And a good morning to you all. It's very good to see you here on this day.
I ask that you open up your copy of God's Word.
I hope you have it with you this day.
Paul's letter to the Romans chapter 15.
We're going to look together this morning at verses 8 through 12.
Romans chapter 15 verses 8 through 12.
For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness
in order to confirm the promise given to the patriarchs
and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.
As it is written,
Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.
And again it is said,
Rejoice Gentiles with His people.
And again, praise the Lord all you Gentiles
and let all the peoples extol Him.
And again Isaiah says,
The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to the rule Gentiles,
in him with the Gentiles hope.
Now I hope this morning that we're all a little more prepared
than I was for Aletheia Way.
But certainly we need God's blessing on the preaching of His word.
So let's join together in prayer and ask for that.
Father God, we praise you this morning for the good things you've done for us in Christ.
And one of those things is you've given us your precious word,
a great tool, an asset to us to live the Christian life,
to see how it is that we ought to serve and worship and honor you.
And we plead with you this morning, Lord, by your Spirit.
Speak through me.
Minister to all of our hearts.
Soften them where they need softening.
Harden them where they need hardening.
That we might boldly proclaim your gospel to this world.
That we might display the goodness of it in our own lives.
That your name will be honored to all peoples.
We pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.
So as we've continued through Romans,
Paul has come and began to narrow the scope,
the outworkings of the gospel,
which he's presented to us in the first 11 chapters.
He's beginning to show us how then,
in light of these great gospel truths, we should live.
And he does that through 12, 13, 14.
And in 14, he really begins to talk about
the gray areas of Christian life.
The things that the scriptures don't speak to directly.
What we should and shouldn't do in those gray realms.
And he talks about how we ought to have unity in those things.
And in the beginning of 15,
he uses Christ as the example.
You see in verse 7,
Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.
And in response to that,
then he then broadens the scope once again.
He then takes a step back up.
And it seems like every time Paul talks about Jesus Christ,
he doesn't narrow down.
He goes bigger.
He says,
I just said the name Jesus Christ.
I've got to proclaim something huge and massive and true
about our glorious Savior and Lord.
I imagine him being moved back towards
what we sometimes call the high theology
as he speaks of Christ and his work for us.
So in response to him talking about Christ welcoming us,
he expounds upon that a bit for us.
And we see this here.
And the teaching is fairly simple.
We find it in verse 8 and the first part of 9
with support, with Old Testament scriptural support.
And here's what he's trying to say to us.
Christ became a servant to the Jews,
to the circumcised,
to show God's truthfulness,
to accomplish two things.
Number one,
in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs
in the proof of God being true.
And secondly,
so that in order that the Gentiles
would glorify God for his mercy.
The point he's making to us,
as Christ became a servant,
verse 3 of chapter 15,
For Christ did not please himself,
but he pleased God with his action,
with his sacrifice on our behalf.
And he did these things
in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs
and to cause the Gentiles to glorify him for his mercy.
So we're going to look together at these Old Testament proofs,
and I'm going to expand upon them a bit
to show you God's global purpose,
what he has always intended from the very beginning of time,
the way in which he intended to glorify himself,
the way in which he chose to expose his very character to the world.
Well, let's begin with this first little phrase,
the first part of chapter, or verse 8.
Christ became a servant to the circumcised
to show God's truthfulness.
At this point, you may ask a question,
but didn't Christ come to serve the world?
Here the text says he became a servant to the circumcised,
and my response to that would be both yes and no.
Take, for example, Matthew chapter 15, verse 24.
We see a Canaanite woman come to him
who's been oppressed by a demon,
and she's coming to him for healing.
And he responds to her in verse 24 of chapter 15,
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
So Christ was sent to serve Israel,
to serve the Jews, his kin,
the nation that he was born from.
He was sent to serve them.
But then what do we see her response to that being?
She has this great measure of faith.
As he says to her,
I didn't come to serve the Canaanites,
I came to serve the Jews.
And she said,
but even the dogs get scraps from the table.
Your mercy surely extends beyond just those seated at the table.
And he then rewards her for her great faith.
So he expands then his mercy and his gospel beyond.
So my answer to that is both yes and no.
