Good morning, church family.
Like Dave said, we're reading from Psalm 96.
O 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,
his marvellous works among all the 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.
Splendour and majesty are before him.
Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
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 splendour of holiness.
Tremble before him all the earth.
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 fields exult and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord.
For he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Well, Matt and Grace, you're probably feeling a mixture of things.
I'm not quite sure what you'll be feeling, but a bit of excitement.
But I'm also guessing this is one of the most uncertain times of your life
that you've experienced.
With the future, very uncertain.
So this morning we really want to just commend the truths of God's word
that us elders, we know you already know these things.
We wouldn't be sending you if you didn't.
But it's no trouble to us to encourage you to fix your eyes on these things.
And it's good for us as a church family to remember these things as well.
So I think as a church family, we're starting a new year.
I don't know about you, but I'm setting plans for the year.
I consider the hardships that I'm facing, that my brothers and sisters are facing,
and we want to find meaning and strength in them.
And I think in all that, we need to come back to that ultimate question of
if the Lord has delivered us out of the world,
it would be so much better if we were with Christ right now.
So why has he got us here, sending us back into the world?
So this morning, yeah, I'm going to be talking to you, Matt and Grace, a lot.
But it's really for our whole church family to be hearing these things as well.
So why on earth would you leave all that's familiar,
your country with all the rights and security that are easily accessible,
and your parents and wider family and taking their granddaughter away,
your home that you built that we love to fill stuff with,
and the comfort and nourishment of belonging to an established church,
why would you leave all that behind and go into the unknown,
to the people and language and culture you don't know?
You can only plan a few days ahead of you, and even then, that's not certain.
You're trying to take on a new skill set from what you've vocationally done thus far.
And you know that you're going to a people who don't want to hear what you've got to say.
You know that your goal is an impossible task,
that people who are happy living for themselves, apart from God,
will turn to Christ in faith and joy.
What's going to keep you grounded?
How are you going to keep your bearings?
I think you need to keep clear what the basis of mission is.
What is the fundamental reason you're going?
You've got to keep this clear in your minds.
So what is the purpose of mission?
What is the basis of mission in the world?
I think many Christians might answer,
because people are lost and in danger of judgment.
And that's true.
If we were, with our compassion as we went about mission,
someone would be very cold and heartless.
Something wouldn't be right.
But it's not the basis.
The basis is in Psalm 96.
Because from verse 4,
The most basic truth of all reality
is that there is one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Now, in our present time,
many people are worshipping,
I think, Linal Messi at the moment.
After winning the World Cup,
I saw in the news feed
that one guy got a tattoo of Messi on his forehead.
There's an option.
You could get Jesus on your forehead if you wanted.
Anyway, that's not in my script.
Linal Messi.
People are worshipping him,
but his splendour.
Just consider his splendour.
Why people are worshipping this guy.
It is so limited to a soccer field.
And his splendour is already fading in his 30s.
He's going to have to retire soon.
And like Pele before him,
he's going to be dead one day.
And people will be cheering for someone else.
People are worshipping this man.
And what puny splendour.
But then compare that to the splendour of the Lord.
Like, I got to be in Jindabyne over the Christmas break
and just getting away from the light of the city.
Again, you just get the night sky.
My dad was trying to film auroras.
Just the galaxy that praises him.
The sun that comes up every day declaring his mercy,
his goodness to mankind.
You just look at the creativity in this room of all the personalities.
And that's just the reflected glory of God that we see in creation.
Like, what splendour the Lord has.
That the oceans roar his greatness.
That splendour.
And his majesty is like no other person in authority you've ever met.
Like, some people in authority, you shake before them.
But scripture tells us the people who have got even a glimpse of his majesty
haven't just shaken.
They've fallen down dead as though dead before him.
His majesty is that great.
All strength belongs to him.
All beauty is from him.
It reflects his own beauty.
He is beauty.
He has made all things to show how glorious he is.
