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Psalm 67 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Well, good morning, church.
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Hope you all have had a good Fourth of July weekend, a good extended time of rest.
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! My name is Chandler Durden, for those of y'all who do not know me.
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I've been a member at Christ Family Church for about six years or so at this point,
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and I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to preach God's Word to you all.
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But before I begin, I want to ask for a little extra grace with me this morning.
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This is my first sermon that I've ever preached,
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and I also found out four hours ago that this is my first sermon that I've ever preached.
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And so, anyways, Nathan woke up this morning not feeling super well, as TJ alluded to,
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so definitely keep him in your thoughts and prayers that he'll make a full and swift recovery.
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But my family and I have also been at my parents' house this weekend, pet-sitting their dogs,
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and so I did not have access to my full wardrobe.
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So, if you have any expectations of the types of shoes preachers would wear this morning,
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well, I really apologize, because I'm currently wearing on clouds.
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But due to the time constraints also, I was not able to prepare the normal length of a sermon,
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so Nathan asked if I could share a little bit about the work that my wife and I are planning to do in Japan long-term as missionaries.
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So, we'll spend some time kind of scattered throughout that message talking about that a little bit.
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But without further ado, I want to draw your attention this morning to Psalm 67.
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So, if you would, take your copy of God's Word and turn there with me.
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Psalm 67.
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And we will begin our reading with the heading right above verse 1,
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which is actually included in the original manuscripts, so we'll begin there.
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Our text reads,
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Let's pray together.
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Father in heaven, we thank you for this opportunity to meet together as a church,
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to hear from your Word, to sing your Word, to pray your Word, to see your Word.
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We are thankful, God, that you have saved us and called us to yourself,
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and that just as our justification surely happens,
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so our sanctification and glorification will surely happen.
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We thank you for that.
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We thank you for just this time.
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And we pray that by your Spirit, that you would work among your people,
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that we would see and savor the glory of Christ.
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And we pray this in Christ's name.
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Amen.
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So, I want to draw your attention to two truths that we see in this text,
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and we'll spend the majority of our time looking at the first truth.
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And I'll make a few brief points about the second truth.
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So, truth number one, God's chief end for creating and sustaining the nations,
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is that he might be glorified,
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and that they might be satisfied.
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And then truth number two,
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God blesses us so that we might bless the nations.
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I want to make a case that truth number one is the primary emphasis of this psalm,
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and that truth number two is a secondary emphasis,
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and is written to serve truth number one.
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In other words, Psalm 67's main emphasis is God's chief desire to globally glorify his name
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by blessing the nations.
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And Psalm 67 makes clear that God accomplishes this end by blessing us.
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God blesses us so that we might bless the nations.
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And just to be clear, I'm not saying that God does not love us or is simply using us.
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I'm just saying that he loves the nations,
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and that our joy in him actually increases when it expands into the lives of others.
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And therefore, God actually has our highest good in mind
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when he commands us to seek the good of others.
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Now, with the remainder of our time,
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I want to examine these two truths in more details
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and show you how central they are to Psalm 67's message,
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and ultimately how central they are to the entire Bible.
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So let's spend some time meditating on this first glorious truth,
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which is the main theme of this psalm.
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God's chief end for creating and sustaining the nations
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is that he might be glorified and they might be satisfied.
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The number of times this truth is repeated throughout this psalm
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is more than enough evidence to argue that this is Psalm 67's main theme.
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But I'm convinced that the structure of this psalm itself
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leads us to this conclusion as well.
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I believe this psalm is structured chiastically,
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which is a common form of parallelism used in both Old and New Testaments.
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A chiasm is where a sequence of ideas is presented
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and then repeated in reverse order.
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This results in the second half of the psalm mirroring the first half
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so that the ideas are reflected back in the passage.
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So to give an example of what this would look like,
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if there were three ideas in a passage structured chiastically,
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you would have idea A stated,
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then idea B stated,
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then idea C,
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and then these ideas in the second half
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would be repeated using different words
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or with a slightly different emphasis.
