WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.000 Our reading is from Matthew chapter 22, verses 1 to 14. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.560 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:18.960 The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:26.600 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 00:00:27.560 --> 00:00:29.399 Then he sent some more servants and said, 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.660 Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:36.920 My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:38.500 Come to the wedding banquet. 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:44.240 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his field, another to his business. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:48.340 The rest seized his servants, ill-treated them, and killed them. 00:00:48.940 --> 00:00:50.000 The king was enraged. 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:54.040 He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:55.980 Then he said to his servants, 00:00:56.579 --> 00:01:03.480 The wedding banquet is ready, but everyone I invited, for those I invited, did not deserve to come. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:07.520 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. 00:01:08.180 --> 00:01:12.099 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, 00:01:12.240 --> 00:01:13.879 the bad as well as the good. 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:16.799 And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:22.640 But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man who was not wearing wedding clothes. 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:23.840 He asked, 00:01:24.099 --> 00:01:26.299 How did you get here without wedding clothes, friend? 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:27.879 The man was speechless. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.459 Then the king told the attendants, 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:34.419 Tie him hand and foot and throw him outside into the darkness, 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.500 where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:01:38.060 --> 00:01:40.359 For many are invited, but few are chosen. 00:01:40.359 --> 00:02:10.360 Please may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:16.520 to the Lord. It's such a great message for us to hear as the people of God, to come to church, 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:24.540 to remind ourselves whom we belong to and who we serve. We are here to think about this question, 00:02:24.700 --> 00:02:32.180 why bother with church? It's an important question for us to ask. As I was saying this morning, 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:37.460 we're going to spend three weeks asking the question, three different answers. And the 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:45.580 first answer is all to do with God's work, what God is doing in the church and what he's doing 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:52.920 through the church, what his purposes are, and those determine why coming to church and being part 00:02:52.920 --> 00:03:01.360 of the church is so significant. We're going to be looking at various texts from the Gospels. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:07.400 If I'd have been more wise, I might have waited till I had two fully working hands, but there 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:14.719 we go. There may be some awkward pauses while I shuffle in my pages. But here we are, a typical 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:24.580 summer Sunday. I have an approximately 15-minute walk to church and I have passed by some very popular 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:31.259 Sunday options. Lots of people stopping for coffee, lots of people stopping for decadent hot chocolate, 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:38.859 lots of people enjoying time in the meadows, playing a game of tennis, or taking in some of the shows. 00:03:40.079 --> 00:03:47.000 All of those things are good things. So why choose church? Think about any of those alternatives and we 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:52.620 might say, well, they seem perhaps more relaxing. For many people, they would certainly seem more fun. 00:03:52.620 --> 00:04:00.240 They're probably easier and they would certainly, to other people, seem the normal choice. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:08.800 So why bother with church? It's a question well worth asking. Even if it's been our habit since day one, 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:15.700 we want to think carefully about why we come. I hope over these three weeks we'll be encouraged 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:21.680 to recognize the value, the significance of church. Perhaps even we'll be inspired to come to church 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:27.620 differently as we think about why is it that you and I need the church and also why does the church need 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:37.300 us? It begins with whose church is it anyway? It's typical for us, I suppose, if we belong to a local 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:41.360 church to say this is my church or this is our church. And there's a sense, of course, in which that's 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:47.780 true. But ultimately, as Christians, we believe that this is God's church. And we begin with the 00:04:47.780 --> 00:04:56.120 understanding that local churches are part of God's good idea for the world. Just as the church global, 00:04:56.259 --> 00:05:02.920 the church universal, is God's good idea, the local church is for the good of God's people. 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:15.520 We need sometimes, I think, to put on new lenses when it comes to our approach and attitude to the church. 