And if even inanimate stars and galaxies and trees sing and oceans roar,
all things were made to worship him,
how much more should men and women and boys and girls
who have the faculties to know him personally be worshipping him?
In light of that, how awful is the current state
of so many people's hearts and the state of the world?
Even here in Newcastle, people were worshipping worthless idols.
Setting themselves up as if they can determine life.
That what I think equals reality is what our culture is saying here.
People were just devoting themselves to worthless things.
And then where you're going, people were bowing down towards a God
that cannot hear them.
A God that cannot speak to them.
A God that cannot save them.
The world is in an awful state.
The world is worthy of every person and every nation's delight.
And yet, so many are delighting in worthless things.
And the Lord takes himself seriously.
He's determined to have all creation respond in ecstatic rejoicing in him alone.
He is so determined to bring this about
that he's brought about a great salvation for all the world.
For us who have plunged ourselves into impurity,
he has made a way to wash us clean
through the death of his son
so that we can stand before the splendour of his holiness
and not tremble in dread,
but tremble in delight.
He's made a way.
And he's made a way
for us to know real life
in raising his son from the dead.
He raises us also.
He has conquered everything.
He is the source of life.
He is determined to rescue his people
from every nook and cranny of this world
so that the whole world might give him the praise
he is worthy of.
He wants people to delight in him,
in what is true,
what is good,
what is beautiful.
So why does mission exist?
Well, I'm going to quote John Piper here
and there's a little article
on the second page of the bulletin
which is well worth your time.
Missions exist because worship doesn't.
The Lord is worthy of every person
and every nation's total delight
and he's achieved everything to bring about that
through his son's death and resurrection.
Mission exists because worship doesn't.
So Matt and Grace,
your task is done,
our task is done
when that day arrives
that's pictured in Revelation chapter 5.
The day is coming,
it's already begun
but it's going to be brought to completion
when everyone is singing
worthy are you
for you were slain
and by your blood
you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
When the whole world
is singing with the angels,
worthy is the lamb
who was slain
to receive power
and wealth
and wisdom
and might
and honour
and glory
and blessing
when everyone's saying
life is in
you
Lord Jesus.
When that day comes
mission can stop.
When the whole world
with the ocean roaring
and the trees singing
and every human being
singing the praise
of the one
who is worthy of all praise
we won't need to be on mission
and God is determined
to bring that day about.
He's done everything
to secure it
in the death and resurrection
of his son.
So the basis of mission
is that God
is worthy
of
every person
and nation's delight.
He's worthy
of all worship.
Christ is
worthy
to receive
the reward
of his suffering.
He was determined
to bring it about.
So that's the basis.
So how should we
considering the next question
how should we think
of ourselves
in this task
of being sent
into the world
to represent God?
How should we think
of ourselves
in this task
of mission?
I think Psalm 96
is again
a great picture
for us
in the first verses.
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
his marvellous works
among all the peoples.
This isn't a description
of what we call
missionaries.
This is a description
of what we call
a Christian
a believer.
Missions
isn't
primarily
a task
that we have
to accomplish.
Singing
his praises
declaring
his glory
is
just the natural
overflow.
It's the natural
response
to what we've received
from God
in Christ.
It's not that
I have
this task
called telling people
the gospel
and I need to find
creative
manipulative
ways to
help them
buy into it.
That's not what it is.
It's
I praise
his glory
and I want people
to join that song.
I think it helps
to realise
and C.S. Lewis
helped me
grasp this point
that we all praise.
We all praise
what we love.
We can't help it.
Whether you think
about what gets
you excited
what your mind
just goes to
and you love
thinking and planning
what
gives you delight
and what comes
out of your mouth
therefore you can't
help but speak
about it.
people praise
books and
restaurants
and their
romantic loves
and they praise
like Messias
talking about.
We can't help it.
Everyone is praising
praising, praising.
The only question is
is it worthy
of our praise
and
so a Christian
is someone
whose heart
has just been
captured by the
love of God
and so they
naturally just
sing.
