Again, my name is Chris. I'm on the pastoral staff here.
You're just, again, very welcome if you're new here.
Ramadan started last week. I don't know if you knew.
I don't know if you're celebrating.
Shavuot, the Jewish festival of weeks, started yesterday.
A month ago, it was Buddha's birthday.
And on Friday, the European football championship started.
We live in a world of competing religions
and a world of competing traditions and cultures.
And we live in a globalized, global city of Hong Kong
where we're surrounded by cultures that even 100 years ago
you'd have only read about in a textbook.
And, you know, I go into Kennedy Town
and there's an Egyptian fish and chip shop.
There's a Hong Kong pizza place.
I went to Cheung Chao the other day.
There's a restaurant called Morocco's which sells Indian and Thai food.
I mean, multiculturalism.
There's this mix of nations coming together in this one city.
And us sitting here, just as you listen to the different languages,
we're a mix of nations which have come together to one place.
And God has placed us in a city,
and this is increasingly true of cities around the world,
where there are now opportunities for nations
which would have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ
to come in contact with us.
People who would never have heard it in their home country
have come and are coming to cities like Hong Kong.
Watermark we planted five and a half years ago.
And right at the heart of our DNA is that we're a church
which is not just about making life comfortable for ourselves,
but the way that a church is healthy and fruitful
and every individual Christian will flourish and grow
is if you're living for something bigger than just yourself.
that each of us has a deep longing inside of us
for some kind of purpose,
to do something meaningful with our lives.
And I listen to so many people,
and they tell me,
I just don't know what I'm supposed to be here for.
And God has placed a desire in our hearts
because he says,
I want to call you as a church,
as individual Christians,
to something which is so much bigger
and greater than your mission for your life.
I want to call you to my mission.
And my mission is to go and make disciples of all the nations.
It's a global vision.
That's why we believe in church planting here at Watermark,
because we believe this mission
is something which is greater than what our own desires are.
And so we've been looking in this series at Isaiah,
at mission.
And Isaiah is this just amazing invitation
for us to join in with what God is up to in the world.
And it's an invitation that you don't want to kind of RSVP maybe to.
It's one you want to get on board with,
because what we've seen over the last few weeks
is that the mission starts when you find
that God is soul-quenchingly satisfying to the thirst that we all have.
And when you know that God satisfies your thirst,
then you go out to a thirsty world
which is hungry and looking for something,
and you can say,
look to Christ because he is satisfying.
We've looked at how we all have a craving for acceptance and belonging,
and Jesus dying on the cross welcomes us as outsiders into a family
so that we can be those who welcome outsiders into his family.
We've looked at how God reached out to us in our spiritual poverty
so that we could be people who reach out to those
who are also poor and disadvantaged.
And if you're a Christian, here's the point,
if you're a Christian,
you cannot, cannot enjoy God as he wants you to enjoy him
if you don't get on his mission.
Because to not overflow with the love that you have received to others
is like finding a cure for cancer and keeping it to yourself.
Every Christian is a missionary.
And so that's what we're going to look at today.
Every Christian is a missionary.
Now, I don't know about you,
but I kind of have this problem with the word missionary
because when I think of missionary,
I think of guys in kind of oversized hats
with like ridiculous moustaches,
kind of walking into exotic countries,
telling people they're uncivilized heathens,
and then forcing them to convert to Christianity,
taking their land away at the same time,
and then thinking they're doing God's will
because now the natives will have Jesus
and they've all got to have tea time at five o'clock
because that's what God likes.
You see, I'm British.
And God obviously likes British things.
But my guard once said to me,
he said when I started talking to him about Christianity,
he said,
Christianity, that's a foreign religion.
We Chinese, we have our own religions, thank you.
We don't need Western people like you
imposing your way of doing things and thinking on us.
We have got our own things already.