But Jesus was in fact sent to serve the Jews
in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
in order to prove God faithful,
to fulfill all of the promises given to the patriarchs.
Speaking expressly of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We see in Matthew chapter 5, verse 17,
Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
He says,
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
He fulfilled the law by upholding it,
its sacredness, reestablishing its truth.
He expounded upon what it meant.
That's what the Sermon on the Mount is all about.
It's about showing people what the law was originally intended for.
He fulfilled the law by keeping it perfectly.
Without flaw, Jesus Christ kept the law.
But beyond that, He came to verify the whole revealed truth of God.
2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20,
reads,
For all the promises of God, all of them,
find their yes in Jesus Christ.
That is why it is through Him that we utter our amen to God for His glory.
All the promises of God are yes in Jesus Christ.
And so as Paul is writing to an audience that was both Jew and Gentile,
and he's coming off this treatise on the way we ought to live together in harmony.
And the Jews were strict adherers to the Old Testament law,
and many of them hadn't quite let go of the liberty that they now had in Christ.
Still were very dogmatic about the things that they would and wouldn't eat.
As an example, you'll see throughout chapter 14, right?
I believe he's speaking here specifically to the Jews,
to show them that the gospel was always meant to expand beyond their borders.
The Jews' very calling, their very purpose from the beginning,
the reason that they were called out as a people set apart for God,
was to reach the Gentiles for His glory.
The very purpose that they were created for.
Which brings us to the second point, the thing he's trying to establish here, right?
Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness.
Secondly, in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.
In order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.
Now, when we read this phrase rendered this way in the ESV,
you see that word might?
And for us, that raises question.
We would read it maybe, in order that the Gentiles could possibly glorify God.
In order that the Gentiles could have the potential of glorifying God.
But that's not what the original language means at all, right?
The language used here is actually something that has already been accomplished.
I won't get into all the details of that this morning.
But, what really he's saying is, in order that the Gentiles would,
in order that they necessarily did glorify God for His mercy,
was something that was accomplished by Christ coming,
serving the circumcised, and fulfilling,
showing God's truthfulness to be true, accurate.
Dependable, all right?
And it's entirely consistent with the promises given to the patriarchs, okay?
Paul's been working on establishing that for us this far.
That, in fact, the gospel of grace was not meant just for the Jews,
but meant for the world.
That's that language we use.
Paul's using the term Gentiles here so often,
you could replace with that the nations, the world, peoples, okay?
Gentiles is what the Jewish readers would have understood to be everyone but them, all right?
So, recognize that it just expands to everyone, not including them, all the other people of the world.
And that's the point he's making here.
Flip with me back to the beginning of Romans.
We're going to do a quick little tour through,
just to show you the consistency of his argument here.
Keep in mind that this would have been read all at one time, right?
So, hopefully this would have been fresh on the original readers' minds as they came to this spot.
I've been tempted so many times, rather than preaching a sermon,
just to read you a whole book of the Bible,
because that's what would have been done in the historical church.
They would have received a letter from Paul,
and they would have just stood up and read it,
because the context is so important.
I'll probably never do it, but maybe someday.
We'll see.
All right.
So, Romans chapter 1, verses 4 and 5.
Let's start there.
He says,
So, he starts it very quickly here in his prologue in Romans.
Now, turn to, well, you don't probably have to turn.
Verse 13 through 16 of chapter 1.
I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you,
but thus far have been prevented,
in order that I may reap some harvest among you,
as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.
I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,
both to the wise and to the foolish.
So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also, who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
So there we see it again.
Chapter 2, verse 24.
Stated here in the negative, speaking of Israel.
It says,
For as it is written,
The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.
Because of the Jewish rejection of God and his ways.
The name was blasphemed among the Gentiles.
It was intended to not be.
It was intended to be honored among the Gentiles.
But because of their disobedience, it was blasphemed.
Chapter 3, verse 29 and 30.
Or is God the God of Jews only?
Is he not the God of Gentiles also?
Yes, of Gentiles also.
Since God is one who would justify the circumcised by faith,
and the uncircumcised through faith.
Chapter 10, verse 12 and 13.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
For the same Lord is Lord of all,
bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Praise God.
Chapter 11, right?
