Messengers of the Gospel

So what is happening is that Christians are finding it harder and harder to talk about God,

talk about sex, talk about politics.

We can talk about what you do, mention Jesus, and it's a different subject altogether.

Let's just change that and talk about something else.

Don't want to talk about religion.

I've read, for instance, that Christian teachers are choosing not to wear crosses

because they know that their credibility would be thrown out if they were known to be Christians.

One student group, Christian student group, has decided not to speak about sex to its students on a university campus

for fear of losing its university affiliation.

Last year, new graduate employees at a major bank in Sydney were told on their first day that we don't do religion here.

Talk of faith wasn't welcome and would be considered a breach of corporate policy.

And just recently, you probably saw in the news or in newspapers this week,

the University of Sydney's Union stated that the Sydney University's Evangelical Union

must remove requirements for members to sign a faith-based declaration

and threaten them with deregistration of the clubs and societies program

if they do not comply by the end of this month.

In practice, that means that non-believers could not only just be members of the Evangelical Union,

but in fact could hold leadership positions in the executive committee.

On many fronts, there is pressure to be quiet, to withdraw, to retreat from public spaces.

Christians, not just Christians, in fact anyone who does not agree with the liberal left,

basically, but Christians are being silenced.

And yet God requires us, as his disciples, to be in this world

and to speak as messengers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus' own teaching in Luke chapter 24

Luke 24 · chapter mention

shows that the nations need to hear and repent in order to be saved.

They need to hear the gospel, the good news of Christ,

and they need to repent in order to be saved.

And against the command to himself be quiet about the risen Lord Jesus,

Peter said the same thing in Acts chapter 4, verse 12.

Acts 4:12

Salvation is found in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they must be saved.

And this itself was the great commission of the Lord Jesus

to his disciples and to us in Matthew 28.

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

I said in the first sermon in this series,

this is now the end of it, we're coming to the close of front lines.

In the first sermon in this series, seven weeks ago,

I said that understood in the correct way,

vocation, that is understood Christianly,

vocation is centered in a sovereign God

who calls us to embrace the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

and to follow him in the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is a theology of vocation.

And so the first and the primary calling of all people

is to embrace the Lord Jesus as his disciples.

That is, we are called to someone, not something or somewhere.

The means by which God calls people to embrace their primary vocation

is his disciples speaking as messengers of the very gospel

that God calls people to embrace.

But under that primary calling,

we all have a secondary calling,

a secondary position in life

in which we live out our primary calling

with faithfulness and fruitfulness

to the God who has called us.

And so how do we work out our primary calling

to embrace Jesus,

to call other people to embrace Jesus

in a society that wants us to be quiet

about that primary calling,

especially in our places of our secondary calling.

And I think the temptation for us

is in fact to be quiet,

to keep our heads down

and in the end to propagate the secular sacred divide

which this whole series is against.

that is, to live two separate lives,

my private life and my public life.

Now let me say that

there is a lot at stake

for the people of our country at the moment.

There's a lot at stake.

There's a lot at stake for the people who want us to be quiet.

A number of Christians

are starting to speak up

about religious freedom in our country

and I think that's okay.

But,

I get a little concerned

if the motivation for speaking up

is for Christians

to be allowed to be Christians.

That is,

I'm concerned

if we are speaking up

just to protect

who we are

and what we are allowed to do.

Because that's not why

we've been called to speak up.

What's really at stake

is the hope

and the lives

and the souls

of millions of people

who don't have hope.

That's what's at stake.

As Dr. Ralph Winter,

he was a former

American missiologist,

scholar and pastor.

He was one time director

of the United States Center for World Mission.

He made a very significant point

about the task

that is before us as Christians.

He wrote this

in 1978.

We may do well

to recognize

what seems to be

the consistent thrust

of the whole Bible.

That unless

and until

in faith

the future

of the world

becomes

more important

than the future

of the church,

the church

has no future.

as Jesus

puts it,

the most dangerous

thing you can do

is seek

to save

your own life.

Or to turn it around

another way,

being messengers

of the gospel

to our society

is the only

future

of the church

and it's not

about protecting

the church.

Every church

in history

that has not

reached out

has in fact

gone down.

Every church

that has existed

to protect itself,

to protect

its rights,

has gone

down.

God will

always cause

his people

around the globe

to give up

their lives

for the sake

of

his

mission.

but we

have no

biblical

guarantee

that any

given

denomination

or local

church

or individual

will endure

to the end.

Denominations

have come

and gone.

Churches

have risen

up and

disappeared

and many

individuals

like seed

sown among

thorns

have confessed

faith in

Christ

but have been

choked by the

cares and riches

and pleasures

of this life.