And it's that kind of image that Isaiah
and that world that Isaiah is actually speaking into,
where religion was actually synonymous with power,
self-righteousness, wealth, injustice,
and the people of Israel, God's people,
had lost their vision for what God had called them to be,
which would be the mission and a light
to the nations around them.
So God had brought them down low.
He'd exiled them.
Nations had come.
They'd stripped them low.
They'd been exiled in a foreign land
like the Koreans and Chinese
who were shipped off to Japan in the Second World War.
That's kind of what Israel had happened to them.
And it's a dark time.
They're feeling like God has abandoned them.
And some of you know what it feels like
to feel like God may have abandoned you.
But Isaiah comes to them and says,
there's a new day.
There's a new hope.
There's a new vision.
There's a new hope for you.
So here's my two key points I want us to really talk about.
One, the sun has risen, so wake up.
Two, God's vision is global, so look up.
The sun has risen, so wake up.
God's vision is global, so look up.
The sun's risen.
That first verse that we read,
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
The image here, and I've put in your bulletin chapter 59,
because that comes before,
is it's nighttime.
It's dark.
It's not Hong Kong dark, you know,
where there's so much light pollution
that you can't see the stars.
This is like power cut,
complete pitch black darkness.
Some of us watermark men,
we went on a blind simulation.
I don't know if you've done it.
It's called Dialogue in the Dark.
We went there last year,
and it's pitch black.
You cannot even see your hand in front of you.
And I don't know if you've had experience,
but it's extraordinarily what you do
when you can't see anything.
You see, in this situation,
you start groping men's legs
and hairy hands in front of you
just to kind of feel your way.
And you do kind of stuff
which you'd just be completely ashamed of
if people could see you.
But, you know, it's kind of reassuring
when you begin to grab hold of somebody
because you actually feel like,
oh, I've found somewhere to go.
And the picture Isaiah 59 paints is
the sin of the people of Israel.
It's cut them off from God,
and they're kind of groping around
like blind men,
trying to find some reassurance.
They're lost.
They're purposeless.
They need some direction.
And then suddenly,
up over the Mount of Olives
outside of Jerusalem,
the sun starts rising.
A new day is dawning.
And when the sun rises,
it does a couple of things.
Light, first of all,
it exposes what you've been doing
in the darkness.
You know when you turn the lights on?
If my hand was still on Graham's knee
as the lights came on,
I'd have been pretty embarrassed.
When light comes,
it brings your shame.
It brings the darkness.
It brings the things
which are deep down inside.
It brings them to light.
And that's painful.
You know, you didn't think
your room was dusty,
but then the sun flooded in,
and in the rays of the sunbeams,
you suddenly see
there's a million particles
of dust in your flat.
That's what God's light does.
It reveals the depth of your sin
when you thought you were okay.
But that's not all light does.
Light also comes,
and it dispels darkness.
The sins of the past
that have been revealed
are wiped out.
The despair,
the lossless,
the purposelessness
is a thing of the past.
There is new direction.
There's new hope.
It's a new day.
That's what light does.
Now, every religion in the world
recognizes in some way
that humanity is in darkness.
You know this?
You just turn on the news.
I mean, even last night,
there's violence
at the European football championships.
There's racism.
There's so much suffering
and pain in the world,
and every religion recognizes
that we're in a dark hole
we've dug of our own selfishness,
ignorance, guilt, shame.
It recognizes those things.
But every other religion says
the way out of this hole
that we're in
is to try and climb your way
up to God somehow.
Islam says you have five pillars
if you do them.
That's why you do Ramadan,
because if you do these things,
you'll kind of be able
to get out of the hole
and maybe get up to God,
get up to some salvation,
get up to find some light somewhere.
Buddhism says you've got to meditate
to get enlightened.
And if you meditate enough,
you'll get light,
you'll get out of the hole.
Atheism says,
in the words of the humanist chaplain
of Harvard University,
Greg Epstein,
he says,
we have the potential
for strength,
wisdom,
and love inside of ourselves.
We've just got to tap in
to the potential we have
and pull ourselves out of the mess.
