Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

We continue on in our summer series in the second book of the Psalms, and we find ourselves in Psalm 67.

But before we get into the Psalm, let me just tell you another part of Scripture.

Talk about it briefly.

There's this incredible story in the Gospel of Mark, of Jesus delivering a man who was ravaged by unclean spirits.

If you were with us months ago, we were from the beginning of the church plant.

We went through Mark, and we got through it, I think, earlier this year.

To be honest, I don't remember when we finished Mark, but maybe about a year ago, or at the turn of 2022 to 2023.

But you'd remember this story.

Jesus, he meets this man, the Gerizim demoniac.

And this man is ravaged by unclean spirits.

He is a troubled, troubled man.

He was abandoned to the fringes of his land, and he was left completely alone.

He was a violent man, and he wouldn't be held down.

He would break the bonds that held him in place.

There was a lot of fear around this fellow.

He was completely chaotic.

He was screaming and naked, and he would cut himself.

It was a terrible, very, very scary scene.

And Jesus heals him.

He heals him in an incredible way by just speaking, and he is made well.

And all the things that excluded this man from his society were turned around.

And the Gospel writer tells us that he was clothed at peace and in his right mind.

It's a remarkable story.

So his life went from being a curse to a blessing, from chaotic to a life of order.

But what is interesting about this man is that, I mean, he wanted to go with Jesus and be one of his disciples,

and he begged Jesus that he would come with him.

But Jesus actually commands him to stay and to go into his town and testify about the blessings to those around him.

In a sense, Jesus commands him to share his blessing with others.

Later on in the narrative, this town, which had previously been very hostile to Jesus,

came to welcome him with gladness.

And what isn't said in the narrative, but what is implied is that this man,

who was completely blessed by God, listened to Jesus, went into the town,

shared his blessing, and it resulted in the town coming, in a sense, to welcome Jesus with gladness.

And this man turned out to be, at least in the Gospel of Mark, the first evangelist in the New Testament.

And our psalm today is yet another psalm of praise.

It's actually fitted in this short little group of psalms from Psalm 65 to 68.

They're psalms that would be sung during the harvest.

But this psalm in particular gives us a blueprint, a vision of what it means to live out the Christian faith under the triune God,

which is a life on mission, which is a life of blessing in order to bless.

So a life on mission, what does it mean?

It means simply not only enjoying the blessings of God, like this man who was healed,

this Gerizim demoniac, but then turning around and blessing others with the blessing that you have received.

So we'll look at it in three sections, Psalm 67.

We'll look at it first.

We'll ask the question, what does this tell us about the Christian life and how it means to live on mission,

to be evangelists, to share our blessing.

And we'll look at it in three sections.

In verse 1, we'll see that the Christian life is to be enjoyed and to be enjoyed publicly.

The second, verses 2 to 5, we'll see the Christian life is to be a blessing to those around us.

And we'll unpack that.

Verse 6 to 7, the third point, we'll see how the Christian life culminates into eternal blessing.

Not just temporal blessing, not blessing for the moment or just this life, but for all eternity.

So let's jump right into it.

Verse 1, if you have a Bible, follow along with me.

Verse 1 says this,

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us.

So these opening words, this opening verse echoes the Aaronic blessing.

The Aaronic blessing, we can find it in number 6, verses 24 to 26.

But really it was the blessing that God gave Aaron, who was the high priest,

and his sons and all the priests that would come after him.

And it would be a blessing upon them, but not just on them, but on all of Israel.

That really to hear this Aaronic blessing is to know God,

to be welcomed into his family, and then to be a blessing to those around you.

Here's the actual Aaronic blessing from Numbers chapter 6.

Numbers 6 · chapter mention

And hear the similarities with the opening verse in our psalm.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Coincidence that Psalm 67 verse 1 sounds just like the Aaronic blessing?

Psalms 67:1

I would say to you no.

That David, the psalmist rather, he has this in view.

This priestly blessing in view.

And this is the foundation of what it means to know God

and to live under His good and kindly rule.

To be a part of the covenant community.

The blessing entails provision, protection, mercy, and belonging.

