God's Grand Vision: Complete Salvation

Speaker: Sam Low

Date: 8th May 2011

00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 It would be fantastic if you could keep that passage open in front of you.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:12 We're going to be looking through that now, and I'm going to pray for us that God will open our minds and our hearts.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 So let's pray.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 Father God, we thank and praise you for the gift of your word.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:22 We thank you for the opportunity we have this morning to open it and to hear you speak.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:27 Lord, we thank you for today, the chance to remember and honour the mothers amongst us,
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 both physical and spiritual, that you have blessed us with.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:34 And Lord, we thank you that you have brought us together as a family to sit under your word today.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:42 Lord, please shape us by your Holy Spirit and equip us to be your people as we await for Jesus' return.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:43 Amen.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 It has been a significant week in the world.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 We have had a fairly significant event in these past seven days.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:59 I spent last weekend out of mobile reception, so it only gradually leaked through to me the information that Osama bin Laden had been killed.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:08 And I was reflecting on that this week, and I wonder if you remember where you were on September 11, 2001.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:10 I remember it for myself quite clearly.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:15 I remember hearing on the radio I was driving in the car that a plane had crashed into one of the towers.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:23 And I kind of, at that stage it was an accident, and so I turned it off and listened to some music or something like that,
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 and woke up the next morning to discover what had actually happened.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:33 And when we have a major event like September 11, or even this week, like the death of Osama bin Laden,
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 the question we ask is, what now?
00:01:37 --> 00:01:42 A major event like that changes things, but we need to figure out what's different as a result.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 In 2001, a lot was different.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 It changed the way and the possibility of international travel.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 It changed the way airline security is done.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:57 It sadly also changed the way that we view Middle Eastern people.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 A lot changed that day.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:07 And significant events in life affect what comes afterwards.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:14 And where we've reached today in our series in Isaiah, in chapter 56, Israel is at one of those significant turning points.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:18 I'll just give you a quick recap of where we've been as we've wandered through the book of Isaiah.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:22 We've begun by looking at God's assessment of his people.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:24 In chapter 5, God says this.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:25 It says,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:30 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:36 And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed, for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:41 So the reality as God scans his people is that he sees nothing but disobedience and rebellion.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:46 And so for the first 35 chapters of Isaiah, as we've dropped in at different points,
00:02:47 --> 00:02:53 what we've seen is judgment, and righteous judgment, and correct judgment, and punishment for what Israel has done.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 God rescues Israel in the middle there in 36 to 39,
00:02:57 --> 00:03:01 but now in the back half, Israel has jumped out of the frying pan into the fire,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 and is in exile in Babylon, in trouble again.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:09 The first half of Isaiah feels like God's pointing the finger, and he is.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:14 He's pointing out where Israel has failed, and the punishment they deserve,
00:03:14 --> 00:03:18 but something significant has happened by the time we reach chapter 40.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:23 That finger pointing gives way to the first words of chapter 40,
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 comfort, comfort my people.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 There's this uplifting message that begins to come through.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:35 In chapter 42, a couple of weeks ago, we looked at the promised servant of God who was going to bring justice.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 Even though Israel had failed so significantly,
00:03:38 --> 00:03:42 this servant was going to bring the justice that they so desperately desired.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:48 So now, in this back 26 chapters of Isaiah, Israel is entering into a new age.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:54 An age that won't be filled with the failure and the punishment and frustration that has gone before,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 but an age of fulfillment and hope.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 An age where they get all these things that they've been looking forward to and hoping for,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 and where the promises of God are fulfilled.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 But the question is, what now?
00:04:07 --> 00:04:14 As this servant arrives and establishes justice and delivers and changes the world as they know it,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 what now?
00:04:17 --> 00:04:23 What does it look like for Israel to be the people of God now that this servant has come?
00:04:23 --> 00:04:30 What does it look like for us today to live knowing that Jesus has come and established justice on the earth,
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 but that we still await the day when he will come back?
00:04:33 --> 00:04:38 The question we should always be asking ourselves is, in light of Jesus, what now?
00:04:38 --> 00:04:39 How do we live?
