WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.060 Let me ask you and invite you to turn to God's Word again, so to chapter 7 of the Book of 00:00:05.060 --> 00:00:10.720 Revelation, and we're going to be thinking about the goal of God's mission. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:14.900 And as we turn there, let me pray, because at the end of the day you're not here to listen 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:18.699 to a man's voice, you're here to hear from God. 00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:20.379 So let me do that. 00:00:20.379 --> 00:00:29.420 Father, in these moments, we desperately need your Spirit to speak with authority, to make 00:00:29.420 --> 00:00:41.520 the Word alive, clear, so that it would puncture our lives, reorientate our perspectives, change 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:49.320 our patterns, so that we would be more conformed to the image of Christ, and so that our lives 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:54.480 would be lived out in accordance to your purposes for your glory. 00:00:54.479 --> 00:01:01.140 Even this evening, Father, my prayer is that you in your mercy would do that miracle of 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:10.120 changing people's hearts, even this evening, to recognize that call of the gospel in Christ, 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:15.920 to take that to the ends of the earth is what you are laying on their hearts. 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:21.280 And that as a result of being here this evening, their lives will never be the same again, and 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:26.359 they will follow the Savior, their Master, their Lord, their King, in suffering and in 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:32.719 glory to be witnesses to the gospel for the praise of your name amongst the nations. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:37.520 So do that, I pray, and help us, I ask, in Jesus' name, amen. 00:01:37.520 --> 00:01:42.319 Now, I don't really know Corey very well, but one of the things that we've chatted about 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:44.480 at ETS is the game of golf. 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:46.079 I know that he enjoys playing that. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:48.719 I know that I try to hack a ball around, okay? 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:50.480 That's what I do. 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:56.079 But to play golf well, one of the big things you need to do is picture where the shot is 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:57.840 going to end up, okay? 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:00.000 You need to align yourself properly. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.920 You need to visualize where the ball is going, and in doing that, you should align your body 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:06.920 properly. 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:09.039 You should be able to accelerate through the ball well. 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:14.039 And I don't know Corey, is that your experience? 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:16.080 Maybe others here are involved in playing golf. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:17.680 It's the same with other sports. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.560 Being able to picture where it is that you want the thing to end up can be very helpful 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:28.240 for us to execute the shot that we want my wife's long-suffering wife, and she gets the 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:29.240 joy of watching the golf. 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:32.520 And that is something you hear them speaking to their caddy about. 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:33.680 Visualize it, picture where it is. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:35.400 Is that TV tower in the distance? 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:36.400 Yeah, that's the number. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:37.400 That's the TV tower. 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:41.439 That's where we're going, bang, and the ball more often than not ends up in exactly where 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:45.400 they want it to go. 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:49.159 What we have in front of us is something similar, but it is far, far grander than picturing 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:51.520 where you want your golf ball to go. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:57.120 It is a door into heaven that has been opened up by God for John. 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:02.640 Chapter four verse one tells us this, that there is a door opened up into heaven. 00:03:02.640 --> 00:03:07.920 And what we are shown is a stunning reality where peoples from every part of the world 00:03:07.920 --> 00:03:14.879 are gathered before the throne of God in worship and adoration of the God who has given himself 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:17.919 for them. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:25.359 You see this vision that we have read already lays out for us the goal of God's mission, 00:03:25.359 --> 00:03:29.960 that all peoples everywhere throughout God's world will have the opportunity to receive 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:33.759 salvation in Jesus Christ. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:39.919 Not only that, it meets with us right here in a tiny little city in a part of the world 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:42.319 that many people don't even know exists. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:47.519 It meets with us right now inviting us to assess and also to reassess what it means 00:03:47.519 --> 00:03:54.000 for us to declare that salvation belongs to our God and for the nations to hear and experience 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.079 the goodness of God in Christ Jesus. 00:03:58.079 --> 00:04:00.400 That's what this is about this evening. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:04.479 It is serious, it is heavy, it is joyful. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:06.799 So let's journey into it. 00:04:06.799 --> 00:04:10.159 If you like notes, if you like herrings, here are your three herrings. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.520 We see that people need salvation in verse 10. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:19.600 We see that people need Jesus in verses 9 to 10, and we also then see in verse 9 that 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:22.399 people are still waiting. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:24.879 So people need salvation. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:28.839 Although it's not always something that's popular to hear in our culture, the Bible 00:04:28.839 --> 00:04:33.279 is explicit, the Bible is very clear that people need salvation. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:40.120 It is central to this song in chapter 7 verse 10, central to this song, and it's also central 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:42.840 to the storyline of Scripture. 00:04:42.840 --> 00:04:47.280 From Genesis to Revelation, people need to be saved. 00:04:47.280 --> 00:04:49.519 But what does that mean? 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:51.240 What does that mean? 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:53.560 Well, on the one hand, it's quite simple. 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.199 People need to be saved from their sin. 00:04:56.199 --> 00:05:00.560 They are not right with God no matter where they come from, no matter their background, 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:06.199 their economic status, their social profile, they need to be saved. 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:11.279 On the other hand, it's also complex and intricate, isn't it, because the consequences 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:16.039 and the effects of sin are so deeply rooted and intertwined with people and structures 00:05:16.039 --> 00:05:22.879 and nations, it's all such a mess, such a confusion, such a chaos. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:27.279 That's what we're talking about with the little ones, isn't it? 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:30.360 Putting creation before the Creator. 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:32.360 Look at the messes that we all end up in. 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:35.079 Look at the messes that our nations end up in. 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:40.120 Look at the messes that our families and our communities end up in. 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:44.839 What God designed and created to be good for human flourishing in every area of life is 00:05:44.839 --> 00:05:48.639 now something, they are now things which are corrupted and they just don't work the way 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:50.560 that they should. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.759 In many ways, you don't actually need me to tell you that. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.680 Your life's experience tells you that. 00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:00.799 When you engage and interact in the world that you're placed in, you know that things 00:06:00.799 --> 00:06:03.079 just don't work. 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:09.319 So that should make you ask the question of, well, what's going on out there? 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:18.680 This is going to change, because it definitely shouldn't be like this. 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:22.839 And you see, this is most clearly seen in the distorted and broken relationship that 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:27.319 people have with the God who made them. 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:28.439 The God who owns them. 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:33.839 The God who gives them the breath that they use to say, you don't exist, and I want nothing 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:36.639 to do with you. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:37.920 They deny His existence. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:42.759 They worship idols and false gods. 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.519 What I want you to see is that people need salvation. 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:51.639 That is not something that we should be ashamed of as the people of God, because it is the 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:56.279 beautiful and wonderful reality that the Bible communicates for us. 00:06:56.279 --> 00:07:01.679 Here the first believers who received this vision, as they gather together in their church 00:07:01.679 --> 00:07:07.759 communities, where Roman rule made following Jesus very difficult, where increased persecution 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:12.519 is clearly on the horizon when you look at chapters two to three, where it looks like 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:16.679 there was going to be people losing their jobs, possibly losing members of their family, 00:07:16.679 --> 00:07:20.799 certainly losing their livelihoods and the normality and the normal rhythms to their 00:07:20.799 --> 00:07:21.799 lives. 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:26.319 I think what they must have heard when they see this vision, when they are given this 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:32.319 vision and they hear this song, when costly following of Jesus is their normal everyday 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:37.800 life, they hear the song, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:40.080 Lamb. 00:07:40.080 --> 00:07:44.800 Imagine the transformation that comes in their lives as a result of knowing Jesus is the 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:47.280 King, He is the Savior. 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:52.639 And so I can go on because salvation is possible. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:58.319 Now drop this into our own generation, where brothers and sisters in some parts of the 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:03.359 world, the majority world face physical and economic oppression as those who follow Jesus 00:08:03.359 --> 00:08:04.359 Christ. 00:08:04.359 --> 00:08:10.159 Couple that with government corruption and also the possibility of familial rejection 00:08:10.159 --> 00:08:15.519 and it must be an exceptionally difficult road to walk down. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:24.159 And yet they hear that song and they say, my Jesus is worth it all. 00:08:24.159 --> 00:08:29.359 He is the God who saves, now and forever. 00:08:29.359 --> 00:08:37.000 You see, it's very easy for us to become one-dimensional believers, to become caught up in our worlds 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:38.159 that are put in front of us. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:41.720 In some ways there's nothing wrong with that because we have been tasked to get on with 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:50.519 normal everyday activities, but in another way we need to be shaken, woken up because 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:57.600 our one-dimensional attitude which can lead us to ticking boxes of orthodoxy, yet forgetting 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:02.440 the wide-ranging implications and scope of God's salvation because we live comfortable 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:07.920 lives in a comfortable environment cannot stand. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:12.559 God's Word comes to us and says, you're my people. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:14.519 What are you all about? 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:19.919 I'm all about salvation. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:24.799 So let's move on because if I'm you, I'm sitting there going, that's great mate, but what do 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:26.959 you mean by that? 00:09:26.959 --> 00:09:27.959 What's salvation? 00:09:27.959 --> 00:09:30.519 What's that thing? 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:34.120 Because in some ways salvation isn't an altogether abstract thing in our culture. 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:39.200 It might not always be popular, people might not want to talk about it, but it's not a 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.960 completely abstract thing in our culture. 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:47.120 Here is my culturally sensitive football analogy for people in the East Coast. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:51.679 Stephen Kingsley saved hearts from going out of the Cup semi-final. 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.840 How many people enjoy Heart of Midlodian here? 00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:57.120 There we go. 00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:58.120 Good man. 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:01.639 You're about to get beat by the best team in Scotland anyway, so it's all good. 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:06.639 It's me giving away my allegiances because people would use those words, wouldn't they? 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:14.600 They would say that this man, Kingsley saved us from going out of the Cup just last night. 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.840 Any other parents with young children will understand this. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:20.080 I really wanted to go and see the film June. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:24.080 It's taken all the time to get on to streaming services by the time I've been able to get 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.279 to see it because trying to find people to do babysitting for three kids is a bit of a 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:32.199 challenge sometimes, and making sure that they're all settled and going to bed is sometimes 00:10:32.199 --> 00:10:33.759 not very easy. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:38.159 Watching that film last night, what is one of the big and dominant themes coming out 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:39.159 of that film? 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:42.240 That there needs to be salvation. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:47.120 There needs to be somebody as a Messiah who comes along and fixes everything and deals 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:50.679 with the difficulties. 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:55.600 So here's the question in a world with so many voices saying, salvation found here, 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:59.759 in this shop, in this window, come in, this is where you'll find it, where is salvation 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:01.279 to be found? 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.800 Well, the song tells us, doesn't it? 00:11:03.800 --> 00:11:08.800 It says it's to be found with the owner. 00:11:08.800 --> 00:11:11.120 Salvation is not something we make up. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.120 Salvation is the possession of someone. 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:18.440 Salvation belongs to our God. 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:22.960 Salvation is something which God alone owns. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:29.240 And what we can see so clearly in that song is that salvation is owned by God and is accomplished 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:30.680 by Jesus Christ. 00:11:30.680 --> 00:11:35.120 And so therefore, people need Jesus. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:36.920 They need to know Him. 00:11:36.920 --> 00:11:41.920 It is only by His blood, it is only by that blood being poured out at the cross, dealing 00:11:41.920 --> 00:11:47.120 with sin, shame and rebellion against God that it is possible to know and experience 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:52.040 the saving and loving kindness of God. 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:55.879 You see, that is about the most controversial thing you can say no matter where you find 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.279 yourself in the world. 