So in short, it means to be blessed.

To be blessed by God means to be held secure in the midst of danger.

It means to know peace in the midst of chaos.

It is to know mercy when judgment is owed.

And it is for the estranged to have a place.

Think about all of those things that I just mentioned.

The negative bits.

The danger.

The chaos.

The judgment.

The estrangement.

Think of how that Gerizim demoniac,

that was his experience.

How he experienced all of these things.

And when Jesus came in and healed him and delivered him

and how he was blessed,

he was, remember, clothed at peace and in his right mind.

It's what the blessing of God looks like for the covenant people.

So to be blessed by God is to have, in a sense,

all of our life's pursuits and our deep down desires

fulfilled in the most complete and perfect way

and to have all of our fears cast out.

Throughout the Bible and especially in the Psalms,

this is expressed in enjoyment of God.

To have joy in God, but to enjoy him.

That he is the object of our affection.

He is the object of our greatest desire.

He is everything we could hope for.

We are to enjoy him.

I commend to you Psalm 119 as an example of this.

It is long, so I won't read it.

But what I will read is Psalm 103.

A few verses from Psalm 103.

And see how King David is enjoying God.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me.

Bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good,

so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.

My goodness!

It's a man who's enjoying the Lord.

The Christian life is one of beauty,

and truth, and goodness,

and enjoyment.

And how can one truly understand that

if it is not enjoyed?

In fact, if Christianity is a grind,

and a weight around your neck,

if it feels a bit like just a huge drag,

then I would say, rather than joy,

then I would say that you either discover the faith afresh,

or you discover the faith for the first time.

And by the way, this is a bit of a disclaimer.

This doesn't mean that you're a Christian,

you experience joy for the rest of your life

without sadness, without valleys,

without depressions.

It doesn't mean that we are enthralled with joyful glee

every waking minute of your life.

There is a real struggle in the Christian life.

And there is a back and forth with trusting the Lord,

or trusting ourselves, or in the world,

or being tempted to abandon Him.

And there's also very real struggles that we go through

with the breakdown of our bodies,

or relationships.

And the Bible makes a lot of room

for expressing depression,

and non-joyful times.

Now, there's a lot to be said about that.

I'll just pause it there.

It's not the morning to deep dive into that.

By the way, I just say,

if you are in a prolonged season

of feeling like there's a shadow over your life,

I would love to talk to you.

We can pray.

It doesn't mean that somehow you lost your faith.

But let's get back to the text.

So, Christian life is to be a joy-filled,

enjoyed life,

where we know and enjoy God forever.

But the second part of the first point is this.

To enjoy the Christian life is to enjoy it publicly.

In short, our faith is not to be a closeted faith.

Let me ask you this question.

Is joy in general to be regulated to the private?

I mean, if you find something that brings you life and joy,

you're excited about something,

do you not share it with others?

Is it, I mean, that's an almost unhealthy thing

to not share your joy.

I'll share two examples.

The first one is silly.

When Christine and I were dating,

we went to this cafe in downtown Ottawa.

They had kind of like a chef's special.

I ordered the turkey gorgonzola sandwich.

It was on a panini.

And I ate it.

And it was very delicious.

And I think I was trying to be a bit goofy and funny.

But I went over.

I gave the kitchen staff a bunch of high fives.

I think I embarrassed Christine.

But the joy, again, stupid example.

But the joy was not joy unless I could share it.

And be happy about it.

The other example, it's a lot more serious.

Man, I'll get teary-eyed.

But when Nora was born, my first daughter, my firstborn,

man, the joy was just like, I couldn't contain it.

There was tears and excitement.

I think I phoned everybody that I could think of.

Texted people.

I had to share my joy.

I was a dad.

I had a daughter.

It was a very exciting moment.

Joy ought not to be contained.

It's a very public thing.

And if this faith is a faith where the chief experience is to know God

and be known by Him, despite the fact that we are sinners,

actually in spite of the fact that we are sinners,

that God has made a way for us to come to Him as we are

and to know Him because of what Christ has done on the cross,

there is a joy that has to be shared.

It must be shared.

