The Missionary God

The scripture reading comes from Genesis, Matthew, and John.

Please follow along in your bulletin or on the screen.

In Genesis chapter 12, we read,

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Now the Lord said to Abraham,

Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you,

and I will make of you a great nation.

And I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

And in Matthew chapter 4, we read,

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

While walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

And he said to them,

Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

And in John chapter 20, we read,

John 20 · chapter mention

On the evening of the day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.

Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,

Peace be with you.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again,

Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me,

even so I am sending you.

And when he had said this,

he breathed on them and said to them,

Receive the Holy Spirit.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thank you, Jonah.

Will you join me as we pray together?

And we're going to pray this morning.

We often like to pray for other churches in Hong Kong.

We're going to pray for GCC, Gospel Community Church.

Ian Ma is one of the new leaders there.

And so, just so you know, when we pray for him,

that's who he is.

Ian is from GCC.

We're going to pray for them this morning.

But let's pray together.

Great and glorious God,

God, this morning we gather as a church family

to praise you and to glorify you,

to lift up your name,

and to give you the worship that you deserve.

Father, in this world,

we are constantly being pulled in a thousand directions

with innumerable concerns and worries on our hearts.

God, this morning we've gathered

to have our eyes set on you

and to focus,

to know you

and to know that our peace and our hope

is not found in any of the great things

that you've given us,

but it's found in you.

Father, this morning we acknowledge

that the one thing that deserves

our greatest attention and devotion,

the one thing for which we were made

is to glorify you

who have given us our being

and to be a blessing to those

that you've brought across our path.

And yet, Father, so seldom is that

our true motivation.

We live for ourselves

without much regard to your great glory and honor,

without thinking about the good of others.

Oh, Father, forgive us, we pray.

God, we pray that you will do a deep work in our hearts,

each one of us,

that we will truly learn to live for you

and your glory

and live the well-being of others.

God, particularly in times like this

when the brokenness of our world is so evident,

may we, your people,

be truly salt and light in the city at this time.

God, as we go from this place,

may we be sent by you into our city

as agents of healing and restoration.

God, we long for our city to experience your peace,

for the anxiety of our hearts, God,

to be stilled,

and for the restlessness, God,

with which we,

as so many of our city are struggling,

God, to be eased.

Father, come, we pray,

come to our city and use us.

God, as Isaiah said,

here we are, send us, God.

Use us, we pray.

Father, this morning,

as we look at your word,

we pray that you really will speak to us.

We've said it a thousand times,

but God, we're not interested

in just the opinions of man.

We're not here just to be inspired or encouraged.

We're here to encounter you, the living God.

We want you, God, to speak to us.

And so we pray, God, this morning

that your word will come alive.

God, we pray that the message of your scriptures

will speak to us today.

God, take my words,

and anything that's not of you,

we pray it will fall aside, Lord God.

Come and speak to us, we pray.

We want to meet with you, God,

in your word today.

God, this morning,

as we look across our city,

we want to pray for our friends

at GCC, Gospel Community Church.

We want to pray for Ian Marr,

the new pastor there.

And God, as he's getting established

in that church and finding his feet,

we do pray for him.

We bring him before you.

We pray for unity around the church leadership.

We pray that they will be on the same page

and there'll be deep levels of trust and oneness.

Thank you for bringing Ian there.

Thank you for the work of Rob and Joy Penner

over the last five years or so.

Thank you for that community

that really does love your gospel.

And God, we pray that as they go into this new season,

that you will lead them and guide them.

As they are seeking to establish vision

for the church this year,

we pray that they will capture your vision

for their church.

God, we pray for their mission

and their outreach,

that for their position near PolyU

and other campuses,

we pray to use them, God,

to really bless the city.

Establish them deeply on the gospel,

we pray.

And then finally, Father,

we pray for our great continent of Asia.

We pray in the,

as we are grappling with the middle

of the coronavirus.

