You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace.
Join us.
Amen.
I love that song.
We had it sung to us in India.
It's true there too.
He's the God of that city and of that nation and great things because of who he is.
Thank you once again for praying for us and for caring for my family while Skeets and I were in India for a couple of weeks.
This particular Sunday, this particular sermon I had marked as a sermon on giving.
It's the right time of year for that and seemed like an appropriate thing.
And our passage is still going to address that a bit this morning.
But God began writing a bit of a different sermon while I was in India.
And especially while I was not sleeping on the plane on the way back.
Because of all the things that my heart was full of from my time there.
So I'm excited to share with you some things that God has been teaching me.
Some burdens that he's given me for us.
So let's pray.
And in a few minutes I'll read Psalm 96 for us.
Join me in prayer.
Father those words are true.
They're straight out of your word.
There is no one like you.
There is no other God besides you.
Father show us what that must mean for us.
Show us how that changes everything.
You alone are worthy of our praise.
Holy Spirit would you come and inflame our hearts this morning for you.
Might we meet with God and be like all those who meet with him that don't leave unchanged.
Holy Spirit speak through your word.
We might know you and love you and serve you more.
We ask in Jesus name.
Amen.
Baba Tu was one of the students in our seminary class while we were in India.
He's 23 years old.
He comes from a Hindu family.
Five children.
And just a couple of years ago he came to faith in Christ through his uncle.
When he did, adding him to his uncle, that made for two Christians in the entire extended family.
Dozens of family members in a very tight knit family.
He became the second.
And the rest of his family ran him off.
They didn't want him around anymore.
They sent him away out of the home.
It was over a year before his parents or any of his siblings would speak with him.
He can talk to them by phone now.
They'll answer.
But he's not welcome at home.
Despite this, Baba Tu is the life of the party on the seminary campus.
Everyone loves him.
You'd think he'd want to stay right there where he has so much fun and everybody loves being with him.
But Baba Tu can't wait to leave.
He can't wait to finish his training so that he can get back home to his village.
To tell people about Jesus.
To evangelize his village.
He wants to start a church there.
Even though he knows that he may well suffer harm from his family.
From others.
That's his vision.
That's his heart.
That vision is what drives him every day.
He likes cricket.
He's really good at it.
But if he's getting excited as you talk to him, it's probably because he's telling you the story of his conversion and coming to meet Jesus.
Or he's telling you some glimpses of hope that he's had from conversations with family members or friends sharing with them about Jesus.
That's what gets him excited.
And I could tell you story after story, dozens of times over, of people we met in India just like that.
And every time I tell him or think about him, it challenges me.
It challenges me to consider what truly drives me.
I mean, I'm a pastor, right?
So being all about Jesus and the kingdom of God on the books, that's what I'm supposed to be about, right?
By occupation, I'm all about the kingdom of God.
But outside of my preaching and teaching, Babatoo has probably shared about Jesus with more people this year than I have in my 35.
I'm pretty confident of that.
I'm pretty passionate about a lot of things, about my reputation.
Passionate about my family and going on vacation together and telling people about our times together.
I can get passionate about Clemson football.
But practically speaking, in my life, in my relationships, when you talk to me, when I'm excited about something,
is it likely to be about the kingdom and Jesus?
Is that what it's going to be?
On a corporate level, Mission India, the group we were there with, has a vision.
You can see it just barely on this tower right as you walk into their campus.
You can't miss it.
100,000 Christ-like global leaders.
These people, they want to raise up and send out to plant churches, to run orphanages.
I'll have to practice that word.
To teach children, to teach youth, to evangelize in every village in India.
And everything they do is driven by that commitment.
To reach India and beyond for Jesus, they will say.
It's really crazy.
In India alone, there are twice as many unbelievers as there are people in America, Canada, and Mexico combined.
You'd think that'd be a big enough vision for them, right?
Maybe we can just get into all of India.
And yet, what do they want to do?
They want to dream about reaching every village in India and then the whole world for the kingdom of Jesus.
They talk about 1.3 billion people as a missionary force that the world has never seen before.
That's how they think about India.
But they don't just talk.
They pray.
They pray about that all the time.
They wake up talking about it when they're exercising at 5 in the morning.
They fundraise for it.
They prioritize the worship of God and the word of God.
Many of the people we were with for the week of the conference were spending their only two weeks of the year that they and their families would be on vacation.
The only times they'd be outside of their village the whole year.
Traveling two, three days each way for many of them.
And then participating in a conference about worship and preaching.
And they loved it.
