Our Multiethnic Mission

Thank you, Tom, for that.

And if you'd like to keep your Bibles open, that'd be brilliant.

Ephesians 4, we'll get there eventually,

but we're going to preach the rest of the Bible before we get to there.

And if you've got the St. Paul's app open,

that would be also particularly helpful as we go through.

Nearly 25 years ago, for those who...

One of the benefits of living longer is you see that

so much of history sort of repeats itself in one way or another.

And 25 years ago, there was another war raging in Europe.

It was in Kosovo between Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

It went for really about 18 months,

although the tensions were building much longer than that, 18 months.

But in that period, 13,500 people died

and over 1 million people were displaced from their homes.

The conflict there came on the back of about 1,000 years of cultural tensions.

And it was very deep cultural tensions,

a very deep hatred culturally between the two groups.

And the war itself in just 18 months

resulted in terrible crimes against humanity

on both sides of the conflict.

There were Christian churches on both sides of that conflict.

And in the middle of that 18-month war,

one pastor from an Albanian Baptist church in Pristina

crossed over the racial-cultural divide

and preached in a Serbian church for the enemy.

And against all that background and hatred and death,

the pastor of that church in Belgrade

took this pastor into his home.

He stayed with him for the weekend

and didn't just welcome him into his home,

but welcomed him into his church

and welcomed him into his pulpit.

After the war, reflecting on that moment,

that particular pastor from Belgrade said,

we don't really have much in common

apart from Jesus.

Apart from Jesus.

That there illustrates the entire point of this series.

Apart from Jesus.

Apart from Jesus.

And it's the banner across this church,

treasuring Jesus together for the joy of all people.

Now, the apostle Paul states God's grand goal,

his worldview, if you like,

of his goal of all things,

at the beginning of Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 8,

Ephesians 1:8

that with all wisdom and understanding,

he made known to us the mystery of his will

according to his good pleasure,

which he purposed in Christ

to put into effect when the times reached their fulfillment

to bring unity to all things in heaven

and on earth under Christ.

unity in all things under Christ.

And what that means for us,

if you're someone who's a Christian,

is that the good news of the Christian faith

isn't simply that God has forgiven you for your sin.

If it was just that,

then it means the whole Christian gospel

is just purely about sin management.

That's all it is.

But that's not what it is.

The good news is that your sins have been given,

that you are given a new resurrected life.

You are gathered into God's new family,

his body, his humanity, his people,

to pursue the very thing that we were created to do.

You remember from sermon one, maybe,

to live for the glory of God.

That's the gospel.

The trajectory of all things

is everything gathered under Jesus Christ

as the creator and Lord of all things,

bringing glory to God joyfully as his people forever.

That's the trajectory.

And so in the next two weeks,

I want to look at how God's plan gets worked out

in here as a church like this.

We're going to summarize what's already been said

in this series in the next two weeks.

And I'm intending on summarizing a chunk of that already today.

So if you've got the St. Paul's app open,

you'll notice three points,

God's multi-ethnic mission,

our multi-ethnic mission,

and my multi-ethnic mission.

So firstly,

we're going to go back to the beginning of God's plan,

be reminded of why you and I were created and saved.

It's in the Garden of Eden,

Genesis 1 and 2.

There's a real sense that all things are gathered to God.

He's the creator of all things.

He made it.

Everything is at peace.

All things are ordered.

And everything is in perfect relationship

with each other,

with God,

as it should be.

The first people are made in God's image

for the purpose,

as we saw in the first sermon,

the purpose of displaying

and magnifying God's glory.

They are to mirror to the world

their creator.

Then the first people make the decision

to magnify themselves rather than God

in Genesis 3.

They decide to live life their way,

to make it all about them.

And the Bible calls this attitude,

which leads to action,

sin.

It's a rejection,

a rebellion against God.

It's a coup against him.

And the consequence of sin

is that all the order

of God's good creation

becomes disordered.

There is no more harmony and peace

and relationship with God is broken.

Where there was unity and closeness,

because of sin,

there is now distance and disunity.

God then removes people from his presence.

He judges their sin

and by scattering them from himself.

And that's the principle

that you will see right through the Bible.

