Sorry, I forgot my Bible at home, of all things.
As a pastor, you're not supposed to forget your Bible,
so I'm going to be reading out of the bulletin
our scripture today.
But I do want to extend a thank you to Matthew
and the elders of this church for having me.
It is an honor to be here this morning and to be with you.
And as Matthew said, you know, I grew up, in a sense,
in this church for several years during junior high.
And it was in this church that I attended
my first communicants class, that I became a church member,
that I took my first communion.
And so it's great to be back with you guys this morning,
worshiping 20-plus years later.
It is a wonderful thing.
Before we dig into this psalm, let me pray for our time.
Heavenly Father, we do thank you and praise you
that you are the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Father, we thank you that your word stands.
Even as we fail and fade away, your word stands forever.
And in it we find hope, that we have life in you,
that we have resurrection in your Son,
and we have hope eternally.
Lord, I pray that you would open our hearts and minds
this morning to be able to see you clearly again,
to be able to worship you in the splendor of your truth.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
Our psalm this morning is Psalm 87,
and I will be reading it to us from the ESV.
This one was born there, they say.
And of Zion it shall be said,
This one and that one were born in her,
for the Most High himself will establish her.
The Lord records as he registers the peoples.
This one is born there.
Singers and dancers alike say,
All my springs are in you.
Well, I love the fact that you are spending your summer in the psalms.
The psalms have always been, to me, so rich and so deep.
They meet our souls in the joys and the turmoils of life.
They feed us.
They teach us how to praise,
how to voice protest and complaint,
how to plead and yearn,
how to trust, give thanks,
have hope, weep, and mourn.
And the list goes on.
The psalms wrestle through the spectrum of the human experience,
focusing our hearts upon the God who upholds and governs all things
and who loves his people.
Our psalm this morning is a beautiful psalm about the church.
Psalm 87 reminds us of the reality of the kingdom of God.
Too often, we forget who we are.
We forget that we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven.
We are a forgetful people.
I am a forgetful person.
I constantly fail to recall the truth that I am a child of God,
freed from condemnation, declared righteous.
I am being made holy.
I own an inheritance greater than anything I can dream or imagine.
Too often, we all forget that we are the sons and daughters of the king.
And we need to hear this message over and over again.
We do not have to fear in this life or in the life to come.
We are a people loved by God.
Our identity is rooted in his grace.
And when I was thinking about this psalm in the context of the kingdom,
I thought of Handel's Messiah and my dad.
You see, after our time here while I was in junior high,
my family moved to Village 7.
And I soon found out that every Easter Sunday morning,
at the end of the service,
they would invite the congregation up, whoever wanted to sing,
to join the choir and Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah.
And every Easter Sunday, without fail,
my dad would enthusiastically jump to his feet
and run to the front to be a part of that great chorus.
And as a teenager growing up,
you know, I think every teenager has the same experience with their parents
of just being embarrassed that they belong to their parents.
So every year, I put my hand on my face and said,
oh no, there goes dad again.
Singing off key to Hallelujah Chorus in front of everybody.
But the reason I thought of my dad in the context of this chorus,
or in this psalm,
is that as he was singing the chorus and belting it out,
often with the wrong words or in the wrong tune,
he would sing out,
the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever.
And that line has always stood out to me.
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord.
You see, at the heart of the gospel message,
there is a kingdom.
A king and his people united in joy, purpose, life, and love.
The Bible opens with God creating everything,
calling into existence all things,
ordering, separating, bringing purpose and life.
And on the sixth day,
he created humanity as the crowning jewel of his creation.
He created human beings,
you and me,
made in his image,
who were to have deep relationship with himself,
who were to rule his created order.
Adam and Eve were created as king and queen,
created to rule as vice regents of the universe,
image bearers of the eternal God,
who were to expand the order and purpose of his kingdom
into all the earth and beyond.
As we know,
tragically,
Adam and Eve ushered a fallen kingdom of this world
when they entered into sin.
And before they ate of the forbidden tree,
the kingdom of God was united to this world perfectly.
There was communion and fellowship,
beautiful relationship between God and man,
between man and the created order.
