WEBVTT 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:21.199 The reading today is from Psalm sixty-seven. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:28.000 Make your face shine upon us to the choir master with stringed instruments, Assam a song. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:38.159 May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face to shine upon us, Selah, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:40.399 Let the peoples praise you, O God. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:42.399 Let all the peoples praise you. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:50.880 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for your judge the pil the for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:51.920 Say lah. 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.000 Let the peoples praise you, O God. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:56.240 Let all the peoples praise you. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:58.560 The earth has yielded its increase. 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.479 God our God shall bless us. 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:01.920 God shall bless us. 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.000 Let all the ends of the earth fear him. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:05.760 And so reads God's word. 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:07.760 My name is Mark. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.079 I'm one of the uh leaders here with uh Peter uh at City Church. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:16.959 You're very welcome uh with us if you're new or visiting. 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:21.280 Uh you've uh come uh just at the end of our summer series. 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:34.079 We uh go through the book of Psalms uh through the summer, and uh we started at Psalm number one a few years ago, and now we're uh drawing up stumps for a year at Psalm 67. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:38.799 So you can keep that open with you if you've got a phone or if you need if you need a Bible. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:40.799 Uh, there are some down in the box down here. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:48.319 You can run down and grab one just so that you're looking at the text uh along with us and have that in front uh of you. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.959 Uh, we'll be starting a new series uh next week uh called Foundations. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:01.680 It's gonna be a more topical uh series for five weeks, looking at some of our values as a church, particularly as we start uh what I call the new year. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:11.759 Uh I know that's maybe weird for uh for some of you, but I'm getting ready to celebrate New Year because I my mind, my ministry mind runs academic year to academic year. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:18.000 And uh so forgive me if I'm talking to you about the new year and you think that I'm about four months ahead of myself. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:24.639 Uh people uh I'm sure have said to you, it's kind of a um, is it kind of a mum or a granny phrase? 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:27.120 People will come to you and say, Well, count your blessings. 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:28.960 Have you ever counted your blessings? 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:37.120 We're gonna do some counting uh of uh of your blessings, and I'm gonna show you why it's important to do that uh in in just a second. 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:56.879 But let's pause and count them because actually, if you look at verse one, and uh and Irina uh in her reading did this masterfully, is that there's verse one, uh, may God, which is a prayer, may God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. 00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:59.599 And then there's this little word, selah. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:06.879 Selah in the Psalms means pause, think about what you've just said, stop, take a moment, take a breath. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:08.639 That's what selah means. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:15.039 And so the psalmist, in putting that in, wants us to stop at the end of verse one and just go, okay, hold on. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:16.080 What's just happened? 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:18.719 I've just prayed that God would bless me. 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:20.479 How has he done that? 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:24.000 I've just prayed that God would be gracious to me, say la. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:28.080 All right, I'm gonna take a moment and just think, how has he been gracious to me? 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:30.400 How has he been gracious to me this week? 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:32.479 How has he been gracious to me in my life? 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:34.240 How has he blessed me? 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:36.800 How has he made his face to shine upon me? 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:37.520 Say la. 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:40.479 Okay, I'm gonna take a moment and I'm gonna reflect upon that. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:44.719 So that's the appropriate way to actually begin our reflection on Psalm 67. 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:47.120 It is to, in fact, to count your blessings. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.000 We're praying, verse one, that God would bless us. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:51.759 Okay, we'll step back, say La. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:53.360 How has he done that? 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.360 How's God blessed you? 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:57.199 Has he blessed you? 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:00.319 Uh he's blessed many of us uh materially. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:09.840 Most of us here uh have jobs or a course of study, and uh in which case you hope to actually have a job that'll pay off the debt that you're currently accruing. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.120 Um, but you uh have a form of employment. 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:16.720 It might not be the ideal job, but it maybe pays the pays the bills. 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:20.560 And uh maybe God has blessed you with uh a roof over your head again. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:25.920 It's uh more expensive perhaps than you would prefer, uh, but it's a roof over your head nonetheless. