The Mission of God

We've been going through a series on church and we're coming towards the end of the series now.

We've gone through what is the people of God? The people of God is us and we must spend time together.

We should not stop meeting, not neglect to meet each other, to stir each other up in love and good works.

And then we talked about what it meant to be the temple of God since the beginning, since the garden, the garden of delight, the garden of Eden.

God's been finding a way for us to access him again.

And what do the people of God do? They worship, which is what Gabe aspect was a few weeks back as well.

And then we carried on to talk about what it meant to be a family, a household, members of the household of God.

And today we'll finish with talking about what it means to be following the mission of God.

But maybe just a question just to start. Can I just have a show of hands?

Who is currently or has been in full time ministry before?

There we go.

Oh, there we go.

I think the lawyers know what I'm trying to do here.

Queenie and Juju.

Okay.

My goal today, I see you.

My goal today is to convince you or to rather to remind you.

What am I trying to remind them, Juju?

We are all ministers of God.

Whoa.

Yes.

You're going to leave here today and you're going to be reminded that you are in full time ministry.

And there is one company that you work for.

And that company is called KOG.

It's called the kingdom of God.

And in your company, you have been seconded to be a CEO, to be a training director, to be a doctor, to be a doctor.

I don't know what you do, Dr. Alex, these days.

But to be a long lunch guy.

Imagine that.

Imagine if you were actually in full time ministry.

Imagine that actually that's what your life is about.

That everything you do is about working for God.

Why does the church exist?

Why does it need to exist?

It really needs to exist because we're here to spread the news of Jesus, as Nathan prayed for me at the end.

You look back all the way to Genesis 1.

Let us make man in our image.

Let them have dominion over creation.

Let them subdue creation to spread my glory so that creation would look like me, would bear my image.

That's essentially what we were called to do.

Adam and Eve were called to cultivate, to work and keep the garden, to grow the garden so that creation would bear his image.

That's really the purpose that has now been passed down to us.

You see, when Jesus came and they couldn't find him in Luke 4, they said, well, actually, I must go to the next town because this was the reason I was sent, to go.

And in John 20, when he's talking to these disciples, these followers, he says, I was sent and now I send you.

In Acts 1, where he says, you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.

There's this idea that we have to keep moving the message along.

That's why we gather and then we scatter.

That's why we have to keep moving.

We are the salt of the earth.

We are the light of the world.

We add flavor to the people around us.

We add flavor to the communities around us.

We bring light into places that are filled with darkness.

You, me, but most importantly, you are in full-time ministry.

Does that make sense to you?

Does that terrify you?

The church is supposed to be the vehicle for mission.

We're supposed to grow.

KFCI was started about 10 years ago as a smaller group.

And I remember, actually, I speak to those who are part of the gathering or KFCI.

There was almost a sweet spot in the community.

It was around 50 people.

And actually, sociologists would agree.

There's something about 50 people that just everyone's known, everyone's cared for, everyone's familiar with one another.

And often, I'll hear, I miss those days.

I miss those days when it was just a small group of people.

Because church was, we just knew each other.

We cared for each other.

Do you remember those days?

And then, the next question that I ask myself is, well, what if that church stayed that exact same way?

And in 10 years on, we're still in the same place.

Would that church still be a healthy church?

The answer is no.

Because if that church was as good as we remember it to be, then it would have had to grow.

In order for an organism to stay alive, it must grow.

And if it doesn't grow, then it starts to become stale.

Then it starts to shrink in on itself.

And suddenly, you don't have a strong, healthy, vibrant, growing church anymore.

That's part of what the church should be doing.

So my prayer is that we'll continue to grow.

To continue to have more people coming in.

Why?

So that they would become disciples of Jesus.

So that they would go from being guests, to friends, to family.

All to be disciples of Jesus.

A family expecting guests is what this church is.

Today, we're going to focus on what it means to be a guest.

Pastor Gabe has a favorite quote.

Well, he has a favorite pastor.

And his favorite pastor is a guy called John Piper.

And he has a favorite quote that he always shares.

What's the quote?

What's the quote, Gabe?

Missions exist because worship doesn't.

Missions exist because worship doesn't.

Missions exist because worship doesn't.

If the prime call of the church isn't actually a mission, though that said,

Tim Keller would also say every single ministry within a church must have a missional focus.

Every single ministry.

Even a formation ministry, there's like discipleship.

We're going to focus on you, building you up.

Why?

What for?

To send you out.

So even though there is a formation element, there must be a commissioning.

There must be a deployment almost.

Every ministry that we have, the one that is the deepest Bible study and the one that is further out,

every single ministry must have a missional focus because that's the point of the church.

The point of the church isn't, of course, the ultimate goal is not missions, is what Piper says.

The ultimate goal of the church is worship, to point people to worship God.

But there is outside and sadly inside, there is a lack of worship of God, which is why we were so convicted when Gabe preached.