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:00.360 It's really controversial. 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:03.679 People just don't like it. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:08.599 If you walk down the street of Edinburgh to say that there is no other name under heaven 00:12:08.599 --> 00:12:14.799 that anyone can be saved, you are an intolerant bigot and it would be better off without you 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:15.799 walking the streets. 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:17.559 Thank you very much. 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:21.159 You're the reason our society is a mess. 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:24.399 Give this into the Muslim world. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:31.639 And that statement is just absolutely ludicrous, unorthodox, completely misrepresenting the 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:33.719 will of God. 00:12:33.719 --> 00:12:39.679 You're saying that this dead prophet is a son of God? 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.519 That God would come to the earth? 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:45.319 No, we can't have that. 00:12:45.319 --> 00:12:47.000 That's nonsense. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.000 Go away. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:55.759 We're talking about the Buddhist context where the thought that the thought of a God at 00:12:55.759 --> 00:13:02.559 all is strange and completely odd because that's not something that's part of the worldview. 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:10.279 But to say that our salvation comes through a suffering Messiah is nonsense because the 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:13.679 whole goal of Buddhism is to escape suffering. 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:20.719 So to say that a suffering Savior is the one that you follow is mental. 00:13:20.719 --> 00:13:25.479 Put it into communism, into the context that we will be going into, which is a wonderful 00:13:25.479 --> 00:13:29.759 amalgamation of Buddhist thought and communism that's seditious. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:35.839 To say that anyone has authority and power over those who have human authority and power. 00:13:35.839 --> 00:13:40.439 This Jesus guy does stuff and he brings people out and their communities get strong and they 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.840 grow and they multiply and they change and the people are different and they do things 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:51.800 and we just need to stop this now. 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:57.680 I want this to hit you and realize this is a challenge. 00:13:57.680 --> 00:14:01.000 This is the world that we live in. 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:04.440 We're in the Western world and it's secularism. 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:11.840 In the Muslim world with complete allegiance to Islam, within the Buddhist context where 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:17.880 it is just completely incomprehensible or within the communist or political regimes 00:14:17.880 --> 00:14:21.680 which would reject Christ, it becomes very dangerous. 00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:28.560 This is a challenge and yet here is the thing, the gospel is true. 00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:34.000 Just because something's a challenge doesn't mean that it changes what is true. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:35.799 There is no other way. 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:41.200 It is in Christ and it is in Christ alone that salvation comes to any person because 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:49.000 if God has done what God has done, then we can do nothing else but announce all that 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:56.960 He has done for His people in Christ Jesus and offer that message of saving hope to a 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:59.279 dying world. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:04.399 You see every aspect of this good news is good news because of what Jesus has accomplished 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:11.079 in coming, in living, in dying and in rising and we cannot lose sight of that. 00:15:11.079 --> 00:15:16.120 As soon as that goes, you might as well close up the doors because we've lost the plot and 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.039 we've got nothing to offer. 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:25.959 The gospel of Jesus and Jesus Himself, we cannot lose sight of this, we cannot outgrow 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:33.120 this and we cannot stop proclaiming this amazing Savior to the ends of the earth. 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.600 That's why we're here. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.480 That's why you were saved. 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:43.800 I want to encourage you brothers and sisters to keep this at the very core of your mission 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:48.800 and of your cross-cultural engagement in this city that God has placed you in and in the 00:15:48.800 --> 00:15:54.160 raising up of others to be sent out as ambassadors of King Jesus to the ends of the earth because 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:58.240 people need Jesus, the spotless one. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:03.240 They need the righteous Son, the heir of the kingdom, the crucified Messiah, the risen 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:04.240 King. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:06.519 That's who they need. 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:11.679 Not our nice inventions and our slick talk, they need Jesus, just like we do. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:17.439 It's not always easy to communicate but we do not do this in our own strength. 00:16:17.439 --> 00:16:24.000 Thankfully God is far more committed to fulfilling His mission than we are to take part in it. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:29.440 That we can live and speak the story of Christ, of His uniqueness and of the power of His 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:30.440 cross. 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:33.440 Here's a practical application for you. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:38.879 Those who you've sent out as a church or have received to be cross-cultural workers 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:43.720 in this context here, how do you pray for them? 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:47.159 How much time do you commit during your week to pray for them? 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:53.120 To pause and to say, God, thank you so much for sending X person to Y location. 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:57.840 For bringing A person to B location here in Edinburgh to be involved in that ministry. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:03.279 I thank you God because you're the one who achieves these things. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:10.799 Take time and commit time to praying very specifically for that. 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:14.759 I can't actually go further without saying this because you might not actually believe 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:16.759 in Jesus here. 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:19.680 You hear me talking about Jesus, you hear me talking about all these other parts of the 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:23.519 world, but actually you don't know Jesus. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.960 You need Jesus. 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:29.160 We need Jesus. 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:33.200 So my invitation to you tonight is come and meet Jesus. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:35.680 Come to meet the Savior. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:44.799 Come to meet the One who sits on the throne, who loves you and who gave Himself for you. 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:50.359 Lead in Him the Savior that your heart is longing for, and believe me, He will give you rest 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:52.440 for your soul. 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:56.240 Finally, people are still waiting. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.519 Come back to the golf course for a moment because if we are to visualize the shot so 00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:06.079 that it gets to the intended target, how much more does this vision compel us to get on 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:11.359 board with God's kingdom project? 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:15.439 If getting the shot to that location and we're to visualize where that's going is how we 00:18:15.439 --> 00:18:20.039 do the golf stuff, how much more is that to be the case for us as believers seeking to 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:24.719 be involved in what God is doing in time and space for His glory? 00:18:24.719 --> 00:18:29.359 You see in verse 9, there is an innumerable multitude that no one could number from every 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:35.759 nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb in white 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:36.759 robes. 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:38.919 They are saved people from absolutely everywhere. 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:43.759 And this scene is wonderful because it illuminates the goal of the mission of God, God's global 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:48.320 glorification amongst all of the peoples of the world. 00:18:48.320 --> 00:18:52.320 But here's the big thing, that time is not yet. 00:18:52.320 --> 00:18:56.560 This is a vision into the future to help the people of God in that point in time in the 00:18:56.560 --> 00:19:01.160 first century and also for us today in the 21st century to visualize where it's all 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:04.759 going. 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:09.839 This is not the time where we sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.000 And one day we're just going to end up up in the clouds and mean Jesus is going to be 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.759 absolutely fine, okay, nothing to bother, no. 00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:18.879 That's not the time that we live in right now. 00:19:18.879 --> 00:19:24.400 The time that we live in right now is after the cross and the coming of the Spirit before 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.200 the return of the King. 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:34.240 And we have been called by God to participate with Him in seeing the peoples of the world 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:43.599 come to treasure Christ as the greatest, the greatest treasure that this world has. 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:47.960 One of the things that I often hear is this, well, Martin, I really enjoyed your talk this 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:49.319 evening, it was really great. 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:55.319 But one thing that I would really ask is, how can we make this more practical? 00:19:55.319 --> 00:20:00.000 Very often my response is, dear friend, can I be really blunt? 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:06.160 It is nothing more practical than taking the message of Jesus and getting on there, using 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.200 your life and your lips, and communicating Him with those who are in front of you. 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.759 I genuinely can't make it any more practical than that. 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:14.559 I mean, what do you want me to do? 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:17.680 Give you a special dance that you can do in front of people and they think you're weird 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:22.920 and it gives you an opportunity to know. 