By This All Will Go Series

Text: Psalm 22:25-31, Title: By This All Will Go, Date/Place: 5/1/16

A. Opening illustration: The Summit Church in NC commissioned 75 more church members, now over 400 total in the last 5 years, to plant North American Churches this week. According to their records, for every one person they send out, there are 20 new people worshipping now; that’s over 8000 people in those five years. “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.1 Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory.” -Piper

B. Background to passage: The first 2/3 of the Psalm is a prophecy about the crucifixion of Jesus. It is very graphic, and very detailed. It is probably the clearest and most obvious reference to the cross in the OT. But the last 1/3 of the psalm is a verse of praise because of the faithfulness of God and the implications of those actions. David also write of the person of God, which is behind the action of God. The link he draws is between the work and person of God and the response of man toward Him and the rest of the world because of Him.

C. Main thought: The drive to be a mission-minded church is the glory of God.

A. Who God Is and Does (v. 26-28)

1. According to the text he is the giver of worship and praise—v. 25. He is the satisfaction and provider for the poor, humble, and afflicted—v. 26. The giver of eternal life—v. 26. He is the only one worthy of worship. He is the King of the world—v.28. The two most important things are these: 1) the centrality of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, described above (v. 25b), his atoning propitiation for sin to pay the debt, bear the wrath, and die the death that we should have incurred; 2) the aim of all these things is the glory of God. In v. 25-26, we see the praise going to him; in v. 27, we see the nations repenting of their sin before God at the realization of His glory; in v. 29, all bow down in fear and homage to his kingship, and in v. 30-31, we see the proclamation of His righteousness and complete perfection for generations to come! He is our God, and there is no other.

2. Ex 34:29

3. Illustration: "Almighty God, just because He is almighty, needs no support… How the Israelites would not write the name of God.

4. Our knowledge of God does not even scratch the surface of the infinitude of the perfections and excellencies of Christ. The only uncreated One. The One who causes mountains to tremble and waters to split. The One who causes the earth to swallow rebellious people, and the One raises dead sons to care for their families. But these are only things that He has done. Language cannot capture all that He is. Our faces would glow if we saw the backside, and we would die if we saw the face of God. We have grown so familiar with the account of the cross and resurrection that we are content with a surface understanding, and do not plumb its depths. This is why we don’t shutter at our sinfulness and its rebellion against this righteous God. This is why we don’t rejoice to the fullest at the redemption given to us. This is why we don’t see all the beauty and glory of God. There are many things that a clear view of the glory of God would do for us, but one that I want to make much of today is that it would drive us to go/be on mission for Jesus.

B. Who Man Is and Does (v. 25, 26b, 29-31)

1. In response to these things we are called to seek the Lord (v. 26). Feast on His satisfaction/supremacy (v. 26). We are to worship and bow down (v. 27). But I want to focus on how the glory of God that we are supposed to seek, see, feast upon compels us to announce it to the nations as they are to “remember” God. And we are to pass it along to future generations. God desires not that you go across the street, across the office, across the classroom, or across the globe to speak wonderful things about His glory, and especially His glory in the cross and resurrection, which is the most glorifying event that ever took place because of its significance in the redemption of man and of all creation.