WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.800 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.760 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.920 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.520 for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.219 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me, actually, to know, as I'm preaching, how to 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:07.760 deal with the types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:21.540 It's a privilege to bring the message once again, as our rector, George, is away. If I didn't say my 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:26.800 name earlier, I'm Steve, and I'm delighted to see you here this morning. I see some new faces, 00:01:26.800 --> 00:01:31.000 so I do look forward to chatting with various ones afterwards. 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:41.200 Driving home from Florida a few weeks ago, my wife Stella and I had the chance to spend some time in 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:49.600 the area of Massachusetts that once witnessed a great spiritual awakening. In fact, the first of a 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:58.879 series that we refer to as the great awakening that began in the 1730s there. Now today, 300 years later, 00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:07.359 the same churches that witnessed that revival have been swept quite thoroughly up into the new thing, 00:02:07.699 --> 00:02:16.280 the new form of Christianity, which H. Richard Niebuhr, excuse me, he described so well when he said, 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:24.680 some decades ago now, that this new form of Christianity tells the story of how a God without 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:33.500 wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:42.599 a cross. But in the 1730s, God moved in a very special way. Now in my history class that I got to 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:49.519 teach at McGill about a year ago, we got to read about it in Jonathan Edwards' narrative called 00:02:49.519 --> 00:02:55.379 A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God. That was from the year 1737. We didn't read the 00:02:55.379 --> 00:03:00.459 whole thing, but we read a good chunk of it. In that piece, Edwards wrote about how, quote, 00:03:00.460 --> 00:03:09.240 at the latter end of the year 1733, there appeared in our young people, listen up young people, a very 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:17.159 unusual flexibleness and yielding to advice. This came as a big surprise, and Edwards tells us why. 00:03:18.500 --> 00:03:24.520 The greater part of the young people seemed at that time to be very insensitive to the things of 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:33.360 religion. They were, many of them, very much addicted to night walking and frequenting the 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:40.420 tavern and lewd practices, wherein some, by their example, exceedingly corrupted others. 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:49.180 It was their manner very frequently to get together in conventions of both sexes, for mirth and 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:56.780 jollity, which they called frolics, as they would often spend the greater, I'm sorry, and they would 00:03:56.780 --> 00:04:02.240 often spend the greater part of the night in them without regard to any order in the families they 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:12.219 belonged to. But a great change happened, said Edwards. Not just one or two, but a great many of them 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:19.519 had become teachable, moved by what they were hearing from the pulpit on Sunday. They were, 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:27.279 after all, a church-going culture. And they became open to correction. And before long, in groups of 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:35.240 five or six, they were all, to all appearance, savingly converted. And some of them wrought upon in a very 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:41.540 remarkable manner. I've shared with you just the early moments in that narrative, because 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:49.900 I want us to consider, guided by the chapter that Morris read, 1 Thessalonians 1, what it looks like 00:04:49.900 --> 00:04:56.360 when God's word comes with power. As we heard, Paul said to the church in Thessalonica, 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:05.520 for we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:13.219 not only a word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. I invite you to 00:05:13.219 --> 00:05:16.879 pray with me once again before we get into our text. 00:05:21.699 --> 00:05:29.519 Father, we, to enter into those secret places of our heart, and we trust that you do that, 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:35.899 even as we open our hearts to hear your word. And we ask that you would show us our need, 00:05:36.419 --> 00:05:42.599 and also that you would, above all, show us Christ in all his glory, and all his majesty, 00:05:43.259 --> 00:05:47.959 as we hear your word today. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:55.680 Now, to answer the question, what happens when God's word comes with power? 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:01.939 We're going to begin in the middle of the passage, verse 6, and then we'll make our way back. 00:06:03.220 --> 00:06:09.980 Just a quick word by way of background to the letter. It was around the year AD 50 that Paul 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:15.660 had planted a church there in Thessalonica. If you've been to that area of northern Greece, 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:23.300 it's Macedonia. It stretches into the Macedonian part of, I guess, the former Yugoslavia, 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:30.560 and we have Thessaloniki there, which is the modern Thessalonica in that part of Greece. 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:37.600 But he was soon driven out, very soon driven out by a mob that had formed when some of the leaders 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:45.360 of the synagogue didn't like all the details in his message. He didn't get to witness the church's 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:51.939 growth there personally. He did get to hear about some of that from Timothy not long after. 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:59.699 And the report Timothy brought gave rise to this letter, probably Paul's first epistle, 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:06.060 written when he's further... And it's full of encouragement to the young church there in Thessalonica. 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:13.680 So we're in the book of Acts in an indirect way. Okay, so a little bit further ahead, but 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:20.800 George gave me the privilege of selecting the passage. I've pondered this passage a lot, 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:25.840 and I've never had a chance to teach it or preach on it, so this is a good opportunity for me. 00:07:25.939 --> 00:07:33.759 Right in chapter 1, I say there's a great deal of encouragement in it, because right in chapter 1, 00:07:33.819 --> 00:07:40.120 beginning with verse 6, and already in the context of giving thanks to God, Paul reminds them what 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:46.939 happened once they embraced and took hold of the good news of Jesus. Let's look at that under three 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:55.920 headings. Participation, pattern, and proclamation. The first thing Paul rejoices in is the fact that 00:07:55.920 --> 00:08:02.019 the believers in Thessalonica have come to participate in Jesus's sufferings. Now, Paul 00:08:02.019 --> 00:08:09.040 doesn't use that word. I'm borrowing it from Peter, from 1 Peter 4.13, because the theme is the same. 