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:25.039 It's as practical as that. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:26.039 You know the message. 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:28.480 You know the end goal. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:37.599 And so under the Spirit of God's guidance, leadership, get on with the work. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:40.960 When we begin to see the goal of God's mission, the contentment that we once had in being 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:45.120 saved, satisfied, and secured disappears, just like during the morning, it just fades 00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:46.839 away. 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:54.039 Because we begin to see that there are millions and millions and millions of people who don't 00:20:54.039 --> 00:21:01.279 yet have access to a church, to a Bible, or to any believer who will turn around and say, 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:02.279 here he is. 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:05.839 Here's a few ways that I'll illustrate that and then we'll finish up. 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.159 This should lead us to an urgency. 00:21:08.159 --> 00:21:12.960 We had the chance a few years ago to spend time in East Malaysia. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:18.159 It's in the island of Borneo, beautiful, absolutely stunning, food is fantastic, well worth a visit, 00:21:18.159 --> 00:21:19.159 okay? 00:21:19.159 --> 00:21:21.680 That's my tourist guide spot done, well worth a visit. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:28.840 I had the chance to go down to a city called Meery and met a brother there whose people 00:21:28.840 --> 00:21:35.480 group hadn't heard that Jesus existed until 1998. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:39.480 That's the last time Scotland qualified for the World Cup, guys. 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:47.200 And so when we were celebrating, just only getting beaten 2-1 by Brazil, there were people 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:54.680 in that part of East Malaysia who still didn't know that Jesus Christ had came. 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:57.600 Why are we okay with that? 00:21:57.600 --> 00:22:01.559 Why will we go back to our house tonight and put our head in the pillow and go, oh yes, 00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:03.039 it's great? 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:12.039 Or the fact that throughout the world there is an increasingly vast population growth. 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:16.759 It's expected in the next 30 years there's going to be another 2.9 billion people who 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:23.519 live in God's world, all people made in the image of God, all people who are eternal beings. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:28.879 More and more people means more and more opportunity, more and more chance throughout all of the 00:22:28.879 --> 00:22:33.599 world to proclaim the praise of Jesus and invite people to know Him. 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:39.119 That's a challenge for us, both in the cities here and in the places of Scotland and also 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:41.279 throughout the world. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:44.039 But here's the last way that we can think about this as a challenge. 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:48.599 There is massive inaccessibility to some of the people who are the least engaged with 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:49.599 the gospel. 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:53.920 Honestly, you can just put it on a map and you can look across and you basically look 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:57.599 and go, yet politically hard to get into, politically hard to get into, politically hard to get 00:22:57.599 --> 00:22:59.359 into, politically hard to get into, politically hard to get into. 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:05.799 Oh yeah, there's a reason why it's taken a long, long time for the message of Christ 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:09.119 to get to these peoples because it is very difficult. 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:15.639 A number of years back I had the chance to go to China and spend time in a Tibetan Buddhist 00:23:15.639 --> 00:23:18.239 area of China. 00:23:18.239 --> 00:23:21.599 The team who have been working there is led by someone who's been involved in ministry 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:26.799 in that region for 20 years, and his best estimate is that there's something like 100 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:31.799 believers within a group of 5 million people. 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:37.679 That means that you guys are the mission team to the Amdo Tibetan people. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:41.200 Think about that, like this is maybe about 100 people, something like that, maybe just 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.120 a bit less. 00:23:44.120 --> 00:23:47.600 Estimated roughly about 100 amongst 5 million. 00:23:47.600 --> 00:23:50.039 You're the mission team to Scotland. 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:52.799 Let's go. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:59.120 Straightforward and simple, isn't it? 00:23:59.120 --> 00:24:02.320 You don't need to go to Tibetan Buddhist areas of China, you can just walk down any main 00:24:02.320 --> 00:24:04.960 street or town or city in Scotland and what do you see? 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:09.279 You see people everywhere, people who don't understand why they're here, people who bluntly 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:14.400 don't want to understand why they're here, people caught up in consumerism and addictions, 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:19.400 people struggling with depression and loneliness, people who are living rough on the street, 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:24.360 people who look good on the outside but inside they are dying and they have no one that they 00:24:24.360 --> 00:24:28.920 can turn to to say that. 00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:31.600 When was the last time you walked out these doors and you just stopped and you saw all 00:24:31.600 --> 00:24:32.720 the people? 