In Hong Kong as it is in Heaven

The scripture reading comes from Jeremiah chapter 29.

Jeremiah 29 · chapter mention

Please follow along on the screen, the bulletin, or your own Bible.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem

to the surviving elders of the exiles,

and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people,

whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs,

the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen,

and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem.

The letter was sent by the hand of Elisa, the son of Shaphan,

and Gamariah, the son of Hilkiah,

whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

It said,

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,

to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Build houses and live in them.

Plant gardens and eat their produce.

Take wives and have sons and daughters.

Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage,

that they may bear sons and daughters.

Multiply there and do not decrease,

but seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile,

and pray to the Lord on its behalf,

for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

For thus says the Lord of hosts,

The God of Israel,

do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you,

and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,

for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name.

I did not send them, declares the Lord.

For thus says the Lord,

When 70 years are completed for Babylon,

I will visit you,

and I will fulfill to you my promise,

and bring you back to this place.

For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the Lord,

plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon me,

and come and pray to me,

and I will hear you.

You will seek me and find me,

when you seek me with all your heart.

I will be found by you,

declares the Lord.

And I will restore your fortunes,

and gather you from all the nations,

and all the places where I have driven you,

declares the Lord.

And I will bring you back to the place

from which I sent you into exile.

This is the word of God.

Great.

Thank you, Betty.

Well, good morning, everybody.

It is great to see you again.

If you are at the community center or online,

welcome.

If you are visiting us for the first time,

it's really great to have you.

Thanks for joining us this morning.

My name is Kevin,

and I'm one of the elder pastors here

with Watermark.

Why don't we pray together?

We'll just pray briefly,

and then we'll dive into this passage together.

Heavenly Father, as we come this morning,

we haven't come just for a pep talk.

We haven't come just to hear

a little bit of advice for our lives.

We've come to hear from you,

the living God,

the majestic and awesome and glorious one.

God, as we look at this wonderful passage

in Jeremiah 29,

won't you speak to us?

God, I pray you'll speak to every one of us

here at Ebenezer,

every one of us at the community center,

those at home.

God, won't you drive your word into our hearts

and give us a vision for what you've called us to

and the life you've called us to live in this city.

Why you've placed us in Hong Kong for such a time as this.

God, I pray that these won't just be the words

of human ideas or thoughts.

This will be your word, God, coming from your heart.

Speak to us, we pray,

in your wonderful and glorious name.

Amen.

I wonder if you have ever received an unexpected letter

or maybe a surprising email.

In 2011, I one day received a surprising email,

out the blue,

from a lady that,

a real estate agent that had previously

helped Claire and I buy a little apartment in Cape Town.

And the email went like this.

The subject line was in capital letters,

said offended.

And then this was the email.

This is a screenshot of the actual email.

It says,

Hi, Kevin.

You sent me a Twitter response

from a photo you have found of me.

I take great offense at what you've said

on your Twitter post to me.

You profess yourself to be the greatest follower of God.

Well, I don't think so.

After what you've posted on your Twitter wall,

you're a false person.

Erica, P.S., send regards to your wife and family.

No, she didn't say that for us.

There wasn't any regards being sent.

And what had happened was that

in my very short-lived Twitter account,

someone had hacked my account

and sent a message to a whole lot of contacts

saying,

I found this embarrassing photo of you

and I'm going to post it online.

Ha, ha, ha.

And this person had received this

and was very upset

about this supposed picture I had found of her.

Today we are starting this series

looking at the book of Daniel.

And we're not actually going to get into Daniel today.

We're going to start Daniel 1 next week.

We're going to look at this passage in Jeremiah 29

because it kind of sets up the context

of what's happening in the book of Daniel.

And as far as surprising or bizarre letters go,

Jeremiah 29 is one of the most bizarre letters

that anyone would have received.

Jeremiah 29 verse 11

Jeremiah 29:11

is a very, very famous verse in the Bible.

And it's certainly a favorite for Christians

who love making Christian merchandise.

You know, T-shirts and coffee mugs

and coasters and notebooks and pens

and all sorts of other things.