Which is all about Israel and what will finally happen to Israel.
And we talked at length about this.
And I think at the end of it all, I really said, I don't know.
I had a guess at what the outcome of it would be.
But chapter 11, verses 11 and 12 and 25.
So I asked, did they stumble in order that they might fall?
By no means.
Rather, through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
So as to make Israel jealous.
Now if their trespass means riches for the world,
and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles,
how much more will their full inclusion mean?
In verse 25.
Lest you be wise in your own sight,
I want you to understand this mystery, brothers.
A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
He's making the point pretty emphatically throughout the book of Romans so far.
Now recognize that this has been canonized as scripture.
The church has recognized Paul's letter to the Romans as inspired by the Spirit.
And we have included it, canonized it into our scriptures.
We see this as the word of God.
And I fully believe that it is.
I'm not so sure that as Paul was writing,
he knew that's what was going to happen.
He constantly references back.
Constantly.
I think it's 84 times in the book of Romans.
He references the scriptures.
What we would call the Old Testament.
We talked last week about the great value of the Old Testament.
How poorly neglected it is.
But here, as he continues to make this point,
as he's really trying to drive it home for us,
that the gospel was not just for the Jews,
but it was for the Gentiles.
Praise God for that,
because I think we're all included in that number.
The Gentiles.
All those who are not of Jewish descent.
He, again,
hearkens back to the Old Testament to prove his point.
He quotes the Old Testament scriptures.
We get four of them here,
beginning in the last half of 9 through 12.
We see four of them,
and I want to read to you the original text,
what he's actually quoting from,
and you can look at it here in your own copy of the word.
So the first one is from 2 Samuel 22, 50.
For this I will praise you, O Lord,
among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
The second one, Deuteronomy 32, 43.
Rejoice with him, O heavens.
Bow down to him, all gods.
The third one, Psalm 117, 1.
Praise the Lord, all nations.
Extol him, all peoples.
And the fourth, Isaiah 11, verse 10.
In that day, the root of Jesse, being Christ,
who shall stand as a signal for the peoples,
of him shall the nations inquire,
and his resting place shall be glorious.
Now you may note, I hope you did,
the reason I read them to you that way,
is that Paul's quotes of these Old Testament texts aren't exact, are they?
I'm reading the Old Testament English,
right, the English translation in ESV,
and it doesn't match up perfectly, does it?
And the reason for that,
is that in this day,
culturally,
rabbis were permitted to take some liberties with the scriptures.
They were allowed to quote them in such a way
to give greater understanding to the scripture itself.
So take, for example,
he replaces the nations with the word Gentiles.
Speaking to a Jewish audience
who wouldn't really have thought of
all the nations of the world,
but would have thought of them and everyone else.
That's the term he's using here for Gentiles.
You've got the Jews and everyone else.
So he takes the liberty in this case to do this.
Recognize also that this was written,
this was dictated for him.
I imagine him pacing around a room
and putting out these scriptures from memory.
Just toss them out there.
Oh, and another thing.
Pin this one down.
And another thing.
In 2 Samuel.
Oh, and another place in Deuteronomy.
Oh, and by the way, in Psalm.
It's scholars that have gone back
and matched it up and found.
What is he referencing to?
Also know that the punctuation that we have
in our English language
didn't exist in the original language as well.
So we see it as these quotes.
We've got the quotation marks.
We've got clear punctuation.
We've got, and it says, comma, right?
And so for us, we immediately,
especially those of you who are in college right now,
want to quickly go to our citation rules
and figure out how in the world
Paul didn't get kicked out of school
for misquoting and not citing it properly.
Right?
We do all those things.
It was acceptable for him
to use the scriptures in this way.
And beyond all that, okay?
So that's in one hand, right?
More importantly, in this hand,
this is inspired by the Spirit of God.
So if he changes it just a little bit,
praise God that he was trying to give us
a better understanding.
Help us really, it's the commentary
of the Old Testament text
to see that this was God's eternal purpose.
Right?
I want you to notice the types of quotations
he uses here.
Right?
The first one is from one of the books of history,
2 Samuel.
The second, from Deuteronomy,
is a book of the law.
The third, being from Psalm,
is a book of poetry.