Luke chapter

Luke 8 · chapter mention

8.

And so the

future of the

Anglican

Diocese of

Sydney,

future of

St. Paul's

Chatswood,

future of

you and

me,

hangs on

whether we

lose our

lives as

messengers of

Christ and

the gospel

for the sake

of others,

not for

our sakes.

And so our

focus today

is our

personal

readiness to

be message of

the gospel

on our

front line.

This is

first base

stuff I

think for

us.

And so the

text which I've

chosen is

1 Peter 3

and especially

14 and

15 which

come along

with me on

this.

1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:14

verses 14

and 15.

What does

it mean to

be ready

to make

a case

for your

hope?

And how

are we to

get ready

and to

stay ready?

A clue to

that is in

1 Peter 3

and you do

need your

Bibles open

because I

want you to

look at some

stuff here

fairly closely.

1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:15

verse 15

is the clue.

It's the

relationship

between the

phrase be

ready and

what comes

just before

it in the

text.

Literally

and sorry

for getting

real technical

here there

is no

verb in

the phrase

be ready

or be

prepared.

Literally

Peter says

set apart

Christ as

Lord in

your hearts

ready always

to make a

case for

your hope.

That's what

he literally

says.

And this

suggests that

there is a

very close

connection

between

setting

apart

Christ as

Lord in

your heart

and

always being

ready to

make a

case for

your hope.

There's a

connection

there,

close

connection.

So one

key to

understand

what it

means to

set apart

Christ as

Lord in

your heart

is to

notice that

it is the

alternative to

fearing men.

Verse 14

is the

Lord.

But even if

you should

choose to

be afraid,

do not be

frightened,

but or

instead

in your

heart set

apart Christ

as Lord.

In other

words,

don't be

afraid of

the sort of

things that

men threaten

you with.

Instead,

greatly

revere

Christ in

your

hearts.

Setting

apart

Christ in

our

heart is

what you

do in

order to

not have

fear in

your heart

of what

men might

do or

say about

you.

That's what

you do.

So whatever

setting apart

Christ means,

it is the

opposite of

fearing men.

And it

is, in

fact, the

source of

your confidence

and your

hope.

In verses

14 and

15, Peter

is giving

a Christian

adaption to

the text of

Isaiah 8

Isaiah 8:12–13

verses 12

to 13.

And you

might want to

look at that

with me.

Isaiah 8

Isaiah 8:12

verses 12

and 13.

And it

gives us a

whole lot of

help in

deciding what

it means to

set apart

Christ as

Lord in

our hearts.

God gives

Isaiah a

warning in

these verses

about how

we should

feel, or

how he

should feel

about his

unbelieving

countrymen,

about the

Lord God.

And beginning

at verse

11, he

says,

the Lord

spoke to

me with

his

strong

hand upon

me,

warning me

not to

follow the

ways of

his people.

He said,

do not

call

conspiracy

everything that

they call

conspiracy.

Do not

fear what

they fear.

Do not

dread it.

The Lord

Almighty is

the one you

are to

regard as

holy.

He's the

one you

are to

fear.

He is the

one you

are to

dread.

And so

Peter takes

this word

of God

addressed to

Isaiah about

his adversaries

and he

applies it to

the Christians

in his own

day and

our day in

relation to

our

adversaries.

And he

says,

don't fear

what they

fear, but

regard the

Lord instead.

Isaiah 8,

14 makes

it clear

that the

way to

regard God

or to

treat him

as holy

is to

fear him

instead of

fearing what

men fear

or to

dread him

instead of

dreading what

they dread.

But God

doesn't mean

that we

are always

to be

gripped by

an emotional

fear when

God is

our Lord.

That would

seem to,

in my mind,

to be an

invitation to

misery, I

would think.

And I

don't think

that's what

he means

here.

One clue

that he

doesn't

mean that

is the

very next

phrase in

verse 14.

It's a

promise for

those who

fear him

as God.

It says,

God will

become a

sanctuary.

sanctuary.

A

sanctuary is

a place

where you

feel safe

and secure

and peaceful.

Now, it

seems on the

surface to be

somewhat paradoxical.

If God is

your dread,

how can he

be your

refuge and

your sanctuary?

But it's

not as

paradoxical if

we take the

words of

verse 14

to not

mean be

constantly

gripped by

the emotion

of fear,

but rather

or instead

always regard

the displeasure

of God as

more fearful

than the

displeasure of

man.

What God

wants here

from Isaiah

is for the

prospect of

offending God

to be much

more dreadful

thing to

him than

the prospect

of being

persecuted

by people.