There's no one else to help us.
Whichever way,
whichever religion you take,
it tells you
you've got to get out of the hole
by yourself of the darkness.
And maybe if there's a God,
just kind of hope
he'll give you a hand halfway
if you've been good enough
at climbing.
The problem is,
if you try and climb out
by yourself,
how high is good enough
for God to help you?
And the problem is,
no matter how much you climb,
you know,
we keep seeing to dig
the hole deeper as well
because we keep sinning.
We slip back down.
And either what we do
is when you rely
on your own efforts
to kind of get out of the hole,
you either end up
feeling so much better
than everybody else
who seems to be
a little bit lower than you.
And you kind of look down
and you exclude people
and you feel contempt for them.
Or you,
when you realize
you've slipped back down
and you feel like
you're a failure,
you end up kicking yourself
and think,
oh, I failed again.
But Christianity comes in
and says,
we don't hide
what's in the darkness.
We don't deny,
we don't blame others
and blame the people
out there
for our problems.
We just say,
the way out of the hole
is not if I try
and climb out
because I can't.
I need somebody
to climb into the hole
to come down
to us.
Christianity says,
God came down
to us
because we could not
go up to him.
Your light
has come.
We love God
because he first
loved us.
You know,
when the sun rose
this morning,
what did you do
to make it rise?
Did you send it
a quick kind of
reminder text
just to say,
hey, just in case,
it's kind of six o'clock.
Did you send an email?
Is it a mail?
No.
The sun rises
not because
of your effort
but in spite of you.
It's what the Bible
calls grace.
And this sunrise
in verse two
is God himself,
God's glory.
You see,
the light
that every religion,
every person
is looking for
in the world,
in John 8,
Jesus comes
and he refers
back to this
prophecy of Isaiah
and he says,
I am the light
of the world.
Not just of a few
little religious people.
I'm not just the light
of the guys
who climbed really well
out of the hole.
No,
I am the light
of the world,
even of the British.
He who follows me
will not walk
in darkness.
You'll not stay
in the pit
but will have
the light
of life.
All religions say
you've got to make
your own way
out of the hole.
Christianity says
God made his way
down to us.
On the cross,
Jesus came into
the pit
of our selfishness,
our ignorance,
our pride.
He died our death
when we couldn't
reach him.
He brings us
into relationship
with the God
of the whole universe.
Religion,
even religion
dressed up
in Christian clothes
makes it all
about you,
all about your efforts,
all about what
you've done.
The world
and your salvation
is on your shoulders
but Christianity
says we have
an amazingly
glorious God
and no other God
in any other religion
is like this God
because no other God
would come down
to us.
Your light
has come.
There's no other
salvation
in the whole of history.
Read any religious books,
there is no other God
who does this
as a holy God
of the universe
who comes down
and dies for his people.
There isn't one.
That's why
Christ
is our light.
If you're not a Christian,
Jesus is asking
you,
reaching down
and saying,
will you stop
trying to climb
out of the hole
by yourself,
trying to do your,
get your way up
to kind of make yourself
feel good
and write about yourself
through your work,
through all the other things
that you try and do
and will you let go
of the wall
that you're climbing
and hold on
with a hand of faith
to Christ.
Repent of making life
about you
when actually life
is about
the worship
of the creator God
of the universe.
Pastor John Piper,
he says,
missions exist
because worship doesn't.
You know,
you only praise
something
according to the worth
of the deed
or the person.
when I was about
seven or eight,
I managed to swim
25 meters.
I told my mom,
that's about all the glory
and recognition
that that deserves.
But you know,
it's the Olympics this year
and if I won the gold medal
at swimming,
which I'm not going to,
then that would deserve
global recognition
because that's a feat
that is worthy
of praise.
But if the God
of the whole universe,
the holy,
awesome God,
creator God
who is so far above us
would choose
to come down
and die on a cross
for you
and for me,
is that not worthy
of global praise?