Father, we pray,

especially this morning,

for South Korea and Japan

who have experienced unprecedented increases in cases.

We pray, God,

for profound wisdom

for the leaders of those countries.

We pray for the doctors

and the medical staff

that are working

and on the front lines

of encountering that.

We pray for government officials

and all decision makers.

God, we pray that you will give them wisdom

how to contain the virus

and see it come to an end.

And so we pray for our brothers

and our sisters

and our friends and family

and the people of South Korea and Japan,

especially this morning.

Be with them, we pray.

Pray for believers

to find their hope in you,

Lord God, today.

Pray for those that are sick and suffering.

Won't you strengthen them

and encourage them

and bring loved ones around them

that can really point them

to the hope of Christ.

We pray these things, Lord Jesus,

in your wonderful

and your powerful name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, I forgot to introduce myself.

If you don't know me,

my name is Kevin

and one of the leaders here.

Now, if you're new to Watermark,

to let you know what you're doing,

Chris mentioned it.

In fact, I don't feel like

I need to preach a whole lot

after Chris and Tiffany.

They kind of summarized

everything I was going to say.

Okay?

But just in case you weren't listening,

let me say it again.

We are working through our values

as a church,

those things that, you know,

are on websites and bulletins

and get referenced a lot.

But are seldom actually defined

or clarified.

And so we're spending

a couple of weeks,

12 weeks in total,

looking at these three topics.

The gospel.

What is the gospel?

What does it mean

to be centered on the gospel?

Community.

And mission.

And those three things

are really important

to each one of us individually,

but also to us

as a church family.

And so the gospel

is the heart of Watermark.

It really defines

who we are,

our identity,

why it's our reason

for existence.

Okay?

Without the gospel,

let's close shop.

We're done here.

Community is shaped

by the gospel

because God's worked

in our hearts.

We are now

a community of believers.

And community defines

how we relate

to one another.

Mission,

which is what we're going

to look at

for the next couple of weeks,

is what is our purpose?

Why has God put us here?

What are we to do,

those of us

that have encountered

this living God?

And so the next five weeks,

we're going to be looking

at this theme of mission.

Now, today's sermon

is a little bit different

to usual.

Normally,

we work through

a passage of scripture

and we expound it.

Today,

we're going to step back

and we're going to try

and get an overview

of the Bible story

from beginning to end.

We're going to look

a little bit at Genesis 12

that was read to us earlier.

And we're going to try

and get a thematic

understanding

of God's heart for mission

and what does that mean

for His people

by looking at the Bible.

Okay,

so a little bit different,

but that's where

we're going today.

Now,

how many of you

have bought a book

or been given a book,

fiction or non-fiction,

opened it up

halfway,

somewhere in the middle,

and started reading

at chapter 17?

Okay?

Now,

if it's a textbook

and you're cramming

for an exam,

you're allowed to do that.

But generally,

if it's a story,

that's not a good way

to read a book,

right?

Why is that?

Well,

because you're not going

to know what's going

on the plot line

of the book.

You might pick out

a few main characters,

you might sort of get

the plot line

of the book,

but even if you

kind of understand

what's happening,

you're going to have

a very superficial reading

of that book.

Many of us

make a similar mistake

when it comes

to the Scriptures.

We open up the Bible

at the New Testament

and we say,

okay,

let's get to the good news,

and yet,

we try to make sense

of what's going on

without understanding

the storyline

or the narrative arc

of the Bible.

The Scriptures

actually has

a storyline to it.

It's the story

of what God

is doing in the world,

and understanding

that story,

that narrative,

is critical

to understanding

all the individual

parts of the Bible.

And so,

let's briefly revisit

the storyline

of the Bible

and then see

how this idea

of God's mission

and our mission

fits into that.

So,

the storyline

of the Bible

starts off like this.

It starts off

in Genesis 1-2

with God's creation.

