It brings a lot to us that we get financial support,
and we really, really appreciate your prayer support as well.
And you can ask Kayla for her blog after church,
so you guys can all read it.
All right.
So, Psalm 87.
He has set his foundation on the holy mountain.
The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you, O city of our God.
I will record Rahab and Babylon
among those who acknowledge me,
Philistia 2 and Tyre, along with Cush.
And will say, This one was born in Zion.
Indeed of Zion it will be said,
This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High himself will establish her.
The Lord will write in the register of the peoples,
This one was born in Zion.
As they make music, they will sing,
All of my fountains are in you.
Thanks, Lucy.
Just on that note in terms of their trips overseas,
there's a little flyer at the back called Summer Service,
which just indicates all the different people
are serving in different ways,
how you can pray for them.
There's also a box at the back.
If you weren't able to give last week,
and you would like to be able to give,
in particular for those who are travelling overseas,
then you can do that as well this morning.
Well, Psalm 87,
not sure what page it is on the red-covered Bible.
5.8.6.
5.9.6, sorry.
And we're going to look at Psalm 87 together.
Before we do, we're going to pray and just ask for God's help.
So let's do that now.
Father, thank you for the Bible.
Thank you for your word.
That's been written down for us.
And we ask for the help of your Holy Spirit
to speak to us afresh through it,
that what was written hundreds of years ago
would be real and alive to us today.
Help us to understand it
and help us to work it out in our own lives
and to see what it is that you have called us to.
The great city of God.
Amen.
Well, if you've never been,
I'm sure we've all seen pictures
of some of the great cities of the world.
Think of a city like New York or Tokyo
with their towering skyscrapers
of businesses and banks.
It's a statement of wealth and success.
Or somewhere like Cape Town and Rio
with their awesome panoramic views,
golden beaches and sunsets.
It's an image of health and happiness.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people
migrate to the great cities of the world
in search of a good life,
a better life.
In fact, by 2050,
seven out of every ten people on the planet
will be living in a city.
They offer everything that we all dream for.
Safety and security,
peace, prosperity,
joy and justice,
beauty and harmony.
These are all things that we want
and the city says,
we've got it for you.
However, reality paints a different picture.
Read your newspaper,
turn on the news.
Our cities are places of fear and violence.
A place where evil rules,
where injustice and greed reign.
On my recent trip to Mongolia,
I stayed in the capital of Ulaanbaatar.
That capital has a population of 1.5 million.
It's one of the fastest growing economies in the world
due to all the mining that's taking place in the country.
But almost half the population of that capital
live in dire conditions.
Temperatures reach to minus 40 in winter,
plus 30 in the summer.
And yet half that population live without running water,
electricity, sewage or drainage.
But yet still the people come running to the city
in search of a better and a good life.
Cities have always been a magnet
for the economically pressed
and the politically oppressed.
Whether it's New York or Cork City,
people always come looking for something better.
Well, in Psalm 87,
we're introduced to the city that we all dream about,
the city we all long for.
It's the ultimate city.
It's an eternal city
where its residents are loved and cared for.
It's a city of everlasting joy.
No sadness, no pain.
A place where her people are welcomed
and are filled and forever satisfied.
So let's have a look at this city.
First, we're introduced to the God of the city.
The city's builder and founder.
Look at verse 1.
He, that's God,
has set his foundation on the holy mountain.
This is no ordinary city.
This is a city that's been planned
way back in eternity past
and was founded and built and established by God.
So it has a sense of permanence.
It always has been
and it always will be.
Just like the very mountains
it is built upon.
We get the same idea
if you just hold your finger in Psalm 87
and go back to Psalm 48.
This is another psalm that talks about the city.
We read it earlier this morning.
Psalm 48.
Let's just read verses 1 to 3.
Talking again about the city.
Great is the Lord
and most worthy of praise
in the city of our God,
his holy mountain.
It is beautiful
in its loftiness,
in its greatness.
It's the joy
of the whole earth.
Like the utmost heights of Zaphon,
that great big mountain range,
is found Mount Zion,
which is the city
of the great king.
God is in her citadels,
in the great towers,
and he has shown himself
to be her fortress.