Because this verse is,

I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.

Plans for peace and not for evil.

Plans to give you a hope and a future.

And so Christians throughout the ages

have loved this verse.

It's one of those verses we attach to

all sorts of things

as a kind of promise of God's kindness to us.

The only problem is that

if those mug manufacturers or T-shirt manufacturers

actually knew the context

and the plans that God had for His people,

they might start looking for another verse.

Because what were the plans that God had for His people?

Well, there was something like this.

Israel's arch enemies, the Babylonians,

are going to march into Judah,

siege Jerusalem,

destroy the city walls,

burn down all the buildings,

raise the temple to the ground,

burn it flat,

steal all the articles out of the temple,

anything of gold or silver,

and then march the people of Israel

back to Babylon

where they will serve their arch enemies

as slaves for the next 70 years.

For I know the plans that I have for you,

says the Lord.

These are not the kind of plans

that Israel wanted.

Now the reason why this is happening

is because for hundreds of years,

the nation of Israel,

particularly the southern kingdom of Judah,

has been in constant rebellion against God,

constantly denying Him,

rejecting Him,

going their own way,

and God has sent prophet after prophet

warning them

against their tolerance of sin

and their lack of repentance,

but to no avail.

They don't want to listen.

And so Isaiah 30 captures this.

Look at what Isaiah 30 says.

It says,

Thus says the Lord God,

the Holy One of Israel,

In repentance and rest,

you will be saved.

In quietness and in trust

will be your strength.

But you were unwilling.

You said,

No, we will run away on horses.

Therefore, you will run away as exiles.

You said,

We will ride on swift steeds.

Therefore, your pursuers will be swift.

God's calling His people back to Him

and they say,

No thanks.

We think we'll look after ourselves.

And the consequence of this

is utterly disastrous.

Friends, maybe just as a side note here,

you may be here this morning

and think,

If only those Christians knew

what is going on in my life.

If only they really knew.

I know how this game works.

I arrive at church on Sunday.

I speak the right language.

I say the right things.

And nobody has a clue.

Friends, God says that

He will not be mocked.

You can't sow or invest in destruction

without getting a return on that investment.

You sow to destruction,

you'll yield destructive patterns of life.

And that's what's happening here.

Having invested in destruction,

they're getting a return on their investment.

And as is always the case,

it always is more than what they bargained for.

And so,

because of Judah's constant rejection of God,

God has brought the Babylonians against him.

And the Babylonians are his instrument

for judgment and discipline.

You may remember,

this is what the whole book of Habakkuk is all about.

We started preaching through it a few years ago.

And so,

the Babylonians come

and they overthrow Judah

and they take these people back to Babylon.

And Nebuchadnezzar,

the king of Babylon,

does this in three stages.

The first one is 605 BC.

The second one,

about nine years later,

598 BC.

And then the second one,

10 years later,

586 BC.

And in the second instance,

what he does is he comes

and he takes the king

and the queen

and all the cultural

and political

and economic elites.

He removes them from Jerusalem

and he takes them back to Babylon.

And there he introduces them

into a re-education program.

He wants to re-educate them

according to Babylonian values

and customs and belief

to indoctrinate them in their ways.

And that's how Daniel,

that we're going to look at next week,

ends up in Babylon.

He works in the kind of palace.

And so Nebuchadnezzar takes him back to Babylon

and there he starts working

in Nebuchadnezzar's palace.

But what happens is that

Nebuchadnezzar installs

his own puppet king

on the throne in Jerusalem,

a man by the name of Zedekiah.

But soon Zedekiah rebels

against Nebuchadnezzar

and says,

I'm going to do things my own way.

And so Nebuchadnezzar comes

a third time,

586 BC,

and this time he finishes off the job

once and for all.

And the Bible tells us

that when Nebuchadnezzar came

and destroyed Jerusalem,

this last,

this third time,

he was absolutely ruthless.

And so what he does

is Zedekiah,

this king,

feels like,

let's run away.

And so in the middle of the night,

he and his bodyguards

find a gap in the wall

and they try and escape

out of the city of Jerusalem

when the Babylonians

have besieged it.