And the fourth, being from Isaiah,
is one of the books of the prophets.
Paul used one of the,
each of the four types of literary books
in the Old Testament to make his point.
And what he's trying to say to his readers
and what he's saying to us this morning
is that all of the Old Testament
is consistent.
The theme of this thing,
of God coming to earth,
condescending,
in order to make himself known,
to glorify himself to all peoples,
is consistent in the Scriptures.
It didn't start with Paul.
Certainly Paul's ministry.
He was an apostle sent to the Gentiles.
Right?
But it didn't start with them.
A great example of that would be Nineveh.
Jonah was sent to a people
that were not of Jewish descent.
Right?
To preach repentance.
A good example of this.
It's consistent.
And I want to broaden.
I hope that Paul's argument is enough for you.
It should be.
It should be enough.
He's showing you this theme here.
But let me pull it up a little bit more.
Let's look at a few more examples.
And let's do the same thing he did.
Let's look at a book of the law,
history, poetry, and a prophet
from the Old Testament.
And then we'll look at a few
New Testament examples as well.
I'm going to Bible drill you
a little bit this morning.
So get ready for it.
Let's go to Exodus chapter 9.
And we'll go in order.
Okay?
Is that moment when you worry
that your neighbor
is going to judge you
for not knowing exactly
where some books of the Bible are?
Okay?
I cheated.
I marked mine this morning.
Exodus chapter 9,
verses 13 through 16.
Showing us the twofold purpose
of the Exodus.
The very reason that God
delivered his people from Egypt.
Then the Lord said to Moses,
Rise up early in the morning
and present yourself before Pharaoh
and say to him,
Thus says the Lord,
the God of the Hebrews,
Let my people go,
firstly,
that they may serve me.
Verse 14.
For this time,
I will send all my plagues
on you,
yourself,
and on your servants
and your people
so that they may know
that there is none like me
in all the earth.
For by now,
I could have put out my hand
and struck you and your people
with pestilence
and you would have been cut off
from the earth.
But for this purpose,
I have raised you up
to show you my power
so that my name
may be proclaimed
in all the earth.
That's quoted in Romans 9,
verse 17,
isn't it?
So the twofold purpose
of God bringing the people out
of Egypt
was that they would serve him,
honor him,
glorify him,
and that all the peoples
of the world
might know of this God,
might sing his praises
one day.
Book of History,
Joshua,
chapter 4.
Just a couple of books over.
This is the point
that most papers
usually tell you
the page number
that they're on.
I think they're doing that
to get you to buy
the same Bible they have.
I'm not really sure.
Page 180,
if you're using
the same one I'm using.
ESV Thinline,
in case you needed to know.
Joshua, chapter 4,
verses 19 through 24.
This is the purpose
of the people crossing
the Jordan
into the Promised Land.
They crossed on dry land
just like they crossed
the Red Sea
to escape from Pharaoh's army.
They crossed the Jordan
on dry land.
And here's the stated purpose
for that very thing.
Chapter 4, verse 19,
we'll read through 24.
The people came up
out of the Jordan
on the tenth day
of the first month
and they encamped
at Gilgal
on the east border
of Jericho.
And those twelve stones
which they took out
of the Jordan,
Joshua set up
at Gilgal.
And he said
to the people of Israel,
when your children
ask their fathers
in times to come,
what do these stones mean?
Then you shall let
your children know
Israel passed over
this Jordan
on dry ground.
For the Lord your God
dried up the waters
of the Jordan
for you until you
passed over
as the Lord your God
did to the Red Sea
which you dried up
for us
until we passed over
so that all the peoples
of the earth
may know
that the hand
of the Lord
is mighty
that you may fear
the Lord your God
forever.
So here we see it again
verse 24.
So that,
why?
Why did all these
things happen?
So that all the peoples
of the earth
may know
that the hand
of the Lord
is mighty.
Book of poetry.
Turn to the book
of Psalm.
Smack dab in the middle.
You can find it.
Over a hundred times
in the Psalms
this very point
is made.
We're going to look
at three real quick.
We're doing three
because they're so good.
Psalm chapter 2
verse 8.
This is a record
of God
speaking to Christ.
That's important here.
