Share the Gospel

Good morning, everyone. Great to be in church with you again this morning. My name's Steve. If I've not met you before, I'm the senior pastor here at St. Paul's, and as Nick has indicated, we're coming towards the end of our vision series for this year.

A worldview is the way that we, as individuals, but also as cultures and societies, the way that we understand the way things are. That's what a worldview is.

And there are six basic questions that all worldviews should address, and they're on the screen. Things like, where did the universe come from? Where is things heading? What should I do or how should I live?

How do we attain our goals in life, fulfill our goals in life? What's true or false? And where did the answers to the first five questions come from?

And is whatever the source of those answers are, where it came from, is it internally consistent? That's the basic questions in terms of forming a worldview.

And remarkably, because most of us don't think about it at all, but every single person has got a worldview.

Even if you don't are even aware of the worldview, you are operating under a worldview. All of our value systems, our principles, the choices we make, the things that we commit to, are all attached to a much deeper thing, which is our understanding of the way things are.

And the Christian worldview is based on God's story of all things as it is outlaid in the Bible.

And it has four main chapters in it. The Christian worldview has four main chapters.

Number one, chapter one is creation. The God who always existed, never had a beginning, never had an end, created all things by speaking them into existence, such as his power.

He made humanity for a special relationship with him.

In fact, Christianity is the only worldview of all worldviews of the history of humanity, where a divine creator creates all things purely out of love.

That's it.

Chapter two in the Christian worldview is the fall.

Humanity rejects relationship and rule of God.

All people live life without consideration for their maker at all, flowing from the very first people right through to our current day and age.

And the Bible calls that sin.

And the sin is the biggest problem for humanity.

In fact, it has cosmic consequences of fracturing our relationship with God, with each other, with ourselves and with the rest of creation.

Humanity's special dignity created in the image of God means that God holds us especially accountable for rejecting him.

And we see that in the early chapters of the Bible where God's judgment comes upon the nations of that time in Genesis 11 with the Tower of Babel.

It's an incident where God scatters people from his presence across the earth so that they will no longer work together in order to rebel against God as a collective, to attempt to defund God.

It's a judgment that ultimately symbolizes the ultimate separation from God and his presence and everything good for all of eternity for those who live a life consistently rejecting God.

Chapter three is the story of redemption.

And the great news is it starts within on chapter 12 of the Bible.

It starts right there.

God has a plan to reverse our rejection of him and make all things new.

And that plan begins with a promise to an obscure dude named Abram in Genesis 12.

And God takes this guy Abram, gives him a new name, Abraham, and says that through you, all peoples of the world will be blessed.

And it's a redemption plan that is slowly worked out in all the chaos and carnage of human history as revealed in the Bible.

And it finds its culmination in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Bible claims that Jesus, the Son of God, the creator of all things, to solve humanity's greatest problem and to deal with the need for them to be redeemed and brought back to God,

God has to enter his own story.

Not as a vengeful God seeking revenge, but as a servant of humanity, as we just read from Philippians 2.

And everyone, what he does is, as a servant, he takes the judgment, his own judgment, the judgment of God for our sin upon himself.

He dies the death that we should die for our rejection of him.

But the great news is, he rises triumphantly, therefore defeating sin.

And everyone who turns back to God in repentance and trusting Jesus is gathered back from all the corners of the world,

gathered back into relationship with God, become members of his new family, his new society, his new people,

his new nation who he will dwell with for all of eternity for our joy and his glory.

And the work of gathering people from all nations continues this day, 2025, through God's new people,

as Jesus sends them out filled with the spirit and the good news of reconciliation to the very corners of the world,

into every culture and people, group and nation, making disciples of all people until chapter 4 comes.

And chapter 4 is the new creation.

It's the chapter with no ending.

It's the chapter with no ending.

It's the Christian worldview in a nutshell.

This is so much more purposeful.

And so, therefore, the opposite of the main worldview that is currently dominating our society here in this country,

a worldview that says life's an accident, there's no reason or purpose or meaning behind existence at all,

and therefore just do what you can because when you're gone, you're gone.

That's it.

One of the things I've been saying throughout this series

is that there is often a gap between the great truths of the Christian faith

and the things that we hold in our mind to be true as God's revealed them

and the lives that such truths should produce in terms of character and priorities.

