God's Grand Vision: God's grand design (Mission Pledge Combined Service)

There is something majestic about the book of Isaiah.

It asks us to imagine the creation and then the recreation of the entire world.

It evokes the historical periods of the 8th century BC and then into the exile and beyond.

It asks us to imagine that the very heavens and earth are taking part in the drama of Israel's history.

It begins in chapter 1 verse 2 with heaven and earth called to bear witness.

Hear, O heavens, listen, O earth.

And it finishes in verse 22 with a new heaven and a new earth.

As the new heavens and the new earth that I will make endure before me, declares the Lord, so will your name and descendants endure.

And so Isaiah takes us from the beginning of history to the end of all things, from creation to the recreation of God's universe.

It insists that God is doing something for which even the ends of the earth wait.

God has an all-encompassing purpose and it unravels for us page after page in Isaiah.

Of course, in unraveling God's great plans and purpose for his creation of people for all of history,

we naturally get a magnificent vision of God.

God's purposes, his actions reveal God, reveal himself.

And you immediately notice in Isaiah just how great and big this God is.

His plan is all-pervasive.

His rule is all-encompassing.

And if those things don't stagger us, then Isaiah clearly reveals the magnificence of God in passages like chapter 6.

I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him were seraphs, each with six wings.

With two wings, they covered their faces.

With two, they covered their feet.

And with two, they were flying.

And they were calling to one another, holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.

The whole earth is filled with his glory.

And in the last chapter, we are given another glimpse of the grandeur of this God.

This is what the Lord says.

Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

It is the only place in the Bible where the earth is described as God's footstool.

It is almost 6,500 kilometers straight through.

It is 40,000 kilometers if you decide to go around.

It weighs something like 6,000,000,000,000 tons.

It has a surface area of 510,000,000 square kilometers, a volume of around 10,000,000,000 cubic kilometers.

It spins at 1,600 kilometers an hour.

And God calls it his footstool.

This is my footstool.

God sits on his throne in the heavens and he rests his feet on the earth.

This is the magnificence of the God that we come to worship this morning.

The God who calls us to tremble at his word.

Of course, the doctrine of God is given a few more clues as you move on into the next verse.

Verse 2.

Everything in this footstool that God calls the earth, that we call the earth, is made by the hand of God.

Everything owes his existence to this God.

He is the God who sits on the throne and rests his feet on the earth.

He is the God who brought all things into being.

The sun.

The moon.

The stars.

The smallest part.

Mount Everest.

The weirdest creature in the depths of the sea.

Delicate flowers.

Noamble fall.

The tallest redwood tree.

The Amazon jungle.

The Kalahari Desert.

The most gorgeous supermodel.

The soaring eagle.

The brightest mind.

The best preacher.

The successful entrepreneur.

The most influential church.

They are just a few of the wonders that he has made.

The whole earth is full of the glory of God.

The whole earth is full of the glory of God.

And yet, as wonderful as all these things are, in this thing that God calls his footstool, there is one thing that draws the gaze of God.

This is the one I esteem.

He who is humble and contrite in the spirit and travels at times.

Having gaze upon the magnificence of this God.

Having gaze upon the magnificence of this God who sits on his throne with his feet resting on the earth.

They do what Isaiah did in chapter 6.

He says,

He says,

He says,

He says,

He says,

He says,

He says,

flows out of a broken and a contrite heart,

a humble heart.

And this is the one who draws the gaze

of the eternal God,

whose feet rest on the earth.

The alternative to true worship

is put before us there in verse 2.

Again, let me read to you.

This is the one I esteem.

He who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word,

but whoever sacrifices a bull

is like one who kills a man,

whoever offers a lamb like one who breaks a dog's neck,

whoever makes a grain offering like one who presents pig's blood,

and whoever burns memorial incense like one who worships an idol.

They have chosen their own ways

and their souls delight in their abominations.

A humble and contrite heart and a trembling

at the word of God has been exchanged for a worship,

a false worship,

which is equal to religion and rituals and rites.

This is the people of God

that is spoken about here in Isaiah 66.

Not the pagan nations.

They didn't listen.

They didn't tremble at the word of God.

They didn't bow in humble submission to God and his purposes.

And they went their own way.

They did evil and they chose what displeases God

and it was hidden.

Their evil was hidden under the veneer of worship.

Now, of course, Isaiah is not against worship here in these verses.

He wasn't against sacrifices.

He wasn't against the temple.

