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Transcript
Well, good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm glad to be with y'all this morning. If you'll grab your Bibles and go to Matthew chapter 10, that's where we'll be this morning. Matthew chapter 10. I want to begin this morning by reading a few quotes.
We're going to be looking at a section of Scripture where Jesus is sending his disciples out as missionaries. And I want to talk a little bit about mission. And I want to begin by reading a few quotes about mission and missionaries and this desire to share our faith. The first one comes from Pope Francis, the current pope. He says this, but listen, never, never bring the gospel by proselytizing. Proselytizing means by attempting to convert, by sharing a message where you are trying, the end goal being that you are trying to convert someone to Christianity.
So he says, never, never bring the gospel, the good news of Jesus. So gospel means by trying to convince someone. Of the good news of Jesus so that they might believe. If someone says they are a disciple of Jesus and comes to you with proselytism, they are not a disciple of Jesus. Now that's the pope.
There's a reason why he's not quoted often from this pulpit. I want to read what it says in the Atlantic. They were looking at Christian missionaries and Christian mission. They're studying this because the tone of Christian mission and the tone of Christian missionaries has changed. It says Christian missionaries nowadays are relatively less inclined to tell others about their faith by handing out translated Bibles. They're more likely to show it through their work.
Often a tangible social project. For example, in the context of a humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian work has long been part of the Christian mission experience. That last statement is very true. The humanitarian process has long been a part of the Christian missionary experience. But it can now take precedence over the work of preaching.
Some missions do not involve proselytizing in any significant way. But there's no attempt to preach, to proclaim, to convert. It's not to say, she's quoting a professor. It's not to say that no one ever does any preaching. Of course they do, said Melanie McAllister, a George Washington University professor who writes about missionaries. But the notion that our main goal is to convert people has been much less common.
Much less common. It's becoming less common for missionaries to be sent out with the desire and the purpose to see people come to Christ. While I was looking into this, I read a study from Barna. They asked 992 practicing Christians. They gave them this statement. It is wrong to share your faith with someone in the hopes that they will come to have the same faith.
That was the statement. And then the Christians were supposed to say, agree, disagree. It's a statement. It is wrong. It is wrong. Morally incorrect.
To share your faith in the hopes that someone would come to share your faith. Come to believe the same thing. Most of the age demographics fared fairly well at this. Until we got to the age of 25-year-olds to 39-year-olds. 47% agreed with this statement. Half of the practicing Christians in this sample group said, yes, it is wrong to share your faith with the hope that someone would believe it.
I guess you could share it as part of your story, as part of your experience. Because there's this push in our culture that what's true for you is true for you. And you let everybody else have what's true for them. And we don't try to push our ideology on someone that's closed-minded. It's offensive. It's arrogant.
Depending on how you go about it, it could be bigoted or colonialism. Now, I would hope that there's part of us that says, yeah, not us. No, no, no, no, no. That's not us. Like you started with the Pope. That's not us.
We're not there. But I would say that I think culture has shifted on us. And there's a bit of a hush that has fallen over the American church. I was sitting at a wedding yesterday. And we're sitting there and they're playing the prelude. It was very pretty.
And everybody's just sitting chatting. The room was full. They're playing. And then the pianist and the person playing the really big violin stopped. And they quit playing. And then from there, the rest of the room just got quiet.
And everybody, just picking up on context clues, shut their mouth. Now, I'm willing to bet that most of us would not agree with that last statement that Barna put out. But functionally, we may be operating like we do. When I hear this utter nonsense, it is insidious. It is evil. It is demonic.
I want us to read as Jesus sends out his first disciples in Matthew 10. As he's sending these disciples out, this is the first mission he sends them on. And I hope that we might learn a little bit of the foundation for mission. What flows out of it as he's training them to be missionaries, that we might begin to see just some core factors to this, that we might grow in this. So let's pray.
Lord, help us. Help us to believe with grace-filled defiance of the cultural push for us to keep this to ourselves. Help us to so believe the reality of eternity with Christ and the reality of an eternity without Christ. That we cannot but speak. Do not let us shut our mouths. In Jesus' name.
Amen. This is Matthew chapter 10. It says, And he called to him his twelve disciples. This is verse 1. And he gave them authority over unclean spirits. So there's a spiritual realm.