And to close the gap, what we need is grace-fueled rhythms,

spiritual disciplines, things that God has given us

that push God's plan of redemption in Jesus down from our minds

into the centre of our lives

so that it is, number one, constantly before us

and it comes out of us in terms of changed characters

and priorities and lives as we live confidently in the Christian worldview.

So as we open up Luke chapter 10,

Luke 10 · chapter mention

we are sitting in chapter 3 of God's worldview,

the chapter of redemption.

And the main concern as we open up chapter 10,

the main concern of Luke 1 to 9

is the question of who is Jesus.

And then at the very end of chapter 9,

it shifts.

The theme shifts for the next few chapters.

And it shifts to,

if Jesus is who Luke 1 to 9 says he is,

that he is the creator eternal God,

the one who is the author of life,

the one who has written the worldview,

written history,

if that is true

and that he has entered into his world for our redemption,

if that is true,

what does it mean for life?

That's where we get to chapter 10.

And the general answer to that question is,

we should give our lives to Jesus,

we should follow Jesus,

we should obey Jesus.

And the specific answer that we're looking at today

in chapter 10 verses 1 to 21 is,

if that's true,

if Jesus is who he says he is

and that is how he has said that the world is,

then as followers of Jesus,

we are messengers of God in this world.

That's what we're looking at today.

And so on the St. Paul's app,

you've got four points there

as we journey through this.

First of all, mission.

The mission that we have as Christians

in terms of,

the mission in terms of our part to play

in God's story of all things

is in the very first sentence.

After this,

the Lord appointed 72 others

and sent them two by two

ahead of him to every town and place

where he was about to go.

Again, verse 3,

go, I am sending you out.

Now,

at the beginning of chapter 9,

Jesus sends out his core team,

you know,

the 12,

the 12 original disciples.

And if we had just chapter 9

and not chapter 10,

we could have stopped there

and we could deduce

that the sending out job here

is for those in vocational ministry.

You know,

the core team,

you know,

for Jesus' key disciples,

not the rest of the crowd.

You know,

it's the job of the professionals,

it's the pastors,

it's the clergy,

it's the evangelists,

those kind of people.

It's their job.

The rest of us,

we pay them to do that job.

Like,

that's our job,

you know.

But then we get chapter 10

and chapter 10

entirely undoes that idea.

Jesus sends out 72.

Now,

if you've hung around the Bible at all,

you would know

anytime a number like this pops up,

you go,

what's the significance of 72?

Why 72?

I mean,

it's a random,

you,

you,

you,

you,

you,

and just happens to be 72?

Well,

scholars will tell you

there's something very significant

happening here.

I mentioned earlier

God's judgment

upon the nations

in the Tower of Babel incident,

which is in

Genesis 11.

It's in the,

you know,

the chapter 2 of God's story,

scatters people to the ends of the earth.

One chapter before that

and chapter 10

and chapter 11

actually go as one unit.

So in chapter 10,

what we have there

is a list of the nations

that God is judging

at Babel

and in the Greek language version

of the Old Testament,

think of the Septuagint,

there is 72 nations listed.

72.

This is Jesus' way of saying,

I'm sending you out

to all peoples

of the nations.

This is,

as you go out,

you are reversing

my judgment.

It's the symbolic reversal

of Babel

and it is the responsibility

of all his people

to send out.

A Christian

is someone

who has been

gathered from

the nations of the world

back into intimate relationship

with God

through Jesus Christ

and into his new people.

Then,

having been gathered,

they are then

sent out

on mission,

sent out

on God's mission

to see

more people

from the nations

gathered into

God's new family.

Every disciple

of Jesus

is normally,

naturally,

personally

involved in

God's work

of reaching

those who don't

have salvation

and hope

in Jesus

as much as

they are

personally,

normally,

naturally

involved

in corporate

worship,

Bible study,

prayer

in exactly

the same way.

Christians

and churches

can never

outsource

the mission

of God

to others.

We can

outsource

roofing repairs

to others,

but we can

never outsource

the mission

of God's work

to others.

It is all

too easy,

I believe,

to put up

pictures of missionaries,

to receive

new letters,

to give

financially

to missions,

be on boards

of organizations,

even support

the running

of an evangelistic

course like

Hope Explored

and applaud

myself that

I've got a

mission mindset

and that

we are

ascending

church.