For millennia,
people have been looking
to get out of the hole,
but Christ has come down.
And so he calls us,
he says,
your light has come.
If you're a Christian,
notice what the response is.
Arise,
wake up,
shine,
your light has come.
You've got to shine
because your light has come.
Now if you're a Christian,
you know some of this.
But,
but it says,
strange,
arise and shine.
Think about it.
If you tell
a reflective surface
to shine,
that's a bit weird.
Right?
Because it just shines
automatically.
Okay?
You see,
normally it's like
the IFC.
You know,
when the sun hits
the windows on the IFC,
you see the light
shining.
Right?
And the picture here
is of the city of Jerusalem
which represents
God's people
shining,
radiating,
reflecting the light
of this amazing God
out to the people,
the nations all around.
That's the image.
But,
why does he command you
to shine?
Well,
because the thing is,
the only way the IFC
will not reflect
the light of the sun
is if it's wrapped
in one of those,
you know,
those green kind of
skyscraper blankets.
Do you know those kind of things
when they're doing the scaffolding
and they kind of wrap them around?
You know,
and Isaiah is saying,
the sun,
Jesus Christ,
has risen on you
so you can't put God
on snooze in your life.
Turn over and wrap yourself
in a blanket
saying,
God,
I quite like the light
but now is not the time
that I want to reflect you.
I don't really want
to wake up now.
I'd like to be comfortable.
I've got a few other things
that I'd like to do
with my life.
Let me just kind of
wrap myself up
a little bit more.
I've got work to do.
I've got kids to get in school.
I've got this.
I've got that.
I've got all these different things
and he says,
wake up.
You say it to your kids
in the morning.
Wake up.
Shine
because you're not
going to experience
the beauty
and the warmth
and the grace
of the sun
if you don't,
if you're hiding
under the blankets.
The preacher Spurgeon
once said,
I believe
that there are
some Christians
who've wasted
a large part
of their lives
for need
of somebody
or something
to wake them up.
He says,
there's more evil
worked in the world
by lack of thought,
by people just being
comfortable with their own lives,
than by downright malice.
There's more good
left undone
through lack of thought
than through any
aversion
to doing good.
Some Christians,
he says,
appear to have been born
in the land
of slumber
and they continually
live in their
native country
of dreams.
They occasionally
rub their eyes
and suppose themselves
to be wide awake.
But they're in
the enchanted ground
and though they know
it not,
they're little better
than sleepwalkers
most of their days.
Are you
a Hong Kong
sleepwalker
who is actually
just loving
the comfort
of your own bed,
your own world,
your own mission?
Because God says,
wake up.
I've got a bigger
calling for you
than your little
tiny vision
of just building
your career.
I've got so much
more than your
tiny vision
of just getting
your kids
into that right school.
I've got something
so much bigger
for you
and I want you
to enjoy me.
I want you to know me.
But if you just
stay in that bed
wrapped up in your blanket,
you're never going
to enjoy the sun.
there's a purpose
in life
and he wants you
to be on his mission.
Wake up.
Some of us,
we've seen the light
but you know,
we've taken steps
and you're busy,
you're active,
you're doing things
in church,
you're doing all this stuff
but it's so easy
that we think
that God has
all these expectations
on us
and we're trying
to meet up
to all the expectations
that we think he has.
So when you hear
God say something
about get on the time
to mission,
it just feels
like another burden,
another kind of heavy weight
that I've got to do.
And you maybe look
at the things
that you've done
or you haven't done
and you feel
you've messed up
and you've failed again.
And so it sounds to you
like I'm telling you
to climb out of the hole again
to kind of make yourself
a better Christian
and God's call to you
is not get on mission
because it will make you
a better Christian.
God's call is
look back to the sun
of God's grace
and God's mercy
because that's,
if you want to radiate the sun,
you look at the sun.
You don't become obedient
to God
by focusing on your sin.
You become obedient
to God
when your sin
leads you to the cross.