There are good spirits. God being God, Christ, Holy Spirit. And then there are angels that are ministering spirits. And then there are unclean spirits. Those who have fallen away. Those who have rebelled against God.
Led by Satan, which means adversary. And he gives them authority over those unclean spirits. The sermon today will not be primarily about the demonic activity. But if you have questions or concerns about that, I would love to speak with you. But we do believe this.
Over unclean spirits to cast them out. And to heal every disease and every affliction. So we're going to come back to this. But he endows these disciples with this authority. And it keeps going. It says he called them together.
He gives them this authority. The names of the twelve apostles are these. First, Simon, who is called Peter. And Andrew, his brother. James, the son of Zebedee. And John, his brother.
Philip, and Bartholomew. Thomas, and Matthew, the tax collector. James, the son of Alphaeus. And Thaddeus. Simon, the zealot. And Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
I want to make a few observations here. First of all, Jesus calls them. They did not assemble themselves. He calls them. He calls specific people. With specific names.
And specific nicknames. Like he calls specific people. He calls some that are brothers. He calls some. He calls Matthew, who is a tax collector. Which means he was actively serving the Roman Empire.
To help keep the Israelites in check. Would have not been popular among Israelites. And he calls Simon the zealot. Who is actively working. Being a zealot. To try to overthrow the Roman Empire.
And sow discord. I feel like it got real awkward. Between Matthew and Simon. When they were introduced to one another. What do you do? I'm a tax collector.
What do you do? Until recently. I snuck into groups. And stabbed tax collectors. I was like. Okay.
Cool. I'm going to hang out with the fishermen. It was good talking to you. The beauty of this. Is that. This is displayed.
All throughout our church family. Where people are being pulled. From different areas. From different political parties. From different. Socioeconomic backgrounds.
From different forms of racism. And we're growing into. What it looks like. To be Jesus people. As he changes. Our hearts.
It's glorious. And it's beautiful. He calls them together. And even being called. And being pulled into this. Does not mean.
That faithfulness will ensue. Because Judas Iscariot. Is one of these. And he ultimately. Betrays. Betrays.
Jesus. But he says this. Verse five. These twelve. Jesus. Sent out.
So he calls them. That he might send them out. And you got to understand. That's foundational. For Christians. That we're called to Jesus.
That we belong to him. That he pursues us. Chases us. Makes us his. And then. Commissions us.
As his church. And when Jesus gave them. The authority. That he gave them. He was sending them out. As his representatives.
To the world. And we're told. As the New Testament progresses. That that's the church. That we are now his body. He's the head.
But we're his body. He fills all in all. In us. But he sends us out. As his representatives. To the world.
This is why Christians. Ought to. Be kind. Gracious. And do humanitarian aid. We ought to.
Care for the least of these. We ought to. Practice church discipline. Where we. Watch over the holiness. Of one another.
And pursue Jesus together. Because we are sent out. To represent Christ. To the world. So he calls them.
He gives them authority. He sends them out. And then he gives them instructions. Instructing them. Go nowhere. Among the Gentiles.
And enter no town. Of the Samaritans. But go rather. To the lost. Sheep. Of the house.
Of Israel. And proclaim. As you go. Saying the kingdom of heaven. Is at. Hand.
Okay. So let's make a few observations here. He says. Go nowhere. Among the Gentiles. And don't go.
Among the Samaritans. That's honestly. A little bit odd. Because Jesus. Had not been going. Anywhere.
Among the Gentiles. He had not been going. Anywhere. Among the Samaritans. And his Jewish disciples. Would not have jumped up.
And done that. On their own. They would have had no desire. To go to the Gentiles. If he said. I'm sending you out.
As missionaries. They would have thought. There's no. There was no. Mental place for them. To think.
I'm going to go. Hang out with Gentiles. Because there was this. Big gap. Between Jews and Gentiles. He's actually.
By saying that. Indicating. That while this mission. Is limited. There's going to come a day. Where Gentiles.
And Samaritans. Are included. Which is really good. For us. Because most of us. Are not Jewish.
Probably not a lot. Of Samaritans. In here. We mostly fit. In the Gentile camp. Those who were outside.