I'm not saying

those things

are bad.

What I'm

saying is

as he's

gathered people,

God sends

us out,

each of us

personally.

we obviously

do it together

in partnership,

but we go

out personally,

each of us

has skin

in the game

as the old

saying goes.

If you've never

heard of it,

don't worry

about it.

That's the first

thing.

There's a mission

and we're all

personally involved

in it.

Secondly,

there's a message.

Jesus'

command to

make disciples

necessarily

involves

helping people

who are not

yet followers

of Jesus

to become

followers

of Jesus.

And core

to the

Christian

mission

is a

message.

Yes,

the

Christian

mission

includes

healing

and

restoration.

It includes

deeds of

love and

mercy.

Chapter 10,

you just need

to read the

second bit

of that.

The Good

Samaritan,

you'll see

that that's

another core

aspect of

the Christian

life.

Have a look

at verse

9.

Heal the

sick who

are there

and tell

them the

kingdom of

God has

come near

to you.

Then in

verse 11,

yet be sure

of this,

the kingdom

of God

has come

near.

Again,

verse 16,

whoever

listens to

you listens

to me,

whoever

rejects you

rejects me,

but whoever

rejects me

rejects him

who sent

me.

Every

follower of

Jesus has

been given

a message

that they

are to

communicate

and to

urge those

who hear

it to

believe it.

Now,

what I've

just said

there is

very

controversial

in our

society in

this day

and age.

There are

many people

in our

society who

are quite

tolerant of

Christianity,

providing

that we

don't try

and convert

other people

to our

view of

things.

You know,

that is

very

happy in

our

society,

very

happy for

people to

have a

private

faith that's

totally fine,

if it works

for you,

it's good

for you,

but it's

wrong to

tell others

that they

should believe

it as

well.

Now,

this creates

a problem

for the

Christian

because the

message Jesus

sends us

out with

is called

the

gospel.

The word

gospel had

a very

specific

meaning

in Jesus'

time.

A gospel

was news

of an

objective,

historic,

life-altering,

changing

event.

An event

that changes

everyone's

situation,

not just a

couple of

people,

everyone's

situation

and therefore

required a

response from

everyone at

some point.

For instance,

in the

Berlin Museum,

if you've

got a chance

to go there,

you can see

a thing called

the

Prienin

calendar.

This thing

was discovered

in the

town square

of ancient

Prienin

in western

Turkey.

The inscription

on it

is known

as the

gospel

of

Caesar

Augustus.

Pax

Romania.

The inscription

portrays

Augustus

as a

saviour

and as

a benefactor

and with

his birth.

It's a

gospel that

went to the

Roman Empire

upon his

birth,

that with

his birth

and his

rule,

that he

will bring

salvation

to the

Roman Empire.

It is

referred to

as a

gospel,

the gospel

of Caesar

Augustus.

And the

gospel of

Caesar Augustus

promises

peace and

prosperity

for the

empire

through his

reign,

through his

life.

And so

a gospel

is an

announcement

of a

major

history

altering

event

that

impacts

every

single

person

under

the

jurisdiction

of that

gospel,

of that

announcement.

And so

like

Prioryne,

throughout

the ancient

empire,

this thing

was carved

in stone

and jammed

in the

middle of

the town

square.

Every

corner of

the Roman

Empire,

it was

sent.

And the

response of

all people

is,

you submit

to the

emperor.

You want

peace and

prosperity?

You do

what he

says.

Now the

problem for

the Christian

is that

when society

is, well

if it works

for you

that's fine

but don't

tell others,

what it's

saying is

that the

jurisdiction

of the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

is just

you, it's

not me,

it's just

you.

It's not

relevant for

me.

And yet

what the

Christian

gospel

claims of

itself is

fundamentally

far bigger

than that.

And we

get a

subtle hint

of it

in verse

18.

This is

the extent

of the

claim of

the Christian

gospel.

Verse 18.

Jesus said,

I saw

Satan fall

like lightning

from heaven.

In very

simple terms,

what Jesus

is claiming

there is

that he

was there.

He was

there when

Satan fell.