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:22.800 Because at the same time as it seeming very ordinary and routine, there's nothing particularly 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:28.540 spectacular about what is happening to us now. But at the same time, there really is 00:05:28.540 --> 00:05:38.040 that God has said he is here and God has said he is working to establish for himself and for his glory 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:44.800 the people of God that we call the church. And the people of God, well, we have the power 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:49.640 of new creation life in us. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:59.339 To be part of the church is to be part of Christ's body, where he is the head. 00:06:00.919 --> 00:06:08.839 And we are the place where God himself dwells. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:16.399 So just to set up for us today how significant in God's eyes, in God's economy, the local church, 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:25.500 the church really is. So having said that, our goal for today is that in the next 20, 25 minutes or so, 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:31.199 we will do a brief overview of the whole story of the Bible, of God's redeeming work. 00:06:32.539 --> 00:06:39.699 But we'll really focus all our attention on how Jesus is central. How Jesus is central to God's work 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:45.199 in the world. How it's through Jesus that God reveals his glory. It's through Jesus that God 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:50.659 redeems sinners. It's through Jesus that whole cosmos is going to be renewed. And then we're 00:06:50.659 --> 00:06:56.959 going to connect that story, the story of God, the story of Jesus, to this story, to our story. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:04.319 As we understand, we are connected to the life and the power of God through the Lord Jesus. So that 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:11.120 we'll wonder at the church, at the privilege even of coming to church. 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:19.780 And coupled with that, that by God's grace, we would work because we understand that God is building 00:07:19.780 --> 00:07:27.220 his kingdom in and through us. But before we get to the church, in a sense, we need to go a little 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:33.959 bit further back. Let's go to the church's origin story. We love origin stories. The church's origin 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:41.079 story is Israel. And the story of Israel, the Old Testament, we discover that God works to redeem 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:48.219 his people. The mission of God, the work of God, it didn't start in the book of Acts. It didn't 00:07:48.219 --> 00:07:53.419 start on the day of Pentecost when God sent the Spirit and then the apostles started preaching Christ. 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:59.620 No, the mission of God began at the beginning. It's actually helpful this morning that we were in 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:07.039 Genesis 12 when God calls Abraham. Think about what happens there. God is working. As he is speaking, 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:13.960 he is summoning Abraham into his kingdom. He is at the same time saving him from a pagan way of life to 00:08:13.960 --> 00:08:20.360 now live as a follower of God. And he then sends him into the world as a different person to live for 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:27.759 God, to reveal his glory. And then think about the call to worship that Neil read for us from 1 Peter 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:37.299 chapter 2. That was taken from Exodus 19, God's own description of his people. And when we think about 00:08:37.299 --> 00:08:48.240 that description, we discover Israel has always been given a work by God to obey him, to be his treasure, 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:57.179 to serve God as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Representing God in the world, 00:08:57.179 --> 00:09:04.079 representing people before God. And so as we look through the story of the Old Testament, 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:11.179 we discover that in God's plan, he is choosing Abraham and he is choosing Israel for the sake of 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:17.639 many nations. He is asking them to live differently so that his glory and salvation would be put on display. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:26.339 It's the life of the church back in the Old Testament era. Let me give you a couple of quotes that I came 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:31.320 across this week. Michael Goheen, who has a couple of really great books. One's called The Drama of 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:36.519 Scripture. One's called Light to the Nations. Both of them looking at the storyline of the Bible, 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:42.540 thinking about the mission of the church. And Michael Goheen says this, he says, God redeems his people 00:09:42.540 --> 00:09:53.840 from an idolatrous way of life to live as a contrast community. So God saves people. He marks them out as 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:59.360 holy, as different, and then gives them his law so that they live as a very different people, 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:07.879 so that others will be drawn in. Hans Kung says something striking. He says, God makes tiny Israel, 00:10:08.280 --> 00:10:14.980 the center of the earth, the focal point of history, and the goal of creation. So if we were to jump into 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:21.580 any point of Israel's story in the Old Testament, they could understand their reality in terms of God's 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:29.600 bigger story of redemption, what God was doing through them for the world. At any point in Israel's 