00:04:40 --> 00:04:45 And so into that situation, God speaks to his people in Isaiah 56 with these words.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 Verse 1.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 This is what the Lord says.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:54 Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand,
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:05 who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hands from doing any evil.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 Maintain justice is the command that God gives to his people.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 Not try and establish it like you've been failing at,
00:05:12 --> 00:05:17 but maintain the justice that my servant has established for you.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 Live out the salvation that you've got.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 Live as chosen, forgiven people.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 Live with all the benefits that go with being chosen to be part of my family,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:31 because, there in verse 1, my salvation is close at hand,
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 and my righteousness is being revealed.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 God is about to make it really obvious.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 They've had promises since Abraham.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 God is going to bless them.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 God is going to save them.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 God is going to rescue them.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:45 And in Isaiah, we see it coming through.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 In 42, the servant is coming.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:52 Over Easter, we looked at 52 and 53, how the servant would bear their iniquities.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:56 So God is gradually giving them more insight to his plan for salvation.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:01 But now it is about to be revealed fully in Jesus.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:07 And this salvation is going to be different to the salvation that Israel's anticipating.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 It's going to be different to the salvation that they're expecting.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 It's going to be more than they're expecting.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 It's going to be bigger, better.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:19 I remember when I was 21, I had the chance to travel through Europe.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:24 And one of the things I really enjoyed about Europe is that everything's old.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:30 When you go through Europe and you come back to Sydney, you realise that the oldest building in Sydney is a new building in Europe.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 We've got a whole 200 years of history.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:37 And, you know, they're talking thousands and thousand-year-old ruins and stuff like that.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 And so I was really excited about visiting the city of Pompeii in southern Italy.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:42 I'd read a little bit about it.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:48 And it was in all the books recommended that you could go and see this city that had been buried by a volcano in almost no notice.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:53 And that there was just these amazingly well-preserved evidences of life.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:58 And I had built up in my mind this expectation of what this city was going to be like.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:02 I thought, city, a long time ago, we're probably talking more like a village.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:14 I was expecting sort of mud huts, maybe, you know, 100 yards of sort of a couple of huts and some areas where they'd, I don't know, done stuff, hung out, whatever you did in a city thousands of years ago.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:15 But I had a picture in my mind.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 I expected it to be amazing.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:26 But as I arrived and got off the train in the town that now is next to the ruins of Pompeii, the city wall went as far as I could see in both directions.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:40 And after literally hours of walking past house, not hut, but house after house, after significant amphitheatre, after cobbled roads that went for, like, kilometre after kilometre, I was blown away.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 I had this expectation, which for me would have been plenty.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 If there was a couple of huts there, I would have walked away a happy man.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:51 But seeing Pompeii for real surpassed any expectation that I had had.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 It redefined what it was.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:59 And for Israel, salvation has been tied up with returning to Jerusalem.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 That would be enough for them.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:08 If God would just take them out of Babylon and bring them back to Jerusalem, let them be a country again by themselves under their own rule,
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 that's what they're desiring.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 But God is redefining salvation for them.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:19 He is saying, I have got a bigger, better plan, something that will far surpass anything you have expected.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:23 Salvation is not about the country of Israel anymore.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 It's not about the city of Jerusalem and getting back there.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 Salvation is now about justice.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 It's about God's justice.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:40 Not Israel's idea of getting back what was taken, but of God's will and his plan being worked out.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 His promises to Abraham being fulfilled.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:48 And I want to show you two things in this passage in Isaiah 56 that mark the salvation that God has won.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:53 Two things that mark the community of salvation that we are now a part of.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:59 Two things that we must seek to be the things that define us as a group of people.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 First one.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 A better blessing.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 The salvation of God is about a better blessing.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:13 When I was growing up, I had this habit of using words that my grandma didn't understand.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 And probably still doesn't understand.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 My grandma's name, or her name is Merle, but we call her Marnie.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 I'm not sure why.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:23 But I remember when I was young, me and a group of friends, when we were about 12,
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 thought that a good way to refer to ourselves would be to call ourselves units.
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 U-N-I-T.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 Because, you know, I was letting everyone know how big and impressive we were.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 And so I would always come home, and when Marnie was babysitting us, and I'd go,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 Marnie, I'm a unit.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 And she'd look at me like, what are you talking about?