It was the only thing they wanted to do with that time.
With their families sitting for four hours at a time in a crowded room with no AC to hear God's word and to praise his name.
One of the pastors we met there was so excited to send me pictures of his new church building this week.
He sent me 50 pictures of this building.
50 pictures of that.
How many different things can you show?
50 pictures.
He's excited because the church is being built.
The kingdom of God is advancing.
And he wanted to share the joy of that.
Now on the books, our corporate vision is exactly the same.
To advance the kingdom of God.
Right?
But is it truly our driving passion the way I'm describing it is for them?
Is everything else in our lives scheduled and shaped around the worship of God?
Do we hunger for God's word?
How often do we sacrifice our own comfort to see the vision of God's kingdom advancing?
Is that a regular thing for us?
I really wrestled with this while we were there.
It was challenging for me to think about us corporately.
I told Skeets we had basically two options as I saw it.
Being really honest, option one is that we shut these doors and send all our money over there to them.
Where they really do need the money.
Where they really are committed to seeing God's kingdom advance.
And where a little bit of money goes a long way.
And that seems like a viable option.
Option two is that we truly begin to share that tangible passion for everyone in our villages.
In the village of Huntsville and beyond.
To know King Jesus.
To see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And to live like that.
Now please hear me.
I love y'all.
My preference is option number two.
I've told you I want to storm the gates of hell with y'all.
I want to be about God doing great things in this city and around the world.
I'm just saying that there's no longer for me this option three.
Where we say all of those things.
But really it doesn't make a lot of difference.
That doesn't seem like a viable option anymore.
Where intellectually we have a lot of right answers.
But really advancing the kingdom is down the list of what truly drives us and shapes our lives.
It doesn't seem viable for me.
Or for us.
And I've thought again as I've wrestled with that.
I've thought it myself.
I've heard other people say it.
Well they're just zealous for Jesus because they don't have anything else.
Maybe you've thought that.
I've got to tell you.
If that's all it takes to be zealous for Jesus like that.
Then take away these walls and these padded seats and the AC.
And all of these wonderful things that I call blessings.
But if what it takes for me to treasure Jesus the way they do is just not to have some of that.
That's a great place to start.
Some of you are thinking that Pastor has a bit of heartburn.
Maybe he had a bit too much of the spicy curry while he was in India.
And this is just something he's got to get out of his system.
I did have a lot of it.
I really like it.
But I wouldn't preach this to you if it was just what I felt.
It's all over.
Every page of this book.
From beginning to end.
It's what it says we're to be about.
Psalm 96 reminds us this morning that God's glory here and everywhere must be the driving, formative, energizing passion of our lives and our church.
There are three words.
I think they mean basically the same thing.
What I'm trying to say is it has to be the experiential reality.
Not just something we write down in a book.
It must actually shape our individual lives and our corporate lives together.
Let's read the first few verses.
Psalm 96.
Oh sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing to the Lord all the earth.
Sing to the Lord.
Bless his name.
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations.
He says, marvelous works among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.
He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols.
But the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him.
Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Yahweh alone is glorious.
There is none like him.
All the other so-called gods are over one nation or one arena of life.
But Yahweh owns it all.
That's what he's saying.
Splendor.
Majesty.
Strength.
Beauty.
They all belong to him.
And the purpose of our lives then is to declare this unparalleled glory everywhere.
First, upward.
To God himself.
Worshipping the one who is greatly to be praised.
It must be central to everything we do.
Because, y'all know how God has made us.
We're always ascribing worth to something, aren't we?
That's what it means to worship.
We're always seeking for strength.
For beauty.
For value in something.
And if it's not in the one true God,
our lives are out of whack.
We're chasing worthless idols.
The psalmist says.
Then we also declare God's glory,
his great worth to each other.
Inward.
Among the family of God.
Right here.
This psalm is a song for the worship of God's people, right?
So day after day, what are they doing as they sing this?
We remind ourselves of his salvation day after day.
We tell each other about it.
Of the grace we have experienced from this glorious God.
And we gather to do that.
But it must never stop there.
We worship God, yes.
We remind each other of his greatness, yes.
But we must declare God's glory outward.
To every nation.
Verse three.
We're going to see in the rest of the psalm
that what we're actually doing
is we're inviting them in to this worship of God
and fellowship with each other,
saying among the nations,
Yahweh reigns.
Verse 10.
I love the way Charles Spurgeon says it.
Each day brings us deeper experience of our saving God.
Each day shows us anew how deeply men need his salvation.