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:36.280 history, they would look back and recognize God was their creator. They would look forward to the 00:10:36.280 --> 00:10:42.759 reality that God was going to restore and renew all things one day. They would look around and understand 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:51.879 that they lived as a covenant people before the nations. And maybe this is really heightened when 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:59.159 we get to the book of Exodus. Think about that movement since Exodus. God calls his people out, 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:08.259 out of slavery, into freedom. Let my people go so that they may worship me. God gathers the people to 00:11:08.259 --> 00:11:14.620 himself at Mount Sinai, establishes this covenant relationship, saying to them, I will be your God, 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:22.340 you will be my people. God then renews them morally, ethically, spiritually. He gives them the law. 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:27.480 Those who have been saved by grace, well now they know how to live the way God wants them to. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:33.919 And then God sends them. They're on the way to the promised land, and in the promised land, 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:40.779 they are to live as a unique people to showcase the goodness of God. So that people would look in and 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:50.000 say, what nation is like Israel? Their God comes near. Their God listens when they pray. Their God acts 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:59.639 on their behalf. What is the church we come back to today? Well, the New Testament tells us the church is 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:07.699 the true Israel, or the renewed Israel. In other words, God is continuing that same work. Only now it's through 00:12:07.699 --> 00:12:13.980 Jewish people and non-Jewish people, all of us together, who belong to Jesus. We are together on this mission 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:20.980 to make God's kingdom and God's glory known. Think about an Old Testament Israelite. When they gathered for 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:29.120 their church, practicing the Sabbath, holding their religious festivals, celebrating the Passover, 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:33.519 Passover. They were doing that before the world, saying to the world, come and join us. 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:40.639 Come and discover the one true and living God for yourself. And God was working in and through them, 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:48.600 as we saw this morning with Abraham, that blessing to the nations would flow to and from his people, 00:12:49.060 --> 00:12:55.019 his church. And that's a pattern that God continues today. 00:12:55.019 --> 00:13:03.220 And now we're going to see how Jesus picks up the story, how indeed he fulfills it, and he moves it 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:08.240 forward. So we're going to spend the bulk of our time thinking about how in Jesus, God works to build 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:15.120 his church. And we're going to consider four different acts. Because we believe that the Bible is one 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:22.819 unfolding story. And God has deliberately put his son, the Lord Jesus, right at the heart of this drama of 00:13:22.820 --> 00:13:30.400 salvation. And this drama of salvation involves God building a kingdom, calling a people to himself. 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:38.200 So scene one, Jesus calls his people. And I think actually, yes, the texts are up on the screen. That's 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:46.280 really helpful. Let's read this one. Mark chapter one. This is how Mark records the beginning of Jesus' 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:53.679 ministry. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 00:13:54.199 --> 00:14:01.079 The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. 00:14:01.839 --> 00:14:06.659 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:13.319 lake, for they were fishermen. Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:21.080 At once, they left their nets and followed him. And so Jesus declares that the kingdom of God that was 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:28.360 anticipated in the Old Testament, it's fulfilled in his coming. So there is a present reality to the 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:33.700 kingdom of God because Jesus, the king, has come near. And he's come near with authority to call people 00:14:33.700 --> 00:14:40.100 to follow him. And people respond because they recognize he really is the Messiah. But it doesn't 00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:48.180 just have a present reality. There's also a future aspect to the kingdom. In Matthew chapter seven, 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:55.820 which I think is the next one up there, if I am right. Matthew chapter seven, verse 21 to 23, 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:01.320 we're reminded that the kingdom has a future element. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, 00:15:01.860 --> 00:15:07.220 will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:14.040 Many will say to me on that day, future day, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name and in your name 00:15:14.040 --> 00:15:20.759 drive out demons and in your name perform any miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:29.480 Away from me, you evildoers. So Jesus has fulfilled the kingdom and all its promises, but there is also 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:35.540 a day when that kingdom will be finally established. And we live in this gap, the already and the not yet. 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:43.559 But this time is a time when we see in Jesus that the kingdom comes full of power and full of authority. 