Well, good morning, folks. Really good to be with you all here this morning.
I don't know why, but as I was driving here this morning, I wasn't thinking that I would arrive and see so many familiar faces.
But it's really good to see also familiar faces.
Even Keita, who was speaking to us earlier, we just worked out that I know her dad.
So that's nice. There's not many follow-wills in the world, I guess.
But today, as Alistair said, we're continuing your series in the Psalms.
Before we get to that, I'd just like to tell you a little bit about myself and where I've come from.
So this morning I came from Kirkliston, just outside Edinburgh, where I live with my wife and our four kids.
I worship at Kirkliston Community Church, and I want to thank you as a church for giving us some of your best people.
Because the Johnsons, who were members of this church for a long time, are in KCC.
And also, I think we stole your youth pastor, but then again, you've got Peter.
So it must have been quite a while ago that Pip, Lynn, was here as youth pastor.
So she's now youth pastor at Kirkliston Community Church, where we worship.
I'm married to Jude.
We've got four kids. Jude's a primary teacher.
And we have Katie and I, who are twins, age 10.
Anna's 7.
And little Struhan is 21 months, and he has to be sat on to have his nappy changed at the moment.
He's bonkers.
So it's nice to get a break from them this morning.
Only joking.
I have the privilege of teaching at the Faith Mission Bible College,
which is in the south part of Edinburgh in Gilmerton.
And I'd like to just tell you very briefly a little bit about it.
The Faith Mission Bible College is part of a wider organisation called the Faith Mission.
It would be very interesting for me if you could raise your hand if you've heard of the Faith Mission.
Oh, loads of you have.
Wonderful.
Now, I'm not just talking about the cafe and the bookshop.
So the Faith Mission was set up over 100 years ago as a mission organisation with a unique calling,
or a specific, particular calling, to reach the lost of Great Britain and Ireland,
of the UK and Ireland, with the good news of Jesus Christ in rural areas.
And that's still the focus of the Faith Mission today.
The last great move of God in Scotland was the Lewis revival,
the Isle of Lewis in the north.
And one of the key individuals in that revival was a man called Duncan Campbell.
He had been a faith mission worker, faith mission evangelist,
then became Church of Scotland minister,
and later he became the principal of the Bible College.
And that sense of mission, that focus on evangelism,
that desire for God to come again and work in us and through us and among us
and in this nation is still very much at the heart of what the Faith Mission is about.
And so we have a Bible College to train people for the mission.
But again, one of your former assistant pastors trained at the Faith Mission Bible College,
Alistair Chalmers, he's now at Fernie Hill Evangelical.
And so students come to us for training in all kinds,
to go into all kinds of Christian ministry,
but many do go into the Faith Mission as evangelists.
That's me on the screen there.
That's me teaching a course on apologetics.
And look, the people are absolutely gripped.
So our vision is to train passionate servants of Jesus Christ
for evangelism, mission, and ministry.
And so every day I arrive at the college and I meet with my colleagues
and we open the scriptures together and we pray together.
And then we pray for the students, we pray for the day,
and then we go and join the students.
And one of them leads us in morning devotions and we worship together
and we pray together.
And then we spend the rest of the day studying the Bible and theology together
in Christian community and fellowship.
Does that not sound wonderful?
Well, my friends, you could join us.
So if you've thought for years, I would just like to have the opportunity to go a bit deeper,
to study God's Word and all that it teaches us just a bit more deeply
and with some more structure and more discipline.
Well, you could come and join us just for one day on the 21st of September.
My colleague Marilyn Burton will be teaching a one-day course on the Old Testament,
how the whole Old Testament points towards Christ.
And it's free.
We'd love to see you there on the Saturday, the 21st of September.
But maybe you would like to go deeper than that.
Maybe you could spare a Tuesday, even just half of the Tuesdays in a year,
and join us for our Foundation Certificate in Applied Theology.
Two years to cover systematic theology, Old Testament overview, New Testament overview,
Christian history, and then practical courses like children and youth ministry,
pastoral care, evangelism, apologetics.