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 Like, just this confused look.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 And she'd kind of shrug her shoulders and let it go.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 And one day, she just couldn't take it anymore.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 And I'd said it too many times.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 And she finally just said, look, why do you want to be a eunuch?
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 And at the time, I had no idea what a eunuch was.
00:09:56 --> 00:10:01 So after she explained to me the ins and outs of being a eunuch,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 I decided that I needed to come up with another word that sounded less like it.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 But it was interesting for me, as I was preparing this week,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:13 to reflect on both my grammar and my attitude towards a eunuch.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:18 For her, she could not comprehend why someone would want that.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 And for me, hearing what it was, I couldn't either.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:26 The idea of being a eunuch seemed like it was some sort of a disability.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:33 Now, a eunuch doesn't have to be someone who is physically mutilated or unable to have children.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:37 A eunuch can be as simple as somebody who doesn't have children for choice,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 by lack of means, whatever it might be.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:45 But it's interesting how we look upon that as some sort of a failure.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 Even today, in a culture that's all about doing your own thing,
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 and maybe the family unit doesn't have the value that it once did,
00:10:52 --> 00:10:58 we look upon it as some sort of a lack of fulfilment in being a woman.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 And that's certainly the way that Israel viewed it.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:07 For Israel, having children was the means by which God had given them to grow his kingdom.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 God's kingdom was Israel.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 If they didn't have kids, the kingdom died out in a generation.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:18 And so it was an incredible, prestigious and privileged position to be a mother.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 And we feel that even today.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 That's why we here celebrate motherhood and parenthood.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:29 But I'm sure that even today, there are women amongst us for whom today is a sad day.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:33 Possibly you're unable to have children.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 Possibly you have chosen not to.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 Possibly you have difficult relationships with your children.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:47 And I fear that just like Israel, we look at you as if you're missing out.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:52 We look down on you as if you didn't quite get to the fulfilment of a family.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 We would never say it like that, but we pretend.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 We look with pity.
00:11:55 --> 00:12:05 Because we feel like maybe you've failed or haven't fulfilled the ultimate design of God for a person.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:12 But God has redefined family for Israel.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 He has something better for them.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:18 In fact, he redefines it in the New Testament when in John 3, speaking to Nicodemus,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 he says if you want to be saved, you must be born again of the Spirit.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:27 The family of God is made up of those who are born again of the Spirit,
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 not of those who are physically born to particular parents or different countries.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:34 And that is why, as I prayed this morning, I rejoice that if you are a woman in this room,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 you are a mother in this family.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 You are a sister in this family.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:48 See, we have this really small view of salvation where we just narrow it down to the things
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 that affect us right here and right now, like being a parent.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 The Bible's clear.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 Being a parent is a gift from God.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 It's a blessing.
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 Being a grandparent is a gift from God.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 It's a blessing.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04 Being a kid is a blessing and probably sometimes a curse on your parents.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:08 But we have this idea that salvation exists in the right here and right now.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 The job I have.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 The house I have.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 The friends I have.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 The opportunities that I have.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 But God has a bigger picture of salvation.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:24 For Israel, salvation was just about getting back to Jerusalem.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:28 But God is saying, I've got something better for you than that.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:36 We've become like the paralytic in Mark 2 who goes to Jesus just to walk.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 That's what he wants.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 But God says, I have something better for you.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:48 Have a look with me in verse 5 at the blessing that God gives that is significantly better.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:54 It says, to them, this is to the eunuch and the foreigner, to the one who is outside of God's family,
00:13:55 --> 00:14:01 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:10 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord and to worship him.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:14 All who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:20 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:24 Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
00:14:24 --> 00:14:28 for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:35 God looks to his people and he says, I have something better to offer you than sons and daughters.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:40 He looks to the eunuch and the foreigner and he says, I will give you an everlasting name.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 I will give you something that lasts forever.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 I will give you joy in God's house.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 I will accept your sacrifices.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 It's an eternal blessing.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 Children are a blessing.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 Marriage is a blessing.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 Family is a blessing.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 But it is a temporary and a secondary blessing.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:08 I had the privilege of speaking at our spare day, which is I think only a week ago now, but it's a blur.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:13 On our spare day we had a bunch of primary school kids sitting together teaching
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 and I had the joy of teaching the year three to six kids.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:21 And as I began speaking about treasures that we have and precious things and valuable things,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:27 the joy of kids is that the idea of rhetorical or listening till the end doesn't really happen.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:33 So I'm midway through, in full swing, preaching away, and this arm pops up at the back
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 and it's Brian's eldest, Bethany Tung.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 And I politely ignore her for a little while and she gets more enthusiastic
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 and starts waving around to make sure I can see.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 And I thought, well, I kind of need to acknowledge her now.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 Everyone's looking at her.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 And so I said, what's up, Bethany?