And there we see

that everything

that exists

from giant galaxies

and solar systems

to subatomic particles,

everything that exists,

exists because

the Creator God

has brought them

into existence.

Okay?

And the pinnacle

of this creation

is humankind.

I know,

sometimes it's hard

to believe,

but it's true.

God has said

that the pinnacle

of His creation

is humankind.

He has made us

for relationship

with Him.

And so,

the Bible's account

of creation

gives us

some of the answers

to the biggest questions

that we as humans

have.

Who am I?

Why am I here?

What's my purpose

in life?

What does it mean

to be human?

Are we gods

or are we merely animals

that have somehow

evolved more than

other animals?

And the answer

that creation

gives us

is that we are not gods.

Sorry to tell you that.

Sorry to disappoint.

We are not just animals

that have evolved

more than other animals.

We are a specific

type of creature,

a specific species,

made in God's image

to know Him

and enjoy Him

and be in a relationship

with Him,

but also to steward,

in other words,

to look after His creation

for His glory.

That's what it means

to be human.

We are made in God's image

to know Him deeply

and love Him

and enjoy Him

and to look after

His good creation

for His glory.

Now,

however,

not very long,

before we are almost

out of the starting blocks,

things go wrong

with the world

and with this order.

The good order

that God created

and designed

gets corrupted

and we call this

the fall of creation.

And so in Genesis 3,

we see that

rather than as human beings

we are living

a joyful relationship

with God,

our Creator,

rather than loving Him

and enjoying Him,

as human beings,

we decide

we want to be

our own gods.

Rather than

stewarding His creation,

we want to rule it.

We want to own it.

Rather than living

for His glory,

we want our own glory.

And that brings about

disastrous consequences.

The result is that

sin and wickedness

weaves its way

into every aspect

of life,

every aspect

of human experience

and existence.

And friends,

that's why there's

so much pain

and brokenness

in our world.

It's why there's

so much heartache

in our world.

And we see this

weaving of brokenness

in four dimensions.

Actually,

in every area,

but four primarily.

We see it physically.

And so now,

as human beings,

we are subject to

decay,

disease,

death.

Our bodies don't work

the way that we're meant to.

Our world is broken.

And so our physical world

is broken

and subject to decay

and death.

But also,

relationally,

where we're meant to

love and serve

one another

in relationship,

now we use

one another.

And so we see

as a result

things like sexism

and racism,

wars,

animosity,

bitterness,

resentment,

mistrust,

all these things.

Another way we see

it is personally.

So our relationship

with ourself

is broken.

And so now,

either we suffer

from self-exaltation,

self-worship,

I am God,

or we battle

things like anxiety,

insecurities,

depression,

and so our relationship

with ourselves

is broken.

But most significantly,

our relationship

with the God

that made us

for himself

is broken.

And so whereas

we were designed

to live in joyful

relationship with God,

loving and enjoying Him,

now we are alienated

from Him

and under His

just judgment.

And so the problem

with sin in the world

is not just that

we've broken

one or two rules,

it's not just that,

oh, you know,

we've kind of done

a few wrong things

and God's now

going to scold us.

The problem

with sin in the world

is that the whole world

is now out of sync.

There's a misalignment.

It's now out of kilter.

And as a result,

every aspect

reels under the effects

of this broken world

in which we live.

And we see this

straight after

the fall in Genesis 3.

So Genesis 3 happens

and the next couple

of chapters,

if you read Genesis,

are pretty depressing.

In chapter 4,

Adam and Eve's

first son,

Cain,

rises up

and murders his brother

because he's not

getting on with his brother

and so he just

kills him.

Then one of Cain's

descendants,

a guy called Lamech,

one day he's boasting

to his wives

and he's got two wives

and he's boasting to them

and he's saying,

you think Cain was bad?

You've seen nothing.

He's saying,

Cain killed a man,

I've killed a man

just because he wounded me.

If Cain's revenge

was sevenfold,

mine is 77.