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:37.199 And uh the Lord has been gracious and kind to to some of you to enable you to uh to purchase your your first homes, and that's uh that's a a context for for ministry now, and you're glad of that. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:38.800 And that's a that's a blessing to you. 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:40.079 What about relationally? 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.480 Are you connected with uh with other people? 00:04:42.639 --> 00:05:00.800 Well, I hope you would be, uh at least in some way, if you're coming along here, that other people would uh would at least be getting to know you, that you might be uh uh connected relationally, even romantically to someone, or at least you have uh a good friendship group that you can say, yeah, those people are are my friends. 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.639 Uh a blessing to to count and to to mark. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:06.399 What about spiritually? 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.279 Has God been gracious to you uh spiritually? 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:20.480 Well, we live in a country which for the moment anyway allows us to uh to practice and to express our uh our religion with a uh a degree of uh of openness. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:37.040 Some of you have have come from countries where that's not the case, uh, where actually to uh to speak openly uh about the Lord Jesus or to identify yourself uh as a Christian is not something that is uh that is done, or indeed can be of uh of risk to your life. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:44.639 And so it's a blessing, it's a kindness, it's a mercy, it's a uh it's an example of God's to graciousness to you that you're here. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:49.680 It's a blessing to count, to take a moment, say la and to reflect upon. 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.360 What about if you're a follower of the Lord Jesus? 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:57.040 Has God blessed you as a as a Christian? 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:07.920 Well, the the message of Christianity, the message of the gospel, the good news, is that you've been extraordinarily blessed because of Jesus. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:22.800 You read Paul's uh introduction to his letter to the church at Ephesus, the book of Ephesians, and he opens that letter with saying that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the beloved. 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:23.920 Who's the beloved? 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:25.279 Jesus. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:30.399 That if you're a Christian, you have been lavishly blessed. 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:32.639 That's the language that he uses. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:58.480 That he lavishly loved us, sent his son to die for us, to live that perfect life so that we might be robed in those perfections, so that we might have our sin and our shame and our brokenness taken upon him, taken away from us, so that we might be cleansed and made pure and holy and one day have the hope of heaven. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.399 Has the Lord God blessed you in the beloved? 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:07.279 If you're a Christian, the answer should be yes and amen. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:08.480 You can say amen. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:09.279 That's okay. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:18.560 You can I know that we're I know that we're mostly kind of white and a little bit kind of buttoned up, okay, but you can shout amen if something stirs your heart, that's all right. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:22.240 God has lavishly blessed us in the beloved. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:28.160 And what's more, we have the hope of heaven, we have Christ's past work, but now what has he done for us? 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:29.920 He's given us his spirit. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:43.759 His spirit, as Peter alluded to, making us the temple of God, his presence dwelling with us, is now transforming us every day, making us more and more like the Lord Jesus, walking with us. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:50.160 That when we're when we're praying and we don't know what to pray, the spirit is interceding for us with groans too deep for words. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:55.759 If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus, has the Lord blessed you? 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:57.040 Amen. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:57.920 Yes and amen. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:01.920 Lavishly, wonderfully, you have been blessed. 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:07.199 And that's what Psalm, that's what the first verse of Psalm 67 is driving at. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:14.959 That God has blessed his people and that he has done so in the context of their relationship with him. 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:20.319 That God blesses his people in the context of drawing them to himself. 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:25.360 He's not like some divine vending machine where he just kind of spits out some goodies. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:33.519 No, he says, No, come into relationship with me, and that will be a bless a relationship of blessing and of goodness and of grace. 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:54.399 We know that this is the context of relationship because verse one is actually an allusion, and some of you may have picked up on it, it's an allusion to a prayer, a blessing that is prayed back in the book of Numbers, at the very start of the Bible, called the Aaronic Blessing. 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:55.919 Not the ironic blessing. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.399 There's no Alana Morissette here. 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:00.480 It's not ironic, it's Aaronic. 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:02.639 That is, it's Aaron's blessing. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:06.000 It's the priestly blessing of the people. 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:08.080 And it comes from Numbers chapter six. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:09.279 Let me read it for you. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:15.039 So the full ironic blessing is this: the Lord bless you and keep you. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:20.399 The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:25.840 The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.039 That is the ironic blessing. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:36.720 That in the context of a relationship with God, we can now speak over the people of God this blessing. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:45.360 The Lord bless you, keep you, give you peace, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious to you. 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:49.440 And Psalm 67 picks up that language and says, Yeah, I'm gonna pray that. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:51.600 That's a great prayer. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:55.360 God has promised in numbers that he will bless his people. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:56.799 And so you want to know what to pray? 00:09:56.960 --> 00:09:57.679 Pray that. 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:00.480 Pray in line with what God's promised. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.879 God promised to bless his people through that blessing, through that relationship. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:09.679 And so the psalmist in Psalm 67 goes, I'm gonna ask God to do that, because he said he would. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:11.039 It's a great prayer. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:12.399 It's a great way to pray. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.840 Pray in terms of what God has already promised to do. 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:18.399 You know it's gonna be answered. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:28.480 So, number six in Psalm 67 are a prayer of the people to God that God would bless us. 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:41.200 You and I, the people of God, those who are following and trusting in the Lord Jesus, that we would know His sustaining, His goodness, His protection, His steadfast love and His grace. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:52.559 He's done that for us individually as our hearts turn in repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus, and he has done that for us all collectively as the church. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.840 He is gracious and kind to us. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:00.879 He's blessed us in City Church, which we reflect on right at the end of the sermon. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:05.679 These last nine years we're about to celebrate our ninth birthday and go into our tenth year. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:07.039 Can you believe that? 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:10.000 He has been gracious to us. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:15.120 Maybe you're here this morning and you're not a follower of the Lord Jesus. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:19.039 You're still just exploring and looking in on these things. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:43.840 The idea of being blessed, of having peace, of being shown grace and mercy, of shame removed and and sin taken away sounds attractive, as it should in the context of a relationship with a God who is full of graciousness and goodness and love. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:46.000 That is what is offered in Christianity. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.559 That's what the Lord Jesus offers us. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:57.120 But and this is an important butt. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:01.840 Why does God bless us? 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:06.799 Why does God make his face to shine upon us? 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:08.960 Why is God gracious to us? 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:22.559 What is the purpose of God's lavish kindness to you individually and to us all corporately in the gospel? 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:27.919 What is the purpose for which God has given you relationships? 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:31.360 What is the purpose for which God has given you material blessing? 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:38.639 What is the purpose for which God allows you and has put you in a country that allows you to express your faith with a degree of openness? 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:41.600 Why has he blessed you? 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:47.840 That's what this psalm wants to bring us to. 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:55.759 So after we've paused and reflected at the end of verse one, we get the answer at the start of verse two. 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:57.519 Look at it with me. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:22.799 Say laugh that, so that, so it's linking with verse one, so that your way may be known on the earth, your saving power among the nations. 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:24.799 Why has God blessed you? 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:26.639 Why has God blessed City Church? 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:31.039 Why is God currently blessing you and City Church? 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.440 If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus, why? 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:43.440 What is the purpose for which God has laid those blessings at your door that your way, O God, might be made known. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:44.320 Where? 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:56.480 Everywhere, the ends of the earth, in every nation, that your saving power may be made known among the nations. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:00.159 Folks, this is this is huge. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.720 This is why we why we sang our first song. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:04.960 May the peoples praise you. 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:08.000 May the nations be glad. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:20.480 God has blessed you in Jesus, has blessed you with everything that you have and are and own for a purpose. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:22.960 And what is the purpose? 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:29.200 That you and we would be a blessing. 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:33.600 You have been blessed to be a blessing. 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:38.240 Why has God blessed City Church? 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:42.159 So that we might bless others to the ends of the earth. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:45.679 And this was always the way that it was set up to be. 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:55.440 This is what God laid down right at the start of the Bible with his promises, the set of promises that he makes to a man called Abraham. 00:14:55.679 --> 00:15:03.279 Abraham is the uh the great humanity restart button after the the fall, you know, uh Adam and Eve in the garden. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.840 Uh Adam or Abraham is the restart. 