Of the covenant promises. Of Israel. And ultimately. At the end of Matthew. He's going to say. Go to all people.
Groups. All languages. All nations. But he limits it here. And the reality is. He still does this.
The global scope. Of the reach. Of the church. Is not limited. To a culture type. To a skin type.
To a language type. It's not limited. But. For specific missionaries. With specific names. It is.
God calls specific people. To specific tasks. And it's beautiful. There's a great diversity. In what he calls. The church to.
This is why. It seems so silly. To me. When we argue about. This is who we ought. To care about.
There's a. There's a man. In our church family. His name is Ben Johnson. He has. Felt called.
Specifically. To the people. Who live. In the 1040 window. It's what it's called. But it's this.
Area. On a map. It has to do with latitude. And longitude. It's where the most. Unreached people groups are.
It's the Arab world. It's North Africa. He weeps. Over the loss there. And he's excited. That people want to go.
To South America. But I don't think. He spends a lot of time. Crying. And stressing out. Over the people.
In South America. He feels. Specifically. Called. To. The 1040 window.
God's. Claimed him. And said. This is where you're. Supposed to go. He's burdened his heart.
With a specific. Mission. There's another. One of our church family members. Named Chris Rocky. And his wife.
Danielle. Who. Felt called. To missions. And they went. And talked.
To Ben. And Ben. And tried to convince them. That the people. In the 1040 window. Are the most lost.
More lost. Than the other lostness. And Chris Rocky. Said. Neat. We're supposed to go.
To probably Honduras. But somewhere. In South America. Is where we feel that. Now. We're going to vote.
By raise of hand. Who is wrong. Don't we as Christians. End up arguing. Over some silly things. There's some people.
Who think. I have a burden. For the homelessness. In the city. Because I have this burden. Everybody else.
Needs to have it. Hmm. We should care. Yeah. But there are some people.
Who have a burden. For every elementary student. At this school. Praise Jesus. Go. And do not.
Take your burden. And think. That it has to become. Everybody else's. That's not. Healthy.
You get to lead. You get to call others. To go with you. One of the things. That I found. As a pastor.
Is that. The Lord will wake somebody up. And tell them. You're supposed to go do this. And they will come to me. And say.
I think we're supposed to go do this. He didn't wake me up. He didn't wake me up. And tell me that. I'd love to help equip. I'd love to help send.
I'd love to help you have a platform. To explain what it is. And help people go with you. I'd love to help give some guidelines. But I'm actively doing this thing.
He woke me up and told me to do. And by God's grace. I'll get to keep doing it. But he calls specific people. To specific missions. But.
One message. A lot of mission areas. A lot of mission fields. A lot of methods and approaches. But one message.
He says. As you go. Proclaim. As you go. Saying. The kingdom of heaven.
Is at hand. This is the same thing. That Jesus was proclaiming. It's the same thing. That John the Baptist. Had been proclaiming.
That repent. For the kingdom of heaven. Is at hand. Jesus is walking around. Proclaiming. Repent.
For the kingdom of heaven. Is at hand. When he sends out his disciples. He says. Go. And proclaim.
The kingdom of heaven. Is at hand. The first thing they are to do. Is proclaim a message. This is why. Just doing humanitarian aid.
With the hopes. That if somebody wants to believe. They can ask me. And I'll explain it to them. But that's not my primary deal.
Is not at the core. Of what Christian mission is. The gospel. Is the good news. Of what Jesus Christ. Has done.
It's news. The gospel. Is not. Christians are nice people. Hopefully. That's true.
But that is not the gospel. The gospel. Is a message. To be shared. Maybe some of you. Have heard the quote.
Preach the gospel. At all times. And if necessary. Use words. Words. I'm fine with that quote.
Because it is always necessary. To use words. So it's necessary. From the beginning. Keep using them. It's a message.
To be shared. And he sends them out. With this message. That the kingdom. Is breaking in. Now.
They get a glimpse. Of this. We get the full picture. That the kingdom of God. Is breaking. In.
That where Jesus is. As king. There is hope. The kingdom of heaven. That there is opportunity. To be in heaven.
To be welcomed in heaven. For heaven to come down. And to rescue us. And that's what Jesus. Does. That's what the gospel.