He was

there when

Satan himself

rebelled

against God,

rebelled

against his

maker,

before the

world was

even made.

Way before

the world

was even

made,

Jesus

claiming,

in this

that I

was there,

I was there

when Satan

fell for the

very present

God for

his pride

and his

arrogance.

I was

there.

And he's

claiming in

this statement,

I am the

everlasting God,

I am the

maker of all

things,

I am the

sustainer of

all things.

That is,

my jurisdiction

has no

bounds,

not just to

all peoples

of the

earth,

but to

all things

of the

world and

beyond the

world and

into the

universe.

Every realm

comes under

my jurisdiction

because I've

made it

all.

The

staggering,

unique and

exclusive claim

of the

Christian

gospel is

that Jesus

is not

just a

religious

leader with

a bunch

of advice

about God.

The

staggering

claim is

Jesus

Christ is

God and

he has

entered his

story.

The writer

of history

has put

himself in

the storyline

so that

the storyline

has absolute

clarity.

reality.

And the

Christian has

been sent

out by

Jesus with

the news

that changes

everything and

it's a response

is required

from all

of humanity.

Now the

second problem

with a common

view of

believe,

but be

quiet,

is that

while it

seems

really tolerant,

it seems

really

tolerant,

it's not

actually

consistent,

internally

consistent.

Remember

question number

six about

your worldview?

It's not

internally

consistent.

It's actually

not that

tolerant at

all.

What that

view is

really saying

is you

shouldn't

believe it

either.

You

shouldn't

speak it

because you

shouldn't

believe it.

when it

boils down

to say

we must

keep our

faith

private

is to

say

Jesus

cannot

possibly

be

who

he

claims

to

be.

And so

you

shouldn't

claim,

you

shouldn't

speak

about it,

you

shouldn't

believe

it,

you

shouldn't

believe

that

about

him.

Believe

he's a

nice

guy,

believe

all

these

other

good

things,

but

do

not

believe

what

he

claims

to

be.

And

in that

moment

when

someone

says

believe

it

yourself

but

be

quiet

about

it,

you're

asserting

your

worldview

on

me.

Your

worldview.

It's

an assertion

that my

worldview

must not

be

communicated

and as

you do

that,

you are

saying

that your

worldview

must be

adopted.

In the

end,

the reality

is every

single

person

is a

messenger

and evangelist

for their

worldview.

Everyone

is.

No one

can say

you must

stop

communicating

your

worldview

without

doing the

very thing

they just

told you

not to

do.

No one

can do

it.

To say

no one

should

claim

absolute

truth

is in

fact

an

absolute

truth

claim.

All

people

are

messengers

of their

worldview.

you.

And so

if Jesus

is who

he says

he is

and has

achieved

what he

claims to

have

achieved,

to not

declare it

to all

people is

reprehensible.

Absolutely

reprehensible.

to find a

cure for

cancer and

keep it to

yourself and

the people

you love,

that's just

plain wicked.

it.

But to

keep the

news of

hope in

Jesus

Christ in

eternal

life,

that's

evil.

Third

point,

motivation.

Now I

acknowledge the

concerns of

our society

and I

totally agree

with it,

that there

has been

quite a

lot of

damage done

by absolute

truth claims

throughout

history.

leading to

oppression

of people

and all

sorts of

things,

just awful

stuff.

And

Christians

have got

blood on

their hands

on this

one as

well.

But I

want to

say that

the Christian

gospel never

takes us in

that place.

The Christian

gospel, the

Christian faith

in no way

ever justifies

that in

any way.

The

motivation for

being messengers

is never

influence,

it's never

power at

all.

Verse

17,

the 72

returned with

joy and

said,

Lord,

even the

demons

submitted to

us in

your name.

Of course,

verse 18,

Jesus said,

of course they

did.

I saw

Satan fall.

Of course

they're going

to submit in

my name.

My name is

the name above

every name.

Of course

they're going

to.

But then

his response

is in

verse 20

to them.

However,

do not

rejoice that

the spirits

submit to

you,

but rejoice

that your

names are

written in

heaven.

So in

other words,

the 72

come back

with all

full of

joy,

amazing

stuff,

Jesus,

you should

have been

there,

and he

goes,

rebukes

them.

It's a

rebuke.