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:09.919 It's God coming to a man who had no goodness in himself. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:12.960 He was 70 years old and still living with his mom and dad. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:14.639 And uh, and you don't do that. 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.799 I know rent's expensive, but don't do that. 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:24.080 And God comes to him and says, Abraham, I'm gonna bless you, I'm gonna make promises to you. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:32.320 You're gonna go to a land that I'm gonna show you, and I'm gonna give it to you as a possession, I'm gonna make you a great people. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:40.240 And then the third thing that he says is that, and through you all the nations of the world will be blessed. 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:41.039 Do you see? 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:42.000 God's doing the same thing. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:54.000 He's saying, Abraham, I'm gonna bless you, I'm gonna give you land, I'm gonna give you offspring, I'm gonna give you a people, I'm gonna make you a great nation, and through you, you're gonna bless the whole world. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:16:05.120 And actually, you run that through to the New Testament, to Paul's letter to the Galatians, and what you see is actually the blessing par excellence that comes through Abraham. 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:08.879 It's not geopolitical, it's not ethnic, it's spiritual. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:14.000 It's that the offspring of Abraham that blesses the whole world is Jesus. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:20.879 And to be counted as offspring of Abraham is to put our faith in the Lord Jesus. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:22.080 But we are blessed. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:22.639 Why? 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:24.559 To be a blessing. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:31.440 People mistakenly think perhaps that blessings land on our laps. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:32.879 No, they don't. 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:36.000 Blessings flow through our hands. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:40.000 They don't land on our laps, they flow through our hands. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:42.639 We are blessed to be a blessing. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:17:17.440 This is God's great purpose in the world, and this is the mission of the church, not just our church, but every church, that we would be a blessing to the nations and helping them see the greatness of what God has done, that we ourselves would know the blessing of God and his purpose in saving us, and then would go then with that message to the ends of the earth and to the peoples. 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:20.799 Why does God want to do this? 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:26.960 What does God want for the nations? 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:32.240 What does God want for the nations? 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:39.519 Well, there's four things in this, Sam, that God wants the nations to express. 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:51.440 The first is that God wants the nations of the world, represented uh here at City Church, to know him. 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:52.559 That's the first thing. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:18:16.640 Verse two, that your way may be known on the earth, your saving power among all the nations, that they would know who he is and what he's done, that they would hear the name of Jesus in their own language, in their own tongue, and come to know him. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:18.799 That's the first thing. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:26.160 The second thing that God wants for the nations is that they might praise him. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:28.000 Verse three. 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:33.200 So know among the earth, verse three, let the peoples do what? 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:35.599 Praise you, oh God. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:39.519 Let all the peoples praise you. 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:46.880 So, in knowing God, that they would not just have it as a as an intellectual knowledge, okay. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:50.799 I've gone, I've gone to this place, and now these people know the name of Jesus. 00:18:50.960 --> 00:19:16.799 No, no, that that knowledge would stir in them a renewed and transformed heart, that they would turn then and and give him praise, that they would offer him their lives rather than idols, rather than false gods, that they would turn to him, that he would be known and then praised among the nations. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:18.640 That's why we say we sing this. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:21.200 May the peoples praise you. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:30.079 The third thing that God wants for the nations, wants the nations to know him, to praise him. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:35.119 Thirdly, for the nations to be glad in him. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:43.119 Verse 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:48.559 For you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:52.079 Let the nations be glad. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:56.079 That's another way of talking about gladness. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:58.000 What would it be mean? 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:00.640 What would it mean to be glad in God? 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.519 We don't normally speak in those sorts of terms, but we do talk in terms of enjoyment. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:28.480 God wants the nations, the peoples of the world, to enjoy him, to delight in him, to find that he is the source of their joy and rejoicing and gladness. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:38.559 So he wants the nations to know him, to praise him, to be glad in him, that is, to enjoy him. 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:44.000 And fourthly, he wants the nations to fear him. 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:46.720 That's how the psalmist concludes. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:52.640 God shall bless us, let all the ends of the earth fear him. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:21:04.799 Now we think of fear and we think of uh we think of terror uh and uh and and shrinking back and hiding like a uh like like a horror movie. