WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.060 Great to be with you once again and to speak to you while George is traveling, I believe, 00:00:13.200 --> 00:00:16.260 for this week and next weekend as well. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:21.800 It is always a privilege to open up God's Word together today. 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:31.600 Today I'll begin the first of two, a two-part series, I guess, on mission, and I'll say 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:33.539 a bit more about what the plan will be. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:39.200 But these are teachings leaning into sermon, okay? 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:42.040 So I hope we'll be encouraged together. 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:45.340 In 1 Peter 2.10 we heard these words, 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:49.700 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. 00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:55.580 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 00:00:55.820 --> 00:01:00.540 So why don't we pray before we come to Scripture together. 00:01:02.680 --> 00:01:07.159 Father, we ask that by your Spirit you'd come, make us teachable, 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:13.140 give us ears to hear, give us hearts to receive. 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:20.180 We trust that you are the God of the nations. 00:01:20.460 --> 00:01:29.180 We glory in that and we pray that we would be encouraged today as we open up Scripture together. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.159 This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:43.420 Brothers and sisters, if we're specifically a people, and specifically God's people, 00:01:44.039 --> 00:01:49.719 given that whether we're Jews or Gentiles, we've been given the same ears to hear his voice, 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:54.699 shown the same mercy, and called together into one fellowship. 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:59.740 If that's our basic identity, well, what's our mission in the world? 00:02:01.600 --> 00:02:04.820 Throughout history, we've heard different answers to that question. 00:02:05.579 --> 00:02:12.259 Going way back, some have said, well, the church's main task is to see to it that the nations are Christianized. 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:18.240 That is, the church should see to it that everyone, from kings right down to the common peasant, 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:24.719 should accept baptism and the rest of the rites of the church by force, if need be. 00:02:26.320 --> 00:02:28.400 Others have said, no, that's not our job. 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:32.420 Our job is not to try to convert people to other faiths, to Christianity, 00:02:32.420 --> 00:02:38.260 because they have their own culturally appropriate ways of reaching God. 00:02:38.700 --> 00:02:46.780 So we should just stick to the basics of justice and caring for the poor and the needy, and so forth. 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:56.199 Still others have said, well, we think the church's main task in the world is to extend the best of our Western Christian civilization 00:02:56.199 --> 00:03:02.520 through education, through development, through the arts, through good government, and so forth. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:05.500 So where do we turn for an answer? 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:08.780 History, of course, has a lot to teach us, 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:16.120 often by way of showing us all the problems that come when we pursue something good but the wrong way. 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:20.300 Or settle for something less than what God commands. 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:27.060 So we have to turn to Scripture so we can make sense of all the opinions we hear on the matter 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:30.340 and learn what God has to say about it. 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:35.560 So I'll be speaking about missions both today and next Sunday, 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:42.520 and my hope is that we'll have a greater clarity about the subject, 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:47.780 but above all that we'll be encouraged and challenged in the task that's before us. 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:53.300 To introduce both talks, I'd like to reflect briefly on two things. 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:56.240 So this serves to introduce both, 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:59.599 so this will encourage you to make sure to come back next Sunday 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.020 because I'll have already introduced the main theme. 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:04.920 What Jesus teaches about missions 00:04:04.920 --> 00:04:08.939 and what, according to Scripture, is the final purpose of mission. 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:12.620 So first, what does Jesus say about mission? 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:16.460 I think it's really important that we grasp at the very beginning 00:04:16.460 --> 00:04:19.319 how very central mission is, 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:22.720 not only to God's nature and purpose, 00:04:22.900 --> 00:04:24.620 but to ours as his people. 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:26.800 What do I mean? 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.480 Well, consider John 20, 21, 00:04:29.620 --> 00:04:30.460 where Jesus says, 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:32.759 As the Father has sent me. 00:04:34.460 --> 00:04:36.259 If you have your Bibles handy, 00:04:37.100 --> 00:04:40.180 have a look with me at that passage. 00:04:41.900 --> 00:04:42.460 Fundamentally, 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.259 what we see is that mission belongs to the Father. 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:50.960 It was his work to send the Son into the world. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.779 And Paul gives us the reason for that sending 00:04:53.779 --> 00:04:57.439 when he says in 2 Corinthians 5, 19, 00:04:57.579 --> 00:05:01.560 that God was in Christ doing what? 00:05:02.539 --> 00:05:04.599 Reconciling the world to himself, 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:07.639 not counting people's sins against them. 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:10.159 And Jesus continues. 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:10.620 He says, 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:12.399 As the Father has sent me, 00:05:12.799 --> 00:05:14.479 even so I'm sending you. 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:16.259 And so note, 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:18.720 not only what Jesus says here, 00:05:19.140 --> 00:05:20.259 but the context, 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:21.040 the when, 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:22.300 of when he says it. 00:05:22.939 --> 00:05:25.319 God has just raised him from the dead. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.759 And now he appears to his disciples there as a group. 00:05:30.900 --> 00:05:31.280 And first, 00:05:31.379 --> 00:05:32.300 he comforts them. 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:32.860 He says, 00:05:33.020 --> 00:05:34.040 Peace be with you. 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:35.280 And second, 00:05:35.460 --> 00:05:37.000 he teaches them. 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:37.980 He instructs them. 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:39.360 And he bears witness 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:41.840 to what the Father has done. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:45.419 And he declares what he is now ready to do. 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:47.579 And then thirdly, 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:49.039 he commissions them. 00:05:49.699 --> 00:05:50.219 He says, 00:05:50.739 --> 00:05:52.339 Receive the Holy Spirit. 00:05:53.259 --> 00:05:55.139 If you forgive the sins of any, 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:56.079 they're forgiven them. 00:05:56.139 --> 00:05:58.379 And if you withhold forgiveness from any, 00:05:58.739 --> 00:05:59.579 it is withheld. 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:04.239 And I think that's precisely why Paul, 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:08.199 after saying what God accomplished through Jesus, 00:06:08.559 --> 00:06:09.579 can add this. 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:10.279 He can say, 00:06:10.859 --> 00:06:13.039 God has entrusted to us 00:06:13.039 --> 00:06:15.240 the message of reconciliation. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:19.620 The second thing I think we want to have clear 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:22.240 is the final purpose or end of mission. 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:24.439 It's of course very true 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.180 that God's will is to call together 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:29.060 a people to be his own 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:31.740 and to save them through Jesus. 00:06:32.979 --> 00:06:35.839 But his final purpose in doing that 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:38.119 and in willing that 00:06:38.119 --> 00:06:38.979 is his glory. 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:41.399 George pointed to this 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:43.319 when he said two weeks ago 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:45.060 that God wants more people 00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:46.119 to glorify him. 00:06:47.239 --> 00:06:50.099 It's his will to see his glory restored 00:06:50.099 --> 00:06:51.639 over all the earth 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:53.959 as we read in Psalm 57. 00:06:55.479 --> 00:06:57.779 The glory theme is strong 00:06:57.779 --> 00:06:59.719 in Israel's book of common prayer, 00:06:59.979 --> 00:07:00.519 the Psalms. 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:03.039 And particularly Psalm 67 00:07:03.039 --> 00:07:05.959 which we've read responsibly already. 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:09.019 And that Psalm has a mission logic, 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:09.719 if you like, 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:12.099 that runs basically like this. 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:15.479 First, we ask God to bless us 00:07:15.479 --> 00:07:16.799 and to shine his face, 00:07:16.979 --> 00:07:18.180 shine on us. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:18.939 Why? 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:19.879 Well, 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:21.639 so that his will 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:22.779 and his saving power 00:07:22.779 --> 00:07:25.180 will be known among all nations. 00:07:25.180 --> 00:07:27.400 And from there, 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:28.900 we pray for the nations. 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:31.560 We pray that the nations may be glad 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:33.400 and that all people everywhere 00:07:33.400 --> 00:07:34.800 will praise God. 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:35.420 And then, 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:35.819 why? 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:36.759 Why do we pray that? 00:07:36.840 --> 00:07:37.019 Well, 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:38.040 here's the warrant. 