Moore College Mission Brett Hall

Good morning. Let me pray.

We thank you, Heavenly Father, for your word to us,

that it is powerful, powerful to change lives.

And so we ask that you would give us hearts to receive it,

our ears to hear it, minds to comprehend it this morning.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

So I think this week for mission,

I've probably spent more time on the North Shore

than at any other time in the entirety of my life.

I, at the moment, live in Newtown,

and to be frank, I've just never had any reason

to really cross the ditch over to the picturesque, leafy North Shore.

And so it's been great as part of this mission,

coming to Chatswood and keeping my eyes open,

keeping my eyes peeled to the things that make this part of the world what it is.

There's a few things that I was expecting to find here.

One of the things we've been doing that I mentioned before

is that we had a stall set up down in Chatswood,

near the entrance to Lemon Grove and Westfield.

And there's no surprise that over the two days that we were there,

manning the stall,

that we met a lot of people from Chinese or Korean backgrounds.

I was expecting that.

Now, I've since been told as well

that Chatswood is like the Bondi Junction of the North Shore.

Or perhaps you'd rather,

Bondi Junction is the Chatswood of the eastern suburbs.

And so there's not just been Chinese folk that we've seen,

or Anglos,

but there's actually been a whole range of people that we've seen

down in the shops in Chatswood

who have come here because it's a commercial hub or a transport hub,

so they're either here for work or shopping or just passing through.

Some of us were also introduced to a man named Charles Knox,

who's a caseworker with Streetwork,

Streetwork, so an organisation working with at-risk youth and young people,

particularly in and around Chatswood.

Now, I never would have conceived before I came here

that there could possibly be a need for such an organisation

in Chatswood of all places.

Having spent a week here,

I feel like I'm starting to get a feel for the place,

especially reflecting on the food that's available.

I've been forced to say a few times this week,

why have I not spent more time in Chatswood before?

I guess you could say the place is growing on me.

But I wonder,

if God were to turn and look upon Chatswood right now,

what would he have to say about the place?

I actually think he would say that I love Chatswood.

But why?

God doesn't need to eat,

so the restaurants are hardly likely to impress him.

And if God glanced over at the Westfield,

he'd probably be more disgusted than impressed

by the way that people worshipped spending money like idols.

And so,

what is it that would ever give me this confidence to say

that if God were to look at Chatsfield,

he would actually say,

this is a place,

these are people that I love.

Rather than speculating further,

or presuming to put words into God's mouth,

let's turn to Scripture

and see what God has already said.

So if you could have that passage from 1 John chapter 4

1 John 4 · chapter mention

open in front of you,

that would be fantastic.

So we're looking at from verse 7.

And verse 7 begins with a very ordinary encouragement, actually,

but standing behind it is an extraordinary truth.

Come and read it with me.

Dear friends,

let us love one another,

for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God,

because God is love.

The very ordinary encouragement that we read

is this instruction to love one another.

There's nothing particularly complicated or controversial about that.

But the extraordinary truth that lay behind this command

is that God is love.

This phrase,

God is love,

frequently is misunderstood.

There's one mistake that I've heard

where people think that words in Scripture

can simply be interchangeable.

So you'll be familiar with another part of the Bible, perhaps,

that reads this way.

Love is patient,

love is kind,

it does not envy,

it does not boast,

it is not proud.

And so I had a friend once,

when I was working on the south coast

with a church down there,

who led a Bible study

by taking us through that other passage

and comparing it with this one

and saying,

if God is love

and love is patient,

God must be patient.

Yeah?

Now that's actually true.

God is patient.

But this isn't actually a very good way to read the Bible.

It's not how language works.

It's not how words work.

I'll give you an example.

I happen to think that clothes shopping is very boring.

It's not something I like spending time on.

Get me in there,

get me out of there,

I'll be happy.

So clothes shopping is boring.

Now I might also think that doing the dishes is boring.

Now I don't.

Invite me around to your house for dinner.

I will do the dishes afterwards.

I quite enjoy washing dishes.

This is a very strange thing.

But just because clothes shopping might be boring

and doing the dishes is boring

doesn't mean that I'm doing the dishes

when I'm buying you socks.