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:10.400 That's not what the Bible means by uh by fear in this context. 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:29.440 No, it's not it's not fear and sense of terror, it's fear as in awe to stand in overwhelming awe that that almost makes you forget yourself because you're so enraptured by what you have seen. 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:34.720 It's expressed in in you see this in in various um parts of the Bible. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:42.799 You see they uh the prophet Isaiah falling down in the in the temple when he sees the vision of the of the Lord. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:46.799 He's in awe and he's become aware of his own sin. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:55.200 You see John in his apocalypse in the book of Revelation falling down when he sees an angel because he's just so overwhelmed by it. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:57.039 It's that sort of awe. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.680 That is what God wants. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:12.000 From the nations that they would truly see our world does not stand in awe of the God of the Bible, stand in derision, mockery of the God of the Bible. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:24.319 And yet our task, the reason why we've been blessed is we might show the infinite magnitude of the God who's blessed us. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:47.440 Before we continue, it's worth noting that these four things, knowing God, praising Him, enjoying Him, being glad in Him, and standing in awe of Him, fearing Him, those are actually the four ways that you might grow as a disciple of the Lord Jesus. 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:50.319 I really want to grow in my faith. 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:53.599 Well, those are those are four avenues to explore. 00:22:54.079 --> 00:23:01.440 Your knowledge of God, your praising of him, your enjoyment of him, your standing in awe, your fearing of him. 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:06.960 And so it's worth actually reflecting upon of those four. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.119 Which one's impacting you right now? 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:13.440 Which one is the is the Holy Spirit kind of pressing into your heart? 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:15.759 Is it is it knowledge of God? 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:18.480 Is it actually I I don't really feel like I know very much. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:24.400 I feel like I need to kind of step back and uh and learn what the God of the Bible is like. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:28.000 I feel like I need to uh to press into to that. 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:33.440 I need to be more hungry about discovering what he's he's like. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:39.039 If that's you, then we can offer you resources to to do that. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:42.880 Whatever level and time investment you want to you want to put in. 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:44.559 And seriously, fire me an email. 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:46.640 I'll uh I'll send you a bunch of stuff. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:49.599 If you want to to know God better. 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:58.559 Maybe the one that the spirit is pressing upon you right now is is this idea of uh of praising him. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:10.960 You're asking, is my is my life one of delight and worship for who he is and and what he's done. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:23.599 You don't just want it for the nations, want it for yourself, and then allow that uh that to overflow from from your heart to others. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:29.680 Those two things, uh knowledge and praising, uh, are linked. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.920 In fact, they should be linked. 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:42.079 Because if you're just getting more information about God and not turning that into what we might call theological reflection, that is heart work, how does this change our heart? 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:44.319 Then you've not done the knowing right. 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:51.440 But if you're just doing the praising without the knowing, then who's to say what you're praising? 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:56.240 And are you praising in the uh in the in a way that that honors God? 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:59.200 So those two things go hand in hand. 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.799 What about enjoying God? 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:15.519 When you when you do something, do you enjoy the Father's kindness? 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:17.920 Tim Chester wrote a book called Enjoying God. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.759 I would commend it to you. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.799 Some of the things that that he picks up on are this. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:52.559 So some of the ways to enjoy God is, you know, if you are if you are doing something pleasurable, you're out for uh you know a nice meal, or you're doing the the sport or the hobby that you that you love, are there reflexive moments where you point upward again and think, God, God has been so kind in allowing me to do this and giving me the ability to do it, and allowing me to enjoy this view? 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:56.079 Not this view, I mean this view is fine, but it's mostly it's mostly lights, right? 00:25:56.319 --> 00:26:04.640 Uh but having that kind of reflexive heart gets so kind of locked into the moment rather than looking upward. 00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:14.160 When you when you fail, when you sin, when you fall, have you ever considered that that's an opportunity for enjoyment? 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:20.079 That that's an opportunity, yes, to repent and to turn from your sin. 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:28.240 But repentance is such a good thing because the thing that that leads you into is enjoyment. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:31.759 It allows you to enjoy the grace of the Son. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:42.000 Have you ever failed and sinned and thought, you know, I need to turn back to Him and to enjoy again His grace and His finished work for me? 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:55.039 Or when you're in a season of weariness, of trial, of groaning, do you know that that's a time for enjoyment? 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:58.400 That you can be glad in what? 