00:07:38.139 --> 00:07:39.079 Because we long 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.180 for all the ends of the earth 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:41.920 to fear him. 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:43.660 See the logic there? 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:46.519 God's favor towards us 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:50.019 serves to bring 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:51.740 the nations to him. 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:53.280 And then as the nations 00:07:53.280 --> 00:07:54.100 come to him, 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.060 the ultimate end of mission 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:56.640 is clear. 00:07:57.200 --> 00:07:58.700 The holy fear of the Lord 00:07:58.700 --> 00:08:00.120 is restored. 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:02.500 God is glorified. 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:04.200 Habakkuk says, 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:06.040 Earth shall be filled 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:07.560 with the knowledge 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:09.680 of the glory of the Lord 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:11.820 as the waters cover the sea. 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:14.360 So thanks for bearing with me 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:15.560 through this introduction. 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:16.560 There's still a bit more. 00:08:17.780 --> 00:08:18.600 So let's come back 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:19.280 to the question, 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:21.000 what is the church's mission 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:21.520 in the world? 00:08:21.580 --> 00:08:22.360 And I think we have to 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:23.520 clarify this too, 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:23.920 don't we? 00:08:24.100 --> 00:08:25.640 Because it might seem 00:08:25.640 --> 00:08:26.320 that the message 00:08:26.320 --> 00:08:27.120 of reconciliation 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:29.080 is just given to a few. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:31.020 Initially there, 00:08:31.140 --> 00:08:32.240 the disciples, 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:33.200 who would be Jesus' 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:34.300 sent ones, 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:34.940 his apostles, 00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:36.000 and from there, 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:37.279 maybe to ordained ministers 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:38.779 and professional missionaries. 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:41.100 And of course, 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.100 Jesus does say, 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:44.060 so I am sending you 00:08:44.060 --> 00:08:45.940 specifically to his disciples. 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:47.460 But this morning, 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:49.560 we have also heard 00:08:49.560 --> 00:08:50.560 in 1 Peter 2 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:52.519 something about our identity 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:54.159 as a church. 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:56.839 Let me ask you, 00:08:56.899 --> 00:08:58.139 when you put 00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:00.399 the words mission 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:02.219 and church 00:09:02.219 --> 00:09:03.519 side by side, 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:06.019 how do you typically 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:07.439 relate those two? 00:09:09.779 --> 00:09:10.579 Well, I think 00:09:10.579 --> 00:09:11.839 what we typically do 00:09:11.839 --> 00:09:13.839 is we think of mission 00:09:13.839 --> 00:09:15.679 as a kind of department 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:16.799 or subdivision 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:17.459 of church, 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:18.280 logically. 00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:20.560 We have 00:09:20.560 --> 00:09:21.360 committees, 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:22.000 don't we? 00:09:22.040 --> 00:09:22.420 We have, 00:09:22.920 --> 00:09:23.639 I don't know, 00:09:23.780 --> 00:09:24.400 finance, 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:26.220 worship, 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:27.780 Christian education, 00:09:28.040 --> 00:09:28.680 hospitality, 00:09:29.400 --> 00:09:30.500 and of course, 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:31.379 missions. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:33.420 But, 00:09:33.800 --> 00:09:34.980 while this is fine 00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:36.300 organizationally 00:09:36.300 --> 00:09:37.340 for the structure 00:09:37.340 --> 00:09:38.100 of our 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:39.639 church 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:40.639 as an institution, 00:09:40.780 --> 00:09:41.660 it can be 00:09:41.660 --> 00:09:42.600 misleading 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:43.300 in a way 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:44.099 because it gives 00:09:44.099 --> 00:09:44.740 a picture 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:46.359 of church 00:09:46.359 --> 00:09:46.939 as something 00:09:46.939 --> 00:09:47.839 that's pretty well 00:09:47.839 --> 00:09:49.679 fixed somewhere 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:51.859 so that it has 00:09:51.859 --> 00:09:52.539 a headquarters 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:54.079 where it does 00:09:54.079 --> 00:09:55.019 one set of things. 00:09:55.359 --> 00:09:56.159 One set of things 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:57.240 happens at headquarters 00:09:57.240 --> 00:09:58.359 and then 00:09:58.359 --> 00:10:00.279 it has outposts 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:01.279 like in the military. 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:02.719 It has missions 00:10:02.719 --> 00:10:04.099 or mission stations 00:10:04.099 --> 00:10:04.859 out there 00:10:04.859 --> 00:10:05.759 where another 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:06.539 sort of set 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:07.839 of things happens. 00:10:08.439 --> 00:10:09.259 That is, 00:10:09.339 --> 00:10:09.959 if the church 00:10:09.959 --> 00:10:11.419 has budgeted 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:12.299 for them, 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:12.879 right? 00:10:13.299 --> 00:10:14.179 You see what 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:15.000 I'm getting at? 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:16.019 I think we have 00:10:16.019 --> 00:10:16.699 to turn this 00:10:16.699 --> 00:10:17.479 on its head 00:10:17.479 --> 00:10:19.299 and think of 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:19.799 the church 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:20.459 itself 00:10:20.459 --> 00:10:21.620 in missionary terms. 00:10:22.139 --> 00:10:22.839 As Tim Keller 00:10:22.839 --> 00:10:23.099 says, 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:23.620 the church 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:24.659 exists 00:10:24.659 --> 00:10:25.620 to be 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:26.399 a mission. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:28.500 That means 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:28.959 everything. 00:10:29.620 --> 00:10:30.240 Our worship, 00:10:31.219 --> 00:10:32.019 our teaching, 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:32.859 our hospitality, 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:33.919 our seminaries, 00:10:34.479 --> 00:10:35.699 all of them 00:10:35.699 --> 00:10:36.519 have to be 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:36.979 thought 00:10:36.979 --> 00:10:38.359 through 00:10:38.359 --> 00:10:39.579 in relation 00:10:39.579 --> 00:10:40.639 to our 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:41.279 basic 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:42.079 missionary 00:10:42.079 --> 00:10:42.899 identity. 00:10:43.299 --> 00:10:45.359 as I've 00:10:45.359 --> 00:10:45.679 pondered 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:46.319 that truth 00:10:46.319 --> 00:10:46.779 that mission 00:10:46.779 --> 00:10:47.399 is central 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:47.779 to our 00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:48.399 identity, 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:48.859 I've come 00:10:48.859 --> 00:10:49.199 to this 00:10:49.199 --> 00:10:49.639 conclusion. 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:51.500 The church 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:52.939 is perpetually 00:10:52.939 --> 00:10:54.779 on the go. 00:10:56.179 --> 00:10:57.120 In other words, 00:10:57.759 --> 00:10:58.740 a little bit 00:10:58.740 --> 00:10:59.179 like my 00:10:59.179 --> 00:11:00.339 grandson, 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:01.219 Timmy, 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:02.159 who's perpetually 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:02.639 on the go 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:03.099 when I look 00:11:03.099 --> 00:11:03.699 after him 00:11:03.699 --> 00:11:04.740 most mornings 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:05.219 of the week 00:11:05.219 --> 00:11:06.039 and he keeps 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:06.519 me fit. 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:07.559 In other words, 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:08.439 being sent 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:09.140 is not 00:11:09.140 --> 00:11:10.060 an occasional 00:11:10.060 --> 00:11:11.340 activity 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:12.700 of the church. 00:11:13.160 --> 00:11:13.640 This means 00:11:13.640 --> 00:11:14.100 that until 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:14.820 Jesus comes 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:15.120 again, 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:15.820 we never 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:16.360 have the 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:16.740 luxury, 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:17.300 if I can 00:11:17.300 --> 00:11:17.600 put it 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:18.040 this way, 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:19.500 of arriving 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:20.540 anyplace. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:22.500 As if having 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:23.000 done our 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:23.800 missionary work, 00:11:23.880 --> 00:11:24.080 well, 00:11:24.160 --> 00:11:24.640 we could just 00:11:24.640 --> 00:11:24.960 sort of 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:25.400 say, 00:11:25.520 --> 00:11:25.700 okay, 00:11:25.800 --> 00:11:25.900 well, 00:11:25.920 --> 00:11:26.440 that's done 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:26.760 and now 00:11:26.760 --> 00:11:27.040 we can 00:11:27.040 --> 00:11:27.520 turn our 00:11:27.520 --> 00:11:27.860 attention 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:28.280 to other 00:11:28.280 --> 00:11:28.780 things. 