And Nebuchadnezzar catches this king

and as punishment,

what he does

is he kills Zedekiah's children

in front of his eyes

and then he pokes out his eyes

so that the last thing

that he sees,

his lasting memory,

is that of his own children

being killed in front of him.

And then after that,

Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem

absolutely.

He burns every building,

he destroys the temple,

he steals all the articles,

everything religious and sacred

to the people of Jerusalem,

he steals and takes it back to Babylon

and he marches the people of Jerusalem

back to Babylon

and makes them his slaves,

his exiles.

One pastor,

a man by the name of Stephen Rain,

said it like this,

it is impossible to exaggerate

the trauma of the events

that unfolded

with the overflow of Jerusalem.

Everything of value to these people

whether physical,

emotional,

spiritual

had been ripped away from them.

Psalm 137 captures

some of the gravity

of what they felt.

Listen to what Psalm 137 says,

the people of God

are marched off to Babylon

and this is what they write.

By the waters of Babylon

we sat down and wept

when we remembered Zion.

Zion is Jerusalem.

On the willows there

we hang up our liars and our harps.

For there our captors

required of us songs.

Our tormentors mirthed

and of its laughter.

They said to us,

sing us one of those songs of Zion.

The Babylonians are laughing at Jerusalem

and said,

hey, don't you guys like singing

those Hebrew songs?

Sing us one of your songs

about how great God is.

How shall we sing

the Lord's song

in a foreign land?

O daughter of Babylon

doomed to be destroyed

blessed shall he be

who repays you

for what you have done to us.

Derek Kidner

an Old Testament scholar

says this,

every line of this psalm

is alive with pain.

God's people

are in a foreign land

being ruled by some people

that they don't love and respect

and their hearts are alive

with pain

because they are away

from their homeland

and in foreign territory.

They are living as exiles

in Babylon.

Babylon.

What should God's people do

when they address changes

from Israel

to the heart

of the pagan district?

Well,

what we have before us

is a letter

that Jeremiah

writes to the exiles

in Babylon.

When Nebuchadnezzar

took the people

to Babylon,

he took all the cultural

leaders who said,

but he left behind

the poorest of the poorest.

He left behind those

that he thought

were insignificant.

And one of those

is Jeremiah the prophet.

So Jeremiah is in Jerusalem.

It's all been destroyed.

There's just smoldering

buildings around him.

The cities are ruined.

But he writes a letter

to the exiles in Babylon.

And what does God

want to say to them?

Well,

that's what Jeremiah 29

is all about.

Now,

throughout the Bible,

Babylon is described

as the symbol

of all that is evil

and pagan

and wicked

and wrong

with the world.

Remember Genesis 11,

there's the Tower of Babel.

That is the precursor

to Babylon

where the people said,

who is God?

We'll be our own gods.

Let's make a monument

to our own glory.

In Daniel chapter 4,

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

there's Nebuchadnezzar.

One day he comes out

on the balcony

of his house.

He looks over Babylon

and this is what he says.

Is this not great Babylon,

which I have built

by my mighty power

as a testimony

for the glory

of my majesty?

Everything about Babylon

rings with power

and arrogance

and it's the very heart

of the city of man.

And so,

what would God

want to say?

Well,

in this letter,

God says something

very surprising

because he tells

the people of Israel

to make themselves

at home

in Babylon

because God

in his sovereignty

has sent them there

so that God

can build his city,

the city of God,

right in the heart

of the city of man.

In a sense,

Nebuchadnezzar

takes these people

back to Babylon

but in a far greater sense,

actually God

is the one

who sent them there,

not as exiles

but as missionaries.

God has sent

his people there

to build the city

of God

in the heart

of the city of man.

And that's the main point

of Jeremiah's letter

is that

there being in Babylon

is not some cosmic mistake.

It's not because

God fell asleep one day

and Satan

quickly overcame him.

It's not because

Satan overcame God.

God's people

are in Babylon

by his sovereign will.

God is under control

and therefore

God can be trusted.