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:13.159 Peter says to the Christians in Asia Minor, the scattered ones up there, 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:21.020 rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed 00:08:21.020 --> 00:08:29.760 when his glory is revealed. The point is this. Christ, in Christ, suffering and joy actually go 00:08:29.760 --> 00:08:37.600 hand in hand, as if they were a single blessing. How is that? Well, see what he says, Paul says in verse 6, 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:46.580 you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction with the joy 00:08:46.580 --> 00:08:54.080 of the Holy Spirit. In the context of the whole passage, Paul's meaning is this. You've been united 00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:01.600 to Jesus in his sufferings by the work of the Holy Spirit, who gives you joy in the midst of the 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:10.899 suffering that you're having to endure as you wait for his coming. Paul himself may have been run out of 00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:19.279 Thessalonica, but these believers had, if you like, extended his visit in their own person, extended his 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:28.480 impact as they took up his example, facing challenges really on two fronts, from the wider pagan world, 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:35.899 but also from the Jewish leaders who were opposing their message. What an encouragement for us today 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:44.159 is as we face very similar challenges. Insults from those who think we're too religious, or maybe just 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:49.820 jeers, I don't know, and condemnation from those who perhaps think we're not religious enough. 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:57.519 It's an interesting conundrum, isn't it? Too religious in one context, because we say to modern pagans, 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:04.639 those whose only real concern is maybe the here and now, there's a day coming when we're all stand 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:11.819 before the judge of all the earth, like Paul said there in Acts 17. But we're not religious enough 00:10:11.819 --> 00:10:19.720 in another context because of the freedom we have found in Jesus. We don't have to try to earn 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:29.899 or merit God's favor. So let's turn from that participation to the word pattern. The second 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:36.740 thing Paul rejoices in is in verse 7. He says that by participating in Christ's sufferings, they became 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:46.960 an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. That's the regions immediately close by. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:54.139 Macedonia and in Macedonia and Achaia to the south. That is, in their union with Christ by the Spirit, 00:10:54.639 --> 00:11:02.100 who gave them joy in their sufferings, Christians in their region and in nearby Achaia to the south 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:10.379 were able to look to them as models and patterns of life in Christ, even as they imitated Paul, 00:11:10.379 --> 00:11:17.679 and in imitating Paul, Jesus. And the lesson that I think that you and I can take from this 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:25.299 is that while God surely sees fit to use these under patterns in our life, if you like, 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:32.980 godly men and women, the true and the real pattern is, for the Christian life, can only be Jesus. 00:11:32.980 --> 00:11:41.980 He's our model for our formation and our reformation, so that if we want to know how we're supposed to 00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:49.940 remain in Christ, once the Spirit has done the initial work of uniting us to him, we only need to 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:59.879 look to Jesus' example, asking the Holy Spirit to fashion us according to it. And what does that 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:08.860 pattern look like? Well, we know that Jesus is priest, king, and prophet. We refer to this as his 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:16.419 threefold office. As priest, very briefly, as priest, what does he model? Well, he models the way of 00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:25.919 self-sacrifice. As king, he models the victory that we have through that sacrificial death on the cross for us. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:32.659 And as prophet, what does he model? Well, he models the way in which we, as that royal priesthood that 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:40.639 Peter talks about in 1 Peter 2.9, declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:48.860 into his wonderful light. See that, how we're included in Christ's threefold office by the Holy 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:56.519 Spirit who unites us to Jesus. So from participation and pattern, we come to that third 00:12:56.519 --> 00:13:03.220 reason that Paul rejoices, and it's in the word proclamation. As a result of their example, in 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:08.860 verse 8, he says this to the church there in Thessalonica, not only has the word of the Lord 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:15.960 sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia nearby, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:23.200 so that we really need not say anything. Of course, that's hyperbole, isn't it? But because he does say 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:29.139 something, but it's as though we didn't need to say anything. What we see here is that life in 00:13:29.139 --> 00:13:37.500 obedience to Jesus translates into verbal witness. That is, we see God's word here literally going far 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:47.419 beyond the Thessalonian churches, Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Their verbal testimony was a local one, 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:56.720 but the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus had made it a global witness, hadn't he? As Jesus' followers 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:03.620 simply passed the good news along. The Holy Spirit, if you like, multiplied that witness, 00:14:03.620 --> 00:14:11.460 even as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes. I think it's good to remind ourselves here that 00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:17.860 this came about not through big preaching campaigns or professional evangelists and apologists, 00:14:17.860 --> 00:14:25.379 but as God used ordinary Christians just like us. In his book, Evangelism in the Early Church, 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:32.200 Michael Green describes the evangelism that happened, quote, in homes and wine shops, 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:39.660 on walks and around market stalls. These people did it naturally, enthusiastically. Having found 00:14:39.660 --> 00:14:47.379 treasure, they meant to share it with others to the limit of their ability. I think what's important 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:56.620 there is that within the gifts that God has given to us, within even considering our temperament and 00:14:56.620 --> 00:15:03.279 the way we just naturally raise the question of the things of God with friends, just this natural 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:10.639 lifestyle and personal evangelism that happens. Not because our purpose in befriending others is to 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:18.720 gain converts, but because we want to share that treasure that is ours and that we simply want to pass it on. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:26.639 If you have a look at the end of our passage, verses 9 and 10, you'll see that Paul names three habits 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:33.000 that are essential to the church's witness. We're still on the topic of what happens when God's word 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:40.460 comes with power because these habits serve as means of grace. They form and they fashion us as God's 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:47.500 people so that verbal testimony flows more or less spontaneously out of these habits. And the three 00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:54.759 habits that I want to highlight are welcome, worship, and waiting. Welcome, worship, and waiting. I'll just 00:15:54.759 --> 00:16:00.680 look at them very briefly because they're really only in verses 9 and 10. Verse 9 begins like this, 00:16:01.019 --> 00:16:07.740 for they themselves, that is the believers in Macedonia and Achaia, report concerning us the kind of 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:14.580 reception we had among you. Here Paul, I think, is referring to the welcome they gave not only to him 00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:21.879 and to his traveling companions, Silas and Timothy, but to the message they brought when they were with 00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:27.560 them on Paul's second missionary journey. And if we stay with the rest of the letter, we'll see that the 00:16:27.560 --> 00:16:34.299 message and the messengers go together because of the bonds of fellowship in the gospel. 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:42.059 In chapter 2, for instance, Paul mentions how eager he has been to see them again. He just loved being 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:49.259 with them. This is a tribute to their hospitality, but also to his desire to be with them and to see 00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:56.799 them grow in the faith. The habit of welcoming the word in our lives and in our homes and in our 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:03.439 congregations is linked to a new way of worship. Paul reminds them in the second part of verse 9 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:10.700 that they, what did they do? Well, they turned from idols to serve the living God. I think we need to 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:19.880 grasp how radical this change was because the point is that the believers in Thessalonica hadn't just 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:27.559 stopped burning incense in pagan shrines and that sort of thing. If in the welcome they had given to the 00:17:27.559 --> 00:17:35.819 gospel, they turned away from that self-sufficiency that is natural to us, here in their rejection of 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:43.679 idol worship they were saying no to self-worship ultimately because that's where idolatry leads. 00:17:44.399 --> 00:17:51.639 This truth came through rather powerfully for me when I read the testimony of a man called Rabbi 00:17:51.640 --> 00:18:01.180 Maharaj, a former Hindu guru in training in his book, Little Book, The Death of a Guru. Since his 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:09.000 tradition had taught him that it was proper and good to venerate and worship things, objects in creation, 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:15.820 in the world, one day he, as he was contemplating his own image in the mirror, he asked himself, 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:24.019 well, what's really keeping me from worshiping myself? And this produced such a feeling of horror 00:18:24.019 --> 00:18:32.099 in him that he was led eventually to seek to know the living God and to trust in Jesus as his Savior and 00:18:32.099 --> 00:18:39.720 Lord. You can read that in that book, Death of a Guru. I think I may have shared with you a personal 00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:45.740 experience that's really in the same category because I was, I suppose, in the early stages of 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:55.960 imagining that the real mediator between God and man was a more or less impersonal cosmic Christ. 00:18:56.900 --> 00:18:59.640 Sounded Christian because I was still talking about Christ. 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:10.359 But this cosmic Christ that Jesus of Nazareth really only pointed to the cosmic Christ so that in effect 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:16.519 Jesus could be a Savior, but not the Savior and Lord of history. 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:18.500 And when I came 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:23.919 came to realize that one day, 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:25.339 that's where my thinking, 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:29.000 when I came to realize that that's where my thinking was actually heading, 00:19:29.459 --> 00:19:33.879 I felt a shock that Rabbi Maharaj must have felt because 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:40.580 I became aware that I wasn't really thinking in Bible categories of another worldview. 00:19:41.820 --> 00:19:43.740 So back to idols for a second. 00:19:43.980 --> 00:19:49.620 We should remember that the business of turning from idols is also a discipline in the Christian life. 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:50.900 It's not just a one-off, 00:19:52.060 --> 00:19:55.980 but as Calvin said, we're a factory of idols, in fact. 00:19:55.980 --> 00:20:04.000 In fact, we know how well we invent our own and how much we need God's grace daily to help us not to confuse things 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.500 that are passing with things that are eternal. 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:13.259 From true worship, Paul turns to the third habit of waiting. 00:20:14.620 --> 00:20:15.980 So we have this welcome. 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:18.559 We have a new worship, and then we have a waiting. 00:20:19.120 --> 00:20:25.460 In verse 10, he reminds the church in Thessalonica that they began to wait for God's Son from heaven. 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:41.700 What we see here, I think, is the way God adds a new blessing to the new identity that he gives us in Jesus. 00:20:42.460 --> 00:20:46.400 It's the blessing of a new orientation or direction. 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:53.339 History now has purpose, and the flow of time is no longer meaningless. 00:20:53.339 --> 00:21:00.939 That's because Jesus' promise to return for those who are waiting is a sure one. 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.939 When we take these three habits together as a bundle, 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:09.079 we can see how they form the basis of our witness in the world. 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:15.799 They account for the strong global witness that even that young church there in Thessalonica had. 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:18.159 And the lesson for us is this. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:25.539 To welcome God's word is to receive a treasure that we have no business locking up in a safe, 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.399 since it's meant to be shared. 00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:32.539 While to turn to the living God and to wait for Jesus from heaven 00:21:32.539 --> 00:21:38.359 is in effect to say no to the gods of the age and to man-made kingdoms. 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:42.139 And that decision, when we take it to heart, 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:50.319 sooner or later manifests itself publicly as a testimony to what is real and lasting. 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:57.159 And the world, insofar as it remains in a state of unbelief, 00:21:57.819 --> 00:22:00.119 is going to be pushing back, to be sure. 00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:05.659 As Paul contemplates all these signs of God's power, 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:07.899 his first instinct is to give thanks. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:12.359 And that's why the whole context of this first passage is one of thanksgiving. 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:18.319 And he says, we give thanks, in verse 3, to God always for you, all of you, 00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:20.899 constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 00:22:21.399 --> 00:22:24.740 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith, 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:28.919 and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. 