Boy, isn't that the truth?
Don't you realize that every day?
How much people need salvation?
Each day reveals the power of the gospel,
that that's where our hope is.
Each day the Spirit strives with the sons of men.
And so what?
Therefore, never pausing,
be it ours to tell out the glorious message of free grace.
Amen.
That's good stuff.
We do this or we shut the doors.
Right?
We do this with every breath that God gives us.
It's why we're here.
Y'all know this is not the focus of Psalm 96 only.
Remember in Ephesians,
when we walked together through that book
during the last senior pastor transition?
We learned what Southwood needed
was not a new senior pastor.
What we need,
what this community needs,
what the next generation needs,
is an exalted vision of God.
A grand view of his immeasurable love for us.
How wide and how long
and how high and how deep.
And Ephesians says that's where the power comes from.
That's where his power shows up
when we see him as glorious as he is.
God's glory everywhere,
filling the nations,
filling the earth,
is the story of all of the Bible.
Of all of history.
God creates mankind in his image
to reflect his glory
and sends us out to fill the earth, right?
Except that we don't.
Not only do we fail to reflect his image,
we actually decide we're not filling the earth.
At the Tower of Babel,
mankind decides to gather together into one place.
The opposite of what God has created them
and told them to do.
And God is so committed
that he confuses their language
and it says scatters them over the whole earth
because he will see it filled with his glory.
And then he blesses Abraham
and Abraham's descendants.
Why?
That they might be a blessing to the nations.
The nation of Israel he establishes
as a light for the nations.
But because they too fail to shine his glory everywhere,
he sends the Messiah,
Isaiah chapter 49,
as a light for the nations
that my salvation may reach
to the end of the earth.
You see what he's doing?
He sends the Messiah
that this vision of his glory being everywhere
and every nation knowing
might come to fruition.
And that's what happens.
He sends him and redeems us
and sends us on the same mission.
Why is it that we're here?
What are we to be doing?
1 Peter chapter 2,
you're a chosen race,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
a people for God's own possession
that you may proclaim
the excellencies of him
who called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light
that we might declare his glory
among the nations.
That's what we're here for.
It's the whole story.
It's what's going on cover to cover.
It's why God has us here.
And the best part is that
we know how the story ends.
It ends with what we read
a couple weeks ago
in Habakkuk chapter 2,
that the earth will be filled
with the knowledge
of the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the seas.
The earth full of God's glory.
That's where it's going.
And a multitude gathered
around the throne of the Lamb
that is from every tribe
and tongue and people
and nation,
worshiping him.
That's where it's going.
It's headed there.
God's going to do that.
So if we want to be a part of that,
if we want to be a part
of something eternally glorious,
greater than ourselves,
that's what we have to be about.
That's what he's doing.
This is where we must focus
our energies.
The word of God
must actually be our daily bread.
Prayer must be our native language.
The kingdom of God
must become our primary homeland.
The glory of God
must be our chief delight.
And that's got to change everything.
We were created
and we were redeemed
to declare God's glory here
and everywhere.
Not just to make it a slogan.
Not just to go to a church
that says that's what we're doing.
But to shape our lives
around it
in everything that we do.
Now because this is
our driving passion,
of course we give to it.
Here's the giving part.
Look at verses 7 through 9.
Ascribe to the Lord
O families of the peoples.
Ascribe to the Lord
glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord
the glory due His name.
Bring an offering
and come into His courts.
Worship the Lord
in the splendor of holiness.
Tremble before Him
all the earth.
God is so worthy of worship
that as the peoples
come to worship Him
they bring offerings to Him.
All sorts of offerings.
The offerings in verse 8
are interesting
because they aren't the kinds
for a specific sin
or a particular celebration
in the life of God's people.
If you've read the Old Testament
you know there are lots
of offerings, right?
A lot of reasons
for sacrifices to be brought
at particular times
and to atone
for particular sins.
That's not what this word means.
Rather these are
our free will
thank offerings.
Offerings you bring
to Yahweh
merely because
He's worthy
and because you delight
to honor Him.
Offerings you bring
to declare His glory
and proclaim
that He owns everything
including you.
So when we talk about giving
people want to know numbers.
You know,
pastor is 10% enough?
Is that the right thing?
Gross or net?
Help me know
what am I supposed to do?
Listen,
the Old Testament
talks about the 10% tithe
and even these
thank offerings
to the glory of God
in the Old Testament
go well beyond that.
But then the New Testament
emphasis is not on numbers
but it's on the God
who says give it all.
