SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Because the World Needs Light (vs 1-2).
(2). Because the World Needs Joy (vs 3-4).
(3). Because the World Needs Life (vs 5-7).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Coca-Cola is one product that has far outgrown its humble beginnings.
• In 1886, Dr John Pemberton first introduced Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia.
• The pharmacist concocted a caramel-coloured syrup.
• In a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard.
• He first distributed Coca-Cola by carrying it in a jug down the street to Jacobs Pharmacy.
• Where it was sold believe it or not as a brain tonic.
• After little more than 100 years,
• Surveys show that 97% of the world has heard of Coca-Cola.
• 72% of the world has seen a can of Coca-Cola.
• 51% of the world has tasted Coca-Cola.
• All due to the fact that the company made a commitment year ago.
• That every-one on the planet would have a taste of their soft drink
• As Christians we need to stand up and take note here.
• 97% of the world has heard of this sugar and water concoction.
• While 1.2 billion people world-wide have no access to the good news of Jesus Christ!
• While it is great, we are here this morning,
• The vast majority of people in this area may never enter our buildings!
• Note: The motto of Coca-Cola, posted in the company's headquarters, simply says:
• ‘THINK GLOBALLY, BUT ACT LOCALLY.’
TRANSITION: This Psalm is a call to mission:
• i.e., vs 2 (NIV): “All nations”.
• TLB: “for all mankind.”
• i.e., vs 4 (NIV): “The nations of the earth.”
• YLT: “Peoples on earth.”
• i.e., vs 7 (NIV): “Ends of the earth”.
• TLB: “peoples from remotest lands “
Ill:
• Most Sunday afternoons/evenings I head up the M3 to Hyde Park.
• Speakers' Corner is a traditional site for open-air public speaking, debate.
• It attracts the religious, the political, the weird and wonderful,
• Even the Flat Earth Society, who have members all around the globe!!!
• I love the fact that although I cannot physically go to the whole world,
• At Speakers Corner the whole world comes to me!
• People there Saudi Arabia to South America!
Quote:
“Everybody is either a missionary or a mission field.”
Quote: I like the words of John Wesley.
"All the world is my parish.".
• My emphasis may be Duncan Road Church and the wider area of Hampshire,
• Your emphasis may be this Church and your local community,
• But if we are to be biblical,
• We must always think world!
• To quote Coke-Cola, ‘THINK GLOBALLY, BUT ACT LOCALLY.’
Question: Why do we need to be missionaries (mission starts at home)?
Answer: According to this psalm is threefold:
(1). Because the World Needs Light (vs 1-2).
“May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face SHINE on us
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.”
• If those words sound familiar, you are right,
• They are part of one of the most best-known prayers/benedictions in the Bible.
• It is an echo or a paraphrase of the words of Moses,
• The priestly benediction of Numbers chapter 6 verses 24-26.
• That blessing crops up again and again in the Psalms – at least six times,
• (Psalm 31 verse 16, Psalm 80 verses 3, 7, 19, Psalm 119 verse 135)
Note:
• According to verse 1:
• The light of God is demonstrated in three ways:
FIRST: “MAY GOD BE GRACIOUS TO US”
Ill:
• Sometimes in life we experience grace.
• That is, we get what we don’t deserve.
• I remember once getting in a coffee shop enjoying a mug of black nectar.
• When I suddenly realised my car which was parked in a car park.
• The ticket had just run out.
• Tough choice, finish my mug of fresh coffee.
• Or try to get to the car before a traffic warden discovers it.
• I ran towards the car and get there with a traffic warden standing next to the car.
• I said, “Please don’t give me a ticket, I am only a few minutes late!”
• The warden replied, “You are late, but we allow a 10-minute grace period.”
• Now had I asked the warden, “Great, but what is grace?”
• She probably would have said:
• “I guess what it means is that even though you’re supposed to pay,
• You don’t have to.”
• TRANSITION: Now that would be a good definition of grace.
• God gives to us that we don’t deserve, and he fits the bill!
SECOND: “MAY GOD BLESS US”
• "To be blessed" means 'to be favoured by God'.
• Blessings therefore are directly associated with God and come from God.
Ill:
• In an old Dennis the Menace cartoon,
• Dennis and his little friend Joey are leaving Mrs. Wilson's house,
• Their hands full of cookies.
• Joey says to Dennis, "I wonder what we did to deserve this."
• Dennis answers, "Look, Joey.
• Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we're nice, but because she's nice."
• I think of that cartoon as a simple picture of grace:
• God saved us not because we were nice, and we deserve it.
• But because he is nice, and he loves us!
NOTE:
• The Psalmist asks for blessing in verses 2-3.