00:22:28.959 --> 00:22:33.279 There's that triad of faith, hope, and love in our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:38.159 What he acknowledges here is that true faith, by its very nature, 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:40.819 is a living, dynamic faith. 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:46.240 Why? Well, because the same spirit who unites us to Christ 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:49.039 also gives us the power to obey 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:52.019 and to be confident that God's promise is sure. 00:22:53.399 --> 00:23:01.319 Now, having looked at some of the lessons in that second part of this chapter, 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:03.919 at this point I have to change gears a little bit. 00:23:04.639 --> 00:23:08.119 Because as we read on and come to the middle of the passage, 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:11.819 we bump up against something that's fairly puzzling. 00:23:12.739 --> 00:23:14.459 Maybe it stood out to you too. 00:23:14.879 --> 00:23:17.859 And it has to do with the word chosen. 00:23:19.139 --> 00:23:22.179 I know George spoke about the twin word, 00:23:23.179 --> 00:23:25.159 predestined, a few weeks ago. 00:23:25.739 --> 00:23:29.719 So before we consider how this passage might challenge us today, 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.419 I think we need to take a little bit of a step back 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:35.400 and do something maybe a little unusual in a sermon, 00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:37.300 but that's try to ask, 00:23:37.560 --> 00:23:42.860 what is Paul saying about this business of election? 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:46.400 Let's hear verses 4 and 5 again. 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:48.759 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, 00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:50.580 that he has chosen you, 00:23:51.259 --> 00:23:53.180 because our gospel came to you, 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:54.680 not only in word, 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:56.279 but also in power, 00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:57.880 and in the Holy Spirit, 00:23:58.500 --> 00:23:59.560 and with full conviction. 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:04.560 Now, I'm sure you know there's an age-old debate 00:24:04.560 --> 00:24:06.279 among Christians about this matter, 00:24:06.340 --> 00:24:07.680 and I think it's safe to say 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.000 it comes down to something like this. 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:13.840 Does God's yes of election 00:24:13.840 --> 00:24:19.340 come logically after my yes of faith, 00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:20.820 or before it? 00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:22.519 Can I say that again? 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:25.480 Does God's yes of election 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:29.859 come logically after my yes of faith, 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:30.799 or before it? 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.500 Now, whether the answer is clear to you already, 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:37.720 or it sounds like I'm launching into an exercise 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:38.579 in hair-splitting, 00:24:39.139 --> 00:24:40.359 bear with me just a minute. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:42.299 It's a difficult topic, 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:44.319 and the difference matters. 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:46.940 I'll try not to make the question 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:48.559 more complicated than it is, 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:51.559 but I'll also try not to oversimplify it 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:54.659 as if we could just resolve it neatly once and for all. 00:24:55.399 --> 00:24:57.460 After all, there are godly men and women 00:24:57.460 --> 00:25:01.419 on both sides of this intramural debate 00:25:01.419 --> 00:25:02.419 among Christians. 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:05.200 In one way of looking at the matter, 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:07.119 God elects you and me 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:09.099 on the basis of our faith response 00:25:09.099 --> 00:25:10.220 to the message of Jesus. 00:25:11.379 --> 00:25:13.940 So Paul's message in 1 Thessalonians 1 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:16.220 would go something like this. 00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:20.839 When the Holy Spirit impressed upon you 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:23.720 the truth of the message that we preached to you, 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:27.000 you responded in faith with deep conviction. 00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:32.120 Your yes to God then led to his yes, 00:25:32.380 --> 00:25:35.620 and he included you in his family. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:37.660 Got it? 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:41.339 And the other way of looking at the matter, 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:43.160 election is unconditional. 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:46.860 So the meaning of what Paul says is this. 00:25:47.060 --> 00:25:50.080 When the Holy Spirit impressed upon you 00:25:50.080 --> 00:25:52.480 the truth of the message that we preached to you, 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:56.620 he gave you such a deep sense of conviction 00:25:56.620 --> 00:25:59.460 that we have reason to believe 00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:00.620 that he has chosen you. 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:05.040 His yes made your yes possible. 00:26:05.600 --> 00:26:08.420 It freed you to respond in faith. 00:26:08.420 --> 00:26:12.080 So is there a huge difference here? 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:13.360 Well, some say no, 00:26:13.840 --> 00:26:14.940 because if there were, 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:17.519 then we would have sorted it out by now 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:18.420 in the churches 00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:21.420 after all the centuries. 00:26:21.620 --> 00:26:23.320 But I think the difference is important 00:26:23.320 --> 00:26:25.680 when it comes to thinking about 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:28.720 our assurance of salvation. 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:31.340 And with this, I can offer the main reason 00:26:31.340 --> 00:26:33.560 why I think the second way of looking at the issue 00:26:33.560 --> 00:26:35.080 is the right one, 00:26:35.100 --> 00:26:37.420 or at least the one that creates the fewest problems. 00:26:37.420 --> 00:26:38.660 And when I teach theology, 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:42.640 I try, and I'm asked my opinion on thorny questions, 00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:44.820 I say, I think, in my view, 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:47.759 this creates the fewest biblical problems. 00:26:48.220 --> 00:26:49.580 And that's how I approach this. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:51.220 In the first approach, 00:26:51.580 --> 00:26:54.039 in which God's yes comes after mine, 00:26:54.580 --> 00:26:57.480 I'll be inclined to link election 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:59.180 to my faith response. 00:26:59.420 --> 00:27:00.400 I'll tie them together. 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:02.600 Election, my faith response. 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:03.840 And I bundle them together. 