Now read verse 8.
As we have heard,
so we have seen,
in the city
of the Lord Almighty,
in the city
of our God,
God makes her
secure
forever.
I'm sure you've all seen
or perhaps read
Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings.
Well, picture
the image
of some of those
great cities,
Minas Tiris,
the heavily fortified
capital of Gandor,
which is built
into the mountain face.
It's a place
of rest
and refuge
from the evil forces
of Sauron.
Well, that's the imagery
that we have here
in Psalm 48
and Psalm 87.
It's like Minas Tirith,
this enormous city
built into the landscape
of the mountains
to endure forever
and ever,
a place of safety
and security.
But what makes
this city,
back to Psalm 87,
what makes this city
so unique?
It's not so much
its design
or its architecture,
but who lives there?
Verse 3,
Psalm 87,
glorious things
are said of you,
O city of God.
This city
is God's city,
it's the city
that he has chosen
to dwell in.
This is God's home,
if you like.
He's chosen
to reside here.
So it's not surprising
that God loves
this city.
Verse 2,
it tells us
that the Lord
loves the gates
of Zion.
Zion is another word
for God's city.
God loves the gates
of Zion
more than all
the dwellings
of his people.
and he loves
the city
because
this is where
people like you
and I
get to meet God.
Look at verse 2 again,
it says,
the Lord loves
the gates
of Zion.
The gates,
like any gates,
implies
this is the way in,
this is an entrance
into the city
because through
the gates
people get in
and God loves
the gates
because it means
people can come
into the city.
People can come
to God.
So this is
God's city.
It's a place
that he has founded
or that he has built
from eternity past
and this is where
he now dwells.
And it's the city
that God loves
because he gathers
people into the city
to find rest
and refuge,
safety
and security.
But we're also
introduced to
the people
of the city,
the residents
or the inhabitants.
Verse 4,
look at what it says
in verse 4.
He says,
I will record
Rahab.
Rahab was another
name for the,
for Egypt.
He says,
I will record
Rahab and Babylon
among those
who acknowledge me.
Philistia 2
and Tyre
along with Cush
and will say,
this one,
that country,
that place
was born
in Zion.
You see,
the people that are
in this city
are very diverse.
They're not all
from the same place.
They all come
from different nations.
They speak
different languages.
They have
different cultures.
But they're all
there in the one
city.
But there's a
surprise here.
There's a big
shock here.
They come from
places we would
think would be
excluded.
Look at some of
these names.
They're not
necessarily familiar
to us,
but let's explain.
Rahab or Egypt
and Babylon
were the great
enemies of God
and his people.
You remember
the stories of
Egypt.
They were the
people that
enslaved God's
people,
treated them
brutally and
harshly.
Babylon,
they invaded
God's people
and took them
off into
captivity.
Then there's
Philistia,
home of the
Philistines,
and Tyre.
They were
always attacking
and threatening
God's people.
Always at war
with them.
And then we've
got mention of
this place,
Cush.
Well, this is a
far-off,
unknown,
distant land,
a way out
there, a
Ballygo
backwards place.
Nobody ever
went on
holidays to
Cush.
But surprisingly,
all these
people from
all these
different nations
are all
present in
the city of
God.
And amazingly,
they are all
considered
citizens.
Look at the
end of verse
four.
God says,
of this one
I will say
they were
born in
Zion.
Well, how
could they be
born there if
they're not
from there?
Well, some of
you know that I
was born in
London.
A real
cockney I
am.
Not really,
but that's
where I was
born.
Lived there
for the first
six weeks of
my life.
life.
And then my
parents moved
to Ireland.
So I've
been here
99.99%
of my life.
I've studied
here.
I've worked
here.
I've paid my
taxes here.
I help out in
the community.
I love being
here.
But you know
what?
Because I
wasn't born
here, I'm
not actually a
citizen.
I'm not
legally Irish.
I hold a
British passport.
Shh.
But I
support Ireland.
You see, to
be Irish, to
be a citizen, I
must be born
here.
That's the only
way for me to
qualify.
And look at the
nations and the
people that are
mentioned here in
verse 4.
None of them
qualify.
None of them
have the right
papers or the
legal documents.