Whenever humanity sets itself up against God,

he scatters them from him in judgment

and from each other.

There's not just a fractured relationship with God,

but a fractured relationship with each other.

But when he saves them,

he gathers them to himself

and unites them together as his people

and to him.

We saw this principle worked out

in ethnic and cultural terms

several weeks ago

with the Tower of Babel

and the calling of Abraham

in Genesis 11 and 12.

When God saves,

he gathers people to himself.

When they rebel against him,

he scatters them from his presence

and from each other.

Isaiah 11

is looking forward to a day

when everything will finally be ordered

and harmonious

and peaceful

and in right relationship

like it was

in the beginning

in the Garden of Eden.

And Isaiah there

in chapter 11

refers to a particular person

who will accomplish God's grand plan

as the root of Jesse.

This person is the Messiah.

They are the son of King David.

And in verse 12 of Isaiah 11,

it says,

He will raise a banner for the nations.

He will gather the exiles of Israel.

He will assemble

the scattered people from Judah

from the four corners of the earth.

Then we read in Isaiah 56 verse 8,

Isaiah 56:8

God declaring

that he will expand

his plan,

his global plan

beyond his people Israel.

He says,

I will gather still

others to them

besides those already gathered.

And the climax

of God's global plan

is revealed

at the end of the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 66, 18.

And I

am about to come

and gather the people

of all nations

and languages

and they will come

to me

and see my glory.

God's plan

is to gather people

from all the nations,

from tribes,

peoples,

languages,

cultures to himself

that they might see

his glory

for the displaying

of his glory.

I'm hoping you're seeing

there's a worldview

being unpacked here.

Your purpose of life

is being unpacked here.

The plan

is to recapture

the original purpose

for our creation

that we saw

in week one

displaying

the glory of God.

The plan

is to recapture

that purpose.

God's plan

gets worked out

in history

with the creation

of the church

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Ephesians,

we had Ephesians 4

read out to us.

Have you got Ephesians open?

I really want to go

Ephesians 1, 2, 3, 4

real quick.

It will be quick,

believe me,

it will be quick.

Ephesians 1 and 2,

Paul,

the Apostle Paul

highlights the massive

division between

Jews and Gentiles

but also between

all of humanity

and God.

Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:13

verses 13 and 16,

he shows us

how God brings

an end to all

of that hostility.

So Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

if you've got to open

there,

verse 13,

now in Christ Jesus,

you who once

were far away

have been brought

near

by the blood

of Christ

for he himself

is our peace

who has made

the two groups

one

and has destroyed

the barrier,

the dividing wall

of hostility

by setting aside

in his flesh

the law

with its commands

and regulations.

his purpose

was to create

in himself

one new

humanity

out of the two

thus making peace

and in one body

to reconcile

both of them

to God

through the cross

by which he put

to death

their hostility.

Every one

of the gospels

declares

that Jesus Christ

is the Messiah

that Isaiah

was looking forward

to.

He is the Messiah

who fulfills

God's plan

of gathering

people from

all four corners

of the globe

to himself

for his glory.