So that's the descendants

of Cain.

And then we get to

chapter 6

and there's the flood

and the world is broken

and people die.

And then we carry on

in chapter 11.

Chapter 11's interesting.

There's the story

of the Tower of Babel.

Do you remember that story?

And the Tower of Babel

is interesting

because it's a story

of great unity.

God's people

come together,

the nations are united

but they're not united

for good,

they're united for evil.

They come together

in unison

and say,

let's fix our own world.

Let's solve our own problems.

We will make ourselves

great again.

And so they're united

in their rebellion

against God.

They say,

God, we don't need you.

We'll fix our own problems.

Thank you very much.

And they come together

and the result,

the same as Genesis 3,

is disastrous.

There's division,

there's disunity,

people are spread out.

And rather than unity

and joy and love,

division and disunity ensues.

And so when we read

the scriptures

from the beginning,

not just starting

somewhere in the middle,

the storyline we encounter

is that the God

who made us in the world,

made a beautiful world,

as we sang earlier,

a good world,

a world of good creation

for us to enjoy

and to steward

and to enjoy Him.

But because of sin,

that world has become corrupted.

And now our relationship

with ourselves,

with our world,

with each other,

and with our God

is broken.

Now,

the incredible message

of the Bible

is that God gives us

not just good advice

how to fix our world ourselves,

God comes with some good news,

or biblical word,

with the gospel.

God comes with some good news

that is big enough

and comprehensive enough

to address every dimension

and every aspect

of the brokenness

and the fallenness

of our world.

In other words,

the Bible shows us

that rather than God

abandoning the world,

saying,

well, that didn't work very well,

let's try again,

God moves into His world

to redeem

and to rescue

and to put right

that which is wrong

with the world.

And that's almost

what the entire Bible

is all about.

Other than chapters 1 and 3

in Genesis

that talk about

how the world

got to the state

that it's in,

other than right at the end,

Revelation 21 and 22

that talks about

how it's all going to end,

almost the entire story

of the Bible

is the story

of what God is doing

to put the world

right again.

That's what the Bible

is all about.

God's mission

to rescue

and redeem

and reconcile

His broken world.

And then finally,

we get to the last story

of the last chapter

of the storyline

which is the new creation.

God moves

and Jesus returns

and everything

that is wrong

and broken with the world,

He makes untrue

and He brings about

His new creation.

No more tears,

no more pain

or agony

or anguish

anymore.

Okay,

so you got the storyline

of the Bible,

right?

Okay.

Now here's the question

we need to ask.

That chapter 3,

God's mission

to put right

a broken world,

how is that going to happen?

How does God go

about doing it?

Well,

the answer we find

in Genesis 12,

which we read earlier,

is not what we first expect

because the answer

is that God

is going about

rescuing

and redeeming

His world

but He's going to do it

through His chosen people.

Let's read Genesis 12

together

and take a look at it.

Okay,

so if you've got your bulletin,

look at Genesis 12

with me.

It all starts off

with this man

called Abraham

and so one day

God appears

to this man

called Abraham

and He reveals Himself

to him

and He calls Abraham

to be part

of his mission,

his plan

to rescue

and redeem

this broken

and fallen world.

And so look at verse 1,

look at the first thing

God says.

He calls Abraham

and He says,

Abraham,

go from your country,

from your family

and from your father's house

to the land

that I will show you.

So the first thing

He does

is He sends him away.

Okay,

He sends him on a mission.

He says,

I know you're from this area,

Ur of the Chaldeans.

I want you to leave

your family background

and go to a land

that's not your own

but that I'm sending you to

and I will lead

and guide you.

And so He sends him out.

But that's not all

that God says

because look at verse 2.

God accompanies

this commission,

this call to trust Him

and obey Him

with a promise

or in the biblical word

a covenant.

A covenant is a solemn oath.