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So the structure of the passage would look like idea A
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followed by B,
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then C,
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and then C,
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B,
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A.
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Now,
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there are two main reasons
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why I believe this psalm is structured chiastically.
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First,
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it seems that just like a chiasm,
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the ideas introduced in the psalm's first half
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are repeated in the psalm's second half,
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but in reverse order.
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Look at verses 1 and 2 with me.
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verses 1 and 2 introduce the first idea,
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idea A,
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which is God blessing his people
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so that the nations might know and fear him.
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And this idea is clearly repeated
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in verses 6 and 7,
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except now in the form of a promise
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rather than a prayer.
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In the beginning of the psalm,
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it was,
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may God bless us,
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and now at the end of the psalm,
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it's God shall bless us.
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We also see the purpose of this blessing
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reflected on at the end of the psalm.
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In the beginning of the psalm,
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the blessing is,
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so that your way might be known on the earth,
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your saving power among all nations.
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And at the end of the psalm,
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after the psalmist promises that God will bless us,
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once again,
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this truth has an intended purpose,
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which is why the psalmist's last words are,
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let all the ends of the earth fear him.
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The psalm's next idea,
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idea B,
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is introduced in verse 3.
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And this idea is clearly repeated,
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quite literally,
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since verse 5 simply restates verse 3 word for word.
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Now, notice this whole time
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I haven't said anything about verse 4.
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And it's because this verse
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is not paired with any other verses.
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And I think verse 4's inclusion
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in our text is the second reason
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why I think there's a chiasc structure in Psalm 67.
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More often than not,
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chiasms include a verse directly
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in the middle of the passage.
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And this verse is the passage's central message.
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It seems clear that verse 4
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is indeed functioning
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as this psalm's central message.
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Because if you were to see this psalm
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written in its original language,
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you would see that the sentence in verse 4
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contains twice the number of Hebrew words
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found in every other verse.
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with the sheer number of Hebrew words
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emphasizing the importance of this verse.
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Also, the content of verse 4
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is unique to the rest of the psalm.
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This verse alone highlights the reason
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as to why the nations should praise God.
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Verse 4 says,
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let the nations be glad and sing for joy
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for, or because,
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you judge the peoples with equity
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and guide the nations upon earth.
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In other words,
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the nations should delight themselves in God
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because he is worthy of being delighted in.
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The living and triune God of the universe is good.
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He has fixed a day
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on which he will judge
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the world and righteousness,
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and one day he will set aright
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all of the wrongs of wicked humanity.
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The living and triune God of the universe is kind.
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He blesses us
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despite the abundant evidence
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that we're guilty as charged.
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And he blesses us
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by cursing his son.
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He answers the psalmist's prayer
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in verse 1
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to shine his face upon us
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by turning his back on his son.
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Now, earlier,
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I made the claim
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that this first truth,
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namely,
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God's chief end for creating the nations
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is for his glory
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and for their joy,
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that this truth
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is Psalm 67's main theme.
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But you may be wondering,
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well,
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what about verse 4?
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Why isn't the main theme
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that God is fully worthy of our praise?
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Since verse 4,
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which contains the psalm's central message,
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says that God judges the peoples with equity
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and guides the nations upon earth.
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Or you might think
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that the main theme
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has to do with the nations
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and their joy.
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Verse 4 says,
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let the nations be glad
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and sing for joy.
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But I think that verses 3 and 5
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guard against these interpretations.
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Verses 3 and 5
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emphasize God's God-centeredness
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and his passionate zeal
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to spread his glory
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to the ends of the earth.
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We can go to verses 3 and 5
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to help us understand
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what the psalmist means
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when he says in verse 4,
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let the nations be glad
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and sing for joy.
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What does it mean
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for the nations to be glad
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and sing for joy?
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Verses 3 and 5,
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let the peoples praise you.
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That's what it means.
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It means to praise God.
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Who are the nations to be glad in?
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Who are they to sing to?
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Verses 3 and 5,
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let the peoples praise you,
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O God.