You see the depth
of his love,
his grace,
his mercy,
his forgiveness for you
and you respond
in worship
and that's going to leave you
and motivate you
to love him
to get on his mission
more than guilt
or failure ever will.
Wake up.
See the sun.
Your light has come.
Secondly,
there's a global vision.
So look up.
It says,
verse 2,
3,
For behold,
darkness shall cover the earth
and thick darkness the peoples.
But the Lord will rise upon you
and his glory will be seen upon you
and nations will come to your light
and kings to the brightness of your sunrise.
That's the word of your sunrise.
Lift up your eyes all around
and see.
God's mission was global
before globalization.
And there is
an inauguration of this vision
when Christ,
the light of the world,
comes.
And there will one day
be a completion
of this vision
when Christ returns
and all the nations
will come and bow down
at his feet.
But in the meantime,
in the gap between the cross
and the Christ's return,
Jesus says to his disciples
in Matthew 5,
he says,
You
are the light
of the world.
Did you know that?
He says,
You are the light.
And you think,
But Jesus,
you just said,
You're the light.
And he says,
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I am the light,
but you,
like the IFC,
are called as my people
because I'm creating
a new people
who have seen this light,
who have a new identity
in Christ
from all the nations.
And you are to reflect
this beautiful image
to a dark world
around you.
A people
who are not
hiding our light
under a basket
or a blanket,
but a people
who are not defined
by our culture,
but are defined
by Christ
and his identity.
As we've said,
we live in a city
which is surrounded
by many nations.
In this church,
we have many nations.
Who here is from
South America
or America?
Who here is from
Europe?
I do count,
even though England
wants to be out of Europe.
Who here is from Asia?
Good proportion.
That's good.
We're in Asia.
Okay.
Who here is from Oceania?
Like, that's Australia,
New Zealand,
if you didn't know.
Okay.
Who here is from Africa?
Okay.
Who here is from Antarctica?
Okay.
Milan thinks he's a penguin,
but,
yeah,
we're a little lacking
on the Antarcticans there,
but you get the point.
God has brought nations
even into this church.
Isn't that incredible?
God wants to open our eyes
to see that his mission
is not just about
kind of getting up
and being more busy
with more activity.
His mission
is about giving you
a new lens
to see the world
around you.
It's a new lens
to see,
and he wants you
to look up
and see what is around you
so that you begin
to see
who God might be
calling you to.
He's bringing
a multi-ethnic people
to himself,
but the lens
through which
you need to see
has a couple of lenses.
I just want to talk
about a couple here.
One lens
through which
will help us
to see the people
that God has placed
around us
is this.
God loves
unity
in diversity,
and God
is making
a people
whose chief identity
is not their culture,
but is Jesus Christ.
The light
that we're drawn to
is Jesus.
That's our centerpiece.
However,
cultural diversity
is beautiful
and celebrated.
I don't know
if you looked
in this passage,
but did you see
there are
Arabic tribes,
you know,
Midian,
Ifa,
Sheba,
that's kind of
Yemen direction.
There are
traders,
that's the ships
of Tarshish,
foreign traders,
all these
formerly enemies
of Israel,
and do you know
what they're bringing?
Sheep,
goats,
camels,
frankincense,
gold,
all kinds of things.
These are the
cultural
and national
treasures
of these tribes,
of these ethnic groups,
and they're offering
them in praise
to God.
You see,
when God
called Adam
to fill the earth,
well,
that's the one
commandment
we've done
pretty well.
We have
filled it.
You know,
there is,
we have.
You know,
there's languages,
and it's not just
babies,
okay?
There's languages,
there's music,
there's food,
there's architecture.
Every culture,
language,
ethnic group
has wealth
and beauty
that when
the nations
are drawn
to Christ,
that beauty
is not just
kind of ignored
and suddenly
everyone's become
monochrome.
But actually,
that is glorious.
Because,
you know,
samba
was never meant
for the glory
of Brazil.