It's a promise

that God makes

and it's a promise

that's full of grace

because look what He says here

in verse 2.

He says,

Go leave your family

and I will make of you

a great nation.

I will bless you

and make your name great

so that you

will be a blessing.

Now remember,

Genesis chapter 11,

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

we've got the story

of the Tower of Babel,

right?

And what is the thing

that the people

that are building

the Tower of Babel,

what is their motivation?

We will make ourselves

great again.

Okay?

God comes to Abraham

and he says,

I will make you great.

See,

when the people say

we will make ourselves great,

the result is destruction

and heartache

and pain.

God comes along to Abraham

and says,

Abraham,

I'm not here to give you

good advice

how you can make yourself great.

I will make you great.

And that, friends,

is the gospel.

See,

whenever we try

and make ourselves great,

whenever we try

and rescue

or redeem ourselves,

whenever our life ambition

is I will save myself,

friends,

that is always,

always going to end up

in destruction

and heartache

and pain.

The way to encounter

the God of the Bible

is to come to him

on our knees

and say,

God,

have your will

in my life.

And so God comes to Abraham

and says,

Abraham,

not you will make yourself great,

I will make you great.

And what does that mean?

He says,

I will make you

a great nation.

That means

I will give you

a large family.

You will be fruitful

and abundant.

And so he's talking

about Abraham's descendants,

his offspring.

Now,

in some ways,

it's a little random,

right?

I mean,

God chooses

this one 75-year-old man

who's married to Sarah.

They are barren.

They cannot have any children

in the middle of Iraq.

And he says,

Abraham,

I want you to leave your family,

go across the Arabian Peninsula

and go and settle

in a land

that I will tell you

and I will give you

a great family.

Pretty random.

Why would God do that?

What's the point?

Well,

let's look at what he says.

He says,

I will make you

a great nation.

I will bless you

and make your name great.

Why?

So that

you will be

a blessing.

So why is God

doing this?

God's pouring out

his blessing on Abraham

in order

that through Abraham

blessing

might come

to the world.

He says,

I will bless

those that bless you.

I will curse

those that curse you.

And through you

or through your descendants,

through your offspring,

all the families

of the world

will be blessed.

So Abraham,

I'm going to rescue you.

I'm going to redeem you.

I'm going to save you

and bless you.

I'm going to draw you

into my story.

I'm going to turn

your life around.

But my blessing

is not to end with you.

You are to be a conduit

through which

my blessing

then flows

to the people

of all the world,

all the nations

of the earth.

One author

put it like this.

Abraham's blessing

was intrinsically

tied

to the blessing

of other people.

In God's call,

these two things

could never be separated.

He could not just

take the one,

the blessing

that God gave him,

and leave the other one.

They are one

and the same thing.

So God promises

to bless Abraham.

That's only one side

of the coin.

The other side

of the coin is

I'm going to send you

to be a blessing.

And what does that mean

in the grand storyline

of the Bible?

What does it mean

when God says

you are going to be

my blessing?

Well it means

he's going to send him out

to be part of God's mission

to rescue and redeem

the world.

So do you follow

the logic here?

The storyline

of the Bible is

God is at work

rescuing and redeeming

a fallen world.

God chooses

some people

and then blesses them.

He then says

the blessing

isn't to stop with you.

It is to go

through you.

You are to be

my agents

through which I redeem

and rescue the world.

So God comes to Abraham

and says Abraham

I'm going to pull you

into my story

and through you

I will accomplish

my mission

to rescue

and redeem

a broken world.

Does that make

any sense?

Okay

I'm going to have

to work a little harder.

Okay

Do you follow

that storyline?

Okay

great

thank you.

Okay

now you might say

okay

boomer

that's all

very interesting

or maybe

not very interesting

but what does it

have to do

with me?