Because we're not worshiping God enough.

We're not loving him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

So there's a call here to worship and mission exists because worship does not.

So we must keep going.

We must keep moving.

Since the very beginning, Adam and Eve grew again.

What happens in Genesis 12?

Abraham.

What's he called?

Hey, your nation, your family, your people are going to bless the nations.

It's not the Israelites.

You guys are going to have it good and you're going to be protected.

You're going to rule the world and you're going to stay amongst your own.

No, it's that you will bless and you will move out to the nations and you will bless.

You fast forward to Jeremiah when they're in exile.

What's he still saying?

God is still saying, seek the welfare of the city.

Bless the city.

Continue to allow this blessing to move through to the rest of the world.

You look at Daniel in exile, living in Babylon.

What's he doing?

He is still being a blessing.

He's still living a way that's modeling what it means to have faith and trust in God.

This has been since the beginning.

Are we living as full-time ministers to going out and sharing that good news of Jesus?

With that in mind, we're going to go back to a passage which is in 1 Peter.

So open up your Bibles to 1 Peter 2.

We're going to have, is Janice going to read for us?

Janice is going to read for us 1 Peter 2, verse 1 to 11.

1 Peter 2:1–11

I've also been told that we need a little bit of time to get there.

So 1 Peter 2.

Trevor, you're there.

What page number is it?

965.

Though some versions are slightly different, but you can have a go.

Page 965.

Can I invite us to stand for the word of the Lord?

1 Peter 2, 1 to 12.

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

As you come to him, a living stone, rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious.

You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ for a stance in Scripture.

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

So the honor is for you who believe before those who do not believe.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into the marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

This is the word of the Lord.

Praise be to God.

Please take a seat.

Thank you, Janice.

Thank you.

There is so much here.

I encourage you to keep this page open, but we will flick through a few other passages as we go from here.

That is loaded.

When we're talking about what it means to be the people of God, to be the temple of God, to be the household of God, you look at this and you see, wow, this is a high calling.

I'm not just a teacher or a dentist or a banker or a student.

I am part of the chosen race.

I'm a part of the royal priesthood.

I'm part of the holy nation.

I'm set apart in a different kind of way.

We are all built different.

What does it mean here?

So it starts with now you are supposed to bless.

Now, it makes me think that actually Adam and Eve were the first priests.

In fact, they would be described as the first priest kings.

They had dominion over creation and they were supposed to subdue it and to rule over it.

So they were the first priest kings.

And then what happens is we are supposed to basically, these priest kings are supposed to create this space, maintain this space, cultivate this land so that people would encounter the holy and living and glorious God.

That was the role of the king.

If we have to go back to this because it's a fascinating passage in Exodus.

So if you go back to me with me to the beginning of the Bible, not Genesis, but to Exodus chapter 19.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

I want to show you the original call here that God has for his people.

And as I read this to you, you'll notice the parallels, the similarities with what he's saying here with what he told us in 1 Peter 2.

So Exodus chapter 19, we'll start from verse 5.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

We'll say this.

Exodus chapter 19, verse 5.

Exodus 19:5

Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples for all the earth is mine.

And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

So he's talking to these people and saying, you are going to be a kingdom of priests.

He says to us right now that you are all in full-time ministry.

You are all part of the kingdom of priests.

That means whatever he's given you, whatever place he's put you in, you're supposed to be a priest in that place.

I did not grow up wanting to be a pastor.

I grew up wanting to be a teacher, a secondary school PE teacher.

Or actually, yes, absolutely, a basketball player.

That is what I was supposed to be.

Well, actually, I originally liked football.

But then when I got to nine years old, my mom was like, you need to play basketball because you're quite short.

You need to grow taller.

And, of course, I guess we existed in a time where DNA had not been invented or discovered yet.

So she thought me playing basketball would make me taller.

Actually, the evidence is unclear.

It might have worked.

I might have been five foot.

But why did I get there?

Oh, that's why I get there.

I did not want to be a pastor.

So thank you, Ken, for reminding me.

There's a basketball game this afternoon, by the way.

But what if, and I don't know whether you've dreamt of being a pastor before, but what if you actually are a pastor?

What if you are actually an apostle?

What if you are actually a teacher and an evangelist, as we see in Ephesians 4?

What if you are actually part of the royal priesthood that actually serves a purpose and that God has placed you where you are right now so that you would be a priest?

And what is a priest?

A priest is someone who creates and maintains a space for people to encounter God.

What if that was the definition of priest?

And if that is the definition, then what if we all have that duty and responsibility and heart and passion to create these spaces where people will encounter God?

That is what you're supposed to do.

You are all in full-time ministry.

You are all priests.

That sounds a little bit intimidating.

That sounds a little bit overwhelming.

We feel a little bit distant.

But in Exodus 19, you see the whole of the Israelites were to be a kingdom of priests, to point people to the one God.