00:15:47 --> 00:15:51 And she goes, we're not supposed to have treasure on earth because of rust and moth.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 We're supposed to have treasure in heaven.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 And I thought, that is so good.
00:15:55 --> 00:16:01 I pray that I know it as clearly and as simply and as much conviction as she does for the rest of my life.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:06 There are good things that God gives us in this life now.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 And children are one of those.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:17 But they are secondary and temporary compared to the eternal better blessings that God speaks of in this passage.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 Compared to the chance to be with him forever in heaven.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 Compared to this family.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:29 Our physical families are secondary and temporary.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:35 As the Bible paints the picture of heaven in the future, there is no marriage.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 No giving in marriage.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:41 There is every tribe, nation and tongue brought together.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:47 The distinction is not lost, but they are more importantly unified in Christ.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:53 There is a oneness in heaven that far surpasses who you are blood related to.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:58 God gives us good blessings in our lives now.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:07 But the better blessing of the salvation that is won for us in the servant Jesus is that we have an everlasting covenant with God.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 A covenant of forgiveness.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 A covenant of adoption.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 A covenant of being welcomed into his family.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:20 And that is why as a church we value treasuring Christ above all else.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 Thanking God for his good gifts.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:30 But gladly and willingly forgoing them and being content without them so long as we know Jesus.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:36 Anytime you look down on someone because they don't have something that you have in this life.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 Be it children or an iPhone.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 You are saying Jesus is not enough.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 You are saying I cannot be content.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:52 Unless I have Jesus and this other thing.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 You might be asking the question, can't I just have both?
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 I mean, can't I have Jesus and the gift of children?
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 And look, I want to say I understand the question.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:11 And I understand, well I don't understand, I'm not a mother, but I can comprehend the pain that goes with not being able to have kids.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:17 It's one of my deepest desires is to one day be a father.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 But can you see that the question is fundamentally wrong?
00:18:24 --> 00:18:29 In asking the question you are saying I cannot be content with just Jesus.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 You're saying I need something else.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 Children are not bad.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 Desiring children is not bad.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:41 But the best blessing we have is Jesus.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 Is forgiveness.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 Is eternal.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:52 The coming of the servant who would establish justice was supposed to lift Israel's eyes.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 Beyond their immediate circumstance.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 Beyond their return to Jerusalem.
00:18:56 --> 00:19:00 For them to see that they had an eternal destiny as the people of God.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:05 That being the people of God meant forever with Jesus in heaven.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 Not just being a military might.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 Not just being a military might.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 And God's call to us now is the same.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:19 To live in light of the certain hope we have in a risen saviour.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22 And to eagerly await his return.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:27 Looking forward to the fullness of blessing that we will get when Jesus comes back.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30 And to hold on to that blessing now.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 Even if it costs us everything else.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 Paul paints an incredible picture in 1 Corinthians.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:42 Where he said it is a great thing for those who can choose to go without family.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 For the sake of the gospel and for the sake of the kingdom.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:47 That picture of absolute contentment in Christ.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:51 That they choose to go without something good that God offers.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 Paul doesn't prescribe whether we should go one way or the other.
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 But the message is clear.