See, if you find joy in something, you ought to share it.

You have to share it.

And if it feels almost, like I mentioned,

it feels almost unhealthy not to share it,

then this is not a mere fantasy, but a reality that we experience.

So we enjoy God and not an idea of God or a philosophy of God,

but a real God who is true, that is rooted in fact.

Historical realities that had happened.

Christ actually died on a physical cross at a specific time in human history.

We do not testify to a fairy tale or hallucination or falsity.

We know God's gracious blessing and closeness

because Christ took upon Himself our sin and wretchedness

in a real way, in a real place, on a real cross.

And this call is to share that with others

by enjoying the Lord in a very public way.

But the question is, how do we do that?

How do we enjoy the Lord in a public way?

How is our faith to be enjoyed publicly?

Well, turn with me to verses 2-5.

And this is our second point,

how the Christian life is to be a blessing to those around us.

Look with me.

Actually, I'll read verse 1, but focus on verses 2-5.

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make His face to shine upon us,

that Your way may be known on earth,

Your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise You, O God.

Let all the peoples praise You.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.

For You judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth.

Let the peoples praise You, O God.

Let all the peoples praise You.

This text tells us that our love and enjoyment

of knowing and living for the Lord

ought to manifest itself in two ways.

And we'll move somewhat quickly through this.

First, that God's ways may be known on all the earth.

We see this in verse 2, the first part of verse 2.

And in short, this means that we are to teach

and to advocate for and to promote

and live out a vision of the human life

that God has laid out in Holy Scripture.

It means we are to be about protecting the orphan and the widow.

It means we are to stand up for the rights of the alien.

It means we are to stand against organizations and laws

that promote a culture of death.

And it means strengthening families, starting with our own.

Not engaging in mass consumerism,

that is really a form of gluttony.

Telling the truth even if it costs us money

and opportunities and friends,

fighting against sloth.

And these are just a few.

I mean, the list could go on and on and on.

But in a sense, this is what it means

to teach the nations the Lord's ways.

It means that we are both for and against

things that express the Lord's justice.

And we see, again, this reference

in the second part of verse 4.

For you judge the peoples with equity.

You guide the nations upon the earth.

Christianity has been doing this throughout the centuries.

I know it's kind of in fashion

to hate on Christendom,

both in the church and outside the church.

And Christendom had its issues.

But Christianity, Christendom,

the adoption by and large of Christianity

throughout entire cultures

has resulted in many blessings.

Also, there's been issues,

but many, many blessings.

So, you know, an example of how it

didn't work out so well is

the justification of man-stealing

during the transatlantic slave trade.

Terrible thing.

Justifying it through Scripture

in a not great way.

But out of all of the cultures,

Christian or not,

that practiced slavery,

it was Christianity

in the late 18th century

and in the early 19th century

that put an end to the slave trade

at great cost,

financial cost,

to themselves.

There was no economic benefit

to stopping the slave trade.

There's examples throughout history of this.

Again, Christians aren't perfect.

They're human beings.

But by and large,

when Christians take very seriously

the Scriptures

and seek to teach the nations

God's ways,

good things happen.

Because God has a view,

a vision,

of what human flourishing

ought to look like.

Another great example,

a bad example,

and then a good example,

is a bad example first

of how Christians here in Canada

forbade the speaking

of indigenous languages

as Christianity was introduced

to First Nations.

Not great.

But Christianity,

on the flip side,

especially in the past century

and into this century,

incredibly instrumental

in reviving indigenous languages

as they sought to translate

the Bible into mother tongues.

An example of this,

I worked for the Canadian Bible Society

a number of years ago

and as I started with them,

they were just finishing up

a 30-year project

of translating the New Testament

into the language

of the Inuit people

in the north.

Incredible.

30-year project.

I'm sure some people

started that project

and probably passed away

before they saw it completed.

But for them,

it was a beautiful,

wonderful thing.

You see,

Christianity,

teaching God's ways

to the nations,

ought to redeem

and heighten

the good parts

of a culture's culture,

a nation's culture.