What happens, though?

Chapter 19, if you fast forward to later, into chapter 32, 33, they do point people to a God.

But what's the God?

It's a golden calf.

It's a statue.

And so you see that's where the problem comes.

We were supposed to be, like Adam and Eve, cultivating, pointing people to the glory of God.

Yet we decide we know better.

We're going to do our own way.

We're going to choose our own way.

We're going to point to another way.

And the Israelites fall into the same trap.

We were supposed to point people to God, but instead we point people to other gods.

The small gods.

And so what does God have to do?

I wanted you to be the priest.

Okay, but you can't.

So then he appoints new priests.

He appoints Aaron and his sons to be the priests.

But even for them to be the priests, they have to go through this whole, whole process of consecration to get themselves ready to mediate, to maintain this space for the other people to encounter God.

And that's where you get all the laws.

That's where you get all the rules.

That's where you get the tabernacle.

That's where you get the temple.

That's where you get all these things with priests assigned to try and maintain, to work and keep the temple.

To handle the sacrifices.

To handle the animals.

All to do what?

To get people to this place where they would encounter this holy, holy God.

Let's flip back to 1 Peter now.

We look at that passage and it's calling us to live in a different way.

So at the beginning of chapter 2, it says,

We are supposed to be living stones.

So the first thing that jumps out to me is that we're supposed to be living.

We're supposed to be alive.

When someone walks in here and they don't know God, they're supposed to feel life.

They're supposed to see it.

How many of us have walked into a church and we have not felt life?

We have walked into a beautiful church building, a cathedral.

But there is, it feels more like a cemetery.

Often surrounded by a cemetery in England.

But we're supposed to be living.

We're supposed to be moving.

Keller talks about the church needing to be an organism as well as an organization.

But so often we get to a point where we're growing, where we were filled with life,

but eventually we have to organize that life.

And before you know it, we have paperwork and we have bureaucracy and we have red tape.

And suddenly we become an organization and we lose the life part.

But an organism is supposed to grow.

An organism is supposed to give life.

It's supposed to be connected to life.

We are supposed to be living stones.

And interestingly, it says here, verse 5,

You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,

to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We kind of know about sacrifices.

They definitely knew about sacrifices, about the animals.

But then you must also say, if you know scripture well enough,

Wait, hold on a second, Peter.

What are we talking about sacrifices?

I thought Jesus already sacrificed once and for all.

I thought he was all that we needed.

Well, that's the thing.

It says spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

What is acceptable through Jesus Christ?

Well, it is recognizing that Jesus has done whatever it is that needed to be done.

We could never do it by ourselves.

But there is still a way to live in response to that.

There is still a holiness that we must pursue.

We know that we will all fall short, but we are all justified by his grace freely as a gift.

And that should compel us to live in a certain way.

So in Romans 12, it says this,

Therefore, in view of God's mercy, offer yourselves up as what?

Living sacrifices.

And what does it say after that?

Do not conform to the patterns of this world.

But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

And by doing so, you'll know what the good and perfect will of God is.

How many of us are wondering, what is God wanting us to do in our lives?

What's the purpose?

What's the mission?

Well, therefore, in view of God's mercy, you look at what Jesus did first.

You start with going, I'm not going to conform to the patterns of this world.

I'm not going to ask the same questions that the world asks.

I'm not going to pursue the same goals that the world pursues.

I'm going to be transformed.

I'm going to swim against the current.

What else is a sacrifice?

I think about Psalm 51.

What is a sacrifice that's acceptable and pleasing to God?

A broken heart.

A contrite spirit.

So that's the sacrifice we're talking about.

We're not talking about you must do better to become a better Christian so you can access God.

No, no, no.

Jesus has already done that once and for all.

Hebrews 10.

We talked about this.

But what he's saying is the sacrifice he needs from us now, the sacrifice that pleases him,

is just one of a broken heart, a broken spirit, a contrite heart.

God, I need you is all he needs to hear.

And through Jesus, I can now access you.

That's the most important thing.

That's the part that he needs.

We as priests.

How many of us have met priests or pastors who are like, hmm, I don't know if you have a broken heart.

I don't know if you have a contrite spirit.

There's a pride in you that makes me uncomfortable.

Right?

But if we're to be priestess, so imagine you feel that about your pastor.

Imagine how people feel about us.

Well, how people feel about you.

How do your colleagues feel about you?

Oh, I'm a Christian.

Oh, that means you're stuck up.

That means you're a hypocrite.

That means you have these high standards for everyone.

What if we walked in and people would go, well, that person is filled with grace, but also truth.

They're not afraid to speak the truth, but somehow it's always wrapped in love and grace.

How do they do it?

How do they rebuke me, but somehow I feel lifted up?

That's what we are striving for.

That's what we are hoping to do.

So that's verse five.

It says we have to live in a way where we offer spiritual sacrifices.