And that despite

how things appear,

God has plans

for his people

even in the midst

of Babylon.

I have plans

for you

in purposes

says the Lord.

Plans for your welfare.

Plans for your prosper.

Plans to give you

a hope

and a future.

But as God's going to say

this is only going to happen

if you trust me

if you live

radically faithful lives

to me

in the heart of Babylon

as you surrender

and submit to me.

And friends

that's actually

what the whole book

of Daniel

is all about.

It shows us

what does it look like

to live

as God's people

in the midst

of an ungodly world.

Okay?

Now

let's dive into this passage

and see

what it says.

Before we do that

one last thing.

God's letter

to the people

in Babylon

says

you might be here

because of

some other agenda

but I've sent you here

because I've got plans

for your life.

And friends

that's actually

the same for us today.

You may be in Hong Kong

because your company

sent you here

for a year or two.

You may have come

to Hong Kong

on a two year contract.

You may have come here

to get some work experience

or to travel the world

for some other reason.

But in another sense

if you're a follower of Jesus

God has sent you here

because you've got a plan

and a purpose for your life.

God has sent you here

to this great city

the Pearl of the East

this fragrant harbor

as a missionary

to build the city of God

in the midst

of the city of man.

And so let's see

what God says

to his people here.

Three things

we're going to see today.

The first one

God says is

put down your roots.

Put down your roots.

Look at what God says

in verse 4 to 9.

He says

Thus says the Lord of hosts

the God of Israel

Build houses

and live in them.

Plant gardens

and eat of their produce.

Take wives

and have sons and daughters.

Take wives to your sons

and give your daughters

in marriage

that they may bear

sons and daughters.

Multiply there

and do not decrease.

When the Israelites

first went to Babylon

a bunch of the religious leaders

were saying

just relax

God's just letting off

some steam

he just needs to calm down

we'll only be here

a year or two

and then we'll go back

to Israel

and everything will be fine.

And what they were really saying

was just sit on your hands

sit tight

don't get too involved

in the city

let's just stay

in our Jewish bubble

here on the waters of Babylon

and pretty soon

things will go back

to the way

that we've known them.

But Jeremiah writes

and he says

no, no, no

don't let those false prophets

deceive you

God is going to plant you here

for 70 years

and he's asking you

to take root here

and the reason is

because God has got

plants for you

God wants you to know

things about him

and about yourselves

that you'll only discover

as you put down

your roots

and as you plant yourselves

here in the city

of Babylon.

God wants you to discover

who he is

and who you are

but you'll only find that out

as you live lives

of radical faithfulness

to him

even in this ungodly world.

Look what he says

in verse 12.

He says

then you will call upon me

and come and pray to me

and I will hear you

then you will seek me

and find me

when you seek me

with all your heart.

The problem with Israel

is that they have not

been seeking God

they've been seeking

all sorts of other gods

that's why they're in Babylon

because they've gone

their own way

and God says

as you put down

your roots

as you make yourself

at home here

then you will find out

what it means

to be my people

in this broken world.

Friends, it's one thing

to be faithful

to God in Jerusalem

the epicenter of Jewishness.

You've got the temple

you've got the rabbis

you've got the symbols

you've got the Torah

no, that's one thing

but to be faithful

to God

in the heart

of the city of man

the heart of Babylon

that's another thing

altogether.

But friends

isn't that true

for us as well?

It's one thing

to be faithful to God

to sing of His covenant promises

to say

great is your name

here on Sunday morning

you've got the band

you've got followers

of Christ around you

but what about

in the office place?

What about

in the courts of law?

What about

in home?

What about

in the classrooms?

That's where it really counts

that's where God wants us

to be the people of God

even in the midst

of an ungodly world

that's where it really counts.

And so look at what God says here

He says

put down your roots

build houses

how many know

that if you buy a house

and then 70 years time

everyone's going to leave

you're probably not going to get

a good return

on your house

right?

The Babylonians

are not going to pay

top dollar

for those houses

when suddenly

the market is flooded

there's plenty of houses

on the market

He says

build houses

plant gardens

eat the produce

be fruitful

and multiply

multiply

and do not decrease

Now quick question

what does that remind you of?