The 72

did not

come back

rejoicing that

people's lives

are being

changed by

the gospel,

that people

are being

set free

from oppression,

have been

healed from

infirmities.

There is

no mention

at all

of people's

lives and

communities

being changed

by Jesus.

At all.

They are

rejoicing in

power.

Now,

Jesus,

we

were part

of

something

spectacular.

Us

no-name

people that

you've

gathered from

all the

people of

the Middle

East as

you walked

through,

us people,

no-one

knows,

we're still

not named,

no-one

knows who

we are,

and we

are now

spectacular.

We,

Jesus,

now have

power,

and so

therefore we

must be

something in

your eyes,

Jesus.

Jesus says,

no,

your joy

should be

that your

names are

written in

heaven.

Not that

now that

you've made

a name for

yourself,

but that

your names

are written

in heaven.

This is the

deepest motivation

for being a

messenger,

receiving a

name in

heaven,

receiving a

name from

God himself,

in other

words.

Christians are

somebody because

they have

received a

name from

God,

not earned

a name for

themselves through

power of

success or

accomplishment or

performance or

gifts or how

big their

church is or

how effective

they are or

Jesus warning

them in verse

18 that if

you go down

that line,

then it will

lead to the

exact same

thing that

led to

Satan

fall,

pride.

And

he's a

great oppressor.

Pride will

always lead to

oppression and

aggression.

In fact,

it was in an

attempt to

make a name

for themselves

apart from

God that

saw the 72

nations come

together to

build a tower

to Babel,

the Tower of

Babel,

to storm the

heavens to

remove God

in order that

we might make a

name for

ourselves.

It saw them

judged.

it's pride

that saw

Satan pushed

out from

God and

pride that

saw the

nations

scattered from

God.

How

humanity

is gathered

back in

and receive

the approval

of a name

in heaven

is the

essence of

the message

that Jesus

sends his

people out

with,

his friends

out with.

So how

do we get

that name?

Well,

way back

before Jesus,

the leader

of God's

people was

a bloke

named

Moses.

And you

see him

popping up

in the

second book

of the

Bible,

a book

called

Exodus.

In

Exodus

32,

there's

this

horrendous

incident

where

Israel

disobeyed

God in

a really,

really big

way,

really big

way.

And Moses

knows two

things.

God is a

perfect God,

he's a just

God,

and so

therefore Israel

must be

punished for

their rebellion

against God.

But Moses

also knows

that he

loves Israel

and he

knows that

ultimately

God loves

Israel as

well,

which is why

he saved

them in

the first

place.

He wants

Israel to

be saved

from

judgment.

And so

there's this

remarkable

moment where

Moses pulls

himself away

and he

prays.

He says,

God,

please

forgive

Israel.

Please

forgive your

people and

punish me

instead.

Save

them and

take my

name out

of the

book

that

theirs

might

remain.

And God

replies to

him and

says,

well,

actually,

I will

remove their

name,

but Moses,

you keep

leading them.

What's

going on

here?

If God's

going to

remove their

name,

why does

Moses have

to keep

leading them?

What's the

point of

that?

Why is

he going

to front

back up

again with

these

rebellious

people and

keep leading

them?

If you're

going to

blot their

name out,

just blot

the name

out.

Just

remove it.

Because

God is

a patient

God.

God is

waiting

for

centuries

upon

centuries

for the

ultimate

Israelite

to turn

up.

He's

waiting for

the ultimate

Israelite to

come,

the true

person of

God.

God.

And he's

waiting for

centuries and

centuries and

centuries for

the ultimate

Moses to

turn up,

the ultimate

mediator and

substitute for

a sinful

person to

be sent.

And the

Christian

gospel is

that God

was waiting

for to

send his

divine son

Jesus,

the ultimate

Israelite,

and the true

mediator and

substitute for

a sinful

people.

Jesus

Christ,

the eternal

son of

God,

was sent

into God's

story as

an Israelite

man.

Born,

he bore

God.

And as he

died on

that cross

outside of

Jerusalem,

he died

and his

name was

blotted.

He gave

up his

place in

heaven,

he came

to us,

he was

born into

a nobody

village,

he was

despised,

he was

mocked,

he was

scorned,

he was

rejected,

so that

we might

have a

permanent

name in

heaven.