And then later it says that you were a chosen race, royal priesthood.

And from this, what are you supposed to do?

Verse nine, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you.

What's that saying?

That's calling people to worship.

That's saying, hey, there's only one who is good.

It's not me.

It's not you.

It's not this.

It's not that.

It's God.

I'm calling you.

I'm proclaiming to you his excellencies, and I'm going to call you to worship him.

That is all.

So part of being this living stone is one, living a way that is a living sacrifice, holy and set apart.

But the second is to actually point people to worship, which is where the John Piper quote comes in.

People are worshiping all kinds of things outside.

We are prone to worshiping all kinds of things.

And yet we as a church, the mission that we have is to proclaim his excellencies.

How do we do that?

We do that in just basically sharing the goodness of God in our lives.

When we have something good, you can't help but share it.

You just can't.

When was the last thing that you had that was really good that you thought, I must share this?

I have a good friend of mine, Abraham Chan.

We have a shared love for matcha latte because we're quite weak, so we don't do coffee very well.

So they say time and timing, and he says, I must take you to this place.

And actually, I've taken a few of you to this place, which is Machali, which is just PP3.

Oh, the best matcha latte.

So I can't help.

Anyone who says they like matcha along with me, I'll tell them about this place.

Because it's just, the matcha is just good.

And if you're extra manly like me, you will go for the strawberry matcha latte.

Oh, it's just, I mean, sometimes when I take fellow guys, I say it quietly.

Can you add the strawberry in?

Love the strawberry.

But when you have good stuff, you just can't help but share it.

But when we found out, when Paul and Kelly and I found out that one parking receipt at Pacific Place can be shared amongst three cars,

we started a WhatsApp group to talk about it.

And then we would share, who's got the receipt today?

When Agnes bought her new electric car, she couldn't help tell me how good that electric car is.

Building Yahweh's dreams is what we're doing.

Take some time, take some time.

You'll get there, guys.

When you have something good, you can't help but share it.

Imagine what that looks like for you.

Okay, you're in full-time ministry now.

Right?

This second, you're in full-time ministry, Shane.

You're in Damien, Hank, Uday, Bernard.

You're in full-time ministry.

You go into your assigned workplace.

How do you share that good news?

How do you share it?

What does it look like?

And what is the good news?

That we were out in darkness, but we were caught out of darkness into his marvelous light.

In the verse 12, it says this.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,

they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

So when people who don't know God look at us, they should look at us different.

That's what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5 in the sermon.

He's saying, people, you're the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.

When people see your good works, they'll give glory to the Father in heaven.

Acts chapter 2, when that church is getting together and they're devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayers,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

what happens?

They are glad and generous.

They are filled with reverence and awe.

And then everyone sees and they have favor amongst all people.

When was the last time a non-Christian looked at you and thought, you are just different and I like you?

There is something different about you.

How about we make it our goal for non-believers to look at us and go, you are weird.

You're just weird.

The way you don't gossip when we gossip, that's just weird.

The way you're not fighting for that promotion is just weird.

The way you are not anxious when we are really anxious, that's just weird.

Let's talk about this at the really practical level of how we live our lives out as full-time ministers of the kingdom of God.

Often it's just the small things.

I won't put him on the spot, but there's an introvert in my life group who's a doctor,

who when we were talking about this and saying, how does that look?

And he said, well, I just stop gossiping.

I just stop taking part in those kinds of things.

At the beginning of chapter two, it says malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander.

I just stop myself and I don't talk about those things.

I don't join in.

That itself is already weird enough.

That already shocks the people enough.

What if we were to grow up to be mature followers of Christ and that we were just weird?

When Christina and I met, she was a university student who lived a different life.

She is not the same Seymour that she is now.

And there was a time where actually 1 Peter 4 remains to be her life passage.

And I'll read it to you.

So if you're already in 1 Peter 2, then it's easy for you.

It says this.

And then verse four, it says this.

With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them.

They are surprised when you do not join them.

And I remember when she had left that life behind, we had people reaching out to her saying,

Why are you not around?

Why don't you go to the same things that we do anymore?

And actually, it wasn't just from judgment.

It was from, how did you get out?

Help me get out.

I want to choose a different life.

I want to choose a different way.

When people look at us and they see that they're weird, see that we're weird,

can they be also surprised that we are just different?

All right, question time.

So this is a passage that we've been looking at,

and it shows us that we are supposed to be priests.

We are the royal priesthood.

But there's another passage in the Bible that we should all at least know

when it comes to what it means to live a life of Christ.

We are commissioned out.

And we are supposed to go out to be missionaries.

What is that passage?

Where are we looking?

I'm going to give you 10 more seconds before I point out,

I'm going to pick on Gabs.

Or Paul.

You got it?

Matthew 28.

Matthew 28.

Matthew 28.

What is Matthew 28, Gabs?

Wow, you're going to read it to us.

Yeah.

A great commission.