He who is the

perfect image

of God

Jesus Christ

took on the

image of humanity

was scattered

from God

on the cross

as he takes

on our sin

and he bears

our judgment

our punishment

on the cross

he calls out

on the cross

my God

my God

why have you

forsaken me

why have you

pushed me away

why have you

turned your back

on me

why am I

scattered from you

so that we

can be gathered

to him

and after

his resurrection

he ascends

to heaven

sends his

Holy Spirit

to unite us

with him

and his

finished work

and all

of his people

when the

Holy Spirit

comes on the

day of Pentecost

people from

every nation

and culture

and language

were there

gathered

to God

as his new

humanity

his people

in relationship

with God

and the

purpose of

God's

multi-ethnic

mission

is explicit

in

Ephesians 3

Ephesians 3:10

verse 10

his intent

was that

now

through the

church

now

through the

church

the manifold

wisdom of

God

should be

made known

to the

rulers

and the

authorities

in the

heavenly realms

according

to his

eternal

purpose

that he

accomplished

in Christ

Jesus

our Lord

manifold

there

the word

manifold

means

literally

multi-colored

it means

multi-faceted

it's the

same words

used in

the Old

Testament

as a

description

of

Joseph's

multi-colored

coat

the church

is God's

brightly colored

neon sign

to the

universe

of the

glory

of God

how does

God

display

his glory

to the

world

now

through

the

church

as they

proclaim

the gospel

of Christ

to the

world

the church

is the

public

advertisement

of the

wisdom

and the

magnificence

and the

glory

of God

in Christ

the

great

and the

glorious

God's

great

and

glorious

plan

is to

gather

a very

diverse

people

to each

other

and to

himself

in such

a way

that God's

wisdom

and his

greatness

and his

majesty

and his

glory

is made

known

to the

heavenly

realms

and

everything

below

it

there is

a sense

when God

right now

possibly

I don't

want to

put words

in his

mouth

but right

now he's

calling over

the rulers

and the

authorities

of the

heavenly realms

and he

says

see some

Paul's

chastard

down there

have a look

at that

that is

what I

have been

working

towards

for all

of history

that's

why my

son

died

my

son

made that

possible

he

brought

these

diverse

people

together

he broke

down the

dividing

walls

and he

brought

them to

us

to me

for my

glory

and he

says to

the demons

Satan

over here

you

destroyer

of order

you

scatterer

of people

you

ruiner

of lives

and

relationships

see that

not even

the gates

of hell

are going

to stop

my

son

building

his

church

out of

every tribe

and language

of people

for my

glory

so get

this

first point

of application

as we

gather here

today

before church

is about

you

before it's

about me

before it's

about us

it is about

God

it is about

his glory

it's about

his majesty

it's about

his design

it's about

his plan

we get

included in

God's grand

plan for

all things

we become

members of

God's new

family

not by

completing

a membership

course

you don't even

get included

in it just by

having to be

taking up

your regular

spot

in church

for 50

years

we become

a member

of God's

new family

by repenting

of living

independently

of God

by putting

our trust

in Jesus

Christ

and receiving

the Holy

Spirit

who unites

us with

God

and all

Christians

as one

people

that is

the fundamental

first step

of membership

in God's

eternal

plan for

his glory

there will

be plenty

of people

in heaven

who have

not

not

completed

a membership

course

in a

church

but not

one

single

person

who has

not

bowed

the knee

to Jesus

Christ

and

confected

him

as

Lord

of all

and

potentially

that's

the first

step

you need

to take

today

this

brings me

to our

multi-ethnic

mission

here

at

St.