Where else in the Bible

does God say

be fruitful

and multiply?

In

Genesis 1

right?

The Garden of Eden

What's God saying here?

He's saying in a sense

I want you to bring

Eden

into Babylon

I want you

my people

to bring the kingdom

of heaven

on here on earth

God is saying

I want you to build

the city of God

right here

even in the midst

of the city of man

Now friends

what does that mean

for us here in Hong Kong?

Well one of the phenomena

of big cities

is that

so many people

move into the city

into a big city

like Hong Kong

in order to use the city

for what we can get from it

rather than invest

in the long term

good and health

of the city

and so many people

we think

hey I'm here

it's

my company sent me here

it's an opportunity

to grow personally

or professionally

it's an opportunity

to make some money

before I go home

it's an opportunity

to travel

and see the world

all that

without contributing

to the long term

health of the city

but what we see here

is that

what happens

if we're to see ourselves

not just as those

who use the city

but as missionaries

sent into the city

for its well being

and for its good

what happens

if God wants

to send us

to Hong Kong

not just for what

we can get from it

but actually how

we can contribute

towards it

and what that means

is that Christians

actually we need to learn

how to be a

counter-cultural influence

in the heart

of the city

where we're not just

using the city

for our own benefit

we're not isolating

from the city

in our own little

Christian bubbles

but neither are we

so part of the city

that we adopt

its values

as part of our own

rather what God

wants us to do

is to go into the cities

and yet stay distinct

from the city

because we have

our own Christian values

even as we live

in the city

and live for its well being

and its benefit

Tim Keller says this

Christians should demonstrate

what an alternative

human culture

one that's based

on the gospel

can look like

Christians should demonstrate

in the heart of Hong Kong

what does it look like

to use money

and sex

and power

not just

for our own benefit

not to use others

how to prop ourselves up

but how do we use

our money

how do we use

our power

for the well being

and the blessing

of others

friends obviously

our city Hong Kong

has gone through

massive changes

everything's up in the air

and there's so many

questions that are

on people's minds

and one of the questions

that as Hong Kong

as many of us

are asking is

where is my future

secure

should I be

should I stay here

should I look

to move

now friends

I want to say

that's not

the wrong question

to ask

that's not a bad

question

as Christians

we should be responsible

we've got to be responsible

for our families

we've got to be responsible

for our aging parents

and so that's not

a bad question

to ask

but maybe one of the

questions that God

wants us to ask

in addition to that

is

God are you possibly

asking me to stay here

for the long term

well being

and the blessing

of the city

God is it possible

that you're asking

me to be here

and to contribute

to the long term

good of the city

and you know what

that's going to cost

involve great sacrifice

that's going to

involve great cost

but remember what

John the apostle

says about Jesus

in John chapter 1

John 1 · chapter mention

he says

Jesus

the word became

flesh

and dwelt

amongst us

the actual Greek

this is

Jesus pitched

his tent

amongst us

Jesus didn't just

helicopter

into Jerusalem

at age 30

and say

right

let's get this

show going

right

Jesus

takes on

our nature

Jesus takes on

flesh and blood

and Jesus is born

into this world

as a human being

with all the brokenness

all the insecurity

all the fears

all the dangers

Jesus came

and pitched

his tent

as well

he laid down

his roots

he got involved

in the heart

of what is going on

so that Jesus

could really bring

the kingdom of God

to the kingdom of the world

that Jesus could bring

the city of God

into the city of man

Jesus came

and dwelt amongst us

and Jesus says

as his disciples

he says

come and be with me

come and follow me

come and become like me

come and do the things

that I did

put your roots down

in the city

for it's good

okay

so put down your roots

second thing is this

Jesus says

Jeremiah says

seek the welfare

of the city

look at verse 7

with me

Jeremiah writes

to these exiles

in Babylon

and he says

seek the welfare

of the city

where I've sent you

into exile

for in its welfare

you will find

your own welfare

now the word welfare

here is the Hebrew word

shalom

okay

and shalom

doesn't just mean

peace