Is. That heaven is real. And Jesus has brought it. To us. Through his sacrifice. Through his death.
Through his resurrection. So this is what it says. Verse seven. And proclaim as you go. Saying the kingdom of heaven. Is at hand.
Verse eight. Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Cast out demons. So he gave them authority.
Go proclaim this message. Do these signs. The signs. Co-sign. The message. The kingdom of heaven.
Is at hand. And then they. Put it on display. To. He's lending his authority. So that they might.
Display to the world. This is what it. Looks like. For heaven. To break in. So that people.
Might believe. We've been reading through. Matthew together. We're studying through Matthew. We're picking back up. We're going to keep.
Going through. Matthew. And there's this time. Where Jesus is. Looks at a paralytic. And he says.
Rise. He says. Son. Your sins are forgiven. And there's some. Religious leaders there.
Who have a problem. With this. Because. Only God. Should forgive sins. This would be a problem.
Were Jesus not God. But there's no problem with this. Because Jesus is. So he looks at them. And says. So that you may know.
That I have authority. To forgive sins. Rise. Walk. And he stands up. And walks.
The signs. Are so that you may know. So that you may believe. So that you may know. That this is real. That what he says is real.
That heaven is breaking in. So they. Raise the dead. You ever seen. Like old. Like you watch a western.
Or something. And there's like an old. Charlatan-y guy. Doing some like. Snake oil stuff. And he has a friend.
In the crowd. Who's going to help him. Act like he can hear now. Or his. All his joints are fixed. Or whatever.
That's not what's happening here. They'd roll up. They would raise. The people who were dead. In that town. They would heal the sick.
In that town. People that they knew. They would cleanse. Lepers. And that's not easily done. And it's obvious.
Sign. They would cast out. Demons. Because that authority. Over the enemy. And this is a picture.
Of what is ultimately. Going to happen in Christ. That all that is broken. Is going to be taken away. All that is dead. Is going to be.
Raised to life. Where we're coated. In shame. And sin. And guilt. He's going to forgive.
This is. This is heaven. Brought to us. Proclaimed to us. In Christ. Showed to us.
Ultimately. In the resurrection of Christ. That we might. Believe. So Christians are sent.
With a message. And yes. We ought to. Do good. We ought to. Proclaim.
And help. And help. Show. What it looks like. For people. To belong to one another.
To love. One another. To serve. One another. The Holy Spirit. Is still active.
He still does work. Miraculous works. We have a more. Fulfilled. Completed version. Of the resurrection.
Of Christ. That we are to proclaim. So that people. Might have faith. And what they were doing. Was it was a foretaste.
Of ultimately. What was going to happen. Kind of like. The smell of food. Before you get to eat it. I walked.
I had been working. All day. I walked into my house. The other night. I opened the door. My wife had been cooking.
And oh my goodness. I just dropped my bag. I said baby. It smells so good in here. That's what it is. They're saying.
This is what heaven is like. This is what the kingdom is like. And they're giving a glimpse of it. And they're saying. Now believe.
Believe in this king. Who does this work. And do you all know that. That in heaven. That as Jesus goes to work. Death doesn't win.
Sickness doesn't win. Where our bodies begin to fail us. And fall apart. That he restores. That he works. That the sickness of sin.
You see he gives these physical signs. That we might believe the spiritual. Eternal reality. The cancer of sin. That creeps through our bodies. That claims us.
That will kill us. That will choke out life in us. That he actually can redeem. He actually can fix. And our shame. And our guilt.
That causes us to be outcasts. Like lepers. He can fix. And that the enemy. Does not win. That Psalm earlier said.
Your enemies come cringing. To you. That's a reality. In Christ. So they proclaim this message.
Says this. It gets better. It says. You received. Without paying. Give without paying.
Acquire no gold. Or silver. Or copper. For your belts. No bag. For your journey.
Or two tunics. Or sandals. Or a staff. For the laborer. Deserves his food. And whatever town.
Or village you enter. Find out who is worthy in it. And stay there. Until you depart. So he gives specific instructions.
For this missionary journey. There are other missionary journeys. Where he gives some different instructions. So we know this isn't just. Exactly how it works forever. But there is a tone here.