Humanity walked with their Lord,
unashamed with all dignity,
wisdom,
happiness,
and peace.
When Adam and Eve sinned,
they tore apart that relationship.
Evil, disease, and death
spread to everything we see around us
and everyone we know.
The world was plunged into the kingdom of brokenness,
futility,
and death.
But yet,
even at that moment of our parents' first sin,
we see the grace
and the plan of God.
In Genesis 3,
Adam and Eve were given a covering for their guilt
and their shame.
They were also given a promise.
It is a promise in seed form
that one day God would provide
from the seed of the woman
a Messiah to crush
and destroy the works of sin and Satan.
That one day there would be once again
perfect communion,
fellowship,
and relationship between God and man.
What man had broken,
God would remake
a restoration
of the kingdom.
And we see throughout the Old Testament
the seed
takes root.
We see the family of Israel
chosen to proclaim
the promises of God.
We see King David
given the promise
that one day
one of his sons
would reign,
and not for a lifetime,
but for an eternity.
We see,
even in the exile,
a remnant
that remembers
and hopes
in the king to come.
The gospel
is the good news
because it's the message
that the world
has been groaning
and longing to hear
all of its life.
And in Matthew 4,
Jesus begins his public ministry
with these words,
Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
All the promises,
all the longings,
all the anticipations
found their culmination
in the person
and work
of Christ.
What was seed
in Genesis,
a sapling
in the people of Israel,
a young tree
in the kingdom of David,
a stump cut off
in the exile,
in Christ
is the promised shoot
that flourishes
into the tree
of everlasting life.
The message of the gospel
is one of kingdom.
The kingdom of this world
has become
the kingdom of our God.
Christ has joined
what was previously separated.
He left the glories
of his heavenly throne
to restore,
renew,
and bind up
the brokenness
of this world.
This is the good news
that we celebrate
this morning
and every morning
that Christ has purchased us
by his blood
and given us a place
and a purpose
in that kingdom.
Psalm 87
is a kingdom psalm.
The psalmist here
foresees a day
when not only Israel
but all of the nations
of the world
will find a home
in Zion.
A day when the shalom
of God,
the universal flourishing
of all things
is realized
in time
and space
history.
Through this psalm
we see first of all
that the kingdom
focused church
is a people
loved by God.
Look at verse 1.
On the holy mountain
stands the city
he founded.
The Lord loves
the gates of Zion
more than all
the dwelling places
of Jacob.
Glorious things
of you are spoken,
O city of God.
God has chosen
and established Zion.
He has chosen
and established
his church
for himself.
He has built
this city
on an unshakable foundation.
He is the author
who loves his work.
This is an interesting
statement.
It's a strange
statement.
The Lord loves
the gates of Zion
more than all
the dwelling places
of Jacob.
Why would God
love this place,
this physical place
more than all
the other places
where his people dwell?
What is so special
and unique
about the gates
of Zion?
Yes,
Zion was a beautiful city
and its gates
and architecture
were magnificent.
But there's something
deeper going on here
that caused
the Lord of glory
to love this
particular place.
In the context
of the Old Testament,
Zion was the city
of David.
Jerusalem,
where God's presence
dwelt in the tabernacle
and later the temple.
It was the place
where his people
could know
and experience
communion
and relationship
with him.
The worship
and reconciliation
of Israel
took place here.
It was the touch point
between God
and man.
So you see,
God loves this city
because it is where
he meets
with his people.
For the entire time
that my wife,
Callie,
and I were dating
and engaged,
we lived long distance,
1,000 miles apart
from each other.
And during that time,
I loved the gates
of the airport.
I was always excited
to go to the airport.
And it wasn't that
the airport was amazing.
I don't know any of you
who actually go to the airport
just to hang out
or have a good time.
But I loved that place
because that's where
I got to meet her again.
We would have
face-to-face relationship
again.
I loved that place
because it brought us near.
And God loves Zion
in much the same way
because it is a place
he built
to be with his people.
His bride
that he has chosen
and purified
for himself.
We see in the book
of Hebrews
that the old
sacrificial system
and the physical temple
itself pointed to
and had their fulfillment
in the person of Christ.
God loved us
so much
that he offered up
Christ,
his own perfect son,
his temple
as our perfect sacrifice.