It was meant
for the glory
of God.
The iPhone
was not meant
for the glory
of America.
It was meant
for the glory
of God.
Dim sum
was not meant
for the glory
of Hong Kong.
It was meant
for the glory
of God.
And one day,
that will happen.
But in the nations,
when we come,
we should celebrate.
Each of us
has something
unique
that God
has placed
in us
because of
our cultural
heritage.
John Piper
again says it
like this.
He says,
the beauty
and power
and praise
that will come
to the Lord
from the diversity
of the nations
are greater
than the beauty
and power
that would come
to him
if the chorus
of the redeemed
were culturally uniform.
There is more
depth of beauty
is felt
from a choir
that sings
in parts
than from a choir
that only sings
in unison.
Unity in diversity
is more beautiful
and more powerful
than the unity
of uniformity.
Do you get that?
Unity in diversity
is more beautiful
and more powerful
than the unity
of uniformity.
So when you look
around at each other
when you look
around at each other
do you see
the beauty?
Because there is
a picture
of heaven
here
but as his people
now in the church
we are called
to be a foretaste
a little picture
not perfect
that will come
but a little picture
and it is
amazing privilege
to be an international
church
in an international
city
and so often
we fail
to miss it
fail to see it
so let me ask
when did you last
celebrate the fact
that you have got
people from every
nation in this place
in your community
groups?
How do you look
to actually
thank God
for the cultural
differences
that you have?
because if you
want to have
a mission
for the nations
you have to see
the glory of God
that he wants
to transform
and you need
to see
there is a unique
beauty
and there are
some cultures
you can see
everyone can see
the beauty
more than other
cultures
and we all have
a different view
there are some
cultures you think
I can see the beauty
there are some
cultures you think
I'm looking
but there is
beauty
and if you want
to get a vision
for the nations
you have to see
where the beauty is
that's one lens
the second lens
though
is every culture
is in darkness
that's what it says
the nations
are covered
with like
thick clouds
so the sun
is blocked out
from reaching it
that's the language
there
there is evil
and idolatry
in every culture
one culture
is not better
than another
I mean just
look around
look at
the caste system
which is still
which is illegal
but still exists
in India
look at ISIS
and the stuff
that's going on
in Syrian refugees
look at the racism
that's going on
in Europe
and America
and all the strong
anti-immigrant feeling
look at the tensions
in Hong Kong
and the mainland
look at
you know
I walked into a shop
in Central
and the shopkeeper
spoke to me
very politely
behind me
was someone
like an Indonesian
helper
and suddenly
her tone
of shopkeeper
changed completely
there was a look
there was a tone
which said
you are not worth
something
every one of our cultures
has a darkness
of a racism
of a self-importance
and the church
is called
to be a different
light
the reason is
in the darkness
every culture
needs the gospel
religion telling yourself
to get out of the hole
is not going to do it
the gospel
has the resources
to say to every
single culture
there is beauty
but there is also
brokenness
you need a light
you need a savior
and the thing
is for me
I can be so indifferent
to the darkness
that I see around me
so wrapped up
in my world
in my work
and all those other things
that I haven't woken up
to see the darkness
here
or I can find
my identity
so much
in my own culture
that I don't see
the need
of the gospel
I only see
the things
that I dislike
I don't see myself
as particularly racist
or nationalistic
I grew up
in an all white town
but a second family
was a beautiful family
from an Angolan family
who were refugees
I've taught people
from pretty well
every country
in the world
I'm married
to someone
from Hong Kong
I have friends
in every continent
except Antarctica
but I used to teach
in a place
with a lot
of Muslim students
from the Arab world
and our staff room
was right next
to the bathroom
and break time
would come
and while we were
trying to relax
just get a few minutes
break before I had
to teach another lesson
suddenly
through the door
and the wall
I would hear this
and then again
for ten minutes
and I would go
into the bathroom
because you need to go
and it would be covered
like I mean
Noah's Ark
could have floated
on the water there
because of the ritual washings
that had been going on