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And then lastly,
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you may be wondering,
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well, what exactly did the psalmist mean
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when he used the word nations
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or the word peoples?
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Did he really understand
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God's global purposes
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since he was living
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under the old covenant
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and therefore he hasn't heard
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the great commission delivered
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in the new covenant?
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And I think that's a fair question
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considering how ethnocentric
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the Jewish nation was.
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So let's start with the word peoples.
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This word and its original language
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is often used to refer
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to the people of Israel,
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but it also is used to refer
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to the people of other nations.
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Consider Deuteronomy 13, 7,
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where God commands the Israelites,
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if your brother,
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the son of your mother,
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or the son of your daughter,
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or the wife you embrace,
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or your friend who is as your own soul
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entices you secretly,
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saying,
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let us go after gods
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and serve other gods,
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which neither you
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nor your fathers have known,
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some of the gods of the peoples
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who are around you,
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whether near you
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or far off from you,
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from the one end of the earth
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to the other,
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you shall not yield to him
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or listen to him.
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And then as for the Hebrew word
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that's translated as nations
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in our psalm,
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this is a fair translation.
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It could be translated as peoples,
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but what's interesting
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is that the Septuagint,
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which is the Greek translation
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of the Hebrew Old Bible,
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or Hebrew Old Testament,
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translates this Hebrew word
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into the Greek word ethnos,
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which is the same Greek word
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that Christ uses
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in the Great Commission
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when he says,
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go therefore
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and make disciples
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of all ethnos,
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of all nations.
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So I hope that these Hebrew words
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and the structure of the psalm
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has convinced you
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that God's aim
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to reach people
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from every tribe
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and every tongue
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and every language
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and nation
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is not some side goal
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of God's.
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This is actually central
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to his plan.
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Brothers and sisters,
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this is why we exist,
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to praise him
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and to be used by him
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to bring others
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into this glorious feast of joy,
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which Christ has purchased
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for us
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and for the nations.
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And the rest of scripture
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also makes abundantly clear
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that this is God's chief end
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for creating you
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and for creating me.
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Consider the book of Psalms.
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David begins the entire book
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by speaking of a decree
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that Yahweh proclaims
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to his anointed one,
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which we know
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in its immediate context
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is referring to David,
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but it finds its ultimate fulfillment
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in Christ.
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The decree is found
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in Psalm 2-7,
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which reads,
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quote,
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You are my son,
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today I have begotten you.
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Ask of me
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and I will make the nations
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your heritage
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and the ends of the earth
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your possession.
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So,
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we see Christ
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receiving the nations
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as his inheritance
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and reigning over them
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as king.
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The book of Psalms
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also ends
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in a similar way.
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The heartbeat
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of Psalm 150
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is that everyone
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and everything
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in all creation
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is to praise the Lord.
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The chapter begins
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by saying in verse 1,
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Praise God
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in his sanctuary.
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Praise him
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in his mighty heavens.
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The psalmist is calling
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on both earthly worshippers
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and heavenly worshippers.
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Then,
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as the psalmist's last words,
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he cries out,
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let everything
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that has breath
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praise the Lord.
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And then,
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consider the Bible
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as a whole
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here as well.
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So,
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in the beginning
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of the Bible,
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on day 6 of creation,
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after God looked
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at everything he made
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and saw that it was good,
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he said in Genesis 1-26,
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Let us make man
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in our image
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and after our likeness.
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Then,
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a few verses later,
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God commands Adam and Eve
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and says to them,
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Be fruitful
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and multiply
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and fill the earth
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and subdue it
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and have dominion
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over the fish
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of the sea
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and over the birds
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of the heavens
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and over everything
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that moves on the earth.
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Adam and Eve
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were made in the likeness
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of God
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and were therefore
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meant to be
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a picture
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or an image
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or an expression
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on earth
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of the triune God,
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of his character
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and of his sovereignty
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over all things.
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They were commissioned
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to create
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more image bearers
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and to fill the earth.