Through the mediation
of his blood,
we are set free
from slavery
to sin and death
and are made righteous
before the king.
As Christians,
we now have access
to the throne room
of grace.
And it's not through
the blood of lambs
or bulls
or our curtains
that separate us.
We have direct
communion with God
through Christ.
We ourselves
are the temple
of God.
In 1 Corinthians 3.16,
Paul writes,
Do you not know
that you are God's temple
and that God's spirit
dwells in you?
God has established
himself in our hearts
and brought us
out of the darkness
into the light
of his true community.
God has chosen
to give power
to his children
in the church.
It is his institution
and as backward
and broken
as we often are
in the church,
he has promised
to prepare his bride
and purify her
to present her
to himself
as faithful
and faultless.
The church
is the betrothed
of God.
He has chosen
to spend eternity
with you and me.
I was in college
when the reality
finally struck me
that God didn't
just love me
in this theoretical
out there type of way,
but he actually
liked me.
I had this view
in my mind
that God was somehow
a grandfather
who kind of
had to love you.
You know,
your grandkid,
you have to be loved
by your grandpa.
It's his job
to do that.
He sends you presents
but really
there's no liking
in the relationship
that we would long for.
But one of my
campus ministers
in college
at Colorado State
told me one time,
he said,
Matt,
you know,
God chose you
for himself
from the foundation
of the world
not because
he had to
but because he wanted
to spend eternity
with you.
He chose
to sacrifice himself
for you
because he likes you.
God delights
in you.
That struck me
and has never
left me since.
God loves his church.
He delights
in you,
his people,
and his kingdom
purposes will never
fail because
he is faithful
to his promise
of love
to his people.
And there is an
already not yet
aspect of this kingdom.
Jesus has ushered
in his kingdom
but right now
it is mostly hidden,
small,
like a mustard seed
and can only be seen
in and through
his people.
We catch glimpses
of the kingdom
when we love each other,
when we worship God
and find joy
and peace in him,
when we serve
one another.
The kingdom
is already,
we taste of its goodness
but one day
Christ will return
and his kingdom
will arrive in full.
We can take comfort
that this life
is not as good
as it gets
and we can have
assurance that
whatever good
we have now in part
we will one day soon
have in fullness
of joy
and perfect satisfaction.
The realities
of the kingdom of God
give us hope
for both now
and for the future.
this kingdom
confronts our fear
and doubt
with love
and peace
and these are
the glorious things
spoken of the city
of God
in verse 3
the grace
that we have been given.
Spurgeon said
that although
the glorious things
were taught
in the streets
of Jerusalem
and seen in her temple
yet this is more
true of the church.
She is founded
in grace
but her pinnacles
glow with glory.
Whatever glorious things
the saints may say
of the church
in their eulogies
they cannot exceed
what the prophets
have foretold
what the angels
have sung
or what God himself
has decreed.
Happy are the tongues
which learn
to occupy themselves
with so excellent
a subject.
Glorious things
of you are spoken
O city of God.
As Christians
we will be
in the great
and glorious
congregation
of those
of whom God says
I love you
and you are mine.
I love seeing
the receiving
of new members
this morning.
It's such a wonderful
thing hearing
the vows of membership
the proclamation
of belonging
to Christ
and his church.
And during the receiving
of new members
I always think about
the words of Jesus
in Luke 12 8
he said this
to his disciples
and I tell you
everyone who
acknowledges me
before men
the son of man
will also acknowledge
before the angels
of God.
What an amazing promise.
Just as we
as members
acknowledge
our trust
in Christ
before these witnesses
Jesus will one day
acknowledge you
and me
before his father
and the watching world.
The Westminster
Shorter Catechism
question 38
which since you guys
are in 37 today
this might be a spoiler
for next week
asks
what benefits
do believers receive
from Christ
at the resurrection?
And the answer
is this
at the resurrection
believers
being raised up
in glory
shall be openly
acknowledged
and acquitted
in the day of judgment
and made perfectly
blessed
in the full
enjoying of God
to all eternity.
See in the judgment
believers will be
revealed in splendor.