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:52.579 We see it in all of his miracles. Matthew chapter 12, we read it last week. Jesus speaks about driving 00:15:52.579 --> 00:16:00.919 out demons by the spirit of God as a sign that the kingdom of God has come. Every time Jesus calls 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:08.839 someone and they respond in faith, we are seeing the power of the kingdom at work in lives. So the church, 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:16.360 well, there are people who are called by Jesus the King to live as this contrast community, 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:23.099 to live as this colony of heaven, to have a different set of loyalties, a different identity, 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:29.460 a different set of shared experiences and practices that mark us out as different from the world. 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:36.519 And if you know anything of church history, you'll know in those early centuries, that's how the church 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:43.300 lived and that's how the church grew, boldly living and willing to die as people who became known as 00:16:43.300 --> 00:16:49.100 Christians. You know, that was a nickname that was put on them by the world. They were so full of Jesus 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:56.879 that they became known as Christians and because they so boldly proclaimed in the face of the empire 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:03.680 that Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord. And in the way that they worshiped and in the way that they lived, 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:10.299 as they were a called out people, well, they drew others in and the gospel spread. 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:17.360 So as Jesus, as God works to build his church, we begin with Jesus calling his people. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:26.659 But let's move secondly to this idea of Jesus gathering his people. We already read Matthew 00:17:26.659 --> 00:17:33.059 chapter 22, but we have a chance here to read a section from John chapter 10, a very famous section 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:37.299 where Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd. 00:17:39.139 --> 00:17:46.439 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the father knows me and I know 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:53.019 the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. 00:17:53.360 --> 00:18:02.400 I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:09.940 You put that together with the Matthew 22 chapter and we discover two key images for the kingdom work 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:18.140 of Jesus. He has come as a shepherd. And part of his shepherding work is gathering his flock from far and wide. 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:24.259 And Jesus tells us how he will gather his flock. He will gather his flock, first of all, 00:18:24.620 --> 00:18:30.160 by laying down his life for them, dealing with the sin that separates, 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:33.940 making sure that the way back to God is wide open. 00:18:33.940 --> 00:18:40.039 And Jesus continues as the good shepherd, protecting and guiding and giving life. 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:50.120 So Jesus is the good shepherd. He gathers people to himself, but he's also the host who invites people 00:18:50.120 --> 00:18:58.720 to feast at his table, reminding us that our God is a God of joy. Our God is a God of grace. 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:06.299 And in the parable that we heard, we are reminded of a lavish banquet where everything was prepared, 00:19:07.059 --> 00:19:15.960 where no expense was spared. And the invitation went out. Some people received it, but many people didn't. 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:23.539 And we think about how that looked in the life of Jesus. God the Father spared no expense 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:29.159 in order to invite us to the feast of salvation. 00:19:29.159 --> 00:19:35.779 His own Son had to come and live a perfect life and then die as our substitute, 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:41.659 as a sacrifice to make atonement. Then he had to rise again so that God the Father and the Son 00:19:41.659 --> 00:19:45.960 could send us the Spirit and give us new life so that we could be gathered 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:54.079 into God's joy, to experience God's love and to receive God's hospitality. 00:19:55.420 --> 00:20:03.259 And what becomes clear, as Jesus gathers his people and as he issues that call and that invitation, 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:08.720 it demands a response. And some reject, some rejected. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:16.160 But his people will be gathered in. Jesus' sheep will hear his voice. 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:22.720 And so Jesus works to gather a people to himself, a church made up of Christians, 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:28.400 and now restored to life with God. He tells us that we have this distinct purpose that together, 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:34.100 well, the church is to become like Old Testament Jerusalem. You know those images of 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:40.519 you are the light of the world and a city on a hill. But his first listeners, they're thinking, 00:20:40.639 --> 00:20:45.679 well, that sounds a lot like Jerusalem. And what did Jerusalem represent? It represented the place 00:20:45.679 --> 00:20:50.419 where you could come and you could meet with God, where God's glory could be discovered, 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:55.919 where God's message of redemption was heard. That's what people come to church for. 00:20:56.699 --> 00:21:03.319 So our goal is to draw people to salvation, to invite people to experience as we experience the 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:12.339 presence of God and the joy of life with him. So Jesus calls and Jesus gathers. And thirdly, 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:19.220 Jesus renews his people. And again, this is the same pattern that God works in the Old Testament. 