They're all
outsiders.
They should all
be kept
outside.
But look at
verse 5.
In deed of
Zion, of
God's city, it
will be said,
this one and
that one, the
enemy, the
outsider, the
excluded one,
they will all
be born in
her and the
Most High
himself will
establish her.
They will be
treated as if
they were born
in the city.
And that's
what it is
like for me
living here.
I am treated
as if I was
born here.
In fact, God
declares, he
says, you
were born
here.
Because God's
city is a
welcoming city.
God longs that
his city would
be filled with
people from
all kinds of
nations, even
people like you
and me.
And let's be
clear, the
residents, the
inhabitants of
this city.
They don't
get into the
city because
of their
race or
their particular
religion.
They are not
there because
they're superior.
They're not
there because
they're good
moral people and
they've lived a
good life and
they've never
done this and
they've never
done that.
No, they are
there simply
because God
has opened his
gates to them.
Look at
verse 6.
The Lord
will write in
the register
of the
peoples, this
one was born
in Zion.
It's like
there's a
kind of a
roll call.
He's got a
list and he's
writing their
names down
there and
say, you
were born
here.
We don't
get into the
city because
of our
ability.
We don't
get into the
city because
of our
gifting or
our particular
background or
because of
what our
parents believed
or anybody
else believes,
we get into
the city because
God writes
our name in
his book on
the registry.
So here's
the people of
the city,
diverse,
shocking,
surprising.
Outsiders
are welcomed
in and now
treated as
residents to
share in
and enjoy
all that God
has to give
them from
the city.
So there
are the
people.
We're also
shown the
life of the
city, what
it's actually
like to
live there.
Verse 7.
As they
make music,
they will
sing, all
my fountains
are in you.
This is a
city that's
full of
joy, true
joy and
fulfillment.
The music and
the singing,
well, you
might be very
musical, you
might play an
instrument or
you mightn't
sing, but
it's all
imagery.
And the
singing and
the playing of
instruments are
all signs of
this new,
vibrant and
eternal life
that God has
to give.
Look at the
end of verse
7, he says,
all my
fountains are
in you.
The city is a
source of
life.
You know
what a
fountain is
like, it's
bubbling up,
it's overflowing,
it's abundant,
it's full,
it's fresh.
Well, this is
again imagery,
it's saying this
is what God's
city is like,
it's overflowing
with life in
all its
fullness.
It's life the
way God
intended it to
be, without
pain or
suffering, without
tragedy, without
crime, without
things going
wrong.
The city is
the fountain of
true life.
life.
This is where
salvation is
found.
Whatever we
believe right
now, whatever
our background
is, this is
the kind of
city we dream
of and long
for.
A place where
people from all
kinds of
backgrounds are
all together,
and there's no
fighting, there's
no war.
Everybody's filled
and everybody's
satisfied.
A place of
beauty and
harmony, joy
and justice.
Nobody's left
out.
There's peace,
there's prosperity
and abundance,
safety and
security.
This is the
perfect city.
It's the
ultimate city.
It's what films
are written
about, and
books are
written about.
We all want
this kind of
city.
Which is all
great to read
and to think
about it.
But I want
us to think
through very
briefly three
important
questions.
First, it
would be a
good thing to
know where
the city is.
How am I
going to get
there?
Do I need to
jump on a
plane or drive
in my car?
I want to get
to the city.
How am I
going to get
there?
Where is it?
Well, let me
say this.
It is
something
future and
it is
something
present.
It's
something
future and
something
present.
We're going
to jump
forward to
the book
of Hebrews
because this
whole theme
of the city,
it's introduced
here in
Psalm 87,
but it's
picked up the
whole way
through the
Bible and
we're just
going to
pick up on
some of the
themes of
this city.
Hebrews chapter
11 and
if somebody's
got a page
number,
that'll be
helpful for
me and I
can shout
it out.
1-2-0-9.
Page 1-2-0-9.
Hebrews chapter
11.
So it's
something
future and
something
present.
Hebrews chapter
11 and
we're going to
start at
verse 8.
Abraham,
well he
must be
one of
the oldest
guys that
we know
about way,
way,
way back
long time
ago.