If you're a Christian

this morning

okay

and that may not

be the case

you might be

a spiritual seeker

in which case

you're so welcome

great to have you here

if you're a Christian

this morning

that has

everything

to do with you

because this passage

in Genesis 12

becomes the defining

paradigm

by which the people

of God

are then defined

in the rest of scripture

in the rest of the Old Testament

and the New Testament

God's call to Abraham

is God's call

to every one of his people

that he will bless us

in the gospel

in other words

that through us

his blessing

his redemption

reconciling

mission in the world

can come to pass

this is what it means

to be the people

of God

to be part

of God's people

means to be part

of God's redemptive

plan in the world

every person

that God calls

to know

and love him

he also sends out

as his missionary

into the world

and so throughout

the Old Testament

this is what

the nation of Israel

is all about

they are meant

to be a light

to the nations

okay

God's chosen people

who are called

to be a light

to nations

and so

look at Psalm 67

with me

I think I've got it

on the slides

look at this amazing

scripture

Psalm 67

if you ever want

to pray a prayer

for watermark

this is a great

prayer to pray

okay

look at what it says

may God be gracious

to us

and bless us

yes please

may you make

your face

shine upon us

glory

okay

God shine

your face upon us

why

that we may get

bigger and bigger

that our finances

may increase

that people

may look at us

and say

wow

that's an amazing

church

look at watermark

why should God

bless us

why should he

pour his face

out upon us

why should he

be gracious

to us

look at verse 2

that your ways

oh God

may be known

on the earth

your saving power

amongst all the nations

so in Afghanistan

and in Iraq

and in Indonesia

and in Bangladesh

and in South Korea

and Japan

and Indonesia

and Myanmar

and Laos

in every country

in Asia

may your ways

be known

oh God

your saving power

amongst Asia

let all the peoples

that's not just

watermarkers

and Christians

that's those people

out there

may all the nations

praise you

oh God

may the peoples

praise you

let all the nations

in the furthest

corners of the world

be glad

and sing for joy

because they've

encountered

your good news gospel

isn't that an amazing verse

look at Isaiah 42

God says to Israel

I am the Lord

I have called you

in righteousness

I will take you

by the hand

and I will lead you

I will give you

as a covenant

for the people

to be a light

to the nations

to open the eyes

that are blind

to bring out

the prisoners

from the dungeon

from the prison

those who sit

in darkness

friends isn't that

what Tiffany said earlier

there are people

in our city

that are trapped

in the prisons

and the dungeons

not physical prisons

but in the dungeon

of despair

in the prison

of despondency

and anxiety

and depression

and God's got

a good news message

a gospel

to bring them

deliverance

and healing

and freedom

and restoration

to bring good news

to our world

but how's he gonna do it

he's gonna do it

by causing his people

to be a light

to the nations

or think of Jonah

God sends Jonah

to Nineveh

and so Christopher Wright

he's one of the foremost

theologians

on this subject

he says this

at the most fundamental level

who were these people

called Israel

in the Old Testament

and what were they there

for anyway

to be a vehicle

of God's mission

for extending

God's blessing

to the nations

and for Christians

who are we

and what are we here for

the answer

is the same

the answer

has to be

sorry

the same answer

has to be given

and indeed is given

we are also

to be the people

through whom

the nations

are blessed

so in other words

of saying that

to be part of God's people

is to be part

of God's mission

to be part of God's people

is to be part

of his redemption plan

to bring healing

to the world

now

as we read

the Old Testament

one of the things

we quickly read

quickly realize

is that Israel

God's people

who are meant

to be a light

to the nations

rather than

bringing healing

and redemption

to the nations

pretty soon

they become

just like the nations

and so they're meant

to go out

to influence

the nations

and to point them

to the good news

of Yahweh

the saving God

but pretty soon

rather than

influencing the nations

they are influenced

by the nations

and so

throughout the Old Testament

they become

more and more

like the people

around them

they eventually

start making

alliances

political alliances

they start marrying

the people

of the other cultures

they take on

their practices