it means a holistic

harmony

that is involved

that touches

every area

of our lives

so shalom

means this

harmonious flourishing

this well being

personally and psychologically

so harmony

within myself

spiritually

harmony with me

and God

relationally

harmony with

those in my life

even culturally

and socially

harmony in society

and it's where

all of life

is marked by

this fullness

this rest

this peace

this harmony

that every human being

longs for

it's the garden

of Eden

now one of the main

points of scripture

is that the deep

harmony

the soul rest

that all of us

long for

that we spoke

about last week

this deep shalom

that our hearts

long for

is never found

apart from God

himself

remember our scripture

last week

Jesus says

come to me

all you who are

weary and heavy laden

and I will give you rest

the grand narrative

of scripture

is that we are

created to be

at shalom

with God

but because of our

sin we've been

cut off from God

and we separated

from him

and now we live

with a state of

restlessness

in our hearts

remember Augustine's

great quote

we were made

for you oh God

and our hearts

will always be

restless

until they find

their rest

in you

and so

look at what God

says to the

exiles

who are living

in the heart

of the city of man

in pagan Babylon

he says

I've sent you there

that you may seek

the shalom

the peace

the prosperity

of Babylon

now

what does that mean

what does that mean

for us here in Hong Kong

God says to us

watermark

I've called you

to Hong Kong

not just to enrich

yourselves

not just to get

some experience

I've called you

to seek

the shalom

and the blessing

the welfare

of this city

while we live here

what does that mean

well it means a couple

of things

the first thing it means

is

on the one hand

it means proclaiming

the gospel

this is the essence

of who we are

we are a gospel

proclaiming community

friends if you're not

a Christian this morning

that might sound

bigoted

and judgmental

and arrogant

that we go out there

telling everyone

that we're right

and that they're wrong

but that's not the heart

of evangelism at all

the reason we want

to tell people

about the gospel

is because of what

Jeremiah says here

we want the shalom

we want the well-being

we want the peace

of our city

and we know

that there'll never

be true peace

apart from

reconciliation with God

remember what

Martin Lloyd-Jones says

you'll never have

the peace of God

without first being

at peace with God

the reason we go

and proclaim the gospel

is because our city

is so unrestful

our city is full

of restlessness

and we long

for our neighbors

and our family

and our colleagues

and our friends

to experience the deep

shalom that God

wants for them

and so we are a gospel

proclaiming community

the only way for everyone

or anyone

to have real lasting peace

is through believing

what Jesus did

on the cross

confessing our need

for him

and coming to him

in faith and repentance

and so that's why

at Watermark Mission

is at the very heart

of what we do

because we are gospel

proclaiming community

but that's not the only

thing God asks us to

because he also asks us

to live out the gospel

in other words

we proclaim the gospel

with word

but we also proclaim

the gospel with deed

we as Jesus did

we go out teaching

and proclaiming

who God is

but we also go out

doing good to our city

friends we are called

to proclaim the gospel

in word and deed

and that means

that Christians

we work for the peace

and the security

and the justice

and the prosperity

of the entire city

not just Christian communities

it means that

as citizens of heaven

Christians should be

the very best citizens

of Hong Kong

the very best citizens

of Hong Kong

because we walk

in the footsteps

of the one

who laid down his life

even for his enemies

think about that

for a second

God's called us here

as citizens of heaven

to be the very best citizens

of Hong Kong

I don't know if you remember

a few weeks ago

we were preaching

through Matthew's gospel

and we got to Matthew chapter 9

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

and Jesus is having a meal

with some tax collectors

and some sex workers

and a bunch of other people

and the religious leaders

come to Jesus' disciples

and they say

how can your rabbi

be having a meal

with those scumbags

with those people

surely

how can Jesus

associate with them

and Jesus says

this is the very reason

I've come

I've come to bring peace

to the city

I haven't come

just to hang out

with those that have got it

all together

I've come to call

sinners to repentance

I've come to bring

wholeness and shalom