Go, therefore.

Let's turn there.

Let's go, therefore, to Matthew 28.

When we are talking about us being disciples of Jesus,

we must go, we must remember,

again, it's the thing that Jesus says.

If you get everything else,

there's the great commandment and there's the great commission.

There's the great commandment and there's the great commission.

It's Matthew 22 for the great commandment.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And love your neighbor as yourself.

And then Matthew 28.

Now go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

This is the passage that should thrust us into mission.

It should cause us to live.

If we are to be serious about being disciples of Jesus, by the way,

which is what we talked about last week,

that you are following the way of Jesus, the discipline of Jesus,

then you must know this passage,

that go, therefore, to make disciples of all nations.

So let's have a little look at that.

So it says this.

Go, therefore.

Let's see.

Matthew 28, verse 18.

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and said to them,

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 and of the Son of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

Last week we talked about what a disciple is.

Someone who abides in his word, John 8.

Someone who loves other people, John 13.

And bears fruit in John 15.

My own metric, and I shared this with a group of our fellowship a couple weeks ago,

my own metric when I know that I am making a disciple

and when I am successfully discipling you

is the moment you turn around and you start making your own disciple.

That moment, when your disciples make disciples

is when you realize that you've just made a disciple.

That's it.

It's 2 Timothy 2.2 when Paul says,

Hey, what I've taught you, can you then pass on to someone else

who will then pass on to someone else?

There's four generations in one snapshot.

That's discipleship.

When we are poured into and we pour out basically immediately.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

And of course it says, go, therefore.

And if you've been in church long enough,

you will have heard the pastor say,

when there is a therefore in a passage,

you have to ask what is therefore.

And go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

What's the line just before it?

It's all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.

But then I then ask the next question,

well, why, how?

How does he have all this authority?

Then you have to go further back.

And you look at your paper Bible

and you'll see the passage just before that is the resurrection.

That he has defeated the thing that we are most afraid of.

Death itself.

He has shown us there is something beyond the grave.

That there is something beyond what we see in this world.

And he's shown us, he went there and he came back

and he's told us about it.

And that's why he has all authority in heaven and on earth.

And that's why he now holds the keys.

That's why we don't have to be scared of death.

That's why we can grieve when we lose a loved one,

but we still have hope.

Because he's defeated everything that we've ever been afraid of.

And because of that, he has now has all authority.

And because of that, we must go.

Because of that, we must go.

And make disciples of all nations.

The question is, why don't we?

What stops us?

Question time.

What stops us from following this?

Making disciples of all nations?

Sam, what thoughts do you have?

What do you think stops us as a body from following this Great Commission?

The part that we see that says,

all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus.

This picture of authority given to Jesus.

Sometimes people don't feel that we have that same authority.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That is so true.

What Sam just said was,

the picture is all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus.

And we think, Jesus, that's all well and good.

You have the authority.

We do not.

If I go and live out my life, my faith in my workplace,

and I have that same authority,

I could lose my job.

I could lose my friendships.

That's definitely something that we hold on to.

That we are afraid of.

Caleb, why else do we think we struggle with following this?

I was just looking at the previous verse where it says,

when they saw him, they worshiped him.

But some still doubted.

Which, like, first of all, is crazy.

But we still have our doubts.

And those doubts, once again, comes to what Sam was saying,

how we don't recognize that he has the full authority.

And we put our worship in something else.

Yeah.

There's a fear that we don't have the authority,

and then there's just the doubts that we all have.

Where actually, did...

Do I actually...

Do I know enough about the faith?

Is one question that we have.

Do I actually believe enough of what this is?

There's just constant doubts.

And I'll be the first one to share with you.

Sometimes, especially when my daughter asks me questions about the faith,

I'm like, I don't know the answer to that.

I don't know.

I was speaking to a pastor's kid this last week,

and every time I meet a pastor's kid,

I'm just all over them,

and I want to ask them questions about just how they live and everything.

Why?

Because, of course, I've got kids growing up in my house,

and I just have so many questions for them.

And then one of the pastor's kids just said,

well, I'd ask my dad a lot of questions,

and he'd be open to answering them.

But if he didn't know the answer, he'd always say,

hey, actually, I don't quite know how to explain this to you right now,

but let me get back to you.

And he always did.

It's okay to have doubts.

It's okay to say,

I actually don't know the answer to that question.

It's okay when you meet someone in your family,

in your friendship circles, in your workplace,

who asks you a question,

and you're like, oh, that's such a good question.

Can I get back to you about that?

And then what you mean is then you're going to come,

and you're going to find Pastor Gabe,

and you're going to ask him these questions.

And you're going to ask him, hey, what's that?

Or you go on to where everyone goes on to these days

to find the answers that you need to find.

And often you'll find AI gives good framework,

good outlines for some of these answers.

Of course, you have to double check them afterwards.

But there are ways.

But the main point is this.