• So that God’s ways may be known on the earth.
• Notice that the Psalmist is not saying:
• He is not saying, "Bless me so that I can be comfortable in life."
• He is not saying, "Bless me with the things I haven’t got."
• Now listen carefully:
• He is not even primarily saying, "Bless me so that I can bless others."
The Psalmist is quite specific:
• "Bless me, so that I might glorify you.”
• Bless me so that I might show your power, your love, your majesty,
• Your goodness to all nations."
Ill:
• 10 years ago, this week we had a family holiday in Israel.
• Two seas – Dead Sea & Sea of Galilee.
• TRANSITION: God does not exist to meet our needs.
• Rather, we exist to glorify Him.
• Notice: Verse 3.
• “So that your ways may be known on earth,
• Your salvation among all nations.”
• God aims to glorify Himself not only among those already identified as His people,
• But among all nations, among all the peoples.
THIRD: “May God shine his face on us”
A person’s face is very revealing:
• ill: Often we can tell the emotions of people by the looks of their faces.
• ill: As a preacher you can tell when people have had enough.
• ill: You can tell when someone is not happy because their face will be “downcast.”
• ill: if you were happy – it was said that your face would “shine”.
• Notice: What the psalm says about God’s face:
• “The LORD make his face SHINE on us”.
Ill:
• Think about the difference between rainy days and sunny days.
• Rainy days can often seem very unpleasant; dark, cold, windy & miserable.
• And yet that same day if the sun comes out.
• It is able to be transformed the same day into something beautiful.
• TRANSITION: For the believer the sunshine of God’s love is always on us!
• Because “The LORD make his face SHINE on us”
(2). Because the World Needs Joy (vs 3-4).
“May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
and guide the nations of the earth.”
Quote: Proverbs chapter 15 verse 13:
• “A glad heart makes a happy face”.
• Joke: Looking round, some of you must have had a hard life!!!
Joy is a theme of these verses:
• The psalmist wants the nations to be “glad” (vs 4).
• To “Sing for joy” (vs 4)
• Twice he mentions that he wants the nations to “Praise God” (vs 5).
• The desire of the psalmist is that the nations.
• Would come into a knowledge and into the joy of the Lord.
Note:
• Verses 3 & 5 are the same,
• And verse 4 is sandwiched between them.
• The theological or scholarly term for this is ‘inclusio.’
• Meaning that it sets apart and emphasises what is between the repeated verses,
• The point being people/nations of the world,
• Will only know true joy and true worship of God,
• When he governs and guides them.
• Verse 4b: “…you rule the peoples with equity…”
• Verse 4c: “…and guide the nations of the earth…”
Quote: The Living Bible (Paraphrase):
“How glad the nations will be, singing for joy because YOU ARE THEIR KING and will give true justice to their people!”
Ill:
• A dad was trying to explain marriage to his four-year-old daughter,
• The dad thought he was doing a good job.
• Bute she was she was having difficulty in grasping the concept of marriage.
• So, the dad decided to pull out his wedding photo album,
• Thinking visual images would help.
• He turned over one page after another,
• Pointing out the bride arriving at the church, the entrance,
• The wedding ceremony, the reception, etc.
• Thinking he had explained it all well, he said, "Now do you understand?"
• The girl said, "I think so, is that when mommy came to work for us?"
• TRANSITION: We love in a world where people expect God to work for them.
• And as with any loving relationship, it doesn’t work like that!
• God is not a heavenly vending machine who just gives us what we want,
• We experience his joy when we realise, he is the God of creation, King of the universe,
• The one made us and has saved us in the person and work of his one and only Son!
Ill:
• In his book "Psalms of the Heart,"
• Author George Sweeting tells the story of two John and Elaine Beekman.
• God called them to missionary work among the Chol Indians of southern Mexico.
• Reaching this tribe of Indians was not easy.
• It involved riding mules for long parts of the trip.
• And also travelling by dugout canoes.
• They spent 25 years of their lives ministering to the Chol tribe of southern Mexico.
• And along with other missionaries.
• They helped to translate the New Testament into the language of the Chol Indians.
• Today the Chol Church is thriving.
• More than 12,000 Christians make up the Chol Christian community.
• Now when the missionaries first came, the Chol Indians didn’t know how to sing.
• They just did not and had not ever done it!
• Th Indians who came to faith in Christ,
• We’re not called Christians by the other villagers,
• They were given a new nickname by the other Indians.
• They became known as "the singers".
• George Sweeting comments in the book:
• "They love to sing now, because they have something to sing about."
• Quote: David the Psalmist (#40)
• “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.”