God speaking to Christ
says,
Ask of me
and I will make
the nations
your heritage
and the ends
of the earth
your possession.
He says to Christ,
Ask of me
and I will give it all
to you.
Psalm 46.
Verse 10.
Be still
and know
that I am God.
I will be exalted
among the nations.
I will be exalted
in the earth.
A promise.
This will in fact
come to pass.
And Psalm 67.
Psalm 67.
The entire Psalm.
This is so good.
May God be gracious
to us
and bless us
and make his face
to shine upon us.
Why?
That your way
may be known
on earth.
Your saving power
among all nations.
Let the peoples
praise you,
O God.
Let all the peoples
praise you.
Let the nations
be glad
and sing for joy
for you judge
the peoples
with equity
and guide the nations
upon earth.
Let the peoples
praise you,
O God.
Let all the peoples
praise you.
The earth has yielded
its increase.
God,
our God,
shall bless us.
God shall bless us.
Let all the ends
of the earth
fear him.
A prophet.
Ready for it?
Zephaniah.
You're going to find
Zephaniah
between Habakkuk
and Haggai
if that helps you.
See how you're flipping?
If you're sitting
judging your neighbor
right now,
these are hard
because they're little.
So don't be too hard
on people.
Don't be too hard
on people.
Don't be too hard
on people.
chapter 2,
verse 11.
If you're not there yet,
just listen.
The Lord will be
awesome against them
for he will famish
all the gods of the earth
and to him
shall bow down
each in its place
all the lands
of the nations.
There it is again
from a minor prophet.
Let's look in the New Testament
together now.
Notice I'm doing
the very same thing
Paul did.
Now I get the advantage
of the New Testament.
Paul didn't have that
at his disposal
in this time.
Letting the Scripture
speak for itself.
Notice the theme.
Let's look at a Gospel.
John,
chapter 3,
verse 16.
And I use this one
specifically to show you
that the theme
carries on.
Okay?
For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son
that whoever believes in him
should not perish
but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son
into the world
to condemn the world
but in order that the world
might be saved
through him.
Whoever believes in him
is not condemned.
Whoever does not believe
is condemned already
because he has not believed
in the name
of the only Son of God.
The point of the text being
the point of it being
Jesus here is recorded
talking to a Jewish audience
and he's saying
this salvation
the Son of Man
did not come just for you.
He came for all the nations.
Stop thinking you're so special Israel.
It goes beyond your borders.
This is what Jesus is saying
in this text.
It's beautiful
and it's precious
because in this
is our salvation.
Right?
It expands beyond
just the Jews.
Me as a
I don't even know
where I'm from.
I think maybe England.
I'm guessing.
Maybe I'm of like
Norman descent.
Dad would probably tell you
exactly where we're from.
Not now, Dad.
I don't know.
But it doesn't really matter.
I'm not of Jewish descent.
Okay?
But the promises of God
are yes to me
in Christ.
Right?
And let's look at
some New Testament prophecy.
Let's turn to the book
of Revelation.
See how this all works out
in the end.
Revelation chapter 5.
Verse 9 and 10.
John gets to peer into heaven
at the end of things.
And this is what he observes.
Chapter 9 of chapter 5.
Excuse me.
Verse 9 of chapter 5.
And they sang a new song
saying,
Worthy are you
to take the scroll
and to open its seals.
For you were slain
and by your blood
you ransomed people for God
from every tribe
and language
and people
and nation.
And you have made them
a kingdom
and priests
to our God
and they shall reign
on the earth.
And then again,
chapter 7
verses 9 and 10.
Verse 9 of chapter 5.
And then again,
So it's accomplished.
From the beginning
this was God's intent.
And in the end
it's accomplished.
Now people have debated
throughout time
what is meant
by these different things,
the tribes,
the nations.
What is meant by this?
And I really,
honestly,
don't know.
We tend as Baptists
to believe
that this will represent
there will be
those named in heaven
amongst every people group.
Every tribe,
nation,
language.
But you know
what's the really important thing?
Really important thing
is that Christ hasn't returned
so it's not done yet.
We can bank on that.
We know we're not finished yet.
God's mission in this world
is still being carried out
because Christ hasn't returned.
When it's finished
he'll come back.
