.

Take the gospel out there,

convert the nations,

and when they're converted,

bring them here.

Rather,

we must go out and tell,

mustn't we?

That's really clear

in the Bible.

But also,

as we go out and tell,

we are also saying,

come and see.

Come and see.

Come and see

what God is doing.

He's choosing a people

for himself.

Let me introduce you to them.

He's got a royal priesthood.

Let me show you

where they are

so that you can engage with them.

He's got a group of people

whose very purpose

is to declare

the praiseworthy deeds of God.

Come and listen

to what they're saying.

So this is for you

if you're here this morning

and not a Christian.

It's brilliant

that you're here this morning.

So glad you've come this morning

if you're not a Christian.

Because I think,

not only do we want

to welcome you,

but also I think

this is the best place

for you to understand

what being a Christian

is about.

Being a Christian

is not just

a private belief

in a set of historical facts

about a man called Jesus.

It does involve that.

But being a Christian

is about more than that.

Being a Christian

is about coming

to realize and love

and give yourself

to the God

who made you

and who is now

making a new humanity.

A people who love

their maker,

who know him personally,

who worship him

in all of life

and who praise him together.

A new humanity

who are forgiven

of their sins,

cleared of future judgment

by the atoning work

of Christ on the cross.

A group of people

who are now gathered

into local churches

before one day

being gathered all together

with all of God's people

from all history

and all geography.

Now it might be

this morning,

if you're not a Christian,

that you've got loads

of questions about that

and I'd love to speak

to you about them.

Please come and find me

at the end.

But there is a sense

in which right now,

in this moment,

in this place,

you are getting

the clearest glimpse

of who God is

and what he's doing.

And if you are

a Christian this morning,

if you're a member

of the church here,

then let me say to you

that your personal evangelism,

your own sharing

of the gospel,

must at some stage

include an invitation

to church

and exposure

to the family

of the church.

If you look over

at verse 12 again,

you can see that

Peter's assumption

is that the corporate

life of the church

is seen and witnessed.

Yeah?

When he says,

live such good lives

among the pagans,

his assumption is

that the pagans,

i.e. people in the world

who don't believe in Jesus,

they will see your life.

How are they going

to see your life

if you are hiding it

or you're only living

it among Christians?

You see,

there are two mistakes,

aren't there,

what you can make here.

One is to think,

oh, all I have to do

is just drag people

to church

and Steve will do

the evangelism for me.

Or the other mistake

to make is to think

that the most evangelistically

effective thing

that we do

is outside of church,

you know,

talking to people

at Hyde Park

or in the open air,

when the truth is

that it's the corporate

life of the church,

seen in the gatherings

of the church,

experienced in the

relationships of the church,

which is the witness

to the truth

of the gospel.

If you like,

evangelism,

a team sport,

something we're doing

together.

Oh, you've got lots

of questions about that,

have you?

I've got a friend

at church who's really

good at answering

those questions,

why don't you come

and meet them?

Actually, we're really

good friends,

we're totally different,

but we're really good

friends.

Actually, we call each

other brother and sister.

So here's the two-pronged

evangelistic strategy

for us as a church.

One, if you're a member

of the church here,

you go and build

friendships and talk

to as many people

as the Lord gives you

opportunity to speak

to about Jesus.

Don't spend all your

time in a Christian

bubble.

Go make friends with

people.

Tell them about Jesus.

And secondly,

we're going to organise

our church life,

our friendships,

our socialising,

our formal gatherings

in such a way

as their accessible,

clear witness

to the good news

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so that you can

bring your friends

to any of them.

That's what we're

going to do.

And if we do that,

and if the Lord

blesses us,

then the normal

testimony of someone

coming to faith

and getting baptised

in our church

will be something

like this.

Oh, I met Clifford.

I met David.

I met Jeff.

I met Joe.

And they were

chatting to me.

And they talked

to me about Jesus.

And they brought me

around for a meal.

And there were other

people from the church

there.

And I got to meet them.

And there was something

about the way

that they related

and spoke to one another

and loved one another.

I'd never seen that before.

And then I came to church

and week in,

week out,

I heard the message

of Jesus who died

for me to forgive me

of my sins,

that I might belong to him.

And I found that actually

my heart was moving

to trust in Jesus

for myself.

That's the testimony

that we long for,

isn't it?

Let's pray that God

does that for his glory.

Finally, evangelism

is about God's glory.

I think essentially

what the text

is telling us here

is that evangelism

in the life of the church,

if you like,

is a subset

of something

over the top of it.