In fact, the rebuilding of the temple

occupied the people of God for the best part of 20 years.

And when they slackened off in rebuilding the temple,

he sent prophets to tell them,

don't slacken off and get going with it.

Yet in these verses,

the temple and their rituals and religion

are spoken of with extreme reserve.

The temple was a good thing.

But Isaiah was painfully aware,

painfully aware of the capacity of human beings to misuse it,

to focus on the temple and its rituals and its rites

and not the God of the temple.

He was aware of the human tendency to exchange true worship,

true, humble, God-honoring worship within pure worship,

a worship that is wrapped up in performing rituals

and minimum effort and minimal reflection.

Isaiah understood very well

that physical restoration of the temple was not enough.

Spiritual restoration was what was needed.

Spiritual renewal,

unless they had spiritual renewal,

the future would just simply rehash the sins of the past.

Isaiah was not against the temple.

He was against ecclesiasticism,

that ugly distortion of true worship

worship of God does not flow out of the heartfelt contrition before God.

For God,

no matter what building it's in,

no matter what form it takes,

what order it takes,

no matter how seamless the transitions,

how well it is read,

no matter how great the singing or accurate the theology

or historically sensitive,

it becomes no better than pagan superstition.

And it angers God

and it calls forth

His righteous judgment.

And so there is a warning here

in Isaiah 66.

It is so easy to exchange true worship

for false worship.

On the surface,

it may look like the same.

The warning here is like Israel,

we can hide our evil

and our refusal to listen

and obey the word of God

in beautiful worship.

In beautiful worship.

In beautiful worship.

Worship.

False worship

becomes a substitute

for listening to God,

to faith in God,

to obedient,

trembling at His word

and the pursuit of His purposes.

The warning here is not to box God

within the building,

not to box God

within a few religious activities,

potentially good activities,

but true worship

is all of life

at the feet of the one

on whose feet

He rests on the earth.

The feet of this God

in humble,

contrite submission.

True worship,

my friends,

is God's grand design

for His universe.

True worship is what

God wants for us.

God's plan

for the world

that He's made,

the world that He calls

His footstool,

is that people would see

His glory

and gather to Him

and bow at His feet

who sit on the earth.

Throughout all history

and eternity to come,

God's design for people

is worship.

The worship of Him

in humble submission.

As it says in verse 22,

As the new heavens

and the new earth

that I will make

endure before me,

so will your name

and descendants endure.

From one new moon

to another

and from one Sabbath

to another,

all mankind

will come

and bow down

before me

at my feet.

in humble submission.

In the new heavens

and the new earth,

the redeemed

of the entire

human race

will offer

unending worship

at the feet

of their Creator.

It's the place

we call heaven.

Isaiah leaves us

in no doubt

at all

that the key

to God's purpose

is God's perfect King,

the Lord Jesus Christ

and how eloquently

and simply

the Apostle John

puts it

in John chapter 12,

John 12 · chapter mention

Isaiah saw

Jesus' glory

and spoke

about Him.

You see,

the invincible

purpose of God

is that the gospel

of the glory

of Christ

spread to all

the peoples

of the world

so that they might

come and bow

in worship,

in humble submission

to this God.

It's everywhere

in the Bible.

It's the promise

of Philippians 2

who being in very

nature God,

speaking about Jesus here,

being in very

nature God,

did not consider

equality with God

something to be grasped

but made himself

nothing,

taking the very

nature of a servant,

being made in human

likeness and being

found in appearance

as a man.

He humbled himself

and became obedient

to death,

even death on a cross

and therefore God

exalted him

to the highest place,

put him on a throne

that is,

and gave him the name

that is above every name

that at the name

of Jesus

every knee should bow

and every tongue

confess

confess

that Jesus

Christ

is Lord

to the glory

of God the Father.

It was the promise

of the Old Testament,

Psalm 22,

all the ends

of the earth

will remember

and turn to the Lord

and the families

of the nations

will bow down

before him

for dominion

belongs to the Lord

and he rules

over all the nations.

It was the promise

of Jesus

to his disciples

in Matthew 24

and this gospel

of the kingdom

will be preached

in the whole world

as a testimony

to all nations

and the end

will come.

It was the design

of the cross

according to Revelation 5

and they sang

a new song,

you are worthy

to take the scroll

and to open its seal

because you were slain

and with your blood

you purchased men

for God

from every tribe

and language

and people

and nation.