to those that need it

Jesus says

the reason he came

is to bring shalom

his restorative

redemptive

healing shalom

to the pain

and the brokenness

of our world

and friends

as challenging as it is

that's what God

calls us to as well

and so what does that

look like practically

well it means

that as Christians

we're always looking

for an opportunity

to tell people

about Jesus

it means the Uber driver

he's stuck with you

you've got 10 minutes

with him

he's not going to go anywhere

well I guess he's got

the steering wheel

maybe he could go somewhere

maybe he could hijack you

and take you somewhere

but it means telling people

about Jesus

the driver

the taxi driver

our neighbours

it means giving out

Christian books to those

it means inviting people

to outreach opportunities

we're always looking out

for ways to help people

find true and lasting peace

but you know what it also means

it means paying a fair

and adequate wage

to those that work for us

whether those in our home

or whether those in the office

it means paying

and treating people

with dignity and honour

it means foreign domestic helpers

that work for Christians

should be the most honoured

and respected foreign domestic workers

in our city

friends it means

rather than spending

our entire budget on ourselves

maybe setting aside a portion

to support and finance

and underwrite

those that are doing good work

in our city

and prospering

and bringing back the peace

and the shalom of our city

it means extending grace

and forgiveness

to those that have hurt us

or wronged us

seeking reconciliation

friends it means

helping women

that have been abused

and used by men

for their bodies

to get out of the slavery

of the sex industry

and to find work

and employment

that is full of dignity

and honour

friends it means

opening up our lives

and our hearts

and maybe even our homes

to those that are considered outsiders

those that are part

of another ethnicity

or another race

those that are part

of a different

socio-economic bracket

it means maybe fostering

vulnerable children

in our city

maybe even adopting

a child

that doesn't have a family

it means coming alongside

single moms

and teenage moms

and saying

I know your life is tough

and we want to come inside

and be there for you

and support you

and to love you

and do what we can

to bring shalom

and peace

to your life

friends for some people

and Christians

should be at the forefront

of this

it means maybe even

lobbying government

or setting up a work tank

or an NGO

or some kind of

program

to ensure

there's just

and equitable laws

and policies

in Hong Kong

it means fighting

for the rights

of refugees

and asylum seekers

in our city

Tim Keller says this

and this is really profound

and I want us to think

about this

as Christians

we don't just use

the resources

of the city

to build

a great big church

actually Christians

use the resources

within the church

to build

a great city

let me say that again

as Christians

we don't use

the resources

of the city

to build the church

so that we can get

a bigger

and more powerful

and stronger

and more famous church

we're not trying

to build our name

actually as Christians

we use the resources

that God has given us

to advance

and cultivate

the prosperity

and the blessing

and the shalom

of our city

the goal of Watermark

is not just to have

a great church

it's to have a great city

and that's why

God has planted us here

and so Jeremiah writes

and he says

seek the shalom

the welfare

of your city

for in its welfare

you will find your own

and isn't that amazing

that God says

the shalom

that so many of us

long for

isn't found

as we divorce ourselves

from the city

and live in our

Christian babbles

and just work for

a Christian organization

and only have

Christian friends

actually the shalom

and the blessing

that we long for

is found

as we work

with God

in the midst

of our city

and bring the kingdom

of God

to our world

as we join God

in bringing

the city of God

to the city of man

in that very place

is where we find

the shalom

and the blessing

and the peace

that we long for

friends

you'll never find

the peace

that your heart

longs for

simply by going

on holidays

and sitting on the beach

you'll find it

by joining God

in what he's doing

in this city

as we join him

seeking the blessing

of our city

is that okay

does that make any sense

okay

I've got one last point

let's see if we can

revive it

okay

so

firstly

put down your roots

make this city home

ask God

is this

God do you want me

to stay here

for the long haul

secondly

seek the shalom

the wholeness