• TRANSITION: God always gives his people something to sing about.
• A song of salvation and a song of praise!
• For whom he is and what he has done!
(3). Because the World Needs Life (vs 5-7).
“May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”
Ill:
• A bank robber was caught, arrested and was on trial in court,
• The judge asked him, “Why do you rob banks?”
• His reply was simple and straight to the point, “Because that is where the money is!”
• TRANSITION: If you want to know why I believe in Jesus,
• If you want to know why I go around preaching about Jesus,
• It’ because that is where the life is!
Ill:
• I love the incident in John chapter 6,
• Jesus has done a miracle feeding a crowd of 5,00+
• He then uses that miracle to teach people the truth about himself & God.
• The crowds want the miracles and signs not the teaching about God,
• And so, they start to leave.
Simon Peter notices this and says to Jesus,
• “Ease up Lord, you are losing your congregation!”
• In other words, “Give them what they want!”
• But Jesus was not an entertainer, and he would not water-down or soften his message,
• Jesus said to Simon Peter (John chapter 6 verse 68),
• “What about you, are you going to leave me as well?”
• Simon Peter replies, Simon Peter answered him,
• “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!”
Quote: C.S. Lewis
.
“If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.”
• TRANSITION: The psalmist talks about a harvest (vs 6).
• For him and his readers it was a literal one.
• In the ancient world the biggest material blessing you could experience,
• Was an abundant harvest,
• God provided food for the people who followed him and walked in his ways,
• And this was a witness to the nations around them.
• Verse 6: “The land yields its harvest;”
• Is a key theme and thought in the Torah.
• e.g., Leviticus chapter 26 & Deuteronomy chapters 28-30,
• God made it clear that he would bless the land if they obeyed his Law.
• Other nations would look on and see God blessing his people,
• And they too would want a piece of the action!
• TRANSITION:
• For us it is a spiritual harvest that we are called to reap!
• But the principal is always the same, to reap you must sow good seed!
Ill:
• For my fishpond, I was given a present.
• It was a plastic imitation lily flower that looked like the real thing.
• But ironically, one day I noticed a green shoot growing up from the flower.
• A bird must have dropped a seed into it and that seed germinated and was growing.
• TRANSITION: Whenever the gospel is preached & shared.
• (we are sowing good seed).
• And sooner or later you are going to reap a harvest of souls!
Quote: verse 6b-7.
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”
Question: What is your greatest blessing?
Answer: Salvation!
Ill:
• “If our greatest need had been information,
• God would have sent us an educator.
• If your greatest need had been technology,
• God would have sent us a scientist.
• If our greatest need had been money,
• God would have sent us an economist.
• If our greatest need had been pleasure,
• God would have sent us an entertainer.
• But our greatest need was forgiveness,
• So, God sent us a Saviour.”
• TRANSITION: “God, our God, blesses us.”
• Salvation is threefold, The Bible uses thew word, ‘saved’ in three tenses and senses.
• We "have been saved" (past).
• In another place they say that we "are being saved" (present).
• In yet another place they say that we "shall be saved" (future).
• We "have been saved." (2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 9)
• We “are being saved.” (1Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18)
• We “shall be saved.” (Romans chapter 5 verse 9-10)
• We "have been saved" (past) – punishment of sin (assurance)
• We "are being saved" (present) – power of sin (live in victory)
• We "shall be saved" (future) – presence of sin (changed)
Question: Do you know that blessing, do you have that hope?
Ill:
Thinking about life & death a man sighed and made this statement,
"A man's life is 20 years of having his mother asking him where he is going,
40 years of having his wife ask the same question.
And at the end, the mourners are all wondering, too."
Ill:
I often use the quote at funerals, that says,
“When you were born, you cried and everyone else smiled.
Make sure when you die you are smiling and everyone else is crying!”
Note:
• The last line of the psalm.
• “So that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”
• The psalmist wants the nations to look at his people.
• To see how God has blessed him,
• And to trust in the Lord.
• If they see this, they will fear God, they will fear they are missing out on the blessing.
• They too will come to faith.
Punchline:
• What do people see when they look at our lives (and they do)?
• Do they see Christ or just a caricature of Christ?
• If we want all nations to find Christ and live for Christ,
• It starts when we are according to verse 4,
• Knowing the rule of God in our lives: “…you rule the peoples with equity…”
• Knowing his reality & guidance in our lives: “…and guide the nations of the earth…”
Quote: Jürgen Moltmann
“It is not the Church of God that has mission.
but the missionary God who has a Church.”
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/ZEUn_zi5Bco
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=weeACkD8DnqHicUCdSvXYPLTk3pgnCZC