You and I
will stand
before the throne
of the Lord of hosts
and he will openly
declare us
his sons and daughters
to the entire
assembled universe.
He will place
his joy
and power
upon us
and we will reign
with him
in his kingdom
forever.
We are the sons
and the daughters
of God.
Too often
the cares
of this world
the pains
of this life
rob me
of this joy
and this hope.
Too often
I fall into
the traps
of self-pity
and self-worship.
We must all
cling to the love
that is ours
in Christ.
We are all
called to remember
the blessings
that we have
in him.
Remember
whose you are.
Your identity
is in him.
Our son Mark
is 20 months old
and every night
Callie and I sing
Jesus loves me
to him.
Jesus loves me
this I know
for the Bible
tells me so.
We hope to instill
him through many ways
and part of that
is through singing
that he is known
and loved by God.
Jesus loves you son
and do you know
how I know this?
He has told me so
in his word.
The Bible
is true.
Jesus loves you.
Because of the love
of Jesus
which was lost
in the garden
of Eden
it has been found
in Christ.
the barrier
between God
and man
introduced by the fall
was shattered
on the cross.
We are once again
enabled to worship
God without a priest
without a human mediator
without fear
of our own blood.
The kingdom focused church
should never be driven
by fear.
The perfect love
of the Father
casts out that fear.
We can have hope
even in the midst
of pain.
We can trust him
even when life
is falling apart
around us.
And we can have
this hope
because we know
the end.
Here's another
spoiler alert.
Christ is coming back
to claim us
as his bride
to fully reveal
his kingdom of joy
to you and me.
The blood of the Lamb
the perfect mediator
stands triumphant
for you.
In our opening hymn
John Newton wrote this
Savior
if of Zion's city
I through grace
a member am
let the world
deride or pity
I will glory
in thy name.
Fading is the worldling's
pleasure
all his boasted
pomp and show
solid joys
and lasting treasure
none but Zion's
children know.
Is there anything
more glorious
than knowing
the love
of God?
The kingdom
focused church
is a people
loved by God
and the kingdom
focused church
lives out of
the reality
of that grace.
The rest of
Psalm 87
is a divine
pronouncement
where God
incorporates the
foreign nation
into his holy
city.
We as the church
of God
are founded
in grace
and we are
called to live
lives in that grace
and reach out
with that grace
to the nations
and peoples
around us.
Look at verse 4.
Among those
who know me
I mention Rahab
and Babylon.
Behold
Philistia
and Tyre
with Cush.
This one
was born there
they say.
This list
of nations
in verse 4
is not your
A team.
These are not
even your misfits
or class clowns.
These were
the very enemies
of God.
They hated him
and hated his people.
Rahab
in this context
is another name
for the nation
of Egypt
south of Israel
who enslaved
the people of God
for hundreds of years.
Babylon
the great empire
to the east
were the ones
to destroy Judah
and carry the people
into exile.
Philistia
the close neighbor
to the west
was constantly
at war
with Israel.
Tyre
to the north
was always seeking
to lead the people
astray
into idol worship.
Cush
is the distant land
of Ethiopia
and represented
all the far-flung
pagan nations.
nations.
And all of these nations
north, south, east, and west
and every far-flung land
is here represented
as knowing
and being known
by the God of Israel.
Though they were born apart
God has brought them
into the kingdom
into his family.
In Psalm 86
immediately
preceding our psalm
we read this prophecy
in verse 9.
All the nations
you have made
shall come
and worship
before you
O Lord
and shall glorify
your name.
We see this
fulfilled in the New Testament
and in the book
of Revelation
we see the culmination
of this.
Even future
we see
the final
instance of this.
At the end
of all things present
and the beginning
of all things new
John saw
the new Jerusalem.
Zion
the city of the king.
the kings of the earth
you and I
and the people
from every tribe
tongue and people
will bring their glory
into that city
and the honor
of the nations
will be there
in the light of Christ.
Nothing unclean
will enter it
and in this
we see the mighty glory
of God
that he pursues
even his enemies
with love
and we too
along with these nations
were at one time
enemies of God.
We are these people
I doubt many of you
in here
are ethnically
the people of Israel.
Most all of us
are Gentiles
who have been grafted in
and given a place
and identity
in Zion.