Leave 10% in the dust
because what you're doing
is you owe everything
to me.
I want your life
given to my glory
and my kingdom.
It's interesting
to watch people
in India give.
They don't have
much money
most of them
but they have
a lot of needs
around
and they love
to give whatever
they have
when they see
those needs.
And when they run
out of money
they'll offer themselves
to help
in any way
that they can.
And I think
they're open handed
with their money
and their time
because they trust
that God is worth it
and that God
will actually
care for them.
They have seen
Him care for them
when they have nothing.
They're not afraid
of that.
This water tower
right here
stands in the
middle of
the campus
there at Mission India
as a testament
to this.
When they bought
this 25 acre field
way outside of town
in the middle of nowhere
20 some years ago
it was too far away
from the city
to have any water lines
to it at all.
So they purchased
the field
but really didn't know
how they were going
to get water
on the property
of their new campus.
And so they prayed
that God would provide
in some way
they didn't have
in their plans
and pretty soon
they found a water source
in the middle
of the property.
It became a large well
that's now connected
to this water tower
that for 20 plus years
has provided
all the water
for 200 plus residents
on the campus
for 20 years.
And at times
like the week
we were there
2,000 people at a time
and there's plenty
of water left.
Isn't it awesome
to see God work like that?
To provide like that
exactly what His people need?
Isn't that exciting?
Isn't God someone
we can trust
to care for us?
Yes, they know that.
They've seen that.
Y'all, we don't give
because we have to.
Because God told us
there was something
we had to do
and meet a certain criteria.
We give of our resources
because we get
to be a part
of God's glory
being declared
to the nations.
For many of us
who've never given
to the church before
10% is a good place
to help guide us
and figuring out
how we start doing that.
But think honestly
if this is to be
the formative
energizing passion
of your life
the focus
of what you're about
then we must always
be asking
where can God
free up
more of our resources
more of ourselves
for His mission?
That's something
that we then love to do.
I love the way
John Stott describes
how Jesus functioned.
He says
what dominated
Jesus' mind
was not the living
but the giving
of His life.
Those are the kind
of conversations
you have.
How can we
reorganize
reprioritize
to give our money
our time
our home
to the kingdom?
Do you talk
more about
the living
or the giving
of your life?
Try it.
It's actually
pretty fun
to sacrifice
for the sake
of seeing
the church
of Jesus Christ
His kingdom
advance.
It's really exciting.
See Jesus
gave up
the privileges
and the riches
of heaven
didn't He?
And He came
for the nations
at the cost
of His own life.
It cost Him
everything
that the nations
might know
the glory
of God.
that the salvation
of God
might reach
to the ends
of the earth.
That's what
He was about.
See He's the hero
of this story
isn't He?
The story
of God's glory
that we told
really quickly
through the Bible
just a few minutes ago.
Jesus is the hero
of that story.
He's the one
who comes
as the perfect
reflection
of God's image.
He's the one
who comes
and lives
perfectly
obediently
and He dies
and rises again
so the nations
can know
the salvation
of God.
He comes
so that the glory
of God's salvation
can explode
to the nations
in new ways
like it never
has before.
That's how this works.
Before Jesus
very few
outside of
the nation
of Israel
and Jesus comes
and it's to the uttermost
parts of the earth
because what?
He not only
gives His life
He not only dies
for the nations
but He then commissions
His followers
to go
and make disciples
of all nations.
He says
be my witnesses
to the uttermost
parts of the earth
so that all of them
may know
who I am
what I've done
for them
and we get to tell people
about this God?
Are you kidding me?
We get that kind
of good news?
We could have been asked
to say something
a lot more downer.
This is great stuff
and we get to introduce
people
to this God.
See this is a God
worth exalting
and rejoicing
in
and we forget
that so quickly.
In the Hindu faith
there are
many gods.
We heard
while we were there
the story
of one village
in India
last India story
I promise
where there's
a God
who supposedly
lives up
on the top
of a hill
that's overlooking
the village
and for the Hindu
people living
in the village
it's very rare
that you would
speak or interact
with this God
at all.
In fact
if you really need
to
here's what you
have to do.
Spend 40 days
with no food
and no familial
interactions
40 days
then wash
yourself
cleanse
yourself
dress in
all black
and make
your way
all the way
up that hill
to the very top
and when you get
there you can
talk to him
and see what
happens
see how he
responds.