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:08.879 And this means that if I ever sense 00:27:08.879 --> 00:27:10.179 that my faith is weak, 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:11.539 or even gone, 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:13.139 which is going to be inevitable, 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:15.500 I'll doubt that God has made me 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:16.559 his own after all. 00:27:17.139 --> 00:27:18.619 And when I doubt that, 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:21.679 I easily start to imagine 00:27:21.679 --> 00:27:23.839 it's something I have to earn back. 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:27.119 I proceed in the Christian life asking, 00:27:27.699 --> 00:27:28.959 have I done enough 00:27:28.959 --> 00:27:30.659 to please God 00:27:30.659 --> 00:27:31.939 and to enter into his kingdom? 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.119 But in the second way of looking at the matter, 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:37.519 I link election to God. 00:27:39.379 --> 00:27:40.939 Now, how does that make a difference? 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:42.579 Well, I think it makes all the difference 00:27:42.579 --> 00:27:45.779 because when I think about the assurance question, 00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:49.059 I let it rest with his decision, 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:50.599 with his faithfulness, 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:52.879 and working in me that conviction 00:27:52.879 --> 00:27:54.899 that his promise is sure, 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:57.480 and that apart from his forgiveness, 00:27:57.920 --> 00:27:58.899 I'm lost. 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:03.059 And what I find in the Christian life 00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:06.240 is that God uses my moments of doubt 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.839 and hesitation and wandering, 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:09.440 as we sang, prone to wander. 00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:11.720 He uses these themselves 00:28:11.720 --> 00:28:13.660 to bring me back to him. 00:28:13.660 --> 00:28:17.700 What I hope is clear at this point 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:19.600 is that while God's work in election 00:28:19.600 --> 00:28:22.060 certainly makes me receptive, 00:28:22.800 --> 00:28:25.340 it doesn't make me purely passive 00:28:25.340 --> 00:28:27.360 so that I just kick back. 00:28:28.080 --> 00:28:29.240 How do I know this? 00:28:29.320 --> 00:28:30.120 Well, I know it 00:28:30.120 --> 00:28:33.320 because after Jesus says to his disciples, 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:35.220 already you're clean 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:37.220 by the word I have spoken to you, 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:37.980 he adds this. 00:28:38.060 --> 00:28:38.380 You remember? 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:40.740 Now abide in me. 00:28:42.180 --> 00:28:43.400 John 15, 3. 00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:45.400 As George explained a few weeks ago, 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:45.779 I think, 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:48.160 God's predestination of events 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:50.220 does not undermine human freedom. 00:28:50.360 --> 00:28:50.640 Rather, 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:53.160 it establishes human freedom. 00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:55.800 So too in election, 00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:57.540 God's word frees us 00:28:57.540 --> 00:28:58.779 to trust and obey. 00:29:00.540 --> 00:29:01.900 And while we're in John, 00:29:02.120 --> 00:29:03.200 consider the priority 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:04.500 of the Father's yes 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:05.560 over yours or mine 00:29:05.560 --> 00:29:06.400 when Jesus says, 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:08.660 all that the Father gives me 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:09.519 will come to me, 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:11.160 and whoever comes to me 00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:12.800 I will never cast out. 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:14.980 John 6, 37. 00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:16.860 And Jesus restates that promise 00:29:16.860 --> 00:29:17.900 a little later in John 10. 00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:20.440 My sheep hear my voice, 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:21.940 and I know them, 00:29:22.620 --> 00:29:23.620 and they follow me. 00:29:24.080 --> 00:29:26.500 I give them eternal life, 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:28.360 and they will never perish, 00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:30.500 and no one will snatch them 00:29:30.500 --> 00:29:31.360 out of my hand. 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:34.560 Verses 27 to 28 in John 10. 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:36.639 Now, at this point, 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:38.519 we might still want to ask, 00:29:39.139 --> 00:29:40.759 doesn't this second way 00:29:40.759 --> 00:29:42.500 of looking at the matter 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:43.480 make God's decision 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:44.460 kind of arbitrary? 00:29:45.919 --> 00:29:47.599 And if God can elect some, 00:29:47.659 --> 00:29:49.200 well, why doesn't he elect everyone? 00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:53.899 Well, the answer to the second question 00:29:53.899 --> 00:29:54.460 might be this. 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:56.500 If Scripture is our guide, 00:29:56.559 --> 00:29:57.220 as it ought to be, 00:29:57.259 --> 00:29:58.119 we can say that God 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:00.159 hasn't revealed why he elects some 00:30:00.159 --> 00:30:02.139 while passing by others. 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:05.560 Just as we can't really say 00:30:05.560 --> 00:30:07.680 why he doesn't right all the wrongs 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:08.940 in an instant. 00:30:09.520 --> 00:30:10.920 Why he didn't make a way 00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:11.700 for Adam and Eve 00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:13.080 to go straight back into the garden. 00:30:14.540 --> 00:30:16.380 Why some are born into the privileges 00:30:16.380 --> 00:30:17.360 of a Christian home 00:30:17.360 --> 00:30:18.140 and others aren't. 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:20.860 Why he turned Northampton, Massachusetts 00:30:20.860 --> 00:30:24.140 upside down in 1737 00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:25.800 and not say Quebec City. 00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:27.500 Or for that matter, 00:30:27.580 --> 00:30:28.700 why some people groups 00:30:28.700 --> 00:30:31.039 are drawn into the scope 00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:32.360 of salvation history 00:30:32.360 --> 00:30:34.440 while others are left out. 00:30:35.559 --> 00:30:36.660 These things belong 00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:37.519 in the category 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:38.279 that we mark 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:40.120 the deep things of God. 00:30:41.120 --> 00:30:42.460 And I don't think it's a cop-out 00:30:42.460 --> 00:30:44.160 to keep that category there 00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:45.640 because there is so much 00:30:45.640 --> 00:30:48.420 that God has not made plain 00:30:48.420 --> 00:30:49.080 in his word. 00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:51.700 And in any case, 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:52.440 it's pretty clear 00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:53.360 from all these examples 00:30:53.360 --> 00:30:54.640 that the fairness question 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:55.500 is still there. 