Verse 5
And of Zion
it shall be said
this one
and that one
were born in her
for the most high
himself
will establish her.
The vision of
Psalm 87
is achieved
in the church.
As Paul writes
in Galatians 3
in Christ Jesus
you are all
sons of God
through faith.
For as many of you
were baptized
into Christ
have put on Christ.
There is neither
Jew nor Greek.
There is neither
slave nor free.
There is no male
and female
for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are
Christ's
then you are
Abraham's offspring
and heirs
according to the promise.
The most high
God has established
us in Christ.
in him
we are born again
from death
to life.
Verse 6
The Lord records
as he registers
the people
this one
was born there.
God
gathers us
individually
from our various
backgrounds
and circumstances
and gives us
citizenship
in his kingdom.
He takes our
brokenness
and forms us
into his church.
In Christ
there is new birth.
There is new
identity
and new
names.
We are forever
recorded in the
registry of God's
family.
Adoption has always
been a part of my
story.
I was adopted on
March 19th
1985
when I was
two months old
and on that day
my gotcha day
my parents left
their house
with an empty
car
and drove home
with a
fat
blue eyed
baby
who had no
idea
what was happening
to him.
From that moment
on
I was a
Bostrom
the son
of Gary
and Sarah
and several
years ago
I called my
mom because
I was curious
about my
original birth
certificate
which I'd
never seen.
She told me
that on the
day that my
adoption was
finalized
I was given
a new
birth certificate
a new
identity
my new
name on it.
The old
certificate was
destroyed
and forgotten.
I was
made new.
I was
Matthew
Joseph
Bostrom
their son
and my
earthly
adoption has
been for me
but a
small taste
of the
joy
and majesty
of being
a son
of God.
Christ has
given all
of us
a new
identity.
We are
his
and he has
even given
us a new
birth certificate.
Revelation
13.8 tells
us that there
is a book
the book
of life
of the
lamb
who was
slain.
All
those who
belong to
God have
their names
written in
that book
of life
and our
names have
been written
before the
foundation of
the world
by the will
of God.
And if
you have
trusted in
Christ then
your name
is in that
book right
now never
to be
erased.
The blood
of Christ
the lamb
who is
slain
guarantees
your place
as a
son or
daughter.
His blood
is the
ink that
seals your
status.
We have
been indelibly
grafted into
the family
of God
and share
in his
kingdom.
As we
realized this
we were
able to
proclaim
with the
singers and
dancers in
verse 7
all my
springs are
in you.
As we
know the
realities of
our adoption
by God
as we
know our
identity
all our
joy
all our
hope
comes from
Christ.
To the
Israelites
the people
living in
an errant
environment
springs and
fountains were
precious
the source
of life
and joy
and as
Christians we
know that
every good
and perfect
gift comes
from God
and all our
trust should be
placed in him.
The Messiah
has come
bringing his
kingdom of
joy for
us.
So we
have to
ask what
does this
mean for
us today?
How do we
live in
light of
this kingdom?
It is often
hard for us
to find our
joy in
God.
We are not
yet in that
perfected city
of Zion.
We are
often times
in a land
that is
hostile to
God.
We have
been reconciled
to God
but still
live in a
world of
pain,
misery,
and death.
We await
the new
heavens and
the new
earth where
we will be
fully restored
but we live
here and
now.
But we do
not wait
idly as we
live here.
We have the
promise that we
are the
temples,
that the
spirit of
God is
now even
at work
in our
hearts and
lives and
we are
tasked with
bringing in
the harvest.
We are
called to
live faithfully
as stewards
of what God
has given
to us and
one day when
the master
returns he
will reward
us for that
faithfulness and
multiply blessings
to us.
Think about all
those people who
are enemies of
God in verse
four.
How in the
world were they
brought into the
kingdom?
How were they
made righteous
before a holy
God?
They were
enemies.
I have to
think that even
in the midst of
Israel's slavery,
exile, and
failures again and
again, there were
faithful people
reaching the
lost.
Men, women,
and children who
shared the hope
of the God of
Israel with
any who
would listen
to them.