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:24.259 But God is in the business through his son, Jesus, of renewing his people. 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:30.579 It has been well said, I think, that in the UK, we love restoration shows. 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:38.599 Think about it. Old houses, cars, antiques, you name it, they can all get the proper care and 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:44.279 attention on screen from an expert. And so that by the end of a particular episode, 00:21:44.639 --> 00:21:49.460 that car or that house will be back to working order and once again, fit for purpose. 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:56.899 Old Testament Israel, as we read their story, had become unfit for purpose. 00:21:56.900 --> 00:22:02.240 They were supposed to be a mirror reflecting the glory of God to the world, 00:22:03.040 --> 00:22:09.740 but they had turned away in unbelief and they turned to other political alliances and to follow 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:16.120 idols. And so they were unfit for purpose. But there was the promise made to the prophets that one day 00:22:16.120 --> 00:22:21.720 there would be a great renewal, that when the Messiah came, when the King came, there would be 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:30.000 this renewal and restoration. And so that's why Jesus comes. Jesus comes to restore the people of 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:36.480 God to life with God and back to the work of God that we were always supposed to do. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:45.519 And so think about how in the Gospels, Jesus speaks about his renewing and restoring work. 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:51.180 So in John chapter 1, and this ties in with what we were thinking about this morning, 00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:54.799 John chapter 1 verses 10 to 14. 00:22:55.799 --> 00:23:01.359 He, that is Jesus, he was in the world and though the world was made through him, 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:09.000 the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 00:23:09.639 --> 00:23:13.639 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:19.480 he gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, 00:23:19.580 --> 00:23:26.660 nor of human decision, nor a husband's will, but born of God. The word became flesh and made his 00:23:26.660 --> 00:23:33.500 dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son who came from the father, 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:41.140 full of grace and truth. Jesus has come to renew our relationship with God the father. 00:23:41.140 --> 00:23:45.840 It's the picture of adoption that we find throughout the New Testament. 00:23:46.600 --> 00:23:53.040 That God places his name on us, his people, so we get a new name. And with that new name comes a new 00:23:53.040 --> 00:24:00.480 status, children of God. We have this new privilege, we have this spiritual inheritance, and we also have 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:08.980 a new family lifestyle. When God's spirit comes to take up residence, he begins that great renewing, 00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:19.339 restoring work. John 13, Jesus begins to explain further to his disciples what that renewed lifestyle 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:29.259 will look like. John 13 and verses 34 and 35, after Jesus has washed his disciples' feet, 00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:41.359 a new command I give. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, 00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:48.819 everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. So part of the renewing 00:24:48.819 --> 00:24:56.440 that Jesus works in his people, and that includes us, his church, is taking us from our native selfishness 00:24:56.440 --> 00:25:05.400 and replacing that with a desire for sacrificial love. As we receive God's love, as it flows into us, 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:14.480 then it flows out from us. That instead of our natural pride, Jesus works in us by his spirit 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:23.240 to promote humble service. Perhaps instead of patterns of grumbling, Jesus wants to instill joy 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:33.720 in us. Instead of division and competition, Jesus wants to promote peace. In other words, this renewal 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:40.240 that Jesus has come to work in his people is supposed to be making a really positive difference to us 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:44.339 so that we'd be a contrast community in the best possible way. 00:25:44.339 --> 00:25:49.480 that people could come in here and they would know, they would be safe, and they would get a welcome, 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:55.779 and they would hear good news, and they'd hear an invitation from God to life with God, 00:25:55.859 --> 00:26:03.919 and they'd see something of God's love in the people of God. Jesus renews his people. And of course, 00:26:04.059 --> 00:26:08.599 central to Jesus' renewing work will be his death on the cross. 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:18.399 There, when Jesus dies on the cross, he is achieving a victory over the forces of Satan and sin and death, 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:24.279 as well as giving to us individually forgiveness and a new heart and a new life. 00:26:25.439 --> 00:26:30.419 In Jesus' victory there at the cross, he is beginning the renewal of the whole cosmos, 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:39.759 as he squares up to evil and wins the great victory, and at the same time, he renews each of his people. 