00:30:55.600 --> 00:30:56.559 It doesn't go away. 00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:58.200 God works powerfully here 00:30:58.200 --> 00:30:59.240 and not there 00:30:59.240 --> 00:31:00.240 whether you take 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:01.480 the first view or the second. 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:03.339 And so you're left grappling 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:04.419 with why? 00:31:04.619 --> 00:31:07.099 Why does God work like this? 00:31:07.139 --> 00:31:08.000 This way here 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:08.919 but not there. 00:31:09.639 --> 00:31:10.940 Well, what we can say 00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:12.399 to answer the first question 00:31:12.399 --> 00:31:14.139 about this arbitrary business 00:31:14.139 --> 00:31:16.419 is that nothing that God does 00:31:16.419 --> 00:31:17.079 is arbitrary. 00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:19.720 We know this 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:20.599 because Scripture 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:22.119 reveals to us 00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:22.919 his attributes, 00:31:23.179 --> 00:31:23.899 his qualities, 00:31:23.900 --> 00:31:26.360 his qualities of faithfulness 00:31:26.360 --> 00:31:26.940 and justice 00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:28.800 so that his works are perfect 00:31:28.800 --> 00:31:31.019 and that he does no wrong 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:32.900 as Deuteronomy 32 00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:35.380 and verse 4 tells us. 00:31:36.120 --> 00:31:38.120 What God has revealed clearly 00:31:38.120 --> 00:31:39.200 and beautifully 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.820 is his purpose in election. 00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:44.060 It's so that his children 00:31:44.060 --> 00:31:45.000 can be assured 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:46.400 of forgiveness. 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:48.400 It's so that his children 00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:49.240 can have joy 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:50.380 even in their suffering. 00:31:50.380 --> 00:31:51.920 It's so that 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:52.820 they can go out 00:31:52.820 --> 00:31:53.400 and be a light 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:54.100 to the nations. 00:31:54.320 --> 00:31:55.360 There's nothing in them 00:31:55.360 --> 00:31:56.820 that made them electable. 00:31:57.420 --> 00:31:58.620 He just chose them 00:31:58.620 --> 00:31:59.800 and he said, 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:00.140 here, 00:32:00.600 --> 00:32:01.600 I want you to have 00:32:01.600 --> 00:32:02.220 the assurance 00:32:02.220 --> 00:32:03.200 of my love. 00:32:03.620 --> 00:32:04.300 I want you to have 00:32:04.300 --> 00:32:04.940 the assurance 00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:05.960 that I'm with you 00:32:05.960 --> 00:32:07.040 in your suffering. 00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:08.520 And it's precisely 00:32:08.520 --> 00:32:09.820 because our focus 00:32:09.820 --> 00:32:11.060 is on what God 00:32:11.060 --> 00:32:11.520 is doing 00:32:11.520 --> 00:32:13.020 through election 00:32:13.020 --> 00:32:15.440 to reach the nations 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:16.120 that we have 00:32:16.120 --> 00:32:17.540 a good hope 00:32:17.540 --> 00:32:18.080 of everyone. 00:32:18.260 --> 00:32:19.100 We have a good hope 00:32:19.099 --> 00:32:19.559 of all. 00:32:20.659 --> 00:32:22.000 The Swiss reformer 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:22.819 Heinrich Bollinger 00:32:22.819 --> 00:32:23.980 wrote in 1560, 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:24.619 he said this, 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:25.799 and although God 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:27.019 knows who are his 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:28.919 and here and there 00:32:28.919 --> 00:32:29.500 is mention 00:32:29.500 --> 00:32:32.059 made of the small 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:32.859 number of elect, 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:34.759 yet we must hope 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:35.480 well of all 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:36.899 and not rashly judge 00:32:36.899 --> 00:32:37.480 any man 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:39.119 to be a reprobate. 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:41.199 While the Bible 00:32:41.199 --> 00:32:41.839 is clear 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:42.619 that not all 00:32:42.619 --> 00:32:43.279 will be saved 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:43.839 in the end, 00:32:44.219 --> 00:32:45.379 the picture we have 00:32:45.379 --> 00:32:46.399 of the last judgment 00:32:46.399 --> 00:32:47.799 in Matthew 25 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:49.059 reminds us 00:32:49.059 --> 00:32:49.559 that there will 00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:50.319 be surprises 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:51.759 on that day. 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:55.359 To bring this 00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:56.240 towards a conclusion, 00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:57.399 I don't even know 00:32:57.399 --> 00:32:58.480 how long I've gone, 00:32:59.099 --> 00:33:00.059 but I'll bring it 00:33:00.059 --> 00:33:00.659 to a conclusion. 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:01.419 What might God 00:33:01.419 --> 00:33:02.180 be saying to you 00:33:02.180 --> 00:33:02.899 and me this morning? 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:06.259 I can imagine 00:33:06.259 --> 00:33:06.839 someone, 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:08.599 whether here 00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:10.139 or online 00:33:10.139 --> 00:33:11.619 or down the line 00:33:11.619 --> 00:33:12.200 or downstream 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:12.639 or whatever 00:33:12.639 --> 00:33:13.559 the right term is, 00:33:13.899 --> 00:33:14.639 I can imagine 00:33:14.639 --> 00:33:15.559 someone here 00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:16.419 saying, 00:33:16.579 --> 00:33:16.779 wow, 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:18.419 I'd love to have 00:33:18.419 --> 00:33:19.099 that assurance 00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:20.119 you're talking about, 00:33:20.659 --> 00:33:22.119 but I'm not really sure 00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:22.899 that God's word 00:33:22.899 --> 00:33:23.940 has ever come to me 00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:24.619 as Paul wrote 00:33:24.619 --> 00:33:25.940 with full conviction. 00:33:26.639 --> 00:33:27.519 There's so much 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:28.579 that really 00:33:28.579 --> 00:33:30.599 is unclear to me. 00:33:32.879 --> 00:33:33.359 Well, 00:33:33.399 --> 00:33:34.319 what I want to say 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:34.779 to you 00:33:34.779 --> 00:33:35.599 is that we need 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:36.279 to be clear 00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:37.679 that by full conviction, 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:39.059 Paul isn't talking 00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:40.019 about having everything 00:33:40.019 --> 00:33:40.659 figured out. 00:33:40.759 --> 00:33:41.220 You can see 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:41.839 I haven't got 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:43.279 everything figured out. 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:45.119 he's talking about 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:46.779 that heart confidence 00:33:46.779 --> 00:33:48.139 that God is trustworthy. 