It was the final command

of the risen

all authority

of Christ

according to Matthew 28.

Then Jesus came to them

and said

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

has been given to me

therefore go

and make disciples

of all nations

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit

and teaching them

to obey everything

I have commanded you

and surely

I am with you always

to the very ends

of the age.

It was the design

sorry

it was the divine purpose

of the sending

and filling

of the Holy Spirit

according to Acts 1

but you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit

comes on you

and you will be

my witnesses

in Jerusalem

in all Judea

and Samaria

to the ends

of the earth.

The invincible

purpose of God

is that the gospel

of the glory

of Christ

spread to the peoples

of this world

that they might come

and they might see

the glory of Christ

and bow at his feet

in humble contrition.

This is God's

grand design

for his world.

It always has been

and it always will be

and the task

is not yet done.

2,000 years

after Jesus

gave his great commission

to his disciples

6,645

of the world's

16,350

people groups

are either

barely reached

or not reached

at all.

that equates

to

approximately

40.1%

of this world

which equates

to 2.84

billion people

who have either

never heard of Jesus

or the witness

of Christ

is even barely

there at all.

Why?

After 20

centuries

is the task

not

finished?

It's not because

of the lack

of money.

I want to say

it's because

we've got too much.

The comforts

of the West

have made us

soft

and cautious

and fearful

and indulgent

and self-protecting

instead of tough

and risk-taking

and bold

and self-controlled

and self-sacrificing.

You see

many of these

least reached

6,645

peoples

are religiously

unsympathetic

to Christian

missions.

That means

that we need

to go to

these people

with the gospel

and it will

be dangerous

and it will

be costly

to finish

this task

some of us

and some

of our children

need to be

killed.

but we

are so

infatuated

with our

comforts

and our

securities

that we

have exchanged

true worship

and God's

agenda for

false worship

and we

hide our

sinfulness

by a

veneer

of temple

worship.

that is

what Israel

did

and they

were judged

for it.

They had

their temple

and their

rituals

and they

didn't care

a rip

about the

nations.

and so

let us

not forget

the somber

word of

Jesus

in John

John 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

I tell you

the truth

unless a

kernel of

wheat falls

to the

ground

and dies

it remains

only a

single

seed

but if

it dies

it produces

many seeds

the man

who loves

his life

will lose

it

while the

man who

hates his

life in

this world

will keep

it for

eternal

life.

In other

words

a fruitful

life

and an

eternal

life

come

from

this

dying

like a

grain

of

wheat

and

hating

your

life

in

this

world.

More

and more

I am

persuaded

by the

scriptures

that God's

design for

the completion

of his

global

plan

and the

consummation

of his

purposes

includes

the suffering

of his

people.

To put it

more plainly

and specifically

God's

plan

is that

his purpose

triumph

through the

suffering

of his

people.

I don't

just mean

that the

suffering

is a

consequence

of being

obedient to

God's

mission.

I mean

that suffering

is one of

Christ's

strategies

for the

success

of his

mission.

Jesus

said to

his

disciples

as he

sent

them

out

in

Matthew

10

I am

sending

you

out

like

sheep

amongst

wolves.

There is

no doubt

what happens

to sheep

in the

midst

of wolves

and Paul

confirmed

the reality

for us

in Romans

8

as it is

written

for your

sake

we face

death

all day

long.

We are

considered

as sheep

to be

slaughtered.

And Jesus

continues

in Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

be on

your guard

against

men

they will

hand you

over to

the local

councils

and flog

you in

their

synagogues.

On my

account

you will

be brought

before governors

and kings

as witnesses

to them

and to the

Gentiles.

Did you

notice there

that the

witness before

the governors

and kings

is not

merely a

result or

a consequence

it is a

design.

you will

be brought

before governors

and kings

as

a witness

to them.

Suffering

was not

just a

consequence

of our

Lord's

obedience

and his

mission

it was

the central

strategy

of his

mission.

Jesus

calls us

to join

him on

the Calvary

road

to take

up our

cross

to hate

our lives

in this

world

to fall

to the

ground

like a

seed

and die

that others

might

live.

We are

not above

our

master.

To be

sure our

suffering

does not

atone for

anyone's

sins

but it

is a

deeper

way of

doing

mission

than we

realize.