00:26:40.560 --> 00:26:48.580 When Jesus wins that victory on the cross, he grants release from the vice-like grip of sin and darkness. 00:26:49.860 --> 00:26:55.279 Every time Jesus gives a miracle, he's given a preview of that greater miracle, 00:26:55.279 --> 00:27:00.879 freeing us from our bondage to sin and addiction and idolatry, 00:27:00.879 --> 00:27:08.180 so that in God's hands and by God's grace, the church, we become a renewed people, 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:16.759 so that we serve as a preview, a trailer of the new creation that's coming. 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:26.519 That the way that we live should give us and others a foretaste of what heaven will be like. 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:34.400 So Jesus calls, Jesus gathers, Jesus renews, and then Jesus sends. 00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:41.440 And that takes us to the end of the Gospels, and we can turn to Matthew 28 for very familiar words 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:47.480 of the Great Commission. Let me read them for us. Matthew 28, verse 16. 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:53.779 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:57.700 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. 00:27:58.200 --> 00:27:59.940 Then Jesus came to them and said, 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:06.759 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:11.819 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:15.500 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:21.420 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:24.980 So that's the very end of Jesus' ministry. 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:29.759 We began at the beginning when Jesus called his first disciples who were fishermen. 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:34.680 So let's think about that fishing image that Jesus used with his disciples. 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:38.560 He said, Go and make disciples. Go and be fishers of men. 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:42.460 One fishing practice that might be helpful for us to think about. 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:46.840 You know when sport fishermen go out for their catch, they're not looking for dinner. 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:48.840 They're just looking for a good weighty fish. 00:28:49.080 --> 00:28:52.940 So they have a catch and release approach to fishing. 00:28:53.460 --> 00:28:56.220 And that's exactly the approach that Jesus has. 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:58.820 That Jesus is with his disciples. 00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:00.680 He calls them to himself. 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:04.320 He gathers them into that group of 12. 00:29:04.600 --> 00:29:08.560 And he spends three years teaching them and sharing life with them. 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:10.299 He shows them his glory. 00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:11.700 They hear his teaching. 00:29:11.860 --> 00:29:13.340 They see his miracles. 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:14.740 They can ask him questions. 00:29:14.940 --> 00:29:16.180 They eat and drink with him. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:18.160 They go through joys and sorrows together. 00:29:18.460 --> 00:29:19.720 So there's the catch. 00:29:21.180 --> 00:29:25.500 But then, well there's different points during Jesus' life on earth 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:27.720 where he will send them out on mission. 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:31.299 And then here as Jesus is about to return to heaven, 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:35.880 he tells them that their whole life will now be going on mission. 00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:38.619 That Jesus is going to send the Spirit 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:44.380 and then they will be released into the world to make Jesus known. 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:47.240 So that for Jesus, when he thinks about the church, 00:29:47.299 --> 00:29:50.579 he thinks about the church as a community with a mission. 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:55.939 We worship and we go to make other worshipers. 00:29:56.699 --> 00:29:58.539 And our direction of travel, 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:01.899 well it's different from what it was in the Old Testament. 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:02.859 The Old Testament, 00:30:03.899 --> 00:30:06.319 remember the people of God living in the promised land, 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:07.960 following the Ten Commandments, 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:09.439 worshiping as God instructed, 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:12.139 and the way that they lived was a way to say to people, 00:30:12.399 --> 00:30:13.379 come and see. 00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:15.199 Come and join us. 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.360 But that changes in the New Testament. 00:30:18.539 --> 00:30:19.279 There is that, 00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:22.500 but there's also the go and tell, 00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:24.519 the go and make disciples. 00:30:25.059 --> 00:30:26.539 So that when we gather, 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:29.799 we have the invitation to make Jesus known. 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:31.140 And as we scatter, 00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:32.740 it is the same 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:36.140 because Jesus sends his people on mission. 