And that's

the way

Isaiah

was to

revere the

Lord.

It's the way

that Isaiah

was to set

apart God

in his

heart.

The degree

to which God

was set

apart in

his heart

was the

same degree

of his

desire not

to displease

God.

And what

was it in

particular in

the context

that would

have displeased

God?

Verse 12,

do not

fear what

they fear

or be in

dread of

what they

dread.

God would

have been

displeased

if Isaiah,

he would

have been

displeased

with him

if he

had feared

the same

thing that

his unbelieving

countrymen

feared and

that is

the threats

of people.

And the

reason is

that God

had made

many promises

to his

people that

should in

fact have

taken away

the fear

and instead

filled them

with confidence

and hope.

And so if

Isaiah feared

man and

not God,

it would

show that he

doesn't trust

the promises

of God.

God had

said,

Isaiah 41

Isaiah 41:10

verse 10

and 13,

do not

fear for

I am with

you,

do not

be dismayed

for I am

your God,

I will

strengthen

you and

help you,

I will

uphold you

by my

righteous

hand for

I am

the Lord

your God

who takes

hold of

your right

hand and

says to

you,

do not

fear because

I will

help you.

God had

promised him

that already.

God

promised them

that already

and a

bunch of

other promises

and if

Isaiah feared

the threats

of God,

he cast

his vote

against

the

trustworthiness

of God

and does

not revere

the Lord

in his

heart.

But if

we do

not

fear

what

men

fear

but

instead

fear

to

displease

God

and so

trust in

his

promises

then

you

reverence

the Lord

in your

heart.

You set

apart

Christ

as Lord

in your

heart.

And so

what we see

from the Old

Testament

background

background

of Peter's

teaching here

in chapter

3

is that

setting

apart

Christ

as Lord

in your

heart

means

first of

all

feeling

that to

displease

Christ

is more

fearful

than the

threats

of any

human

being.

Firstly

and more

specifically

since what

displeases

Christ

most

is

unbelief

in his

promises

promises

then

setting

him

apart

in our

hearts

means

setting

your

mind

on his

promises

and

setting

your

heart

on

trusting

his

promises.

Promises

like 1

1 Peter 5:7

Peter 5

verse 7

cast all

your anxiety

on him

for he

cares for

you.

Promises

like 1

Peter 5

10

after you

have

suffered

a little

while

the God

of all

grace

who has

called you

to his

eternal glory

in Christ

will himself

restore

establish

and strengthen

you.

To set

apart

Christ as

Lord in

your

hearts

is to

set your

mind on

his

promises

to take

care of

you

and to

trust those

promises

with all

of your

heart.

And if

you do

in increasing

measure

the fear

of men

will

decrease

and instead

be turned

into hope.

And you

will have

a reason

to give

for the

hope that

is in

fact in

your

heart.

Now if

what Peter

has written

here seems

like a

tall order

let's not

forget

that Peter

discovered

this secret

of hope.

He

discovered the

secret of

boldness in

the face of

opposition

after a

massive

failure.

This is the

Peter who

declared that

he would

never forsake

Jesus

but waiting

in a

courtyard

at the

home of the

high priest

while Jesus

was being

questioned

he failed

miserably.

Three times

he denied

he was a

disciple of

Jesus.

He wasn't

with Jesus.

He did

not know

Jesus.

And in the

background in

the shadows

stood Jesus

and Jesus

turns and he

looks at

Peter and

as he

predicted the

crow the

cock crowed

the rooster

crowed the

bird whatever

it was crowed

three times

just as

Jesus said

it would.

And

contrast this

in that

moment in

that dark

night huddled

around that

fire and

the absolute

failure of

Peter running

out from

them bursting

into tears

failing Jesus

to because

he feared

man.

Contrast

that Peter

with the

Peter who

had seen

the risen

Jesus who

was filled

with the

Holy Spirit

he's no

longer huddled

around a

fire but he

stands as

the accused.

He who

had feared

to confront

a servant

girl now

confronts the

high court

and accuses

the high court

of crucifying

Jesus and

he refuses

to be silent

about the

resurrected

Jesus.

He says

we must

obey God

rather than

man.

in Acts

4 and

5.

You see

Peter shows

us that our

hope provides

both the

courage for

our frontline

witness and

in fact the

content of our

frontline

witness.

Our hope is

in the Lord

risen.

Our devotion

to Christ

makes us

ready not

only in

rationale

but in

attitude.

Notice it

says

give a reason

for the hope

you have

in gentleness.

Respect,

gentleness or

another word is

humility of

life is an

important,

is just as

important as

boldness with

the word.