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:39.640 You saw the people and you wept. 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:46.319 And then multiply that in cities like Beijing, 20 million people, Chongqing, 35 million 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:55.600 people, Hanoi, 10 million people, Tokyo, about 25 million people. 00:24:55.600 --> 00:25:01.200 Now, you're not supposed to get up from here and beat yourself over the head, that's not 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:03.000 the point and the purpose of this. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:05.480 It's simply to say this is the reality. 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:09.120 This is where we find ourselves in God's world today. 00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:14.720 I want to encourage you not to be those who become overwhelmed by the mission that is 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:19.759 put in front of us by God, but actually to be overwhelmed by the God whose mission it 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:21.519 is. 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:23.240 He is invested in His mission. 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:26.600 He has said that He will build His church, not the gates of hell will prevail against 00:25:26.600 --> 00:25:30.600 it, and not our disobedience will prevail against it. 00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:33.359 First will be exalted amongst the nations. 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:34.959 That is His inheritance. 00:25:34.959 --> 00:25:41.439 That is one of the chief reasons that He came and gave Himself to get a people for Himself. 00:25:41.439 --> 00:25:43.439 He will prevail. 00:25:43.439 --> 00:25:49.000 You see, you and I exist to see the goal of God's mission become an ever-increasing reality 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.199 in the day that we find ourselves living. 00:25:52.199 --> 00:25:55.559 There was a great guy called C.T. 00:25:55.559 --> 00:26:02.799 Stud who was exceptionally well off, very clever, very capable guy, super cricketer, 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:03.799 had it all. 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:11.559 He gave it all up, gave all of his money away, dedicated himself to taking Christ to China, 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:14.519 to India, and to Central Africa. 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:18.319 And here's something that he had to say which really penetrates my heart. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:23.039 Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly into heaven without having blown 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:27.680 the trumpet loud and long for our redeemer Jesus Christ. 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:31.599 Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell when he gets 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:37.119 the news of our departure from the field of battle. 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:41.920 So the question is an obvious and clear one, isn't it, by the time we get to the end? 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:47.920 How will God use you with the short amount of breath that He's given you in His world 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:53.640 to declare His glory amongst the peoples who have yet to hear of His name and come to repentance 00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:57.759 and obedience that comes through faith in His Son Jesus Christ? 00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:00.920 How will He use you? 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:05.920 I can't answer that question for you, but I want you to take it seriously. 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:07.480 Take the time this evening. 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:09.800 Do business with God during this week. 00:27:09.800 --> 00:27:16.000 How will He use me, where He's placed me, and where He would place me for His glory? 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:22.960 A time is coming when this wonderful picture will be the reality, and we will sing, salvation 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:25.920 belongs to our God. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:27.880 That's what you're heading, guys. 00:27:27.880 --> 00:27:29.000 That's your encouragement. 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:30.279 Make that a motivation. 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:32.279 That's where we're going. 00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:36.920 May we, the people of God, be those who sing this song in every area of our lives now so 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:41.200 that more will join with us singing this together before the throne eternally. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:42.839 Let me pray, and then we'll sing. 00:27:42.839 --> 00:27:48.639 Father, thank You that You're kind and that You're gracious, that You have loved us and 00:27:48.639 --> 00:27:51.439 given Your Son for us. 00:27:51.439 --> 00:27:55.720 Thank You that You are building Your kingdom, and thank You that there is nothing which 00:27:55.720 --> 00:28:04.319 will come, which will derail Your purposes, where we are cold and hard, melt us and break 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:14.599 us so that Your greater glory would be our highest aim and end in life, so that in the 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:23.679 years to come, when we pass from this world, we can join in that song with many others 00:28:23.679 --> 00:28:30.000 from all over the world praising the Savior who loves us. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:32.000 Hear us we pray in His name. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:33.000 Amen. 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:35.000 Amen.