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 The better blessing is Jesus.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 Treasure Christ above all else.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:10 The first mark of the salvation that God has brought in Jesus is a better blessing.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 An eternal covenant.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:15 The second one is an open community.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:23 For us to comprehend just how offensive it was for God to welcome the eunuch and the foreigner into Israel is kind of difficult.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:30 In ancient times a eunuch was looked down on as disabled in Israel.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 They were unable to grow the kingdom.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 They were cursed by God to not be able to have children.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:41 There are countless stories in the Old Testament of women who were ostracised for not being able to have children.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 Who begged God to release them from that curse.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:51 And so for God to turn around now and say these people I welcome in with the everlasting covenant.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 Would have absolutely messed with their heads.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:57 God's law forbid Israel marrying foreigners.
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 Because they would be set apart as God's holy people.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 To stand out and be different.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:07 But what God is saying is the servant I am sending.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 This has been the drumbeat all the way through Isaiah.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 Not only removes the guilt of Israel.
00:21:13 --> 00:21:19 But removes the guilt and sin of anyone who would come and trust in Jesus.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:23 Isaiah 52 that we looked at at Easter.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:31 The substitutionary death of Jesus in our place was for anyone who would seek his forgiveness.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:35 Not just for people who are born of a specific country.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 Not just for those who happen to be a little bit like us.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:43 Not just for those who culturally fit in this group of people.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 But anyone.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:51 I wonder how we would go at welcoming a known criminal into this room.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 I wonder how comfortable we would be with that.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 If they came here genuinely seeking Jesus.
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00 Would we be okay for them to sit here in their singlet and thongs.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 Smoking a cigarette up the back.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05 Or would we have extra things that we wanted them to do.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 Before it was okay for them to be part of this family.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 Would we have extra hoops that we would want them to jump through.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 Jesus quotes this passage in Isaiah in Mark 12.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 When he clears the temple.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:19 He turns up and in the outer court.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 Which is the court for the Gentiles and the foreigners.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 There's people selling stuff.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 There's people trading.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:27 And he overturns the tables and gets very angry.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:32 And he says this is supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:36 Even after this word from God to say there's something better.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:41 Israel still puts barriers in the way for other people to come to Jesus.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:48 I wonder if there are things that we put in the way.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 For those who don't fit with us culturally.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 Those who have different hobbies to us.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 Maybe there's preferences that we have.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 About how we do church together.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 About how our relationships work.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 About how big we get.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 You might feel I'm pretty happy with this number of people.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:14 But God is saying here.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 His family.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 The community of saved people.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 Is not full.
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 Look there in verse 8.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 The sovereign Lord declares.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:25 He who gathers the exiles of Israel.
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 I will gather still others to them.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 Besides those already gathered.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 We are not full as a church.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 And we need to understand.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 We need to remove the barriers that we add.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 To the gospel.
00:23:40 --> 00:23:43 We are not to be defined by the building that we meet in.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 By the furniture that we have in this building.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:49 By the clothes that people wear in this building.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 We are defined.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 By Jesus.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 By Jesus.
00:23:53 --> 00:23:55 And by him alone.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 He is the covenant and the better blessing.
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 That God has given us.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:06 And this community must be defined by Jesus.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 And nothing else.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:15 My generation is really good at pointing the finger.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 At an older generation.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19 Of church brothers and sisters.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 We are really good at letting you know.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:25 How you are too precious about your traditions in church.
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 We are really good at telling you.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 That you should just stop being so petty.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 About the clothes that we wear.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 Or about the seats that we sit on.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 Or the songs that we sing.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 Or the volume of the songs that we sing.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 And all these other things.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 But the reality is.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 As I look at my own heart.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 And the heart of people my age.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 My peers.
00:24:42 --> 00:24:46 We have the exact same pride and selfishness in our own ways.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 We want particular songs.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 We want particular seats.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 We want particular clothes.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 I want to say God is saying to all of us.
00:24:57 --> 00:24:59 Those are preference issues.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 We are not defined by those things.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 We need to let go of those things.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:07 And be defined by Jesus.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 He is the reason we are here.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 He is the only thing that unites us together.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 Not the fact that we sit in this room for an hour on Sunday morning.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 We need to be willing to let go of tradition and preference.
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 That is not dictated by God and his word.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 And be defined by Jesus alone.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 We need to be willing to make sacrifices.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 That are uncomfortable for us.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 That others might hear about Jesus.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 And join this community.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 Because God is still gathering people in.