So that's the advert over.
But there's an opportunity at the Bible College just up the road from you
if you have the time, maybe a sense of calling even on your life
to serve God part-time or full-time in mission.
And there's an opportunity to come and join with this Christian community
and study God's Word together and see where He leads us all.
So advert over.
It's lovely to be with you this morning.
We're going to dive in now to Psalm 117.
Well, actually, before we start, I want to just ask you a question.
How do you feel about what's going on in our world at the moment?
It's quite difficult, isn't it?
Watching the news, wars and the threat of war,
riots in the streets, and deep, deep political divisions.
And a culture that in many respects has completely rejected its Christian heritage.
And a church, not this church, but many churches in our nation, most churches in our nation,
in free fall.
Are you ever tempted to let fear and anxiety and worry overcome you
when you look at what's going on in our world and even in our own nation?
Do you ever wonder, Lord, what would you have me do about all of this?
Well, I think our psalm this morning contains God's antidote to the chaos.
To the chaos around us in the world, the chaos that we might feel within us.
So we've read Psalm 117.
Do open it.
It is, you may have noticed, rather short.
It is, in fact, the shortest psalm.
It's the shortest chapter in the Bible.
It's been called the Tom Thumb of the Psalter.
But that may be so, but it does not lack anything in significance.
Just two verses.
And yet, the great reformer, 16th century reformer Martin Luther,
managed to write 36 pages of commentary on it.
You'll be pleased to know I've only got 11.
Another commentator said,
this is the shortest song in the whole collection,
but there is none greater or grander in its expression of praise.
Again, another said,
it's a dewdrop reflecting the universe.
And part of what makes this tiny psalm so great
is that it contains God's antidote to the chaos out there
and the chaos in here,
the despair that we might feel in a chaotic world.
So let's just read it again,
because it really won't take long.
I'm reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible.
Let's just read this short psalm again.
Praise the Lord, all nations.
Extol him, all peoples.
For great is his steadfast love towards us.
And the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.
And I think, as I've been thinking on this and praying through it,
I think the message that God has for each one of us this morning
is through this psalm is,
no matter what's going on in the world around you,
let yourself, let your heart, let your whole life
be taken up in God's great plans for his world.
That's God's antidote to the chaos.
So we're going to think about this in three steps this morning.
Firstly,
firstly,
don't despair when you look at the chaos in God's world.
Even when the world seems full of turmoil,
do not despair.
Praise the Lord, all nations.
Extol him, all peoples.
Now, I heard as folks are arriving this morning,
there's quite a few visitors this morning.
So it's so great to see you here today.
Those of you who've been here for the last five weeks
will know very well that we are working through
a series in the Psalms.
And this, we started off,
and you started off, in Psalm 113.
It finishes next week with Psalm 118.
And this short section of the Psalms
is known as the Egyptian Hallel.
The Egyptian Hallel Psalms.
And the reason they were called this
is an ancient tradition
to sing these Psalms around the Passover meal.
So the Passover was the most important
of the Jewish festivals
where God's people celebrated the Exodus,
the rescue from slavery in Egypt.
And Hallel simply means praise.
So the Egyptian Hallel.
So these were songs of praise to God
for his deliverance of his people
from slavery in Egypt.
And they would sing them around the Passover meal.
So they would sing Psalms 113, 114 before the meal,
and after the meal, Psalms 115 to 118.
Now, again, very cleverly, I think,
this series has been entitled
From the Lips of Jesus,
which I confess,
when Graham first sent me the invitation to speak
and I saw that title,
I thought, wait a minute.
I'm going to have to look into that.
But it's hugely helpful
because, of course,
the Last Supper,
which has been in the news
for the wrong reasons recently,
the Last Supper was a Passover meal.
And this is fascinating.
So we read in the Gospels
that after Jesus had taken bread and wine
with his disciples
and told them,
this is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many
for the forgiveness of sins,
they'd just done that together.
This absolutely core and epochal event
in the history of mankind.
And then they sung a hymn together, we're told.