00:11:29.520 --> 00:11:30.400 We're always 00:11:30.400 --> 00:11:31.240 in the business 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:31.900 of going 00:11:31.900 --> 00:11:32.740 out in one 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:33.300 way or another. 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:34.479 yes, 00:11:34.620 --> 00:11:34.979 we do 00:11:34.979 --> 00:11:35.539 seek to 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:36.659 be salt 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:37.179 and light 00:11:37.179 --> 00:11:37.740 where God 00:11:37.740 --> 00:11:38.439 has placed 00:11:38.439 --> 00:11:38.879 us, 00:11:39.859 --> 00:11:40.159 but, 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:41.659 well, 00:11:41.719 --> 00:11:42.000 to that 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:42.399 extent, 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:43.079 we're fixed, 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:43.740 if you like, 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:44.439 in one place 00:11:44.439 --> 00:11:45.139 and you can 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:45.740 locate us 00:11:45.740 --> 00:11:46.319 on the map 00:11:46.319 --> 00:11:48.159 here every 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:48.559 Sunday. 00:11:49.059 --> 00:11:49.599 But we 00:11:49.599 --> 00:11:50.500 never settle 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:51.439 so permanently 00:11:51.439 --> 00:11:52.679 so that all 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:53.279 that's left 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:53.819 to do 00:11:53.819 --> 00:11:55.759 is hatch 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:56.579 and match 00:11:56.579 --> 00:11:57.479 and dispatch 00:11:57.479 --> 00:11:58.059 the faithful 00:11:58.059 --> 00:11:59.379 in a kind 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:01.779 of chaplaincy 00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:02.519 mode of 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:03.039 thinking of 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:03.459 church. 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:03.839 Nothing 00:12:03.839 --> 00:12:04.299 against 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:04.860 chaplains, 00:12:04.959 --> 00:12:05.159 right? 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:05.599 But that 00:12:05.599 --> 00:12:06.079 can have 00:12:06.079 --> 00:12:06.439 a way 00:12:06.439 --> 00:12:08.259 of taking 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:08.959 church for 00:12:08.959 --> 00:12:09.439 granted, 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:09.860 right? 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:10.159 And so 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:10.480 we have 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:11.259 church, 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:12.039 this steady, 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:13.419 stable institution 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:13.959 with its 00:12:13.959 --> 00:12:14.519 chaplains 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:14.860 and its 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:15.319 parishes 00:12:15.319 --> 00:12:16.299 and so on 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:16.899 and so forth. 00:12:17.939 --> 00:12:18.339 Sometimes 00:12:18.339 --> 00:12:18.959 our going 00:12:18.959 --> 00:12:19.480 out is 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:19.899 literal 00:12:19.899 --> 00:12:20.919 as when 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:21.539 we commission 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:22.240 workers to 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:22.779 go somewhere 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:23.259 else on 00:12:23.259 --> 00:12:23.939 our behalf 00:12:23.939 --> 00:12:24.319 and they 00:12:24.319 --> 00:12:24.719 really, 00:12:24.939 --> 00:12:25.360 truly go 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:25.740 out on 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:26.399 our behalf 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:27.459 or because 00:12:27.459 --> 00:12:28.019 God has 00:12:28.019 --> 00:12:28.539 allowed us 00:12:28.539 --> 00:12:29.219 to be scattered 00:12:29.219 --> 00:12:29.679 from our 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:30.279 homeland as 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:31.459 many Christians 00:12:31.459 --> 00:12:32.339 find themselves 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:33.620 in history. 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:34.879 At other 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:35.200 times, 00:12:35.300 --> 00:12:35.600 the going 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:36.360 out is 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:36.720 more of 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:37.340 an attitude 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:38.700 or inward 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:39.879 habit, 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:40.480 if you like, 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:41.320 in the sense 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:41.820 of going 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:43.300 out of our 00:12:43.300 --> 00:12:44.139 comfort zone 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:44.680 so that we're 00:12:44.680 --> 00:12:45.340 ready to meet 00:12:45.340 --> 00:12:46.259 others where 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:47.379 they are for 00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:47.920 the sake of 00:12:47.920 --> 00:12:48.379 the gospel. 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:49.960 And it's on 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:50.840 this basis that 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:51.480 I think we can 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:52.060 say that we're 00:12:52.060 --> 00:12:52.500 a missionary 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:53.160 people. 00:12:53.899 --> 00:12:54.100 Well, 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:54.600 so you ask, 00:12:54.680 --> 00:12:54.759 well, 00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:55.340 what about 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:55.780 those we 00:12:55.780 --> 00:12:56.759 actually ordinarily 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:57.860 refer to as 00:12:57.860 --> 00:12:58.620 missionaries? 00:12:58.620 --> 00:12:59.399 Well, 00:12:59.440 --> 00:12:59.899 I'd like to 00:12:59.899 --> 00:13:00.620 suggest that, 00:13:01.060 --> 00:13:01.159 well, 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:01.799 we can continue 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:02.399 calling them 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:02.940 that and it 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:04.240 doesn't present 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:04.700 a special 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:05.179 problem, 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:06.080 but we have 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:06.500 to know 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:07.740 what we 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:08.120 mean. 00:13:08.220 --> 00:13:08.539 What we 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:09.220 mean is that 00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:09.580 they are, 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:10.379 if you like, 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:12.279 special field 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:12.679 workers. 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:13.460 That's about 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:14.100 the best I 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:14.639 can come up 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:15.019 with right 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:15.259 now, 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:16.139 special field 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:16.460 workers. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:17.120 And we 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:17.899 support a 00:13:17.899 --> 00:13:18.480 number of 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:18.919 them here 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:19.460 at Messiah. 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:20.480 And we 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:21.220 do this 00:13:21.220 --> 00:13:22.399 and we 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:22.899 pray for 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:23.620 them regularly 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:24.840 and specially 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:25.580 because we 00:13:25.580 --> 00:13:26.560 recognize the 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:28.399 particular nature 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:28.859 of their 00:13:28.859 --> 00:13:29.199 work. 00:13:30.359 --> 00:13:31.039 Until I 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:31.559 was 18, 00:13:32.099 --> 00:13:33.359 I lived in 00:13:33.359 --> 00:13:33.859 a special 00:13:33.859 --> 00:13:34.539 field where 00:13:34.539 --> 00:13:35.279 I was born, 00:13:35.699 --> 00:13:36.059 Mexico, 00:13:36.239 --> 00:13:36.619 where my 00:13:36.619 --> 00:13:37.959 parents served 00:13:37.959 --> 00:13:39.439 for close to 00:13:39.439 --> 00:13:40.419 50 years with 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:41.500 an evangelistic 00:13:41.500 --> 00:13:42.719 organization you 00:13:42.719 --> 00:13:43.219 may have heard 00:13:43.219 --> 00:13:43.819 of called 00:13:43.819 --> 00:13:44.379 Operation 00:13:44.379 --> 00:13:45.139 Mobilization, 00:13:45.299 --> 00:13:45.719 maybe I've 00:13:45.719 --> 00:13:46.259 mentioned it. 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:47.099 We were 00:13:47.099 --> 00:13:48.239 blessed to 00:13:48.239 --> 00:13:49.039 know that 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:49.819 Christians in 00:13:49.819 --> 00:13:50.459 the U.S. 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:51.239 and Canada 00:13:51.239 --> 00:13:51.719 and other 00:13:51.719 --> 00:13:52.759 places were 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:53.559 supporting us 00:13:53.559 --> 00:13:53.959 with their 00:13:53.959 --> 00:13:54.599 prayers and 00:13:54.599 --> 00:13:54.959 with their 00:13:54.959 --> 00:13:55.939 finances. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:57.000 And what 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:57.599 made that 00:13:57.599 --> 00:13:58.399 field work 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:03.819 special or 00:14:03.819 --> 00:14:05.279 extraordinary? 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:08.000 Now, I 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:08.679 don't recall 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:09.479 thinking of my 00:14:09.479 --> 00:14:10.179 own identity 00:14:10.179 --> 00:14:11.259 as a 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:11.959 mish kid, 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:12.459 as a 00:14:12.459 --> 00:14:12.839 hardship, 00:14:12.839 --> 00:14:13.799 because we 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:14.359 really were 00:14:14.359 --> 00:14:14.919 given a 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:15.739 lot and we 00:14:15.739 --> 00:14:16.399 were blessed 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:17.819 with all 00:14:17.819 --> 00:14:18.459 kinds of 00:14:18.459 --> 00:14:19.059 opportunities. 