That I think is helpful. First of all. There's an urgency. He just says. Go. Don't get two tunics.
Don't get another staff. Just go. And there's a dependency. That they would be dependent. On those they were sent to. But ultimately.
That they would see. That they were dependent on God. To provide everything. They needed. But the more beautiful thing here.
Is that this is by grace. He says. As you received without paying. Give without pay. The point of this. Is not to exchange goods.
For the glorious. Inbreaking of the kingdom. The impetus. Behind them going out. Was that God. Had already given them everything.
He had already redeemed them. He had already worked. On their behalf. So they would go out. With gracious. Joy.
To share this. That they had received it. Without payment. And they would just give it away. Freely. Without pay.
The heart. Behind Christian mission. Is not obligation. It's joy. The heart. Behind Christian mission.
Is not fearfulness. It's a delight. It's an overwhelming sense. Of the glory of Christ. And the inbreaking of heaven. And the hope that we have in Jesus.
That drives us to mission. Guilt. Makes a terrible missionary. But joy. Makes an unstoppable one. Delight.
An overwhelming sense. Of appreciation. And gratefulness. He says. You received without pay. Give without.
Pay. That you might go forward. By grace. That that is actually. How the gospel moves forward. It's not a transaction.
It's not something. That we pay for. And receive. That we ultimately. Are motivated. By delight.
And we naturally. Do this in life. If you enjoy something. You share it. You praise it. I had a friend.
This past week. Who's in my neighborhood. He. We and I. Were going to grab lunch together. So I asked him.
What I ask everyone. Who's going to go eat lunch with me. Have you ever eaten. At egg roll station. He said. No.
And his choices. Became very limited. On where we were going to eat. I had to ask the follow-up question. Which is. Do you have cash?
Because egg roll station. Is not a high class establishment. They don't have a card reader. But. I do that with everybody. Because I delight.
In egg roll station. I have to watch about it. When I talk about it in sermons. Because I might just close my eyes. And start thinking about it. Like I.
I share it. Because I enjoy it. Naturally. It overflows. And what he's saying. Is you received without payment.
Give without pay. This is how. We respond. In light. Of the glorious. Joy.
And delight. That is in Christ. Who redeems sinners. Who did not deserve it. There's not a soul. In this 12 man team.
That was a well behaved. Super stud. There's not one. That he was like. Everybody. Try to be like that guy.
Because he's awesome. Simon. It lists as first. And then the Bible. Seemingly. Goes out of its way.
To highlight. How terrible he was at that. I don't know. So that we wouldn't. Turn him into a pope. Sorry.
I got to leave the Catholics alone. There are a lot of Catholics. Who love Jesus. We have been redeemed. By grace. And grace alone.
That makes us a joyous bunch. We're not earning it. We haven't paid for it. We don't get to strut. There is no swagger. In this room.
There's the delight. Of someone who has not deserved something. Who has received way more than they deserve. In a gracious overflow. Of God's goodness towards us. And a freedom that comes with that.
You didn't earn it. You don't have to keep it. That he keeps us. As he pours out grace on us. And we get to share this message. Twelve.
As you enter the house. Greet it. And if the house is worthy. Let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy.
Let your peace return to you. It's unclear. As to how much. That is just him acknowledging. This is how this is going to work. And how much they actually had control.
Over. Their peace going and returning. It seems as he keeps going. That it's more of a. Their posture towards the people. So they're basically blessing.
A house that's going to. Hear the word. That's going to. Welcome them. In this culture. They were supposed to be.
Very hospitable. So it was. Understood. That if people came around. You would welcome them. You would host them.
And he says. Greet the house. Bless it. And if they receive you. Let your blessing stay. But if they don't.
Move on. The reality of the Christian mission. Is that God has people. Who are prepared. This is what Jesus just said. In Matthew 9.
The harvest is plentiful. Meaning. There's a harvest. To. To just be. Brought in.
He says. We don't have enough laborers. To just bring in the harvest. So they go out. There are people. That God had prepared.
To hear this. Who would delight. In this message. So as we're sent. There are God. People.
God. Who wants to. He wants to redeem. That he's already got ready. We're just sent. To try to bring them in.