the blessing

the city of God

in our city

third thing is this

look at what

Jeremiah says

pray for the city

pray for the city

look at the way

that Jeremiah

phrases it here

he says

pray to the Lord

on behalf

of the city

now that language

is almost priestly

Jeremiah isn't just saying

pray for the city

and he's certainly

not saying

do what

Jonah did

remember Jonah

he goes to Nineveh

and he tells them

about God

and the gospel

and then he retreats

and he sits up

on a hill

and he kind of says

okay God

let's see you nail

these guys

and Jonah

if he prays

for the city

he's praying

that God

will smite them

right

but what does

God say to Jeremiah

he says

well Jeremiah

says to the exiles

pray on behalf

of the city

it's almost like

God is saying

these guys

need my mercy

and my grace

but they don't know

how to call out to me

but you do

so why don't you

pray for them

on their behalf

to me

for my grace

and my mercy

isn't that incredible

remember friends

the Babylonians

are Israel's

arch enemies

they've just burnt

down their city

they've pulled down

the walls

they destroyed

the temple

they've stolen

all the goods

they've desecrated

the holy place

and God

you want us

to do what

for them

you've got to be

kidding

right

friends

I know

that some

of us here

are

extremely

frustrated

even angry

maybe

at what

has happened

in our city

and the changes

that have taken

place

over the last

two years

and I must

confess

that as a

foreigner

I don't

I carry the city

so deeply

in my heart

but I know

that I probably

don't understand

and feel it

to the depth

of many of us

here

friends

God

asks us

to pray

on behalf

of our city

and I know

that's an incredibly

difficult thing

for some of us

maybe

but I want to

ask you this

do you think

that you could

possibly find

it in your

heart

to

trust the one

who

when he was

being nailed

to the cross

by his own

enemies

and his enemies

looked upon them

with a smirk

on their face

Jesus cried out

Father

forgive them

they know

not what

they do

and when

Jesus prayed

that prayer

he wasn't

saying

he wasn't

just praying

for a

blanket

amnesty

he wasn't

just saying

God

let's just

pretend

this whole

thing

hasn't

happened

he wasn't

just saying

let's just

sweep

their sins

under the rug

Jesus

was saying

God

these people

need your

grace

and your

mercy

but they

don't know

how to

call out

to you

and so

I'm

going to

call out

to you

that you

by your

grace

will reveal

yourself

to them

so that

they will

find you

and call

out to you

for the

grace

and the

mercy

that they

need

God

if you

leave them

to their

own devices

they're in

deep trouble

but they

need your

mercy

and they

don't know

how to

find you

so God

I ask

you

won't you

in your

mercy

won't you

pour out

your grace

in them

so that

they can

find you

friends

could we

not pray

the same

thing

for our

city

Father

forgive

them

they know

not what

you do

pray

to the

city

on behalf

of it

now

why does

God

ask us

to pray

I want

to give

us three

quick

reasons

one reason

is this

because

prayer is

powerful

you'll know

this very

famous

I've

mentioned

many times

I think

the

16th

century

John

Knox

is a

Presbyterian

pastor

in Scotland

and he

used to

pray

in Queen

Mary

the Queen

of England

she says

I fear

the prayers

of John

Knox

more than

all the

armies

of England

right

because

prayer is

powerful

and it

changes

things

and prayer

actually

works

and when

we pray

for our

city

God

hears

our

prayers

and he

does

things

prayer

is

powerful

the second

reason

is this

you pray

for what

you love

and you

love

what you

pray

for

it's

very

hard

to pray

for

someone

and despise

them

it's

very

hard

to pray

for

someone

and then

use

and abuse

them

you

pray

for

what

you

love

but also

as you

pray

for

someone

your

heart

grows

for

them

as

God

asks

us

to

pray

for

the

city

it'll

grow

our

own

heart

for

the

city

and even

the areas

of pain

and the areas

that we

find hard

but here's a third

reason

because not only is God

asking us to love and serve the city of Hong Kong

he's asking us to serve the city of Hong Kong in his way

Francis Schaeffer used to speak about doing the Lord's work

in the Lord's way

in other words what he's saying is we can go out in the city of Hong Kong

we can set up NGOs and start schools and plant churches and set up charities

but if we do it without deep meditation on the gospel if we do it without the dependence

that comes from prayer you know what will happen we'll do it self-righteously