But also,

look to erase

or do away with

irredeemable,

incongruent parts

of a culture

that is antithetical

to the vision

of the Christian life.

That's very controversial.

It might be a bit of a hot take.

But is it not better

to live in a world

where widows

don't burn themselves

on the pyres

of their husbands?

I would say yes.

Christianity,

teaching God's ways,

sought to do that

and in a sense,

it eliminated a part

of a culture

that was practiced

for centuries

and centuries

and centuries.

I'll end it there.

If you have issues

with what I've said,

I'd be happy to talk about it.

I have pretty broad shoulders

and I can handle criticism.

But when we are called

to teach the nations

the Lord's ways,

blessing comes.

Blessing comes.

The second,

and connected to the first,

is that God's saving power

would be known

among the nations.

We see that also

in verse 2.

And it ought not

to be separated

from teaching the nations

the ways of the Lord,

but for the sake

of explaining,

I've broken it up.

But really,

we ought not to look at them

as two separate things.

In short,

we are to be evangelists.

We are to testify

and bear witness

to the hope we have

in Christ Jesus.

To share with those

around us

that the freedom

won by Christ

on the cross

can be their freedom

as well.

To share the gospel

truth.

But this can be frightening

because,

by and large,

we can lack courage.

And we like

the comfort,

and comfort's not

necessarily a bad thing,

but we like the comfort

that we live in

and we don't want

to shake the boat

and we don't want

to put our necks out.

We lack courage.

It's frightening,

but it can also,

in a sense,

be frightening

not because we lack courage,

but because we trust

in a false gospel.

We trust in other things

that we put our hope in.

When I say false gospel,

I mean something

that promises

what the true gospel promises

but can never

possibly deliver on.

Everyone hopes in something.

Nobody truly

is an atheist.

They say there's no

atheists in foxholes.

Everybody puts

a hope in something

and to put a hope

in something

is a very religious act.

Everyone trusts

in some sort

of good news.

Even here,

we can trust

in good news

and we are

every single week

church attenders.

We struggle with this,

myself included.

But here's the thing,

there is no

multiple gospels,

there's only one gospel

and there's only one salvation

because there can only be

one true savior.

He is the good shepherd

who will leave the 99

to pursue the one

and consider how remarkable

that is.

That God

has sought you out

in this corner of the world.

As you are,

not saying

dust yourself off,

clean yourself up,

but as you are,

He has pursued you

and that He

has been moved

by love

and compassion

and He seeks

and saves the lost.

He desires

to be the good shepherd

and welcomes

in those

that were far off

into His fold.

We see this

in verse 4,

the third

kind of bit

in verse 4,

that He guides

the nations

upon the earth.

This is a

shepherding

word,

the guiding.

It is a

picture of a shepherd

shepherding a flock.

So,

it is

a scary thing

to share our faith,

especially if

you haven't done it

in a while.

And by the way,

this isn't like a

terrible Christians

who haven't shared

their faith.

Like,

it's hard.

I recognize it.

Not having courage

is to do

certain things

that we're called

to do.

It can be

a very discouraging

thing.

And again,

I am with you.

I mean,

I'm up here,

but I am with you

in the midst of that.

It's a struggle.

So,

it is not a stick

that I bring

to hit you with,

but an opportunity

this fall.

This fall,

we're going to be

doing a series

called

Christianity Explored.

There's a number

of different,

I guess,

courses.

There's something

called

Christianity Explored.

It's the flagship.

It's based on

the Gospel of Mark.

There's another one

called Hope Explored

and Life Explored.

Really,

it is a vehicle

that we can

use in our church

to invite our friends

to hear the good news

of Christ.

And it means

that we don't have

to know

A through Z

and have a perfectly

put together pitch.

It means that

we can participate

and help out

and invite friends

to something

that could change

their life.

because it's

changed our life.

There'll be more

information about that

in the coming week

or two,

but I wanted to

plug that

and keep it

on your radar.

It'll likely happen

at the church

midweek,

but Christianity Explored,

it's tried and true.

It's not flashy.

It gets into

the Word of God

and it really gives

people an opportunity

to experience the Lord

for the first time

or maybe

to come back

to the Lord

after a season

away.