And the

good news

of Easter

day is

that he

rose

triumphant,

defeating

death,

and now

reigns as

the Lord

of all

the universe

and as

we just

said earlier

in the

service,

he now

has the

name that

is above

every name

and at

some point

in history

either now

or in

chapter 4

every person

who has

ever,

ever,

ever

breathed

breath on

this earth

will declare

with their

lips his

name.

And it's

because he

rose triumphant

over our

sin that he

secures our

name so

that we

reign with

him.

our name

in heaven

is attached

to his

triumph.

Our name

that is our

approval,

our welcome,

our intimacy,

our life

is a gift

and that's

why in

verse 21

Jesus is

full of

joy.

So many

scholars as

I read

through this

just said

this is

the ultimate

expression of

Jesus in

joy.

Verse 21

because the

plan of

God is

not to

give his

name,

not to

give his

grace and

his favour

to the

wise,

to the

strong,

to the

oppressors,

to the

successful,

to the

gifted,

but to

the little

children.

The

nobodies

in first

century is

the symbolism

here.

The weak,

the powerless,

the vulnerable,

the broken,

the flawed,

God's grace

to the

undeserving

sinner in

Jesus is

the gospel.

That's the

message we're

sent out

into all

the world

with.

So if

you've tuned

on in

here this

morning and

you don't

know Jesus,

or if

you're sitting

in this

room and

your

confidence

is

ultimately

in

yourself

and

Jesus,

I urge

you,

today is

the day

of salvation,

I urge

you to

accept that

message

now.

Speak

to me

afterwards,

I'd be

delighted to

pray with

you,

accept it

now.

God's

grace to

the

undeserving

sinner in

Jesus Christ

is the

gospel.

It's the

motivation for

the Christian

to go out

as messengers

and it

shapes the

manner in

which we

go out.

Courage is

certainly

needed.

I know

that fully,

courage is

needed.

As even

Jesus says,

we are

sent out

like lambs

amongst

wolves and

humility and

grace is

needed so

that us

lambs never

turn into

wolves.

Christians

can never be

persecutors or

oppressors even

if we are

being oppressed

and persecuted.

it is one

of the

horrendous

ironies

that any

Christian

would

communicate

the

glorious

gospel of

God's

grace

with

arrogance,

with pride,

with anger,

with condemnation,

with coercion.

even the

woes

that are in

Luke 10

that were

read out to

us

are not

a

anger,

not a

judgment

statement,

they are an

empathy

statement.

Oh,

urge you,

Chorosan,

please,

please,

come to

the

gospel.

So

this is

my

last point

is that

Jesus

sends the

Christian

out.

That

requires

movement,

frankly,

it always

does,

one step,

two steps,

there's always

a first step

and ongoing

steps,

and the

first and

ongoing

step of

daily,

weekly,

monthly,

every moment

being

messages

of the

gospel is

verse 2,

the harvest

is plentiful

with the

workers

a few,

ask the

Lord of

the harvest

therefore to

send out

workers into

the harvest

field.

In other

words,

what it's

saying there

is pray,

pray,

pray every

day,

we cannot

separate what

we have

been sent

out to

be and

do and

the God

who sends

us out

and all

of his

power in

sending us

out.

We cannot

be his

messengers

in our

own wisdom,

with our

own power,

our own

intellect.

Pray,

pray for

opportunities

to be

messengers

of the

gospel.

Pray

specifically

for people

who you

know don't

know Jesus

to know

Jesus.

We've been

encouraging you

to do that

here for

numbers of

years.

One plus

one plus

one.

One plus

one.

Pray for

one person

once a day

for at least

one minute

that they

might know

Jesus and

embrace him

for their

joy.

Pray for

people to

say yes

to an

invite to

church or

to an

invite to

read the

Bible with

you or

to come

to a

course that

explains the

Christian

faith.

Pray for

boldness and

courage to

take that

next step.

Pray too

for the

mission of

this church.

Right now

there is a

small group

of people

amongst us,

I emphasise the

word small

there,

group of

people amongst

us who

are praying

one plus

one plus

one by

name for

those attending

the Hope

Explored course.

prayers.

And the

second step

really is

to prepare.

Be prepared

to be the

person that

God will

use to