Well, since from time immemorial,
it was the Egyptian Hallel Psalms
that were sung around the Passover meal.
We can only assume
that it was these very Psalms
that came from the lips of Jesus that night,
just before he went to the cross
to die for the sins of the whole world.
Well, that helps us read these Psalms
a little differently, doesn't it?
So what do you think
was going through Jesus' mind
as he sung Psalm 117 that night?
Despair?
As a first century Jewish person,
an ordinary person living in Judea
in the first century,
there was every reason to despair.
Like, you had been living for decades,
70 years,
under oppressive Roman rule.
They were brutal,
and they were powerful,
and they were clearly not going anywhere
for a long, long time.
And it had been 400 years,
400 years,
since God had sent
a prophet
to his people.
And while they waited,
empires ruled them.
There were wars,
there were massacres,
and there were all kinds,
there was all kinds of suffering
for God's people.
And yet,
praise the Lord,
all nations,
extol him,
all peoples.
What's going through Jesus' mind
as he sings
those words?
Not despair,
not hopelessness,
but something
very,
very different.
500 years before,
in Jerusalem,
there was another
Passover meal.
And this was possibly,
we don't know,
but this was possibly
the time that this Psalm 117
was written.
Then,
to God's people,
humanly speaking,
had lots of reasons
for despair.
70 years before that,
Solomon's
wonderful temple
had been destroyed.
And another mass
of God's people
had been taken off
in exile.
God's people
were devastated,
absolutely devastated.
And yet,
some had returned
to Jerusalem,
and they'd rebuilt
a temple,
not like Solomon's temple,
but a temple nonetheless.
Listen to what it meant
for them
as the foundation
stones
were laid.
This is Ezra 3,
10 to 13.
If you want to look it up,
it's,
I checked,
it's page 474
in the Pew Bibles.
This is what it meant
to them
as the foundation
stones of the temple
were laid.
when the builders
laid the foundation
of the temple
of the Lord.
The priests
in their vestments
came forward
with trumpets,
and the Levites,
the sons of Asaph,
with symbols
to praise the Lord
according to the directions
of the king,
of David,
king of Israel.
And they sang
responsibly,
praising and giving
thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
for his steadfast love
endures forever
toward Israel.
And all the people
shouted
with a great shout
when they praised
the Lord,
because the foundation
of the house
of the Lord
was laid.
But many of the priests
and Levites
and heads
of Father's houses,
old men who had seen
the first house,
wept
with a loud voice
when they saw
the foundation
of this house
being laid,
though many shouted
also,
shouted aloud for joy,
so that the people
could not distinguish
the sound
of the joyful shout
from the sound
of the people's weeping,
for the people shouted
with a great shout
and the sound
was heard far away.
And some time later,
the people of God
struggling with despair
and hope,
they celebrated
the Passover together
for the first time
in some generations.
And so,
what would have gone
through their minds
as they sang
Psalm 117,
praise the Lord,
all nations,
extol him,
all peoples.
How could this
small, beleaguered,
vulnerable community,
how could they say
anything
to the powerful nations
around them?
How can we
say
to our world,
praise the Lord,
all nations,
extol him,
all peoples,
when we see the mess
in our world?
Well, for them,
in Ezra's time,
they knew what God
had promised.
They knew the promises
to Abraham.
God had said
to the father
of their people
many, many centuries
before,
all nations on earth
will be blessed
through you,
through your offspring.
A blessing to all nations
was coming.
And King David
himself,
God had promised
through King David.
David had prayed,
all the nations
you have made
shall come
and worship
before you,
O Lord,
and shall glorify
your name.
And so they sang
with faith
and with hope,
even amongst
the pain and despair,
praise the Lord,
all nations,
extol him,
all peoples.
They didn't know
how God was going
to bring this about,
but they trusted
that he's faithful
to his promises
and to his people.
There's one more,
one more place
I want to point us to
as we think
just on this first point.
If you turn to Romans 15,
that's page 1141
in the Pew Bibles.
Again, I checked.