We're guaranteed that.
So we're still
to be about the work
however it's defined.
We're still meant
to be advancing
the gospel
in this world.
So
back in
Romans chapter 15
the important question
for you to ask
and not in an irreverent way
is so what?
Why?
Why is the case
being made to us?
What are we meant
to do
with this information?
Why have I spent
all this time
sharing it with you?
Proving the point.
Hopefully pressing it
through your mind
into your heart.
There's two things
at least two things
that we ought to be doing
with this kind of info.
First
we need to be
praising God
for his goodness
to us
in Christ.
Praising God
for his goodness
to us
in Christ.
This is the gospel
ladies and gentlemen.
The fact that God
has chosen
to make himself known
to display
his mercy
to us
verse 9
in this way
is such
a blessing.
That God
as he's zealous
for his own glory
to make himself
look more like he is
to show himself
to this world
has chosen
to let us
be the benefactors
of it
is such
a blessing.
The gospel
is not
first and foremost
primarily
about us.
It's firstly
about God
and we get
to benefit.
Praise God
that he decided
to work this out
in this way.
That he chose
to show mercy
to us
so that we'll
sing to his name.
Do you
praise God
the way the
saints in Revelation
praise God?
God.
Notice the
emotion
that we
poured into that.
We read that
kind of stuff
so boring
sometimes.
I hope I
didn't just
do the
very thing
I'm
accusing us
of doing.
Emotionless.
It's a great
passion poured
into the praise
of God
because of
what he's
accomplished
on our behalf.
So firstly,
we ought to
praise God
for his goodness
to us
in Christ.
Today,
now,
sitting in your
seat,
you ought to
be praising God
for his goodness
to you
in Christ.
You,
a Gentile.
You,
one of the
peoples
of the
earth.
Secondly,
we need to
recognize that
we are the
tools by
which God
accomplishes
this task.
This task,
making himself
known to all
the peoples
of the world.
See,
this to be
accomplished
in the book
of Revelation.
How is it
that he does
that?
He uses
his church
to accomplish
this.
He uses
his church.
I like to
think of it
like this.
And somebody
said this.
I can't
remember who.
Somebody smarter
than me
said,
God has not
given a
mission to
the church,
but rather
he's given
the church
to his
mission.
Got a cool
way of thinking
about it?
God didn't
have a church
that said,
now,
I've got to
get them
busy doing
something.
Oh,
proclaiming
my goodness
to the world.
That's the
task I'm
going to
put him
to.
He's about
proclaiming
his goodness
to the world.
He's about
making himself
known amongst
all peoples,
and he
called us
together,
he formed
the church
so that
we could be
the tool
by which
that's
accomplished.
Every time
I say this,
I'm also
going to say,
God does
not need
us.
He could
do it
another way.
He could
do it
on his
own,
but he's
chosen
to use
us because
he loves
us.
He's chosen
to let
us get
caught up
with him
in accomplishing
this thing,
to experience
him in
this way
because
he loves
us.
Romans
chapter 10.
You can
flip back
a little
bit here.
Verse 14,
how then will
they call
on him
in whom
they have
not
believed?
And how
are they
to believe
in him
of whom
they have
never
heard?
And how
are they
to hear
without
someone
preaching?
And how
are they
to preach
unless
they are
sent?
As it
is written,
how beautiful
are the feet
of those
who preach
the good
news?
God is
zealous
for his
own glory.
And in the
same way,
as children
of the
Most High,
those who
have been
delivered,
welcomed
by Christ,
we're just
talking about
the beginning
of chapter
15,
we also
ought to
be zealous
for his
name to
be proclaimed
amongst
the nations.
Do we
go to
peoples,
our neighbors,
our co-workers,
those we sit
in class
with,
and those
at the
very furthest
possible place
we can
imagine
in the
earth
because
we love
them?
Absolutely.
But the
lesser
includes
the
greater,
the greater
being
that we're
zealous
for God's
name to
be proclaimed
among
all peoples.
We serve
a great
and a
glorious
God,
and we
want,
I hope
I can
say this
with confidence,
we want
his name
to be
proclaimed
everywhere.
We want
people to
serve him
and bow
in adoration
of him
and speak
the truth
of the
gospel.