It's okay to have those doubts.

And it's okay to say you don't know.

And then it's okay to still continue.

Because even though there are things you don't know,

there are a few things that you do know.

And I love that this passage follows the resurrection.

Because there's one thing that you can hang your hat on,

and that is the resurrection of Jesus.

So I don't know how that works.

I don't know how he created this in six days and did this.

But I'll tell you what.

And I don't know why there was a big fish,

and that somehow it could eat someone,

and then three days later spit them out,

and that person still says,

there are some things that I need to go and look into.

But actually, if the resurrection is real,

then all of those answers can be solved.

You go back to the resurrection of Jesus,

how there was a Jewish man 2,000 years ago.

And somehow, he said that he would die and then rise again.

And then it actually happened,

where he was killed by the people

who were the most expert at killing people back then.

And somehow, the tomb is empty.

And despite all the conspiracy theories,

despite all the different ways,

somehow, no one can explain away that there is no body,

and that there were 500 witnesses to this,

and that lives are transformed.

The people who were cowards and traitors beforehand

now turned around and were willing to die for this.

Something happened.

And somehow, 12 Jewish men

led to faith just spreading around the world.

One man.

This man, whether you believe him or not,

he died and then he rose again,

and he split time in half,

and we are in 2026,

because it's 2,026 years since he was born.

You can hang your hat on those things.

So you can admit that there are things that you don't know,

but then you hold on to the things that you do.

And there's the big picture,

there's the resurrection of Jesus,

but then there's just all our picture.

Oh, I was in darkness,

but he then brought me out of this darkness

into his marvelous light.

I can't answer those questions

that you're asking just yet,

but I can tell you what he's done in my life.

And that's all that matters.

Fear, doubt.

How can we overcome all of them

to be part of this kingdom of priests?

How can we follow Adam and Eve,

and then Abraham,

and then Jeremiah,

and then Moses and Joseph,

and then Peter,

Paul,

and then Billy Graham,

and then Pastor Johnny,

and every single person in this room.

How can we be part of that?

What's it going to take for me to convince you

that you are actually in full-time ministry,

that just as Nathan prayed at the beginning,

that you cannot take your job away

with you into heaven.

Whatever role that God has assigned you right now,

that is temporary.

And we live in a day and age

where actually people don't stay

in their one career that long anyway.

What if it doesn't matter

what career we're actually in?

What if you've been placed

exactly where you are right now

to be a priest to others?

Just to finish a little bit

on this Matthew 28.

So,

go therefore,

the preceding is all authority.

The preceding that

is the resurrection.

But we also miss the final bit

because we say,

go therefore and make disciples

of all nations,

baptize them in the name of the Father,

Son, and the Holy Spirit,

teach them what I have commanded you.

And then we're like,

okay.

And by then we're freaking out

because we're like,

actually,

we're not doing any of those things.

We're not actually making disciples.

We're not actually living in a way

that is overcoming our doubts and fears

and actually sharing the good news

of Jesus.

And then we kind of just stop there

and we kind of just meddle

in this place where I'm not

making disciples.

I've been told to do this,

but I'm not really doing it

because I can't,

because I'm not good enough,

because I'm not smart enough,

because I'm not devoted enough.

I think it's also because

we missed the final passage,

the final part of this passage.

And the very end of this passage

says this,

teaching them to observe

all that I have commanded you.

And behold,

I am with you always

to the end of the age.

What if you were a full-time minister?

What if you were part

of the royal priesthood,

going to where you're supposed to go,

but you don't go alone?

What if you remembered

and truly believed

the final part of that,

which is,

behold,

I am with you

to the end of the age?

That when you go into your field

to work and keep

whatever he has called you to do,

that he is right there with you.

The reason you have the authority

is because there's a lion behind you.

What if that was the case?

Would that change your perspective

on when you were going in?

My favorite Disney film of all time

is arguably Lion King,

followed closely by Brother Bear.

Really cute film.

There's this moment

in the elephant graveyard

in Lion King, right?

Where Simba's messing around

and just being an idiot.

And then the hyenas come

and then he tries to roar

and it's just meow.

And it doesn't work

and they laugh at him

because hyenas laugh.

And then he tries it again.

But this time,

Daddy's behind him.

This time,

Wafasa is behind him.

And they tremble.

What if you've been going into your graveyard

acting like Simba fighting alone?

What if you've forgotten

this final part of this Great Commission?

And what if you remember

there's actually a lion behind you?

There is actually the King of Kings behind you.

There is actually,

you are a priest,

but there is a great high priest

behind you.

A great high priest

that sympathizes with your weaknesses,

that has been tempted in every way,

just as you are,

and yet was without sin.

And that actually,

he's the one

who is going to work through you.

He's the one

who's going to give you the words.

He's the one

that's going to give you

the perfect case study.

And what is the perfect case study?

1 Corinthians talks about this.

Paul says,

it's not going to be your words.