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:50.299 That heart confidence 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:51.579 that God is trustworthy. 00:33:52.099 --> 00:33:53.119 That he promises, 00:33:53.980 --> 00:33:54.059 that, 00:33:54.059 --> 00:33:55.160 I beg your pardon, 00:33:55.240 --> 00:33:56.099 that the promises 00:33:56.099 --> 00:33:57.000 set forth 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:57.819 in the gospel 00:33:57.819 --> 00:33:58.960 are sure. 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:01.059 That is, 00:34:01.139 --> 00:34:02.539 that as I put my hope 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:04.279 in the very putting 00:34:04.279 --> 00:34:04.720 of hope 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:05.480 in that promise, 00:34:05.639 --> 00:34:06.740 I can be sure. 00:34:06.879 --> 00:34:07.720 I experience 00:34:07.720 --> 00:34:09.760 the assurance 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:13.440 that his death 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:14.019 on the cross 00:34:14.019 --> 00:34:15.220 covered my sins, 00:34:15.500 --> 00:34:16.280 all my sins, 00:34:16.340 --> 00:34:17.639 and that Jesus' words 00:34:17.639 --> 00:34:19.559 now apply to me. 00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:21.079 My sheep 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:22.480 hear my voice 00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:23.940 and I know them. 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:25.720 That's what it means 00:34:25.720 --> 00:34:26.460 fundamentally 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:27.940 for God's word 00:34:27.940 --> 00:34:28.960 to come with power. 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:32.639 Even when we don't see 00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:33.619 mass conversions, 00:34:34.099 --> 00:34:35.099 our response 00:34:35.099 --> 00:34:35.699 is simply 00:34:35.699 --> 00:34:36.599 to come to him 00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:39.000 just as I am 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:40.219 without one plea, 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:41.519 but that his blood 00:34:41.519 --> 00:34:42.319 was shed for me. 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:43.799 And in doing that, 00:34:44.259 --> 00:34:45.059 find in him 00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:45.519 the rest 00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:46.940 we desperately need. 00:34:48.219 --> 00:34:48.980 And what a joy 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:49.500 it is simply 00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:50.039 to know 00:34:50.039 --> 00:34:51.239 that in Jesus, 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:52.179 the living God 00:34:52.179 --> 00:34:53.360 knows us. 00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:54.619 There's this dynamic 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:56.699 aspect of election. 00:34:57.139 --> 00:34:57.940 Election is 00:34:57.940 --> 00:34:59.420 of the Father, 00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:00.539 but through the Son, 00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:01.960 through the proclaimed word, 00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:02.960 challenging us, 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:03.880 confronting us, 00:35:04.240 --> 00:35:05.340 speaking to our hearts. 00:35:05.659 --> 00:35:06.679 That's what I would want 00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:08.119 to emphasize here 00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:09.760 in Paul's message. 00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:11.240 Maybe someone else 00:35:11.240 --> 00:35:12.019 is thinking something 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:12.619 a little different. 00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:13.860 Maybe someone's saying, 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:14.679 I have trusted 00:35:14.679 --> 00:35:15.599 in God's promise, 00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:18.039 but if I'm honest, 00:35:18.720 --> 00:35:19.760 I'm not sure 00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:20.360 that my life 00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:21.039 could exactly 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:21.780 be described 00:35:21.780 --> 00:35:23.400 as one of waiting 00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:24.820 for Jesus to return. 00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:27.579 And I think 00:35:27.579 --> 00:35:28.800 God's word for you, 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:30.220 as we've heard 00:35:30.219 --> 00:35:31.019 from Paul's letter, 00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:31.699 would be something 00:35:31.699 --> 00:35:32.419 like this. 00:35:33.579 --> 00:35:34.239 You've heard 00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:34.919 how the welcome 00:35:34.919 --> 00:35:36.099 we give to God's word, 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:37.779 how turning from idols, 00:35:38.259 --> 00:35:38.980 and how waiting 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:39.759 for God's Son 00:35:39.759 --> 00:35:40.279 from heaven 00:35:40.279 --> 00:35:41.839 are all bound up together. 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:44.500 In other words, 00:35:44.679 --> 00:35:45.419 to have one 00:35:45.419 --> 00:35:46.419 is to have the others 00:35:46.419 --> 00:35:47.899 by the work 00:35:47.899 --> 00:35:48.839 of the same Spirit 00:35:48.839 --> 00:35:50.000 who brought us 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:50.459 to Jesus 00:35:50.459 --> 00:35:51.399 in the first place. 00:35:52.159 --> 00:35:53.519 So take hold 00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:54.139 of his word. 00:35:55.659 --> 00:35:57.000 Let his word 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:57.699 do its work 00:35:57.699 --> 00:35:58.219 in you, 00:35:58.219 --> 00:35:59.919 and you will 00:35:59.919 --> 00:36:00.719 find yourself 00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:01.119 longing 00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:02.279 for the new creation, 00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:04.719 even as creation 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:05.639 itself is 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:06.799 in its own way, 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:08.119 as Paul explains 00:36:08.119 --> 00:36:08.839 in Romans 8. 00:36:09.399 --> 00:36:09.919 Longing 00:36:09.919 --> 00:36:11.099 for what? 00:36:11.219 --> 00:36:11.359 Well, 00:36:11.419 --> 00:36:12.139 for the children 00:36:12.139 --> 00:36:12.639 of God 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:13.419 to be revealed. 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:15.639 Dig into Scripture 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:16.439 and you'll find 00:36:16.439 --> 00:36:17.199 yourself longing. 00:36:17.739 --> 00:36:18.939 I've experienced that, 00:36:19.299 --> 00:36:20.039 and I'm not 00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:20.959 the greatest prayer 00:36:20.959 --> 00:36:21.719 or the greatest 00:36:21.719 --> 00:36:22.480 Bible reader, 00:36:23.179 --> 00:36:24.500 but by God's grace, 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:25.839 as we get 00:36:25.839 --> 00:36:26.459 into his word 00:36:26.459 --> 00:36:26.939 and his word 00:36:26.939 --> 00:36:27.699 gets into us, 00:36:27.699 --> 00:36:28.819 we find ourselves 00:36:28.819 --> 00:36:30.059 longing for his promise. 00:36:31.379 --> 00:36:32.059 Someone else 00:36:32.059 --> 00:36:33.179 might here be thinking, 00:36:33.339 --> 00:36:33.519 wow, 00:36:34.519 --> 00:36:35.319 it's wonderful 00:36:35.319 --> 00:36:36.000 to think that 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:36.739 mission belongs 00:36:36.739 --> 00:36:37.379 to God, 00:36:38.299 --> 00:36:39.419 that's encouraging, 00:36:39.899 --> 00:36:40.739 and that the business 00:36:40.739 --> 00:36:41.659 of changing hearts 00:36:41.659 --> 00:36:42.419 is his work. 00:36:43.939 --> 00:36:45.119 So does that mean 00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:46.000 that evangelism 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:46.659 is not really 00:36:46.659 --> 00:36:47.839 such an urgent task 00:36:47.839 --> 00:36:48.619 after all? 00:36:48.980 --> 00:36:50.000 He's doing the work. 00:36:50.759 --> 00:36:51.480 Maybe we can 00:36:51.480 --> 00:36:52.960 remain somewhat passive. 