And unless

we think

this way

of saying

it aligns

it,

the suffering

work of

God's

people too

closely,

to the

suffering

of our

Savior,

listen to

the decisive

word on

this from

Paul,

Colossians

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

now I

rejoice in

what was

suffered for

you and

I fill up

in my

flesh what

is still

lacking in

regard to

Christ's

afflictions for

the sake of

his body

which is the

church.

In his

sufferings,

Paul is

filling up

what is

lacking in

Christ's

afflictions for

the church.

Not that

Paul's

suffering

atones for

sin or

propitiates

wrath,

or vindicates

divine justice

in passing

over sins

as Jesus'

death did,

but they

show the

unreached

peoples of

the world

the sufferings

of Christ.

Paul's

missionary

suffering is

God's

design to

complete the

sufferings of

Christ by

making them

more visible

and personal

and precious

to those to

whom he

died.

God, what

I'm saying

is this,

that when

a prosperity

preacher flies

his private

jet into a

poverty-stricken

country to

preach the

gospel and

promise the

poor that if

they believe in

Jesus, they

will be rich.

They are not

just getting a

few things

wrong, they

are destroying

the very

foundations of

the gospel.

And so I

say this very

sober word

to myself,

to you,

some of my

brothers and

sisters,

some Pauls,

who love

their comforts

and their

securities

and are

consistently

tempted with

them,

God's plan

is that his

gospel-spreading

purpose triumph

through the

suffering of

his people.

At the

heart of

true biblical

missions,

both for

those who

go and

those who

stay, is

an eagerness

to live

simply and

to give

lavishly and

to suffer in

doing it.

At the

heart of

true biblical

missions is

suffering, not

merely as a

result of

proclamation, but

as the

means of

proclamation.

Unless a

grain of

wheat falls

to the

ground and

dies, it

remains only

a single

seed, but

if it

dies, it

produces

many seeds.

things.

On

holidays,

recently I

read a

biography on

the life of

Adoniram

Judson.

I'm very

pleased to

know that

Nick and

Sam have

named

little

Judson

after this

man.

When

Judson,

not this

one,

Adoniram

Judson,

entered

Burma in

July 1813,

it was

hostile and

utterly

unreached

place.

It

probably

would have

been

considered a

closed

country

today.

All the

previous

missionaries

had died

or had

left, but

Judson went

there with

his 23-year-old

wife of 17

months.

He was

24 years

old and he

worked there

for 38

years with

only one

trip home

after he'd

been there

for 33

years.

He never

saw his

parents or

his brothers

again.

And the

price he

paid in

that 38

years was

immense.

His

suffering

was

immense.

He was a

grain of

wheat that

fell to

the ground

and died

and oh

how often

he died.

He died

to the

prestige of

being offered

the best

pulpit in

Boston.

He died

to his

personal

like of

cleanliness

and hygiene.

He died

to good

food,

clean water

and a

comfortable

environment.

He died

to the

prospects of

wealth and

the trappings

of wealth.

He allowed

his two

wives and

his six

children to

die.

He was

in prison

for nearly

two years

with his

feet hanging

in the sky

and having

rats eat

his head

at night.

and after

38 years

of church

planning,

of translating

the Bible

for the

Burmese

church and

writing an

English Burmese

dictionary for

future

missions and

his many,

many deaths

day in,

day out,

at 15 minutes

after 4 on

Friday afternoon,

April 12,

1815,

he finally

died one

last time.

At sea,

away from

his family,

all alone,

on a ship

full of

godless sailors

and away

from his

Burmese

church.

That evening,

the ship

pulled up,

the crew

assembled

quietly,

there were

no prayers,

no Bible

readings,

the captain

gave the

order,

the door

was opened,

his coffin

was slid

into the

sea,

latitude

13 degrees

north,

longitude

90 degrees

south,

a few

hundred

miles away

from Burma

and the

ship sailed

on.

An end

of a life.

And I

read that

and I

said,

it can't

be.

But God's

purpose was

done.

The Bible

was translated,

the dictionary

was done,

hundreds of

converts

were now

leading the

church in

Burma

and estimates

today are

that Myanmar's

Baptist

Convention

to have

4,530

congregations

with 1.14

million members

and 1.72

million affiliates.

The fruit

of one

dead

seed.

What a

life.

Unless a

seed of

grain falls

to the ground

and dies,

it remains

only a

single seed.

But if it

dies, it

produces many

seeds.

And so,

my brothers and

sisters, the

question is not

whether you

will die,

but whether

you will die

in a way

that bears

much fruit.

Life is

fleeting.

Life is

fleeting.