It's not going to be

how you explain necessarily

everything about Jesus

to your colleagues

through your words.

But it's the power of the cross.

So it's not lofty speech or wisdom.

It's not being a great speaker.

But it's simply you

going to people and saying,

Jesus died for our sins

and he rose again.

And the power of that cross,

that good news,

that gospel changes everything.

That's the lion that's behind me.

That's the Mophasa that's behind me.

What if we operated

from that point of view?

What if we did that?

Then I think we'd stand

a better chance

to be the kingdom of priests

that he calls us to,

to be the royal priest.

Royal.

You're a child of God.

You're a co-heir with Christ.

You're not doing this alone.

God help you

if you're doing it alone.

It doesn't work,

but if his Holy Spirit

is in you.

So I always go back

to John 16, 8.

When we are going to someone

to share with them

the good news,

what we're hoping

is that they will be convicted

of sin and righteousness.

That through our words,

which are necessary,

by the way,

you cannot spread the gospel

without using words.

You must use words.

You must show them

how to live,

how you live,

and then you should

use your words

to explain to them

why you live in the way

that you are weird.

But then,

Jesus says,

I'll send my helper

to be with you,

my Holy Spirit.

He is the one

who's going to convict them

of sin and righteousness.

I can't tell you

the amount of times

where I come up here

or I go into any kind of setting,

give a great talk,

give a great speech,

have a great conversation

with someone,

and I think

that I've compelled them

to be a follower of Christ

and it just falls on deaf ears

and I thought it was a great talk

and they didn't

and it's okay.

But I can also tell you

there's so many times

where I come away

and go,

I don't know if I answered

that right at all.

I don't know if I actually gave,

that sermon was not good.

And I walk away

and then it's those moments

where someone comes up to me

and says,

I was so touched

by what you just said.

I said,

really?

I wasn't.

What touched you?

And then they would share,

oh,

oh,

it wasn't me.

I'm only Simba.

It's Mufasa

who's doing the actual work.

I just have to be there.

I just have to be

that chosen instrument.

He's going to play it.

What if I could convince you

that we are all

actually in full-time ministry?

I'll tell you a final story

before I wrap up.

There's a story in Mark 4

where Jesus is hanging out

with his disciples.

Actually,

I'll turn to it.

And Mark 4,

Mark 4:35

verse 35

is where I'm going.

If you wanted to follow.

And Jesus,

again,

as we have established,

not only is he sovereign,

not only is he lord,

not only is the light of the world,

he is also a troll.

He is a troll

because he goes to his people

on that day

when evening had come.

He says,

let us go across

to the other side.

Which is fine

because he's surrounded

by a bunch of experts

who can navigate

the waters well.

But they didn't know

the storm

that was coming at them.

And leaving the crowd,

they took with him

and them

and just as he was

and other boats were there

and a great windstorm arose

and the waves

were breaking into the boat

so that the boat

was already filling.

But he was in the stern,

asleep on the cushion.

He was being a troll

and they woke him

and said to him,

teacher,

do you not care

that we are perishing?

And he woke

and rebuked the wind

and sea

and said to him,

peace be still.

And the wind seized

and there was a great calm.

And he said to them,

why are you so afraid?

Have you still no faith?

And they were filled

with great fear

and said to one another,

who then is this

that even the wind

and sea obey him?

If you have been in nature,

if you have been on the waters,

you will know how great

the power that is

that comes from creation.

You can just,

I mean,

you can watch a movie

and you can see storms

and it terrifies me.

And yet in that moment,

Jesus is asleep.

In fact,

he was the one

that took them there

because it was his idea.

They didn't have to.

So clearly he was

showing them something.

And of course,

the teaching there is always,

Jesus is in your boat.

I don't know

what you're going through right now

at your workplace,

in your homes,

whatever it is,

that Jesus is in your boat with you.

He's in it with us here.

I remember preaching

on this passage

and meditating on this passage

during COVID

when things were not going great

for our city.

And I was like,

it's okay.

There is a storm.

But Jesus is in the boat

with us.

We're good.

Have faith.

Do not have fear.

And then it was someone

actually on my Young Life staff,

so Gabs,

you definitely will have heard of this,

who actually shared something

in this passage to me

that I was like,

oh,

I had not seen that before.

See,

we as Christians,

we as those who are followers of Christ,

we as those who are the people of God

or the temple of God

and the members of the household of God,

we have Jesus in our boat with us.

And our goal is to trust him.

Our goal is to say,

oh,

I want to have faith.

Lord,

I believe.

Help my own belief.

You will get me through this storm.

And we are many people here

who I know God has taken us

through different storms,

who has been on our boat

and we find great comfort in that.

And that's why we trust him.

That's why we follow him.

That's why we worship him.

But then my staff at the time

showed me this

and I thought was fascinating

in Mark chapter four,

verse 36.