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:07.119 In the spirit's comfort and in the Spirit's hope that He's given you for the future. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:14.160 Perhaps we all need to press into gladness more. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:22.240 And I think that that would probably uh help fill our praise bucket as well and allow that to overflow. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:28.880 Or maybe you're sitting here and thinking, well, I don't really fear God. 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:31.039 I don't really know what that means. 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:45.200 Well, does the awe of who he is compel you and shape the decisions that you are making? 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:59.759 Are you making decisions about your life, about your relationships, about your economics, in light of the overwhelming majesty of God and his call on your life? 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:07.599 Or are you making decisions out of fear for the circumstances around you and the relationships around you? 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:10.000 That's the thing. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:13.279 It's not it's not fear or not fear, right? 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:16.319 Oftentimes it's am I fearing the right thing? 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:27.200 Am I compelled, in awe, controlled, uh, overwhelmed by who God is, or am I overwhelmed and controlled by the situation of the people around me? 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:31.440 But are they influencing the decisions that I'm making about my life? 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:37.680 You see, knowledge of God, praise of him, enjoyment of him, fear of him. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:40.240 These are discipleship pathways. 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:43.759 These are ways that we grow as Christians. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:53.200 And as we grow in them, we then exemplify and call people to those four things. 00:28:53.359 --> 00:29:09.200 That's what God wants from the nations, not just from the nations, he wants it for the nations, because he knows that it is good for all of us to know him, praise him, to delight in him, and to fear him. 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:12.480 Why though? 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:20.559 Why does God want the nations to know, praise, rejoice, and fear him? 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.839 Let's just do two reasons right now, okay? 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:28.880 Because we could be here for a long time. 00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:38.160 The two reasons that we can draw from this psalm, the first one is that, well, because God is the God of the whole earth. 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:49.519 Why does God want all of the nations and to the ends of the earth to know him and to praise him, to be glad of him or in him? 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:52.240 Well, because he is their God. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:58.319 Christianity is not a Western religion. 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:01.359 Christianity is a global religion. 00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:11.680 Christianity is not about the worship of a parochial deity for our for our own kind of white Anglo-Saxon Protestant domain. 00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:14.960 Jesus is Lord of all. 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:19.599 And all will buy their knee to him. 00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:23.680 And to honor God is to honor him. 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:29.119 To not honor him is to not honor God. 00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:37.920 That is what Jesus says in John chapter 5, which we looked at this last year in the last academic year. 00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:45.759 He says that if you want to honor the Father, you must honor the Son whom he sent. 00:30:51.039 --> 00:31:14.160 And so we do not believe that all religions are just different paths up one mountain, or uh all just kind of groping on this uh this uh this elephant, you know, the the the the the parable of the blind man kind of feeling this elephant, and some people say, Oh, it's a uh you know it's a it's a tree, and they're holding on the leg, no, it's a rope, and he's got the tail. 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:15.839 No, no, the elephant has spoken. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:17.759 The elephant says, No, I'm an elephant. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:19.839 That removes all doubt. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:22.640 God is the Lord of all. 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:25.200 All religions are not the same. 00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:26.960 Jesus is clear on that. 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:32.000 All who seek to honor God must honor the Son whom he has sent. 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:33.920 God is the God of all. 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:41.920 The second reason from this psalm is that God is the only equitable judge. 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:43.839 You see that in verse 4. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:55.680 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for the for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:01.680 God is the only fair judge of all. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:12.880 No bribe, no merit, no good work, no, no inside track into his good favor. 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:20.319 He is the only impartial judge for the problem that we all have. 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:22.000 The problem of our sin. 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:27.839 That is, you want to know what sin is sin is self-love, that we love ourselves more than the God who made us. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:34.960 And God will be just with all of us. 00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:36.160 Yes, he will. 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:45.440 You cannot bribe, persuade, or blackmail, or conjole him into showing favor. 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:54.160 He offers one solution, but he offers it to all people through the death of his son. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:58.079 This is the inclusivity of Christianity. 00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:02.720 You might even listen to the first, the first point where I'm talking about Jesus is the only way. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:04.319 That's what Jesus says. 