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:40.740 And so Jesus leaves us with a picture of his goal, 00:30:40.860 --> 00:30:43.299 his vision that the church would continue his work. 00:30:43.299 --> 00:30:46.079 participating in his mission, 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:48.720 filled with the same spirit that empowered Jesus. 00:30:49.859 --> 00:30:50.779 Isn't that remarkable? 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:53.159 For those times when we feel our own weakness, 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:55.220 remember the same spirit that was in Jesus 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:56.879 is the same spirit in us. 00:30:58.460 --> 00:31:00.399 And we have a message to proclaim. 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:03.339 We proclaim that Jesus is Lord. 00:31:04.460 --> 00:31:05.899 We proclaim that people need to repent 00:31:05.899 --> 00:31:07.639 and to believe the good news. 00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:10.900 And we also picture in our lives 00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:12.160 and in our life together 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:15.800 the difference that God's power makes. 00:31:17.320 --> 00:31:18.860 Jesus always intended 00:31:18.860 --> 00:31:21.540 that faith would make a difference 00:31:21.540 --> 00:31:23.040 and that difference would be visible. 00:31:23.820 --> 00:31:25.400 By this shall all men know 00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:26.400 that you are my disciples. 00:31:26.540 --> 00:31:28.340 If you have love for one another 00:31:28.340 --> 00:31:29.620 or let your light shine 00:31:29.620 --> 00:31:30.940 so that men might see your good deeds 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:33.620 and glorify your Father in heaven. 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:38.239 And that will happen as we practice kingdom life. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:40.799 As we live day by day, 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:42.919 like Abraham back in Genesis, 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:44.579 I am loyal to God. 00:31:45.219 --> 00:31:47.879 I'm going to follow where he commands 00:31:47.879 --> 00:31:49.379 and I'm going to obey. 00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:52.579 So for us as a church here, 00:31:52.699 --> 00:31:55.219 we gather and then we go 00:31:55.219 --> 00:31:57.619 to represent Jesus in the world 00:31:57.619 --> 00:31:58.979 wherever we happen to be. 00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:02.420 So just to draw this together, 00:32:02.420 --> 00:32:04.220 when we think about the church, 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:06.380 we recognize that God works 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:07.559 in remarkable ways 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:08.799 to establish the church, 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.920 therefore we work. 00:32:12.120 --> 00:32:13.740 So if we were to ask Jesus, 00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:16.819 the church would never be optional. 00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:18.519 It would never be just one choice 00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:20.279 among many in a Sunday afternoon. 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:24.180 The church was precious in Jesus' eyes. 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:26.900 It's a people that he has called 00:32:26.900 --> 00:32:28.059 into the kingdom of God 00:32:28.059 --> 00:32:29.539 and he's revealed his grace 00:32:29.539 --> 00:32:30.659 and glory to us. 00:32:31.240 --> 00:32:32.599 And he's working in us 00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:34.059 to renew us by his spirit 00:32:34.059 --> 00:32:35.599 to make us more like himself. 00:32:36.579 --> 00:32:38.579 And he's given us all a shared mission 00:32:38.579 --> 00:32:41.899 to put Jesus on display for the world. 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:44.940 And when we think about 00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:46.200 what's going on in church, 00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:48.240 maybe it changes how we think about 00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:51.259 beating the traffic in fringe season 00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:53.779 or dragging ourselves off the sofa 00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:55.720 or choosing to give up comfort 00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:57.079 so that we can gather together. 00:32:58.059 --> 00:33:00.159 That's why we bother with church 00:33:00.159 --> 00:33:03.460 because God is working remarkable things 00:33:03.460 --> 00:33:04.659 in and through us. 00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:07.899 So let me just leave you with a few things 00:33:07.899 --> 00:33:09.659 to keep reflecting on. 00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:12.079 To think about our worship, 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:16.279 we come so that we can hear 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:20.639 and we can retell the story of God 00:33:20.639 --> 00:33:21.659 and his salvation. 00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:24.759 to hear of God's mighty acts, 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:28.500 to gain our power from the good news 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:29.480 of the Lord Jesus 00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:31.840 and to find our place 00:33:31.840 --> 00:33:33.500 and our identity 00:33:33.500 --> 00:33:35.120 and our destiny 00:33:35.120 --> 00:33:38.000 in his great salvation story. 00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:40.759 Our worship matters. 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:41.900 We're going to think about that next week. 