And just
because we
are in exile
and longing for
our glorious
home does not
mean that we do
not share our
hope with our
captors.
We are to go
forth and
proclaim to the
watching world,
to enemies of
God, the joy
and life of
God.
In Jeremiah
29, when the
people have been
conquered and
taken to
Babylon, when
Jerusalem was
destroyed and the
temple itself
torn down, when
all hope seemed
lost, the Lord
gave these words
to the people.
He says this,
Thus says the
Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel, to
all the exiles whom
I have sent into
exile from Jerusalem
to Babylon.
Build houses and
live in them, plant
gardens and eat
their produce, take
wives and have
sons and daughters,
take wives for
your sons and give
your daughters in
marriage, that they
may bear sons and
daughters.
Multiply there
and do not
decrease, but seek
the welfare of
the city where
I have sent
you into exile.
Pray to the
Lord on its
behalf, for in
its welfare you
will find your
welfare.
Our calling is to
be a light to
those around us,
for God has
promised that he
has a people from
every tribe, tongue
and nation.
We can be bold.
In Acts 15, Paul
is afraid to preach
to the Corinthians
who opposed him,
but the Lord said
to him at night,
Do not be afraid,
but go on speaking
and do not be
silent, for I am
with you, and no
one will attack you
to harm you, for I
have many in this
city who are my
people.
God had called
Paul to this place
because he had
people there whose
names were in his
book, but had yet
not heard the voice
of Christ.
Do not be afraid,
but go on speaking.
Do not be silent.
Paul was called
into Corinth and we
are called to
Colorado Springs.
We are called
wherever we are
to be a witness
to the light of
God.
J. Gresham
Maycham says
something powerful
about faithful
kingdom living.
He writes this,
Instead of
obliterating the
distinction between
the kingdom and
the world, or on
the other hand
withdrawing from
the world into
some sort of
modernized intellectual
monasticism, let
us go joyfully,
enthusiastically to
make the world
the subject of
God.
To the Christian,
he cannot be
indifferent,
to any branch
of earnest
human endeavor.
It must all be
brought into some
relation into the
gospel.
The kingdom must
be advanced, not
merely extensively,
but also
intensively.
The church must
seek to conquer
not merely every
man for Christ,
but also the
whole of man.
The gospel is a
worldview-shaping
reality.
The kingdom of
Christ infiltrates
every area of our
lives and impacts
everything we do.
We are called to be
faithful in the
small things that we
have before us as
well as the large.
We are called to be
a people focused on
the grace that is
ours, seeking to
expand the kingdom of
God wherever he has
placed us.
We have been given a
great commission to go
boldly into this world
knowing that the
kingdom of God is at
hand.
God loves you.
He loves us.
He has and will
continue to be
gracious to us.
He has given us a
name and a family and
he is coming in power
bringing his peace.
We are about to sing
the hymn, I love thy
kingdom, Lord.
And listen to the
words of this first
verse.
I love thy kingdom,
Lord, the house of
thine abode, the church
our blessed redeemer
saved with his own
precious blood.
And I pray that those
words would be true of
your heart, that you
would love the bride of
Christ who is bought
with his blood, that
this church would seek
to expand the kingdom
of God, that you
would long to see your
king in his splendor.
May your joy, your hope
and your delight ever
be that the kingdom of
God is come, that it
has become the kingdom
of this world, has
become the kingdom of
our God and of his
Christ and he shall reign
forever and ever as the
king of kings and the
Lord of lords.
Forever and ever.
Hallelujah.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank you
that in you glorious
things are spoken of us.
In you there is
graciousness to us, that
you have condescended to
us.
Lord, we were your
enemies, we were far
off, we were these
foreign nations that you
have brought.
Lord, I pray that this
joy, this reality, this
identity would permeate
our lives, that we would
be faithful.
Lord, that the light that
you have given to us in
Christ would shine from
us, that it would exude
from our pores and touch
everything that we come
in contact with.
Lord, I pray that you
would make us into
kingdom individuals, but
not leave us alone as
individuals.
I pray that we would
unite in this, your
church, that we would be
missional as we see the
world around us lost and
broken.
We have hope and
truth and life in you.
Lord, I thank you.
In your name we pray.
Amen.