It just comes
out of them
and not just
sing with our
words but you
can just see it
in our choices
in our life.
So Matt and
Grace, this new
identity that you're
taking on
called missionary,
I'm going to
suggest to you
that that's not
fundamentally who
you are,
missionary,
because the
Lord might
decide you're
only going to
be overseas
for a couple
of weeks.
We don't
know or it
could be the
rest of your
lives but it's
not fundamentally
who you are.
He wants you to
sing his praises
wherever you are.
You have already
been singing his
praises since the
time that Christ
has captured your
hearts.
So I think just
get that clear in
your minds that
you already are
singing his
praises and you
always will be for
eternity.
The title
missionary will
come and go but
that's not
fundamentally who
you are.
And I think
the other thing
we should be
thinking for
ourselves is the
desire for others
to delight in the
Lord only comes
when we
ourselves are
delighting in
the Lord.
The fuel of
mission is your
own delight in
the Lord.
As Piper puts
it, you can't
commend what you
don't cherish.
So Matt and
Grace again,
you've got lots
of tasks ahead
of you that are
on your mind
like learning
language and
finding a place
to live and so
many other things
that are going
on, how to
raise Rachel in
a different
culture with
different temptations
and different
challenges.
But can I just
urge you to put
one task before
you always because
this one task
will empower and
guide every other
thing you need to
do.
and that is to
know the Lord
more and more
and more because
the more you
delight in him,
the more your
life will
demonstrate that
he is worthy
of everything.
So know him
more and more
in good times
and in bad.
God.
And I think it's
when you know
him more and
more, that's
when your
compassion for
the people you're
going to will
actually be
sustained.
I might say an
outrageous thing
here.
I don't think we
in and of
ourselves have the
compassion to
want people to be
saved.
It's only when we
come to the God
who has that
compassion for
people, that's
when we're filled
with him to want
people to know
him.
So keep knowing
him more and
more.
Delight in him
and that will
sustain you through
whatever hardships
you face and it
will maintain your
compassion.
The last thing I'll
say is because you
are called to sing
and declare his
praises, I think
that also transforms
how you measure
success.
You can't guarantee
any results.
I think we often
think that God wants
results like the
world measures
results in numbers
and money and power
and influence and
things like that.
He made the
heavens.
He doesn't need
all that.
He owns all
that.
So he doesn't
need those results.
Results is
completely up to
him.
You can't
guarantee any of
that.
So what does
success look like
then if it's not
tangible results
necessarily?
Well, it looks
like, let me
reframe the
question, how
you glorify God,
is it by results?
No, I think you
will glorify God
when your life is
showing that his
love is better
than life.
You will glorify
him when you can
show others that he
is your delight.
And that means
that even when
things go really
bad, even in the
hardship and losses
and whatever
rejection you
receive, even
when you're facing
your own death and
losing everything,
if your heart can
still say, your
love is better
than life, that's
success.
You're bringing
glory to him.
So the grace of
God has taken
us out of the
world and brought
us into a new
humanity in Christ
and we've been sent
back into the world
to be embodied
witnesses to the
heavenly life that
we've found in
belonging to Jesus.
So the last thing I
want to say, Matt
and Grace, is can
you pray for us as
a church family?
It's not so much
that we need to be
committed to
supporting you, it's
more, pray that we
would know the
Lord more and
more and more so
that we as a
church will delight
in him and just
naturally overflow in
his praise and want
him to be honoured in
all the world because
that's when we will
be of good use and
good partnership to
you.
Why don't I pray
and then we're going
to sing.
And have a Bible
reading and then
David will continue.
Father, we don't
desire your glory
anywhere near as
much as we should.
So I pray that you
would fill us with
yourself.
I pray as a church
family and for Matt
and Grace that you
would reveal yourself
more and more through
your son so that we
might cherish you
with all our heart
and therefore want
you to be honoured
as you so rightly
deserve in all the
world.
So fill us with
yourself, I pray.
Amen.
Thank you.