So Jesus says in verse 35,

let us cross over to the other side.

And so they go.

And leaving the crowd,

they took him with them

in the boat just as he was.

And other boats were with him.

And other boats were with them.

I was like,

these guys had Jesus in their boat

and they were terrified.

But spare a thought

for those who were in the other boats.

Spare a thought for those

who out of desperation and hunger

wanted to keep following Jesus

so they will follow something,

just cling on to some kind of hope.

And so they went on

to the waters with them,

but they didn't have

the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords with them.

They must have been

even more terrified.

Sometimes we as the church,

we focus so much on our own boat.

Jesus, are you with me?

Are you with me?

Are you going to get me through this?

Are you going to help me

get the job that I want?

Are you going to help me

get the partner that I want?

Are you going to help me

get better again?

Jesus, can you come

and look after me?

And Jesus is like,

steady, calm.

I'm in your boat.

What you've forgotten

is that there are other boats

on the lake.

And if you spend in,

this is what,

you're an average

of the five people

that you spend the most time with.

And I hope those five people

are good influences on you

who will pull you

to be more like Christ.

But I also hope

that you spend time

with people who

are not followers of Christ.

Because if you spend enough time

and you are curious enough

and you ask enough,

you will see that

it is dark out there.

It is hopeless out there.

There is despair out there.

There is pain out there.

Can you just take your gaze

off your own boat

for a second?

Because Jesus is in your boat.

Jesus is in our boat.

But there are those out there

who are on the lake

in the storm

without him there.

Can we spare a thought for them?

That is why we need

to go on mission.

Some of you

will be like Hudson Taylor

and go to a foreign land

and share the good news

to a completely new nation

and watch

the kingdom of God spread.

Some of you

will be like Jackie Pullinger

who get on a boat

in England

not knowing

where the Lord's

going to take her

and eventually ends up

in the Kowloon Wall City

and spreads the gospel there.

Some of you

will be called

to Pacific Place

to your chambers

and that is where you work

as a full-time minister

a priest

of the Most High God.

Some of you

will be called

to your university campus

in TKO

and that will be it.

That will be your job.

This mission

should you choose

to accept

is filled

with ups and downs

but he says

behold

I will be with you

till the end

of the age.

Let us commit

to being missionaries

that point people

to worship.

I want to finish

with a

quote.

Just off the back

of the Piper quote

where mission

exists because worship

does not

Piper carries on

and says this

when this age

is over

and the countless

millions of the redeemed

fall on their faces

before the throne

of God

missions will be

no more.

It is a temporary

necessity

but worship

abides forever.

Worship therefore

is the fuel

and the goal

of missions.

It's the goal

of missions

because in missions

we simply aim

to bring the nations

into the white

hot enjoyment

of God's glory.

The goal of missions

is the gladness

of the peoples

in the greatness

of God.

You fast forward

to the end

brothers and sisters

in Revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

you'll see

every tribe

and tongue

every nation

worshipping him.

Our goal

is to play a part

in that.

God doesn't need

us to do it

but he invites

us to do it

because he knows

how it will fill us up

it will mould us

to be more like him

but that's where

we are heading.

Would we join

that journey now?

Would we join

that party now?

So go therefore

make disciples

of all nations

baptise them

in the name

of the Father,

Son and the Holy Spirit

teach them all

that I have commanded you.

Behold I will be

with you

to the end

of the age.

We are the people

of God

who act as the temple

of God

members of the

household of God

inviting the presence

of God

to call people

to the worship

of God.

That

is the church.

that

I hope

I pray

is what we are

about.

This is where

I'll stop

and before we

respond in song

I want to ask you

what's the Lord

speaking to you

about?

What is the fear

or what is the doubt?

What are the

distractions?

What are the

little gods

that you've been

chasing after?

What's the anxiety

that you've been

feeling

in this storm?

Would you

submit yourself

to the King of Kings

and Lord of Lords?

Would you trust him?

Would you follow him?

Would you obey him?

Would you call

the nations

to worship him

and him alone?

Spend a moment

of quiet

before we respond

in song.

Amen.

So Lord,

we re-surrender.

Amen.

Every day

we re-surrender.

We count the

cost.

Take up our

cross.

And we

follow you.

Holy Spirit,

would you

guide us?

Lord,

we are your

children.

We are your

people.

We are your

temple.

And we

commit to

following your

mission,

which is to

seek and save

the lost.

So use us,

Lord.

Lord,

Lord,

we accept

your invitation,

your mission,

your commission

to us.

As we

finish gathering

here,

and as we

scatter back to

the places

that you've

called us to,

remind us,

Lord,

this week

that we are in

full-time ministry,

ambassadors of

heaven,

the chosen race,

royal priesthood,

the holy nation,

proclaiming your

excellencies,

living stones

pointing to the

cornerstone.

you are the

one and only,

and we

worship you.

In your name

we pray.

Amen.