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They were expelled
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from the garden
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and exiled
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from God's presence
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and now,
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they and their offspring
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would be
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but a faint reflection
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of God's glory.
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But praise be to God,
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church family,
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because what the first Adam
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failed to accomplish,
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the last Adam
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fulfilled perfectly.
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Jesus Christ,
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who is the image
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of God
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and the exact imprint
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of his nature,
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he perfectly reflected
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God's character
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and rule.
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He obeyed the law
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in full.
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He loved his friends
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by dying for them.
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He ruled the nations
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first by becoming
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their servant
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and now,
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he reigns his head
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over his body,
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the church,
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and commissions them
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to go therefore
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and make disciples
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of all nations.
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And then,
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also,
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the very end
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of the Bible
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makes clear
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God's chief end
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to glorify himself
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through the nations
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as well.
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So,
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you've got the beginning
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and the end of scripture
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and then things
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all throughout
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making it super,
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super clear
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that his chief end
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is to glorify himself
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to the nations.
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So,
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we know how the story ends.
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In Revelation 21,
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the new heavens
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and the new earth
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are filled with
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the most joyful people
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from every tribe,
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people,
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nation,
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and language.
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And the whole earth
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is filled with God's glory
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because the last Adam
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was a faithful servant
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who did all that God
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commanded him to do.
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Because of his obedience,
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his bride's glorification
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is sure.
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And one day,
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she will perfectly reflect
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the brightness
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of the Father's glory.
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Okay,
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so now we move on
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much more briefly
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to our second truth.
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God blesses us
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so that we will
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bless the nations.
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Look at verse 1
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with me.
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May God be gracious
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to us
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and bless us
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and make his face
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to shine upon us.
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that your way
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may be known on earth,
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your saving power
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among all nations.
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This same foundational truth
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is not limited
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to Psalm 67,
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but in fact
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was spoken to Abraham
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when God brought him
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out of the land of Ur.
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In Genesis 12,
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2,
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God says to Abraham,
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I will make you
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a great nation
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and I will bless you
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and make your name great
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and so you shall be
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a blessing
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and I will bless
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those who bless you
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and curse those
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who curse you.
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this purpose
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that God has
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to bless Israel,
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to bless Abraham,
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to bless us,
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is not
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his ultimate purpose.
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His ultimate purpose
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is to bless
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the whole world
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and he uses people
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from certain parts
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of the world
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who are already
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blessed by him
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to go to other parts
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of the world
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who are presently
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cursed by him
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to go and preach
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the gospel to them
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so that they might
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fall under the blessing
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of God.
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So that the brightness
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of God's face
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might shine
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in the darkest places
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of the whole world.
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And this same truth
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is repeated yet again
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at the end of
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our psalm in verse 7.
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Verse 7 says,
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God shall bless us,
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let all the ends
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of the earth fear him.
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After stating
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that God will bless
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Israel,
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the psalmist is propelled
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to cry out,
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let all the ends
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of the earth fear him.
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Which I'm convinced
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is actually geared
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toward Israel.
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I don't think this command
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is directed
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for the nations,
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but I believe
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it's ultimately
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about Israel
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being a beacon,
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chosen to spread
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the knowledge
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of God
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beyond her borders.
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And so,
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it's passages
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of scripture
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like Psalm 67
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that have gripped
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my family and I
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to move to Japan,
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a country with less
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than 0.5%
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professing Christians.
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It's passages
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like Revelation 7-9
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that greatly encourage me,
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but also humble me,
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since God has already
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promised that
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all the nations
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will stand before
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his throne
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to worship him.
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Dear brothers and sisters,
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God does not need us
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to accomplish
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his purposes.
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but he uses us.
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And what a treasure
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it is to be used by God.
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What a delight it is
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to be used by him
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to accomplish his work,
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though in his omnipotence
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he does not need us
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in any way whatsoever.
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So our family is being sent
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by Christ Family Church
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through reaching
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and teaching
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international ministries
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to move to Yokohama,
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Japan,
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which is a city
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just one hour
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south of Tokyo.