Our
vision statement
for our
church,
Christ's
family
church
exists
to glorify
God
by
experiencing,
proclaiming,
and displaying
the supremacy
of Jesus
Christ
in all
things
to all
peoples.
We want
that to be
true of our
own lives.
We want
to be
truly
regenerate
believers.
We want
to experience
the supremacy
of Christ
in our
own
living.
We want
it to
affect
how we
respond to
things.
We want
to affect
how we
feel.
We want
it to
affect
what we
hold to
in this
world.
But not
just that.
It can't
just be
for us.
It needs
to be
for everybody.
So we
want to
proclaim
it.
We want
to speak
the truth
of the
gospel.
The
gospel is
necessary
to be
heard,
for a
heart
to be
pricked
to believe.
We want
to speak
the gospel.
We want
to proclaim
it.
And we
want to
display
it with
acts
of mercy.
We want
to carry
the gospel
in our
actions to
the world
around us.
In all
things.
To all
peoples.
It's a
great website
I'll encourage
you to go
to.
There may
be a
better one,
but I've
used one
called
Joshua
Project.
You can
Google
Joshua
Project.
And according
to Joshua
Project,
in the world
right now,
there are
16,594
people groups.
Of those,
7,162
are unreached.
Now the way
the Joshua
Project defines
unreached is
that less
than 2%
of the
population are
confessing
Christians.
And even
at that
point we
could say,
are they
really
Christians?
They've
confessed it,
are they
regenerate,
are they
bearing fruit?
But that's
the way they
do it.
They had to
pick a
number.
So less
than 2%
are unreached.
That's
43.2%
of the
people groups
in the
world.
You break
it down
by population,
and again,
we're talking
about
those who
confess to
be Christian,
60%
of the
world's
population.
It's a
huge,
huge number.
And it
can be so
staggering at
times that it
cripples us.
We don't even
know.
How do we
get that
accomplished?
You know what
the great
thing is?
It's God's
mission.
God's
accomplishing it,
and he just
wants to
use you
in some
way to
accomplish
that.
It doesn't
mean that
you're
necessarily
going to
be called
to go
to a
people
group
that's
unreached.
But it
could,
and I
really hope
that you're
opening yourself
up and being
available for
that.
You being
obedient to
God's
call in your
life could
mean that
you live
right here
in Dahlonega,
and you're
a valuable
member of
our church,
and you
work a
job,
and you
create
money,
and you
have a
family,
and you
raise
them up
in the
way of
God,
all those
things are
a huge
possibility
for your
life.
Absolutely.
That may
be exactly
what God
wants for
you.
But he
also may,
on the
other end
of the
spectrum,
want you
to go and
spend your
life on
the mission
field.
He may
want you
to go and
be martyred
in a place
that's
dangerous,
that the
gospel has
yet to be
proclaimed.
We're
excited about
it.
In
verse 20
of
chapter 15,
Paul says,
And thus I
make it my
ambition to
preach the
gospel,
not where
Christ has
already been
named,
lest I
build on
someone else's
foundation,
but as it
is written,
those who
have never
been told of
him will
see,
and those
who have
never heard
will understand.
Paul was
zealous for
the name of
Christ to
be named
amongst the
Gentiles.
That's why
he went,
look in the
appendix of
your Bible,
there's probably
a little
cool map of
his
missionary
journeys.
That's why
he traveled
far and
wide to
share this
gospel.
So God
may call
you to
do that
very thing,
to go to
an unreached
people somewhere
in the world.
I learned of
a new one.
I try to
keep my
mind into
unreached
peoples.
I try to
pray for
them.
I try to
kind of
have a
global
mindset.
As God
has a
global
mindset,
it's really
easy for
us to
get our
little
small
box,
Dahlonega
slash
Gainesville,
Georgia,
and not
think about
God's
eternal
purposes for
the world.
So I
try to
read about
this,
and I
found,
I get a
couple of
magazines that
help me with
this,
but this one
I found in
The Bathroom
Reader.
You guys are
familiar with
that?
It's a great
book,
The Bathroom
Reader.
It's just
interesting
facts,
and we keep
it in the
bathroom.