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:06.000 I am the way, the truth, and the life. 00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:07.839 No one comes to the Father except by me. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:10.319 And people instinctively might sit here and go, that's terribly. 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:13.279 How can you say this is intolerant and exclusive? 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:14.160 Yes. 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:18.720 But Christianity is so inclusive. 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:44.160 Because it says that the only way is through Jesus, but that that way is open to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of socioeconomic background, regardless of education or standing in the community, or sexuality, or anything else. 00:33:45.359 --> 00:33:47.680 The only way is is Jesus. 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:54.559 That's the way that is open for everyone on this world. 00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:08.400 And so the God of the whole earth, who is the judge of all nations, offers freely his son to all. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:11.760 And in doing so, displays what? 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:13.679 His grace. 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:16.320 May God be gracious, verse one. 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:21.039 Well, he has supremely in his son, the Lord Jesus. 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:21.840 To who? 00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:29.920 To all nations, to everyone sitting here, and to everyone in our city, to everyone on this land, and everyone on this planet. 00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:47.199 He is the gracious one, lavishly loving and worthy of our praise, who gladdens our hearts and leaves us in awe of what he has done and in what he is doing. 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:53.840 That is what God wants for the nations. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:56.559 That is why he wants it. 00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:04.079 This blessing of God to us is amazing news, but it must be shared. 00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:07.280 Remember, we're blessed to be a blessing. 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:11.199 Blessings don't land on our lap, they flow through our hands. 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:20.239 We are to give and to go with the good news of who God is and what he has done for everyone. 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:31.760 That there is hope for the weary soul, that there is life for those who are faltering and failing, that there can be joy for the sorrowful. 00:35:32.320 --> 00:35:35.119 We go with that news. 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:40.159 That is why the the risen Lord Jesus, and we'll actually look at this in more detail next week. 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:42.800 So I'm not gonna not gonna kind of go into it now. 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:58.559 Uh He comes to the disciples in all of his risen glory, and he says to them all, he says, Go get out of here, go, go and make disciples, go and tell them about me. 00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:00.880 I've blessed you. 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:04.239 Now it's your turn. 00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:08.000 Now it's time for you to go and to be a blessing. 00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:11.599 Go and teach them and teach them all, teach them to know me. 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:15.599 And in knowing me, they'll turn and praise me and be glad in me. 00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:19.599 And their hearts will be overwhelmed by joy and awe. 00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:26.480 Teach them to know my grace in every aspect of their lives. 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:34.400 And just as Jesus commissioned them, so he commissions us. 00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:38.320 That's why our mission as a church, how can our mission be summarized? 00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:40.880 Connect, grow, serve, go. 00:36:41.360 --> 00:36:49.039 We exist to connect people to Jesus that they might grow to spiritual maturity, serve the community, and go to the nations. 00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:51.280 That's the mission of City Church. 00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:54.719 The blessings that we have don't sit on our laps. 00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:59.679 Jesus sends out the disciples and he sends us as his disciples. 00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:14.079 And what's more, the same Jesus, the same Lord who commissions us and sends us out, equips us and resources us for that work. 00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:18.800 So verse 6 of Psalm 67. 00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:26.159 The earth has yielded its increase, and God, our God, shall bless us. 00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:34.639 God has blessed his people materially and spiritually to be a blessing. 00:37:35.840 --> 00:37:44.000 And so that's why there's this harvest language in verse 6 that it's spiritual blessings and he's resourcing them materially as well. 00:37:46.239 --> 00:37:52.480 Folks, you can give your wealth to no greater cause than the cause of saying Jesus be made known. 00:37:52.639 --> 00:37:58.239 In fact, uh we could go so far as to say that that is the reason why God is blessing you materially. 00:38:00.960 --> 00:38:08.320 And how you use your home that you're able to just about pay the rent for or the mortgage on. 00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:12.719 How your giving is being used. 00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:21.920 It's all for the extension and the glory of his kingdom, and the praise of his name. 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:25.039 It's the reason why you have what you have. 00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:33.679 So God blesses us both in our going and in our giving. 00:38:36.719 --> 00:38:39.039 Maybe you're not particularly familiar with City Church. 00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:40.159 Maybe this is your first week. 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:44.159 I know it is for some of you visiting and coming through, and you're very welcome. 00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:47.920 How is how's God blessed us? 00:38:48.639 --> 00:38:50.400 How's God been kind to us? 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:57.280 Well, like I said at the start, we're nine years old in two weeks' time. 00:38:58.159 --> 00:38:59.760 Folks, that ain't nothing. 00:39:01.119 --> 00:39:05.840 There's lots of Sundays, particularly in the summer, when we were looking out. 00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:14.320