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And in this city
19:53
we will be a part
19:54
of a healthy local church
19:55
while we will learn
19:57
the language and culture
19:58
for the first few years.
19:59
And then once we learn
20:01
the language and culture,
20:02
we will be sent
20:03
by that church
20:04
to go to somewhere
20:06
around Tokyo
20:07
where there's
20:08
a great need
20:08
for the gospel.
20:09
We're not too sure yet
20:10
where that will be.
20:12
but our aim,
20:14
our hope,
20:15
is to see
20:16
the Japanese people
20:17
go from death
20:19
to life,
20:19
just like we have gone
20:21
from death to life,
20:22
and then to go from
20:23
infancy to adulthood
20:25
in Christ.
20:26
So we want to be a part
20:27
of that whole process
20:28
to see a people
20:29
who have never heard,
20:31
hear the gospel,
20:32
repent and believe
20:33
in the gospel,
20:34
have saving faith,
20:35
have the joy
20:36
that we have,
20:36
and then go from,
20:39
you know,
20:39
being a newborn Christian
20:41
to being raised up
20:43
to the full stature
20:44
of the measure of Christ.
20:45
That's our plan.
20:48
And the primary religions
20:50
in Japan
20:51
are Shintoism
20:51
and Buddhism,
20:53
though functionally
20:54
many people
20:55
in this country
20:56
are atheists.
20:58
It's kind of like
20:59
similar to America
21:00
where a lot of people
21:01
profess to be Christians,
21:02
but,
21:03
and they go to church
21:04
on Sundays,
21:05
but in real actuality,
21:06
they don't have
21:07
true saving faith.
21:08
It's kind of similar to that.
21:10
Japan also has
21:12
one of the highest
21:12
suicide rates
21:13
in the world,
21:14
and many people
21:16
suffer from
21:16
chronic depression there.
21:18
And so our hope
21:19
is that the joy
21:19
of the gospel message
21:20
and the joy of our hearts
21:22
as a family
21:22
will pour into
21:24
their hearts
21:25
and that they will
21:26
experience the joy
21:27
that we have in Christ.
21:29
So I hope
21:30
that you will join me
21:31
in committing to
21:32
praying for the
21:33
Japanese people,
21:34
that their hearts
21:34
would be softened
21:35
to the gospel,
21:36
and that the Lord
21:37
would provide
21:38
both spiritually
21:38
and financially
21:39
for our family
21:40
as we prepare
21:41
to go to the field
21:42
in early 2026,
21:44
Lord willing.
21:46
So now I'm going
21:47
back to our text,
21:48
some brief points
21:49
of application.
21:52
It may not be,
21:53
and probably is not,
21:55
God's will
21:55
for most of you
21:56
in this room,
21:57
or possibly any of you
21:59
in this room,
22:00
to pack up your bags,
22:01
hop on a plane,
22:02
and spend your lives
22:03
preaching the gospel
22:03
to an unreached people group.
22:04
And I'm fully aware
22:05
of that.
22:07
So you may be thinking,
22:08
what's my role
22:09
in this?
22:11
How am I going to
22:12
bless the nations
22:12
when I live here?
22:14
Well, I want to
22:15
first off say,
22:16
don't be discouraged.
22:18
Your obedience here
22:19
will have
22:21
a ripple effect
22:22
on the nations.
22:25
Be a faithful
22:26
church member here.
22:28
Be an unashamed
22:29
proclaimer of the truth
22:30
here,
22:32
and you have
22:32
no idea
22:33
how capable God
22:34
is of using
22:35
your faithfulness
22:36
here to impact
22:36
there.
22:38
I remember one time
22:39
listening to a Q&A session
22:41
at a missionary
22:41
conference called
22:42
CrossCon,
22:43
and one of the panel
22:44
members there
22:44
was a pastor
22:45
in India.
22:47
He is somewhat
22:48
well-known
22:49
in the missions world.