And God

calls us to

give up the

comforts of

this world.

In a very

short time,

we will all

give an

account before

Jesus Christ

to how

well we

have obeyed

the command

to make

disciples of

all nations,

amongst other

things.

The very

last verse

of Isaiah

is meant to

serve as a

sober warning

to the people

of God,

in fact.

Anyone who

wants to

reject God

and his

purposes,

and they

will go

out and

look upon

the dead

bodies of

those who

rebelled

against me,

their worm

will not

die,

nor will

their fire

be quenched,

and they

will be

loathsome

to all

mankind.

And so

we sit

here in

2011,

and many

of the

peoples of

this world

are without

any indigenous

Christian

movement.

Christ is

not enthroned

there.

His grace

is not

known there.

And people

are perishing

with no

access to

the gospel.

people.

And most

of those

hopeless

people do

not want

you to

come.

At least

they don't

think they

do.

They are

hostile to

Christian

missions.

And the

word of

our Lord

still stands.

I am

sending you

out like

sheep amongst

wolves.

believers.

And so I am

asking you

today not

to love

what this

world loves

and to

suffer by

either going

to those

people, and I

pray that there

will be many

of us who

will, go,

or by

suffering

in staying

and giving

up your

securities

for the

sake of

God's

grand design

for his

people, that

people from

every tribe,

language and

nation come

at his feet

and bow

before this

great king.

We've set a

mission target

of $125,000

this year.

Is it

big?

Well, it's

bigger than

last year.

And the

only reason we

won't reach

it is not

because of

lack of

money.

It's because

our hearts

are not

aligned with

God's

heart.

That's the

only reason

we won't

reach it.

And so I've

asked you to

be prayerful.

You've heard

the word of

God.

And now I

encourage you

to tremble

before the

word of God

and to fill

out your

pledge card.

Nick is

going to

come up

and he's

going to

play some

music while

we do

this.

If you

haven't got a

pledge card,

wave your

hand and the

ushers will

come and give

you a pledge

card.

So stick your

hand up and

they'll give you

a pledge card.

Nick's going to

play.

I'm going to

ask you to

fill out the

card.

Then the

ushers are

going to come

and collect

the cards

and then

I'm going

to pray.

Amen.

Stop

doing

more

and

back into

your

hearts

or

go

and

out

close

Kansas

and

hear

each

oher

and

hear

through

his

and

hear

the

頓

of

hope

Thank you.

We declare your name above all names.

Oh, the gospel, he became our sin.

Oh, bring worship made acceptable in him.

The treasures on earth will fall.

Put Christ above them all.

We treasure you, Jesus, above all things.

We treasure you, Jesus, above all things.

We do, we do treasure you.

We're daily taking up the cross of Christ.

We're fully free to live and sacrifice.

Glory, glory to the risen King.

Holy, holy earth and heaven will bow to him.

The treasures on earth will fall.

Put Christ above them all.

We treasure you, Jesus, above all things.

We treasure you, Jesus, above all things.

We depend on Jesus for everything.

We treasure you.

We treasure you.

Yeah, we do, we do treasure you.

That's it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Let's bow our heads.

I'm going to pray.

If you're still filling out your pledge card, you can bring it in after the service.

These boxes will be here.

and I'm going to use a prayer of David from 1 Chronicles 29.

Let's pray.

Praise be to you, O Lord God of our Father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory

and the majesty and the splendor.

For everything in heaven and on earth is yours.

Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom.

You are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you.

You are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, O Lord, give thanks.

We give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.

But who am I?

And who are these people that we should be able to give like this?

Father, everything comes from you and we have only given you what comes from your hand.

We are aliens and strangers in your sight.

Our life is fleeting as we're all of our forefathers.

Our days on earth are like a shadow without hope.

O Lord, our God, for all this abundance that we have provided,

that your name might go to the ends of the earth.

It has only come from your hand and it belongs to you.

I know, Father, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.

And all these things that we have willingly given with honest intent.

And now, Lord, may it be a great joy amongst your people.

There might be an ongoing willingness amongst your people to continue to pursue your purpose.

Keep the desire in our hearts, Father, for the unreached peoples of this world,

for those who are lost.

Help us to continue to have your purpose and that we might be loyal to your purpose consistently.

They might be in front of us all of our days.

Give us a wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, your requirements and your decrees

and that we would do everything within our power, Father, to finish the Great Commission.

And we ask it for your glory.

Amen.