00:36:53.799 --> 00:36:55.199 And I have to admit 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:56.079 that it's sort of 00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:56.899 tempting to think 00:36:56.900 --> 00:36:57.420 that way. 00:36:58.119 --> 00:36:58.740 And hence, 00:36:58.860 --> 00:36:59.340 the blessing 00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:00.000 of preparing 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:00.660 this sermon. 00:37:01.300 --> 00:37:02.579 Because I'm forced 00:37:02.579 --> 00:37:03.460 to ask again, 00:37:03.860 --> 00:37:04.760 what exactly 00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:06.980 is urgent 00:37:06.980 --> 00:37:08.539 about the task 00:37:08.539 --> 00:37:09.800 of evangelism? 00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:11.000 So, 00:37:11.160 --> 00:37:11.700 I'll end 00:37:11.700 --> 00:37:12.700 with just two points. 00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:15.200 Well, 00:37:15.260 --> 00:37:15.539 first, 00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:16.019 I think 00:37:16.019 --> 00:37:16.780 the task 00:37:16.780 --> 00:37:17.639 of evangelism 00:37:17.639 --> 00:37:18.160 is urgent 00:37:18.160 --> 00:37:19.099 because as long 00:37:19.099 --> 00:37:19.539 as people 00:37:19.539 --> 00:37:20.119 don't turn 00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:21.160 to the living God, 00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:22.519 they remain 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:23.420 in idolatry, 00:37:23.420 --> 00:37:24.680 without hope 00:37:24.680 --> 00:37:25.440 and without God 00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:25.880 in the world, 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:26.659 as Paul says 00:37:26.659 --> 00:37:28.480 in Ephesians 2.12. 00:37:28.539 --> 00:37:29.300 We can ask ourselves, 00:37:29.579 --> 00:37:30.480 where were we 00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:32.180 before 00:37:32.180 --> 00:37:34.440 the gospel 00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:35.240 came to us 00:37:35.240 --> 00:37:35.860 and we were able 00:37:35.860 --> 00:37:36.820 to take hold of it? 00:37:37.180 --> 00:37:38.159 What was our state? 00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:39.579 And in getting 00:37:39.579 --> 00:37:40.380 the good news 00:37:40.380 --> 00:37:41.300 of Jesus 00:37:41.300 --> 00:37:41.940 to sinners 00:37:41.940 --> 00:37:43.039 from every tribe, 00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:43.760 tongue, 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:44.320 and nation, 00:37:44.880 --> 00:37:46.360 God has seen fit 00:37:46.360 --> 00:37:47.780 to use human witnesses. 00:37:47.780 --> 00:37:48.460 He could 00:37:48.460 --> 00:37:49.960 reach them 00:37:49.960 --> 00:37:50.860 directly 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:51.620 if that's what 00:37:51.620 --> 00:37:52.680 He so chose to do, 00:37:52.740 --> 00:37:54.320 but He has chosen us 00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:55.640 as His witnesses. 00:37:56.040 --> 00:37:56.860 As Paul says 00:37:56.860 --> 00:37:57.940 in Romans 10.14, 00:37:58.340 --> 00:37:59.560 how can they believe 00:37:59.560 --> 00:38:00.260 in the one 00:38:00.260 --> 00:38:01.080 of whom 00:38:01.080 --> 00:38:02.120 they have not heard? 00:38:02.360 --> 00:38:03.800 And how can they hear 00:38:03.800 --> 00:38:04.860 without someone 00:38:04.860 --> 00:38:05.720 preaching to them? 00:38:07.540 --> 00:38:08.760 The second reason 00:38:08.760 --> 00:38:09.560 that the task 00:38:09.560 --> 00:38:10.380 of evangelism 00:38:10.380 --> 00:38:11.040 is urgent, 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:13.580 I think 00:38:13.580 --> 00:38:14.060 perhaps 00:38:14.060 --> 00:38:15.420 the more profound 00:38:15.420 --> 00:38:15.940 reason, 00:38:15.940 --> 00:38:16.560 even though 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:17.659 the depth 00:38:17.659 --> 00:38:18.279 of wandering 00:38:18.279 --> 00:38:18.799 and sin 00:38:18.799 --> 00:38:19.440 is profound, 00:38:19.820 --> 00:38:20.299 but I think 00:38:20.299 --> 00:38:21.619 the more profound 00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:22.840 theological reason 00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:24.199 why the task 00:38:24.199 --> 00:38:24.779 is urgent 00:38:24.779 --> 00:38:25.579 is because 00:38:25.579 --> 00:38:26.519 God's command 00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:27.039 and call 00:38:27.039 --> 00:38:28.440 carries its own urgency. 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:31.059 It's in the very 00:38:31.059 --> 00:38:32.259 nature of God's call. 00:38:32.980 --> 00:38:34.059 When the living God 00:38:34.059 --> 00:38:34.539 speaks, 00:38:34.840 --> 00:38:35.320 His word 00:38:35.320 --> 00:38:36.079 accomplishes 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:36.679 its purposes. 00:38:37.299 --> 00:38:37.900 That means 00:38:37.900 --> 00:38:38.440 that when He 00:38:38.440 --> 00:38:39.559 declares through Isaiah, 00:38:40.119 --> 00:38:40.940 turn to me 00:38:40.940 --> 00:38:41.860 and be saved, 00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:42.960 all the ends 00:38:42.960 --> 00:38:43.500 of the earth, 00:38:43.599 --> 00:38:44.559 for I am God 00:38:44.559 --> 00:38:45.820 and there is no other, 00:38:46.559 --> 00:38:47.880 we're not 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:49.940 simply in a position 00:38:49.940 --> 00:38:50.500 to say, 00:38:51.500 --> 00:38:52.380 well let me consider 00:38:52.380 --> 00:38:52.900 that a bit 00:38:52.900 --> 00:38:53.500 and I'll get back 00:38:53.500 --> 00:38:53.860 to you. 00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:55.719 See what I'm saying? 00:38:56.440 --> 00:38:57.400 God's call 00:38:57.400 --> 00:38:59.639 has its own urgency. 00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:00.940 And I 00:39:00.940 --> 00:39:03.039 learned a bit 00:39:03.039 --> 00:39:03.500 of that 00:39:03.500 --> 00:39:04.840 reading 00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:05.840 Bonhoeffer's 00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:07.119 call to discipleship. 00:39:07.340 --> 00:39:08.440 Even back there 00:39:08.440 --> 00:39:09.099 with my students 00:39:09.099 --> 00:39:09.679 at McGill, 00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:10.900 I'm privileged 00:39:10.900 --> 00:39:11.960 to read these books 00:39:11.960 --> 00:39:12.779 with people 00:39:12.779 --> 00:39:13.840 who believe 00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:14.940 all sorts of things 00:39:14.940 --> 00:39:15.860 and yet 00:39:15.860 --> 00:39:17.280 McGill gave me 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:17.840 the privilege 00:39:17.840 --> 00:39:18.940 of reading 00:39:18.940 --> 00:39:19.579 these books 00:39:19.579 --> 00:39:20.059 with them 00:39:20.059 --> 00:39:21.160 and we read 00:39:21.160 --> 00:39:22.720 The Cost of Discipleship 00:39:22.720 --> 00:39:23.100 or at least 00:39:23.100 --> 00:39:23.700 part of it 00:39:23.700 --> 00:39:24.480 in that class. 00:39:24.980 --> 00:39:26.039 And that point 00:39:26.039 --> 00:39:26.860 is so strong 00:39:26.860 --> 00:39:27.480 in that book 00:39:27.480 --> 00:39:29.280 that God's call 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:30.760 has its own urgency 00:39:30.760 --> 00:39:32.280 as when Jesus calls 00:39:32.280 --> 00:39:33.280 and we simply 00:39:33.280 --> 00:39:33.740 get up 00:39:33.740 --> 00:39:35.320 and leave our nets 00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:36.039 and follow Him. 00:39:36.300 --> 00:39:36.480 So, 00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:38.300 may God strengthen us 00:39:38.300 --> 00:39:38.900 to do that 00:39:38.900 --> 00:39:39.420 this morning 00:39:39.420 --> 00:39:40.780 without delay 00:39:40.780 --> 00:39:42.180 according to our need. 00:39:42.179 --> 00:39:44.960 thanks be to God.