In Romans 15,
Paul says,
that Christ became
a servant
to the circumcised,
that's the Jews,
to show God's
truthfulness
in order to confirm
the promises
given to the patriarchs,
to people like
King David,
Abraham and King David,
and in order
that the Gentiles
might glorify God
for his mercy.
And then look down
at verse 11.
Paul quotes
Psalm 117,
verse 1
as evidence.
God has called
all nations
to worship him
and no one
can thwart
God's plans.
It's not
a forlorn hope.
It is what God
is going to do.
The people
in Ezra's time
could trust
wholeheartedly
that God
would fulfill
his purposes
and his promise.
And we today
can trust
wholeheartedly
that God
will fulfill
his purposes
and his promise.
And so when Paul says
we don't
need
to despair
in the face
of a world
that rejects God
and does so much
evil,
verse 13
I love,
may the God
of hope
fill you
with all joy
and peace
as you trust
in him
so that you
may overflow
with hope
by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
So what was it
that was going
through Jesus' mind
as he sung
this call
to the nations
and to all peoples
to praise
the true
and living God?
He is there
having laid out
the bread
and the wine
representing
his body
and his blood
knowing
that he's about
to go to the cross
and they sing
these words together
and he sings them
as the maker
of the universe
with flesh on.
The eternal
Son of the Father
made flesh
come to dwell
among sinful people
to dwell
among his creatures
and so he looks
at the Romans
and he looks
at the Jews
and the Greeks
and everyone else
and he says to them
this is why
you were made
this is what
you need
to praise the Lord
to worship him
with all that you are.
All nations
were made
to worship
the true
and living God
all peoples
every person
everyone
only finds
their purpose
in him
in the worship
of the creator.
and so
Paul said
later to the
Corinthian church
from now on
we do not
consider anyone
from a worldly
point of view
and so when we
look at our
world and all
the turmoil
now
let's not look
at people
from a worldly
point of view
the politics
of the left
or the right
or the wars
and rumours
of wars
we don't look
at these things
as the world
does
we don't look
at our
non-Christian
neighbours
or friends
or family
as the secular
world would
have us
they too
are creatures
made in the
image of God
made to
worship God
who find
who will
only find
their
life
and their
purpose
in the
worship
of the
true
and living
God
God is
working out
his plans
in this
tumultuous
world
and we
can abound
in hope
as we
trust in
him
because one
day all
peoples will
worship him
and praise
his name
so no matter
what is going
on in the
world around
you
let yourself
let your
heart
your whole
life
be taken
up in
God's
great plan
for his
world
so verse
one is a
call to
the world
to worship
the true
and living
God
and verse
two
gives us
the reason
why
so of
course
the bible
gives us
lots of
reasons why
human beings
should worship
God
because he's
worthy
because he's
holy
because God
desires that
we worship
him
but possibly
what we're
given here
is the
very heart
of why
we should
worship
God
so verse
two
for great
is his
steadfast love
towards us
and the
faithfulness
of the
Lord
endures
forever
so in
Hebrew
poetry
there's
often
parallel
ideas
and sometimes
that's to
highlight a
contrast
but here
it's to
drive home
the single
point
that the
greatness
of God's
love
is for
all of
those
who turn
to him
so the
word behind
steadfast
love
or unfailing
love
or in the
NIV
it just
says
love
the word
that's
translated
from the
Hebrew
is
chesed
sometimes
it's
translated
as
like
some
translators
made up
a new
word
in English
loving
kindness
it's not
a word
but
that represents
a bit
better