22:50
His name is
22:50
Harshit Singh,
22:52
and one of the questions
22:53
he was asked
22:53
during the Q&A
22:54
was essentially,
22:55
what is the one way
22:58
that someone
22:58
who is not a missionary
22:59
can have an impact
23:00
on the nations?
23:02
And his immediate
23:03
answer without hesitation
23:04
was,
23:05
be a faithful
23:06
church member
23:07
where you're at.
23:10
That's the number
23:11
one way.
23:12
And so I don't
23:13
want you to think
23:14
that your obedience
23:15
in Dahlonega
23:16
or Gainesville
23:17
or wherever you live
23:18
here will have
23:19
no effect on the nations.
23:21
In fact,
23:21
I want you to remember
23:22
that your obedience
23:23
here within God's
23:24
mysterious providence
23:25
and probably within
23:26
ways that you won't
23:28
even maybe see
23:29
in this side of glory
23:30
will have a ripple
23:32
effect on the nations.
23:33
And trust that the Lord
23:34
is working in that way.
23:37
Have that mindset
23:38
geared toward reaching
23:39
not just people
23:40
in Dahlonega
23:41
but reaching
23:42
the ends of the earth
23:43
though you may not
23:44
be there.
23:46
And then second of all,
23:47
there are goers
23:49
and there are senders.
23:50
There are those
23:51
who go down
23:51
into the well
23:52
and there are those
23:54
who hold the rope
23:55
for those who go down.
23:57
God has ordained
23:58
that goers
23:59
cannot go
24:00
unless senders send.
24:03
Disciple,
24:04
support,
24:05
serve,
24:06
and pray
24:06
for the goers.
24:08
Don't forget
24:09
those who are being
24:10
sent out from us
24:11
to be missionaries.
24:12
Don't let go
24:13
of the rope.
24:14
Consider the words
24:15
of the 19th century
24:16
missionary to China,
24:18
Hudson Taylor.
24:18
He says,
24:20
quote,
24:21
The hand alone
24:22
cannot save
24:24
dying humanity.
24:26
The hand alone
24:27
cannot deliver man.
24:29
The body
24:30
must cooperate
24:31
with the hand
24:32
if the hand
24:33
is to rescue
24:33
the perishing.
24:35
Beloved,
24:36
you whose duty
24:36
it is to remain
24:37
at home
24:38
are equally sharers
24:39
with those
24:40
who go into
24:41
the mission fields
24:41
in this work.
24:42
Yours the responsibility,
24:44
yours equally
24:45
to share in the reward
24:46
when Christ is glorified
24:48
and his kingdom
24:49
is everywhere
24:50
made known.
24:51
It's a very important
24:53
fact for us all
24:53
to bear in mind
24:54
that as we have
24:55
already been reminded,
24:57
the command
24:57
of the Great Commission
24:58
was not given
24:59
to a limited class.
25:01
It was given
25:01
to the whole church.
25:03
And we all
25:04
have our share
25:04
in the responsibility.
25:06
End quote.
25:08
So,
25:09
brothers and sisters,
25:10
my hope for you
25:11
this morning
25:11
is that your heart
25:12
would be swept up
25:13
with God's God-centeredness
25:15
and his passion
25:16
for his glory.
25:17
I hope that your heart
25:19
would be set aflame
25:19
for God's purposes
25:20
to make his name
25:21
known among
25:22
every culture
25:23
and language
25:24
and nation
25:24
of the world.
25:26
I hope that your soul
25:27
is deeply troubled
25:28
over the 5.3 billion people
25:32
who are currently
25:32
in an unreached people group
25:34
and therefore
25:34
will have a 99% chance
25:36
of never meeting
25:37
a Christian
25:37
their entire life.
25:40
Little to no chance
25:41
of ever hearing
25:42
a gospel message
25:43
because of that.
25:44
And therefore,
25:44
eternal separation
25:47
without Christ
25:48
because of that.
25:50
Church,
25:51
may we,
25:52
or may the lamb
25:53
that was slain
25:53
receive the reward
25:54
of his suffering
25:55
for he is worthy.
25:56
Thank you.