Paul's

how it's

worked out

God's

grand

multi-ethnic

plan

is what

lies behind

this church's

call

to maintain

its unity

in Jesus

in

Ephesians

4

so in

verse 3

make

every

effort

to keep

the unity

of the

spirit

through the

bond

of peace

there is

one body

and one

spirit

just as

you were

called

to one

hope

when you

were called

one Lord

one faith

one baptism

one God

and Father

of all

in other

words

in view

of the

unity

that we

have

in Jesus

in view

of all

the barriers

that have

been

broken

down

in Jesus

verse 3

it says

make

every

effort

that is

we've got

to work

hard

at being

at peace

with one

another

and if you

were here

last week

forgiveness

and repentance

is hard

it's very

hard

to search

our own

hearts

it's much

easier

to search

and judge

someone else's

heart

we are

God's new

society

where God's

family

a new

creation

a new

humanity

characterized

not by

walls

of hostility

and division

but by

unity

and peace

and so

I think

that it's

more than

just

unfortunate

more than

just

unfortunate

when our

worldly

associations

and identities

and cultures

are allowed

to determine

the composition

of local

churches

I believe

in fact

it works

against the

very nature

of the

Christian

gospel

and God's

purposes

so here's

a quote

from American

theologian

Michael Horton

in his book

The Gospel

Driven Life

he writes

not that long

ago

evangelical

missiologists

were defending

the separation

of races

based on the

principle

that people

like to be

with people

who are like

them

South African

theologians

have in fact

pointed out

that this

principle

this principle

in mission

work

laid

the

theological

groundwork

for

apartheid

in South

Africa

now that

racial

segregation

is less

explicitly

deployed

as a

church

growth

strategy

we carve

up Christ's

body

into

socio-economic

and generational

segments

he goes on

to describe

in America

how there are

cowboy

churches

where you

ride your

horse in

for church

and you

go out

I don't think

it's singing

blazing

saddles

it's something

else that you

go out singing

rawhide

or something

like that

as the

departing

song

he's

talking

there

writing

there

about

the

homogenous

unit

principle

it has

led

churches

to be

planted

with

targeted

specific

demographics

and

segregation

congregating

congregations

individual

preferences

traditional

services

family

services

youth

services

Australian

born

Chinese

services

while

Christians

have led

a bunch

of the

charge

historically

in

pursuing

racial

justice

at a

societal

level

as well

as in

fact

cross

cultural

mission

on the

other

side

of the

world

it

appears

in so

many

cases

it

does

not

trickle

down

into

interpersonal

behaviour

on the

local

church

level

it is

so much

easier

to pursue

racial

reconciliation

and

cross

cultural

ministry

when it's

at a

distance

from me

when my

preferences

when I

don't have

to surrender

comfort

and my

preferences

so the

church can

be done

my way

locally

I am

convinced

that

homogenous

circles of

comfort

are a

hindrance

to the

gospel

as we

fail to

display the

beauty

of the

picture

of God's

plan

worked out

in the

local

church

for his

glory

and in

2011

here at

St Paul's

we structurally

moved away

from the

homogenous

unit

principle

in our

congregations

and as we

pursue

God's

grand

plan

in our

multi-ethnic

mission

here at

Chatswood

one of the

key values

for us

to embrace

deep in

our hearts

is the

value of

shared

discomfort

the value

of

surrendering

power

and comfort

for the

glory of

God

and the

joy of

others

we value

surrendering

personal

preferences

sacrificing

comfort for

the sake

of God's

glory and

the joy

of others

in other

words what

we're seeking

to do

here at

St Paul's

our

multi-ethnic

mission here

is to build

a gospel

community

another way

of putting

that is

that what

we're seeking

to do

is build

a supernatural

community

rather than

a natural

community

a natural

community

is where

people feel

connected

really because

of demographic

connections

I feel

connected

to these

people because

they're just

so much

like me

they grab

people gravitate

to each other

find a sense

of belonging

because of

similarities

irrespective of

whether the

gospel is

true or not

now that's not

such a bad

thing don't

leave me

say that

that's not

a bad

thing

I share

common

interests

amazingly

with all

of my

friends

that's one

of the

reasons we

are friends

because I

share these

common interests

with them

it's not a

bad thing to

have those

connections and

affinities here

at St Paul's

what I want

to caution

us about

is not to

think that

that therefore

is the sum

of gospel

community

that somehow

that is a

supernatural

community

at the end

of the day

you can have

natural community

without

Jesus

and without

pursuing his

glory

the heavenly

realms look

on and see

the wisdom

of God

when they

gaze

at supernatural

community

at gospel

community

it's the kind

of community

that would

not exist

apart from

Jesus

apart from

Jesus

and that's

the point

this is when

people

who would

not gravitate

to each

other

or people

who are

even in

the middle

of war

and openly

hostile to

one another

are drawn

together in

peace and

love