So they might hear this news. And there's. Freedom. For those who don't want to hear it. For us to not feel like. It's our job.
He's the Lord of the harvest. It's not our job to convert them. It's not our job to make them. Receptive. It's our job to go. It's our job to proclaim.
That we can keep praying. We can keep pleading. If it's someone that lives near us. If it's someone in our family. But we're not.
Sent to continually. Try to get one person. To believe. Who's not going to. We're sent to go. And see who's receptive.
Who's ready. Who wants to. Which means that as we go. As missionaries. God has designed it. To be effective.
One way or the other. If he has people ready. To receive. Or he has people. That you'll have the freedom. Of saying.
Lord. I tried. I'm going to keep moving. We get to go to places. Where he's already at work. And where he's.
Working among. People. I've seen this. With my neighbors. I've seen this. With co-workers.
People who want to hear. People who. Do not. Want. To hear. So we get to build.
With those who want to build. We get to pour into those. Who want to hear it. We get to. Meet with those people. Who will show up.
And listen. Verse 14. And if anyone. Will not receive. You. Or listen.
To your words. Shake off the dust. From your feet. When you leave that house. Or town. Truly.
I say to you. It will be more bearable. On the day of judgment. For the land of Sodom. And Gomorrah. Than for that town.
What Jesus just said there. Is striking. Sodom and Gomorrah. Is a story that we're told. In Genesis. Of a town.
That was so. Wicked. That the cries. Against that town. Had risen up to God. And God.
Who knows all things. But also. Who joins us. In misery. Says. I'm going to go down.
And see for myself. It's a picture. Of what Christ does. Is our wickedness. Rises up to him. That he comes down.
For himself. But. There's this picture. Of total. Depravity. And wickedness.
And God. Judges it. Directly. Immediately. That fire. Falls from heaven.
And crushes this town. That the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Is wiped. Off the map. And it stands. As a monument.
To God's. Wrath. And judgment. On sin. And sinners. So that.
All those. Who knew. This story. Understood. That God. Does not take sin.
Lightly. And that judgment. Is real. So what he just said here. Is striking. If anyone.
Will not receive you. Or listen. To your words. Shake off. The dust. From your feet.
When you leave. That house. Or town. Truly. I say to you. It will be more.
Bearable. On the day. Of judgment. For the land. Of Sodom. And Gomorrah.
Than for that town. Romans 1. Tells us. That all the world. Ought to know. God's goodness.
Because it's been displayed. Through creation. That we have no excuse. That we look at creation. And see. We see his.
Greatness. And his glory. I asked somebody. This past week. We were talking. About.
Faith. And I was trying to. Talk with him. About Jesus. And he just said. That he has a hard time.
Given that. Our world. Is just. He says. We're just a dot. On a dot.
On a dot. In a dot. On a dot. Like that's what he's. We're just. People.
On a little planet. A little planet. And a little solar system. A little solar system. Next to bigger solar systems. Next to.
He just said. It just seems like. The likelihood. With all this. That there would be humans. That it would work out this way.
He was just saying. That this randomness. And this massiveness. Of the galaxy. Seems to point towards. There's just really.
No way to tell. And I was like. The bigger it gets. The more I think. There's got to be. Somebody back there.
Working. It doesn't seem like. This would just shoot out. Of nothing. Like the bigger. And more massive.
And more glorious. It gets. And then we find out. That he named all the stars. That they respond. To his call.
Like I. That he's this. Glorious God. Who oversees. All of this. That he is at.
Work. And that he knows. Us. So he tells them. You see. He's put on display.
For Sodom and Gomorrah. Who he is. Through his creation. They ought to have known better. They had their own. Conscience.
That testified to them. The wickedness. Of their deeds. That all of humanity. Ought to know better. This is why.
You go globally. With people who. Do or don't believe. There's in general. Some sense of morality. That's in line.
Somewhat together. Because we are all built. With this understanding. Of how things ought to work. What's justice. What's right.
What's wrong. We yell things out. Like that's not fair. Because it's innate in us. That there's some sort of. Fairness.
And some. Some judge. That ought to. Arbitrate over it. There ought to be. A booth.