and their customs

and very soon

they start taking

on their idols

and their gods

and so while

there are a few

bright moments

Joshua and King David

by and large

things get progressively

worse and worse

and worse

until Israel

is almost extinct

they get taken

into exile

Jerusalem is in ruins

the temple

is destroyed

and Israel

is almost extinct

and so you get

to the end

of the Old Testament

you think

is there any hope

I mean

are God's plans

just lying on the floor

and tatters

what happened

to the people

of Abraham

what happened

to his great descendants

that were going

to rescue the world

what happens

to God's mission

to bring hope

and healing

to this broken world

are God's plans

for redemption

ruined forever

throughout the Old Testament

especially the prophets

God continues to speak

and in the midst

of some of the most

dire and broken

situations

God makes a promise

and his promise

is this

that his word

to Abraham

is still intact

that God

is still

through the nation

of Israel

through the people

of Abraham

going to bring hope

and healing

to a broken world

but how is he

going to do that

into this context

the stunning announcement

of the New Testament

comes

and the New Testament

tells us

that the answer

to what the whole

of the Old Testament

has been painting

is this

that God

will once again

send

a descendant

of Abraham

someone from

within Israel

and yet who is

completely different

to Israel

someone who would be

so faithful

when they had been

rebellious

one who would be

obedient to God

even in the midst

of desert temptations

and even to the point

of death

on a cross

one who didn't grasp

and seek blessing

for himself

but who poured out

his life

for the blessing

of the whole world

one who

through his death

and subsequent resurrection

would bring about

not only the restoration

of Israel

but the promised salvation

to the ends

of the earth

and who was that one

the Messiah

right

Jesus Christ

and that's why

the gospel writers

and Jesus himself

make such a big deal

about the fact

that Jesus

is an Israelite

he's a Jew

he's a descendant

of Abraham

he's one from Israel

one of Abraham's

offsprings

that is going to bring

true hope

and true healing

to this broken world

and so Jesus

true Israel

does what God's people

were meant to do

but could never do

in fact Jesus

does so much more

and so how does he do it

Jesus takes upon himself

one day

all the brokenness

of the entire world

upon himself

and he swallows death

and he swallows destruction

and he reverses

and he deals a death blow

to the curse of sin

so that healing

and redemption

may really come

on the cross

Jesus experiences

the full consequences

of sin

in a broken world

physically

his body is left there

for decay

and he experiences death

socially

he's cut off

from relationships

and even his best friends

are denying him

betraying him

selling him

for 30 pieces of silver

personally

he experiences

the depth

of anxiety

as he cries out

to his father

and says

father where are you

do I really have

to drink this cup

but ultimately

spiritually

he is cut off

from the God

that

from his father

he's cut off

from God

as he faces

God's wrath

and his judgment

and so on the cross

and the resurrection

Jesus brings

the central point

of the story

of redemption

that God

would accomplish

for us

on our behalf

what we could

never do

for ourselves

that Jesus

the perfect Israel

the sinless one

would stand condemned

in our place

that we the imperfect

people

could still be included

in God's redemption

and reconciliation

purposes

and so when Jesus

dies on the cross

he doesn't just die

for Israel

he dies to the whole world

so that now

every nation

including South Africans

and Chinese

and Koreans

and Australians

and Americans

and everyone else

can be included

in the people

of God

so that now

salvation can come

to us

and as the New Testament

says

we now are part

of the people

of Abraham

and so what does it

mean for you and I

if you're a follower

of Jesus

to be part of

the people of God

to be part of

the people of God

means to be part

of the mission

of God

to be part of

his redemption

purposes

and that's exactly

what we see

when we get

to the New Testament

and the Gospels

throughout the New Testament

becoming a Christian

is not just

joining a religion

it's being reconciled

to God

and then joining

his redemption plan

to bring healing

and hope

to a broken world

and so

in Matthew chapter 4

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Chris referenced it earlier

Jonah read it to us earlier

in Matthew chapter 4