what
chesed
means
or
sometimes
it's
mercy
or goodness
but really
it's all
of these
and so
much more
so chesed
is a
word
it's used
again
and again
in the
Bible
and it
refers to
God's
unfailing
love
for his
people
his intense
divine
love
so great
that only
the best
human
love
is merely
an echo
verse 2
says
that it's
great
is his
love
for his
great
is his
steadfast
love
towards
us
and again
that's
the Hebrew
word
gabar
and elsewhere
that's used
for an
army
prevailing
in battle
it's not
like
it's
great
like we
say
great
this is
like
an army
prevailing
in battle
or it's
also used
in Genesis
for the
floodwaters
prevailing
over the
earth
this is
not a
small
thing
the
greatness
of
God's
love
is an
unimaginably
powerful
thing
chesed
is God's
mercy
towards
his
people
that he
doesn't
hold
their
failings
there are
many
failings
in their
sin
against
them
that he
will
forgive
them
completely
only
if they
will
turn
back
to
him
it's
a
love
that
arises
out of
God's
faithfulness
to his
promise
his
covenant
to his
people
that they
will be
that you
will be
my people
and I
will never
let you
go
it's like
the love
of a
perfect
husband
who yearns
for his
wife
and is
jealous
is rightly
jealous
if she's
wayward
and the
people of
Israel
were wayward
again and
again
weren't they
and they
faced the
consequences
of their
sin
and yet
God would
not let
his people
go
that is
God's
chesed
and it's
not
sentimental
it demands
a response
whole
hearted
trusting in
it forever
type of
response
so chesed
God's
loving kindness
is
God's
powerful
steadfast
love
for his
people
the nearest
New Testament
equivalent
is the
word
grace
and when
Jesus sang
this psalm
after laying
out the
bread and
the wine
and saying
to his
disciples
my body
and my
blood
given for
you
surely
God's
chesed
would have
been filled
with new
meaning
or in
fact
with the
fulfillment
this is the
fulfillment of
the meaning
of everything
said in the
Old Testament
about God's
chesed
it's the
fulfillment of
the Passover
of the
temple
of the
sacrifices
of all
God's
promises
because the
absolute
core
of the
message
of the
Christian
faith
is that
God's
chesed
has been
demonstrated
in history
elsewhere
in Romans
the Apostle
Paul says
God
demonstrates
his own
love for
us in
this
while we
were still
sinners
Christ
died
for us
so imagine
the thoughts
that went
through Jesus
mind as
these words
passed through
his lips
after the
bread and
the wine
knowing that
the cross
was before
him
agony was
before him
and yet
he knew
that by the
single act
he was
providing
salvation
he was
securing
salvation and
forgiveness
for the
whole world
and the
very
fulfillment
of the
words
that he
sung
the once
and for
all
total
and complete
demonstration
of God's
great love
and faithfulness
and it's
God's
steadfast
love
towards
us
it's
towards
us
this is
for you
Jesus
warned that
it's quite
possible
to worship
God with
our lips
but our
hearts are
far from
him
the
commentator
Christopher
Ash
says
the phrase
here
towards
us
might be
better
translated
over
us
for the
covenant
love of
God
covers
and protects
us
after
it has
first
overcome
us
life can
be desperately
hard
can't it
we look
at a
messed up
world
and we
think
well
what do
we do
about that
but our
own lives
can be
desperately
hard
just this
morning
my wife
had a
phone call
from one
of our
very close
friends
who lost
both her
grandparents
in the
space of
the last
four weeks
and this
friend said
this morning
that all
she said
is that her
mother died
suddenly last
night
we don't
know how
but we're
very concerned
life can
be desperately
desperately
hard
the
circumstances
that we
face in
our lives
can make
us
miserable
it can
be absolutely
miserable
we know
this
the Jews
of Jesus