it had soaked
the whole floor
and I'm kind of skating around
thinking
I can't believe this
I can't believe
these kind of people
so inconsiderate
they
are disgusting
that's what I thought
disgusting
now
to my mind
did I kind of think
well actually
I may be the only Christian
that these people
have ever met
in their entire lives
what an opportunity
to share the gospel
with these people
was that a thought
that came to my mind
not even close
didn't even cross my mind
all I could think about
was
and how these guys
were making
my bathroom break
just so much worse
than I thought
it should be
because you see
it's not that
there are things
that don't annoy you
in other cultures
there are
some are
just neutral
cultural things
some are sin things
some are
you know
it's a whole mix
of things
but I would
I would
even with the other teachers
we'd kind of
knowingly
you know
there's that
there's that kind of
knowing look
do you know
when someone comes past
that kind of
superiority thing
oh it's them
do you know
you know that kind of thing
British are experts
I don't
you know
we've taught the world
you know
it's
it's called self-righteousness
and that's how
I was responding
and you know
the reason why
I'm sometimes
blinded to see
the people around me
and the opportunities
that there are
around me
is because
sometimes I don't like
the differences
in culture
it's sometimes
uncomfortable
it sometimes
offends
what my own culture
holds as important
you know
British culture
doesn't do that
but when
someone
offends
what your culture
judges as
appropriate behavior
we end up
judging them
and thinking
we're culturally
superior to them
and we often
end up excluding
and then we have
comments
then we have looks
and when we do that
what I've done
is I've begun
to find my identity
in my culture
more than in Christ
and I've blinded me
to seeing other
people's need
for the gospel
because I think
I'm actually a little
bit higher out of
that hole than they are
they're obviously
so deep
too deep for Jesus
but it's actually
I mean it's insane
I think I'm better
because I'm more polite
but they could turn
around to me
as a British guy
and say
why are you so bad
at hospitality
because actually
they would open up
their home
at the drop of a hat
to have a stranger
even come in
with a meal
and if you go
in the UK
to invite a stranger
into your home
is like inviting
a terrorist to tea
it's like
you know
it's like
you don't do it
but every culture
has brokenness
our greatest need
and the greatest need
of the people
who you see around you
isn't more politeness
that will be nice
sometimes
particularly when
you're on the MTR
but that's not
the greatest need
of people around us
the greatest need
we all
every culture
needs
the light
and when we've forgotten
when I act
with that self-righteousness
I'm saying
my righteousness
is not in Christ
I'm saying
that I've forgotten
that Christ
came down
into my
darkness
crossed over
the greatest
cultural barrier
between heaven
and a pit
of racism
a pit of segregation
a pit of hurt
a pit
where we just
we just
love the idea
of tolerance
but we hate
the idea
of actual people
right
we love the notion
of tolerance
until you actually
meet people
who are just
not like you
but the gospel
has resources
to level the ground
and it tells us
I can't base
my identity
on my culture
because the culture
is both beautiful
and broken
I need to see
when I'm faced
with that
my own need
of grace
I'm not defined
by my culture
I'm defined
by an amazing God
who is worthy
of universal
worship
that's what
we proclaim
and you know
even as an
international church
it's very possible
for us to be
international
but still segregated
because we still
have attitudes
in our hearts
we're actually
deep down
even though
we don't say
we kind of
think we're better
and Christ says
the gospel
changes that
you're a new people
you're united
in me
celebrate the culture
where there's
difference
remember grace
because Christ
crossed that
barrier for you
I know
that we all
have stereotypes
you know
stereotypes
are natural
we all generalize
you know
we all generalize
we generalize
because we have
to survive
you know
if you see
three English guys
all drinking tea
at five o'clock
you assume
that all English
guys drink tea
at five o'clock
right
you know
we do that
yeah
and you see
another guy
and then
it just kind of
confirms
your stereotypes
but when
your stereotypes
stop you
loving the people
that God has
placed you
around you
and you withdraw
from them
that's when