So,

the Christian life

is to be enjoyed

and enjoyed publicly

and it's to be

a blessing

to those around us

through first teaching

the nations

the Lord's ways

and testifying

to the Gospel.

And thirdly,

that the Christian life

will culminate

in eternal blessing.

Look with me

in verses 6 and 7.

The earth has yielded

its increase.

God, our God,

shall bless us.

God shall bless us.

Let all the ends

of the earth

fear Him.

It's a beautiful

kind of ending

to a psalm of praise,

but it has overtones

these two verses

of the end of the age,

the culmination

of all things,

the eternal life

that awaits

those that are

in Christ Jesus.

The harvest

of harvest

when all things

come to

their climactic end.

What we see

in part now,

but what we will

eventually see

in fullness.

It means that

all the brokenness

and evil,

mistakes

and injustices,

loneliness

and rampant pride

come to an end.

but it will also

positively mean

that we will know

true and full

and without reservation

complete satisfaction,

joy

and closeness

with the one true God.

When we fully behold

the shining face

of God Himself.

And how on earth

does this come to be?

The triune God,

the Father,

Son and Holy Spirit,

He extends

and He extends

and He extends

some more.

That's what God does.

He's constantly

extending.

He is a joyful God

who,

in a sense,

I don't want to say

He can't contain His joy,

but He doesn't contain

His joy.

He shares

His joy.

He blesses

and shares

His goodness

and makes a way

for us to know Him

in a very deep

and intimate way

through Christ

dying on the cross.

He gives Himself

in the person

and work of Jesus Christ.

He gives.

The blessing

is extended

to us.

He removes

any barrier

that previously existed.

He meets us

where we're at.

He teaches us

His ways.

He tells us

about the good news

and invites us in

and gives us

a Holy Spirit

that awakens

in our heart

what was previously

dead

and He enlivens it.

He is constantly,

constantly blessing

and extending

and loving

and reaching out

and inviting in.

Jesus dies

on the cross

of His own

free will

for you and me.

While you and me

worship false gods.

While you and me

trusted in

false gospels.

While you and me

were obsessed

and addicted

to a secularism

and a materialism

and a self.

That's what God

has done.

God the Father

He shares with us

His very self

by sending us

His blessed Son.

God the Father,

God the Son,

God the Holy Spirit.

God the Son,

that blessing

is known

by some of us

today.

And some of us

haven't yet

enjoyed that blessing.

By the way,

I'm not the one

who figures that out.

That's between you

and the Lord.

But if you hear

this this morning

and you are unsure

if you have embraced

Almighty God

and what He has

extended to you

and blessed you with

and offered you

as an opportunity

for enjoyment

that will bleed

into eternity.

and that is Him

at work in your heart

this morning

beckoning you in.

Friends,

look at these

short seven verses

and see how many times

joy and gladness

and praise

and thankfulness

is expressed.

We are not being

invited in

to something

that is boring

or something

that will trip us up

or something

that will cause

our life to wilt

but rather

the opposite.

Friends,

this is what awaits us

in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

Let's pray.

Father in Heaven,

we thank You

that You are

the God

that blesses

and You bless us

in order that

we may be a blessing

so in a sense

we are blessed

to bless

so that we would

reflect Your

very character.

Lord,

for some of us

including myself

who lack courage

help us

to be courageous.

Lord,

for some of us

who are

afraid of

walking in Your ways

remind us

that Your ways

will lead to flourishing

and all other ways

will not.

Lord,

for some of us

who are

yet to

enjoy You

because they have

not truly

put their faith

and trust

and hope

in the almighty

risen Savior

Jesus Christ

and Lord,

may they do that

this morning.

And Lord,

as we go into

this fall season

we ask Your blessing

on Christianity Explored

Lord,

that many people

in our community

friends,

family,

co-workers,

neighbors

would come to faith.

Lord,

we ask that You

would use us

in a mighty way

to extend

Your blessing out

and Lord,

we lift up

all of these things

in the name

of Your blessed Son.

In His name we pray.

Amen.