In other words,

our great passion

in taking the Gospels

to the nations,

to the lost members

of our family,

is not so much

a passion for evangelism

as it is a passion

for God's glory.

You see,

the tragedy in unbelief

is not so much

that people are missing out

on the blessings

of the Gospel

for themselves,

but that they're missing out

on the glory of God.

John Piper has a brilliant,

brilliant book on mission.

It's called

Let the Nations Be Glad,

and he puts it this way

in the very first paragraph

of his book.

It's this.

He says,

missions,

or evangelism,

telling other people

about Jesus,

is not the ultimate goal

of the church.

Worship is.

Missions exist

because worship doesn't.

Worship is ultimate,

not missions,

because God is ultimate,

not man.

When this age is over

and the countless millions

of the redeemed

fall on their faces

before the throne of God,

missions will be no more.

It's a temporary necessity,

but worship abides forever.

Now, I know,

because we've said this

over and over

in these Sundays together,

that we are absolutely

reliant on the work of God

to open people's hearts

to the Gospel.

But I want to suggest to you

that he does that

as we make the Gospel clear.

And I can't help but wonder

if at times we share

the Gospel in a really unclear way,

because we are unclear

about this primacy

of the glory of God.

I don't know about you,

but I think often

I can tend to share

the Gospel something like this.

Do you know what?

You and I, we're sinners.

We've done stuff wrong.

And because of that,

we're going to hell

to be judged by God

for eternity.

But Jesus came to die

on the cross

to forgive us of our sins

so that we can get

eternal life when we die.

And that's how we share

the Gospel, isn't it?

Something like that.

And that's true.

None of that's wrong.

But it's wrong in its emphasis

because it's very human-centered.

It makes the Gospel

as being the means

that God achieves something

for us that we really want,

rather than the Gospel

being something about

who God is

and what God really wants

in the world.

Actually, the Gospel

is about the glory of God

first and foremost,

before it's about anything else.

And when most of our friends

hear the Gospel

as we present it about them,

quite often they say,

well, I don't really feel sinful.

I don't really feel

as if my life

is missing something.

I'm not that bothered

about God and His glory.

I don't see the importance

of what you're talking about.

But Peter's point

is that the Gospel

isn't really about us like that.

It's about God and His glory.

We're better off sharing

the Gospel

or something like this,

saying, listen,

have you thought about this?

Do you realize

that you exist,

you live on a ball

that is spinning

at thousands of miles an hour

around another ball of fire?

Actually, your existence itself

is a miracle.

And you are being sustained

in every moment

by the God who made you.

Have you thought about that?

That even the breath

that we have

that we use to deny God

is the breath

that He has given us

in that moment.

Have you thought about that?

Can you imagine

that God

as the sustaining creator

of all things

is just offended

by the fact

that you use

the life that He's given you

on this amazing spinning ball

around a ball of fire,

the breath that He's given you,

you use that to deny Him,

to live as if you've

worked it out yourself,

as if this life

is all about you?

Well, let me tell you

what I've discovered

about God

through His Word, the Bible.

I've discovered

that God is not just

the creator,

but He's also

the loving Savior.

And He's come into this world

in the person of the Son

to defeat our ignorance

and unbelief,

but not with a sword

or a gun,

but by dying in our place

and bearing our judgment

and rising to new resurrection life.

So that now,

through the Son,

you and I get to live life

for God's glory.

The glory not only of a creator,

but of a lover.

So that God gets glory

and we get joy.

A joy that stretches

through the ups and downs

of life

and into resurrection,

eternal life

that the Son of God

has started already.

Doesn't that sound pretty good?

That's the glory of God.

That's what calls people

to Himself,

to be a chosen people,

a holy nation,

a royal priesthood,

His special possession,

who live their lives

to declare His praises.

Let me close in prayer.

Let's just take a moment.

You can think through

and ponder on

the wonder of what God

has done for us

that we might

declare His praises together.

Heavenly Father,

we thank you so much

that you are passionately committed

to your own glory

and that that's the right thing

for you to be.

It's the right way

for you to be.

It's the right thing

for us to acknowledge

that you are glorious

and wonderful.

And we pray, please,

that as a church family

we might be leaky

in our worship of you,

that it might spill out of us

into the people around us

wherever you put us tomorrow,

that people might hear from us

the good news of the Lord Jesus

because it's just spilling out

from us at every turn.

So you pray, please, Lord,

that you would do this work

in our hearts

for the sake of your name

and for the good

of the lost around us

that they might hear of Jesus

and come and trust in Him

for themselves.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.