day
knew that
the exiles
of Ezra's
day
knew that
but something
changes
decisively
in a
person
when we
get
that God's
love
this great
chesed
is not
just a
concept
it's
towards
us
it's not
just something
that other
people need
to know
that the
nations
need to
know
it's not
just a
set of
ideas
or beliefs
or a
philosophy
this is the
truth of
the universe
and it's a
truth that
we
must also
experience
to experience
the love
and faithfulness
of the
true
and living
God
so this
is
Christopher
Ash
again
this
love
and
faithfulness
is for
me
today
we have
an inbuilt
tendency
to pass
it along
to someone
else
saying this
is for
you
when we
first need
to say
this
is for
me
or we
say perhaps
this will
be for
me
but not
yet
for I
am
busy
or
preoccupied
whether
you're
male
or female
young or
old
rich or
poor
highly
or poorly
educated
whatever
your
ethnicity
this
call
and
invitation
is for
you
today
I remember
years ago
when I was
a student
I
set myself
a challenge
to spend
an hour
in prayer
and I
thought I
was being
very impressive
so this
isn't
if I do
this
I'll
feel very
pleased
with
myself
and I
found
this sheet
of paper
this
instructions
online
that gave
12 steps
five minute
focuses
for my
hour long
prayer
and
the first
in the list
was to
worship God
as creator
the second
finished with
the line
I can't remember
what it was
it was about
the second
finished with
the line
take
time to be
silent
and let
God love
you
and it
hit me
then
for the first
time
I'd been a
Christian
for a
decade
by that
point
but for
the first
time
I realised
that I
actually
needed
to let
God love
me
to receive
God's
love
into my
life
and it
was like
water
for my
soul
this is
how we
become the
sorts of
people who
don't just
worship God
with our
lips
but actually
praise him
and extol him
from the
heart
John
says
the
apostle
John
says
in his
first
letter
we
love
because
he
first
loved
us
when we
realise
that
God's
steadfast
love
is not
just
words
it's not
just a
fact
it's not
just a
concept
it's
for you
it's
towards
us
it's
for me
it's
for you
it's
for now
despite
all our
sin
when we
get that
when we
get that
again
today
it changes
everything
doesn't
it
changes
the pain
it changes
how we
see the
chaos
out there
and we
cannot but
worship
the God
who loves
us
with such
incredible
mercy
and grace
so no
matter
what is
going on
in the
world
around
you
let
yourself
let your
heart
let your
whole
life
be taken
up in
God's
great
plans
for his
world
lastly
and
briefly
we're
told
that
the
faithfulness
of the
Lord
endures
forever
it endures
forever
and that's
not
it's not
exaggeration
it's not
hyperbole
he means
it
forever
really is
in view
in the
scope of
understanding
of God's
purposes
in this
psalm
it's the
same
future
that the
apostle
John
wrote of
when he
saw in
his vision
of heaven
in the
book of
revelation
he hears
there the
song of
heaven
by your
blood
you ransomed
people for
God
from every
tribe
and language
and people
and nation
there they
are again
this promise
that people
from all
nations
will praise
and worship
the true
and living
God
so the
ultimate
fulfillment
of this
psalm
is cosmic
this little
two verse
psalm
this fulfillment
is cosmic
one day
people from
all nations
and tribes
will praise
the Lord
and worship
him with
their whole
hearts
but there's
a sense
in which
if we're
going to
sing this
psalm
a call
to the
nations
to worship
the true
and living
God
we better
be doing
something
about it
that's why
in the first
few centuries
of the church
often when
the great
commission
was spoken
about
Jesus
call
to his
disciples
to go
and take
the gospel
to the
nations
to make
disciples
of all
nations
this little
psalm
117
was often
associated
with the
great commission
F.B.