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:20.159 But as a 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:21.239 family, we 00:14:21.239 --> 00:14:21.679 had left 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:22.459 behind certain 00:14:22.459 --> 00:14:24.279 things, like 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:25.359 regular contact 00:14:25.359 --> 00:14:26.139 with relatives, 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:27.759 back then it 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:29.599 was not easy 00:14:29.599 --> 00:14:30.439 to go up to 00:14:30.439 --> 00:14:31.259 the states to 00:14:31.259 --> 00:14:31.919 visit relatives. 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:32.519 We did it 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:33.779 maybe once a 00:14:33.779 --> 00:14:34.219 year, maybe 00:14:34.219 --> 00:14:34.839 not. 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:36.699 And all the 00:14:36.699 --> 00:14:37.359 things you miss 00:14:37.359 --> 00:14:37.799 from your 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:38.599 native culture. 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:40.139 But this 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:40.799 wouldn't be the 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:41.979 real reason that 00:14:41.979 --> 00:14:42.639 the field work 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:43.219 was special. 00:14:44.199 --> 00:14:44.939 What made it 00:14:44.939 --> 00:14:45.519 special were 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:46.119 two things. 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:48.739 First, evangelistic 00:14:48.739 --> 00:14:49.419 outreach in 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:50.119 Mexico was 00:14:50.119 --> 00:14:51.059 based on a 00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:52.359 particular need 00:14:52.359 --> 00:14:53.239 that had been 00:14:53.239 --> 00:14:53.899 identified. 00:14:53.899 --> 00:14:55.019 that was 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:56.399 the need to 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:57.100 preach the 00:14:57.100 --> 00:14:58.659 message of 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:00.459 the gospel in 00:15:00.459 --> 00:15:01.939 a land whose 00:15:01.939 --> 00:15:02.459 form of 00:15:02.459 --> 00:15:03.159 religion had 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:03.840 in many ways 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:04.740 obscured the 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:05.639 gospel itself. 00:15:06.259 --> 00:15:07.019 For instance, 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:07.740 when my dad 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:08.919 first went from 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:09.459 village to 00:15:09.459 --> 00:15:10.059 village back 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:11.879 in 1960 and 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:12.379 following, 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:14.039 giving out 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:14.879 gospels of 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:15.600 John and 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:16.419 preaching in 00:15:16.419 --> 00:15:16.779 the town 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:17.740 squares, he 00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:18.220 would often 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:19.059 find himself 00:15:19.059 --> 00:15:20.840 chased out of 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:22.519 the town by 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:23.039 two people, 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:24.340 the mayor 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:25.620 and the 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:26.299 village priest. 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:28.779 Think about 00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:29.079 that. 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:30.059 Pre-Vatican 00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:31.500 II, the 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:33.019 people didn't 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:33.620 really have a 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:34.240 chance to read 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:34.659 the scriptures 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:35.240 for themselves, 00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:36.340 so dad was 00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:36.879 doing something 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:37.659 very counter 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:38.379 cultural in 00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:38.879 handing out 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:39.519 gospels of 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:40.439 John in 00:15:40.439 --> 00:15:40.919 the village 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:42.259 town squares. 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:44.460 And to 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:45.220 this day, the 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:46.279 dominant form of 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:46.899 religion in 00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:48.100 Mexico remains a 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:48.879 kind of blend 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:49.539 blend of 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:50.620 medieval 00:15:50.620 --> 00:15:51.320 Christianity 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:52.580 with a host 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:53.139 of pagan 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:55.179 customs, offering 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:55.960 little hope to 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:56.559 its adherents. 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:56.960 And I just 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:57.600 should add a 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:58.240 footnote here. 00:15:58.779 --> 00:15:59.659 This fact should 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:00.559 alert us to the 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:01.740 way we sometimes 00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:02.220 do. 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:06.500 Don't allow the 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:07.279 gospel to be 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:08.639 distinguished from 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:09.399 our own culture 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:10.299 and how much our 00:16:10.299 --> 00:16:11.840 own culture impacts 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:13.320 the way we think 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:14.039 of Christianity. 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:15.620 A second reason 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:16.279 why the field 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:17.100 work in Mexico 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:18.100 was special was 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:19.379 that it served 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:20.420 as a constant 00:16:20.420 --> 00:16:21.399 reminder that 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:22.540 mission is a 00:16:22.540 --> 00:16:23.519 global reality. 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:25.720 The message 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:27.860 was churches 00:16:27.860 --> 00:16:28.779 send out 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:30.000 field workers. 00:16:31.019 --> 00:16:31.300 And the 00:16:31.300 --> 00:16:32.720 lesson for us 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:33.259 all, whether 00:16:33.259 --> 00:16:34.000 we're going or 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:34.820 we're sending in 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:35.920 that sense, is 00:16:35.920 --> 00:16:37.840 that we are a 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:38.580 global people. 00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:39.159 We're part of a 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:39.940 global fellowship. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:40.659 I'm going to 00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:41.360 speak about that 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:42.220 more next time. 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:44.300 My basic point 00:16:44.300 --> 00:16:44.620 is this. 00:16:44.660 --> 00:16:45.160 While it's really 00:16:45.160 --> 00:16:46.040 important that we 00:16:46.040 --> 00:16:47.480 learn to identify 00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:48.460 special fields, 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:49.600 maybe sometimes 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:50.220 we get it right, 00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:50.920 sometimes we get 00:16:50.920 --> 00:16:51.740 it wrong, but we 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:52.379 have to learn to 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:53.300 identify special 00:16:53.300 --> 00:16:54.300 fields, and then 00:16:54.300 --> 00:16:55.420 send and support 00:16:55.420 --> 00:16:56.420 people to work in 00:16:56.420 --> 00:16:57.980 those fields, it's 00:16:57.980 --> 00:16:58.940 still true that we're 00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:00.200 all called as God's 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:01.440 people to missionary 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:01.940 work. 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:03.460 The church is 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:05.700 apostolic, both 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:06.380 because it's 00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:07.539 founded on the 00:17:07.539 --> 00:17:08.259 authoritative 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:09.559 teachings of the 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:10.539 apostles, right, and 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:13.099 the prophets, but 00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:15.400 it's apostolic also 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.160 because we're an 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:17.220 apostolic people. 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:19.780 We're sent as a 00:17:19.780 --> 00:17:20.060 people. 00:17:21.120 --> 00:17:21.820 So in the 00:17:21.820 --> 00:17:22.440 remainder of this 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:22.940 talk, I want to 00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:23.600 focus on the 00:17:23.600 --> 00:17:25.060 missionary task where 00:17:25.060 --> 00:17:26.240 we happen to find 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:26.740 ourselves. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.120 So we'll call it 00:17:28.120 --> 00:17:29.480 mission among the 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:30.120 Gentiles. 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:31.460 We could say pagans 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:32.460 if you like, the 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:33.860 way some translations 00:17:33.860 --> 00:17:36.400 render 1 Peter 2.12. 