you see the gospel
as you've forgotten
the gospel
you've forgotten
the gospel
and the cross
because Jesus
crossed that
cultural barrier
for you
will call you
to cross
maybe even
in this church
there are people
that you have
never gone up to
because you're
actually just afraid
you don't know
what to say
you don't know
what to do
and why don't you
start and reach out
and just say
hi
I'd love to find out
about your culture
because that's
where when we
begin to see
the beauty
we begin to
God begins
to open our eyes
and we begin
to be a light
in this dark place
which is segregated
so terribly
in so many ways
so practically
what does this mean
I think one thing
get curious
think about the people
in your offices
think about where
you're going on holiday
think about the business
trips that you take
you may be going
into places
and meeting people
and their cultures
where they've never
heard the gospel
or they think
they know the gospel
but they're actually
just religiously
trying to climb
their way
out of the pit
and you may be
the only light
of grace
that they see
so get curious
about their culture
show an interest
because you can say
my God is a God
who loves cultures
why don't you get curious
and go and chat
to Amelia afterwards
and find out
about what she's up to
we have a Mandarin
ministry
in Watermark
if you speak Mandarin
there are a million
Mandarin speakers
in Hong Kong
many of whom
have never heard
the gospel
what an amazing
opportunity
for us to be here
and be involved
go and talk to David
or one of the guys
who are involved
in the Mandarin ministry
come and see me
when you go on holiday
this summer
some of you are going to go
why don't you get your kids
if you go on
get your kids
to actually research
how many people
are Christians
in that country
what's the church
like in that country
what's the religions
like in that country
because when we get
curious about things
God begins to open
our eyes
to see the need
God has given us
as a church
a unique privilege
to impact nations
some of you
are going to transition out
and God's going to
transition you
to other nations
that is a great
missionary call
to a new place
and it's not that
we have to go in
and just lambast
everyone with the gospel
it's there we go
as a light
showing grace
and reaching out
to them
and in that process
of doing that
and asking about
somebody else
we begin
to then see
where the gospel
makes a difference
in their own lives
and we call
people to see
a God
who is worthy
of worship
final thing
this vision
the last book
of the Bible
Revelation
do you know
Isaiah 60
is in the last
book of the Bible
Revelation
21
22
it says
that heaven
the new creation
God
will be
the sun
and the light
because there will be
no more need
for light
because God alone
will be the light
of every nation
and it says
the kings
who represent cultures
will come in
God
is the one
who is worthy
of our worship
he's worthy
of the people
in your office
knowing about him
will you wake up
will you look up
will you see
that God
has got us
on this trajectory
where all the nations
you know
there's going to be
samba in heaven
there's going to be
hip hop
there's going to be
all the cultural
expressions
so let's enjoy
let's see
let's get on board
with a God
who is worthy
let's pray
Father I pray
that right now
you would show us
where some of us
have actually
I think probably
all of us
in different ways
myself
so often
that we actually
find our identity
more in our culture
or more in the way
we think things
should be done
than in you
show us where
we're blind
to see the people
around us
because we've been
so wrapped up
in our little blankets
open our eyes
to see that you're
calling us
to something greater
show us
what that means
show us
what the next step
that you want us
to take is
whether it's just
greeting somebody
whether it's just
asking questions
whether it's actually
we need to get
and giving money
whether it's we need
to just find out
whether it's we need
to just see the people
in our own congregation
and begin to start
reaching out
may we be a church
which
reflects
the beauty
of a God
who has such
diversity
may we be a people
in a world
of segregation
and racism
and self-righteous
judging
and pride
that we don't
when we see that
in ourselves
we just run back
to the gospel
may we see that
Jesus
you're our only hope
you're a light
and may that be
something beautiful
in this divided city
that other people
will be drawn
to the worship
of you
in your name
amen
and hear
life
you're our only
who's
the �