That can do a review. Over what just happened. That's Sodom and Gomorrah. For those who are told. Here's the kingdom. Of the king.
And here's what it looks like. And they reject it. It's far worse. That there is. Genuine. Eternal.
Judgment. For those who do not believe. There's an urgency. To this message. It is eternally. Urgent.
And I think the question for us. Is do we believe this. Do we believe that in Christ. We are given heaven. And all that is good. And all that is glorious.
And that in his person. We see the king of the universe. Who would die to redeem us. And do we believe. That there is a judgment coming. And that it falls on all of us.
In our wickedness. And that ultimately. Only those who are redeemed. Are those who are in Christ. Not those who are well behaved. Not those who are good.
Not those who are nice. Not those who are kind. Those who are in Christ. You see judgment fell on him. So that it will not fall on us.
The king. Has won the battle for us. That we might be brought in. Freely. And joyously. The high.
On this side. Is so gloriously. Beautifully. High. And the low. Is so eternally.
Terribly. Low. Do we believe that? Because if we did. I don't think there would be a hush. Over the church.
As to this message. I don't see how we could claim. To care for others. So much so. That we would fly somewhere. And dig them a well.
But we would not tell them. About the eternal realities. Of joy. And delight. And pleasures. Forevermore.
At the right hand of a God. Who redeems. And forgives. And saves. And the weightiness. Of running from that.
And standing in our own sin. And in our own glory. And in our own ability. And in our own morality. Before God. So that our wickedness.
Might be put on full display. It seems as if the posture. In the church has been. If someone wants to become a Christian. They can. But it's not my job.
To go tell them about it. If they want to become a Christian. That'll be great. But I'm not going to necessarily. Just be offending people. And bothering people.
When you believed this. When it clicked in your mind. Were you bothered? Did it mess you up. In any other way. Than a glorious one.
That changed your world. Some of you in our church family. Are here. Because your neighbor. Or your co-worker. Harassed you.
Praise Jesus. At one point. You thought. This is the most annoying human. I've ever met. And there was another time.
When you stood with them. In a baptismal water. And you hugged them. You said. Thank you for praying for me. Thank you for pursuing me.
Thank you for pleading with the Lord for me. Thank you for talking to me. Do we believe this? I was talking to a co-worker. At one point. And I said.
I was a Christian. And he said. Oh. So I guess you want me to become a Christian too? I don't know what he expected. I said.
That would be wonderful. If you are here. And you don't know Jesus. We want you to become a Christian. Because in Christ. You are redeemed.
You are brought in. You are loved. You are cherished. You are forgiven. You are free. You don't have to go earn your own identity.
Your own salvation. Your own worth. It's given to you in Christ. And we get to from that position. Proclaim this good news to whomever will listen. And some of them will.
And praise God for every one of them. How dare we be silent. In the face of heaven. And in the face of judgment. God help us. If we can't help but talk about this.
God help us. If we don't labor in prayer for this. God help us. If we don't get to know our neighbors. And our co-workers. So that they might believe.
God help us. If he doesn't call us to places. And we go. The stakes are too high. The delight is too good. Our God is too glorious.
For us to shut our mouths. So may we sing his praises here. And may we proclaim his gospel there. And may we do that. Until we stand face to face with our king. Let's pray.
God we thank you for your grace. And your goodness towards us. We pray that you would change. Our hearts. That we would believe. So that we might go.
We pray that you would speak now. To those who need to go to a specific people. In a specific place. That you would call them. God we pray that. Weekly and monthly and yearly.
We would see people leave our church. That they might be a part of your global church. That we would lay hands on those. Who would go start new works. And new churches. And join those who are laboring.
In the field. That you would call those who would proclaim this. And lead churches. And God we pray that every one of us. Would be sent as an everyday missionary. Where you have already infiltrated.
Because we are there. And we are your church. May we see the harvest before us. That we might proclaim your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.
Amen. It seems to me that the opposite of what the Pope says in this quote is true. That if you meet a Christian. And they care nothing for you coming to know Christ. They may not actually know him. That if they don't come to you with some desire to see you believe.
To see you changed. They may not actually know the Jesus that so radically redeems and saves. That may we be people who so love Jesus. So delight in him. That we can't shut our mouths. Amen.