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:43.720 Secondly, think about prayer 00:33:43.720 --> 00:33:45.720 and we touched on this a little bit this morning. 00:33:46.019 --> 00:33:49.080 You know, prayer really is oxygen to the Christian 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:52.000 and it's oxygen to the Christian mission 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:53.619 because our mission is never our own. 00:33:53.699 --> 00:33:54.879 It's actually God's. 00:33:55.679 --> 00:33:57.039 We belong to the Lord 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.879 and so we depend on him by prayer, 00:34:00.679 --> 00:34:02.879 including as we pray together. 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:05.099 It was very much the pattern in the Old Testament, 00:34:05.220 --> 00:34:06.779 very much the pattern in the book of Acts. 00:34:08.679 --> 00:34:10.340 Think about our fellowship. 00:34:10.340 --> 00:34:14.280 Think about our participation in fellowship. 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:17.360 You know, God calls us to live differently 00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:20.960 and the New Testament gives us 57 one another's 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:22.100 that we are to practice. 00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:24.600 Well, we need a people 00:34:24.600 --> 00:34:27.059 to practice those one another's with, 00:34:27.640 --> 00:34:29.039 to forgive others, 00:34:29.180 --> 00:34:31.480 to bear the burdens of others, 00:34:31.660 --> 00:34:34.360 to seek the good of others. 00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:36.880 And it's in these ways, 00:34:36.940 --> 00:34:38.160 in our life together, 00:34:38.160 --> 00:34:39.300 that the world is going to see 00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:40.000 that we're different. 00:34:40.340 --> 00:34:43.240 We have a different kind of love, 00:34:43.940 --> 00:34:45.900 a different capacity to forgive. 00:34:47.240 --> 00:34:48.980 There should be a different measure of patience 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:51.380 and a certain hope, 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:53.960 even in the face of troubling circumstances, 00:34:54.640 --> 00:34:57.840 that is evident in the Christian church. 00:34:59.380 --> 00:35:01.980 And it has implications for evangelism as well. 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:06.079 When we see that we are part of God's bigger story 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:09.779 and that God's story really takes in the whole world 00:35:09.779 --> 00:35:11.239 and the whole cosmos, 00:35:11.639 --> 00:35:14.920 that he is seeking to renew everything 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:16.940 and he's also seeking to renew 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:18.719 and to call people to himself. 00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:22.019 And when we see Jesus as the center of all of that, 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:24.940 then maybe more and more we begin to connect 00:35:24.940 --> 00:35:27.179 all of life to Jesus. 00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:30.960 Maybe it becomes more natural to talk about him 00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:34.319 in our family and then perhaps even in our Christian circles 00:35:34.319 --> 00:35:35.639 so then when we go out, 00:35:37.019 --> 00:35:38.819 maybe it becomes more natural to us 00:35:38.819 --> 00:35:41.819 to see that Jesus really does meet our deep longings 00:35:41.819 --> 00:35:44.199 so he can meet the deep longings of others 00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:45.119 that we care about. 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:49.299 So as we begin asking the question, 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:50.859 why bother with church? 00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:53.940 The first significant answer is 00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:56.739 because of the work of God 00:35:56.739 --> 00:36:00.299 in and through us and in Jesus. 00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:02.219 Let's pray together. 00:36:03.299 --> 00:36:04.500 Our God and our Father, 00:36:04.579 --> 00:36:08.460 we thank you for the way you have put the Bible together 00:36:08.460 --> 00:36:12.019 to show that grand story of redemption 00:36:12.019 --> 00:36:13.799 with Jesus right at the center 00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:18.240 but with the church so integral to that story. 00:36:18.740 --> 00:36:20.820 We thank you that we have the privilege 00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:22.280 as well as the responsibility 00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:24.519 of representing Jesus 00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:26.380 and making him known in the world. 00:36:26.900 --> 00:36:29.039 And we thank you that you haven't left us alone in that, 00:36:29.140 --> 00:36:31.780 that you've given us your spirit to empower us 00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:34.840 but you've also given us brothers and sisters in Christ 00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:37.640 so that together we seek to live 00:36:37.640 --> 00:36:39.300 as a different kind of people 00:36:39.300 --> 00:36:41.360 set apart for your glory. 00:36:41.360 --> 00:36:44.840 people captured by the beauty of Jesus 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:47.960 and wanting to share that beauty with others. 00:36:48.039 --> 00:36:50.880 And we pray that you'd help us here locally 00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:52.660 to be able to do that 00:36:52.660 --> 00:36:54.740 for the sake of the people that live 00:36:54.740 --> 00:36:56.980 in and around this area 00:36:56.980 --> 00:36:58.680 and around our city. 00:36:59.300 --> 00:37:01.620 Lord, that you would show your glory, 00:37:02.300 --> 00:37:05.380 that you would continue to work in your world. 00:37:05.380 --> 00:37:07.260 And we pray it in Jesus' name. 00:37:07.700 --> 00:37:08.079 Amen.