hospitality

even share

the pulpit

all because

of the

reconciling work

of the Lord

Jesus Christ

on the cross

that's

our mission

to Chatswood

let's get

down a

personal level

down to

my

multi-ethnic

mission

when I say

my

yours

and mine

in

Ephesians 4

we see

that our

unity

does not

equal

uniformity

that's

Paul's

point

in verse

7

when he

writes

about

apportioned

grace

but to

each of

us

grace

has been

given

as

Christ

apportioned

it

after

Jesus

saved us

through

his

death

and his

resurrection

his

Holy

Spirit

gave

each

of us

gifts

to

use

for

his

service

and

those

gifts

are

used

primarily

for the

building up

of his

church

for his

glory

you can

see why

the

gifts

are

given

the

use

of the

gifts

of

grace

is how

we make

every

effort

to

maintain

the

unity

down

in

verse

11

Paul

describes

the way

these

gifts

are to

be

used

it

was

he

who

gave

some

to be

apostles

some

to be

prophets

some

to be

evangelists

and some

to be

pastors

and teachers

to prepare

God's

people

for works

of service

so that

the body

of Christ

may be

built up

until we

all reach

unity in

the faith

and in

the

knowledge

of the

Son

of God

and become

mature

attaining to

the whole

measure

of the

fullness

of Christ

that is

the church

is built

on the

foundation

of different

people

faithfully

serving

each other

in different

and unique

ways

so that

the glory

of Christ

might be

promoted

amongst

us

to the

world

and the

heavenly

realms

that's

why the

gifts

were

given

and God

works with

the differences

and quite

ironically

as the

differences

come together

he builds

unity

I've

always got

the image

of an

orchestra

here

no one

wants to

go and

see

50

clarinets

playing

at one

time

or at

least I

don't

okay

but an

orchestra

all these

different

instruments

work

harmony

beautiful

God's

design

for us

is to be

different

but when

you put

that difference

together

it comes

up with

a harmony

that is

absolutely

impossible

if we

were all

the same

that is

the genius

of God

and it's

because we

are different

that we

need each

other

it means

that we

are all

involved

in this

ministry

to prepare

God's

people

for works

of service

that is

when you

use

your

gifts

God

given

gifts

for his

glory

to strengthen

me

rather than

to gratify

yourself

and when

I use

my

God

given

gifts

to strengthen

you

instead

of gratifying

myself

then our

diversity

will build

us up

in truth

and love

rather than

fragment us

this is

your

multi

ethnic

mission

you

are here

to be

part of

God's

new

humanity

it's

the

reason

he

saved

you

to

connect

you

as

part

of

his

new

humanity

for

his

glory

we

are

here

to

actively

worship

God

love

his

people

and

serve

the

world

we

are

here

to

demonstrate

to

this

world

and

the

angels

in

the

heavenly

realms

the

wisdom

and

the

wonder

of

God's

plan

being

worked

out

in

Christ

forever

we're

here

to

reveal

to

the

world

that

alienation

and

self

centeredness

and

hatred

and

division

don't

have

the

final

word

we're

here

to

work

together

to

display

Christ's

love

in

real

ways

to

the

world

what

that

means

is

that

if

you

declare

yourself

to

be

Christian

but

you

are

not

using

your

gifts

for

that

purpose

you've

got a

way

to

grow

there's

a

next

step

you

need

to

take

and

that

is

understanding

why

you

were

saved

so

what

would

it

look

like

for

us

to

be

captivated

by

Jesus

more

passionate

more

obsessed

and

consumed

by

him

than

every

other

hope

and

vision

and

dream

and

hostility

in

the

world

and

identities

in

the

world

what

Christianity

proclaims

and what

I want

it to

be

in

increasing

measure

the banner

over

my

life

and the

banner

over

this

church

is

that

there

is

something

that

is

grander

bigger

far

more

fulfilling

to be

consumed

by

than

secure

retirement

possessions

health

shopping

travel

books

education

sex

socializing

tradition

ministry

political

movements

justice

or even

this

church

or a

thousand

other

passions

in fact

it's not

something

but it's

someone

and that

is

Jesus

Christ

it's

what

you were

created

for

his

glory

and so

friends

I'm not

sure why

you are

here today

or why

you've

tuned

in

today

because

reality

is

there's

many

things

you

could

be

doing

right

now

but let

me

tell you

if you

haven't

got it

just

let me

just

summarize

it

all

you

right

here

are

now

part

of

something

that

is

immense

something

that

began

before

you

were

born

and

something

that

will

still

exist

after

you

have

died

and

will

continue

on

for

all

of

eternity

that

is

the

fulfillment

of

God's

plans

for

the

creation

of

the

world

and

the

salvation

of

the

world

for

his

glory

God

has

graciously

gifted

his

family

with

time

treasures

talents

and

testimonies

for

his

glory

commit

them

to

him

the

commitment

card

which is

on

your

seats

and

was

emailed

to

you

if

you

can

grab

those

this

commitment

card

is

about

you

taking

your

next

step

to

be

captivated

by

Christ

and

his

plan

for

all

things

God's

rescue

plan

his

eternal

plan

to

rescue

fallen

scattered

humanity

gathering

them

to

himself

and

progressively