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:38.360 And then next Sunday 00:17:38.360 --> 00:17:39.480 with a couple of 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:40.200 lessons from the 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:41.620 book of Acts, we'll 00:17:41.620 --> 00:17:42.759 look specifically at 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:44.200 how local and 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:45.500 global are to be 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:46.940 thought together as 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:48.599 we think about the 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:49.420 missionary task. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:50.740 So turn with me 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:51.759 back to that passage 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:53.640 in 1 Peter 2. 00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:56.140 We'll go through 00:17:56.140 --> 00:17:56.379 it. 00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:57.539 We'll see, I think, 00:17:57.579 --> 00:17:58.819 and I trust that the 00:17:58.819 --> 00:18:00.500 missionary task involves 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:02.339 three habits, and 00:18:02.339 --> 00:18:04.000 we'll start with the 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:05.019 first part, which is 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:06.079 verses 9 and 10. 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:08.819 But you're a chosen 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:10.099 race, as we read, a 00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:11.480 royal priesthood, a 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:12.660 holy nation, a 00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:14.400 people for God's 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:15.480 own possession, that 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:17.200 you may proclaim the 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:19.839 excellencies of him 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:20.980 who called you out of 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:22.039 darkness into his 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:22.920 marvelous light. 00:18:23.420 --> 00:18:24.400 Once you were not a 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:25.819 people, but now you 00:18:25.819 --> 00:18:26.720 are God's people. 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:27.539 Once you had not 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:29.220 received mercy, but 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:30.799 now you have received 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:31.180 mercy. 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:33.460 So what's the habit 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:34.519 that we're called to 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:34.860 here? 00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:36.140 Well, it's 00:18:36.140 --> 00:18:36.779 proclamation. 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:40.120 And this, I think, 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:41.919 this emphasis here 00:18:41.919 --> 00:18:43.179 reminds us how 00:18:43.179 --> 00:18:44.259 important and how 00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:45.799 central proclamation 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:47.859 is, and how much it 00:18:47.859 --> 00:18:48.699 has a logical 00:18:48.699 --> 00:18:50.079 priority, how much 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:51.939 testimony, giving and 00:18:51.939 --> 00:18:53.539 bearing witness, has a 00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:54.879 logical priority over 00:18:54.879 --> 00:18:56.119 any other missionary 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:57.759 habit we may think of. 00:18:58.219 --> 00:18:59.279 Certainly our testimony 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:00.000 will be given 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:01.599 expression in many 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:03.139 different ways, but it 00:19:03.139 --> 00:19:04.619 will always have a 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:05.500 propositional 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:06.079 dimension. 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:07.039 It will always have 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.539 content, rational 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:10.119 content. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:11.740 The fact is, there 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:12.980 are truth claims 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:14.740 that are embedded in 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.619 the way we behave, and 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:17.799 in the way we worship, 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:18.599 and in the way we 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:19.019 serve. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:21.019 And these will be 00:19:21.019 --> 00:19:22.480 verbally declared 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:25.139 as God gives the 00:19:25.139 --> 00:19:26.240 opportunity to 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:27.200 declare them. 00:19:28.059 --> 00:19:29.299 And that's why if you 00:19:29.299 --> 00:19:30.299 read further down in 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:32.299 chapter 3, Peter says 00:19:32.299 --> 00:19:33.740 in that often quoted 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:35.799 verse, speaking of the 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.000 apologetic ministry, 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.180 be ready to give an 00:19:40.180 --> 00:19:42.980 answer, an apologia, for 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:43.740 the hope that you 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:44.019 have. 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:45.359 Be ready to speak. 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:47.940 Are we ready to speak 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:48.519 as a people? 00:19:48.579 --> 00:19:49.880 Are we ready in our 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:51.059 day-to-day encounters? 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:53.400 Are we ready to give a 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:54.900 word about the hope we 00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:55.200 have? 00:19:55.940 --> 00:19:56.960 So what are the 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.559 excellencies that we're 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:00.500 called to speak about? 00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:01.940 Well, some translations 00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:04.160 say virtues, and others 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.099 say praises. 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:06.719 And I think what we're 00:20:06.719 --> 00:20:08.179 basically declaring are 00:20:08.179 --> 00:20:10.759 God's marvelous qualities 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:13.539 and his marvelous deeds, 00:20:13.679 --> 00:20:14.799 his mighty deeds. 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:17.139 They're marvelous if you 00:20:17.139 --> 00:20:18.699 look back in chapter 1 00:20:18.699 --> 00:20:21.059 because he's done, he 00:20:21.059 --> 00:20:22.639 has done the marvelous 00:20:22.639 --> 00:20:26.480 work of causing us to 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:28.019 be born again to a living 00:20:28.019 --> 00:20:30.279 hope through the 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:31.359 resurrection of Jesus 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:32.439 Christ from the dead. 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:33.440 God's marvelous 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:34.440 God's marvelous 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:35.299 Well, and in doing 00:20:35.299 --> 00:20:36.840 that work in history 00:20:36.840 --> 00:20:39.519 and Christianity, the 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:40.820 gospel is always about 00:20:40.820 --> 00:20:41.840 what God has done in 00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:42.259 history. 00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:45.700 And in giving us, he's 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:47.539 given us, he's worked in 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:49.059 us in history and in us 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:50.519 giving us a new identity. 00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:52.779 He's quite literally 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:55.080 united us to Jesus. 00:20:56.120 --> 00:20:57.759 And by adoption, he's 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:00.539 drawn us into Jesus' work 00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:03.720 as prophet, as priest, as 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:04.079 king. 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:06.720 And by his spirit working 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:08.799 in us, we're what 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:10.500 Peter says, a royal 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:13.299 priesthood called to 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:14.480 something, called to 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.980 proclaim his excellencies. 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:20.259 That's what we do as a 00:21:20.259 --> 00:21:21.779 prophetic people as well, 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:22.980 sharing in Christ's 00:21:23.659 --> 00:21:24.740 threefold office. 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:28.500 And to this, to the 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:30.700 first hearers of this 00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:33.099 message, whether Jew or 00:21:33.099 --> 00:21:34.380 Gentile, and we have 00:21:34.380 --> 00:21:35.579 reason to believe that 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:36.740 these scattered 00:21:36.740 --> 00:21:37.980 congregations were made 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:39.359 up of both believing 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:41.779 Jews and Gentiles in 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:43.819 Asia Minor, this was a 00:21:43.819 --> 00:21:45.299 very, this was very 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:46.400 encouraging news. 00:21:46.660 --> 00:21:47.799 If they were worried 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:48.940 about their displacement, 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:52.480 about their exile, they 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:53.960 were reminded that Jesus 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:55.440 himself was rejected. 00:21:56.519 --> 00:21:57.680 As Hebrews says, he 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:00.220 suffered outside the 00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:00.880 city gates. 00:22:03.100 --> 00:22:05.539 And they had, they had 00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:07.440 this truth proclaimed to 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:08.840 them that Jesus was now 00:22:08.840 --> 00:22:11.819 the cornerstone of a new 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:13.660 and everlasting temple. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.180 And they could, they 00:22:15.180 --> 00:22:16.259 could be encouraged by 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:16.579 this. 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:18.180 And why is it so 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:19.960 important that we learn 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:21.600 to acknowledge the 00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:23.079 priority of proclamation 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:23.740 today? 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:25.240 Well, apart from the 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:26.079 fact that scripture 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:27.299 gives a natural 00:22:27.299 --> 00:22:29.159 priority to the, to it 00:22:29.159 --> 00:22:30.460 as the ordinary means 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:31.899 that God uses to 00:22:31.899 --> 00:22:33.119 soften hearts and to 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:34.279 bring new life, I 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:35.379 think the short answer 00:22:35.379 --> 00:22:38.039 is that claims that 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:39.819 certain things are true 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:42.139 for everyone, claims 00:22:42.139 --> 00:22:43.259 that certain things are 00:22:43.259 --> 00:22:44.879 true for everyone, are 00:22:44.879 --> 00:22:46.699 automatically suspect in 00:22:46.699 --> 00:22:47.139 our day. 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:50.899 To say publicly, God has 00:22:50.900 --> 00:22:51.259 spoken. 00:22:52.620 --> 00:22:54.160 He's made us male and 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:54.519 female. 00:22:56.380 --> 00:22:58.400 That Jesus rose bodily 00:22:58.400 --> 00:22:59.200 from the grave. 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:03.240 Well, these things make 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:04.380 people uncomfortable, 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.060 positively uncomfortable. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:07.960 Statements like these 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:11.920 are taken, assumed to be 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:13.380 some kind of power grab 00:23:13.380 --> 00:23:13.940 or something. 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:16.600 But we're still called to 00:23:16.600 --> 00:23:18.460 utter them as clearly as we 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:20.019 can and as humbly as we 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:22.539 can, as chapter 3, verse 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:23.700 15 reminds us. 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:26.180 And we do this trusting 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:28.440 that the power belongs to 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:30.220 God and not to our 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.799 learning or to our 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:33.440 eloquence or anything of 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:33.880 the sort. 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:36.860 Now, in our daily lives, 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:38.360 as we go about ordinary 00:23:38.360 --> 00:23:40.519 things, proclamation doesn't 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:41.140 come easy. 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:45.000 As even one of my heroes, 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:47.640 John Stott admitted, he 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:49.180 tells of how he was once 00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:51.420 on a train in Wales in 00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:52.740 one of those compartments 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:55.599 where you share, some of 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:56.880 you probably traveled in 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:58.259 those compartments in 00:23:58.259 --> 00:23:59.940 Europe where you share 00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:02.059 this cabin with one or two 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:02.799 other passengers. 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:04.440 Well, as it happened, his 00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:05.920 traveling companion that 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:07.859 time was getting ready to 00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:08.220 shave. 00:24:08.940 --> 00:24:11.140 He had his shaving kit out 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:12.079 and everything and he 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:13.599 accidentally dropped it. 00:24:16.500 --> 00:24:18.960 Well, Stott recalls that 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.059 this man vented his anger by 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:23.000 taking the name of Christ in 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:23.279 vain. 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:25.579 And Stott goes on, and I'll 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:26.740 just quote from his little 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:28.500 book, Our Guilty Silence. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.359 He says, I said nothing. 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:34.439 Indeed, I was sorely tempted 00:24:34.439 --> 00:24:35.519 to remain silent. 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:38.759 The usual plausible excuses 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:41.139 came crowding into my head. 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:42.640 It's none of your business. 00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:44.300 He'll only laugh at you. 00:24:45.320 --> 00:24:47.160 But the previous evening I 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:49.160 had preached in church from 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:52.320 Ephesians 4, 26 and 27. 00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:54.740 Be angry, but do not sin. 00:24:55.820 --> 00:24:57.460 I had spoken about righteous 00:24:57.460 --> 00:25:00.520 indignation and the facade of 00:25:00.520 --> 00:25:02.420 sweet reasonableness which 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:04.620 often conceals our moral 00:25:04.620 --> 00:25:06.160 cowardice and compromise. 00:25:07.340 --> 00:25:10.220 An inner struggle followed as I 00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:12.740 argued with myself and 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:13.100 prayed. 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:16.000 And not until 10 or 15 minutes 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:18.160 later did I find the courage 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:18.799 to speak. 00:25:20.620 --> 00:25:22.339 Although his immediate reaction 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:24.360 was unfavorable, I was soon 00:25:24.360 --> 00:25:27.140 able to witness to the Christ he 00:25:27.140 --> 00:25:30.039 had blasphemed and to give him 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:31.519 an evangelistic booklet. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:37.599 From proclamation we turn to a 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:38.279 second habit. 00:25:38.639 --> 00:25:40.940 So in verses 11 and 12 we read 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:41.180 this. 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:44.400 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:47.079 and exiles to abstain from the 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:49.519 passions of the flesh which wage war 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:50.400 against your soul. 00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:52.920 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:55.519 honorable so that when they speak 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:57.920 against you as evildoers, they may 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:02.080 see your good deeds and glorify God 00:26:02.080 --> 00:26:03.920 on the day of visitation. 00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:08.500 The second habit of a missionary 00:26:08.500 --> 00:26:10.440 people, abstention. 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:12.580 From what? 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:17.759 Abstention as in stay away from 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:19.860 fleshly lusts. 00:26:20.860 --> 00:26:22.840 The reasons are spelled out. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:24.880 They're all encapsulated here. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:29.220 We're exiles and pilgrims and sexual 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:32.260 impurity basically obstructs our way 00:26:32.260 --> 00:26:33.800 to the promised land. 00:26:34.300 --> 00:26:37.080 Most importantly, it's by nature 00:26:37.080 --> 00:26:38.120 soul destroying. 00:26:39.620 --> 00:26:42.460 And for instance, today we're all 00:26:42.460 --> 00:26:45.320 too familiar with the way the lies 00:26:45.320 --> 00:26:47.780 of pornography rewire the brain, if 00:26:47.780 --> 00:26:50.620 you like, knocking us out, flat out 00:26:50.620 --> 00:26:51.240 spiritually. 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:55.339 And so Peter, with this sort of thing 00:26:55.339 --> 00:26:57.720 in mind, calls the first century 00:26:57.720 --> 00:26:59.539 Christians to let their behavior 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:02.440 among the pagans be honorable and 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:03.000 blameless. 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:07.019 They were the atheists of the day, not 00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:09.079 worshiping according to pagan custom. 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:11.180 So they would have been accused of all 00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:13.579 kinds of wrongdoing and of not going 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:15.400 along with established custom. 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:19.940 But if they acted honestly, with integrity, 00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:21.960 and treated others with respect, 00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:25.780 they could trust that these good works 00:27:25.780 --> 00:27:27.460 would bear fruit in God's time 00:27:27.460 --> 00:27:30.600 on the day of his visitation. 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:34.040 Here Peter echoes Jesus' words in 00:27:34.040 --> 00:27:34.940 Matthew 5.16. 00:27:35.300 --> 00:27:37.820 Let your light shine before others that 00:27:37.820 --> 00:27:40.460 they may see your good deeds and glorify 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:41.560 your Father in heaven. 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:46.619 Now the hope that was there in Peter 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:49.639 was that godly conduct would be itself 00:27:49.639 --> 00:27:52.200 a form of testimony, even if it were 00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:55.619 received for a time as falsehood. 00:27:56.779 --> 00:27:59.179 Because a day of visitation would come. 00:27:59.299 --> 00:28:00.399 And what's that day? 00:28:00.539 --> 00:28:03.460 Well, God, either in Jesus' coming, 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:06.779 at the end of time as we know it, 00:28:06.779 --> 00:28:10.980 in any case, God would bring things 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:14.079 to a crisis point, as one commentary 00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:14.619 puts it. 