Humility is

the other

result of

setting apart

Christ as

Lord in your

heart.

surely no

pride is

more offensive

than pride in

being trophies of

God's grace.

Is there

anything more

offensive than

that sort of

pride?

pride?

You see the

lack of fear

before man

doesn't lead to

pride or

smugness or

arrogance or

abrasiveness.

This humility

is far more

than politeness

and political

correctness.

It's an

attitude that

reflects the

fear of God

in your heart.

You don't want

to disappoint

Christ.

You want to

have the same

attitude of

Christ.

Christ.

And so I

wonder,

and just

wonder,

if the

reason we

aren't more

free and

natural in

testifying to

the reality of

our hope in

Christ, on

our front

lines or in

our society,

I just

wonder if

it's because

we don't feel

very hopeful

I wonder if

it's because

of lack of

hope that

we're not

free to

testify to

Christ.

And so the

fear of man

grips us.

I think that

if that's the

case, if we're

not hopeful,

when our

hearts are not

full of hope

in the promises

of Christ,

Christ, and

when the

occasion arises

at work or

at school,

university,

at a bar,

and the

opportunity is

there to make

a case for

our hope,

we sense it

in fact as a

duty to defend

doctrine.

doctrine.

If hope's not

there, it's

just a duty to

defend doctrine

instead of a

delight to tell

someone why we

have so much

hope in our

hearts.

Being

messengers of

the good news

of salvation in

Christ Jesus

will always be a

burdensome duty

to defend a

doctrine, as

long as

Christianity

means for us

simply accepting

certain doctrines

as truth and

keeping a

certain list of

do's and

don'ts.

That is, our

mission to the

world will

simply just be a

duty that we

have to do

if we don't

have hope in

our hearts.

Any concept

of being

messengers of

the gospel will

be a painful

duty to be

avoided if we

confess the

lordship of

Jesus with

little more

that are sent

in our minds.

If Jesus is

our treasure

and our

heart's

devotion,

then it is

a delight

to tell

someone why

we have

hope.

and I

fear that

too many

church

people have

simply

inherited the

motions of

church life

and outward

morality and

piety,

but the

heartfelt

reality of

Christ and

a joyful hope

in his

promises,

in spite of

opposition,

are foreign.

And so we

want to

defend our

way of

life,

not see

people wonder

Christ.

Christ.

And some

people who

are in

that position,

they can

defend a

doctrine,

but they

cannot make

a case for

the hope

that is

within them

because they

don't feel

hope brimming

up within

their hearts.

promise.

And so

the way

to get

ready

to be

messengers of

the gospel on

your front

line,

the way

to get

ready to

make a

case for

the hope

that you

have

is to

get hopeful.

Pretty

straightforward,

really.

it makes

the job

so simple.

It

simplifies it

for us.

Don't

start by

writing out

beforehand a

bunch of

answers to

someone else's

questions.

That's not

where you

start.

Apply

yourself to

settling the

questions of

your own

heart,

your own

mind.

do that

first.

That's

where hope

begins.

Settle

the questions

of your

own heart,

your own

mind.

We have

to find

for ourselves

reason enough

to get over

our fear of

men and to

live in

hope.

And if

our own

hope does

not spring

up from

something that

Christ did

or that

something that

Christ said,

then it

is a

mere

sham to

try and

make a

case for

someone else

to put

their hope

in Christ.

But if

we search

out the

promises of

Christ and

meditate on

his character

and work for

the sake of

banishing our

own fear and

kindling our

own hope,

then this

very act of

setting apart

Christ as

Lord in

our hearts

will be

the

preparation

for making

a case for

our hope to

others on

our front

lines.

And if it

is so,

then our

primary activity

in preparing

to witness

is to keep

our own

hearts happy

in Christ,

hopeful in

Christ.

And so that

means day

after day,

we go to

the scriptures

not anxiously

trying to

amass a

bunch of

arguments for

work colleagues

and university

students and

whatever else,

for every

possible rebuttal

that somebody

might have in

our secular

age.

We go there

day by day

because our

own hearts

are so

desperately

needy for

hope.

Because our

own hope

wanes.

Our own

trust in

the promises

of Christ

wanes.

We have

fears that

need to be

overcome by

the promises

of God.

We have

doubts that

need to be

answers.

The fight

of faith is

waged in

the word

of God

and prayer.

And when

we emerge

from that

encounter with

God,

with a

renewed and

lively hope

in his

promises,

we will be

ready to

make a case

for our

hope.

hope.

And in

making the

case for

our hope,

we have in

Christ with

gentleness and

respect, we

are praying that

God would make

us fruitful on

our front lines

for his glory

and the joy of

many people.

for our