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 We are not full.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:44 We are the salvation community of God.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 And God is continuing to call people to himself.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 That they might know that better blessing.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:54 Finally verse 8.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:57 The sovereign Lord declares.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 He who gathers the exiles of Israel.
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 I will gather still others to them.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 Besides those already gathered.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:08 It is the sovereign Lord who gathered you into this family.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 It does not matter who your parents were.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 It does not matter what job you do.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 God chose you.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 He sent his son to die for you and forgive you.
00:26:22 --> 00:26:24 And he gave you the eternal blessing.
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 Of a covenant of forgiveness.
00:26:27 --> 00:26:31 Of a certain hope that you would spend forever in heaven with him.
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 And so this morning.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 And tomorrow morning.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 And every day for the rest of your life.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 Be thankful.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 You did nothing.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 But he chose you and he drew you in.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:46 And he gave you the best blessing he could give you.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 Jesus.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 Jesus.
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 But also.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 He is still gathering others.
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 Until Jesus comes back.
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 This community is open.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 Until Jesus comes back.
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 There is still spare seats.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 No matter how full we get.
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 So don't give up.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 On your brother.
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 Or sister.
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 Or friend.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 Or neighbour.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:17 No matter how many times.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 They say no.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 Until Jesus comes back.
00:27:19 --> 00:27:21 This community is still open.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25 Because that is what salvation means for us right now.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 Between Jesus coming first.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 And him coming back.
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 Which is where we live.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 Salvation means we have the best blessing.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 And that this community is open.
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 So don't give up hope.
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 Keep praying.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 Keep talking.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 Keep persevering.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:46 That we as the people of God.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:49 Might treasure Christ.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53 Might be the gospel in the way we relate to one another.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 Might be open and welcoming.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 Might willingly sacrifice.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:02 That as many people as possible would be gathered in.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 And know the blessing of Jesus.
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 Jesus.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:12 What a significant impact we would have on this world.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:16 If we are able to genuinely.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:19 Treasure Christ above all else.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:25 If that was our deepest desire.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 To know God.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 To treasure him.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 And to represent him.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:35 I pray that God would use us.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 No matter what it costs.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 Let's pray.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 Father God.
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 We acknowledge and confess that.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 We are so often distracted.
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 And obsessed with the things that you have given us.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:54 Or the things that you have chosen not to give us.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 And we forget.
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 That you have given us more than enough in Jesus.
00:28:58 --> 00:29:01 Lord I pray that.
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 Every day you would overwhelm us.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 With a sense of gratitude.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 And awe.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 At your generosity.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:10 Lord help us to have that eternal perspective.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 To see with your eyes.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:13 That your kingdom is forever.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 That you have given us a name.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 That will not be cut off.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 That you have included us by your will.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 That even if we have nothing else.
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 We have enough.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 In you.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 Father we pray.
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 That you would strip away anything in us.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 Any pride.
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 Any preference.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 That would block the gospel.
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 For other people.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 Lord may Jesus be the thing.
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 That marks us.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 As a community of your people.
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 Lord may you give us wisdom.
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 To love one another.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 As we search the waters.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 Of how we do church.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 And how we gather together.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 That your gospel.
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 Might be the clearest message.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 Father I pray.
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 That we would have.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 A burning desire.
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 To see your kingdom grow.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 Amongst us.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 That we would desire.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 That all people.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 Would be brought into a relationship.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 With you.
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 Might know the salvation.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 And blessing of Jesus.
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 Lord I pray.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 That you would make our life difficult.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 That this church.
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 Would be so full.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 That we're having trouble.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 Figuring out.
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 How to handle all the people.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 That you are gathering in.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 Lord give us perseverance.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 With those who are difficult.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 Those who oppose us.
00:30:25 --> 00:30:27 When we speak your truth.
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 May we remember.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 That it's you who gathers.
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 And until you return.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 You are still gathering.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 Hope is not lost.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 Father we thank you for Jesus.
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 We thank you so much.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 That we can know you.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 That we can be part of your family.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 And that we have everything.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 We could ever hope for.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:53 Father may we treasure you.
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 In everything that we do.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 Amen.
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 Amen.