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:18.519 Shining light on the real nature of things 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:21.019 so that their hearts might change 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:24.639 and give him glory even, the text says. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:26.899 For what? 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:29.660 Well, for the work he was doing all along 00:28:29.660 --> 00:28:32.319 in changing people's lives so that they 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:35.019 could truly live a godly life. 00:28:35.019 --> 00:28:39.379 Now why is godly behavior so crucial 00:28:39.379 --> 00:28:41.940 for mission here where we find ourselves today? 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:44.420 Well, the reasons are basically the same 00:28:44.420 --> 00:28:45.539 as in the first century. 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:48.319 The Bible's guidelines for sexual purity 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:52.200 are taken to be plain silly at best 00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:54.480 and at worst evil. 00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:57.539 But if we give in and we pretend 00:28:57.539 --> 00:29:00.500 that God's standards are of little consequence, 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:04.619 well, what sort of witness will we have 00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:08.720 made or given according to the hope 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:11.220 that we have and according to the new life 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:12.200 God has given us? 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:13.380 Let me illustrate. 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:17.359 There's a denomination in the U.S. and Canada, 00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:19.119 well-known here in Canada, 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:22.400 that this past summer took a very clear 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.059 counter-cultural stand on what counts 00:29:25.059 --> 00:29:26.559 as sexual impurity. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:29.519 Before its councils was a question. 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:33.319 Given widespread acceptance of sexual intimacy 00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:35.819 outside the bonds of marriage 00:29:35.819 --> 00:29:37.460 between one man and one woman, 00:29:38.679 --> 00:29:42.700 in this area, the people were asked to consider, 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:46.259 can we agree to disagree on this 00:29:46.259 --> 00:29:49.539 or must we consider it part of our essential doctrine? 00:29:49.539 --> 00:29:53.819 A strong majority said that it was the latter. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:57.879 Its sexual purity is part of our core doctrine. 00:29:58.759 --> 00:30:01.539 Ultimately, the church pointed to its catechism, 00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:03.539 happens to be the Heidelberg Catechism, 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:06.759 and said that its condemnation, 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:10.819 the condemnation of unchastity in that catechism, 00:30:11.220 --> 00:30:15.000 includes adultery, premarital sex, 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.579 extramarital sex, polyamory, pornography, 00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:21.319 homosexual sex. 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:24.559 On that basis, the synod declared 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:27.299 that the church must warn its members 00:30:27.299 --> 00:30:30.099 that those who refuse to repent of these sins, 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:33.420 as well as of idolatry, greed, and other such sins, 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:35.539 will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:41.460 Now, just under a third of the denomination's delegates 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:43.140 were unhappy with this outcome. 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:46.600 But what's at stake, ultimately? 00:30:50.020 --> 00:30:52.860 From what we've seen in 1 Peter 2, 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:55.960 what's at stake is the church's very identity 00:30:55.960 --> 00:31:00.960 as a forgiven, redeemed people set apart by God. 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:02.740 I think this has to be front and center. 00:31:03.620 --> 00:31:05.740 What's at stake is our very identity 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:08.300 as a redeemed, forgiven people 00:31:08.300 --> 00:31:09.900 who once walked in darkness, 00:31:09.900 --> 00:31:13.080 but to whom God has shown mercy. 00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:17.460 What's at stake is the church's soul 00:31:17.460 --> 00:31:19.620 as a band of exiles. 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:21.920 What's at stake is the church's witness 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:25.740 as it has yet one more opportunity 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:28.180 to declare that God's standards 00:31:28.180 --> 00:31:30.280 are actually true and lovely, 00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:34.240 no matter how much the world might say 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:37.220 that they are hateful and unappealing. 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:42.299 So let's move to the third part of our passage. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:45.620 Verses 13 to 16. 00:31:46.100 --> 00:31:49.200 Be subject for the Lord's sake 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:50.640 to every human institution, 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:53.720 whether it be to the emperor as supreme 00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.400 or to governors as sent by him 00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:57.920 to punish those who do evil 00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:00.079 and to praise those who do good. 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:02.480 For this is the will of God, 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:04.399 that by doing good you should put to silence 00:32:04.980 --> 00:32:06.939 the ignorance of foolish people. 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:09.319 Live as people who are free, 00:32:09.439 --> 00:32:12.619 not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, 00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:15.740 but living as servants of God. 00:32:17.460 --> 00:32:19.199 In each of these passages, 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:21.179 we see how much there's an identity 00:32:21.179 --> 00:32:23.000 of who we are in Christ 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:24.980 and what follows from that. 00:32:24.980 --> 00:32:29.140 So from proclamation and abstention, 00:32:29.620 --> 00:32:30.860 we come to submission 00:32:30.860 --> 00:32:34.180 as a third habit of a missionary people, 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:35.500 according to Peter. 00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:37.640 We can look at this one briefly 00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:39.740 because the missionary significance 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:42.200 is the same as with abstinence. 00:32:42.660 --> 00:32:44.519 To do what is right in this area 00:32:44.519 --> 00:32:47.140 can serve as a form of testimony, 00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:50.019 a testimony that in this case 00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:52.440 silences those who accuse believers 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:53.380 of doing wrong, 00:32:53.380 --> 00:32:56.100 of being insubordinate. 00:32:57.360 --> 00:32:58.160 When Peter says, 00:32:58.180 --> 00:32:59.580 that's why Peter says there at the end, 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:01.200 don't use your freedom 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:02.840 as a cover-up for evil. 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:05.660 He's referring to the fact 00:33:05.660 --> 00:33:06.720 that some of us 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:08.380 will be quite tempted, 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:09.440 wouldn't we, 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:10.920 with our Christian freedom 00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:14.360 basically to disregard, 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:18.420 to not acknowledge human authority 00:33:18.420 --> 00:33:19.500 and its legitimacy. 00:33:21.040 --> 00:33:22.560 We'd become anarchists, 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:25.319 as I well remember from Tolstoy 00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:27.700 in my Russian literature reading days 00:33:27.700 --> 00:33:29.539 where Tolstoy decided 00:33:29.539 --> 00:33:32.700 he would teach a form of anarchism. 00:33:33.679 --> 00:33:34.579 But as a habit, 00:33:34.679 --> 00:33:36.139 it's worth considering on its own 00:33:36.139 --> 00:33:38.279 because submission reflects 00:33:38.279 --> 00:33:40.359 a third aspect of our identity 00:33:40.359 --> 00:33:41.240 as God's people. 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:42.559 As a royal priesthood, 00:33:42.899 --> 00:33:44.619 we have truths to proclaim. 00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:45.399 Here's why I said 00:33:45.399 --> 00:33:48.119 our identity issues in a practice. 00:33:48.500 --> 00:33:49.419 As a royal priesthood, 00:33:49.420 --> 00:33:50.060 we preach. 00:33:50.060 --> 00:33:52.240 As strangers and sojourners, 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:55.080 we abstain from certain things. 00:33:55.500 --> 00:33:57.440 And now as servants of God, 00:33:57.960 --> 00:33:59.519 we are called to submit 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:02.640 precisely because we're servants of God. 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:04.700 And we submit to human authorities 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:06.380 for the Lord's sake, 00:34:06.800 --> 00:34:07.360 in other words, 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:09.460 because God has willed it for us 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:11.420 in this life. 00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:13.519 Now this doesn't rule out 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:14.599 civil disobedience 00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:15.559 when we find 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:17.800 that the laws of the land are unjust, 00:34:17.800 --> 00:34:19.940 but the principle remains. 00:34:20.180 --> 00:34:21.940 We submit to the authorities 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:23.360 as unto God 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:24.820 because we trust, 00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:25.720 ultimately, 00:34:25.960 --> 00:34:27.460 that he's the one that's in charge. 00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:29.660 He's the one who bends 00:34:29.660 --> 00:34:32.780 history to his will. 00:34:32.940 --> 00:34:34.120 He's the one who, 00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:36.039 as I've heard George say or write, 00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:37.720 who takes the messiness, 00:34:38.060 --> 00:34:38.360 right, 00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:40.760 and writes straight lines 00:34:40.760 --> 00:34:41.120 with, 00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:43.260 writes straight with crooked lines. 