Meyer says
are we
doing all
we can
to kindle
the nations
to praise
they cannot
praise him
whom they
do not
know
it is mere
hypocrisy
to bid
them
praise him
if we
have never
sought to
spread
by lip
or gift
the mercy
and truth
revealed
in Jesus
our Lord
it's easy
to say
the right
things
isn't it
it's easy
to attend
church
to be good
Christian
people
in our
actions
even in
our
public
prayers
but it's
quite another
thing
to be
receiving
the steadfast
love
of the
Lord
towards
us
and
really
genuinely
desiring
to share
that
with others
and then
doing it
we had
someone come
to visit
us at
the college
recently
to inquire
about
studying
at the
college
he's a
Nigerian
chap
his wife
is working
here
in the
NHS
and
he's
working
elsewhere
but
his heart
is for
mission
and he
was telling
us
that
he was
walking
around
the
streets
of
Stirling
where
he
lives
and
his
heart
was
breaking
for
the
people
who
didn't
know
the
Lord
and so
he
decided
right
I need
to find
out
what I
can
do
in
this
strange
cold
country
of
Scotland
so he
told us
he
went
to
the
police
and
he
said
what
will
I
get
arrested
for
if I
do
street
evangelism
and
they
said
well
they
just
didn't
know
what
to
say
to
the
man
and
they
said
go to
the
council
and
ask
them
so he
went
to
the
council
they
also
didn't
know
what
to
say
and
he
said
I'm
here
because
I
want
to
learn
how
to
do
a
mission
in
this
country
because
it
is
so
different
from
Nigeria
and
we
just
loved
his
passion
for
the
lost
his
passion
to
share
the
good
news
of
Jesus
do
you
know
there
was
a
time
in
Scotland
in
the
early
19th
century
when
people
bought
one-way
tickets
to
the
mission
field
and
they
packed
their
belongings
in
coffins
seriously
they
weren't
expecting
to
come
back
they
were
known
as
one-way
missionaries
there
was a
man
A.W.
Milne
he set
out
for
the
New
Hebrides
in
the
South
Pacific
he
was
aware
that
the
people
there
had
murdered
every
single
missionary
that
had
gone
previously
but
still
he
went
he
said
I
have
already
died
to
myself
and
he
lived
for
35
years
with
the
tribe
when
he
died
they
buried
him
in
the
middle
of
the
village
and
inscribed
on
his
tombstone
was
this
or
something
like
this
when
he
came
there
was
no
light
when
he
left
there
was
no
darkness
what
about
us
it's
been
great
to
hear
about
the
missionary
work
in
Argentina
that
your
church
supports
and
prays
for
whenever
that
have
going to
morning I saw lots of friends from Scripture Union and some of you have come back from SU camps,
some of you have come back from SU holiday clubs. Such an incredible opportunity to share the good
news. They need cooks every summer. They're looking for cooks every summer. They're looking
for volunteers for their camps and it's an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus
with children who are often hungry to hear. I met somebody recently who told me she didn't want to
get involved in mission activities with the church and she didn't want her church to be doing that
because what they were focused on was friendship evangelism. Well you know that's great. That's
great to be where God has placed you in sharing your faith. She said she was really enjoying her
early retirement because that meant she had more time to spend with her non-Christian friends that
she'd met at university and they were being a witness to them. And I said, and how many of them
have come to faith? She said, none. It's 40 years. 40 years and none of them have come to faith?
Are we really just looking for excuses when there is a mission field out there? There is a world
in our city, in our nation and beyond that needs to hear the great good news of Jesus. We don't need
to wait 10 years before we tell our friends and family that Christ died for them and rose again so
that they could have eternal life. We need to get on with this and proclaim this great good news of the
gospel. We might feel it's a burden but it's not because what God wants is worshipers who worship him in
spirit and truth, who have received his chesed for themselves, his loving kindness, who have seen
just how absolute and complete that love is, displayed for them on the cross in the blood of his son,
who are so captivated by his love that we cannot but share it. And so we cry out to God, fill us
with your love, do your work in us so that we might be heralds of this great good news of the gospel,
wherever it is you've placed us, whether it's with our friends of 40 years or our husbands or wives or whether
it's to the ends of the earth. The antidote to the chaos out there in our world that can too often get into
our own hearts is that we let ourselves, let our hearts, let our whole lives be taken up with God's great plans
for his world. One day people from every tribe and tongue and nation will gather around his throne
and worship him. That's where this world is going. That's why Jesus ultimately came. Let's give ourselves
to receiving that work in us and to sharing that work with his world. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you that your mercy is towards us. Father, we thank you that you see us and you know us,
each one of us here. You know our name, you know us better than we know ourselves.
And your desire for us is that we would be filled with all the fullness of God and that we would walk
in the paths that you have prepared for us. And so God, would you help us today?
Would you help us to be part of the fulfillment of the promise of this psalm,
that we would worship you with our whole hearts and that we would be your mouthpieces
to share this great good news with the lost world. And we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.