By faith
we're told
verse 8 that
Abraham when
called to go
to a place
he would
later receive
as his
inheritance,
obeyed and
went even
though he
didn't know
where he
was going.
Would you
go where
you didn't
know where
you were
going?
Abraham
did.
Verse 10.
He was
looking forward
to the
city with
foundations whose
architect and
builder is God.
He was
looking for the
city we've
just read
about in
Psalm 87.
Where does
he find it?
How does he
get to it?
Look at
verse 16.
It wasn't
any physical
place on
earth.
Verse 16.
Instead they
were longing
for a
better
country,
a heavenly
one.
Therefore
God is not
ashamed to
be called
their God
for he
has prepared
a city
for them.
You see
we won't
find the
city we've
just read
about here
on earth.
It's not
found in
Cork City.
It's not
found in
New York.
We may
love the
cities but
we won't
find it
here.
Because it's
a heavenly
city.
This is
what Abraham
and all
God's
people
throughout
time
long for
and wait
for.
Here in
the heavenly
city,
heaven itself,
we will
experience
life as
God intended
it to be
in all its
beauty and
all its
perfection.
We read
about it
later don't
we where we
see that God
dwells with
his people
in the
city.
There's no
tears,
no sadness,
there's no
funerals,
nobody gets
sick.
It's a life
without sin
or evil,
the absence
of all
suffering and
pain.
That's the
eternal city
we long
for.
So it is
something
future but
I also want
us to see
that it is
something
present.
Jump forward
to Hebrews
chapter 12
verse 22.
Hebrews
chapter 12
verse 22.
And again
look at the
words that he
uses here to
describe the
city.
Hebrews 12
verse 22.
He says
but you have
come to
Mount Zion,
another word
for God's
city, to the
heavenly
Jerusalem,
that eternal
city, the
city of
the living
God.
You have
come to
thousands upon
thousands of
angels in
the joyful
assembly.
Where's that?
Look at
verse 23.
To the
church of
the firstborn
whose names
are written
in heaven.
You see
he's moved
from thinking
about the
eternal city
to talking
about the
church.
We're waiting
for the
eternal city
but in
the meantime
we've come
to the
church.
The church
isn't a
building we're
meeting here
yes but
it's not a
church.
The people
are the
church.
God's
family.
And the
church,
the people
here,
is a
taste of
the eternal
city to
come.
Every local
church,
and I
want us
to get
this,
every
little
church
is like
a mini
city.
We're the
residents of
the city.
We're to
reflect God's
eternal city,
a reflection of
all that God
has promised.
Because in the
church what do
we find?
People.
People from
all kinds of
nations and
cultures and
languages and
backgrounds and
they've all been
welcomed.
and it
should be a
place of
rest and
refuge, a
place where we
receive grace
and peace,
where we
experience joy
in the support
of one another.
We receive
all the things
that we long
for, forgiveness.
And when
things mess up
we have people
who are there
to help us.
So the
church is a
taste of the
city we all
long for.
It's like a
mini city.
And we're the
residents of
the city,
awaiting our
future home.
So where is
the city?
It's something
to look forward
to, but it's
something we can
begin to enjoy
now through
the life of
God's people.
That's the
first question.
The second
question is
this.
Okay, we know
where it is,
but how do we
get into the
city?
How can I
be part of
it?
Well, look at
the rest of
Hebrews chapter
12 verse 23
again.
Hebrews 12
verse 23.
We've come to
the church of
the firstborn
whose names
are written
in heaven.
You have
come to
God, the
judge of
all people,
to the
spirits of
the righteous
men or
righteous people
made perfect.
So those are
those who are
in heaven.
verse 24,
to Jesus,
the mediator
of a new
covenant.
Do you see
again how he
moves through
it?
To come to
the city,
he says,
is the same
as coming
to Jesus.
If we want
to get into
the city,
if we want
to enjoy
and experience
this city,
we must come,
verse 24,
to Jesus,
the mediator.
He's the
entrance,
he's the
gate,
he's the
way into
the city.
How is
Jesus the
way in?
How is
he a
gate?
Well,
look at
Hebrews
chapter 13
verse 12.