You see, words don't work that way.

So we can't move from saying that God is love

and love being patient

to say that God is patient.

Okay?

That's one mistake that I've seen made.

Another common mistake

is to think in the wrong direction.

To think,

what is loving?

What do I think is loving?

And then to apply that to God.

And so I had a friend

that I studied with at university.

His name was Scott.

He went to church every week.

He was part of the music team.

But his personal opinion

is that he didn't think

it would be a loving thing

for God to punish sin.

So he took what he thought was loving,

not punishing sin,

and then applied that to God

because this passage says

God is love.

But you see,

what he's actually done there

is he's not moved from God

to see what love is.

He's conjured God up in his own image.

He's made a God

that suits his own tastes and desires.

Rather,

the right direction to think

is actually found in verse 7.

Dear friends,

let us love one another

for love comes from God.

And so it doesn't matter

whether someone is a Christian or not,

the very essence of love

as we know it in this world

comes from God.

And love isn't just something

that God created.

He made the heavens

and he made the earth

and he didn't kind of make love next

because God actually existed

before he spoke the universe

into existence.

One God in three persons.

And these three persons

loved one another.

So love is not something made.

It actually exists

as part of who God is.

I want you to picture

in your mind for me

three of the young children

that we had down here before

for the kids talk

out on the deck

playing with a ball.

And they have absolutely no idea

that there is anything else

happening around them.

They're just playing

with one another

in absolute delight

and love

and joy

with one another.

Now it's not a perfect analogy

by any means

but I actually think

this is a reflection

of the kind of love

that existed within God

before he even made

the heavens

and the earth.

The Father loved the Son

and the Spirit

and the Son

loved the Father

and the Spirit

and the Spirit

loved the Father

and the Son.

And their concern

was not so much

for themselves

but for one another.

This is the nature of love.

This is what it means

in this passage

when it says

God is love.

He's the source

and the origin of love.

He's the very image

of what true love

and real love is.

And because God is love

he couldn't actually

keep it to himself

as if he could bundle it up

and so we see

that God has shown

his love.

Come and have a look

with me at the next two verses.

Verses 9 and 10.

This is how God

showed his love among us.

He sent his one

and only Son

into the world

that we might live

through him.

This is love.

Not that we love God

but that he sent his Son

as an atoning sacrifice

for our sins.

At the heart

of God's

magnificent demonstration

of his love

is what we talk about

when Christians

use the word gospel.

And in these verses

like a multifaceted diamond

there are several dimensions

to the gospel

to the way that God

has shown his love.

And so I want us

to shine some light

on this diamond

from a couple

of different angles

so that we might see

some of the breadth

of what God

has shown to us.

God has shown

his love

by sending

his one and only Son

Jesus

into the world.

And when verse 9

of our passage

says one and only

it's not just a number.

The passage

is not trying

to give an account

for how many sons

God has

so much.

It's actually saying

that Jesus is unique.

He's special.

He's the one

that God delights in.

He's the one

that God loves

like no other.

In Mark's gospel

one of the biographies

of Jesus' life

there's a scene

where Jesus

is baptised

and he goes down

into the water

and as he comes up

from the water

there's a voice

that comes from the heavens

and the voice

says this

you

you are my son

in whom I take

the utmost delight.

this is the son

that God

sent into the world.

God has shown

his love

by sending

his one and only

Son Jesus

that we might

live through him.

What John

is concerned about

when he says

that we might

live through him

is that we might

live

and not be conquered

not be ruled over

by death.