But I learned
about a people
group in The
Bathroom Reader
called the
Sentinelese.
They live on
an island in
the Bay of
Bengal,
which is off
the eastern
coast of
India,
and I'm
going to say
it wrong,
Burma.
I know it's
called something
else now.
Thank you.
Okay.
Off the
western coast
of Myanmar.
That's right.
Thank you,
guys.
There's a
little island
there.
And The Bathroom
Reader, of
course, wasn't
speaking from a
missionary
perspective,
but talked
about this
people group
that have
been encountered
in a very
small way
by the rest
of the world.
A very, very
small way.
In fact, the
only real
western
interaction
they've had
is the
British,
back in the
1800s,
there was a
visiting family
from this
island on a
neighboring
island,
and they
captured them.
And the
hope was that
they were
going to make
them like
them and
send them
back to
their people.
But in
the meantime,
the two
parents died
of sickness,
western
diseases that
they weren't,
ready for.
And so they
took the
kids and
dropped them
off in the
bay and
let the
kids swim
to shore.
And that's
been about
it.
The Indian
nation for
a while was
working on
trying to
build some
rapport with
them and
connect with
them and
see what
they could
accomplish.
And so
they sent
throughout the
80s and
90s,
they sent
out boats
regularly who
just simply
went into
the little
bay and
threw
things overboard
for them
to wash
up on
shore.
Because if
they went
on shore,
they were
likely to be
killed.
So this is
people that
have been
accessed in
such a
limited way.
How are
they going to
believe in
the gospel
if someone
doesn't preach
it to them?
They won't.
The gospel
needs to be
carried to
this people
group.
people who
really have
been isolated
for the
last thousands
of years
will probably
die as
neighboring
tribes have
died on
other islands
if they're
exposed to
western
diseases.
And now
India has
seen it
fruitless.
Somebody just
one day said,
why are we
trying to
do this?
These are
tribal people
living on
this island.
Why are we
trying to be
friends with
them exactly?
This is
costing a lot
of money.
We're throwing
a lot of
coconuts
into their
bay for no
reason.
What are we
doing?
So they
just stopped
and in fact
now they
enforce a
three mile
radius with
planes and
boats.
They enforce
a radius
around the
island so
that people
can't touch
it.
So they
can't get
there.
How does
the gospel
of God
get to the
Sentinelese
on North
Sentinel Island
in the Bay
of Bengal?
I don't
know.
I actually
for fun have
been trying
to rack my
brain about
how in the
world you
would even
get there
and how
you would
accomplish
people who
probably speak
a language
that no
one
else in
this world
knows.
How do
you do
this type
of work?
And you've
got a nation
India actually
enforcing it
keeping you
away from
it.
How is the
gospel going
to be carried?
And I don't
know but praise
God we serve
a sovereign
God who is
in control of
these things.
He knows
right?
And he knows
that maybe
someone in
this room is
going to go
to the
Sentinelese
and find a
way to
preach the
gospel there.
There are
countless
others
7162
as qualified
by the
Joshua Project
people who
have never
heard the
gospel of
Christ.
God has
not given
a mission
to the
church but
rather the
church to
his mission.
And whether
we stay
here or go
there,
we're all
called to be
caught up in
this, to be
zealous for
Christ's name
to be
proclaimed
everywhere.
So don't
think that if
you're not
called to
foreign missions
that you're
in a different
category.
The term
missionary was
invented.
It's not in
the scriptures
anywhere.
We see
followers of
Christ.
We see
perseverers.
We see
disciples.
We're all
meant to be
missionaries if
you want to
think about it
in that term.
It's okay
that we've
created a term
for people who
spend their
full time,
it's a vocation
to go
overseas.
It's okay
that we do
that.
But the
danger of
it is that
we cease to
do anything
because we're
not missionaries.
We're not
radical like
that.
We're all
called to
serve God
in this
way.
The things
of this
earth are
fading away.
They're
turning to
dust.
They're
passing.
Soon
they will
be gone.
Do you
spend your
energies on
those things,
on the
finite,
or are you
spending your
energy on
the infinite?
joy,
abounding joy
will be yours
if you do.
Verse 13,
we'll talk about
that next week.
Let's pray
together.