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Jesus comes along

and he calls

his very first disciples

so Jesus

he's on his own

and he's about

to launch

his public ministry

he's about

to call

his first disciples

and they happen

to be fishermen

and so what does

he say to them

he says

come and follow me

and then what

and I will make you

fishers of men

to the very first

disciples

he says

come and follow me

and I'm going to

send you out

to be my people

through whom

the world is blessed

I will bless you

so that you can be

a blessing to the world

and in the next chapter

in chapter 5

Jesus says to his disciples

you are the light

of the world

or isn't that what

God has been saying

to Israel

throughout the whole

of the Old Testament

you are to be a light

to the nations

a light to the nations

and Israel

can't do it

but Jesus comes

and he says to his disciples

you are the light

of the world

you're the people

through whom

redemption

and reconciliation

is going to come

as you point to me

and then at the end

of Matthew's gospel

Matthew 28

what is the last thing

that Jesus says

to his disciples

as he is about

to go to heaven

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

has been given to me

go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations

baptizing them

in the name of the Father

the Son

and the Holy Spirit

and know that I am with you

to the ends of the age

so notice this

the very first thing

that Jesus says

to his disciples

is follow me

and I will send you out

the very last thing

that Jesus says

to his disciples

is wait in Jerusalem

for the Holy Spirit

and then go

throughout the story

of the Bible

from beginning to end

God is at work

resting and redeeming

his broken and fallen world

how is he going to do it

he is going to do it

through his people

those that have encountered

the grace

and the glory of God

those whose lives

have been changed

by Jesus

and the gospel

and who now take

the gospel

to the ends

of the earth

and so finally

in John

we read that

Jesus after

he dies on the cross

he comes to his disciples

after his resurrection

and he says

surprise

no he doesn't say that

he says

as the Father

has sent me

so I am sending you

so I am sending you

friends

God's mission

is the starting place

for understanding

the church

and so what that means

friends

is that to be part

of the people

of God

is to be part

of God's mission

and so part

of what it means

to be a Christian

and this isn't just

true for the pastors

or the elders

or the staff

or the young lifers

or those that are

in ministry

part of what it means

to be a follower

of Jesus

is that in each

and every aspect

of life

whether you are

walking the dog

whether you are

sitting on the bus

whether you are

having coffee

at your favorite

coffee shop

whether you are

teaching a class

whether you are

teaching your children

at home

because they have

been off school

for six months

whether you are

on a date

with your wife

or a date

with your future wife

whether you are

considering moving

countries

whether you are

considering what

school to send

your children to

whether you are

having a barbecue

with friends

whether you are

taking care

of your elderly

parents

whether you are

meeting your new

neighbors

or making a

business deal

God's call

to those that

have encountered

his grace

is to be

those that

have been

blessed

so that they

can be a

blessing to

others

to join

God's

redemption

and reconciliation

plan

to bring healing

to this hurting

world

and so

Christopher Wright

again says it

like this

when God

said about

his great

project of

world redemption

in the wake

of Genesis 12

he chose to do

so not by

whisking

individuals up

into heaven

but by

calling into

existence

a community

of blessing

starting

starting with

one man

and his

barren wife

and then

miraculously

transforming them

into a large

family within

several generations

and then into

a nation

called Israel

and then through

Christ into a

multinational community

of believers

from every nation

all through the

story

God has been

molding a people

for himself

but also

a people for

others

as Genesis 12

says

I will bless

you

so that

you will be

a blessing

and through

you

all the

nations

of the

world

will be

blessed

friends

this is

what God

is doing

in this

world

and this

is what

he's called

us

to join

him

on

now

as we

come to

a close

what does

this mean

for us

firstly

if you're

not a follower

of Jesus

this morning

we're so

glad you're

here

I hope

that in

some ways

you've

come to

see the

essence

of what

the Bible