In June

last year

I received

an email

from one

of my aunts

suggesting that

my uncle

was quite sick

he'd been

diagnosed with cancer

back in January

and so

the basic gist

of this email

is that things

weren't looking good

and then

one night

at college

just after

dinner had finished

I got that

text message

that no one

ever really

wants to get

saying that

his condition

was quite serious

and so

I jumped in the car

and I drove down

and I sat with him

and my aunts

because my aunt

and uncle

had never

had any kids

and I held his hand

and I sat there

and I watched

the heart rate monitor

for about

three hours

50

49

48

49

47

and it kept

dropping

until there was

no more life

left in him

and he

passed away

you see

death

is not a light

thing

frequently

we spend

our lives

trying to set it

to one side

giving it

little concern

little thought

we are

we

as a society

are obsessed

with

youthfulness

because it

drives us

in the opposite

direction

to aging

and then

dying

and even

just now

as I describe

the situation

that my uncle

was in

did you notice

that I use

the phrase

he passed

away

we even

use our

words

to soften

the impact

of death

because we

don't really

want to

think about

it

he's

passed

away

he's

kicked

the bucket

he's

given up

the ghost

but in

that moment

like a

slamming

door

when something

like this

happens

in your

life

you cannot

escape

death

it punches

through the

facade

and it

robs you

of loved

ones

it robs

you of

friends

of family

and eventually

it will

take your

very own

life

and yet

God has

shown his

love in

this way

that through

his son

we might

live

and not

be conquered

or ruled

over by

death

God has

shown his

love

by sending

his son

as an

atoning

sacrifice

for our

sins

the reason

that death

has this

kind of

absolute

power

over our

lives

is because

of sin

I don't

know what

you think

of when

you hear

the word

sin

but I

want to

tell you

that sin

simply

is a

way of

describing

a life

lived

without

God

and the

Bible

says that

people

with sin

are like

pigs

in mud

we can't

resist

living lives

that leave

God out

we just

kind of

wallow

around

I remember

some years

ago seeing

an experiment

that was shown

on YouTube

the way that

it worked

was this

there was a

kind of

within the

camera frame

there was a

shot where

you could

just see

the inside

of a room

the interior

of a room

and there

was a door

into the

room

and there

was one

of those

kind of

one way

windows

so that

people could

see in

but you

couldn't

see out

leave the

biscuit

I'm going

to go

away for

a little

bit

and if

you haven't

touched

the biscuit

when I

come back

not only

will you

get that

biscuit

but I'll

give you

another

one

how do

you think

that went

now the

scene played

over and

over and

over again

and so the

first child

comes in

and picks

up the

biscuit

and looks

at it

puts it

down

picks it

up

looks at

it again

no

puts it

down

picks it

up

takes a

little

nibble

but then

tries to

hide it

now some

of the

other kids

that came

in

one of

them just

as soon as

the adults

out of the

room

door closes

bam

it's gone

and then

some of

the children

who were

more thoughtful

about the

future

left the

biscuit there

and ended

up getting

the second

one as

well

and my

point is

this

though God

has given

us instructions

directions

a shape

to how to

live life

and if we

follow this

kind of shape

this direction

that is given

to us it

will lead to

good things

in the

future

a second

biscuit

if you

will

we still

insist on

leaving him

out of the

picture

and deciding

for ourselves

how we'll

live

sometimes we

get a little

bit creative

in it

we'll try and

hide the

things that

we do

that leave

God out

but you see

with God

we're not

talking about

mere biscuits

we're talking

about the

difference

between life

and death

you see

there's as

much

in verse

8 it

says that

God is

love

elsewhere

in the

Bible

we find

that God

is light

when I

was little

my family

had a

Subaru

wagon

with these

massive

driving lights

on the

front

and they

could just

cut through

the darkness

for up to

about a

kilometre

down the

road

where the

light was

darkness

couldn't

be

and where

sin is

God

sorry

where God

is

sin

cannot

be

God

will not

let us

wallow

around

in our

sin

in the

mud

forever

and this

is where

death

comes in

death

is God's

way

of dealing

with sin

and so

where people

insist on

living without

God

something

someone

has to

die

God

sent

his

one

and only

son

his

unique

son

that he

loved

like no

other

to die

that

death

for us

and the

amazing

part is

that God

has shown

his love

to those

who didn't

love him

you might

have missed

it as we

read over

verse 10

it's easy

to skate

over

come back

there with

me now

this is

love

not

that we

love

God

I'm not

sure if