Try and
keep this
logic going.
How are we
getting into
the city?
We go
through Jesus.
He's the
gate,
he's the
entrance.
How is
that so?
Chapter 13
verse 12.
Look what
we read
about Jesus
here.
Chapter 13
verse 12.
So Jesus
also suffered
outside the
city gate
to make
the people
holy
through his
blood.
That's
through his
death.
Let us
then go
to him
outside the
camp or
outside the
city,
bearing the
disgrace
he bore.
For here
on this
earth we
do not
have an
enduring
city,
but we
are looking
for the
city that
is to
come.
You see,
Jesus took
on himself
all of our
disgrace,
all of our
sin,
all of our
guilt,
and all of
our shame.
If this is
me here,
and this is
Jesus here,
and all my
mess,
and all my
failures,
and there's
lots of
them,
just talk
to my
family,
they'll
tell you
what they
all are.
Jesus has
taken all
of that
disgrace,
all of
that sin
and guilt,
and he's
taken it
on himself.
And he
was put
outside the
city.
He went
outside the
city and
suffered and
died for
us in
our place.
He was
abandoned,
he was
pushed out,
he was the
one excluded
from the
city,
because he
took our
sin,
he couldn't
get in,
so that
we might
be,
look at
verse 12,
the end
of verse 12,
made holy
through his
blood,
made right
before God
through his
death,
so that we
could be
welcomed into
the city,
and never
be thrown
out of the
city.
Jesus was
pushed out
so that we
might be
welcomed in.
That's how
we get into
the city.
It's through
Jesus.
And the
final question,
we know
where it is,
it's something
future, but
it's also
something present,
we know how
we get in,
we go through
Jesus,
but who?
Who can get
in?
Who's welcomed?
Well, think
back to what
we looked at
in the
psalm.
God welcomes
all people.
He's opened
his gates
wide to
his enemies.
That means
to sinful
rebels like
you and
me.
Psalm 87
verse 4
says,
I will
record
Rahab
and Babylon,
the enemy,
the outsider,
the ones who
should never
get in,
the people
who should
be excluded.
I'm going
to make it
possible for
them to
come in.
those who
acknowledge
me, I
will record.
I'm going
to write
their names
down and
make sure
that they're
going to
be there.
You know,
to acknowledge
God is
not just
giving some
intellectual nod
and say,
yep, I
know God
exists and
that's fine.
No, it
means to
trust him
with your
whole life.
It means
to say,
he is the
king of
the city
and I'll
live to
serve him
and I'll
live under
him.
It means
that without
him, we
will never
get into
the city.
It all
comes down
to grace.
Not because
of anything
we have
done.
Not because
of anything
that I
could ever
do that
will get
me into
the city.
It's all
because of
what God
has done
for me.
It's because
of his
kindness and
his mercy.
This is a
city where
God brings
undeserving
outsiders
in and
he blesses
them.
And let
me just
leave us
with this
final thought.
We've got
three questions.
Where the
city is,
how we get
into the
city and
who can
come.
If God
has welcomed
you and
me and
you have
trusted in
Jesus and
you know
you're going
to that
city and
you're
welcomed
into that
city,
then we
should bring
that same
welcome to
other people
and say to
them also,
you too are
welcomed into
the city.
That's the
message that
you guys and
everybody else
who's going to
be involved in
Kinsale.
That's what
you're saying
to the people
of Kinsale.
You are
welcome into
the city of
God.
God's
and here's
how you
can be
part of
it.
We can
never exclude
anybody.
That's not
our job.
Our job is
to give the
invite and
to welcome
so that they
may enjoy
all that God
has to give.
So that is
the eternal
city.
It's the city
we all dream
of and all
long for.
But it's a
reality through
Jesus Christ.
let's pray.
Father we
thank you for
this wonderful
picture and
image of the
great city.
Thank you
that it is
everything that
we ever dream
of.
Thank you
that it's all
possible through
Jesus.
Thank you
that you've
welcomed us.
and please
help us if
we are not
there yet
that we
would trust
you and
know that
we can be
part of it.
We ask
this in
Jesus name.
Amen.
Well we're
going to
sing
our
God