00:34:43.260 --> 00:34:45.680 In our own day, 00:34:46.040 --> 00:34:46.660 the temptation 00:34:46.660 --> 00:34:48.040 to be disrespectful 00:34:48.040 --> 00:34:49.360 to our elected leaders 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:51.020 can be very strong, 00:34:51.120 --> 00:34:52.580 particularly when they seem deaf 00:34:52.580 --> 00:34:53.840 to the concerns 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:54.860 of ordinary people. 00:34:55.760 --> 00:34:56.380 We all know 00:34:56.380 --> 00:34:57.800 what I'm referring to 00:34:57.800 --> 00:34:58.980 from the last winter. 00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:02.240 But how easy is it 00:35:02.240 --> 00:35:04.560 to pray for those in authority 00:35:04.560 --> 00:35:05.980 as we're taught in Scripture 00:35:05.980 --> 00:35:08.760 while standing beside certain signs 00:35:08.760 --> 00:35:09.760 that became prominent 00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:11.380 during that movement? 00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:14.940 And how does a visible endorsement 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:15.740 of such signs 00:35:15.740 --> 00:35:17.119 impact our Christian witness? 00:35:17.260 --> 00:35:19.160 I know one of my grandsons 00:35:19.160 --> 00:35:19.820 was asking me, 00:35:19.880 --> 00:35:20.039 well, 00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:21.700 what are those signs, 00:35:21.820 --> 00:35:22.119 Granddad? 00:35:22.200 --> 00:35:23.760 What signs are you talking about? 00:35:24.200 --> 00:35:24.460 I said, 00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:24.599 well, 00:35:24.640 --> 00:35:26.240 they were very rude signs, 00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:26.720 Aidan. 00:35:27.420 --> 00:35:30.680 We shouldn't stand by those signs. 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:30.960 And he said, 00:35:30.980 --> 00:35:31.640 what did they say? 00:35:31.660 --> 00:35:31.920 And I said, 00:35:31.940 --> 00:35:32.079 well, 00:35:32.300 --> 00:35:33.420 just nasty stuff. 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:34.400 And he interpreted it 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:35.160 in his own way. 00:35:35.159 --> 00:35:40.379 But the question is, 00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:42.759 what is our witness 00:35:42.759 --> 00:35:46.359 when we publicly endorse 00:35:46.359 --> 00:35:49.119 this kind of disrespect 00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:50.279 for leaders 00:35:50.279 --> 00:35:51.779 whose principles we might disagree, 00:35:52.019 --> 00:35:54.779 whose ideas we may disagree with profoundly, 00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:57.279 but that we ultimately disrespect them? 00:35:57.319 --> 00:35:58.359 How can we pray for them? 00:35:58.940 --> 00:35:59.940 So let me conclude 00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:01.440 by bringing us back 00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:02.319 to where we started. 00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:04.800 I mentioned some of the main ways 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:06.000 that the church in history 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:07.380 has thought about mission. 00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:10.519 So just to put it in other terms, 00:36:11.059 --> 00:36:11.400 there was, 00:36:11.680 --> 00:36:12.039 if you like, 00:36:12.100 --> 00:36:12.620 the medieval, 00:36:12.900 --> 00:36:14.300 let's make converts model 00:36:14.300 --> 00:36:15.420 using force. 00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:17.519 And I could give you stories about that 00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:20.780 from my own Latin American understanding. 00:36:21.380 --> 00:36:22.360 But there's also 00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:25.320 the pluralist, 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:26.900 let's make friends model 00:36:26.900 --> 00:36:28.420 since our job would not be 00:36:28.420 --> 00:36:29.720 to preach Christ to others, 00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:31.080 but to work together 00:36:31.080 --> 00:36:32.080 for the common good. 00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:34.300 And then there's the enlightenment, 00:36:34.780 --> 00:36:36.400 let's make good citizens model, 00:36:36.620 --> 00:36:38.240 which calls on the church 00:36:38.240 --> 00:36:40.920 to extend Western civilization. 00:36:42.400 --> 00:36:45.580 But Jesus gives us another set 00:36:45.580 --> 00:36:46.900 of marching orders, doesn't he? 00:36:46.900 --> 00:36:47.260 He says, 00:36:47.360 --> 00:36:48.860 go and make disciples. 00:36:50.160 --> 00:36:51.360 What does that involve? 00:36:51.559 --> 00:36:53.900 Well, I hope it's clear to us this morning 00:36:53.900 --> 00:36:55.880 that it involves our whole lives 00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:58.160 because there's no room for 00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:00.599 what Lewis talked about, 00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:02.039 Christianity and-ism, 00:37:02.139 --> 00:37:02.659 if you like. 00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:07.399 Here where the good news of Jesus, 00:37:07.779 --> 00:37:08.639 Christianity and, 00:37:08.719 --> 00:37:09.739 where the good news of Jesus 00:37:09.739 --> 00:37:13.879 is kind of collapsed into conquest. 00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:15.920 The good news is collapsed 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:17.879 into social projects 00:37:17.879 --> 00:37:20.420 as good and worthy as they may be, 00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:21.680 but still the gospel 00:37:21.680 --> 00:37:23.200 is kind of collapsed into them 00:37:23.200 --> 00:37:25.400 as though they meant the same thing. 00:37:26.340 --> 00:37:27.940 The gospel is collapsed 00:37:27.940 --> 00:37:29.300 into building a civilization 00:37:29.300 --> 00:37:30.619 of one sort or another. 00:37:31.380 --> 00:37:32.420 We're talking about 00:37:32.420 --> 00:37:35.000 a basic plan of disciple making 00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:36.019 that involves us 00:37:36.019 --> 00:37:37.440 really fundamentally 00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:39.639 in looking up 00:37:39.639 --> 00:37:41.480 to see what God is doing, 00:37:41.940 --> 00:37:43.059 what he's doing 00:37:43.059 --> 00:37:44.500 in changing hearts 00:37:44.500 --> 00:37:45.840 the way he's changed ours 00:37:45.840 --> 00:37:47.660 through our prayer, 00:37:47.860 --> 00:37:48.600 through our witness, 00:37:48.600 --> 00:37:50.240 so that we have the privilege 00:37:50.240 --> 00:37:52.740 of baptizing people 00:37:52.740 --> 00:37:54.240 and of teaching them 00:37:54.240 --> 00:37:56.320 to obey all that Jesus commands. 00:37:56.900 --> 00:37:58.120 And it involves trusting 00:37:58.120 --> 00:38:02.100 that whatever success we have 00:38:02.100 --> 00:38:03.460 is because of his power, 00:38:04.100 --> 00:38:05.320 because he's promised 00:38:05.320 --> 00:38:06.820 to be with us by his spirit 00:38:06.820 --> 00:38:08.700 until the end of the age. 00:38:09.820 --> 00:38:11.000 Finally, you say, 00:38:11.120 --> 00:38:12.100 well, that task sounds 00:38:12.100 --> 00:38:13.240 really, really hard. 00:38:13.640 --> 00:38:14.800 It sounds overwhelming. 00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:16.320 The needs are so great. 00:38:17.019 --> 00:38:18.600 Opposition to God's ways 00:38:18.600 --> 00:38:19.500 is so strong. 00:38:20.200 --> 00:38:20.860 There seems to be 00:38:20.860 --> 00:38:21.920 indifference everywhere. 00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:23.940 So let me just close 00:38:23.940 --> 00:38:25.200 with this recollection 00:38:25.200 --> 00:38:27.200 from a moment I remember 00:38:27.200 --> 00:38:28.660 from our Stella and I 00:38:28.660 --> 00:38:29.780 had three years in India 00:38:29.780 --> 00:38:31.560 and a moment 00:38:31.560 --> 00:38:33.660 where we were visiting 00:38:33.660 --> 00:38:34.539 our old friends 00:38:34.539 --> 00:38:35.900 from Regent College 00:38:35.900 --> 00:38:40.039 and Ivan and Sheila Satya Vrata. 00:38:40.340 --> 00:38:41.640 They live in Calcutta. 00:38:42.180 --> 00:38:43.140 And he was preaching 00:38:43.140 --> 00:38:44.519 in his church 00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:46.239 in the Assembly of God Church 00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:46.539 there. 00:38:47.039 --> 00:38:48.940 And I don't remember 00:38:48.940 --> 00:38:50.539 the sermon topic 00:38:50.539 --> 00:38:53.039 because it's been a while now. 00:38:53.099 --> 00:38:54.159 It's been more than 10 years. 00:38:54.219 --> 00:38:55.300 But I do remember this 00:38:55.300 --> 00:38:56.119 very vividly. 00:38:57.119 --> 00:38:57.920 At one point, 00:38:57.980 --> 00:38:58.940 he was making reference 00:38:58.940 --> 00:39:00.960 to the overwhelming needs 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:02.019 in his city. 00:39:02.860 --> 00:39:05.019 And he looked up 00:39:05.019 --> 00:39:05.679 and he prayed 00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:06.199 and he said, 00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:08.860 Lord, we have a problem. 00:39:09.300 --> 00:39:10.480 Just like that. 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:13.980 And then he immediately added, 00:39:14.500 --> 00:39:15.599 but I'm available. 00:39:17.260 --> 00:39:18.260 Please use me. 00:39:19.280 --> 00:39:20.219 And I think that 00:39:20.219 --> 00:39:21.460 that has stayed with me 00:39:21.460 --> 00:39:23.320 as the proper attitude 00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:26.039 to acknowledge 00:39:26.039 --> 00:39:27.139 that God is sovereign. 00:39:28.219 --> 00:39:29.360 He's in charge. 00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:31.900 He knows how he's working 00:39:31.900 --> 00:39:32.800 and in which way 00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:33.260 in time, 00:39:33.340 --> 00:39:34.199 in our own times. 00:39:34.199 --> 00:39:35.159 And he 00:39:35.159 --> 00:39:37.939 is eager 00:39:37.939 --> 00:39:39.399 to use us 00:39:39.399 --> 00:39:40.359 as his instruments 00:39:40.359 --> 00:39:41.579 wherever we, 00:39:42.099 --> 00:39:42.939 wherever he happens 00:39:42.939 --> 00:39:43.679 to place us. 00:39:44.159 --> 00:39:44.980 So why don't we pray 00:39:44.980 --> 00:39:45.839 in closing? 00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:53.460 Dear Lord, 00:39:53.519 --> 00:39:54.860 as with my friend Ivan 00:39:54.860 --> 00:39:55.559 in India, 00:39:55.720 --> 00:39:56.559 we acknowledge 00:39:56.559 --> 00:39:57.720 the need is overwhelming 00:39:57.720 --> 00:40:00.760 and we just ask 00:40:00.760 --> 00:40:02.400 that you would help us 00:40:02.400 --> 00:40:04.660 to be attentive 00:40:04.660 --> 00:40:07.240 to your care, 00:40:07.700 --> 00:40:08.460 your concern 00:40:08.460 --> 00:40:10.160 for the world around us, 00:40:10.220 --> 00:40:11.120 even where we are. 00:40:11.740 --> 00:40:12.660 And we ask 00:40:12.660 --> 00:40:13.260 that you would 00:40:13.260 --> 00:40:15.400 draw us more closely 00:40:15.400 --> 00:40:16.000 to Jesus 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:17.760 in our walk with him. 00:40:18.500 --> 00:40:19.740 Make us more attentive 00:40:19.740 --> 00:40:22.059 to your word 00:40:22.059 --> 00:40:24.860 and draw us 00:40:24.860 --> 00:40:26.420 into even greater fellowship 00:40:26.420 --> 00:40:27.139 with one another 00:40:27.139 --> 00:40:27.780 so that the world 00:40:27.780 --> 00:40:28.300 may know 00:40:28.300 --> 00:40:31.200 that you are king. 00:40:31.559 --> 00:40:32.960 As we ask in Jesus' name. 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:33.680 Amen. 00:40:45.400 --> 00:41:00.480 Thank you.