you've

noticed

this in

situations

around you

but more

often than

not

love

comes to

depend on

something that

the other

person does

for me

we would

never say

this of

course

but you

only have

to pay

attention

when you

speak with

people

have you

ever heard

the phrase

I just

don't love

them anymore

this is

often

not always

but often

code word

for

whatever

that person

used to

do

that made

me

happy

they don't

do anymore

or it

doesn't make

me happy

anymore

you see

their love

for the

other person

depended on

what that

person could

offer them

as long as

you're fun

to be around

then I'll

still love

you

as long as

you're beautiful

then I'll

still love

you

as long

as you're

in perfect

health

then I'll

love you

you understand

what I mean

now don't get

me wrong

it's okay to

find something

attractive or

endearing about

another person

but mere

attraction

is not the

essence of

love

you see

because God

loved us

when we were

strangers

in fact

worse than

that

when we

were his

enemies

and so

it means

that when

we're no

fun to be

around

God

still

loves

us

when we're

unattractive

or ugly

you've put

on a few

kilos

God will

still love

you

when we're

crippled and

sickly

God will

still love

us

God's love

means that

even when we

ignored or

hated him

he sent his

one and only

son that we

might live

through him

and so we

come full

circle back

around to

verses 11

and 12

but it

kind of

comes back

around to

where we

started

dear friends

since God

so loved

us we

also also

love one

another

no one has

ever seen

God but if

we love

one another

God lives

in us and

his love is

made complete

in us

in just

three short

verses we've

been plunged

into the depths

of God's love

for us

in Jesus

to emerge

on the other

side with the

same instructions

that he began

with dear

friends let us

love one

another

this reminds

me of words

that Jesus

himself spoke

as I have

loved you so

you must love

one another

by this all

men will know

that you are

my disciples

if you love

one another

a great

Christian author

has put it

this way

no one who

has been to

the cross

and seeing

God's

immeasurable

and unmerited

love displayed

there

can go back

to a life

of selfishness

and so this

is why churches

all around

Sydney

are concerned

with showing

love and

kindness to

the communities

around them

God has

shown his

love to us

he's actually

shown in an

indirect way

how much he

loves Chatswood

and knowing

that God

loves Chatswood

and the

surrounding

suburbs

it would be

no surprise

to me

if this

church

invests

itself

in the

same way

endeavouring

to love

your friends

your neighbours

your colleagues

but I'm

led to ask

as we've

handled this

marvellous

multifaceted

diamond

of God's

love

shown in

the gospel

as we've

contemplated

the mountain

peaks of

who God

is

his very

character

as we've

been

plunged

into the

depths

of God's

love for

us in

Jesus

are you

convinced

of God's

immeasurable

and unmerited

love

for you

if God

came to

Chatswood

he wouldn't

just say

I love

Chatswood

he'd

actually

also

turn to

you

face to

face

and say

I

love

you

this

is how

I showed

my love

towards

you

I sent

my one

and only

son

into the

world

that you

might live

through him

this is

great news

great news

for every

one of us

here

but there

might be

some here

this morning

for whom

this is

especially

welcome

news

the idea

that God

loves you

and you

personally

might be

actually

entirely

new

you might

have heard

about Jesus

when you

were younger

at an earlier

stage in your

life

but never

really taken

his claims

seriously

taken his

death and

resurrection

seriously

maybe you've

been to

church a

while ago

but this

point that

God loves

you

has never

really sunk

in

regardless

God has

shown his

love for

each one

of us

if you want

to accept

God's love

for you

shown in

sending

Jesus

if you want

to begin

to live a

life where

God comes

into the

picture

I'm going

to pray

a prayer

now

that you

might want

to pray

along with

me

now I

want to

say that

praying a

prayer doesn't

make you a

Christian

following Jesus

understanding that

he loves you

that God has

demonstrated his

love in sending

him as a

sacrifice for

your sins

that is what

makes you a

Christian

but praying a

prayer can be a

fantastic way to

start

so I'm going

to pray now

and then

Chris is going

to come up

and give some

further instructions

about what you

might want to

do if this is

something that's

been particularly

pertinent for you

this morning

will you pray

with me

heavenly father

I'm sorry that

I've lived a

life that has

so often left

you out of the

picture I want

to thank you that

you have shown

your love by

sending your

son that

I might live

I pray that

you would help

me to love

you and to

love others the

way that you

do in Jesus

name amen

friends if