Listen to what
the one
true
all glorious
God who lives
above the heavens
exalted far higher
than anything like that
how does he relate
to people
as gloriously
different
listen to this
say among the nations
the Lord reigns
yes the world
is established
it shall never
be moved
he will judge
the peoples
with equity
let the heavens
be glad
and let the earth
rejoice
let the sea roar
and all that fills
it
let the field
exult
and everything
in it
then shall all
the trees
of the forest
sing for joy
before the Lord
why?
what's everybody
so excited about?
why are they all
before Yahweh
rejoicing
and exulting
for he comes
he comes
to judge
the earth
he'll judge
the world
in righteousness
and the peoples
in his
faithfulness
he comes
the psalmist
repeats
he comes
to us
and this is a huge
part of the glory
that is to be
declared
it's that he
pursues relationship
as our father
that he's full
of grace
that he moves
toward us
the good news
we declare
to the nations
is a God
you can know
a God
you can have
relationship with
a God
who will
in fact
make everything
right
one day
see some of you
are good enough
Bible students
to say
pastor
you're not really
being honest
it says he comes
to judge
it's not nearly
so exciting
as you think
in fact it says it
three times
he comes
to judge
look at what
happens
when he does
what's the context
of this judgment
it's not the fearful
judgment
of God
being highlighted
here
it's a judgment
that brings
rejoicing
everywhere
everything's
rejoicing
when this God
shows up
as the judge
because he's
making everything
right
everyone and
everything in
creation
rejoicing
he's coming
to make all
things new
for the blessing
of his creation
for the good
of his people
for the glory
of his name
he comes
friends
we have the
good news
of the one
true God
who reigns
over the nations
and who comes
for the nations
to them
and so many
know nothing
of a God
they can have
a relationship
with
many in India
know only
of a God
they can try
to manipulate
or work
to impress
and maybe
possibly walk
their way up
to receive
a blessing
from him
and many in
Huntsville
know only
of a God
who's a fiction
for weak
people
or a God
who I have
to perform
for to placate
and keep at a
distance so he
doesn't get in the
way of my life
no wonder
they don't love
that God
they don't know
the one
that you
and I
know
who's their
father
who comes
to them
who loves
them
they don't know
what that would
be like
that's a God
worthy of rejoicing
of exaltation
of celebration
and our job
is to invite
everyone to that
party
right
now you may
be thinking
this is that
one crazy
sermon
that you have
to put up
with when you
send your
pastor to
India
for two
weeks
I tell you
two reasons
why I
hope and
believe that's
not true
the first one
is that this
is a burden
that's not
new to us
but the burden
to live it
is one that I
pray doesn't
leave me
and you can
pray for that
too
but the second
reason is more
important than
that and way
more important
than whether or
not I'm here
or have a burden
like that
and that's that
Jesus regularly
calls us to
remember this
he regularly
wants us to
remember how
valuable the
nations are to
him
he wants us to
remember our
God's heart
for the nations
that he would
come at the
cost of his
own life
and lay it
down for them
that they might
know the glory
the salvation
the love
of our God
it's here at
this table
that we celebrate
the God who
comes to us
to heal our
hearts that were
wayward from him
that were broken
seemingly beyond
repair
and he comes
to heal
those hearts
it's here at
this table
that we celebrate
a God who
comes to us
to eradicate
the evil
and injustice
in this world
and make things
right
once
and for all
and we celebrate
that that is
the God
who eats
and drinks
with us
remember what
Paul said
about this
sacrament
he said
I received
from the Lord
what I also
delivered to you
that the Lord
Jesus on the night
he was betrayed
took bread
and when he had
given thanks
he broke it
and said
this is my body
which is for you
do this
in remembrance
of me
in the same way
also he took
the cup
after supper
saying
this cup
is the new
covenant
in my blood
do this
as often
as you drink
it
in remembrance
of me
for as often
as you eat
this bread
and drink
the cup
you proclaim
the Lord's
death
until he
comes
every time
you do
this
you declare
that God
came
for the nations
and is coming
again
to bring them
to his
throne
forever
we declare
that
and rejoice
in that
this morning
let's pray
and we'll
celebrate
together
father we
give you
thanks
and praise
for your
great
and greatly
to be
praised
and there's
none other
we chase
a lot
of lesser
things
in our
lives
but the
way you
love us
knows
no
comparison
and we
rejoice
in that
and we
ask now
that you
would set
these common
elements
aside
for a
sacred
purpose
in our
hearts
that the
death
of Jesus
for us
might
overwhelm
us
and overflow
from us
to others
we ask it
in his
name
amen
for more
information
visit us
online
at
southwood.org